copper mineralization prevented by arc root delamination during alpine himalayan collision in central iran contrasting geochemical signatures of copper ore hosting eocene and some barren undeformed miocene diorites to granites in central iran temporally overlap with the alpine himalayan collision and provide key implications on the existence and lack of cu mineralization during collisional magmatism high sr and low y and yb contents of eocene arc rocks in the natanz arc segment reflect thickened andean type orogenic arc crust 45 km whereas barren miocene natanz arc rocks 21 19 ma indicate thin arc crust similar to collisional volcanism in anatolia geochemical modeling indicates a change in the mineralogy of the melt residual from precollisional eocene basaltic garnet bearing 5 30 amphibolite to syn or postcollisional miocene metasomatized mantle peridotite which can be explained by collision induced delamination of the arc lithospheric root subsequent recharge of hot asthenosphere and melting of metasomatized mantle peridotite and lack of interaction with a garnet bearing arc crustal keel explain the low sr and high y and yb contents the relatively enriched initial sr isotope ratios of postcollisional miocene natanz rocks and the lack of copper mineralization in postcollisional miocene natanz arc rocks arc root delamination removes the copper and sulfur enriched metasomatized lithospheric arc root and hydrous cumulate reservoir required to form copper ore deposits lack of the dense melt residues also provides an alternative explanation for the elevated thin crustal iranian back arc plateau 38 km as a result of uplift by isostatic rebound rather than uplift by anomalous shortening miocene arc root delamination implies a minimum age of 21 ma for the alpine himalayan collision in central iran

balancing crustal thickening in arcs by tectonic vs magmatic means igneous intrusions were emplaced prior to and contemporaneous with horizontal shortening of the crust in the late cretaceous to late eocene magmatic arc in north chile 21 45 22 30 s temporally changing major and trace elements of magmatic rocks from this paleo arc system chronicled gradual crustal thickening prior to and substantial crustal thickening contemporaneously with crustal shortening balanced structural cross sections indicate a minimum of 9 km of arc normal shortening that occurred simultaneously with dextral arc parallel movements accounting for orogen parallel lengthening of 10 km this shortening produced 5 4 km of tectonic crustal thickening and resulted in a minimum of 42 km late eocene andean crustal thickness temporal and spatial geochemical changes diagnostic of crustal thickening indicate that the remainder 2 6 km was accommodated by basaltic underplating at or near the base of the arc crust prior to and during transpression the ratio of tectonic to magmatic crustal thickening is 2 1 whole crustal magmatic addition rates during the 12 m y duration of arc transpression are 35 km 3 per kilometer of model arc length per million years mafic underplating may have thickened the andean crust considerably but most pre neogene crustal thickening was due to discrete episodes of tectonic shortening

paleoclimate and location of the border between mediterranean climate region and the saharo arabian desert as revealed by speleothems from the northern negev desert israel speleothem bearing karstic caves of the northern negev desert southern israel provides an ideal site for reconstructing the paleoclimate and paleo location of the border between mediterranean climate region and the saharo arabian desert major periods of speleothem deposition representing humid periods were determined by high resolution 230 th u dating and corresponding studies of stableisotopecompositionwereusedtoidentifythesourceofrainfallduringhumidperiodsandthevegetationtype majorhumidintervals

numerical simulation of internal kelvin waves and coastal upwelling fronts two three dimensional primitive equation numerical ocean models are applied to the problem of internal kelvin waves and coastal upwelling in the great lakes one is the princeton ocean model pom with a terrain following sigma vertical coordinate and the other is the dietrich center for air sea technology diecast model with constant z level coordinates the sigma coordinate system is particularly convenient for simulating coastal upwelling while the z level system might be better for representing abrupt topographic changes the models are first tested with a stratified idealized circular lake 100 km in diameter and 100 m deep two bottom topographies are considered a flat bottom and a parabolic depth profile three rectilinear horizontal grids are used 5 2 5 and 1 25 km the pom was used with 13 vertical levels while the diecast model was tested with both 13 and 29 vertical levels the models are driven with an impulsive wind stress imitating the passage of a weather system in the case of the flat bottom basin the dynamical response to light wind forcing is a small amplitude internal kelvin wave for both models the speed of the kelvin wave in the model is somewhat less than the inviscid analytic solution wave speed in the case of strong wind forcing the thermocline breaks the surface full upwelling and a strong surface thermal front appears after the wind ceases the edges of this thermal front propagate cyclonically around the lake quite similar to an internal kelvin wave in the case of parabolic bathymetry kelvin wave and thermal front propagation is modified by interaction with a topographic wave and a geostrophic circulation in both models higher horizontal resolution gives higher wave and frontal speeds horizontal resolution is much more critical in the full upwelling case than in the kelvin wave case vertical resolution is not as critical the models are also applied to lake michigan to determine the response to strong northerly winds causing upwelling along the eastern shore the results are more complex than for the circular basin but clearly show the characteristics of cyclonically propagating thermal fronts the resulting northward warm front propagation along the eastern shore compares favorably with observations of temperature fluctuations at municipal water intakes after a storm although the model frontal speed was less than the observed speed

origin of eclogite bearing domed layered metamorphic complexes core complexes in the d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea compositionally layered metamorphic rocks of the d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea are folded into domes and antiforms bounded by faults parallel to metamorphic layering and foliation the structures are broadly similar to the metamorphic core complexes of western north america lenses of ultramafic rock lie on the bounding faults and the same faults have served as loci for quaternary andesitic volcanic activity metamorphic grade in the northern islands goodenough and fergusson is amphibolite facies with pockets of eclogite fergusson island only and granulite and is greenschist facies in the southern island normanby in all three islands there is a characteristic tectonostratigraphic sequence fmu sequence from felsic metamorphic rocks at base or internally through mafic metamorphic rocks to ultramafic rocks at top or externally the association of metamorphic and ultramafic rocks apparently developed in a north dipping paleogene subduction system and was exhumed to upper crustal level in the oligocene early miocene possibly by reversal of movement on faults in the former subduction system vigorous uplift and development of domes and antiforms in the pliocene was triggered by westward propagation of the woodlark basin spreading ridge and was accompanied by rifting rift related magmatism rapid erosion and deposition of coarse sediment in the adjacent trobriand basin

evolutionary cycles during the andean orogeny repeated slab breakoff and flat subduction tectonomagmatic similarities between the modern chilean flat slab region and pre neogene magmatic episodes suggest that they represent analogues to flat subduction evolutionary patterns in each magmatic suite include i increasing la yb ratios and sr and nd isotopic enrichment through time ii eastward migration of magmatism after periods of transpressional transtensional intra arc deformation and iii subsequent termination and virtual absence of main arc activity for 5 10 myr these patterns may reflect slab shallowing followed by flat subduction and thickening of the overlying crust if repeated they require interchanging episodes of slab steepening increasing convergence rates force slab kinking and eventual failure of the oversteepened slab followed by rebound of the slab tip owing to lack of further slab pull flat subduction and termination of subduction related magmatism rapid subduction leads to shallow overriding of the detached slab fragment eclogitization of the gradually steepening slab tip at depth and subsequent slab pull permits asthenospheric corner flow and subduction related magmatism

tectonic implications of felsic tuffs within the lower miocene gangrinboche conglomerates southern tibet felsic tuffs are interbedded with the gangrinboche conglomerates adjacent to the yarlung tsangpo suture zone in southern tibet laser ar ar dating of mineral separates indicates they are of early miocene age such tuffs are most likely an eruptive manifestation of geochemically indistinguishable coeval felsic adakitic intrusions that are widely reported across southern tibet the considerable lateral e w extent of the gangrinboche conglomerates and their depositional setting indicates sediment accumulation in an overall n s compressional regime and thereby places important constraints on the tectonic setting in which magmatism initiated the conglomerates were folded and truncated during back thrusting associated with development of the north directed great counter thrust as n s trending rifts associated with e w extension of the tibetan plateau cut both the conglomerates and this thrust system it can be inferred that post collisional volcanism is unlikely to have been genetically linked to later e w extension early miocene slab break off beneath tibet provides a model that appears to be consistent with petrogenesis of the associated magmatic suite which requires a lowermost crust or lithospheric mantle generation molasse accumulation and uplift and emplacement of north himalayan gneiss domes

geologic and geochemical reconnaissance of isla san esteban post subduction orogenic volcanism in the gulf of california abstract isla san esteban is a calc alkaline volcanic island in the center of the gulf of california a zone of active continental rifting its rocks range in composition from andesitic to rhyolitic with dacitic flows and sills making up more than 80 of its volume most other islands of the north central gulf of california are fragments of continental crust and include extensive metamorphic and sedimentary as well as igneous units k ar age determinations have resulted in ages of 2 5 to 2 9 m y for samples from isla san esteban these ages indicate that a volcano was erupting siliceous lava flows and pyroclastic units in the center of the gulf of california 9 5 m y after subduction beneath the continental margin ceased and a minimum of 4 5 m y after extension began to open the gulf a site of young orogenic volcanism at one other location in the gulf of california region is further evidence that a lag time of more than 9 m y may elapse between the end of subduction of a lithospheric plate and the last eruption of orogenic rocks a fragment of subducted oceanic crust may be the source of the calc alkaline magma and the complex tectonic setting of the region may provide the environment necessary for the unusual volcanism

carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water carbonate system in a karstic mediterranean cave implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions abstract in a semiarid climatic zone such as the eastern mediterranean region annual rainfall variations and fractionation processes in the epikarst zone exert a profound influence on the isotopic compositions of waters seeping into a cave consequently the isotopic compositions of speleothems depositing from cave waters may show complex variations that need to be understood if they are to be exploited for paleoclimate studies this is confirmed by a four year study of the active carbonate water system in the soreq cave israel the 18o smow values of cave waters range from 6 3 to 3 5 the highest 18o values occur at the end of the dry season in waters dripping from stalactites and reflect evaporation processes in the epikarst zone whereas the lowest values occur in rapidly dripping fast drip waters at the peak of the rainy seasons however even fast drip waters are about 1 5 heavier than the rainfall above the cave which is taken to reflect the mixing of fresh with residual evaporated water in the epikarst zone 13c pdb values of dissolved inorganic carbon dic vary from 15 6 to 5 4 with fast drip waters having lower 13c values mostly 15 6 to 12 and higher dic concentrations relative to pool and stalactite drip water the low 13c values of fast drip waters and their supersaturation with respect to calcium carbonate indicates that the seepage waters have dissolved both soil co2 derived from overlying c3 type vegetation and marine dolomite host rock the 18o pdb values of various types of present day low magnesium calcite lmc speleothems range from 6 5 to 4 3 and 13c values from 13 to 5 5 and are not correlated with speleothem type an analysis of 18o values of present day calcite rafts and pool waters shows that they form in oxygen isotope equilibrium similarly the measured ranges of 13c and 18o values for all types of present day speleothems are consistent with equilibrium deposition at cave temperatures the 13c 18o range of contemporary lmc thus reflects the variations in temperatures and isotopic compositions of the presentday cave waters the 10 variation in the 13c values in waters can be modeled by a simple rayleigh calculation of the carbon isotope fractionation accompanying co2 degassing and carbonate precipitation these variations may obscure the differences in the carbon isotopic composition of speleothems that could arise when vegetation cover changes from c3 to c4 type plants this consideration emphasizes that it is necessary to characterize the full range of 13c values associated with contemporaneous speleothems in order to clarify the effects of degassing from those due to differing vegetation types isotopic studies of a number of different types of fossil lmc speleothems show many of them to exhibit isotopic trends that are similar to those of present day lmc but others show both higher and lower 18o ranges in particular the higher 18o range has been shown by independent age measurements to be associated with a period of drier conditions the results of the study thus indicate that it is necessary to work on a well calibrated cave system in semiarid climates and that the fossil speleothem record should be obtained from different types of contemporaneous deposit in order to fully characterize the 18o 13c range representative of any given climatic period

post collisional polycyclic plutonism from the zagros hinterland the shaivar dagh plutonic complex alborz belt iran the petrological and geochronological study of the cenozoic shaivar dagh composite intrusion in the alborz mountain belt nw iran reveals important clues to decipher complex relations between magmatic and tectonic processes in the central sectors of the tethyan alpine himalayan orogenic belt this pluton is formed by intrusion at different times of two main magmatic cycles the older cycle 1 is formed by calc alkaline silicic rocks which range in composition from diorites to granodiorites and biotite granites with abundant mafic microgranular enclaves the younger cycle cycle 2 is formed by k rich monzodiorite and monzonite of marked shoshonitic affinity the latter form the larger volumes of the exposed plutonic rocks in the studied complex zircon geochronology laser ablation icp ms analyses gives a concordia age of 30 8 2 1 ma for the calc alkaline rocks cycle 1 and a range from 23 3 0 5 to 25 1 0 9 ma for the shoshonitic association cycle 2 major and trace element relations strongly support distinct origins for each magmatic cycle rocks of cycle 1 have all the characteristic features of active continental margins shoshonitic rocks cycle 2 define two continuous fractionation trends one departing from a k rich basaltic composition and the other from an intermediate k rich composition a metasomatized mantle origin for the two shoshonitic series of cycle 2 is proposed on the basis of comparisons with experimental data the origin of the calc alkaline series is more controversial but it can be attributed to processes in the suprasubduction mantle wedge related to the incorporation of subducted melanges in the form of silicic cold plumes a time sequence can be established for the processes responsible of the generation of the two magmatic cycles first a calc alkaline cycle typical of active continental margins and second a k rich cycle formed by monzonites and monzodiorites this sequence precludes the younger potassic magmas as precursors of the older calc alkaline series by contrast the older calc alkaline magmas may represent the metasomatic agents that modified the mantle wedge during the last stages of subduction and cooked a fertile mantle region for late potassic magmatism after continental collision

the sapropel record of the eastern mediterranean sea results of ocean drilling program leg 160 research on sediments recovered during ocean drilling leg 160 has concentrated on two issues the first concerned the stratigraphy of sapropel formation the second was oriented to clarify specific processes that explain sapropel origin progress has been made in the construction of stratigraphic composites out of sedimentary sequences from individual holes at each of the palaeoceanographic sites on the composites initial work has resulted in the establishment of high resolution and intermediate resolution stratigraphies for three sites 963 964 967 correlation of sedimentary cycles to astronomical insolation cycles extends the stratigraphies to sites 969 and 966 the sapropel occurrences in the marine and land sequences over the entire eastern mediterranean are correlated with the resolution that can be obtained from isotope studies groups of sapropels occurred simultaneously over the entire basin in detail however the temporal and facies patterns of sapropel sequences differ between individual sites and depositional basins the differences may be related to effects of water depth diagenesis and post depositional tectonic attenuation of sequences studies on the geochemistry and facies of sapropels agree that anoxic conditions favoured preservation of organic matter in sapropels caused the enrichment of trace metals associated with sapropels and helped to preserve primary sedimentary structures besides all evidence is consistent with elevated fluxes of organic matter and associated elements during sapropel events

late quaternary paleoclimate in the eastern mediterranean region from stable isotope analysis of speleothems at soreq cave israel abstract the eastern mediterranean continental paleoclimate during the past 25 000 years was determined by a high resolution petrographic stable isotopic and age study of speleothems from soreq cave israel 18o 13c trends indicate that all speleothems older than 7000 yr formed under conditions that differ from those of today the period from 25 000 to 17 000 yr b p was characterized by the highest 18o and 13c values which indicate deposition at temperatures of 12 16 c annual rainfall of 300 450 mm and vegetation typical of a mixed c3 c4type from 17 000 to 10 000 yr b p deglaciation in northern europe 18o values dropped progressively correlative with warming 2 3 c and a gradual increase in precipitation a simultaneous decrease in 13c gives a range expected for c3 type vegetation this period also shows significant 18o and 13c spikes which are correlatable with global events e g heinrich events and the younger dryas stade the speleothems that grew between 10 000 and 7000 yr b p have a unique petrography showing irregular thin laminae of various colors and much detritus they have the lowest 18o corresponding to 1000 mm rain coupled with the highest 13c caused by flooding events which stripped the soil cover from 7000 to 1000 yr b p conditions became closer to those of today this study demonstrates that global events which were recognized in northern europe and north africa are also evident in the eastern mediterranean and are reflected principally by large changes in the rainfall rate

carbonate preservation and climatic changes in the central red sea during the last 380 kyr as recorded by pteropods abstract numerical abundances of pteropods and planktic foraminifera and the mode of pteropod preservation were determined in core kl 11 taken from the central part of the red sea the abundance of pteropods shells g dry sediment was compared to that of planktic foraminifera pt pf pt a technique that permits detection of changes in carbonate preservation for the last 380 kyr the numerical abundance of pteropods is influenced by the properties of the water column and preservation is influenced by the bottom water during the last 200 kyr except during isotope stage 5 5 carbonates are in general well preserved during this period the abundance pattern of the pteropods and planktic foraminifera is very similar and follows the climatic signal of the red sea with high numbers during the interglacial stages changing to very low numbers during glacial maximum conditions the similar abundance trends of the two groups and between them and the 18o curve indicates abundance is strongly linked to salinity from isotope stage 6 to the bottom of the core the pteropods occur in low numbers unlike the planktic foraminifera which continue to display the high amplitude glacial interglacial cyclicity the deviations mainly during interglacial stages between the abundance pattern of the two groups and the low pt pf pt values indicate a significant change in carbonate preservation distinctive carbonate dissolution intervals are recognized in the red sea correlating to large scale deep water dissolution events of the mid brunhes dissolution cycle in the indian ocean the anti estuarine circulation pattern of the red sea prevents a direct connection between the deep water masses of the two oceans and rules out the likelihood that changes in the deep water circulation caused these carbonate dissolution events the numerical variations between nonmigratory epipelagic and migratory mesopelagic pteropods were used to evaluate changes in the structure of the water column abundance maxima of mesopelagic pteropods as in the recent red sea indicate an aerated water column with 0 5 ml o2 l oxygen concentrations at the minimum zone mesopelagic abundance maxima coincide commonly with negative monsoonal index values indicating a more aerated water column connected to increasing aridity in the red sea region abundance maxima of epipelagic pteropods indicate a strongly stratified water column at times causing severe depletion in oxygen at intermediate water depths epipelagic peak events coincide often with positive monsoon index values implying an overall milder and more humid climate in the red sea probably associated with enhanced precessional controlled southwest monsoon activity

contrasting rhyolite suites in the late cenozoic of papua new guinea rhyolite is found in several late cenozoic volcanic areas in papua new guinea including 1 new britain and islands to the north where rhyolite compositions correspond to different depths to a benioff zone 2 the st andrew strait area in the northern bismarck sea where alkali rhyolites are the only rock types found on tuluman lou and pam tlp islands 3 the moresby strait area in the d entrecasteaux islands where alkali rhyolites similar in composition to the tlp rhyolites are found together with basalts andesites and dacites and 4 the dawson strait area also in the d entrecasteaux islands where the rhyolites are comenditic peralkaline and markedly different from all other rhyolite types known from papua new guinea the tlp and moresby strait rhyolites are thought to have been formed by partial melting of mafic crust whereas the peralkaline dawson strait suite has apparently originated by crystal fractionation crystal fractionation has also been proposed as the cause of rhyolite genesis on willaumez peninsula and at rabaul in new britain however the supporting evidence is not conclusive and partial melting of young arc crust is a more acceptable alternative at least for the abundant rhyolites of central willaumez peninsula

miocene magnesian andesites and dacites evia greece adakites associated with subducting slab detachment and extension abstract mid miocene volcanic rocks are rare in the aegean region although early miocene and late miocene quaternary volcanism is widespread at oxylithos island of evia 14 ma dacites form a dome or sub volcanic complex phreatomagmatic eruptions formed nearby rhyolitic pyroclastic surge deposits the calc alkaline dacites contain bronzite mg rich clinopyroxene phlogopite and plagioclase phenocrysts the magma results from mixing of a mg rich andesitic magma similar to that in the nearby island of skyros with more felsic magmas represented by the rhyolitic pyroclastics the dacites are geochemically similar to adakites which are derived by partial melting of eclogitic subducted oceanic crust and have low y and yb and high sr y ratio 87 sr 86 sr 0 7095 is found in both dacite and rhyolite lead isotopic composition from the high mg andesite from skyros with 207 pb 204 pb 15 70 and 208 pb 204 pb 38 90 forms a linear trend with evia dacite and rhyolite with 207 pb 204 pb 15 71 and 208 pb 204 pb 39 05 the high temperatures required to produce such magma resulted from decompression due to extension of the aegean basin at the same time as the initial intrusion of the detached subducted slab in the western aegean that has been imaged by seismic tomography the oxylithos rocks extend the known occurrences of adakite series rocks this series is not restricted to sites with subduction of young oceanic crust

