deep crustal reflections from a vibroseis survey in northern switzerland abstract in 1982 a vibroseis survey comprising 180 km of reflection profiles was run in northern switzerland in order to investigate the suitability of the crystalline basement for the deposition of highly radioactive waste a configuration was chosen with 144 channels 25 m of geophone spacing 20 s sweeps ranging from 11 to 61 hz and stacking of 4 or 8 sweeps of 3 simultaneous vibrators at twice the geophone spacing the listening time was generally 4 s and at 4 sites it was extended to 11s for the detection of deeper crustal reflectors this survey unravelled the complicated fault and thrust system beneath the swiss folded jura mountains the stack from 4 s to 11 s reveals clearly a strong sloping reflector between 3 0 and 3 5 s which is strong evidence for a pronounced differentiation in the upper crust a series of reflections is observed between 5 8 and 7 2 s the top of which can be correlated with the conrad discontinuity a strong layered signal between 9 0 and 9 5 s is interpreted as reflections from the m discontinuity the main features are compatible with results from nearby refraction surveys in the southern rhinegraben rift system which show a distinct velocity increase of about 0 5 km s in the lower crust at a depth ranging from 15 to 20 km followed by an inversion zone or a laminated structure before reaching the moho at about 27 km depth the correlation of the field recordings with the first 10 s of the up sweep only shows some loss of resolution in the uppermost 3 s because of the lower frequency content of the signal however the lower parts of the sections are nearly identical the fact that the deeper reflectors in the sections can consistently be traced laterally is a strong argument for using this processing technique thus high coverage vibroseis surveys utilizing up sweep can be processed for deep crustal reflections even if the recording time is restricted to the standard 4 s provided the surface static corrections are carried out with high precision

intraplate extensional tectonics of the eastern basin range inferences on structural style from seismic reflection data regional tectonics and thermal mechanical models of brittle ductile deformation the general lack of a correlation between earthquakes and surface faulting in the interior of the western u s cordillera has motivated our efforts to evaluate the geometry structural style and mechanism of normal faulting characteristic of this region of intraplate extension to address the problem we have interpreted over 1500 km of seismic reflection data and constructed detailed cross sections of the upper crust rheological models of the continental crust were calculated to examine the possibility of shallow quasi plastic flow and its influence on faulting in the eastern basin range the western colorado plateau and the middle rocky mountains our data and interpretations have revealed the following styles of cenozoic deformation 1 steep to low angle dip normal faulting along the wasatch fault 2 low angle dip and listric normal faulting possibly associated with movement on preexisting thrusts 3 the occurrence of asymmetric mostly eastward tilted tertiary basins that are bounded by low to moderate dipping planar and listric faults and 4 at least three vertically stacked en echelon low angle reflections in the mid to upper crust that dip gently westward from 3 km beneath the wasatch plateau to over 15 km at the utah nevada border these reflections are interpreted as normal detachment faults the structural style of the pervasive low to moderate angle dipping faults cannot be easily reconciled with classic brittle failure theory but the interpreted termination of normal faults at or above the deeper low angle reflections suggests the presence of shallow zones of ductile deformation that may have accommodated slip an important observation based on interpretations of seismic reflection profiles is that normal fault zones dip more gently in the subsurface than their associated scarps in unconsolidated surficial deposits segment boundaries of the wasatch fault zone apparently coincide with the positions of east trending displacement transfer structures in thrust sheets and the position of the precambrian uinta aulacogen suggesting that preexisting crustal structure partly controls the geometry of extension to examine the influence of ductile deformation quasi plastic flow was modeled for appropriate geotherms of the basin range and colorado plateau crusts these models provide constraints on the depth to the frictional quasi plastic transition that occurs as shallow as 8 km in the eastern basin range this depth also corresponds to the approximate depth above which most accurately determined earthquake foci for small earthquakes m 5 5 appear to nucleate at 10 15 km in or near the brittle ductile transition the rheological modeling suggests that a thermally deforming continental lithosphere plays an important role in the evolution of this extending intraplate region large scale low angle reflections may represent decollements and normal faults at the top of upper crustal zones of reduced shearing strength and higher ductility

synthetic seismograms for a complex crustal model the algorithm of the original reflectivity method has been vectorized and implemented on a cdc cyber 205 computer calculation times are shortened by a factor of 20 to 30 compared with a general purpose computer with a capacity of several million floating point operations per second mflop the rapid calculation of synthetic seismograms for complex models high frequency sources and all offset ranges is a provision for modeling not only particular phases but the whole observed wavefield as an example we model refraction data of the black forest southwest germany and are able to derive rather tight constraints on the physical properties of the lower crust

