pre alpine history of the pennine zone in the tauern window austria u pb and rb sr geochronology zircon ages from major lithologies of the zentralgneis suggest that much of the variscan magmatism in the tauern window is older than previously suggested in the southeast tauern window a tonalite has been dated at 314 7 m y and a granodioritic biotite augen gneiss at 313 10 m y two granodiorites from the granatspitzkern yielded zircon data consistent with a similar age these zircon data require re interpretation of some previously published rb sr whole rock ages and raise the possibility that alpine metamorphism caused more widespread disturbance of rb sr whole rocks than commonly supposed

stable isotope geochemistry and phase equilibria of coesite bearing whiteschists dora maira massif western alps peak metamorphic temperatures for the coesite pyrope bearing whiteschists from the dora maira massif western alps were determined with oxygen isotope thermometry the 18o smow values of the quartz after coesite 18o 8 1 to 8 6 n 6 phengite 6 2 to 6 4 n 3 kyanite 6 1 n 2 garnet 5 5 to 5 8 n 9 ellenbergerite 6 3 n 1 and rutile 3 3 to 3 6 n 3 reflect isotopic equilibrium temperature estimates based on quartz garnet rutile fractionation are 700 750 c minimum pressures are 31 32 kb based on the pressure sensitive reaction pyrope coesite kyanite enstatite in order to stabilize pyrope and coesite by the temperature sensitive dehydration reaction talc kyanite pyrope coesite h2o the a h2o must be reduced to 0 4 0 75 at 700 750 c the reduced a h2o cannot be due to dilution by co2 as pyrope is not stable at x co2 0 02 t 750 c p 30 kb in the absence of a more exotic fluid diluent e g ch4 or n2 a melt phase is required granite solidus temperatures are 680 c 30 kb at a h2o 1 0 and are calculated to be 70 c higher at a h2o 0 7 consistent with this hypothesis kyanite jadeite quartz bands may represent a relict melt phase peak p t f h2o estimates for the whiteschist are 34 2 kb 700 750 c and 0 4 0 75 the oxygen isotope fractionation between quartz 18o 11 6 and garnet 18o 8 7 in the surrounding orthognesiss is identical to that in the coesitebearing unit suggesting that the two units shared a common final metamorphic history hydrogen isotope measurements were made on primary talc and phengite d smow 27 to 32 on secondary talc and chlorite rite after pyrope d 39 to 44 and on the surrounding biotite d 64 and phengite d 44 gneiss all phases appear to be in nearequilibrium the very high d values for the primary hydrous phases is consistent with an initial oceanicderived connate fluid source the fluid source for the retrograde talc chlorite after pyrope may be fluids evolved locally during retrograde melt crystallization the similar d but dissimilar 18o values of the coesite bearing whiteschists and hosting orthogneiss suggest that the two were in hydrogen isotope equilibrium but not oxygen isotope equilibrium the unusual hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions of the coesite bearing unit can be explained as the result of metasomatism from slab derived fluids at depth

pre alpine variscan inheritance a key for the location of the future valaisan basin western alps the boundary between the helvetic and the penninic brianconnais zones has long been recognized as a major fault penninic front in the western alps a narrow oceanic domain has been postulated at least along part of this boundary the valaisan ocean however the information provided by the pre triassic basement has not been fully exploited and will be discussed here in detail the igneous and metamorphic history of the pre triassic basement shows significant differences between the external massifs from the helvetic zone with abundant late carboniferous granites and the basement of the brianconnais zone including the internal massifs dora maira gran paradiso monte rosa devoid of carboniferous granites a major coal bearing basin the zone houillere opened along this boundary this limnic intramontane basin has never been properly investigated the zone houillere is not comparable with the external paralic flexural basins on both sides of the variscan belt but shows similarities with the saar saale basin like the latter we interpret the zone houillere as a transtensional basin opened along a major crustal scale fault zone namely the east variscan shear zone the permian magmatism and sedimentation displays contrasting distributions being absent or very localized in the helvetic zone and widespread in the penninic zone the above data indicate that the structural inheritance from the variscan belt plays a major role in defining the future location of the valaisan basin i e the boundary between the european palaeomargin and the brianconnais microcontinent

glacier changes in southeast alaska and northwest british columbia and contribution to sea level rise 1 the digital elevation model dem from the 2000 shuttle radar topography mission srtm was differenced from a composite dem based on air photos dating from 1948 to 1987 to determine glacier volume changes in southeast alaska and adjoining canada srtm accuracy was assessed at 5 m through comparison with airborne laser altimetry and control locations measured with gps glacier surface elevations lowered over 95 of the 14 580 km2 glacier covered area analyzed with some glaciers thinning as much as 640 m a combination of factors have contributed to this wastage including calving retreats of tidewater and lacustrine glaciers and climate change many glaciers in this region are particularly sensitive to climate change as they have large areas at low elevations however several tidewater glaciers that had historically undergone calving retreats are now expanding and appear to be in the advancing stage of the tidewater glacier cycle the net average rate of ice loss is estimated at 16 7 4 4 km3 yr equivalent to a global sea level rise contribution of 0 04 0 01 mm yr

late holocene activity of sherman and sheridan glaciers prince william sound alaska abstract two adjacent glaciers in the chugach mountains of south central alaska have markedly different histories on decadal to perhaps centennial timescales sheridan glacier has advanced and retreated hundreds of metres during the latest holocene its recent fluctuations have markedly altered local base level of sherman river which drains sherman glacier and flows into sheridan lake sheridan glacier advanced to its greatest extent during the little ice age raising base level of sherman river and inducing aggradation there of up to 17 m of sediment retreat of sheridan glacier formed a series of lakes that have coalesced as lower lake outlets have become available base level of sherman river has dropped resulting in the evacuation of substantial volumes of sediment from sherman river valley in about 2000 the terminus of sheridan glacier began to disintegrate retreat accelerated dramatically in 2010 by 2016 the glacier had retreated an average of 600 m from its 2010 terminus although some areas retreated up to 1 9 km and others did not retreat at all meanwhile sherman glacier continued a slow advance initiated by a rock avalanche that blanketed much of its ablation area in the 1964 alaska earthquake

episodic reactivation of large scale push moraines in front of the advancing taku glacier alaska 1 taku glacier an advancing former tidewater glacier in alaska has been actively pushing its proglacial sediments along part of its terminus over the last 50 years producing so called push moraines the mobilization of these sediments which were locally lifted more than 20 m above sea level by 2004 has happened episodically rather than steadily the last major event of proglacial sediment deformation occurred in 2001 presumably caused by sliding along a basal detachment layer since then most deformation has been localized within a few meters of the terminus including impressive deformational features of the terminal ice where slabs of ice tens of centimeters in thickness have undercut proglacial sediments and vegetation and lifted them up between 2002 and 2004 surface velocities and horizontal displacements were measured across the terminus and in the proglacial push moraine area sediment displacement was highest between the end of march and mid june a decrease in displacement with distance from the terminus revealed that the sediments were deforming internally rather than along a

coesite and pure pyrope in high grade blueschists of the western alps a first record and some consequences a pyrope quartzite originally described by vialon 1966 from the dora maira massif was resampled and reinvestigated garnet up to 25 cm in size phengite kyanite talc and rutile are in textural equilibrium in an undeformed matrix of polygonal quartz the garnet is a pyrope almandine solid solution with 90 to 98 mol mg end member it contains inclusions of coesite which has partially inverted to quartz resulting in a typical radial cracking of the host garnet around the inclusions several lines of evidence show that coesite crystallised under nearly static pressure conditions and that the whole matrix has once been coesite

precambrian u pb zircon ages in eclogites and garnet pyroxenites from south brittany france an old oceanic crust in the west european hercynian belt abstract u pb zircon ages have been determined for two eclogites from the vendee and for two garnet pyroxenites from the baie d audierne in an episodic pb loss model the two discordia would give upper intercept ages around 1300 1250 ma and lower intercepts ages of 436 384 ma two interpretations are proposed 1 the 1250 1300 ma ages may reflect an unspecified upper mantle event or process the paleozoic ages correspond to the tectonic emplacement of an eclogitic mantle fragment into the continental crust 2 the protolith may have been extracted from the upper mantle 1250 1300 ma ago and stored in a crustal environment until it was metamorphosed under high pressure conditions around 400 ma ago this latter model is favoured by available geologic and isotopic data consequently we propose that a 1300 ma old oceanic crust was tectonicly incorporated into a sialic basement during the proterozoic this mixture was subsequently subducted during the paleozoic