abrupt onset and termination of the african humid period rapid climate responses to gradual insolation forcing a detailed ca 100 yr resolution and well dated 18 ams 14 c dates to 23 cal ka bp record of latest pleistocene holocene variations in terrigenous eolian sediment deposition at odp site 658c off cap blanc mauritania documents very abrupt large scale changes in subtropical north african climate the terrigenous record exhibits a well defined period of low influx between 14 8 and 5 5 cal ka bp associated with the african humid period when the sahara was nearly completely vegetated and supported numerous perennial lakes an arid interval corresponding to the younger dryas chronozone punctuates this humid period the african humid period has been attributed to a strengthening of the african monsoon due to gradual orbital increases in summer season insolation however the onset and termination of this humid period were very abrupt occurring within decades to centuries both transitions occurred when summer season insolation crossed a nearly identical threshold value which was 4 2 greater than present these abrupt climate responses to gradual insolation forcing require strongly non linear feedback processes and current coupled climate model studies invoke vegetation and ocean temperature feedbacks as candidate mechanisms for the non linear climate sensitivity the african monsoon climate system is thus a low latitude corollary to the bi stable behavior of high latitude deep ocean thermohaline circulation which is similarly capable of rapid and large amplitude climate transitions

timing and hydrological conditions of sapropel events in the eastern mediterranean as evident from speleothems soreq cave israel this paper explores the connection between the timing of sapropel events in the eastern mediterranean sea and the time of low 18o events in speleothems of the soreq cave israel a new well dated 18o and 13c profile of the soreq cave speleothems for the last 140 kyr reveals five prominent low 18o events dated at 124 to 119 kyr with the main peak at 122 kyr event v 108 to 100 kyr with peaks at 107 and 102 kyr event iv 85 to 79 kyr with peak at 80 kyr event iii 55 to 52 kyr with a peak at 54 kyr event ii and 8 5 to 7 kyr with peaks at 8 5 and 7 kyr event i these events are characteristic of period of enhanced rainfall in the eastern mediterranean area particularly so for events v and i where the marked decrease in 18o and the correspondingly marked increase in 13c indicate very wet conditions the chronology of the low 18o events v iv iii and i match the ages estimated for the formation of sapropels s5 s4 s3 and s1 which are also associated with high hydrological activity thus it is suggested that the low 18o events in the soreq cave speleothems constrain the maximum duration of the sapropel formation pollen data from the sapropel layers and the isotopic pattern of the speleothems indicate that sapropels s5 and s1 were deposited during very wet periods when there were major decrease in the sea surface salinity coupled with frost free winters and drought free summers sapropels s4 and s3 were formed during periods of increased precipitation but ones in which the general climate was mediterranean semi arid

geophysical and morpho tectonic study of the transition between seafloor spreading and continental rifting western woodlark basin papua new guinea abstract two major morpho tectonic domains separated by a major transfer zone are described at the transition between seafloor spreading and continental rifting in the western woodlark basin off shore eastern papua new guinea the oceanic domain comprises new oceanic crust formed during the bruhnes epoch older transitional crust and the rifted continental margins two rift branches are recognized within the continental domain the southern rift branch has failed while the northern branch is a locus of maximum extension with initial development of oceanic crustal accretion based on magnetic data seafloor spreading in the western part of the woodlark basin commenced between 3 5 and 2 5 ma along the northern margin of the basin and maintained its position adjacent to this margin up to 0 8 ma jaramillo event just prior to the bruhnes epoch the seafloor spreading axis jumped southward to its current position frequent jumps of seafloor spreading centers and relocation of paleoaxes indicate the instability of the woodlark extensional system the transition between the two domains is characterized by differential localization of extensional strain variations in the localization can result from progressive change of extensional mode when the initial rifting evolves into seafloor spreading and or from differences in lithospheric rheology as the rift propagates into the continental margin a consequence of such variations is the massive production of new oceanic crust during seafloor spreading which is being balanced across the transfer zone by broadly distributed deformation within continental lithosphere

ages of quaternary pluvial episodes determined by uranium series and radiocarbon dating of lacustrine deposits of eastern sahara abstract as documented by radiocarbon dating and geoarchaeological investigations the now hyperarid northwestern sudan and southwestern egypt experienced a period of greater effective moisture during early and middle holocene time about 10 5 ka we have used the uranium series technique to date lacustrine carbonates from bir tarfawi bir sahara east wadi hussein oyo depression and the great selima sand sheet localities results indicate five paleolakeforming episodes occurred at about 320 250 240 190 155 120 90 65 and 10 5 ka four of these five pluvial episodes may be correlated with major interglacial stages 9 7 5e and 1 the 90 65 ka episode may be correlated with substage 5c or 5a our results support the contention that past pluvial episodes in north africa corresponded to the interglacial periods farther north ages of lacustrine carbonates from existing oases and from the sand sheet fail to indicate pluvial conditions between about 60 and 30 ka age results and field relationships suggest that the oldest lake and ground water deposited carbonates were much more extensive than those of the younger period and that carbonate of the latest wet periods were geographically localized within depressions and buried channels

timing and intensity of groundwater movement during egyptian sahara pluvial periods by u series analysis of secondary u in ores and carbonates abstract wet climatic episodes are known to have prevailed in the egyptian sahara several times during the late quaternary most recently during the holocene 8000 yr ago earlier wet episodes have been recognized as having occurred during the past 300 000 yr and have been dated by u series methods in speleothems and in lake travertines we show here that the times of enhanced groundwater movement can also be determined by 230 th 234 u dating of secondary u in ores of uranium iron and phosphate we also present evidence that such acceleration of groundwater movements is indicated by relatively low 234 u 238 u activity ratios in the secondary uranium our new data show that pluvial periods in egypt occurred during marine oxygen isotope stages 4 5 6 and 7 and therefore are consistent with the view that the wet episodes are the results of migration of the tropical monsoonal belt driven primarily by the 23 000 yr precession cycle of the milankovich curve modulated by the 100 000 yr eccentricity cycle

intraplate type magmatism in a continent island arc collision zone porgera intrusive complex papua new guinea cogenetic volatile rich alkali basalts and gabbros hawaiites and mugearites occur in the late miocene age epizonal porgera intrusive complex which is temporally and spatially associated with rich gold silver mineralization the least evolved rocks show enrichments in light rare earth elements la yb sub cn 15 19 and other incompatible elements e g ba la approx 8 10 la nb approx 0 6 0 7 sr nd approx 25 characteristic of intraplate alkalic basalts and have isotopic compositions sup 87 sr sup 86 sr approx 0 7035 epsilon sub nd approx 6 sup 206 pb sup 204 pb approx 18 66 sup 207 pb sup 204 pb approx 15 56 sup 298 pb sup 204 pb approx 38 55 consistent with derivation from a time averaged depleted mantle source the porgera intrusive complex was emplaced at 6 ma in jurassic cretaceous shelf facies sedimentary rocks near the edge of the australasian plate intrusion appears to have occurred in a back arc environment during subduction of an oceanic microplate segment on two sides beneath the continental margin and an island arc we suggest that this unusual tectonic setting promoted partial melting of asthenospheric source materials that were perhaps modified by deep 150 km subduction processes to form alkalic magmas with intraplate character

possible seismogenic shallow dipping normal faults in the woodlark d entrecasteaux extensional province papua new guinea active normal faults dipping less than 30 have not been documented in the seismic record but they are commonly observed in geologic structures one interpretation is that seismogenic low angle faulting is physically impossible and that the geologic structures do not form at shallow dips to better examine this problem teleseismic body waves were inverted to determine source parameters for five large earthquakes in the woodlark d9entrecasteaux region a rare example of active continental extension associated with pliocene quaternary metamorphic core complexes the inversions show that at least two and possibly four events are consistent with normal dip slip on shallow dipping faults the largest earthquake m w 6 8 is located near the mapped core complexes the shallow dipping plane for this event determined to dip between 10 and 25 is nearly coplanar to the faults bounding the core complexes and may represent slip on these or other parallel low angle structures although slip on the conjugate high angle plane cannot be ruled out observations of quaternary uplift and the similarity to the adjacent core complex bounding structures favor motion on the low angle plane similar earthquake mechanisms have not yet been documented in most other extensional provinces perhaps because instances of active core complex exhumation are rare

catastrophic arid episodes in the eastern mediterranean linked with the north atlantic heinrich events the response of continental climate to the well documented climate oscillations during the last glacial period has been a subject of intense interest yet much less is known about the influence on regional continental climates than in the marine or polar realms of earth the detailed lake level history of the closed lake lisan paleo dead sea in the middle east has been reconstructed from shoreline indications and high resolution u th and 1 4 c chronologies thus providing data on the response of the lake s catchment area to the climate changes during the corresponding period we present a correlation between the newly developed lake lisan level curve for the past 55 k y and the north atlantic heinrich events the correlation indicates a closely connected climate response between these north atlantic events and the hydrologic conditions that prevailed in the eastern mediterranean our findings show that although the generally cooler conditions that prevailed during the last glaciation favored high levels of the lake catastrophic events in the north atlantic which are associated with maximum cooling have been responsible for droughts in the eastern mediterranean we infer that cold water input to the mediterranean originating in the collapse of the north atlantic deep water circulation caused the reduction of evaporation and less precipitation in the eastern mediterranean

rainfall in the negev desert during the middle holocene based on 13c of organic matter in land snail shells abstract analysis of stable carbon isotope ratios 13 c 12 c of organic matter in land snail shells is used to infer middle holocene rainfall amounts in the negev desert by reconstructing the distribution of c 4 plants in the family chenopodiaceae the organics are derived from the diet of the snails which consists of plant material and are enriched in 13 c where c 4 plants are present a survey of modern plant communities indicates that in areas receiving 300 mm mean annual rainfall nearly all plant communities consist of c 3 species only no c 4 chenopodes whereas in areas under 230 mm rainfall most plant communities contain one or more c 4 chenopode species in between is a transition zone consisting of a mosaic of both pure c 3 and mixed c 3 c 4 plant communities isotopic results for fossil land snails indicate a consistent geographic pattern throughout the middle holocene from ca 6500 to 3000 yr b p with the transition zone located ca 20 km south of its present position this implies a near doubling of rainfall within this region as compared to present

