magnetic susceptibility as a high resolution correlation tool and as a climatic proxy in paleozoic rocks merits and pitfalls examples from the devonian in belgium low field magnetic susceptibility in measurements are quick and sensitive enabling the creation of high resolution records making in an attractive correlation tool and a proxy for paleoclimate and paleoenvironments in geologically young material foremost in cenozoic sediments in belongs to the geoscientist s toolkit however in is a convolved signal and may reflect other processes than the often implicitly inferred depositional conditions diagenesis remagnetization and low grade metamorphism can potentially obscure the original depositional in signal this aspect is particularly important when interpreting in records from paleozoic rocks here we review data obtained from a large sample collection of middle to upper devonian sections in belgium comparison of in trends with paleoenvironmental indicators facies and with detrital input proxies zr th ti al allowed to assess the persistence of depositional trends furthermore the in signal was deconvolved into its dominant mineralogical contributions with the help of magnetic property analysis the main results are pointing to a magnetic signal dominated by fine grained magnetite of which paleomagnetic analysis indicated a formation during carboniferous remagnetization this prompts a potentially strong influence of post depositional processes and it complicates the interpretation of in records in terms of depositional environments however in most of the sections there is a relatively good relationship between in trends and facies evolution and between in and geochemical proxies for detrital inputs this indicates that the newly formed magnetite grains would at least partly remain where they are formed and this allows a relative preservation of the original signal despite the strong influence of diagenesis two sections show a stronger impact of diagenesis where for about half of these sections the primary depositional information is lost the eifelian givetian monts de baileux section was selected for time series analysis of the in series the average spectral misfit asm method is applied to explicitly evaluate the null hypothesis of no orbital signal and in this section there is 99 05 chance that the ms signal is reflecting an orbital imprint

associations between burial diagenesis of smectite chemical remagnetization and magnetite authigenesis in the vocontian trough se france results of a paleomagnetic rock magnetic geochemical and petrographic study on jurassic and cretaceous carbonates in the vocontian trough support a hypothesized connection between burial diagenetic alteration of smectite and the widespread occurrence of a chemical remanent magnetization crm carried by magnetite where smectite has altered to other clay minerals limestones are characterized by a prefolding secondary normal polarity magnetization throughout the basin the magnetization is interpreted to be a crm based on low burial depths which cannot cause thermoviscous resetting where significant smectite is still present the crm is absent weakly developed and where the clays show no evidence for burial alteration the units are characterized by a primary magnetization crm intensity also varies with the amount of smectite and burial isothermal anhysteretic and natural remanent magnetization intensities increase where smectite has altered both stratigraphically and geographically this is interpreted to indicate magnetite authigenesis associated with clay diagenesis superparamagnetic magnetite is more dominant in highly altered units based on the results of low temperature experiments all sections away from the alps have 87sr 86sr values that are similar to coeval seawater and stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen show no sign of alteration orogenic type fluids therefore are not a likely agent of remagnetization near the alps the rocks are characterized by an additional reversed polarity component which is interpreted to reflect acquisition of the crm through a reversal a postfolding magnetization is also present there and strontium isotopic ratios are higher than elsewhere in the basin and might indicate some alteration by orogenic type fluids we conclude that burial diagenesis of smectite is the likely cause for the development of the widespread crm in the vocontian trough and that this mechanism might explain widespread chemical remagnetization elsewhere

comparison of magnetic hysteresis parameters of unremagnetized and remagnetized limestones for white magnetite bearing mesozoic pelagic limestones from italy which carry a primary magnetization the values of mrs ms and hcr hc generally lie in the pseudo single domain psd field of the day et al 1977 plot the logarithmic plot of mrs ms against hcr hc gives a straight line r 0 814 with slope and intercept close to the empirical mixing line of parry 1982 for single domain sd and multidomain md magnetite for one of the white pelagic limestone formations maiolica formation samples with hysteresis ratios closer to the md field display increased paramagnetic susceptibility and are from the upper part of the formation characterized by increased detrital clay we therefore associate the increased md magnetite with increased detrital influx for pinkish and reddish varieties of the italian pelagic limestones the presence of hematite is manifest by high saturation fields a wide range of hcr hc and wasp waisted hysteresis loops attributed to the mixing of magnetite and high coercivity authigenic hematite the hysteresis ratios for a collection of paleozoic and mesozoic remagnetized magnetite bearing limestones from britain nevada alaska and the appalachians lie mainly outside the psd field and appear to follow a power law trend following jackson et al 1993 the high values of hcr hc and the characteristically wasp waisted hysteresis loops can be interpreted in terms of a fine grained subspherical high coercivity sd magnetite mixed with a high proportion of superparamagnetic magnetite the slope and intercept of the power law relationship for mrs ms and hcr hc in the remagnetized limestones are distinct from those observed for the italian limestones and may provide a means of fingerprinting magnetite of primary as opposed to diagenetic origin

magnetite authigenesis and diagenetic paleotemperatures across the northern appalachian basin the concentration of magnetite in the lower and middle devonian helderberg and onondaga carbonate formations varies in a distinct pattern along an east west profile across new york state magnetite concentrations are uniformly low in the western half of the profile increase sharply eastward to a peak value near syracuse and decrease farther east the pattern strongly resembles previously reported variations in the extent of clay mineral diagenesis that reflect differences in paleotemperatures along the profile previous paleomagnetic studies have documented that the magnetite carries a well defined magnetization of pennsylvanian permian age and magnetite authigenesis is therefore no younger than late paleozoic we attribute the correlation between high magnetite concentration and high illite content to temperature dependent diagenesis triggered by orogenic fluids the large proportion of secondary magnetite indicates that over most of the area the mechanism of late paleozoic remagnetization was principally chemical thermal effects played a less direct role in the remagnetization of the strata by controlling the extent of the chemical processes that resulted in overprinting of the original remanence