u pb zircon and monazite dating of a mafic ultramafic complex and its country rocks u pb data on zircons from the largest mafic ultramafic body 6 2 km of the french central massif sauviat sur vige yield the following age results primary magmatic crystallization of the gabbroic and peridotitic protoliths took place in the cambro ordovician 496 25 17 m y variable transformation under eclogite facies conditions was hercynian 320 29 36 m y the same age pattern derived by u pb monazite analyses was found also for the immediate country rocks i e kyanite bearing coarse grained metagranites occurring to the w and n of the sauviat massif due to the fact that there is no regional hercynian high grade metamorphism in this part of the french central massif e g duthou 1977 bernard griffiths 1975 both mafic ultramafic complex as well as immediate felsic country rocks must have been emplaced tectonically into pre hercynian acadian caledonian crustal rocks the cause for such a hercynian tectonism is thought to be due to continent continent collision of the spanish with the armorican plate

the geomorphology and sedimentology of the tempanos moraine at laguna san rafael chile the geomorphology and sedimentology of the tempanos moraine at laguna san rafael chile journal of quaternary science 21 0 pp 1 15 sponsorship nerc rono ner b s 2002 00282

an investigation of the deforming layer debris rich basal ice continuum illustrated from three alaskan glaciers three small alaskan glaciers with different bed conditions were studied exit glacier had a thin deforming layer and produced subglacial and proglacial glaciotectonic land forms childs glacier also had a thin deforming layer but the upper part was frozen to the ice matanuska glacier had no deforming layer but had subglacial debris rich ice since it has been shown that sediment at the base can account for the majority of ice movement it is suggested that there is a deforming bed debris rich continuum whereby similar processes occur throughout the different subglacial environments these include similar longitudinal deformation patterns compression at the margin extension and simple shear up glacier similar vertical deformation patterns increase in deformation and fabric strength upwards through the sequence leading to the attenuation of stratified ice into dispersed ice and similar and interrelated incorporation processes the major differences were that the processes occurred at a much faster rate within the deforming layer and that probably only the deforming layer will be recorded in the geological record

the morphology structural evolution and significance of push moraines abstract push moraines glaciotectonic ice marginal moraines have a restricted distribution at modern glacier margins and consequently are of potential value in reconstructing pleistocene ice sheets providing data both on former glaciodynamics and on the palaeoenvironment of the glacial foreland to the wider earth science community push moraines are of interest as analogues for thin skin tectonics within orogenic belts this paper reviews the morphology structural geology formation and significance of push moraines the morphological and structural characteristics of small seasonal push moraines through to large multi crested examples produced by sustained glacier advances are reported before the primary controls on push moraine formation are examined these controls include the nature of the applied glacial stress field the presence and properties of decollement horizons and the shear strength and rheology of the glacial foreland a conceptual model of push moraine formation is introduced in which the range of observed morphological and structural forms are viewed within a matrix defined by the main variables which control their formation the absence of consensus over which of these variables is of greatest importance currently limits the significance of push moraines in palaeoglaciological research as a consequence this review emphasises the need for future research in order to realise the true potential of push moraine in the reconstruction of pleistocene environments

sedimentary and structural evolution of a pleistocene small scale push moraine in eastern poland new insight into paleoenvironmental conditions at the margin of an advancing ice lobe abstract recent studies of push moraines have focused on the interplay between the dynamics of ice margins and the environmental variables of the foreland into which they advance these studies showed that the spatial distribution geometry and style of the glaciotectonic deformation of push moraines are controlled by ice induced stresses the strain rate the rheology of the deposits and hydraulic conductivity in this work we provide new insight into this interplay at a small spatio temporal scale specifically the ancient glacial system of the liwiec ice lobe within the younger saalian ice sheet in eastern poland the paleoenvironmental variables that are analysed here refer to the dynamics of the hydrological processes that affected the patterns and sediment deposition rate on the terminoglacial fan and the resulting mechanical stratigraphy and hydraulic conductivity of the foreland we document the progradational sequence of the fan deposits that developed as a result of the ice lobe thickening and the steepening of its stationary front the sedimentary features of the fan the lithology of its basement and the hydraulic conductivity of the foreland strongly influenced the geometry and kinematics of fold growth during the advance of the ice lobe the predominance of flexural slip and the development of fractures including fold accommodation faults were interpreted to be an effect of buckle folding due to horizontal shortening induced by ice advance the partial overriding of the push moraine by the ice lobe and thus the submarginal conditions for deformation were inferred from the significant hinge migration and internal deformation of the strata under undrained conditions in one of the folds the synfolding deposition pattern of the fan growth strata allowed us to suggest that the push moraine was probably formed by a sustained advance rather than surge

a 2000 year natural record of magnitudes and frequencies for the largest upper colorado river floods near moab utah using well established procedures for paleoflood hydrology and employing optically stimulated luminescence osl geochronology we analyzed a very well preserved natural record of 44 upper colorado river extreme floods with discharges ranging from 1800 to 9200 m3s 1 these are the largest floods occurring during the last 2140 220 years and this natural record indicates that large floods are much more frequent than can be estimated by extrapolation from the stream gaging record that extends back to 1914 most of these large floods occurred during the last 500 years and the two largest floods in the record both exceeded the probable maximum flood pmf estimated at 8500 m3s 1 300 000 cfs for nearby moab utah another four floods with discharges greater than 7000 m3s 1 occurred during the last two millennia flood frequency analyses using the fldfrq3 model yields the following values depending on the manning n roughness coefficients 100 yr flood 4670 4990 m3s 1 500 yr flood 6675 7270 m3s 1 1000 yr flood 7680 8440 m3s 1 the presumed pmf discharge 8500 m3s 1 gets assigned a recurrence interval of about 1000 years and the largest historical 1884 flood 3540 m3s 1 a recurrence interval of 100 years flood frequency analysis for the moab valley based on the gaged record 1914 2012 yield 2730 m3s 1 for the 100 yr flood and 3185 m3s 1 for the 500 yr flood this underestimation of the frequency of large floods from the gage data results from effects on that record by modern regulation of upstream river flow and associated water extraction for agriculture

compression versus extension in the exhumation of the dora maira coesite bearing unit western alps italy abstract several recent papers suggest that uplift and exhumation of high pressure low temperature hp lt metamorphic rocks are due to crustal extension coeval with and or post dating the contraction responsible for the metamorphism a detailed survey of the coesite bearing unit of the southern dora maira massif offers an opportunity to discuss the relative importance of extension and compression in the exhumation tectonics of ultra high pressure uhp rocks this uhp unit consists of pre alpine basement rocks which equilibrated at a depth of 100 km probably 120 100 ma ago it is overlain by two units with a similar lithology and eoalpine metamorphic age and high p t gradients which equilibrated at 60 and 50 km respectively this eoalpine basement complex is intercalated between blueschist facies units the whole pile was affected by a mesoalpine greenschist facies mylonitic deformation during which the early contacts were reactivated as low angle shallow dipping shear zones extension is documented only during the mesoalpine collisional period and is referred to the gravity collapse of a thickened orogenic wedge with an exhumation rate of about 1 mm yr the most important part of the exhumation of the uhp rocks occurred earlier at a higher rate close to 4 mm yr a forced return flow or extrusion tectonics of imbricate slices in an on going subduction setting seems appropriate to account for this early stage the fact that the omission of intermediate pressure rocks between juxtaposed units is an unreliable criterion for demonstrating extension is discussed

rare earth element mobility in the roffna gneiss switzerland the roffna gneiss a deformed hercynian granite porphyry within the penninic nappes of eastern switzerland underwent extreme cataclasis with the progressive development of phengite towards the margins of the nappe under conditions of the glaucophane schist to greenschist facies this resulted in the selective mobilization of major and trace elements over distances of 10 s to 100 s of meters and the resetting of the rb sr whole rock isotopic systems some 100 my ago the component ratios and compositionvolume relationships of progressively deformed gneiss samples studied here suggest that this process was essentially isovolumetric the mineralogy of the deformation sequence appears to have been controlled by a reaction involving the breakdown of microcline albite and biotite and the formation of phengite and quartz the fluids introduced mg and h2o promoting the development of phengite and removed the na being released by the breakdown of albite the fluids were most probably derived from the surrounding triassic carbonates and quartzites these relatively high fo2 and carbonate rich fluids also introduced rare earth elements ree into the gneiss the gneiss was progressively enriched in eu up to 60 y up to 40 and yb up to 100 these enrichments are associated with the development of epitaxial xenotime around zircon in the most phengite rich sample while the ree were mobile uranium and thorium were essentially immobile the formation of xenotime was suggested to explain the observed heavy ree enrichment when large differences in the ree contents were found for replicate analyses using hf and then lithium metaborate for dissolution these differences arose because xenotime like monazite can be difficult if not impossible to dissolve in hydrofluoric acid due to the possibility of incomplete sample dissolution we now recommend fusion with lithium metaborate for all ree lu hf or sm nd studies