paleoclimate and vegetation of the last glacial cycles in jerusalem from a speleothem record a speleothem isotopic record taken from jerusalem is used to reconstruct regional climate over the last 170 000 years glacial periods in jerusalem were generally cooler and wetter than the present climate stage 5e in the desert margin of jerusalem was extremely unstable dry and warm and instability persisted throughout the transition to glacial conditions the climate after stage 5e became gradually cooler and wetter over a 20 000 year interval and did not recover to interglacial conditions in stages 5c and 5a the 13 c varied by up to 12 from glacial stages 6 4 3 2 values of 10 to 12 that reflect dense c 3 vegetation above the studied cave and up to 0 in early stage 5 when there was probably complete loss of vegetation the climatic instability during interglacial periods is much larger than during glacial periods and glacial interglacial transitions do not behave the same in each climatic cycle in this region

evidence in cerro pampa volcanic rocks for slab melting prior to ridge trench collision in southern south america late miocene approx 12 ma hornblende bearing andesitic to dacitic documentclass aastex usepackage amsbsy usepackage amsfonts usepackage amssymb usepackage bm usepackage mathrsfs usepackage pifont usepackage stmaryrd usepackage textcomp usepackage portland xspace usepackage amsmath amsxtra usepackage wasysym pagestyle empty declaremathsizes 10 9 7 6 begin document mathrm 63 to 68 sio 2 1 2 to 1 9 k 2 o end document adakite flows at the small cerro pampa center in patagonia 47 55 s 71 25 have some of the clearest slab melt geochemical signatures yet seen in a phanerozoic center on continental crust these magmas formed in response to melting of the hot thin slab that was subducting beneath south america prior to the collision of the chile rise at approx 6 ma or at approx 10 ma their n morb like 87 sr 86 sr 0 70285 0 70309 and low 206 pb 204 pb 18 44 18 59 ratios show that they could have been generated by

high magmatic flux during alpine himalayan collision constraints from the kal e kafi complex central iran voluminous eocene gabbros to granites of the kal e kafi backarc composite intrusion were emplaced prior to the alpine himalayan collision in the central iranian backarc but the reasons for precollisional high arc and backarc magmatic productivity 60 53 ma are unclear diagnostic geochemical signatures are high k2o sr contents and successively depleted middle rare earth element ree patterns reflecting a highly metasomatized source and an increasing role for amphibole and garnet 0 10 in the relatively younger granites release of concealed k sr rich fluids from oceanic fractures and faults during buckling and bulging of a precollisional choking oceanic slab and melting of phlogopite bearing lithosphere with subsequent interaction of the melt with lower crustal garnet amphibolite of a 40 km thick crust can explain the kal e kafi geochemical and isotopic signatures gravimetric data indicating a 39 km present day backarc crustal thickness are consistent with geochemical results but also imply little if any collisional crustal thickening of the central iranian plateau high eocene arc backarc melt flux prior to collision in this region reflects vigorous thermal convection which may in fact be diagnostic of collisional magmatism explaining the presence of postcollisional shoshonitic melts in this and other collisional orogenic settings

humidity changes in southern tunisia during the late pleistocene inferred from u th dating of mollusc shells abstract calcareous deposits mainly consisting of mollusc shell accumulations which have been dated by the u th disequilibrium method mark the shorelines of paleolake highstands in the great chotts area of southern tunisia the 5 sites studied consist of discontinuous accumulations of fossils of marine like organisms e g cerastoderma glaucum melania tuberculata melanopsis praemorsa cerithium rupestre u th isochron plots and age frequency histograms for 39 shell samples are reported here limited variations for u content and 234u 238u activity ratios ar of shells support the hypothesis of closure of the geochemical system with respect to this element it is remarkable that 234u 238u ar of shells collected in chott fejej or chott jerid are clustered around different values reflecting probably different groundwater recharge from the continental intercalaire ci or complexe terminal ct aquifers furthermore waters collected near wadi el akarit show 234u 238u ar values comparable to those observed for shells 14c determinations made on aliquots of some of these samples suggested an age distribution between 18 and 34 ka bp the u th data of these 39 shell samples imply that 4 distinct flood episodes of these lakes occurred at about 30 95 100 130 150 and 180 200 ka for the episode centred around 30 ka the frequency histogram of ages shows a multimodal age group that could represent the existence of several humid pulses rather than a unique event moreover the comparison of 13c and 18o with those of older humid pleistocene phases when very large palaeolakes have been recorded suggests that these young carbonate shells are not related to a true highstand lake it is suggested that they represent a period of less humid climatic conditions with carbonate accumulation in minor water ponds in which intensive biological activity could have taken place it should be noted that this period was less arid than the present

repeated crustal thickening and recycling during the andean orogeny in north chile 21 26 s posttectonic granitoids 2 lower crustal p wave velocities of 7 3 7 7 km s 1 compatible with underplated mafic crust and 3 results from recent experimental petrologic work showing garnet stability in mafic mineralogies 12 kbar 40 km crustal thickness analogous to older andean magmatic episodes in north chile newly underplated basaltic crust may account for the remaining deficit in neogene crustal thickening similar evolutionary patterns in geochemistry and initial sr and nd isotopic characteristics of andean 200 ma to present magmatic rocks suggest that the andean orogeny in this region evolved by a combination of processes of repeated arc migration tectonic and magmatic crustal thickening and igneous recycling which was controlled by periodically changing plate convergence rates and obliquity and corresponding changes in the rheologic behavior of the continental crust index terms 1020 geochemistry composition of the crust 1030 geochemistry geochemical cycles 0330 8159 evolution of the earth rheology crust and lithosphere 9360 information related to geographic region south america keywords andean orogeny continental crust recycling adakite ttg crustal thickening

geochemical characteristics of the kuh e dom intrusion urumieh dokhtar magmatic arc iran implications for source regions and magmatic evolution abstract the kuh e dom pluton is located along the central northeastern margin of the urumieh dokhtar magmatic arc spanning a wide range of compositions from felsic rocks including granite granodiorite and quartz monzonite through to intermediate mafic rocks comprising monzonite monzodiorite diorite monzogabbro and gabbro the urumieh dokhtar magmatic arc forms a distinct linear magmatic complex that is aligned parallel with the orogenic suture of the zagros fold thrust belt most samples display characteristics of metaluminous high k calc alkaline i type granitoids the initial isotopic signatures range from end 47 ma 4 77 to 5 89 and 87 sr 86 sr i 0 7069 to 0 7074 for felsic rocks and end 47 ma 3 04 to 4 06 and 87 sr 86 sr i 0 7063 to 0 7067 for intermediate to mafic rocks this geochemical and isotopic evidence support a mixed origin for the kuh e dom hybrid granitoid with a range of contributions of both the crust and mantle most probably by the interaction between lower crust and mantle derived magmas it is seem the felsic rocks incorporate about 56 74 lower crust derived magma and about 26 44 of the enriched mantle derived mafic magma in contrast 66 84 of the enriched mantle derived mafic magma incorporates 16 34 of lower crust derived magma to generate the intermediate mafic rocks according to the differences in chemical composition the felsic rocks contain a higher proportion of crustal material than the intermediate to mafic ones enrichment in liles and depletion in hfses with marked negative nb ba and ti anomalies are consistent with subduction related magmatism in an active continental margin arc environment this suggestion is consistent with the interpretation of the urumieh dokhtar magmatic arc as an active continental margin during subduction of the neotethys oceanic crust beneath the central iranian microcontinent

adakite like signature of porphyry granitoid stocks in the meiduk and parkam porphyry copper deposits ne of shahr e babak kerman iran constrains on geochemistry abstract the middle miocene porphyry granitoid stocks of meiduk and parkam porphyry copper deposits are intruded in the north western part of the dehaj sarduiyeh volcano sedimentary belt in the south eastern extension of the urumieh dukhtar magmatic arc udma in iran the porphyritic to microgranular granitoids are mainly consist of quartz diorite granodiorite and diorite the whole rock geochemical analyses of these rocks reveals sub alkaline calc alkaline meta peraluminous and i type characteristics their geochemical characteristics such as al 2 o 3 content of 13 51 17 05 wt high sr concentration mostly 400 ppm low yb an average of 0 74 ppm and y an average of 9 02 ppm contents strongly differentiated ree patterns la yb 20 lack of eu anomaly eu eu 1 are indicative of adakitic signature their enrichment in low field strength elements lfse and conspicuous negative anomalies for nb ta and ti are typical of subduction related magmas detailed petrological studies and geochemical data indicated that meiduk and parkam porphyry granitoids were derived from amphibole fractionation of hydrous melts at a depth of 40 km in a post collisional tectonic setting

continental oxygen isotopic record of the last 170 000 years in jerusalem abstract a long radiometrically dated oxygen isotopic record of continental climatic variations since the penultimate glaciation was obtained from a stalagmite deposited in a sealed cave in jerusalem this record shows that speleothems have the potential of assigning dates to long and short term climatic events with possible refining of milankovitch tuning of ice and marine records which themselves are not datable short term 1000 yr events are very significant in the region reaching 50 of glacial interglacial fluctuations the mediterranean sea was the most probable source of local precipitation throughout the last glacial cycle

d h ratios of fluid inclusions of soreq cave israel speleothems as a guide to the eastern mediterranean meteoric line relationships in the last 120 ky abstract d h studies of fluid inclusions of speleothems of the soreq cave israel are made using the method of vacuum thermal extraction d h measurements of present day carbonate pool margins and waters show that the value of the vacuum thermal extraction fractionation ex d extracted water d cave water is 30 0 1 4 for the soreq cave deposits d h analyses of fluid inclusions of two fossil speleothems formed during periods equivalent to glacial times suggest that their isotopic compositions follow the global meteoric water line mwl d 18 o relationship compared to present day waters which follow the mediterranean meteoric water line mmwl trend two samples from interglacial periods show isotopic trends between these lines these differences are presumed to reflect cooler less evaporative conditions in the eastern mediterranean sea during glacial times

partial melting of subducting oceanic crust the conditions under which partial melting of subducting oceanic crust occurs can be determined by combining a partial melting model for basaltic compositions with two dimensional thermal models of subduction zones for porosities of 1 containing h20 the amount of partial melt generated at the wet basaltic solidus is limited to 100 mpa can be maintained by rocks close to or above their melting temperatures in the absence of high shear stresses substantial melting of the oceanic crust will only occur during subduction of very young 5 ma oceanic lithosphere partial melting of hydrated basalt amphibolites derived from the mid ocean ridge has been proposed e g 1 3 as being responsible for the generation of certain recent high al andesitic to dacitic volcanic rocks adakites three of these volcanic suites mount st helens southern chile and panama occur in volcanic arcs where oceanic crust 25 ma is being subducted at rates of 1 3 cm yr and the calculated thermal regime is several hundreds of degrees hotter than more typical subduction zone environments however oceanic lithosphere is not currently being subducted beneath baja and new guinea where recent adakites are also present suggesting that some adakite magmas may form by water undersaturated partial melting of underplated mafic lower crust or previously subducted oceanic crust further experimental work on compositions representative of oceanic crust is required to define the depth of possible adakite source regions more accurately