processing of wide angle vibroseis data in 1984 seismic wide angle vibroseis experiments across the rhine graben in eastern france southwest germany were carried out as a joint french german venture signals generated by french vibrators were recorded at the eastern flank of the graben in the black forest with a 200 channel array spread along 16 km group spacing 80 m data were recorded at offsets between 66 and 82 km the data are characterized by a low signal to noise ratio s n and distortions of seismic phases caused by strong topographic variations for wide angle records conventional static corrections based on the assumption of vertical travelpaths are no longer appropriate ray parameter dependent time delays should be used in order to correctly eliminate topographic and near surface influences on the data in addition delineation of reflector segments requires an increase in s n a two dimensional filter based on forward and inverse slant stacking was designed to handle the time delay and s n problems simultaneously stacking al

holocene glacier fluctuations in south america and antarctica abstract glacial geologic evidence indicates that glaciers throughout the andes and antarctica fluctuated during the holocene radiocarbon dating and other age determinations suggest that glaciers readvanced significantly only during the last 5 ka reaching positions from several 100 m to a few kilometres beyond their present limits in south america tenuous evidence from radiocarbon dates with dendrochronological data and environmental interpretations from pollen analyses indicate four main periods of neoglacial advance culminating 5000 4000 bp 3000 2000 bp 1300 1000 bp and 15th late 19th centuries smaller advances may have occurred at ca 8400 bp ca 7500 bp and ca 6300 bp the meagre data are consistent in indicating broad synchrony throughout the andes during the last 5 ka suggesting response to global climatic changes anomalies exist in patagonia where some tide water glaciers reached their maximal holocene limits recently this century the broad spectrum of differing antarctic environments produces interesting contrasts some local glaciers in the mcmurdo sound area of the east artarctic continent are more extensive now than during the global glacial maximum ca 18 ka bp when they were starved of precipitation consistent agreement among 14 radiocarbon dates from the south shetland islands indicates two main holocene glacier advances the most extensive 2 3 km peaking in the 12th century the other culminating in the 18th 19th century glaciers in south georgia reached their most advanced holocene limits before 2200 bp moraine fjord glacier which culminated as a 6 km advance between 1460 1700 radiocarbon bp may have lagged 400 650 years behind the climatic forcing because it could only advance in its deep water fjord by building a moraine bank smaller advances in south georgia culminated in the 17th 19th centuries and during the 1920s 30s there is no firm evidence of glacier advances before 3 ka bp in the southern ocean sub antarctic domain but broad synchrony in glacier advances during the last ca 3000 years appears to have occurred throughout the andes antarctic transect caution is required in the interpretation and correlation of moraines associated with calving glaciers and of those with poorly constrained dating

ice stream retreat and ice shelf history in marguerite trough antarctic peninsula sedimentological and foraminiferal signatures the timing nature and causes of grounded ice sheet retreat following the last glacial maximum lgm in marguerite trough west antarctic peninsula and subsequent early holocene ice shelf decay are presented in this paper we use sedimentological foraminiferal geotechnical and accelerator mass spectrometer ams radiocarbon data from marine cores from the mid continental shelf together with previously published ams dates to establish a sedimentological and chronological model initial ice sheet retreat through the outer and mid shelf sectors of marguerite trough was under way by ca 14 ka b p was rapid and coincided with the sea level rise of meltwater pulse 1a an ice shelf formed during this retreat and fine grained laminated muds reflecting meltwater derived suspension settling and or tidal pumping were deposited during this time the ice sheet remained grounded on the inner shelf ice shelf breakup and retreat of the calving front from ca 13 2 to 12 5 ka b p was slow 100 m a 1 across the outer and mid shelf with calving bay conditions remaining for at least 3 5 ka we interpret this ice shelf decay to have been driven by an incursion of weddell sea transitional water onto the shelf in contrast grounding line and ice shelf retreat in the inner bay occurred from ca 9 3 ka b p and was driven by circumpolar warm deep water encroaching onto the continental shelf at this time the mid shelf was an open marine environment characterized by hemipelagic deposition these findings highlight the importance of oceanographic controls in the breakup of antarctic peninsula ice shelves during the holocene

structural and rheological implications of lower crustal earthquakes below northern switzerland abstract a detailed study of the recent seismicity in the northern alpine foreland of switzerland reveals that earthquakes with magnitudes between 0 9 and 4 2 occur not only in the upper part of the crust but contrary to observations in most other intracontinental settings seismicity extends down to depths of about 30 km in the lower crust observed p wave velocities in the focal region of even the deepest earthquakes are less than 6 3 km s 1 the average value of poisson s ratio for the entire focal depth range 6 30 km lies between 0 23 and 0 24 focal mechanisms are mostly a combination of strike slip and normal faults with consistent orientations of p and t axes but without any systematic dependence on focal depth from geological observations regional strain rates are of the order of 10 13 s 1 two dimensional temperature modelling indicates that temperatures in the lower crustal seismogenic zone are well above 450 c under the assumption of a dry environment the observed p wave velocities and poisson s ratios imply either a granitic or quartz rich gneissic composition or possibly a gabbroic quartz free granulite the deformation would be governed either by the rheology of quartz or of plagioclase the onset of ductility observed in laboratory studies lies around 300 c for quartz and around 450 c for plagioclase thus conditions in the lower crust beneath northern switzerland appear to be incompatible with the occurrence of either brittle failure or plastic instabilities as is implied by the existence of earthquakes alternatively lower crustal earthquakes could be a manifestation of the presence of fluids in the lower crust fluids under near lithostatic pressure either evolved in situ from metamorphic reactions or from infiltration from the mantle would tend to decrease the effective stress on pre existing faults and thus allow brittle friction failure to occur at depths where under dry conditions or low fluid pressures only ductile deformation would be expected