subglacial methanogenesis a potential climatic amplifier 1 subglacial environments are a previously neglected component of the earth s global carbon cycle a reflection of the view held until recently that they are dominated by abiotic and oxic conditions here we provide a realistic assessment of the theory that the basal regions of the ice sheets that formed over north america and europe during glaciations were host to significant populations of anaerobic microorganisms including methanogens able to metabolize organic carbon sequestered during interglacials and overridden during quaternary glacials in doing so we review the current evidence for subglacial methane release during deglaciation estimate the size of the subglacial reservoir of organic carbon soc and assess the amount of soc available to subglacial microbes and the likely pathways and rates of carbon turnover we then discuss the fate of subglacial methane and the potential impact of its release on atmospheric methane concentrations we calculate that the soc equates to 418 610 pg c and includes carbon from terrestrial soils vegetation peatlands lake and marine sediments the soc that is potentially available for microbial conversion to methane is smaller than this estimate due to 1 glacial erosion 2 accumulation of recalcitrant organic carbon compounds over time 3 conversion to carbon dioxide by aerobic anaerobic respiration and 4 incomplete conversion of labile organic matter to methane we estimate that the total soc available for conversion to methane is 63 pg c our estimates of methane production potentials span a wide range because of the current uncertainty surrounding subglacial metabolic rates we believe however that there is a strong likelihood that subglacial microbes could convert 63 pg of soc to methane during a glacial cycle if this were the case release of this methane from the ice sheet margins during retreat would need to be episodic in order to significantly impact atmospheric methane concentrations our findings suggest that it may well be important to consider subglacial environments as active components of the earth s carbon cycle conclusive determination of the potential impact of subglacial methane production on atmospheric methane concentrations during deglaciation however awaits more precise determination of the ability of subglacial microbes to degrade organic carbon components and their associated rates of metabolism under in situ conditions

individualization of textural and reactional microdomains in eclogites from the bergen arcs norway consequences for rb sr and ar ar radiochronometer behavior during polymetamorphism 1 rb sr 40ar 39ar and sm nd isotopic data are reported in caledonian eclogites from the lindas nappe bergen arcs norway in order to investigate processes controlling isotopic equilibrium at mineral scale in polymetamorphic rocks the bergen arcs exposes sveconorwegian 950 930 ma granulites partially overprinted by caledonian eclogite facies metamorphism at 425 ma and amphibolite facies metamorphism at 410 ma geochemical and rb sr data from more than 10 phengite fractions separated from one sample reflect the composition of the microdomain a few hundred microns in size in which phengite crystallized phengite crystallized after garnet or plagioclase by dissolution precipitation processes yield apparent age between 700 and 600 ma at the time of their crystallization these phengites inherited the isotopic composition of their precursor minerals at a microdomain scale phengite from quartz veins which crystallized from elements mobilized by the circulating fluid yield an age closer to the eclogite facies metamorphic age the closed system evolution of the eclogitizing fluid the segregation of textural and reactional microdomains the high sr content of the studied phengite and the short duration of the recrystallization processes 1ma are interpreted as the main factors responsible for the lack of a rb sr isotopic equilibrium at the scale of hand samples such equilibrium is nevertheless reached in quartz veins where the crystallization of minerals implies that the fluid circulation acted as a factor of isotopic homogenization the in situ single mineral ar ar datings revealed that both eclogite and amphibolite facies minerals are characterized by an excess of radiogenic argon ages between 425 and 520 ma the excess of argon has been inherited from the previous granulite and has been only partially evacuated from the system by the circulating fluid the apparent sm nd ages from garnets inherited from the granulite facies metamorphism c 930 ma are in agreement with previous estimates this result confirms that the diffusion of nd in garnet does not occur at temperatures lower than 700 c this study highlights the complexity of radiochronometer behavior during hp metamorphism and demonstrates that coupling different radiochronometers such as ar ar and rb sr does not always guarantee the validity of the geochronological results

exhumation of ultrahigh pressure metamorphic oceanic crust from lago di cignana piemontese zone western alps the structural record in metabasites the metamorphic and deformational history of coesite bearing ultrahigh pressure metamorphic oceanic crust from lago di cignana valtoumanche western alps as recorded along the decompression and cooling path has been resolved to derive constraints on the physical state of the crust during exhumation the following history is proposed eclogites derived from pillow basalts were deformed by dislocation creep of pyroxene at a depth of more than 80 km in the stability field of coesite the deformation was progressively localised into shear bands over the first 40 km of subsequent exhumation the rocks remained essentially unmodified any deformation must have been localised beyond the limits of the present outcrop retrogression first in a closed system started without concomitant deformation at a depth of about 40 km and temperatures of 550 to 500 c subsequently the system size increased fluid infiltration focussed along tensile fractures is documented by the formation of veins vein shapes and orientations indicate high pore fluid pressures and low differential stress after cooling to about 350 450 c at depths of 12 to 18 km localised ductile deformation transformed the retrogressed eclogites into greenschists for that stage the microstructure of the quartz veins indicates deformation by dislocation creep at falling temperatures and increasing differential stress final cooling to below ca 300 c took place at depths of 7 to 12 km as indicated by the density of fluid inclusions later deformation in the brittle field cannot be correlated with the p t path

the sedimentary and structural evolution of a recent push moraine complex holmstrombreen spitsbergen abstract the glacier holmstrombreen in spitsbergen surged into the ice contact scarp of a proglacial outwash sequence at some time during its neoglacial maximum the outwash sediments were pushed along a decollement to produce a moraine in which deformation extended for 1 5 km beyond the furthest extent of the glacier front the style of folding and faulting and the nature of the pre syn and post tectonic sedimentary sequence across the whole push moraine is described from a continuously exposed section of the push moraine which extends from its proximal to distal extremities the precise extent of incremental compressive shortening of the pushed sediments of some 900 m is established the depth to the underlying decollement is inferred to be an average of about 30 m indicating that stresses and movement were transmitted through a thin nappe with an aspect ratio of about 1 in 30 it is suggested that this nappe was frozen and that an artesian water pressure head of 60 m immediately beneath it reduced friction along its base to a very low value it is calculated that a glacially generated force of about 1 5 10 7 kn was responsible for pushing the sediment nappe the nature of the glacially controlled groundwater flow system rather than the magnitude of longitudinal forces generated by the glacier is the principle determinant of large scale push moraine characteristics the changing ice topography produced by the pushing event during the surge and in the post surge decay had a major influence on the evolution of the meltwater drainage system and the style of fluvial sedimentation the structure sedimentary architecture and evolution of the whole glacitectonic fluvial complex can best be understood by considering the impact of the surge on a complete outwash system it is suggested that the setting and processes which produced the holmstrombreen push moraine could account for many broad multi ridge and fold push moraines which formed proglacially and that the thickness of original sediments above the decollement can be a guide to the thickness of contemporary permafrost

rapid erosion of soft sediments by tidewater glacier advance taku glacier alaska usa 2 0 0 1 m a 1 1940 2005 at l 3 km h 350 m and 1 5 0 2 m a 1 1952 2005 at l 1 5 km h 250 m detailed mapping over a 4 km 2 area of the terminus revealed a deeply incised channel in line with a major outlet stream glaciofluvial processes must play the dominant role in the subglacial erosion and removal of these unlithified sediments citation motyka r j m truffer e m kuriger and a k bucki 2006 rapid erosion of soft sediments by tidewater glacier advance taku glacier alaska usa geophys res lett 33 l24504 doi 10 1029 2006gl028467

the variscan calc alkalic plutonism of western corsica mineralogy and major and trace element geochemistry abstract petrographic and structural observations on the calc alkalic plutonism of western corsica revealed the existence of several successively emplaced units associated with large basic bodies the present mineralogical and geochemical study deals with the genesis evolution and relationships of these different units basic plutonism is represented by three genetically linked types of rock norites and troctolites with cumulate textures characterized by low ree contents and either no eu anomaly or a positive eu anomaly gabbros with enriched lree relatively to hree patterns probably close to an initial basaltic liquid and diorites ranging up to charnockites which represent liquids evolved to varying degrees mainly by fractional crystallization trace element data and studies on the evolution of pyroxene pairs demonstrate the consanguinity of these calc alkaline basic rocks which are derived from a high alumina basaltic melt the various granitoids granodiorites monzogranites and leucocratic monzogranites i e adamellites have distinct evolution trends as shown by the composition of their mafic minerals and by trace element distributions they cannot be considered as being derivatives of the basic suite and they cannot be related by a common fractionation sequence rather they represent distinctive batches of crustal anatexis in addition hybridization phenomena with the basic melt are noticed in granodiorites the particular problem of the low la yb eu eu and the high u th cs leucocratic monzogranites is discussed in detail in addition to more conventional trace element diagrams the simultaneous statistical treatment of all the geochemical data by correspondence factor analysis is shown to be a very use tool in distinguishing between the different units and to classify the elements according to their geochemical properties