500 ka precipitation record from southeastern australia evidence for interglacial relative aridity 230 th 234 u dating of speleothems from southeastern australia documents changes in effective precipitation over the past 500 k y at a temporal resolution not previously achieved results show that the highest effective precipitation for the southeastern interior of australia occurred during stadials and cool interstadials of the past four glacial cycles interglacials and warm interstadials as well as glacial maxima are comparatively arid we suggest that lower regional temperatures over the continent and changes in atmospheric circulation stronger walker circulation produced the observed periods of increased effective precipitation

a synthetic pollen record of the eastern mediterranean sapropels of the last 1 ma implications for the time scale and formation of sapropels abstract the quaternary climate of southern europe south italy and greece is investigated by pollen analysis of the sapropels which were deposited in the deep eastern mediterranean sea during the last 1 million year ma the time scale of core kc01b in the ionian sea has been established by tuning its oxygen isotopic record to the ice volume model of imbrie and imbrie 1980 for the last 250 000 year 250 ka the previous pollen studies and astronomical tuning have been confirmed sapropels were deposited under a large range of mediterranean climates fully interglacial fully glacial and intermediary as revealed mainly by the balance between the respective pollen abundances of oak quercus and sage brush artemisia the high value of the oak reveals the warm and wet climate of an interglacial and the high value of the sage brush the dry and cold climate of a glacial whereas the mediterranean climate is directly related to the variation of the high latitude ice sheets the deposition of sapropels is not so in contrast with the wide climatic range sapropels were deposited only when summer insolation in the low latitudes reached its highest peaks however between 250 ka and 1 ma that stable pattern is not yet established only six sapropels are observed many expected ones do not appear even as ghosts signalled by peaks of barium abundance that remain after the post deposition oxidation of organic matter the pattern of sapropel formation in stable and direct relationship to highest insolation does not seem to apply for five of those sapropels neither climate extremes are observed they mainly formed during intermediary types of mediterranean climate in contrast one sapropel and one ghost relates to a relatively low peak of insolation and its climate is of a unique composite type not seen later this might suggest an unsuspected more complex pattern linking the formation of mediterranean sapropels to the astronomical configuration

dating lacustrine episodes in the eastern sahara by the epimerization of isoleucine in ostrich eggshells the eggshell of the african ostrich struthio camelus closely approximates a closed system for the retention of indigenous proteinaceous residues epimerization of the protein amino acid isoleucine follows linear first order kinetics in laboratory simulations nearly to racemic equilibrium and the variation in d l ratio within a single fragment or between fragments of the same age is significantly less than in other carbonate systems these observations suggest that the extent of isoleucine epimerization aile ile ratio in ostrich eggshell offers the potential for high resolution geochronology of quaternary deposits from the simulation experiments and dated early holocene samples for which we have in situ mean annual sediment temperature measurements arrhenius parameters have been calculated the activation energy is 30 33 kcal mol 1 similar to that of other carbonate systems we have measured the aile ile ratio in ostrich eggshell associated with lacustrine episodes at bir tarfawi and bir sahara east two depressions in what is currently the hyperarid eastern sahara the ratios can be used directly to indicate qualitatively the time represented by each series of lake sediment and to correlate disjunct lacustrine deposits within and between the basins uranium series disequilibrium dating of algal mats contained within some of the lake beds indicate that a major wet interval occurred about 130 ka ago using the u series date for calibration the amino acid ratios are used to date the most recent lacustrine interval to about 100 ka b p and two older intervals one about 200 25 ka b p and an older interval that occurred prior to 250 ka ago

adakites from collision modified lithosphere 1 adakitic melts from papua new guinea png show adakitic geochemical characteristics yet their geodynamic context is unclear modern adakites are associated with hot slab melting and or remelting of orogenic mafic underplate at convergent margins rift propagation over collision modified lithosphere may explain the png adakite enigma as png was influenced by rapid creation and subduction of oceanic microplates since mesozoic times in a new rift tectonic regime decompressional rift melts encountered and melted remnant mafic eclogite and or garnet amphibolite slab fragments in arc collisional modified mantle and partially equilibrated with metasomatized mantle alternatively hot slab melting in a proposed newborn subduction zone along the trobriand trough could generate adakitic melts but recent seismic p wave tomographic models lack evidence for subducting oceanic lithosphere in the adakite melt region however they do show deep subduction zone remnants as a number of high p wave anomalies at lithospheric depths which supports our proposed scenario

changing moisture sources over the last 330 000 years in northern oman from fluid inclusion evidence in speleothems speleothems from hoti cave in northern oman provide a record of continental pluvial periods over the last 330 000 yr periods of rapid speleothem deposition occurred from 6000 to 10 500 78 000 to 82 000 120 000 to 135 000 180 000 to 200 000 and 300 000 to 330 000 yr ago with little or no growth during the intervening periods during each of these five pluvial periods d values of water extracted from speleothem fluid inclusions dfi are between 60 and 20 vsmow and 18o values of speleothem calcite 18oc are between 12 and 4 to vpdb these values are much more negative than modern rainfall for d or modern stalagmites for 18o previous work on the isotopic composition of rainfall in oman has shown that northern and southern moisture sources are isotopically distinct combined measurements of the d values of fluid inclusion water with calculated 18o values from peak interglacial speleothems indicate that groundwater was predominantly recharged by the southern indian ocean moisture source when the monsoon rainfall belt moved northward and reached northern oman during each of these periods

late quaternary climatic reconstruction for the maghreb north africa abstract the paleoclimatic evolution of the maghreb since 40 000 yr b p is not yet known in great detail for that purpose data from more than 35 sites have been collected although only about 11014c dates and a few prehistoric remains can be used to correlate these data however the sites are well distributed over the maghreb and the convergent results from paleosoils paleolakes alluvian or eolian deposits pollen analysis etc induce one to draw up a certain pattern in climatic evolution for the period between 40 000 and 20 000 yr b p the data are still fragmentary but are concordant in indicating wetter environments generalized as far as the northern sahara the effect of dropping temperatures on the increasing water budget and soil moisture is not yet clear but rainfall could have been more regular and more abundant as a consequence of the shifting of middle latitude cyclone paths towards the south in both summer and winter the environmental indicators show that between about 20 and 18 000 yr b p rainfall progressively became more irregular however proofs of aridity in the south maghreb and the northern sahara is evident only for the period between 12 10 000 yr b p at that time the saharan high pressure belt was reinforced and well established at higher latitudes than at present this dry climate lasted more or less until the thermal optimum after 6000 yr b p there is some evidence that the climate became wetter again but the environmental conditions were rather different from those of before 20 000 yr b p for instance the middle holocene dark humic sois are the result of a pedogenesis different from that of the late pleistocene reddish paleosoils for the last two millennia it is not easy to distinguish between a natural trend towards aridification and desertification through man s intervention

climatic conditions during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 in the eastern mediterranean region from the isotopic composition of speleothems of soreq cave israel at several times during marine oxygen isotope stage 6 the eastern mediterranean region was influenced by two extreme climatic systems the large ice sheet over northern europe and the wet tropics associated with african monsoons during this interval two major climatic events occurred in the region the sapropel s6 layer formed ca 176 ka in the eastern mediterranean basin owing to the increase in the african monsoon and another event although not large enough to form sapropel occurred ca 151 ka the isotopic composition of soreq cave speleothems seems to record these events as very low 18 o 13 c values dated as ca 178 and 152 ka the very low 18 o 13 c values of 6 and 11 to 12 respectively are typical of interglacial intervals but here they were recorded during a glacial interval such low peaks indicate that in this part of the eastern mediterranean region i e israel the rainfall amount increased dramatically moreover the isotopic record of the speleothems also shows that during the entire stage 6 although the climate was as cold as much of the last glacial the conditions were never as dry

continental rifting and initial sea floor spreading in the woodlark basin our understanding of the processes by which continents rift and sea floor spreading initiates is derived primarily from studies either of old passive margins and oceanic crust or of young regions of intra continental extension where spreading has not yet started it has been thought that continental rifting ceases when sea floor spreading begins1 2 that oceanic fracture zones develop from transfer or transform faults within continental rifts3 4 and that linear magnetic anomalies correlate with the onset of sea floor spreading during times of magnetic reversals5 6 here we present a marine geophysical survey of one of the few active examples of continental rifting and spreading initiation the western woodlark basin papuan peninsula region of new guinea which shows that in detail these assumptions do not hold the data confirm models of the rifting to spreading transition that invoke both ridge propagation and nucleation of discrete spreading cells7 10 and provide an unambiguous example of a spreading centre reorienting by synchronous jumping rather than propagation