oceanographic controls on benthic foraminifers from the bellingshausen margin of the antarctic peninsula abstract surface sediment samples collected from the bellingshausen sea continental margin of the antarctic peninsula were analyzed for benthic foraminifers a total fauna including live and dead specimen counts was used to statistically identify discrete benthic foraminifer assemblages two major assemblages were defined the bulimina aculeata and fursenkoina spp assemblages the distribution of the bulimina aculeata and fursenkoina spp assemblages are closely associated with the distribution of the two dominant bottom water masses on the continental margin the circumpolar warm deep water and weddell sea transitional water respectively their distributions cannot be related to organic carbon content or sediment texture of the surface sediments the faunal composition of the bellingshausen sea margin assemblages and their water mass associations are similar to faunal water mass relationships observed in the weddell sea and south atlantic ocean where bulimina aculeata is associated with circumpolar deep water and nonionella iridea n bradii and trifarina earlandi are associated with eastern shelf and modified weddell sea water

recent benthic foraminifera from the continental margin of northwest africa community structure and distribution abstract sediment grab samples were collected at 107 locations along the continental margin of northwest africa these samples form a series of depth transects between the straits of gibraltar and dakar senegal the greater than 250 m size fraction was retained for a census of both the live and dead foraminifera after deleting trace occurrences jaccard and correlation coefficient based cluster analyses were performed to decipher the community structure for this margin the geographic distribution of the four major faunal provinces recognized is conventional in that for both the live and dead assemblages three are related to depth upper slope and shelf middle slope and lower slope and continental rise the biotopes and thanatotopes within these provinces are strongly restricted along vertical or latitudinal boundaries when the data are analysed using jaccard coefficients dendrograms constructed from correlation coefficients emphasize depth related faunal communities dominant species such as cibicides lobatulus trifarina fornasinii planulina ariminensis uvigerina finisterrensis and c wuellerstorfi are generally distributed within a definite depth range along this margin and strongly influence the correlation coefficient based dendrograms other distributions are clearly not depth related but correspond to various environmental variables for example cancris auriculus coarse substrate bolivina subaenariensis oxygen minimum cibicidoides kullenbergi and hoeglundina elegans low organic carbon uvigerina peregrina is also a notable exception to depth dependence in that this dominant species and the province it represents are generally confined to the continental slope south of cape blanc its preference for that region may arise from the high organic carbon and fine grain size of the sediment there from low salinity of the bottom water or from other unknown variables the most important vertical faunal boundary occurs between cape barbas and cape blanc between 22 and 21 n latitude in contrast the canary island ridge intersects the continental margin at a saddle depth of about 1500 m but that physiographic barrier has little effect on provincialism of the deep water benthic foraminifera

seismic structure of gneissic granitic upper crust geological and petrophysical evidence from the strona ceneri zone northern italy and implications for crustal seismic exploration summary we present a stochastic seismic model of gneissic granitic upper crust by estimating the amplitude probability distribution and the autocorrelation function of the inferred seismic velocity field of the strona ceneri zone northern italy unlike previous investigations of the adjacent ivrea zone and the lewisian gneiss complex scotland the lithologies mapped in the strona ceneri zone cannot be directly correlated with laboratory measured seismic velocities the amplitude probability distribution of the extensive petrophysical database and the relatively uniform mineralogical composition of the lithologies indicate that the velocity distribution in the strona ceneri zone can be approximated as being continuous and gaussian based on this assumption and using the spatial autocorrelation function measured from a digitized geological cross section we have modelled the fine scale structure of the strona ceneri zone as a self affine medium with a fractal dimension of 2 50 0 15 and horizontal and vertical characteristic scales of 2 6 0 4 km and 1 4 0 3 km respectively on near offset shot gather seismic data strona ceneri type upper crustal heterogeneity produces a reflected field with the appearance of incoherent scattered noise characteristic of non reflective transparent upper crust found in extended phanerozoic provinces this type of heterogeneity has a considerable effect on seismic imaging of underlying reflective lower crust individual reflection segments are disrupted and shifted in time by up to several tenths of a second and the boundaries of the reflective zone become distorted and blurred at far offsets seismic scattering from heterogeneity of this type reproduces the commonly observed rapid decay and scattered distribution of pg amplitudes comparable amplitude decay patterns result from layered deterministic upper crustal velocity structures with velocity inversions