the eyjabakkajokull glacial landsystem iceland geomorphic impact of multiple surges abstract a new glacial geomorphological map of the eyjabakkajokull forefield in iceland is presented the map covers c 60 km2 and is based on high resolution aerial photographs recorded in august 2008 as well as field checking landforms are manually registered in a geographical information system arcgis based on inspection of orthorectified imagery and digital elevation models of the area we mapped subglacially streamlined landforms such as flutes and drumlins on the till plain supraglacial landforms such as ice cored moraine pitted outwash and concertina eskers and ice marginal landforms such as the large multi crested 1890 surge end moraine and smaller single crested end moraines the glaciofluvial landforms are represented by outwash plains minor outwash fans and sinuous eskers extramarginal sediments were also registered and consist mainly of old sediments in wetlands or locally weathered bedrock eyjabakkajokull has behaved as a surge type glacier for 2200 years hence the mapped landforms originate from multiple surges landforms such as large glaciotectonic end moraines hummocky moraine long flutes crevasse fill ridges and concertina eskers are characteristic for surge type glaciers the surging glacier landsystem of eyjabakkajokull serves as a modern analog to the landsystems of terrestrial paleo ice streams

taku glacier alaska u s a on the move again active deformation of proglacial sediments taku glacier is one of the few glaciers in alaska u s a that has advanced over the last century 7 km since 1890 this advance slowed substantially during the past decade but in summer 2001 the glacier terminus began to readvance at a rate of 30 cm d 1 the advance produced dramatic proglacial sediment deformation up to 200 m in from of the terminus two to three large bulges and several secondary bulges developed in the proglacial sediments as a result of glacial compression along a 1 km wide portion of the terminus the bulge nearest the terminus was 10 m high and 65 m wide the middle bulge 7 m high advanced at 15 cm d 1 and the distal bulge 3 m high and 50 m wide at 9 cm d 1 crenulations and prominent fractures developed in the overlying vegetation layer the frontal lobes of the bulges were steep and overlaid a shear zonc where sediments were being thrust up and over the ground surface ice proximal push moraines 1 10 m high formed along much of the 9 km wide terminus although deformation was minimal at some locations

the western alps from the jurassic to oligocene spatio temporal constraints and evolutionary reconstructions abstract despite extensive research in the last 150 years the regional tectonic reconstruction of the western alps has remained controversial the curved orogenic belt consists of several ribbon like continental terranes sesia austroalpine internal crystalline massifs brianconnais which are separated by two or more ophiolitic sutures piemonte valais antrona lanzo canavese high pressure hp metamorphism of each terrane occurred during distinct orogenic episodes at 65 ma in the sesia austroalpine at 45 ma in the piemonte zone and at 35 ma in the internal crystalline massifs it is suggested that these events reflect individual accretionary episodes which together with kinematic indicators and the speed and direction of plate motions provide constraints for the discussed reconstruction model the model involves a prolonged orogenic history that took place during relative convergence of europe and adria here considered as a promontory of the african plate the first accretionary event involved the sesia austroalpine terrane final closure of the piemonte ocean occurred during the eocene 45 ma and involved ultra high pressure uhp metamorphism of the piemonte oceanic crust incorporation of the brianconnais terrane in the accretionary wedge occurred thereafter possibly during or after subduction of the valais ocean in the late eocene 45 35 ma this subduction was terminated at ca 35 ma when the internal crystalline massifs i e the assumed internal parts of the brianconnais terrane were buried into great depths and underwent hp and uhp metamorphism

and mg fe si al2 compositional control on argon behaviour in high pressure white micas a continuous laser probe study from the dora maira nappe of the internal western alps italy abstract high pressure white micas from a restricted area in the dora maira nappe of the western alps italy were analyzed by the conventional 40 ar 39 ar bulk sample step heating method and by the step heating and the spot fusion 40 ar 39 ar continuous laser probe techniques on single grains high si ferich phengites from fine grained gneisses display homogeneous 35 40 ma plateau and spot fusion ages consistent with the upper eocene 40 ar 39 ar phengite ages documented over the whole internal western alps in contrast phengite separates and single grains of high si and mg rich to intermediate composition selected from metapelitic and mg rich mica schist samples yield older discordant apparent ages even when sampled in the same outcrop as the fine grained gneisses these local age variations are interpreted to reflect primarily an increasing ar retentivity with increasing mg content in phengites in metapelite derived white micas the isotopic discordance is marked by 1 1 a characteristic bulk sample upward convex spectrum shape 2 2 single grain disturbed age spectra 3 3 a systematic radially outward decrease in spot ages across individual mica cleavage planes and 4 4 strong grain to grain spot age variations in rock sections 1 1 in mg rich mica schists the isotopic discordance is observed as a reproducible upward convex bulk sample age spectrum with high 140 ma intermediate apparent ages 2 2 upward convex single grain age spectra and 3 3 irregular intra and intergrain age gradients on geochemical grounds it is argued that the isotopic discordance occurring in the metapelites is mainly controlled by the compositional changes introduced by the mg fe si al2 celadonitic re equilibration of the high pressure phengites during greenschist overprinting in mg rich phengites this chemical re equilibration may induce ar loss below their presumed higher blocking temperature a model of ar behaviour in high pressure white micas is proposed which explains the age variations recorded throughout the different lithologies in terms of a simple interaction between the mg fe compositional control on ar retentivity and the mg fe si al2 modifications occurring in phengites during progressive overprinting

expansion of outlet glaciers of the juneau icefield in northwest british columbia during the past two millennia radiocarbon and dendrochronological dating of glacially overridden stumps and detrital wood indicates that two outlet glaciers of the juneau icefield advanced shortly before the little ice age tulsequah glacier advanced to within 2 4 km of its all time holocene limit between ad 865 and ad 940 llewellyn glacier one of the largest glaciers in british columbia advanced sometime between ad 300 and ad 500 and reached to within 400 m of its holocene limit between ad 1035 and ad 1210 well before the climactic classical little ice age advances of the past several centuries our data show that some glaciers in western north america were extensive and expanding at times when alpine glaciers have in the past been assumed to be restricted the evidence raises questions about how to define the time of the beginning of the little ice age and perhaps more importantly about the utility of the term

u pb zircon rb sr and sm nd geochronology of high to very high pressure meta acidic rocks from the western alps three meta acidic rocks from the western italian alps a magnesiochloritoid bearing metapelite from the monte rosa massif a coesite pyrope quartzite from the dora maira massif and the monte mucrone granite in the sesia zone have been studied by u pb zircon rb sr on whole rock apatite and phengite and sm nd wholerock methods the mineral parageneses of the investigated rocks indicate high to very high pressure and medium to high temperature metamorphism this combined isotopic study has enabled us to constrain the ages of magmatic and metamorphic events and also to compare the behaviour of u pb zircon systems in three intensely metamorphosed areas of the pennine domain the u pb zircon data have yielded a magmatic age for the monte mucrone granite at 286 2 ma this result confirms the occurence of late hercynian magmatism in the sesia zone as in other austro alpine units and in other areas of the european crystalline basement in the monte rosa massif a geologically meaningless lower intercept age of 192 2 ma has been interpreted as an artefact due to a complex evolution of the u pb zircon system the magmatic shape of the zircons implies a magmatic or volcano sedimentary protolith for this rock originally considered as a metasediment the very high pressure metamorphism in the dora maira quartzite has produced an opening of the u pb zircon system at 121 12 29 ma the rb sr data support the occurence of high grade metamorphism during cretaceous times phengites model ages are slightly younger than the u pb zircon lower intercept ages due to cooling phenomena or possible response of the phengites to a later deformation the nd model ages from the whole rock samples as well as the u pb upper intercept ages from zircons of all three investigated rocks indicate the presence of proterozoic crustal components inherited from the precursors of these meta acidic rocks the studied zircon populations and their u pb systems apparently showed open system behaviour only when affected by extreme metamorphic conditions 700 750 c 28 kbar whereas eclogite facies conditions of 500 550 c and 14 16 kbar were not enough to disturb significantly the u pb zircon evolution it is also probable that the sedimentary or magmatic origin of the protoliths of these meta acidic rocks which involved different characteristics such as grain size and fluid phase concentration and composition could be another important factor controlling the u pb zircon system behaviour during metamorphic events

continental crust formation seen through the sr and nd isotope systematics of s type granites in the hercynian belt of western france the isotopic compositions of sr nd and pb in leucogranites which are intercorrelated bernard griffiths et al 1985 1 may be explained by the mixing of ancient basement 1800 ma with juvenile crust late precambrian or early palaeozoic this hypothesis does not involve the existence of mid proterozoic crust as apparently indicated by thetdm model ages of the leucogranites ranging between 1600 and 1100 ma the nd isotopes reveal the crustal reworking while sr isotopes mainly record juvenile crust formation this paradox is explained by the geochemical heterogeneity of the sources involved