potbellies wasp waists and superparamagnetism in magnetic hysteresis because the response of a magnetic substance to an applied field depends strongly on the physical properties of the material much can be learned by monitoring that response through what is known as a magnetic hysteresis loop the measurements are rapid and quickly becoming part of the standard set of tools supporting paleomagnetic research yet the interpretation of hysteresis loops is not simple it has become apparent that although classic single domain pseudo single domain and multidomain loops described in textbooks occur in natural samples loops are frequently distorted having constricted middles wasp waisted loops or spreading middles and slouching shoulders potbellies such complicated loops are often interpreted in oversimplified ways leading to erroneous conclusions the physics of the problem have been understood for nearly half a century yet numerical simulations appropriate to geological materials are almost unavailable in this paper we discuss results of numerical simulations using the simplest of systems the single domain superparamagnetic sd sp system examination of the synthetic hysteresis loops leads to the following observations 1 wasp waisting and potbellies can easily be generated from populations of sd and sp grains 2 wasp waisting requires an sp contribution that saturates quickly resulting in a steep initial slope and potbellies require low initial slopes the sp contribution approaching saturation at higher fields the approach to saturation is dependent on volume hence the cube of grain diameter therefore there is a very strong dependence of hysteresis loop shape on the assumed threshold size 3 we were unable to generate potbellies using an sp sd threshold size as large as 30 nm and wasp waists cannot be generated using a threshold size as small as 8 nm the occurrence of both potbellies and wasp waists in natural samples is consistent with a room temperature threshold size of some 15 nm 5 4 simulations using a threshold size of 15 20 nm with populations dominated by sp grain sizes that is with a small number of sd grains produce synthetic hysteresis loops consistent with measured hysteresis loops and transmission electron microscopic observations from submarine basaltic glass 5 simulations and measurements using two populations with distinct coercivity spectra can also generate wasp waisted loops a relatively straightforward analysis of the resulting loops can distinguish the latter case from wasp waisting resulting from sp sd behavior

insolation values for the climate of the last 10 million years new values for the astronomical parameters of the earth s orbit and rotation eccentricity obliquity and precession are proposed for paleoclimatic research related to the late miocene the pliocene and the quaternary they have been obtained from a numerical solution of the lagrangian system of the planetary point masses and from an analytical solution of the poisson equations of the earth moon system the analytical expansion allows the direct determination of the main frequencies with their phase and amplitude numerical and analytical comparisons with the former astronomical solution ber78 are performed so that the accuracy and the interval of time over which the new solution is valid can be estimated the corresponding insolation values have also been computed this analysis leads to the conclusion that the new values are expected to be reliable over the last 5 ma in the time domain and at least over the last 10 ma in the frequency domain

the late pleistocene palaeoclimatic record of north atlantic deep sea sediments revealed by mineral magnetic measurements eight cores of north atlantic deep sea sediment are correlated using simple rapid and non destructive measurements of magnetic susceptibility and isothermal remanence this stratigraphy is demonstrably related to late pleistocene palaeoclimatic variations by comparison with the oxygen isotope and microfossil records of these cores fluctuations in the concentration dependent magnetic properties of the cores largely reflect their lithological composition consisting of climatically modulated cycles of marl glacial horizons and nannofossil chalk interglacial horizons high magnetic concentration characterises glacial horizons which correspond to periods when carbonate productivity was severely restricted and ice rafted detrital inputs were prolific coincident with the migration south of the north atlantic polar front to within 3 of latitude north of the coring site in contrast interglacial horizons are characterised by low magnetic concentration and high carbonate content of the sediment consequent on the retreat of the polar front and the re establishment of coccolith floras in its wake during these periods ratios formed between individual magnetic parameters are independent of magnetic concentration and are thus free of any climatic influences wrought by carbonate oscillations in this study however such ratios exhibit a definite response to palaeoclimatic variations attributable to differences in the composition and grain size of the magnetic mineral assemblage of glacial vis a vis interglacial horizons of the cores these differences in mineral magnetic composition are substantially confirmed by mossbauer effect studies of selected samples representing peak glacial and interglacial horizons of one core such glacial interglacial contrasts in the concentration mineralogy and grain size of the magnetic assemblage most probably result from variations in the source and flux density of detritral inputs induced by changes in climate x ray diffraction studies of the same core indicate that variations in the mineralogy of the detrital fraction of the sediment are consistent with those of the magnetic assemblage together these data point to the conclusion that a subsidiary low latitude possibly aeolian detrital flux supplements high latitude ice rafted input in glacial horizons of the cores the low latitude flux however is also identifiable in interglacial horizons independent evidence suggests that this low latitude aeolian flux may be derived from the sahel region of north africa and transported to the coring site by harmattan winds associated with saharan dust outbreaks

influence of sedimentary setting on the use of magnetic susceptibility examples from the devonian of belgium bulk magnetic susceptibility measurements on sedimentological samples from all geological periods have been used widely in the last two decades for correlations and as a proxy for sea level variations this paper explores the link between magnetic susceptibility depositional setting and environmental parameters these environmental parameters include distal proximal transects microfacies successions and fourth order trends on different carbonate platform types platform ramp carbonate mound or atoll during different devonian stages eifelian givetian and frasnian average magnetic susceptibility values over a distal proximal trending facies succession vary markedly with depositional setting on carbonate platforms average magnetic susceptibility generally increases towards the top of shallowing upward sequences on a distal proximal transect average magnetic susceptibility is intermediate for the deepest facies decreases for the reef belts and increases to a maximum in the back reef zone in ramps and atolls magnetic susceptibility trends clearly differ average magnetic susceptibility generally decreases towards the top of shallowing upward sequences and is highest in the deepest facies the strong relationship between magnetic susceptibility facies and sequences implies a strong environmental influence however the different responses in the different platform types suggest that sea level changes leading to variation in detrital input is not the only parameter controlling average magnetic susceptibility values other primary or secondary processes also probably influenced magnetic mineral distribution primary processes such as carbonate production and water agitation during deposition are probably key factors when carbonate production is high the proportion of magnetic minerals is diluted and the magnetic susceptibility signal decreases high water agitation during deposition will also selectively remove magnetic minerals and will lead to low average magnetic susceptibility values these parameters explain the lowest values observed on the reef platform inner ramp and atoll crown which are all in areas characterized by higher carbonate production and greater water agitation during deposition the lowest values observed in the lagoon inside the atoll crown can be related to detrital isolation by the atoll crown however other parameters such as biogenic magnetite production or diagenesis can also influence the magnetic signal diagenesis can change magnetism by creating or destroying magnetic minerals however the influence of diagenesis probably is linked strongly to the primary facies permeability amount of clay or organic matter and probably enhanced the primary signal the complexity of the signal gives rise to correlation problems between different depositional settings thus while magnetic susceptibility has the potential to be an important correlation tool the results of this investigation indicate that it cannot be used without consideration of sedimentary processes and depositional environments and without strong biostratigraphical control