linking cu mineralization to host porphyry emplacement re os ages of molybdenites versus u pb ages of zircons and sulfur isotope compositions of pyrite and chalcopyrite from the iju and sarkuh porphyry deposits in southeast iran the kerman copper belt in iran contains a number of important porphyry copper deposits including sarkuh and iju molybdenite re os isotope dating of the sarkuh and iju porphyry copper deposits shows that mineralization occurred at 15 14 0 08 and 9 8 0 06 ma respectively compared with the previous re os dating of molybdenite in the region it is revealed that cu mineralization was an ongoing process in an arc setting during the miocene the available zircon dates of the granitic rocks from the sarkuh 15 18 0 43 ma and iju 9 27 0 50 ma porphyry copper deposits indicate that the mineralization occurred contemporaneously with the emplacement of collision related ore hosting porphyries the re content 1 715 40 ppm of molybdenite and the 34 s cdt values 0 05 of pyrite chalcopyrite from iju are consistent with its origin of sulfur and metals from a dominantly mantle source however the lower re content 302 21 ppm of molybdenite and higher 34 s cdt values 3 20 of pyrite chalcopyrite from sarkuh suggest additional contributions from crustal materials it is likely that the younger porphyry copper deposits in the kerman copper belt such as iju are related to the greater contribution of postcollisional mantle derived magmas while the older deposits e g sarkuh were formed during the collisional event at the oligocene miocene interval where the magma had some additions from the lower crustal melts generated during crustal thickening

adakites without a slab remelting of hydrous basalt in the crust and shallow mantle of borneo to produce the miocene sintang suite and bau suite magmatism of west sarawak abstract we present new geochronological and geochemical data for neogene magmatism from west sarawak zircon u pb geochronology divides neogene magmatic rocks of west sarawak into a lower miocene west sarawak sintang suite with ages of c 19 to 21 ma and a middle miocene bau suite with ages of c 12 to 14 ma magmatism occurred in multiple short lived pulses from approximately 24 ma and was coeval with magmatic activity in nw kalimantan and east kalimantan the majority of but not all bau suite samples display adakitic chemistry while the west sarawak sintang suite is predominantly non adakitic there was no active subduction zone or subducted slab associated with this adakitic magmatism instead the geochemical diversity is consistent with the bau and west sarawak sintang suites representing mixtures of mafic mantle derived magma with felsic magma derived from remelting of hydrous mafic rock that had been emplaced into the lithosphere of borneo as arc basalt tens or hundreds of millions of years previously this origin is most evident in the main sintang suite of central borneo kalimantan which has preserved less contaminated examples of the mafic endmember this endmember resembles basaltic rocks from several locations across borneo suggesting that intraplate mantle derived magmatism was responsible for remelting older hydrated basaltic rocks in the crust

partial melting of two amphibolites contrasting experimental results under fluid absent conditions a large portion of the lower continental crust may be amphibolitic in composition and without a free fluid phase as a consequence h2o undersaturated or fluid absent melting of amphibolites may be responsible for the formation of some granites and migmatites produced during major orogenic events in an attempt to determine the systematics of melting under fluid absent conditions a series of piston cylinder experiments was conducted on two natural amphibolites one a meta alkali basalt aba with a total water content of wt contained in hornblende and the other a meta island arc tholeiite iat which has 1 1 3 wt water contained in hornblende cummingtonite and biotite the experimentally determined melting ranges of the two amphibolites showed that the solidus temperatures and sta temperature interval over which amphibole was stable were controlled by the amphibolites different bulk compositions and their resulting metamorphic assemblages the volume of melt produced by melting of the two amphibolites were compared with estimated amounts based on burnham s 1979 water melt solubility model and the fluid absent melting model presented by clemens and vielzeuf 1987 the observed melt volumes were greater than estimated as the water content of melt largely detemines the volume of melt produced independent measurements of the water content of the glass formed during partial melting in the aba were made by thermogravimetric analyses the water content of the aba glass is 2 wt which is less than the assumed melt water content water content of the melt used in previous modeling of fluidabsent anatexis in mafic lithologies as a consequence more melt can be expected during fluid absent partial melting of mafic lower crust as is observed in the experiments a modification of the clemens and vielzeuf 1987 fluid absent melting model for mafic compositions has been made using the experimental data available on melting in basaltic systems and is presented here for pressures of 5 8 and 10 kbar tectonic scenarios in which the crust is thickened i e by collision then undergoes extension or where a previously thinned crust is later rethickened provide enough heat so that amphibolite melting under fluid absent conditions can become importan and hence responsible for some melts produced during post collisional magmatism the results may also have applications to melting in hydrated oceanic crust in subduction zones and in island arc terains

thermochronologic constraints on the tectonic evolution of active metamorphic core complexes d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea metamorphic core complexes in the d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea formed as the result of active extension at the western end of the propagating woodlark basin spreading center domes of high grade metamorphic rocks i e amphibolites eclogites and migmatites intruded by large granodiorite bodies comprise the lower plate of the d entrecasteaux metamorphic core complexes the domes are transected by kilometer scale shear zones a thermochronologic study of the d entrecasteaux islands utilizing k ar 40ar 39ar and fission track techniques has documented the unroofing history of these active metamorphic core complexes gneisses in the cores of the domes cooled rapidly 100 c m y as indicated by hornblende and biotite 40ar 39ar apparent ages of 2 7 to 3 0 ma and 1 6 to 1 7 ma respectively and apatite fission track ages of 0 4 to 0 9 ma 40ar 39ar apparent ages on white mica biotite and potassium feldspar and fission track ages on apatites from shear zone gneisses indicate extremely rapid cooling in some cases 500 c m y and suggest shear zones were active from 4 0 to 3 5 ma and 1 9 to 1 4 ma in general 40ar 39ar mineral ages for retrogressed core zone gneisses shear zone gneisses and granodiorites are 2 0 to 3 0 ma amphiboles 1 5 to 1 7 ma muscovites and 1 4 to 1 8 ma biotites and 1 0 to 2 0 ma k feldspars apatite fission track ages from core zone gneisses shear zone gneisses and granodiorites range from 0 4 to 1 0 ma thermochronologic results indicate that emplacement of granodiorites closely coincided with retrogression of the metamorphic basement and movement on the outer shear zones bounding the gneiss domes the granodiorite bodies associated with the d entrecasteaux islands domes represent syn kinematically emplaced granitoids intruded into an area of active continental extension

age and isotopic constraints on pleistocene pluvial episodes in the western desert egypt abstract north africa has undergone drastic climatic changes over the past several hundred thousand years the timing of humid intervals called pluvials was investigated by uranium series disequilibrium dating of travertines from the kurkur oasis western desert egypt the youngest and best dated travertines 70 160 ka are found in wadi kurkur and include spring and lacustrine units exposed as 2 to 3 m high terraces travertines having an age of approximately 191 220 ka are exposed by differential erosion as linear mounds produced by spring systems over fracture zones in ancient wadis the oldest travertines having ages 260 ka are extensive cap limestone units above the oasis and were deposited in paludal and lacustrine environments oxygen isotope ratios were measured for the wadi travertines 18o values ranging from 16 7 to 19 1 smow and for spring mound travertines 18 5 20 5 equilibrium oxygen isotope fractionation calculations indicate that the kurkur travertines were deposited from waters having 18o values similar to ancient western desert groundwaters 11 sonntag et al 1978a b thorweithe 1990 sultan et al 1996 the ages of the travertines correspond to times of monsoonal maxima eustatic sea level high stands and interglacial maxima rainfall producing these groundwaters and travertines was significantly fractionated during atmospheric transport in contrast to modern meteoric waters 2 09 joseph et al 1992 implying a distant source for the pluvial waters increased precipitation recharge of western desert groundwaters and resultant travertine deposition are interpreted to be consequences of milankovitch insolation cycle forcing through enhanced atlantic and indian ocean monsoons during interglacial time periods

dehydration melting of a basaltic composition amphibolite at 1 5 and 2 0 gpa implications for the origin of adakites this study presents the results of dehydration melting experiments on a basaltic composition amphibolite under conditions appropriate to a hot slab geotherm 1 5 and 2 0 gpa and temperatures of 850 to 1150 c dehydration melting produces an omphacitic augite and garnet bearing residue coexisting with rhyolitic to andesitic composition melts at 1 5 gpa the amphibolite melts in two stages between 800 and 1025 c the 2 0 gpa data also define two melting stages at 2 0 gpa the first stage involves nearly modal melting of the original amphibolite minerals qtz pl amp to produce melt cpx grt during the second stage the eclogite restite melts non modally 0 86 cpx 0 14 grt 1 melt the experimental results were combined with data from the literature to generate a composite p t phase diagram for basaltic composition amphibolites over the 800 to 1100 c temperature range for pressures up to 2 0 gpa comparison of the major element compositions of the experimentally produced melts with compositions of presumed slab melts adakites shows that partial melting of amphibolite at conditions appropriate to a hot slab geotherm produces melts similar to andesitic and dacitic adakites except for significant mgo and cao depletions trace element modelling of amphibolite dehydration melting using the 2 0 gpa melting reactions produces ree abundances similar to those of adakites at 10 15 wt batch melting but the models do not reproduce the high sr y ratios characteristic of adakites taken together the major and trace element results are not consistent with the derivation of adakites by dehydration melting of the subducted slab with little or no interaction with the mantle wedge or crust if adakites are partial melts of the subducted slab they must undergo significant interaction with the mantle and or crust during which they acquire a number of their distinctive characteristics

carbon transfer dynamics from bomb 14c and δ13c time series of a laminated stalagmite from sw france modelling and comparison with other stalagmite records twenty two ams 14c measurements have been made on a modern stalagmite from sw france in order to reconstruct the 14c activity history of the calcite deposit annual growth laminae provides a chronology up to 1919 a d results show that the stalagmite 14c activity time series is sensitive to modern atmosphere 14c activity changes such as those produced by the nuclear weapon tests the comparison between the two 14c time series shows that the stalagmite time series is damped its amplitude variation between pre bomb and post bomb values is 75 less and the time delay between the two time series peaks is 16 years 3 a model is developed using atmosphere 14c and 13c data fractionation processes and three soil organic matter components whose mean turnover rates are different the linear correlation coefficient between modeled and measured activities is 0 99 these results combined with two other stalagmite 14c time series already published and compared with local vegetation and climate demonstrate that most of the carbon transfer dynamics are controlled in the soil by soil organic matter degradation rates where vegetation produces debris whose degradation is slow the fraction of old carbon injected in the system increases the observed 14c time series is much more damped and lag time longer than that observed under grassland sites the same mixing model applied on the 13c shows a good agreement r2 0 78 between modeled and measured stalagmite 13c and demonstrates that the suess effect due to fossil fuel combustion in the atmosphere is recorded in the stalagmite but with a damped effect due to som degradation rate the different sources of dead carbon in the seepage water are calculated and discussed