pb sr nd isotopic behavior of deeply subducted crustal rocks from the dora maira massif western alps italy abstract pb nd and sr isotope data are reported on mineral separates and whole rock samples of mg rich metapelites and associated rocks that have been subducted to depths of ca 100 km in the mantle within the last 100 ma and returned to the surface and for which metamorphic conditions were estimated to be 700 800 c at 28 kilobars pressure three rock types fine and coarse grained pyrope quartzites and nafe rich jadeite kyanite quartz layers were collected from a single outcrop in the coesite bearing portion of the dora maira massif samples analyzed include pyrope pseudomorphs after pyrope phengite zircon the new mineral ellenbergerite and whole rocks isotope data from all three decay systems indicate minimal if any isotopic exchange with mantle rocks isotope ratios from minerals with low parent daughter ratios cluster around 143 nd 144 nd 0 51225 nd 7 6 87 sr 87 sr 0 7 15 75 15 80 with 206 pb 204 pb 19 4 20 7 these compare closely with ratios from precambrian granitic rocks or their derived sediments from the pb isotope data and the sm nd whole rock model ages we estimate a mean age of 2000 500 ma for the sediment protoliths pyrope mineral separates record approximate ages for alpine metamorphism of 34 38 ma by the sm nd method the u pb method applied to zircon and ellenbergerite yields possible additional metamorphic ages of 50 55 ma these data illustrate a possible mechanism for creating isotopically enriched mantle had these rocks yielded their isotopes to the mantle enriched mantle could have resulted the magnitude of the enrichment depending upon the total volume attained by the mixing process similarly the metasediments could also provide the high potassium abundances and appropriate pb sr and nd isotope ratios that are postulated to accompany mantle metasomatic processes

opposite vergence of nappes and crustal extension in the french italian western alps in the internal pennine zone of the french italian western alps dora maira monviso rocciavre massifs and queyras region the structural trends define an apparent dome geometry that is truncated to the east by the po basin this geometry is classically interpreted as a backthrusting system the kinematic history of the area has been investigated using structural metamorphic and geochronologic data on the basis of which two main deformation episodes have been distinguished that occurred under differing metamorphic conditions 1 the first deformation occurred under greenschist facies metamorphism it caused a regional scale foliation and an ew trending lineation that lie parallel to ductile deformation zones and thrust contacts sense of shear indicators associated with the lineation indicate contradictory top to the east and top to the west senses of shear from these it is deduced that coeval east and west vergent thrust faulting accommodated major displacements between nappes phengite ar ar data yield late eocene early oligocene ages for the greenschist facies metamorphism 2 the second deformation caused the widespread development of high angle shear bands and normal faults on opposite sides of the dora maira massif resulting in the apparent dome geometry of the massif a steep 50 80 network of west dipping normal faults is particularly well developed on the west side of the dora maira massif differences of 2 3 kbar and 100 150 c between juxtaposed monviso rocciavre and queyras nappes implies 8 km of vertical displacement along the monviso upper tectonic contact these normal faults formed in a more brittle regime only a post early oligocene age can be estimated from microstructural studies for these final movements these deformations postdate hp lt metamorphism and resulted in the juxtaposition of nappes of distinctly different origin age grade and p t t history a kinematic model is presented in which opposite vergence of nappes followed by large scale crustal extension occurred in response to uplift during the convergence between the european and south alpine plates this model may account for rapid uplift rapid unroofing and cooling of high pressure low temperature rocks thereby explaining the absence of amphibolite facies metamorphism overprint in this part of the alps that may have led to the preservation of coesite bearing rocks in the southern part of the dora maira massif

revealing exhumation of the central alps during the early oligocene by detrital zircon u pb age and fission track double dating in the taveyannaz formation

terminus dynamics at an advancing glacier taku glacier alaska taku glacier alaska usa is currently in the advance stage of the tidewater glacier cycle we investigated the near terminus dynamics by measuring surface velocities surface elevation changes ice thickness and ablation velocities vary on sub daily diurnal seasonal and interannual timescales flowline modeling shows that the modeled surface velocities are sensitive to changes in till yield strength and thus effective basal pressures the glacier bed deepens in the up glacier direction and this imposes a minimum subglacial water pressure necessary for water to drain along the bed in a simple model we impose water pressure gradients based on phreatic surfaces of constant slopes to simulate the winter summer transitions this proves sufficient to explain an observed early season switch from compressional to block flow velocities also vary between years changing basal conditions can result in lower horizontal velocities which decrease the ice supply to the terminus and result in temporary surface lowering but a decrease in ice flux to the terminus must lead to ice storage further upstream and that ice mass will eventually reach the terminus this can explain the observed episodic nature of terminus advance

horizontal contraction or horizontal extension heterogeneous late eocene and early oligocene general shearing during blueschist and greenschist facies metamorphism at the pennine austroalpine boundary zone in the western alps mylonitic structures related to two orogenic events are described from the upper and lower contacts of the combin zone and the immediately overlying upper austroalpine dent blanche nappe mont mary klippe and the directly underlying lower austroalpine etirol levaz slice the first event late eocene in age commenced during blueschist facies p t conditions but pre dated the peak of subsequent greenschist facies overprint the second event early oligocene in age took place during retrograde greenschist facies conditions most sense of shear indicators associated with the retrograde mylonites indicate top se shearing but subordinate top nw displacing shear sense indicators have also been mapped mylonitic top se shearing appears to be restricted to the combin zone and its upper and lower contacts within the dent blanche nappe and mont mary klippe and at the base of the etirol levaz slice structures were observed which developed during blueschist greenschist facies conditions and are in conjunction with the p t t history of these rocks inferred to be older associated kinematic data indicate a top nw shear sense comparable blueschist greenschist facies shear sense indicators have not been observed in the combin zone nonetheless the foliation in the combin zone shows a progressive evolution from blueschist facies to greenschist facies to retrograde greenschist facies conditions this indicates that the combin zone and the immediately over and underlying austroalpine units shared a common tectono metamorphic evolution since the late eocene finite strain data reveal oblate strain fabrics which are thought to result from a true flattening strain geometry flow path modelling reveals a general non coaxial deformation regime and corroborates significant departures from a simple shear deformation in the study area mylonitic top se shearing in the combin zone is attributed to early oligocene backfolding and backthrusting of the mischabel phase temperature time curves suggest slight reheating in the monte rosa nappe underneath and cooling in the dent blanche nappe above the combin zone hence confirming a thrust interpretation for this event the top nw displacing structures are thought to result from late eocene emplacement of the dent blanche nappe and the combin zone onto the middle pennine barrhorn series along the combin fault as related structures initiated during mildly blueschist facies conditions in the dent blanche nappe and the underlying combin zone and both were emplaced together onto the greenschist facial barrhorn series it is concluded that the structures developed as the nappes moved upward relative to the earth s surface thus the combin fault is regarded as a thrust the geometry of this structure indicates that the combin fault is an out of sequence thrust that locally cut down section hence top nw out of sequence thrusting caused local thinning of the metamorphic structural section in association with horizontal shortening out of sequence thrusts cutting down section and back thrusts offer the possibility of explaining the pronounced break in the grade of metamorphism across the combin fault i e the contact between the eclogite facial zermatt saas zone and the overlying lower grade combin zone by contractional deformation

k ar age determinations on phengites from the internal part of the sesia zone western alps italy k ar age determinations have been carried out on various well defined phengite populations from a small area of the internal part of the sesia zone lower aosta valley there the rocks have suffered high pressure metamorphism attributed to early alpine subduction in the stability field of jadeite quartz p 15 1 kbar at t 550 50 c coarse grained phengites from well preserved high pressure parageneses and phengites re crystallized early during decompression at still elevated temperatures in the stability field of albite yield identical ages close to 80 ma in the most external sample high pressure phengites yield 72 ma the ages around 80 ma are interpeted as essentially undisturbed cooling ages they are not notably influenced by paragenesis chemical composition polymorphism grain size deformation and recrystallization at higher temperatures this part of the sesia zone has cooled down about 80 ma ago to below the blocking temperature for the k ar system of white mica some of the samples show pronounced retrogression of the high pressure assemblages especially formation of albite and fine grained phengite at the expense of jadeite and are affected by intense late deformation at temperatures of about 300 to 350 c estimated from the small grain size of dynamically recrystallized quartz the ages obtained from extremely kinked or sheared coarse high pressure phengites scatter considerably being partly higher partly lower than 80 ma the fine grained phengite fractions from these samples yield lowered ages down to 70 ma these values are interpreted as mixed ages resulting from variable mixtures of fragmented high pressure phengites and new phengite replacing jadeite the k ar data suggest that the new phengites have crystallized between 60 and 70 ma b p all phengites formed at low temperatures at the expense of jadeite reveal high si contents these range up to 6 9 for the coarser grained earlier generations and up to 6 7 for the very fine grained last generation relatively high pressures are required to stabilize phengites so high in si this implies that cooling had not been achieved by uplift and erosion obviously the thermal structure of the crust was still strongly perturbed by continuing subduction and thrusting during the late cretaceous