the complexity of the crust and moho under the southeastern superior and grenville provinces of the canadian shield from seismic refraction wide angle reflection data the major features of the individual velocity models poisson s ratio values and crustal complexity derived from the interpretation of seismic data sets from four long range seismic refraction wide angle reflection experiments are summarized the experiments were conducted from 1982 92 in the southeastern portion of the canadian shield in the conventional analysis of seismic refraction wide angle reflection data only the onset times and amplitudes of the major arrival phases are used to derive seismic velocity models of the region under study these models are over smoothed have a number of intermediate discontinuities are unable to explain the pg coda and bear very little resemblance to the models derived from the analysis of near vertical seismic reflection data in this paper some of the differences between seismic models derived from near vertical reflection analysis and those from refraction analysis are reconciled from an analysis of the wide angle reflection fields of the crustal coda wav

synoptic interpretation of seismic reflection and refraction data summary the structure of the upper lithosphere beneath southern germany northern switzerland and west central utah u s a has been investigated in detail by various geophysical methods a synoptic interpretation of travel time and amplitude data obtained in seismic refraction and wide angle reflection surveys combined with near normal incidence reflection observations now permits the elucidation of the fine structure in a more quantitative and unified manner with this scheme it is possible to unambiguously identify low velocity zones and to deduce velocity gradients if reliable amplitude information is included in the inversion process

oceanographic and physiographic controls on modern sedimentation within antarctic fjords physical oceanographic data and modern surface sediments were collected from eleven fjords along the western side of the antarctic peninsula and south shetland islands surface sediment samples 62 were analyzed for texture and total organic carbon content the distribution of biogenic and terrigenous facies within the fjords is controlled by bay geometry and oceanographic regime climate plays a secondary role but along with ice drainage basin size controls the rate of terrigenous supply to the glacial marine environment specifically fjords along the danco coast and palmer archipelago with a high length to width ratio tend to have bottom sediments that are arenaceous where ice rafted sediment is released preferentially at the head of the fjord biogenic facies are favored where the bay geometry is complex where such complexity exists separate oceanographic regimes develop that lead to separation of terrigenous and biogenic sediments processes of interflow mid and deep water turbid cold tongues and coriolis deflection produce terrigenous facies along the inner fjord and western edges of a fjord system warm outer bay waters tend to develop a stable eddy circulation pattern that favors the productivity of phytoplankton in the surface layers outer bays are therefore floored with organic rich siliceous muds and ice rafted material only in the south shetland islands is melt water input significant enough to generate estuarine circulation within the fjord but here strong bottom currents result in arenaceous bottom sediments with no biogenic facies ice rafted diamictons are produced proximal to the edges of small tide water glaciers in the south shetlands the facies relationships established in this study provide a strong reference for paleoclimatic studies that utilize downcore measurements of texture and organic carbon

the conrad discontinuity and the top of the reflective lower crust do they coincide abstract in order to investigate an often quoted coincidence of an intracrustal velocity jump the conrad discontinuity and lower crustal reflections found in tectonothermally young areas 54 reflection seismic profiles have been analysed and combined with 50 refraction seismic profiles adjacent to the reflection lines such a relationship is however contradicted by the observation that in some places a reflective lower crust is found while a velocity discontinuity is missing most of the compared data sets clearly demonstrate that the velocity jump if present is found more than 2 km below the uppermost reflections from the lower crust it is thus concluded that the two phenomena are not related occasionally both a reflective lower crust rlc and a conrad discontinuity can be observed in this case the differences in depth between the two can be explained by the structure of the velocity increase as in the example of the kapuskasing uplift in canada due to the overall depth dependent increase of seismic velocity a genetic correlation of high velocity and reflectivity is negligible this conclusion is supported by the observed highly reflective lower crust of the urach low velocity body by explaining the rlc with thermorheological arguments the upper limit of reflections simply appears as a thermal boundary depending only on temperature material and fluid content the theological models presented are explaining a rlc with and without the presence of a velocity discontinuity

benthic foraminiferal distributions in chilean fjords 47 s to 54 s abstract surface sediment samples collected from the fjord region of southern chile 47 to 54 south were analyzed for benthic foraminifera a total of 175 species were identified including agglutinated and calcareous benthic taxa hierarchical cluster analysis of the foraminiferal data resulted in the recognition of three distinct biofacies inner fjord intermediate fjord and channel and oceanic biofacies geographically controlled by relative position between the pacific ocean and fjord heads similarity percentage simper analysis identified key taxa in the definition of the biofacies that include globocassidulina rossensis cassidulina laevigata and bulimina notovata principal components analysis resulted in two principal components representing sediment size and bottom water temperature and salinity regional distributions are strongly controlled by the oceanographic conditions influenced from the pacific in the west and the glacial freshwater input from the east localized distributions of foraminifera are controlled by conditions influenced by the physiography of the individual fjords and channels the distribution of chilean fjord foraminifera and their environmental associations are consistent with results from other temperate to high latitude fjord foraminiferal studies