diapiric exhumation of earth s youngest uhp eclogites in the gneiss domes of the d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea abstract the woodlark rift in papua new guinea hosts the world s youngest 2 8 ma eclogite facies rocks and extensional deformation has played a key role in exhuming these u hp rocks at rates of 20 mm yr during the eocene papuan arc continent collision australian plate derived continental rocks were subducted to u hp depths there they remained for up to 30 m y until the pliocene when asthenospheric circulation ahead of the west propagating woodlark spreading ridge introduced heat and fluids this caused rocks to break away from the paleosubduction channel recrystallize in the eclogite facies and rise as rayleigh taylor instabilities the diapirs ascended adiabatically undergoing partial melting which lowered their viscosity and increased buoyancy u hp crust ponded near the moho at 2 4 ma thickening the crust to 40 km 11 kb domal uplifts emerged above sea level and these are still underlain by an unusually thick crust 26 km for a rift that has stretched by factor of 3 since 6 ma after ponding they acquired a flat lying foliation during amphibolite facies retrogression vertical shortening accompanied the gravitationally driven outflow of ponded lower crust the weak material was extended parallel to the rift margin thinning ductilely by w k 0 2 and was mechanically decoupled from and orthogonal to plate motion in the rift top e shear fabrics suggest that this flow was westward perhaps driven by isostatic stresses towards a strongly thinned rift corridor ahead of the woodlark spreading ridge at 100 c per m y and were mechanically incorporated into the rift s upper crust final exposure was by normal faulting and minor erosion such exhumation may also apply to other u hp terranes where less evidence for moho ponding is preserved

terrestrial stable isotope records of late quaternary paleoclimates in the eastern mediterranean region abstract terrestrial stable isotope records 13 c 12 c 18 o 16 o and d h ratios of late quaternary paleoclimates in the eastern mediterranean region are reviewed significant paleoclimatic reconstructions come from a variety of isotopic studies paleogroundwaters although they cannot be accurately dated show oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions highly depleted in heavier isotopes compared to modern meteoric waters in arid regions of southern israel sinai and northeastern africa and attest to a major difference in climatic regime some time in the pleistocene th u dating of land snails showing a similar 18 o depletion indicates ages of 100 000 yr and 300 000 yr for this climatic regime in the negev desert of southern israel carbon isotope records of organic matter have not been studied extensively in the region except for the record of holocene land snails in the negev these document a southward shift in pure c 3 plant communities in the middle and early holocene relative to their present distribution and indicate wetter conditions at those times an oxygen isotope curve for the holocene reflecting changes in the isotopic composition of precipitation has been established from analysis of carbonate materials land snail shells and speleothems the curve indicates a depletion of ca 2 in 18 o centered around 7000 cal yr bp with modern levels being reached by 5000 cal yr bp carbon isotope analysis of soil carbonates in paleosols developed in loess in the negev show the existence of dramatic north south climatic gradients at the times of formation of the soils ca 13 000 28 000 and 37 000 14 c yr bp as occur also today due to the waning influence of mediterranean to the south some isotopic methods widely used in other regions have received little or no attention in the eastern mediterranean region these include oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in wood phosphate oxygen and organic carbon in bones and teeth and carbon in soil organic matter

subducted slabs beneath the eastern indonesia tonga region insights from tomography tomographic images of mantle structure beneath the region north and northeast of australia show a number of anomalously fast regions these are interpreted using a recent plate tectonic reconstruction in terms of current and former subduction systems several strong anomalies are related to current subduction the inferred slab lengths and positions are consistent with neogene subduction beneath the new britain and halmahera arcs and at the tonga and the new hebrides trenches where there has been rapid rollback of subduction hinges since about 10 ma there are several deeper flat lying anomalies which are not related to present subduction and we interpret them as former subduction zones overridden by australia since 25ma beneath the bird s head and arafura sea is an anomaly interpreted to be due to north dipping subduction beneath the philippines halmahera arc between 45and 25ma a very large anomaly extending from the papuan peninsula to the new hebrides and from the solomon islands to the east australian margin is interpreted to be the remnant of south dipping subduction beneath the melanesian arc between 45and 25ma this interpretation implies that a flat lying slab can survive for many tens of millions of years at the bottom of the upper mantle in the lower mantle there is a huge anomaly beneath the gulf of carpentaria and east papua new guinea this is located above the position where the tectonic model interprets a change in polarity of subduction from north dipping to south dipping between 45and 25ma we suggest this deep anomaly may be a slab subducted beneath eastern australian during the cretaceous or subducted north of australia during the cenozoic before 45ma the tomography also supports the tectonic interpretation which suggests little neogene subduction beneath western new guinea since no slab is imaged south of the new guinea trench however one subduction zone in the tectonic model and many others that associated with the trobriand trough east of papua new guinea and the miocene maramuni arc is not seen in the tomographic images and may require reconsideration of currently accepted tectonic interpretations 4 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

constraints on hydrological and paleotemperature variations in the eastern mediterranean region in the last 140 ka given by the δd values of speleothem fluid inclusions abstract speleothem fluid inclusions potentially provide vital data on the paleohydrological conditions in glacial and interglacial periods we show here that d analyses of fluid inclusions from speleothems in three caves in the eastern mediterranean region israel provide a basis for understanding hydrological and temperature variations in the last 140 ka using measured d fluid inclusion values and temperature ranges constrained by the present day mediterranean meteoric water line mmwl and the global mwl we show a strong compatibility between the land and marine temperature records with the highest land temperatures occurring at 120 130 ka 17 22 c and the present 18 c and the lowest temperatures during the lgm about 10 c lower than present interglacial waters are constrained to follow the mmwl and most glacial waters also plot close to the mmwl with a slight shift towards the mwl however during two remarkable brief periods at the termination of the lgm the waters plot on the mwl suggesting that both sharp cooling and an increase in relative humidity above the em sea reduced d excess values to those of the global system

centennial scale holocene climate variability revealed by a high resolution speleothem δ18o record from sw ireland evaluating the significance of holocene submillennial 18 o variability in the greenland ice cores is crucial for understanding how natural climate oscillations may modulate future anthropogenic warming a high resolution oxygen isotope record from a speleothem in southwestern ireland provides evidence for centennial scale 18 o variations that correlate with subtle 18 o changes in the greenland ice cores indicating regionally coherent variability in the early holocene evidence for previously undetected early holocene cooling events is presented but mid to late holocene ice rafting in the north atlantic appears to have had little impact on 18 o at this ocean margin site

paleoclimatic implications of u series dates for lake sediments and travertines in the arava rift valley israel abstract the sayif travertines and lacustrine limestones cropping out in the northern arava valley a region of extreme aridity have been dated by the 230 th 234 u disequilibrium method the consistency between the stratigraphic position and the apparent ages at each of the sampling sites strongly supports the reliability of the ages most of the ages fall within two clusters that are coincident with ages representative of oceanic oxygen isotope stages 5 and 7 the colder intervening stage 6 was not a period of substantial travertine formation during the warmer global episodes of isotopic stages 5 and 7 the arid south of israel apparently was considerably wetter than at present

recycling of orogenic arc crust triggers porphyry cu mineralization in kerman cenozoic arc rocks southeastern iran pre collisional eocene oligocene arc diorites quartzdiorites granodiorites and volcanic equivalents in the kerman arc segment in central iran lack porphyry cu mineralization and ore deposits whereas collisional middle late miocene adakite like porphyritic granodiorites without volcanic equivalents host some of the world s largest cu ore deposits petrological and structural constraints suggest a direct link between orogenic arc crust evolution and the presence of a fertile metallogenic environment ore hosting kuh panj porphyry intrusions exhibit high sr 400 ppm low y 20 no negative eu anomalies eu eu 1 and relatively non radiogenic sr isotope signatures 87sr 86sr 0 7042 0 7047 relative to eocene oligocene granitoids mainly sr 12 la yb 15 eu eu 1 87sr 86sr 0 7053 0 7068 trace element modeling indicates peridotite melting for the barren eocene oligocene intrusions and a hydrous garnet bearing amphibolite source for middle late miocene ore hosting intrusions the presence of garnet implies collisional arc crustal thickening by shortening and basaltic underplating from about 30 35 to 40 45 km or 12 kbar the changes in residual mineralogy in the source of eocene to miocene rocks in the kerman arc segment reflect probing of a thickening arc crust by recycling melting of the arc crustal keel underplating of cu and sulfur rich melts from fertile peridotite generated a fertile metallogenic reservoir at or near the crust mantle boundary and dehydration melting under oxidizing conditions produced syn and post collisional ore hosting intrusions while the lack of post collisional volcanism prevented the venting of volatiles to the atmosphere from sulfur rich and oxidized adakitic magmas

quaternary isotope stratigraphy and paleoclimate of coral reef terraces gulf of aqaba south sinai egypt five quaternary coral reef terraces have been recognized along sharm elsheikh ras mohammed coast of which terraces v to ii form a well developed staircase at um seed while recognized separately at ras mohammed terrace i was only observed as a reef pathches at sharm elsheikh ras mohammed road terraces v to i exist at elevations of 1 b s 1 to 0 m 3 6 m 10 12 m 15 20 m and 25 35 m a s 1 respectively uranium series dates of samples representing terraces v iv iii ii and i show ages grouped as ka 118 125ka 200ka 280 300ka and older 300ka which are related to isotope stages 1 5e 7 9 and 11 respectively the variation of 18o for samples from these terraces show evidence of at least four major warm wet climatic periods in relationship to high sea level and contemporaneous with the formation of the reef terraces faulting affects only the older terraces i and ii and along with the occurrence of terrace iv of last interglacial age at elevation of 3 6 m suggest that the coastal area has not been subjected to major tectonic activities at least with the last 125 ka

on the ages of humid holocene and late pleistocene phases in north africa remarks on late quaternary climatic reconstruction for the maghreb north africa by p rognon discussion sur l article de rognon p paru en 1987 dans palaeogeogr palaeoclimatol palaeoecol vol 58 p 11 34