a record of glacial interglacial alternations in pleistocene sediments off new jersey expressed by clay mineral grain size and magnetic susceptibility data abstract clay mineral grain size and magnetic susceptibility measurements have been performed on a high resolution sampling of pleistocene clayey silts and silty clays drilled at odp site 902 hole d located on the upper slope off new jersey nw atlantic the combination of data from different techniques and their comparison with 18 o and gamma ray attenuation porosity evaluator grape data allow us to clearly distinguish between sediments deposited during glacial and interglacial cycles glacial sediments are poorly sorted rich in either clay or sand and characterized by the abundance of chlorite and high magnetic susceptibility values in contrast interglacial sediments are well sorted silt dominated and poor in chlorite the hudson river and its tributaries draining the appalachian highlands appear to constitute the perennial sources of the detrital input including quartz feldspars amphibole and a clay fraction dominantly composed of illite random mixed layers and kaolinite during glacial stages the terrigenous sedimentation was enhanced by additional input of chlorite from glacial erosion in northeastern america the variations in chlorite amounts supplied to the ocean were probably controlled by the ice sheet advances and retreats these variations are quantified by the kaolinite chlorite ratio k c which constitutes a reliable marker of glacial and interglacial influences on the terrigenous sedimentation

widespread chemical remagnetization orogenic fluids or burial diagenesis of clays paleomagnetic rock magnetic and geochemical results from mesozoic carbonates in the vocontian trough in southeast france support a hypothesized acquisition of a chemical remanent magnetization crm during burial diagenesis of smectite and are inconsistent with an orogenic fluid remagnetization mechanism the geographic and vertical distribution of a widespread crm which resides in magnetite is parallel to the degree of burial diagenesis of clays the crm is absent only where there is no evidence for clay diagenesis the crm is poorly developed where significant smectite is still present and is well developed with higher natural and anhysteretic remanent intensities where smectite has completely altered to illite strontium isotope results do not support alteration by orogenic type fluids a commonly invoked mechanism for similar crms the results suggest that the burial diagenesis of clays is a viable remagnetization mechanism for limestones in the vocontian trough

quantification of deep time orbital forcing by average spectral misfit quantification of milankovitch orbital cyclicity within ancient strata has become a principal tool for refinement of the geologic time scale however accurate characterization of the orbital signal in deep time paleoclimate records is commonly challenged by inadequate radiometric time constraints for calibration of the spatial rhythms to temporal periods this problem can potentially introduce large errors into derivative orbital timescales in this study we develop a new method for the identification and calibration of orbital cyclicity in cyclostratigraphic records the method average spectral misfit or asm yields an objective estimate of the optimal sedimentation rate for a stratigraphic interval that preserves a record of orbital forcing the technique also provides a formal statistical test for rejecting the null hypothesis no orbital signal application of the method to assess orbital cyclicity in the upper bridge creek limestone member turonian of the western interior basin highlights the utility of this new cyclostratigraphic tool and provides a means to independently evaluate conflicting interpretations of the lithologic cycles importantly asm offers a new consistent standard by which orbital timescales may be compared hence the quality of an orbital timescale can be formally qualified by reporting its average spectral misfit and null hypothesis significance level this technique will permit improvement of mesozoic cenozoic orbital timescales and extension of orbital time scale development into the paleozoic as the method is not dependent upon well constrained radiometric age data

astronomical forcing of the east asian monsoon mirrored by the composition of pliocene south china sea sediments abstract high precision major and minor element records of pliocene core intervals from ocean drilling program odp site 1145 located in the northern part of the south china sea were generated at a 5 cm approximately 2 kyr resolution from the geochemical data distinct proxies those indicating changes in detrital matter provenance as well as those indicating productivity variations could be derived both the terrigenous input to the northern south china sea k si and variations in productivity ba al show a response to insolation forced monsoon variability while the fluvial input k si responds to changes in the summer monsoon productivity increases as documented by ba enrichments seem to reflect variations in winter monsoon intensity a stronger winter monsoon may have increased nutrient availability via dust input and or upwelling phenomena according to our geochemical proxy records summer and winter monsoons are approximately 180 out of phase this may imply forcing of the winter monsoon through southern hemisphere summer insolation maxima the k si ratio shows a linear correlation with the la90 1 0 5 northern hemisphere summer insolation record and has therefore been used to create an astronomical timescale for the investigated sediments of odp site 1145 carbonate contents and corresponding color reflectances display 41 and 100 kyr cycles we propose that these do not reflect glacial cycles but are rather the result of an interference signal of dilution by fluvial and eolian terrigenous material and carbonate production burial flux a sudden onset of gradual changes in sediment composition occurs after 3 0 ma this is also documented by an increase in sedimentation rates and may be caused by enhanced fluvial input from the pearl river due to intensified weathering rates on the asian continent this may be linked to tectonic processes around the himalayan tibetan complex and its consequences regarding land sea heating and atmospheric circulation