climatic control of sedimentation in bays and fjords of the northern antarctic peninsula abstract the northern antarctic peninsula is dominated by strong climatic gradients which are locally enhanced by subsidiary orographic and topographic effects these gradients are reflected in the sediments of the bays and fjords of the region the climate of the south shetland islands is relatively warm with high levels of precipitation this leads to a temperate glacial setting in which many glaciers terminate on land and bay waters which are turbid with terrigenous debris sediments which consist of terrigenous muds and sands with a low ice rafted debris ird content are relatively thick 70 m and have now filled in and almost completely mask the underlying basement topography the palmer archipelago is colder than the south shetland islands and is the wettest area of the antarctic it is heavily glaciated and all major glaciers are grounded below sea level only rarely have sediment plumes been seen the sediments which are primarily terrigenous muds and sands with a variable ird component are thin maximum 40 m but are ponding in every available bathymetric depression the pristine nature of the ice visible above sea level indicates that terrigenous debris is entering the bays from below sea level sediment gravity flows are important in redistributing sediment the danco coast lies within the precipitation shadow of the graham land plateau its climate is slightly colder and is the driest in the study area with less than half of the precipitation of the palmer archipelago nevertheless it is also heavily glaciated with few exceptions sediments here are diatomaceous muds and oozes they are very thin and drape across the rugged basement topography rather than ponding in lows sediment gravity flow deposits are rare these observations indicate a lower rate of production of terrigenous sediment here a consequence of the drier climatic setting

distribution and ecology of benthic foraminifera in mcmurdo sound antarctica abstract foraminifera from modern sediments in mcmurdo sound have been studied to provide a basis for interpreting fossil assemblages there the sound is 50 km across more than 900 m deep and ice covered for at least nine months of the year the salinity and temperature of the bottom water are nearly constant 33 96 34 99 and 1 95 c 1 4 c sea floor sediment is mainly fine sand and mud with a little ice rafted gravel nearly 40 000 specimens of foraminifers 2334 living and 36 875 dead were identified from 28 samples collected by gravity corer and grab from sites varying in depth between 79 and 856 m three present day assemblages can be recognised 1 1 shallow open water assemblage swa from 110 to 560 m found in shallower areas of the open sound dominated by calcareous species 2 2 deep open water assemblage dwa from 620 to 856 m found in deeper areas of central mcmurdo sound dominated by agglutinated species and 3 3 harbour assemblages ha from 79 to 796 m in the enclosed basins and harbours of the area dominated by agglutinates species the composition of the assemblages is controlled chiefly by the calcium carbonate compensaion depth ccd calcareous species are abundant and varied 84 calcareous species in the swa above 620 m but are almost absent from the dwa the dominance of agglutinated foraminifera in the ha indicates a shallower ccd about 230 m in restricted coastal settings comparison of mcmurdo sound assemblages to those from other areas of the antarctic the arctic and the deep ocean indicates that there are grpss similarities in the over all faunas but actual species in commin range from 6 to 41 of the mcmurdo sound total assemblage 124 species death assemblages have a similar species diversity to corresponding life assemblages from 620 the ccd to 420 m where death assembalges are representative of them except for open water assemblages from 620 the ccd to 420 m where death assemblages are depleted in calcareous taxa the diversity of the agglutinated component of each assemblage remains nearly constant in all habitats and at all water depths

glacial marine sedimentation and quaternary glacial history of marguerite bay antarctic peninsula abstract marguerite bay situated between the subpolar glacial regime of the northern antarctic peninsula and the polar glacial regime of west antarctica is ideally located to test various models of glacial and glacial marine sedimentation and specific scenarios of late wisconsin ice sheet expansion piston cores and single channel seismic reflection data were collected during the deep freeze 85 and 86 expeditions to determine the late quaternary history of the area seismic data in the bay show a rugged seafloor with numerous deep troughs and a very thin layer of sediment over crystalline basement or older sediments glacial erosion is important in modifying existing features although the ultimate repository of the eroded material is not known it is not found within the bay the piston cores are topped by diatomaceous muds which are underlain by terrigenous muds and muddy gravels that imply deposition beneath an ice shelf basal tills were penetrated at three sites reflecting deposition by a grounded marine ice sheet a reconstruction of the glacial history of marguerite bay since the last glacial maximum shows grounded ice filling the bay in late wisconsin time rising sea level caused an uncoupling of the ice sheet and slow retreat of an ice shelf throughout the holocene