evidence for excess argon during high pressure metamorphism in the dora maira massif western alps italy using an ultra violet laser ablation microprobe 40 ar 39 ar technique ultra high pressure eclogite amphibolite grade metamorphism of the dora maira massif in the western alps is a well established and intensively studied event however the age of peak metamorphism and early cooling remains controversial the 40ar 39 ar step heating and laser spot ages from high pressure phengites yield plateau ages as old as 110 ma which have been interpreted as the time of early cooling after the high pressure event recent u pb and sm nd results challenge this assertion indicating a much younger age for the event around 45 ma and hence a radically different timing for the tectonic evolution of the western alps in a new approach to the problem samples from the undeformed hercynian metagranite brossasco were studied using an ultra violet laser ablation microprobe technique for 40ar 39 ar dating the new technique allowed selective in situ analysis at a spatial resolution of 50 urn of quartz phengite biotite and k feldspar the results demonstrate the frequent occurrence of excess argon with high 40ar 39 ar ratios 1000 10000 and a strong relationship between apparent ages and metamorphic textures the highest excess argon ratios are always associated with high closure temperature minerals or large diffusion domains within single mineral phases the best interpretation of this relationship seems to be that excess argon was incorporated in all phases during the high pressure event then mixed with an atmospheric component during rapid cooling and retrogression producing a wide range of argon concentrations and 40ar 36ar ratios step heating analysis of minerals with this mixture would produce linear arrays on a40ar 36ar versus 40ar 36 ar correlation diagram leading to geologically meaningless plateau ages older than the true closure age in the present case some ages in the range 60 110 ma could be explained by the presence of excess argon incorporated around 40 50 ma ago similar results found in other high pressure terrains in the alps may reconcile the argon geochronometer with other systems such as rb sr u pb or sm nd this study therefore calls for an increasing use of high resolution in situ sampling techniques to clarify the meaning of 40ar 36 ar ages in many high pressure terrains

cathodoluminescence studies and u pb dating of zircons in pre mesozoic gneisses of the tauern window implications for the penninic basement evolution the pre mesozoic basement in the eastern and central part of the tauern window eastern alps consists mainly of anatectic plagioclase gneisses and amphibolites intruded and migmatized by carboniferous granitoids the gneisses are geochemically similar to calcalkaline dacites of modern primitive island arcs cathodoluminescence investigations and u pb data on zircons indicate an uppermost proterozoic or cambrian extrusion age of the dacitic protoliths and a carboniferous syngranitoid anatexis around 320 ma high k calcalkaline meta rhyolites in the north central tauern window form a separate part of the basement not affected by carboniferous anatexis and plutonism their protoliths extruded in the lower carboniferous in the permian high k granitoids intruded the anatectic basement

hubbard glacier alaska 2002 closure and outburst of russell fjord and postflood conditions at gilbert point 1 hubbard glacier the largest temperate tidewater glacier in the world has been advancing since 1895 ad and has now twice dammed 60 km long russell fjord once in 1986 and more recently in 2002 this paper focuses on the 2002 event when a strong spring advance pushed shallow submarine proglacial sediments against gilbert point closing off russell fjord by late june as a consequence upstream ice flow decelerated from 5 m d 1 to 1 5 m d 1 with flow diverging to either side of gilbert point lake height reached 15 m asl before intense rains caused lake water to overtop the moraine dam on 14 august 2002 three cubic kilometers of water were released within 30 hours with peak discharge reaching 55 000 m3 s 1 24 hours after the flood began the discharge records for the 1986 and 2002 outbursts differ significantly and reflect differences in lake height 26 m versus 15 m and dam types ice versus moraine the 2002 outburst proceeded in two stages 1 relatively slow overtopping of the subaerial moraine with downward erosion rates of 1 2 m h 1 with little lateral expansion 2 followed by faster downward erosion of the submarine moraine up to 7 m h 1 with rapid lateral expansion of the channel by ice calving 7 m h 1 the annual average terminus position at gilbert point has remained constant since 2002 although there are seasonal variations of 100 200 m the deep channel strong tidal currents and seasonally warm ocean water appear to have prevented the advance of this segment of the terminus despite the glacier s continued advance elsewhere along its terminus sediments are slowly filling in the channel at a rate of about 4 m yr 1 and their steady accumulation may eventually trigger the next closure

genesis of an imbricate push moraine hofdabrekkujokull iceland observations on a push moraine now being formed at the margin of the advancing glacier hofdabrekkujokull in iceland provide a background for interpreting the geomorphic and paleoclimatic significance of pleistocene push moraines this moraine up to 10 m high consists partly of unfrozen thrust slabs of glaciofluvial sand and partly of debris derived from the glacier surface during the present advance 10 to 12 m yr 1982 thrust planes intersect the glacier foreland and recurrent thrusting produces an imbricate structure as the moraine grows in height folds and faults are produced as the first formed slabs are rotated slowly backward up the glacier front and the whole moraine deforms under its own weight simultaneously the moraine receives a cover of supraglacial debris from the glacier surface above during the summer of 1982 the push moraine moved forward at a rate averaging about 4 cm day

modeling the evolution of the juneau icefield between 1971 and 2100 using the parallel ice sheet model pism we study the evolution of the juneau icefield one of the largest icefields in north america 3700 km 2 using the parallel ice sheet model pism we test two climate datasets 20 km weather research and forecasting model wrf output and data from the scenarios network for alaska planning snap derived from spatial interpolation of observations good agreement between simulated and observed surface mass balance was achieved only after substantially adjusting wrf precipitation to account for unresolved orographic effects while snap s climate pattern is incompatible with observations of surface mass balance using the wrf data forced with the rcp6 0 emission scenario the model projects a decrease in ice volume by 58 68 and a 57 63 area loss by 2099 compared with 2010 if the modeled 2070 99 climate is held constant beyond 2099 the icefield is eliminated by 2200 with constant 1971 2010 climate the icefield stabilizes at 86 of its present day volume experiments started from an ice free state indicate that steady state volumes are largely independent of the initial ice volume when forced by identical scenarios of climate stabilization despite large projected volume losses the complex high mountain topography makes the juneau icefield less susceptible to climate warming than low lying alaskan icefields

airborne surface profiling of glaciers a case study in alaska a relatively lightweight and simple airborne system for surface elevation profiling of glaciers in narrow mountain valleys has been developed and tested the aircraft position is determined by kinematic global positioning system gps methods the distance to the glacier surface is determined with a laser ranger the accuracy is about 0 3 m sufficient to permit future changes to be observed over short time intervals long term changes can be estimated by comparison of profiles with existing maps elevation profiles obtained in 1993 94 from three glaciers in central and south central alaska are compared with maps made about 1950 the resulting area averaged seasonally corrected thickness changes during the interval are gulkana glacier central alaska range 11 m worthington glacier central chugach mountains 7 m and bear lake glacier kenai mountains 12 m all three glaciers retreated during the interval of comparison the estimated uncertainty in the average thickness change is 5 m which is mainly due to errors in the existing maps constraints on the accuracy of the maps are obtained by profiling in proglacial areas

glacio tectonic structures a mesoscale model of thin skinned thrust sheets abstract a series of seven groups of push ridges ranging from 7 to 40 m in height 50 to 280 m in length and occupying a total width of more than 2 km mark the marginal zone of the a d 1890 maximum of eyjabakkajokull an outlet glacier of the vatnajokull ice cap iceland the internal structure of one ridge complex comprises two distinct elements a proglacial part which has been subject to compressional stresses resulting in the development of imbricate thrust sheets and a subglacial part which comprises low angle normal fault structures the two sub systems appear to be linked via a floor thrust and to have evolved together as the glacier reached the limit of its rapid advance in a d 1890