high resolution cyclostratigraphic analysis from magnetic susceptibility in a lower kimmeridgian upper jurassic marl limestone succession la meouge vocontian basin france abstract high resolution magnetic susceptibility ms analysis was carried out on a lower kimmeridgian alternating marl limestone succession of pelagic origin that crops out at la meouge vocontian basin southeastern france the aim of the study was to characterize the strong dm scale sedimentary cyclicity of the succession at a very high resolution and to analyze the cycles for evidence of astronomical forcing from marl to limestone ms varies progressively and closely tracks the highest frequency cyclicity corresponding to the basic marl limestone couplets long term wavelength cycling modulates the high frequency cyclicity couplets and appears to be controlled by clay content spectral analysis of the ms record reveals the presence of the complete suite of orbital frequencies in the precession obliquity and eccentricity 95 128 ka and 405 ka bands with very high amplitude of the precession index cycles originating from dm scale couplets 405 ka eccentricity cycles are very pronounced in the ms maxima of the marl members of the couplets suggesting eccentricity driven detrital input to the basin 405 ka orbital tuning of the ms maxima further sharpens all of the orbital frequencies present in the succession these results are similar to those of previous studies at la meouge that used carbonate content observed in field our results are also in accordance with cyclostratigraphic studies in spain and canada that report dominant precession index forcing by contrast in the kimmeridge clay dorset uk obliquity forcing dominates cyclic sedimentation with weaker influence from the precession index ammonite zone duration estimates are made by counting the interpreted precession cycles and provide an ultra high resolution assessment of geologic time in sum this study demonstrates the power of the ms as a proxy in characterizing the high resolution cyclostratigraphy of mesozoic sections particularly in alternating marl limestone successions and for high resolution correlation and astronomical calibration of the geologic time scale

accumulation rates from well dated late neogene carbonate platforms and margins abstract margins of large carbonate platforms isolated platforms and atolls are dynamic settings that both generate and accumulate sediments with the exceptions of modern platforms the rates of accumulation are often poorly constrained due to inadequate or unreliable subsurface age data a compilation is here presented of well dated late neogene ice house platform and margin accumulation for the interval from 7 to 2 ma the rates are grouped according to platform type and setting sea level effects and subsidence bathymetry control are the significant influences the six settings are 1 slow aggraded platform 2 partially drowned platform 3 fast aggraded platform 4 atolls 5 prograded margin and 6 periplatform mean rates are 10 to 20 m my for slow aggraded and partially drowned platforms 20 40 m my for atolls and a fast aggraded platform 40 m my for a current dominated prograded margin and 40 110 m my for most prograded and periplatform systems the maximum rates measured from the age depth plot are generally two to three times as high the mean accumulation rates and maximum rates are primarily related to the influence of sea level and to a lesser extent regional subsidence the shallow platforms and atolls are directly sea level controlled whereas the deeper margins are sea level influenced the platform top deposits have the lowest rates of accumulation 10 26 m my due to subaerial exposure and only intermittent flooding the deeper platform margins below lowstand base level are influenced by events on the shallow platform mainly to sediment production and offbank transport slope erosion and redeposition are also important prograded margins and periplatforms accept large volumes of allochthonous sediment and can have periods of extremely high 200 m my vertical accumulation separated by intervals of non deposition erosion or sediment bypass these data despite limitations provide some basic values for ice house carbonate accumulation and the relevant extrinsic controls the late neogene rates can help constrain the sediment dynamics of the carbonate platform and flank system data especially important for calibration of computer models and for the resultant reservoir attributes

diagenetic sources of stable remanence in remagnetized paleozoic cratonic carbonates a rock magnetic study hysteresis measurements lowrie fuller tests cisowski tests and low temperature demagnetization experiments on samples of the knox dolomite trenton limestone and onondaga limestone indicate that the remanence in these remagnetized carbonate units resides principally in single domain magnetite in contrast to previous interpretations volumetrically however a significant fraction of the magnetite is coarser grained as previous scanning electron microscopic work on magnetic extracts has shown these conclusions are based mainly on the characteristic wasp waisted shape of the hysteresis loops and on the anomalously high ratios of remanent coercivity to bulk coercivity both of which clearly indicate a bimodal distribution of coercivities grain sizes the magnetization is controlled mainly by cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy consistent with the spheroidal particles commonly observed in extracts hysteresis trends show that especially the finest particles lack shape anisotropy in view of these conclusions the two components of natural remanence in these rocks are interpreted as 1 a late paleozoic kiaman chemical remanence carried by single domain diagenetic magnetite and 2 a cenozoic thermoviscous overprint residing principally in coarser pseudosingle domain and multidomain magnetite also of late paleozoic diagenetic origin

the frasnian famennian boundary interval in the south polish moravian shelf basins integrated event stratigraphical approach abstract the late devonian mass extinction event near the frasnian famennian f f boundary has been analysed using conodont biostratigraphy and biofacies sedimentology magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry in reference sections of the south polish moravian shelf holy cross mountains cracow and brno areas high resolution biostratigraphic study revealed difficulties in the precise recognition of this natural stage boundary but confirmed the occurrence of a major third order sequence boundary in the f f transition in an active synsedimentary tectonic setting marked by erosional discontinuities hardgrounds and brecciation or omission surfaces conclusive evidence of an extraterrestrial impact has not been found among earth bound factors the main devastating role in the shelf habitats is ascribed to fluctuating anoxia and or nutrient dynamics in a disturbed greenhouse climatic setting the long term facies changes were determined by a conspicuous break in carbonate production accompanied by replacement of mature stromatoporoid coral reefs by pioneer shelly crinoid banks microbial mounds and localised oolitic bars the key f f passage interval was marked by intermittent but generally accelerated periplatform ooze debris input and severe storm events as well as by probably highly fluctuating oxygenation and biological overproduction best manifested in radiolarian silicisponge and cephalopod acmes eutrophication phenomena at least partly stimulated by various hydrothermal and volcanic processes were one of the major biogeochemical processes during this climax of the late devonian biotic crisis however significant oceanographic perturbations were also linked with the onset of the transgressive hypoxic upper kellwasser event still within the latest frasnian linguiformis zone i e well before the f f conodont collapse implied variations in the redox state of seawater through the kellwasser timespan probably in regionally highly variable temporal scales are in agreement with recent palaeoecological and biogeochemical inferences in particular suggesting recovering oxygenation just prior to the f f boundary in the other laurussian intrashelf basins all the data support a long time multicausal earth bound crisis instead a worldwide cosmic catastrophe