cenozoic and mesozoic structure of the eastern basin and range province utah from cocorp seismic reflection data cocorp seismic reflection data collected from the eastern basin and range in west central utah provide information on cenozoic extensional tectonics mesozoic thrusting and their interrelationships those data show a series of remarkably continuous low angle reflectors that extend more than 120 km perpendicular to strike and can be traced as deep as 15 20 km over that distance none of these events are significantly cut by any high angle normal faults a major detachment beneath the sevier desert can be traced from a surface zone of normal faulting to a depth of 12 15 km with a regional apparent westward dip of 12 tentative correlation of upper and lower plate events suggests 30 60 km of extensional displacement on this detachment whether this structure is a reactivated mesozoic thrust is uncertain west steepening splays off the end of the detachment reach depths of 20 km and may represent a major mesozoic ramp or zones of distributed ductile shearing during extension some events are interpreted to be mesozoic thrusts of which at least one beneath the house range has been reactivated during the cenozoic the snake range decollement dips gently east and has a sense of cenozoic displacement opposite to that of other cenozoic detachments farther east deep events are most numerous beneath the east side of the sevier desert where they occur to depths of 30 km at the top of or perhaps partly within the anomalously low velocity upper mantle

interpretation of subhorizontal crustal reflections by metamorphic and rheologic effects in the eastern part of the pannonian basin summary the geologic origin of subhorizontal reflections often observed in crustal seismic sections was investigated by establishing metamorphic facies and strength of rocks in depth and correlating these properties to seismic reflection sections from eastern hungary estimation of the depths of metamorphic mineral stability zones utilized the principles developed by fyfe et al and known geothermal data of the area the strength versus depth profile was derived by relating local seismic p wave interval velocities to meissner et al s activation energy the results show that the series of subhorizontal reflections observed in the pannonian basin are a consequence of combined metamorphic and rheologic changes in depths the synthesis of the integrated data set suggests that the retrograde alteration of the pre tertiary basement above the percolation threshold was made possible by the softening effect of shear zones and their water conducting capacity the subhorizontal reflections of highest energy of the consolidated crust below the percolation threshold originate in the depths of greenschist amphibolite and granulite metamorphic mineral facies which were formed in geothermal and pressure conditions similar to those existing today these results imply the overprint of earlier variscan metamorphic sequences of the crust by more recent retrograde metamorphic processes

a lithospheric cross section through the swiss alps ii constraints on the mechanical structure of a continent continent collision zone summary the calculation of strength profiles along the european geotraverse egt through the swiss alps yields constraints on the large scale vertical and lateral mechanical structure through the alpine continent continent collision zone strength profiles are evaluated for different assumptions on petrological stratification and strain rate and are based on temperature depth profiles derived from transient thermo kinematic modelling of the neoalpine orogeny the main contribution to the total strength results from the mantle lithosphere which is strongly controlled by temperature in contrast the crustal contribution is mainly determined by variations in petrological stratification a direct correlation between surface heat flow and the total strength of the crust the mantle lithosphere and the entire lithosphere crust and mantle lithosphere is not observed our results demonstrate that in tectonically active areas a transient thermal model along with detailed knowledge of the deep structure and petrology is necessary to evaluate lithospheric strength envelopes inside the collision zone strain rate has a strong control on the bottom of the mechanically strong crust whereas outside the collision zone the effect is less significant the cut off depth of seismicity along the profile which correlates largely with the bottom of the mechanically strong crust deviates from the 300 400 c isotherm the inferred effective elastic thickness for the molasse basin north of the alps is in agreement with flexural modelling results whereas for the southern alps the predictions deviate

late glacial and holocene glacier fluctuations and environmental change on south georgia southern ocean south georgia provides a terrestrial record of postglacial environmental change from a largely oceanic zone of the earth the record is representative of the southern westerlies and provides a link between antarctica and the temperate zones of southern south america evidence from glacial geomorphology slope stratigraphy and analyses of environmental indicators in peat and lake cores is used to interpret this record wastage of the full glacial ice cap was interrupted by a late glacial stade of the outlet and valley glaciers before ca 10 000 yr b p plant growth had begun at low altitude 50 m on the sheltered lee side northeast coast within the late glacial moraine limits by 9700 yr b p environmental conditions on slopes above 80 m probably were too rigorous for a stable vegetation cover until ca 6400 yr b p this was followed by a period from 5600 to 4800 yr b p when conditions were warmer than at present by up to 0 6 c periods of climatic cooling occurred at ca 4800 3800 yr b p ca 3400 1800 yr b p and within the last 1400 yr the most extensive holocene advance of south georgia glaciers culminated just before 2200 yr b p these holocene temperature changes of between 0 5 and 1 0 c are comparable in scale and timing to those identified from recent analyses of vostok ice cores from the antarctic ice sheet