paleoclimate reconstruction based on the timing of speleothem growth and oxygen and carbon isotope composition in a cave located in the rain shadow in israel high resolution th 230 u 234 ages and delta 18 o and delta 13 c compositions of speleothems in ma ale efrayirn cave located to the east of the central mountain ridge of israel enable us to examine the nature of the rain shadow aridity during glacial and interglacial intervals speleothem growth occurred during marine glacial isotopic periods with no growth during the two last marine isotope interglacial intervals and during the peak of the last glacial maximum this contrasts with speleothem growth in caves located on the western flank of the central mountain ridge in the eastern mediterranean semiarid climatic zone which continued throughout the last 240 000 yr thus during glacial periods water reached both sides of the central mountain ridge a comparison of the present day rain and cave water isotopic compositions and amounts at the ma ale efrayim cave site with those on the western flank shows that evaporation and higher temperatures on the eastern flank are major influences on isotopic composition and the lack of rainfall the delta 18 o and delta 13 c profiles of the speleothems deposited between 67 000 and 25 000 yr b p match the general trends of the isotopic profiles of soreq cave speleothems suggesting a similar source eastern mediterranean sea and similar climatic conditions thus during glacial periods the desert boundary effectively migrated further south or east from its present day location on the eastern flank whereas interglacial periods appear to have been similar to the present with the desert boundary at the same position the decrease in overall temperature and a consequent reduction in the evaporation to precipitation ratios on the eastern flank are viewed as the major factors controlling the decay of the rain shadow effect during glacial periods c 2003 elsevier science usa all rights reserved

dubious case for slab melting in the northern volcanic zone of the andes it was first suggested by r w kay that adakites may represent melts of subducted slab since then the term adakite has become synonymous with slab melts based on their unusual geochemical signature this contribution using the northern volcanic zone of the andes as an example aims 1 to expose the weakness in simply associating a geochemical signature with a genetic mechanism and 2 to underline the importance of using several integrated lines of evidence in assessing the viability of slab melting we conclude that although slab melting probably occurs in some arcs regional geochemical trends in the northern volcanic zone and their relationship to the subduction zone architecture are not indicative of slab melting and can be accounted for by normal arc magmatic processes acting on wedge derived basaltic magmas

palaeosols and late pleistocene rainfall fluctuations in the negev desert the existence of a series of palaeosols in the present day desert region of southern israel the northern negev desert 1 2 indicates recurring periods of wetter climate in the past up to seven well developed palaeosols occur within a section and each has a horizon containing soft calcium carbonate nodules 3 15 mm in diameter the palaeosols are developed within loess or fluvially redeposited loess consisting of silty clay or clayey silt the 14c ages of the uppermost three calcic horizons average 13 000 yr bp calcic horizon ch i 28 000 yr bp ch ii and 37 000 yr bp ch iii drier phases occurred between these periods of pedogenesis especially during the last glacial maximum centred at 18 000 yr bp when extensive erosion occurred analysis of the 13c content of nodule carbonates points to the occurrence of strong north south rainfall gradients during each period of calcic horizon formation which excludes the possibility of monsoonal rains contributing to the increased rainfall during these periods the palaeosols correspond to global warm phases of the last glacial period

recent environmental change and prehistoric human activity in egypt and northern sudan abstract this paper reviews the various late quaternary records that are available from western egypt and northern sudan which includes more than 500 published radiocarbon dates and various sedimentary archives from local landscape components including palaeolakes soils drainages wadis and archaeological sites this palaeoenvironmental compilation frames the spatial and temporal context of local cultural activities when the region was most hospitable 9000 6000 bp at this time monsoonal weather influenced the portion of the african continental interior creating enough convective rainfall for occasional surface water storage in this part of the modern sahara rapid hydroclimatic changes play a key role in geomorphic evolution and resource availability as watering holes formed and dried up in the early to middle holocene neolithic people developed various subsistence strategies including opportunistic hunting of small animals e g gazelle and hare and food related e g wild sorghum millet and legumes activities gathering plant cultivation and livestock rearing during its wettest phases during the monsoonal maximum the area was drought prone sustaining a meager steppe shrub desert flora further desertification and aeolian deflation during the middle and late holocene fostered technological innovation migration and settlement as well as the further development of agrarian communities and complex culture

dead carbon in stalagmites carbonate bedrock paleodissolution vs ageing of soil organic matter implications for 13c variations in speleothems twenty one 14c accelerator mass spectrometric analyses were obtained for three holocene stalagmites from the uamh an tartair cave sutherland scotland in order to estimate the past dead carbon proportion dcp results show that the dcp increases from 22 to 38 from 3780 years ago to the present because 13c variation is small within each sample it is concluded that this dcp increase is the product of the ageing of soil organic matter related to peat bog development above the cave that produced older soil co2 and not from a more intense dissolution of the surrounding carbonates which would have led to a 13c increase comparison with samples from other sites in europe shows no intersite correlation between dcp and 13c but a relatively good intersite correlation is observed between dcp and average site temperature thus temperature may be a major factor controlling the production of old soil organic matter co2 and therefore the dead carbon content of seepage water in contrast to the scotland stalagmites two other holocene samples from sites in southern france and belgium exhibit a good correlation between 13c and dcp which can be explained in terms of variations in the intensity of limestone dissolution consequently 13c variations observed in stalagmites are not always due to changes in the vegetation type c3 c4 as has been commonly assumed 13c 12c variations in speleothem calcite may also be controlled by the soil organic matter age and in some cases by the intensity of the limestone dissolution conversely a largely constant speleothem 13c signal as observed for the scotland stalagmites does not necessarily imply that surface climate and vegetation conditions were stable since the dcp variations in this case are clearly related to the peat bog development during stalagmite growth

mediterranean pluvial periods and sapropel formation over the last 200 000 years abstract three mediterranean deep sea cores have been studied to reconstruct the hydrological conditions at the time of deposition of interglacial and glacial sapropels during the time interval 200 60 kyr bp the isotopic and sea surface temperature records of planktonic foraminifera were used to estimate the oxygen isotopic composition of surface water w in the tyrrhenian sea and levantine basin our results show a strong w salinity decrease in both basins associated with each sapropel these w decreases reflect a drastic change in the local freshwater budget and were comparable to that observed during the last sapropel s 1 centred at ca 8 kyr bp a strong precipitation increase transformed the whole mediterranean sea into a non concentration basin the low surface salinity was responsible for the water column stratification while nutrients brought in by the runoff enhanced productivity it resulted in a significant reduction in the rate of deep water oxygenation and sapropel formation in the eastern basin in addition the mediterranean sea 18 o record is very similar to that of the bay of bengal as the latter is very sensitive to the summer monsoon rain this similarity suggests that both glacial and interglacial sapropels result from enhanced monsoon like precipitation due to an increase in summer insolation driven by precession variations

u th isotope systematics from the soreq cave israel and climatic correlations precise 230 th 234 u ages were obtained on thirty one growth laminae in speleothem samples which are self consistent with the detailed layer stratigraphy samples with low 232 th 238 u ratios give ages with analytical uncertainties of 40 years at 2 ky and 1000 years at 90 ky some growth zones with high but variable 232 th 238 u were dated by intermal isochrons this permits the determination of the initial 230 th 232 th assuming equilibrium of 232 th and 238 u series in the source of the high 232 th component this shows initial 230 th 232 th in activity units of from 1 3 to 2 9 the calculated atomic ratios of 232 th 238 u for the high 232 th component range from 1 08 to 2 4 which is well below the average crustal value speleothem materials with high 232 th 238 u are found to exhibit clear correlations of 232 th with si al and fe while 238 u correlates with sr and ba analyses of soreq cave drip waters show that the particulates in the waters have high 232 th concentrations and a 232 th 238 u ratio much lower than that found in the high 232 th component in speleothems but with 230 th 232 th 1 0 to 2 4 we infer that the trapped high th component in speleothems is from particulate matter in water with a large concentration of adsorbed u and not simply from detrital material the speleothems have only small234u excess the initial 234 u 238 u 0 show a range of 1 02 to 1 14 that was found to correlate with age over the past 25 ky the youngest samples have values in the same range as the modern drip waters there appears to be a correlation of 234 u 238 u 0 with the 18 o values there is a drop of 18 o in the time interval 20 to 15 ky which then remains relatively constant to recent times as the high 18 o values have been related to rainfall and associated climatic conditions we suggest that the 234 u 238 u in the speleothem reflects the effects of rainfall and soil weathering conditions on drip water composition and may provide a proxy for climate change

how continents break up insights from papua new guinea the woodlark basin in the western pacific forms a continuous system of active continental rifting evolving to well developed seafloor spreading thin sediment cover in the basin and a dominantly nonvolcanic rift phase permit basement fabric and structures to be imaged by swath mapping and seismic reflection data in the continental and oceanic parts of the basin magnetic isochrons indicate a single euler pole of opening for most of the basin history and allow us to infer the opening kinematics along the rifted margins in agreement with rigid plate tectonic models continental rifting initiated geologically synchronously at 6 ma along the length of the protomargins within a deforming plate boundary zone strain localization and seafloor spreading however developed in a time transgressive fashion from east to west within this zone of deformation spreading centers formed within the rheologically weaker protocontinental margins surrounded by stronger oceanic lithosphere in the solomon and coral seas the transition to spreading occurred after a rather uniform degree of continental extension 200 40 km both early and late stage rifting involved high and low angle normal faults we identify distinct styles in the transition from rifting to spreading which we refer to as nucleation propagation and stalling these breakup styles impart varyingly concordant to discordant relationships between the adjacent oceanic and continental rift structures continental transform margins which are or were juxtaposed against the ends of spreading centers show no evidence for thermal uplift or igneous underplating the initial spreading segments achieved much of their length at nucleation within rift basins separated along strike by accommodation zones with subsequent lengthening by spreading propagation into rifting continental crust this early propagation and the subsequent development of transform faults between initially nontransform spreading segment offsets produced rift and spreading segmentation boundaries that are not simply correlated the spreading centers nucleated approximately orthogonal in strike to the opening direction but as the protomargins were oblique to this direction nucleation jumps occurred in order to maintain the new spreading centers within the protomargins thus stepwise spreading nucleation in order to remain within a rheologically weak zone rather than rupturing of the lithosphere by stress concentration at the tip of a propagating ridge axis is the dominant form of the rifting to spreading transition in the woodlark basin