remagnetization by basinal fluids testing the hypothesis in the viola limestone southern oklahoma migration of orogenic or basinal fluids is a recently invoked mechanism to explain the widespread presence of late paleozoic secondary magnetizations in the rocks of north america paleomagnetic and geochemical results from the ordovician viola limestone in southern oklahoma are evaluated to assess the role of basinal fluids in leading to secondary magnetizations in the unit the viola limestone contains what we interpret to be a pervasive pennsylvanian synfolding magnetization residing in magnetite and a localized permian magnetization which resides in hematite and occurs in alteration zones around mineralized veins both secondary magnetizations are interpreted as chemical remanent magnetizations crm based on low burial temperatures and the presence of authigenic magnetic phases the relative proportion of the permian crm in hematite gradually decreases whereas the magnetite crm increases with distance from the veins fluid inclusion and sr isotope studies indicate that the vein mineralization calcite with mississippi valley type oxides and sulfides precipitated from basinal fluids which were warm saline and radiogenic the radiogenic 87sr 86sr values of the limestones in the alteration zones and the fact that there is more significant alteration closer to the veins suggests that the basinal fluids were also responsible for alteration in the limestones the coincidence of the geochemical and remagnetization trends suggests that the permian crm dates the migration of basinal fluids through the veins geochemical results from the viola limestone containing the pervasive crm indicate that it is relatively unaltered with no evidence for basinal fluids the lack of evidence for basinal fluids suggests that other mechanisms for the origin of the pervasive crm need to be tested the results of this study indicate that flow of basinal fluids was focused in veins and only locally altered the host limestone

accretion of a rifted passive margin the late paleozoic rhenohercynian fold and thrust belt middle european variscides in the western rhenish massif the rhenohercynian fold and thrust belt of the middle european varsicides exposes a telescoped complete devonian to early carboniferous passive margin this permits the analysis of geometry and kinematic processes of passive margin accretion to an erogenic wedge during variscan collision 330 300 ma the sedimentary cover of the passive margin was shortened by some 50 or 180 km crustal scale balancing and restoration reveals a wide symmetric rift with a central graben a marginal plateau separated this failed lower devonian rift from an emsian middle devonian oceanic basin in the south remnants of which are preserved in the southernmost imbricates and the giessen harz nappes the seismically well imaged aachen midi detachment faille du midi acted as the basal decollement of this thin to thick skinned orogenic wedge it shows a ramp and flat geometry from the blind tip down to middle crustal levels owing to its position below the base of the basin fill the thick synrift sequence and structure controlled structural evolution during contraction by localizing thrust branch lines and by inversion of rift structures synthetic to the subduction direction with formation of basement footwall shortcuts moreover the three dimensional detachment geometry shows large scale oblique ramp flat features which control the architecture of the belt and the distribution of metamorphic grade rocks and fabrics from the detachment show that the latter was located at the transition into the ductile field at the fossil 300 400 c isotherm in the restored section the detachment trajectory displays a saucershaped geometry rising to the surface at the rear and at the front this suggests that the basal detachment propagated into the passive margin by ductile failure during lithospheric flexure under the load of an advancing upper plate the regional pattern of synkinematic metamorphic grade shows varying modes of margin accretion basal underplating into the orogenic wedge by the shelf slope and marginal plateau with formation of duplex stacks and elongate thrust sheets and frontal accretion of the remaining thicker failed rift in the north into the propagating wedge with formation of several imbricate fans cyclical changes in accretion history and or critical taper are suggested by spaced domains of out of sequence thickening these are also related to internal domainal kinematic partitioning of the wedge controlled by oblique collision

dye dispersion in the seasonal thermocline abstract a dye dispersion experiment was performed in september 1979 in the open ocean approximately 180 km off the east coast of florida an initially vertical sheet of dye extending from about 60 to 100 meters in depth and about 10 kilometers long was dispensed into the seasonal thermocline its subsequent evolution was recorded with an instrumented chain that included 25 fluorometers which was towed back and forth across the dye sheet by another vessel the dye sheet was crossed 17 times at ages varying from 6 minutes to slightly less than 4 hours two of the most apparent effects in the data were the important of vertical shear and the presence of intermittency in the dye time series it is found that the depth averaged width of the dye sheet grows as time to the 3 2 power there is good evidence that a shear diffusion interaction is responsible for this growth which implies an effective vertical diffusivity of 1 0 0 5 cm 2 s 1 even though this is an upper ocean experiment there is some cons

remagnetization in bituminous limestones of the neoproterozoic araras group amazon craton hydrocarbon maturation burial diagenesis or both 1 neoproterozoic carbonates of the araras group exhibit two distinct magnetic components across the same carbonate succession in a cross section between the amazon craton and the paraguay fold belt pink dolostones of the mirassol d oeste formation carry a dual polarity primary component whereas black bituminous limestones of the guia formation yield a secondary postfolding component magnetic signatures of the guia limestones such as high anhysteretic remanence magnetization saturation isothermal remanence magnetization ratios high frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility and contradictory lowrie fuller and cisowski tests are typical of remagnetized carbonates unblocking temperatures suggest that the stable high temperature remanence is carried by both pyrrhotite and magnetite for which an authigenic origin is suggested by scanning electron microscope observations the different magnetic properties noted between dolostones with or without bitumen and between dolostones and limestones in the same metamorphic conditions lead to the hypothesis that the amount of hydrocarbon as well as the lithology influence nucleation of authigenic magnetic minerals in these rocks presence of magnetite pseudoframboids and euhedral iron sulphide crystals occurring in fracture and voids are in favor of a chemical remanence crm the presence of pyrrhotite as one of the main carriers of crm in these rocks and its association with bitumen in fractures is probably related to an epigenetic enrichment of sulfur due to hydrocarbon seepage however hydrocarbon maturation solely could not explain the differences of the magnetic mineralogy observed in the craton and the fold belt enhanced magnetite formation in the thrust and fold belt is interpreted to be the result of higher temperatures leading to stronger diagenesis of clay minerals