uplift history of thrust belts an approach based on fission track data and thermal modelization abstract a tentative method to reconstruct the uplift history in thrust belts from fission tracks ft data is proposed as it is well established that the thermal gradient varies considerably both with time and depth in the evolution of mountains a time dependent thermal model is used to infer the temperature time history of sampled rocks given parameters such as the thrust thickness 7 t and the erosion v t randomly chosen in an acceptable range among a great number of trials monte carlo simulation this technique is applied to the corsican island which is a good example of alpine thrust belt the most striking result is that a large range of different possible erosion histories can explain the same set of ft data and that further geological constraints are required to give reasonable bounds in the case of corsica information on the minimum eroded thickness and on the relative amplitude of erosion phases gives sufficient constraints on the erosion uplift history since thrusting

distribution of clay minerals and proxies for productivity in surface sediments of the bellingshausen and amundsen seas west antarctica relation to modern environmental conditions surface sediments from the antarctic continental margin in the bellingshausen and amundsen seas pacific sector of the southern ocean were investigated in order to decipher their capability to record modern environmental conditions spatial distribution of terrigenous sand and mud reflect regional differences in current induced redeposition of glaciogenic debris clay mineral assemblages in the shelf sediments are controlled by the supply of terrigenous detritus from source rocks in the adjacent hinterland suggesting the occurrence of yet unknown sedimentary rocks in the hinterland of the amundsen sea clay mineral distribution on the continental rise in the bellingshausen sea points to the continuation of a bottom current from the antarctic peninsula rise to at least 94 w foraminifer bearing and opal poor deposits prevail on the continental margin in the western bellingshausen sea and the amundsen sea whereas diatom bearing and carbonate free sediments characterize the eastern bellingshausen sea different modes of biological production which were deduced from accumulation rates of biogenic barium during marine isotope stage 1 and recent productivity measurements obviously control the spatial pattern of opal and carbonate bearing sediments in the study area

microfossil distributions in modern amundsen sea sediments abstract acquisition of 20 piston cores from the amundsen sea continental shelf provides material for the first determinations of modern and paleo distributions of microfossils including planktonic and benthic foraminifera diatoms and radiolaria in this region microfossil analyses of filtered sea water and sea ice samples allow comparisons of the biocoenosis with the thanatocoenosis in the sediments in all three biotic provinces are distinguished 1 the outer shelf region north of thurston island is characterized by high abundances of planktonic and calcareous benthic foraminifera low diatom abundances in sediments here despite high abundances in the sea ice may reflect prevention of deposition by ocean currents 2 the southernmost province in pine island bay is marked by very low abundances of all microfossil groups possibly because the floating terminus of pine island glacier has retreated from this area only during the last 100 years in that case the polynya that exists today in this region during some austral summers is so recent a feature that little or no biogenic sediment has had an opportunity to accumulate beneath it 3 the eastern margin province situated between the pine island bay and outer margin provinces along the eastern coast of the amundsen sea is characterized by high abundances of diatoms and arenaceous benthic foraminifera which probably record the presence of the amundsen sea polynya in this area during the last 1000 to 2500 years dominance of the benthic fauna in this area by arenaceous foraminifera is a function of the great depth from which most cores in this area were retrieved 500 924 m below the ccd

benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the eastern weddell sea between 68 and 73 s distribution ecology and fossilization potential surface sediment samples taken with a vented box corer from the eastern weddell sea on four profiles perpendicular to the continental margin have been investigated for their benthic foraminiferal content the live fauna was differentiated from empty tests comprising the foraminiferal death assemblage based on the dead assemblages potential fossil assemblages were calculated to facilitate the analogy with late neogene core material five distinct live assemblages inhabit the continental margin today six dead assemblages and five potential fossil assemblages respectively correspond to these biocoenoses a predominantly calcareous live fauna dominated by trifarina angulosa is correlated with strong bottom currents and sandy sediments at the shelf break and on the uppermost continental slope below this on the upper slope down to 2000 m water depth the predominantly calcareous bulimina aculeata assemblage coincides with the core of warm 0 c weddell deep water and with fine and more organic rich sediments these calcareous live assemblages completely change composition during early diagenesis because of calcite dissolution within the uppermost sediment which depends largely on the grain size distribution of the sediment and the fluxes of organic matter therefore a still calcareous t angulosa dominated fossil assemblage indicates the sandy substrates on the shelf break and the upper slope whereas the deeper slope with hemipelagic calm sedimentation and with high fluxes of organic matter is indicated by martinottiella nodulosa the characteristic arenaceous fossil remnant of the former predominantly calcareous live b aculeata fauna on a continental terrace between 2500 and 3500 m water depth cribrostomoides subglobosus dominates the live fauna but because of rapid disintegration of the empty tests of this agglutinated species a predominantly calcareous fauna characterized by oridorsalis umbonatus and epistominella exigua comprises the dead assemblage and the potential fossil assemblage respectively on the lower continental slope between the carbonate lysocline 3500 m and the carbonate compensation depth 4000 m tests of nuttallides umbonifer are the characteristic dead and potential fossil remnants of a former predominantly arenaceous live fauna which is associated with the lower part of the antarctic bottom water aabw this corroborates earlier investigations suggesting a relationship between the carbonate corrosiveness of water masses and the distribution of n umbonifer this is important for inferring paleo routes and estimates of paleo production rates of aabw during the neogene