excess 40ar transport scale and mechanism in high pressure phengites a case study from an eclogitized metabasite of the dora maira nappe western alps application of the bulk separate furnace heating laser step heating and in situ laser agemapping 40ar 39ar techniques reveals that high pressure phengites from an alpine eclogite of the dora maira basement nappe western alps were pervasively contaminated with excess 40ar to yield ages 130 ma spot fusion dating of individual grains with the 40ar 39ar laserprobe reveals concentric radial patterns with core ages as high as 320 ma showing that this excess component was trapped at an early stage and subsequently remobilized by volume diffusion during a late greenschist thermal pulse the single grains and population from this hand sample retain major differences in apparent ages indicating that the extent of the excess 40ar contamination varies from grain to grain attempt to model these differences in terms of grain size dependent fractional loss falls short and demonstrates that strong cm scale argon isotopic gradients locally prevailed during syn kinematic high pressure metamorphism on petrostructural grounds a model of internal isotopic buffering is outlined whereby the excess 40ar is argued to have been internally derived from within the eclogite protolith itself low intergranular ar diffusion rates due to reduced water activity buffered below unity by the phengite assemblage resulted in the local segregation and partitioning of the excess 40ar along grain boundaries during ongoing ductile deformation supporting evidence for this model comes from the recent literature on fluid and stable isotope behaviour in alpine eclogites and very high pressure metasediments which shows that volatile recycling during high pressure metamorphism may occur on a very limited scale

a comparison of the styles of deformation associated with two recent push moraines south van keulenfjorden svalbard in this paper two push moraine systems associated with two small subpolar glaciers finsterwalderbreen and penckbreen were investigated this study showed that at these glaciers the push moraines were formed in association with surges which produced a different style of moraine depending on the rheology of the deformed material and the glacial history the moraines are similar in that they are formed by folded outwash sediments and contain little till however the forms of these moraines are very different the penckbreen moraine is composed of a lower shallow marine sand silt and clay and an upper fluvial sand and gravel deformation at this site led to the formation of large anticlines in the silts and clays with disharmonic smaller folds and thrusts in the upper gravels above a detachment surface between the fine grained and overlying coarse grained lithologies this deformation decreases towards the foreland with marine and fluvial sediments responding differently because of their different rheological properties this moraine was formed during one surge event which occured during the early 19th century in contrast the finsterwalderbreen moraine is composed of outwash sand and gravel and was formed as the result of a series of surge events these advances all reached a similar limit and occurred at regular intervals 1997 john wiley sons ltd

kyanite eclogite to amphibolite fades evolution of hydrous mafic and pelitic rocks adula nappe central alps in the southern adula nappe central alps two stages of regional metamorphism have affected mafic and pelitic rocks earlier eclogite facies with a regional zonation from glaucophane eclogites to kyanite hornblende eclogites was followed by a tertiary overprint which varied from greenschist to high grade amphibolite facies despite a common metamorphic history contrasting equilibration conditions are often recorded by high pressure mafic eclogite and adjacent predominantly lower pressure pelite assemblages this pressure contrast may be explained by different overprinting rates of the two bulk compositions during unloading the rates are controlled by a mechanism in which dehydrating metapelites provide the h2o required for simultaneous overprinting of enclosed mafic eclogites by hydration

age constraints on late paleozoic evolution of continental crust from electron microprobe dating of monazite in the peloritani mountains southern italy another example of resetting of monazite ages in high grade rocks in situ monazite microprobe dating has been performed for the first time on trondhjemite and amphibolite facies metasediments from the peloritani mountains in order to obtain information about the age of metamorphism and intrusive magmatism within this still poorly known sector of the hercynian belt all samples show single stage monazite growth of hercynian age one migmatite and one biotitic paragneiss yielded monazite ages of 311 4 and 298 6 ma respectively these ages fit with previous age determinations in similar rocks from southern calabria indicating a thermal metamorphic peak at about 300 ma at the same time as widespread granitoid magmatism the older of the two ages might represent a slightly earlier event possibly associated with the emplacement of an adjacent trondhjemite pluton previously dated by shrimp at 314 ma no evidence for pre hercynian events and only a little indication for some monazite crystallization starting from ca 360 ma were obtained from monazite dating of the metasediments suggesting either a single stage metamorphic evolution or a significant resetting of the monazite isotope system during the main hercynian event ca 300 ma rare monazite from a trondhjemite sample yields evidence for a late hercynian age of about 275 ma this age is interpreted as representing a post magmatic stage of metasomatic monazite crystallization which significantly postdates the emplacement of the original magmatic body

structural evolution of a subducted continental sliver the northern dora maira massif italian alps continental crust of the dora maira massif was subducted in part to pressures of 30 kbar during early stages of the alpine orogeny a new investigation in a transect across the north of the massif has shown that much of the dominant foliation in the upper dora maira pellice unit was formed at high pressures of the order of 11 kbar but at lower pressure than the locally preserved relicts of eclogite facies metamorphism this dominant deformation phase produced large recumbent isoclinal folds with intensely flattened limbs in the pellice unit basement and the overlying permian mesozoic cover now white augen gneisses and calcschists the rocks were thus part of the upper crust prior to their subduction unless an unrealistically large thickness of mesozoic rocks now removed is hypothesized the pellice unit was later emplaced over the chisone unit in greenschist facies conditions all shear sense indicators are top to west implying a simple but prolonged history in which high pressure units were emplaced westwards over lower pressure ones whilst being exhumed the intense horizontal stretching recorded in the basement gneisses may have helped bring them closer to the surface by thinning indirect arguments suggest that such tectonic thinning is not on its own sufficient to explain the present setting of the eclogite units one or more sheets of eclogite material may have been extruded from the eoalpine subduction zone in addition such slabs would be bounded below by west directed and above by east directed shears as the dora maira massif forms the structurally lowest eoalpine eclogite unit in the alps the observed history is not incompatible with this model east or southeast directed structures in the alps are commonly identified as backthrusts but an origin for some as the extensional shears predicted by this model should not be excluded

sm nd disequilibrium in high pressure low temperature himalayan and alpine rocks in order to decipher the causes of sm nd isotopic disequilibrium in high pressure low temperature rocks sm nd isotopic analyses were carried out on minerals from four himalayan tso morari unit and four alpine dora maira monte viso sesia lanzo eclogitic rocks of different lithologies and different intensities of post eclogitic metamorphism in most of these

u pb dating of an early paleozoic bimodal magmatism in the french massif central and of its further metamorphic evolution in the marvejols area southern french massif central the gneissic marvejols supergroup is overthrust on the metasedimentary serie du lot deposited in part prior to 540 ma the allochtonous terranes are characterized by the occurrence of a leptyno amphibolitic group a complex association of mafic and felsic rocks of igneous and sedimentary derivation a 480 10 ma age has been obtained by u pb dating of zircons for the crystallization of both mafic and felsic meta igneous rocks these rocks were emplaced during an important extensional tectonics relics of eclogites pyrigarnites coronite gabbros and hp trondhjemites are clear evidence for a further hp ht event dated at 415 6 ma on zircons from a hp trondhjemite subsequently the marvejols supergroup underwent an amphibolite facies metamorphism with incipient mobilization dated at 345 10 ma

post glacial sea level change along the pacific coast of north america abstract sea level history since the last glacial maximum on the pacific margin of north america is complex and heterogeneous owing to regional differences in crustal deformation neotectonics changes in global ocean volumes eustasy and the depression and rebound of the earth s crust in response to ice sheets on land isostasy at the last glacial maximum the cordilleran ice sheet depressed the crust over which it formed and created a raised forebulge along peripheral areas offshore this combined with different tectonic settings along the coast resulted in divergent relative sea level responses during the holocene for example sea level was up to 200 m higher than present in the lower fraser valley region of southwest british columbia due largely to isostatic depression at the same time sea level was 150 m lower than present in haida gwaii on the northern coast of british columbia due to the combined effects of the forebulge raising the land and lower eustatic sea level a forebulge also developed in parts of southeast alaska resulting in post glacial sea levels at least 122 m lower than present and possibly as low as 165 m on the coasts of washington and oregon as well as south central alaska neotectonics and eustasy seem to have played larger roles than isostatic adjustments in controlling relative sea level changes

cretaceous isochron ages from k ar and 40ar 39ar dating of eclogitic rocks in the tso morari complex western himalaya india abstract the tso morari complex which is thought to be originally the margin of the indian continent is composed of pelitic gneisses and schists including mafic rock lenses eclogites and basic schists eclogites studied here have the mineral assemblage grt omp ca amp zo phn pg qtz rt they also have coesite pseudomorph in garnet and quartz rods in omphacite suggesting a record of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism they occur only in the cores of meter scale mafic rock lenses intercalated with the pelitic schists small mafic lenses and the rim parts of large lenses have been strongly deformed to form the foliation parallel to that of the pelitic schists and show the mineral assemblages of upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism the garnet omphacite thermometry and the univariant reaction relations for jadeite formation give 13 21 kbar at 600 c and 16 18 kbar at 750 c for the eclogite formation using the jadeite content of clinopyroxene x jd 0 48 phengites in pelitic schists show variable si al and na k ratios among grains as well as within single grains and give k ar ages of 50 87 ma the pelitic schist with paragonite and phengite yielded k ar ages of 83 5 ma k 4 9 wt for paragonite phengite mixture and 85 3 ma k 7 8 wt for phengite and an isochron age of 91 13 ma from the two dataset the eclogite gives a plateau age of 132 ma in ar ar step heating analyses using single phengite grain and an inverse isochron age of 130 39 ma with an initial 40 ar 36 ar ratio of 434 90 in ar ar spot analyses of phengites and paragonites the cretaceous isochron ages are interpreted to represent the timing of early stage of exhumation of the eclogitic rocks assuming revised high closure temperature 500 c for phengite k ar system the phengites in pelitic schists have experienced retrograde reaction which modified their chemistry during intense deformation associated with the exhumation of these rocks with the release of significant radiogenic 40 ar from the crystals the argon release took place in the schists that experienced the retrogression to upper greenschist facies metamorphisms from the eclogite facies conditions