environmental magnetism a practical guide j walden f oldfield j and smith eds technical guide no 6 quaternary research association london 1999 243 pp price 17 00 9 00 to qra members isbn 0 907780 42 3

diagenetic versus detrital origin of the magnetic susceptibility variations in some carbonate frasnian famennian boundary sections from northern africa and western europe implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions to provide a new insight into the diagenetic versus detrital origin of the magnetic susceptibility variations in ancient carbonate sequences a study was conducted within four frasnian famennian platform carbonate sections from germany france and morocco the study includes along section magnetic susceptibility and carbonate content measurements complemented by analyses of magnetic hysteresis parameters inorganic geochemistry and clay mineralogy our results show that the magnetic susceptibility evolution is dominantly controlled by the variations in the concentration of low coercivity ferromagnetic magnetite grains and to a lesser extent of paramagnetic clays in more detail hysteresis ratios suggest the coexistence of two magnetite populations with significantly different grain size 1 a dominantly coarse grained detrital fraction including a mixture of multi domain and single domain particles 2 an authigenic fine grained fraction composed of a mixture of single domain and superparamagnetic particles despite a diagenetic imprint on the clay assemblages no relationship is established between magnetic susceptibility and illite crystallinity therefore discarding a noticeable distortion of primary within section magnetic susceptibility evolution the overall inherited character of the magnetic susceptibility fluctuations is corroborated by a significant correlation of magnetic susceptibility with terrigenous proxies zr th the poorer correlation of magnetic susceptibility with the fe content is consistent with the existence of a very fine grained authigenic magnetite component that possibly induces a global magnetic susceptibility increase at the section scale but no distortion of the within section evolution the magnetic susceptibility curves presented here provide a general record of climate driven detrital influx and carbonate productivity through frasnian lower famennian times

identification of remagnetization processes in paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the northeast rhenish massif in germany by k ar dating and ree tracing of authigenic illite and fe oxides 1 this study combines mineralogical chemical rare earth elemental ree and isotopic k ar data of clay minerals as well as chemical compositions major and ree of fe oxide leachates from remagnetized palaeozoic sedimentary rocks from ne rhenish massif in germany for which the causes of remagnetization are not yet clear the dominant carrier of the syntectonic pervasive carboniferous magnetization is magnetite the middle devonian clastic rocks record an illitization event at 348 7 ma probably connected to a major magmatic event in the mid german crystalline rise whereas a second illitization episode at 324 3 ma is coeval to the northward migrating deformation through the rhenish massif being only detected in upper devonian and lower carboniferous rocks the age of that younger illitization is not significantly different from that of the remagnetization which however is not restricted to the upper part of the orogenic belt but affects also the middle devonian strata the ree patterns of the fe enriched leachates support two mineralization episodes with varied oxidation reduction conditions outlined by varied eu and ce anomalies this is not compatible with a unique pervasive migration of orogenic fluids on a regional scale to explain the remagnetization in the studied region while clay diagenesis and remagnetization are time equivalent in upper devonian and lower carboniferous rocks they are not so in middle devonian rocks transformation of smectite into illite cannot therefore account for the growth of associated authigenic magnetite which must have been triggered by a different process since remagnetization and deformation ages are similar the mechanism could relate to local physical conditions such as pressure solution and changing pore fluid pressure due to tectonic stress as well as to chemical conditions such as changing composition of the pore fluids

pre and synorogenic burial metamorphism in the ardenne and neighbouring areas rhenohercynian zone central european variscides abstract the rhenohercynian zone of the central european variscides contains in the central ardenne eifel brabant campine region of belgium france germany and luxemburg an omnipresent thermal overprint which reaches in places uppermost epizonal conditions because of its distribution and structural relationships this metamorphism cannot be explained by a singular tectonometamorphic event field and microstructural observations new illite crystallinity and other data relating to this metamorphism are presented together with a review of existing petrological illite crystallinity vitrinite reflectance conodont alteration index and fluid inclusion data and their relationship to small and regional scale geological structures three distinct geotectonic situations can be described which overlap and alternate in space and time 1 the oldest metamorphism which reached epizonal conditions can be localized in the pre devonian basement rocks of the brabant massif and with minor evidence of the stavelot massif further south it is clearly related to a pre variscan caledonian deformation event and could be of burial origin 2 the main regional metamorphism affected all devonian and carboniferous rocks and the lower palaeozoic basement highs of the ardenne eifel area it does not exceed diagenetic conditions in some areas but reaches maximal values of 500 c and 400 mpa in the serpont and rocroi massif areas theye and fransolet 1993 robion et al 1995 it is pre to synkinematic to the main variscan contractional penetrative deformation and correlates well with the age and thickness of the sedimentary cover rocks the metamorphism is associated with the pre carboniferous preorogenic rifting stage of the rhenohercynian basin and documents the peak of subsidence and sediment accumulation we interpret it as diastathermal metamorphism it reaches its maximum in the low grade metamorphic zones of the ardenne area which are inverted synsedimentary structures 3 the diastathermal metamorphism is overprinted in the central part of the ardenne eifel area middle devonian to carboniferous rocks of the dinant synclinorium by an anchizonal beginning epizonal metamorphism in the foreland basins north of the midi fault zone it reaches diagenetic to lowermost anchizonal conditions it is the expression of the burial by thick synorogenic mid to upper carboniferous cover rocks which were deposited in piggyback and foreland basins this clastic wedge relates to the carboniferous contraction of the rhenohercynian basin whose metamorphosed rocks were themselves affected by the deformation of the advancing orogenic front