cenozoic glaciation in the southern hemisphere with the end of glaciation in gondwana in early permian time a prolonged interval began when the earth was without ice sheets though not necessarily free of mountain glaciers not until sometime during the tertiary era did ice sheets build up once more first in antarctica and later in the northern hemisphere the fundamental cause of the cooling that led to the formation of the antarctic ice sheet and eventually to major glaciation in lower latitudes is generally held to have been the increasing thermal isolation of antarctica as australia and later south america separated from it allowing zonal oceanic circulation to develop rifting between australia and antarctica began between 1 10 and 90 m y ago cande mutter 1982 but not until much later probably sometime between 30 and 25 m y ago had it progressed far enough for deep circulation to begin as the south tasman rise cleared north victoria land kennett et a1 1974 kennett 1977 weissel et ai 1977 however antarctica did not reach its present high level of thermal isolation until south america had separated from it enabling the antarctic circumpolar current to become established savin et ai 1975 according to barker burrell 1977 1982 coherent spreading between the antarctic peninsula and tierra del fuego started about 29 m y ago and deep circulation began 23 5 2 5 m y ago thereafter increasing in volume the initial ice fields and ice caps that later expanded to become the

clay interface shear resistance the shear of clays of varying plasticity against interfaces of different materials and varying roughness has been studied in the ring shear apparatus results are compared with the shearing resistance of clay on clay particular attention has been paid to shearing resistance with large displacements and the influence of the interface in changing the shearing mode the effect of corrosion of steel interfaces has been examined as has the effect of fast shearing

benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the eastern south atlantic polar front region between 35 and 57 s distribution ecology and fossilization potential abstract surface sediment samples taken with a multiple corer from the polar front region along two profiles in the eastern south atlantic sector between 35 and 57 s have been investigated for their benthic foraminiferal content live fauna was differentiated from the death assemblage based on the dead assemblages potential fossil assemblages dead fauna reduced by non resistant agglutinants were calculated for comparison with upper neogene core material the distribution of the potential fossil assemblages defined byq mode principal component analysis mirrors the recent hydrographic as well as the trophic situation in the eastern south atlantic ocean circulation and productivity two southern component bottom water faunas reflect the northward flow of antarctic bottom water aabw and lower circum polar deep water lcdw an assemblage dominated by the arenaceousmultifidella nodulosa below the calcite compensation depth ccd and anuttallides umbonifer dominated assemblage above the ccd in the region of highest bio silicious primary productivity south of the polar front and north of the winter sea ice limit these faunas are overprinted by a southern high productivity fauna dominated by infaunal species such aspullenia bulloides melonis pompilioides andm zaandamae north atlantic deep water nadw meets the circum polar deep water cdw at intermediate depth as reflected in the distribution of the northern component deep water fauna dominated byepistominella exigua the high productivity assemblage overprinting this fauna the northern high productivity fauna is dominated by the shallow endobenthicbulimina aculeata a strong bottom current fauna dominated byangulogerina angulosa characterizes areas between 400 and 900 m water depth with sandy sediment independent from water mass characteristics and food supply

living stained and dead foraminifera from the newly ice free larsen ice shelf weddell sea antarctica ecology and taphonomy within the past 7 years the northern larsen ice shelf has broken up so it is now possible to sample the sea floor that formerly lay beneath it box cores have yielded surface sediment samples 0 1 cm that give information on living and dead foraminiferal assemblages the living assemblages are of moderate diversity and four have 50 calcareous tests while five have 50 agglutinated tests this is an area of high primary production and the standing crops of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages are high all the dead assemblages are much enriched in agglutinated tests often 90 they give a time averaged record of the past 7 ice free years and several decades of ice cover the loss of permanent ice cover there is still seasonal ice cover may have caused some response from the fauna but it is likely that it was mainly changes in relative absolute abundance of the existing fauna the differences between the live and dead assemblages in the surface 1 cm are attributed mainly to taphonomic effects dissolution of calcareous tests and loss of fragile agglutinated tests subsurface samples down to 5 cm show that dissolution of calcareous tests is widespread and there may be some loss of fragile agglutinated forms such as reophax subdentaliniformis for these reasons in this area it may be best to make palaeoecological interpretations on the agglutinated component of the fossil assemblages