35 ma old ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and evidence for very rapid exhumation in the dora maira massif western alps abstract ion microprobe shrimp data on zircons from various rock types of an ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic whiteschist type pyrope quartzite lens of the dora maira massif dmm consistently show domains giving a late eocene age of 35 4 1 0 ma which is taken as the age of uhp metamorphism these domains partially replace the older oscillatory zoning pattern of the zircons formed during primary magmatic crystallization at about 275 ma zircons of a metagranitic country rock next to the uhp metamorphic lens have these primary features best preserved all zircons measured also yield intermediate ages between 275 and 35 ma with a statistical concentration between 260 and 210 ma thus the uniformity of the initial zircon population both in the lens and the country rock evidences a common protolith that is a granite intruded during the late herynian while the intermediate ages are at least partly due to incomplete resetting of the zircons during uhp metamorphism those in the 260 210 ma range may be related to rifting episodes in the permotriassic the mg rich chemistry of the whiteschist lenses is due to local metasomatic alterations of the granite perhaps by fluids derived from evaporitic sediments dating as early as the permotriassic as well the more pervasive resetting of zircon ages during uhp metamorphism in the pyrope quartzite lenses is explained by the ubiquity of fluids and or melts produced during subduction by a series of dehydration reactions that occurred only in the more hydrous mg rich protoliths and not in their drier granitic neighborhood fission track ages determined partly on the same zircon samples yielding 29 9 1 4 ma mark the time when the uhpm unit had reached about 290 c at a shallow location within the crust thus exhumation over a vertical distance of about 120 km must have occurred within about 5 6 ma indicating an average uplift rate of about 20 24 km ma and an average cooling rate of about 85 100 c ma the radiometric data obtained do not lend any support to an eo alpine cretaceous subduction event so that deep subduction and immediately following exhumation all took place during early to mid tertiary time this scenario seems to apply to large portions of the western and central alps as well calling for drastic geodynamic reinterpretations of these parts of the alps

the 1890 surge end moraine at eyjabakkajokull iceland a re assessment of a classic glaciotectonic locality abstract the glaciotectonic architecture and sequential evolution of the eyjabakkajokull 1890 surge end moraines in iceland were studied for understanding better the formation and evolution of glaciotectonic end moraines and their relation to glacier dynamics based on morphological geological and geophysical data from terrain cross profiles cross sections and ground penetrating radar profiles we demonstrate that three different qualitative and conceptual models are required to explain the genesis of the eyjabakkajokull moraines firstly a narrow single crested moraine ridge at the distal end of a marginal sediment wedge formed in response to decoupling of the subglacial sediment from the bedrock and associated downglacier sediment transport secondly large lobate end moraine ridges with multiple closely spaced narrow asymmetric crests formed by proglacial piggy back thrusting thirdly a new model shows that moraine ridges with different morphologies may reflect different members of an end moraine continuum this is true for the eastern and western parts of the eyjabakkajokull moraines as they show similar morphological and structural styles which developed to different degrees the former represents an intermediate member with decollement at 4 5 m depth and 27 33 shortening through multiple open anticlines that are reflected as moderately spaced symmetric crests on the surface the latter represents an end member with decollement at about 27 m depth and 39 horizontal shortening through multiple high amplitude overturned and overthrusted anticlines appearing as broadly spaced symmetric crests we propose that the opposite end member would be a moraine of multiple symmetric wide open anticlinal crests of low amplitude our data suggest that the glacier coupled to the foreland to initiate the end moraine formation when it had surged to within 70 190 m of its terminal position this indicates a time frame of 2 6 days for the formation of the end moraines

rapid wastage of alaska glaciers and their contribution to rising sea level we have used airborne laser altimetry to estimate volume changes of 67 glaciers in alaska from the mid 1950s to the mid 1990s the average rate of thickness change of these glaciers was 0 52 m year extrapolation to all glaciers in alaska yields an estimated total annual volume change of 52 15 km 3 year water equivalent equivalent to a rise in sea level sle of 0 14 0 04 mm year repeat measurements of 28 glaciers from the mid 1990s to 2000 2001 suggest an increased average rate of thinning 1 8 m year this leads to an extrapolated annual volume loss from alaska glaciers equal to 96 35 km 3 year or 0 27 0 10 mm year sle during the past decade these recent losses are nearly double the estimated annual loss from the entire greenland ice sheet during the same time period and are much higher than previously published loss estimates for alaska glaciers they form the largest glaciological contribution to rising sea level yet measured

ice thickness measurements of taku glacier alaska u s a and their relevance to its recent behavior using radio echo soundings and seismic reflections we measured cross sections of taku glacier near juneau alaska to resolve inconsistencies in previous measurements and to understand better the glacier s dynamics the maximum thickness is about 1477 m and the minimum bed elevation is about 600 m below sea level which establishes taku glacier as the thickest and deepest temperate glacier yet measured our data indicate that during the 19th century the terminus of taku glacier may have begun its rapid advance at a position where the ice bed was greater than 300 m below sea level and more than 25 km from the inland end of its submarine trough this behavior is uncharacteristic of temperate tide water glaciers the glacier which no longer calves has eroded a sediment layer 100 m thick since 1890 at an average rate of about 3 m a 1 since 1948 this high erosion rate retards advance by entrenching the glacier into the terminal moraine calculations based on ice deformation theory indicate significant basal ice motion near the terminus and high basal shear stress 140 220 kpa along much of its length estimated differences between ice flux and balance flux are consistent with observed thickening and positive net mass balance these data indicate that ice volume is increasing and that further advance is likely

ellenbergerite a new high pressure mg al ti zr silicate with a novel structure based on face sharing octahedra ellenbergerite occurs as purple millimetre size grains associated with talc kyanite clinochlore rutile and zircon in composite inclusions within decimetre large pyrope crystals 90 98 mole percent end member in the quartzite layer of the dora maira massif western alps from which coesite has been recently reported chopin 1984 it is hexagonal a 12 255 8 c 4 932 4 a z 1 space group p63 mohs hardness 6 5 dmes 3 15 dcal 3 10 no cleavage uniaxial negative and vividly pleochroic colourless e colourless to deep lilac with colour zoning the intensely coloured variety has 1 6789 5 e 1 670 1 microprobe analysis yields sio2 39 1 p2o5 0 45 al2o3 25 1 tio2 4 0 mgo 22 2 feo 0 20 sum 99 05 wt including h2o 8 0 coulometrically the formula calculated on a o28 oh 10 basis implying 7 5 wt h2o is mg6 71 fe0 03 ti0 61 al6 00 si7 92 p0 08 o28 oh 10 the colour zoning is due to nearly complete ti zr substitution in addition ellenbergerite may contain more than 8 wt p2o5 with strictly correlated changes of si mg al and ti zr contents over 80 of which represent the sial pmg substitution

petrogenesis of hercynian leucogranites from the southern armorican massif contribution of ree and isotopic sr nd pb and o geochemical data to the study of source rock characteristics and ages abstract ree geochemistry and isotopic pb sr nd o compositions have been studied in up to nine separate leucogranite massifs from three structurally adjacent zones in south brittany ages decrease from 340 ma in the north to 300 ma in the south whereas initial 87 sr 86 sr ratios increase from 0 706 to 0 710 0 717 ree abundances are relatively low la n 20 80 chondrites with a strong enrichment of lree relative to hree la n lu n 13 4 26 6 pb isotope ratios are homogeneous for a given massif but heterogeneous among massifs and plot very close to a normal terrestrial lead growth curve at 300 ma ago 18 o 16 o ratios are high and relatively uniform at 10 7 to 12 8 mean 11 9 u pb studies on zircon indicate the presence of an inherited radiogenic pb component and that the sediment dominated source region had been metamorphosed during the siluro devonian ligerian negativee nd t values imply that the source region had been enriched in lree prior to the melting episode based on the combined data large scale partial melting of crustal material dominantly of sedimentary origin is proposed the model age of the source rocks is not very old 600 700 to 1200 ma the pb and sr isotopic variations observed among different massifs is probably the result of age differences in the source materials of the different leucogranites