physical interpretation of hysteresis loops micromagnetic modeling of fine particle magnetite 1 hysteresis measurements have become an important part of characterizing magnetic behavior of rocks in paleomagnetic studies theoretical interpretation is often difficult owing to the complexity of mineral magnetism and published data sets demonstrate remanence and coercivity behavior that is currently unexplained in the last decade numerical micromagnetic modeling has been used to simulate magnetic particles such simulations reveal the existence of nonuniform remanent states between single and multidomain known as the flower and vortex configurations these suggest plausible explanations for many hysteresis measurements yet fall short of explaining high saturation remanence high coercivity data such as those commonly observed in fine grained submarine basalts in this paper we review the theoretical and experimental progress to date in understanding hysteresis of geological materials we extend numerical simulations to a greater variety of shapes and sizes including random assemblages of particles and shapes more complex than simple rods and cubes our simulations provide plausible explanations for a wide range of hysteresis behavior

stability of the astronomical frequencies over the earth s history for paleoclimate studies the expected changes over the past 500 million years in the principal astronomical frequencies influencing the earth s climate may be strong enough to be detectable in the geological records and such effects have been inferred in several cases calculations suggest that the shortening of the earth moon distance and of the length of the day back in time induced a shortening of the fundamental periods for the obliquity and climatic precession from 54 to 35 41 to 29 23 to 19 and 19 to 16 thousand years over the last half billion years at the same time the precessional constant increased from 50 to 61 arc seconds per year the changes in the frequencies of the planetary system due to its chaotic motion are much smaller their influence on the changes of the periods of climatic precession obliquity and eccentricity of the earth s orbit around the sun can be neglected eccentricity periods used for quaternary climate studies may therefore be considered to have been more or less constant for pre quaternary times

isothermal magnetization of samples with stable preisach function a survey of hysteresis remanence and rock magnetic parameters isothermal magnetization curves like hysteresis loops initial curves back field curves acquisition curves and demagnetizing curves of isothermal remanent magnetization are commonly used for rock magnetic purposes in this study we investigate the relations among these curves and other useful magnetization curves saturation initial curve and induced and remanent hysteretic magnetization curves in order to compare coercivity and domain state parameters which can be derived from them most natural samples especially sediments are weakly magnetic and possess relatively stable preisach functions their magnetization states can therefore be described by classical preisach theory this approach verifies well known rules and establishes some formerly unreported relations between isothermal magnetization curves and parameters it is possible to point out sets of mathematically independent isothermal magnetization curves and to state theoretical interrelations between dependent curves by simply inspecting preisach diagrams furthermore we define six elemental isothermal magnetization curves from a general partition scheme of the preisach diagram they can be easily obtained from common measurements and generate all above mentioned curves the experimental applicability of our results is demonstrated for three single domain pseudo single domain multidomain marine sediment samples a physical rationale of the elemental curves reveals favorable properties for the investigation of interaction and domain state as a spin off from the general results a new hysteresis based procedure for the measurement of hcr is presented we also propose an apparently more robust hysteresis derived domain state parameter and a generalized version of the well known r parameter all presented methods can be applied without actually measuring preisach functions

insights into the mechanism for orogen related carbonate remagnetization from growth of authigenic fe oxide a scanning electron microscopy and rock magnetic study of devonian carbonates from northern spain 1 a rock magnetic and sem study of devonian carbonates from the cantabria asturias region northern spain was undertaken to further our understanding of the pervasive remagnetization of carbonate rocks during the late paleozoic and the mechanism by which these remagnetizations occur these rocks contain three ancient late paleozoic magnetizations the rock magnetic properties of mineral extracts were compared with those of whole rock chips and nonmagnetic residue to deduce magnetic carrier s and grain sizes hysteresis measurements for rock chips show typical wasp waisted loops whereas extract shows typical pseudosingle domain like psd unrestricted loops within all sites there is a noticeable contribution of superparamagnetic sp grains seen in hysteresis properties and low temperature magnetization measurements of whole rock chips whereas a trend away from a strong sp contribution is seen when hysteresis properties of whole rock are compared with those of residue and extract consequently our extraction process predictably removes sp grains while preserving the characteristic fraction of remanence carrying material which behaves like a typical mixture of single domain sd and psd magnetite paradoxically the typical fingerprint of remagnetized carbonates as seen in the whole rock data seems to be a response to abundant sp grains associated with the acquisition of chemical remanent magnetizations crm and not the actual remanence carrying population itself scanning electron microscopy sem observations of magnetic extract reveal abundant authigenic fe oxides characterized as either 10 100 m ni free spherules or individual 0 1 10 m euhedral grains sem observations of thin sections reveal abundant evidence of fluid flow driven chemical reactions that resulted in formation of new fe oxide such reactions occurred along cracks and grain boundaries and within void space and are associated with fe rich clay and calcite dolomite reactions or as oxidation of fe sulfide framboids together the sem observations and rock magnetic experiments reveal that the three late paleozoic remagnetizations experienced by cantabria asturias paleozoic carbonates are crms facilitated by the presence of fluids activated during late paleozoic variscan deformation

magnetic hysteresis of limestones facies control abstract the hysteresis properties of 116 non red marine limestones from 92 localities indicate that remanence is carried by magnetite of pseudo single domain psd and small multidomain md size pelagic limestones have paramagnetic matrices and hysteresis properties compatible with larger psd or md grain sizes of magnetite probably associated with detrital clay minerals introduced by pelagic rain out thus they may be less suitable recorders of stable remanence other limestone facies excepting dolomitized examples have diamagnetic matrices they include shallow subtidal limestones which tend to have smaller psd sizes of magnetite as do backreef lagoonal undifferentiated shelf and reef facies it is believed that the wide geographical and temporal range of samples minimizes effects related to post compaction groundwater flow late diagenesis and that the associations recognized should be tested in future studies

shale diapirism in the quaternary tectonic evolution of the northern apennine bologna italy 1 we use morphologic stratigraphic and structural data to identify a set of diapirs just southward uphill of the northern margin of the northern apennine range the diapirs consist mainly of ligurid chaotic shaley units that reach a maximum thickness of over 3 km we also reconstruct marine sedimentation abrasion surfaces that record a 1 cm a differential uplift induced by diapirism on the basis of this data we use the lubrication approximation of the navier stokes equations and analogue experiments to show that thrusting of the epiligurid units can be generated by diapirism of the underlying ligurid units in addition to regional compression owing to a gravity component parallel to the strata the structures formed by diapirism are similar to those generated by compressive tectonics differing in that thrusting is lubricated by diapiric rise using the analogue experiments we show that deformation begins with folding eventually evolving to thrusting and we derive an empirical relation to infer the time remaining to the end of deformation in our area diapiric deformation is still in the folding regime but it should eventually evolve to the thrusting regime and terminate in about 105 a we suggest that the whole northeastern slope of the northern apennine is controlled by diapiric tectonics our interpretation contrasts with the more traditional one which views regional tectonic compression as the only responsible for the structures observed in the field since our model is based on first principles it could be applied to other areas with similar geology and topography

a climate driven model and development of a floating point time scale for the entire middle devonian givetian stage a test using magnetostratigraphy susceptibility as a climate proxy abstract here we propose an approach to establish a preliminary age chronology for complete stages within the phanerozoic by applying cyclostratigraphic methods that employ high resolution data sets this requires use of geochemical or geophysical data known to serve as a cyclic climate proxy to demonstrate the method we use the magnetostratigraphic susceptibility technique as the basis for fitting a climate model to the givetian stage of the middle devonian system we show a milankovitch eccentricity climate zonation for the givetian that is pinned to time series analyses from outcrop samples from its upper givetian frasnian france and lower eifelian givetian morocco stage boundaries using these data sets we construct a uniform cyclicity model designed to conform to a 405 kyr cyclicity with a duration corresponding to the published duration for the givetian of 4 4 myr kaufmann 2006 to this model we fit two well established conodont zonation schemes thus allowing time estimates for conodont ranges for the givetian indicating a range from 1 8 myr to 100 kyr before extinction of an individual conodont species we then test and adjust the model using independent data sets from the eastern united states adjustments to the initial model yield a duration of 28 climate half cycles zones for the givetian stage and an increased age to 5 6 myr these zones allow high correlation among sections to better resolve timing of major bio events and provide a floating point time scale to which absolute ages can be applied

the occurrence and origin of late paleozoic remagnetization in the sedimentary rocks of north america although it has been known for 25 years that some paleozoic sedimentary rock units in europe and north america were remagnetized during pennsylvanian or permian time it is only very recently that the complex and widespread nature of the late paleozoic remagnetization phenomenon has been generally acknowledged it is now recognized that many paleozoic paleomagnetic poles for north america that were once considered reliable are in fact the result of remagnetization and as a consequence the paleomagnetic data base for the paleozoic is undergoing rapid and drastic revision the causes of late paleozoic remagnetization in north america are currently the focus of much interest and active research the remagnetization can reside in either hematite or magnetite and different remagnetization mechanisms have been important in different settings chemical remagnetization processes some related to specific diagenetic events are dominant in hematite bearing sandstones and carbonates in magnetite bearing carbonates both chemical and thermoviscous remagnetization processes appear to have been important but it is difficult to determine which process is the dominant one in some settings some of the observed remagnetizations can be linked to the migration of chemically active and perhaps hot fluids during the mountain building events that affected much of the continent during the late paleozoic paleomagnetic studies promise to be important in assessing the role of orogeny in driving fluid migrations within sedimentary basins and in constraining the age of the migrations and the nature of the fluids

paleomagnetism of paleozoic strata brabant and ardennes massifs belgium implications of prefolding and postfolding late carboniferous secondary magnetizations for european apparent polar wander paleozoic carbonate rocks of the brabant massif namur basin and dinant synclinorium belgium are characterized by two secondary late carboniferous magnetizations of uniform reverse polarity a postfolding low unblocking temperature 300 375 c component lt and a prefolding high unblocking temperature 400 550 c component ht in the namur basin lt magnetizations postdate late westphalian deformation 305 ma in the dinant synclinorium ht magnetizations predate early westphalian deformation 316 ma lt magnetizations for the combined brabant massif and namur basin sites give a south paleopole at 42 3 s 339 6 e dp 1 9 dm 3 8 consistent with the european cratonic reference the lt magnetizations in the dinant synclinorium give a paleopole at 36 2 s 321 0 e dp 2 4 dm 4 7 the ht magnetization gives paleopoles at 34 1 s 333 4 e dp 2 6 dm 5 1 brabant and namur and at 25 9 s 321 5 e dp 3 5 dm 6 8 dinant synclinorium declinations indicate 15 clockwise rotation of the dinant synclinorium with respect to the brabant massif after acquisition of the lt magnetization devonian red beds yield near univectorial apparent synfolding magnetizations of distributed unblocking temperature that we interpret as artifacts of the remanence acquisition or deformation processes the ht paleopole for the brabant massif is indistinguishable from other early late carboniferous european paleopoles and is similar to poles interpreted to be derived from remagnetizations in the british isles age constraints on the time of remanence acquisition of secondary magetizations allow a refined calibration of the european apparent polar wander path inclinations of the lt and ht components indicate about 6 8 700 km northward motion during the late carboniferous

covariance of c and o isotopes with magnetic susceptibility as a result of burial diagenesis of sandstones and carbonates an example from the lower devonian la vid group cantabrian zone nw spain the burial diagenesis of sandstones limestones and dolostones of the lower devonian la vid group in the cantabrian zone nw spain reveal a covariance of carbon and oxygen isotope values with magnetic susceptibility also strontium isotopes and to a minor degree fe follow this trend the main carriers of the magnetic susceptibility appear to be diagenetic fe carbonates i e siderite ferroan dolomite and ankerite which occur as cements in primary and secondary voids as well as in fractures in some layers especially at the top of the succession there occurs additionally secondary fe chlorite and pyrite the fe carbonates were formed during upward migration of a reducing iron bearing petroliferous fluid that was depleted in 13c and carried radiogenic sr similar geochemical covariance and or correlations can be expected in other sedimentary successions affected by the migration of petroliferous formation fluids

lagoonal facies ages and sedimentation in three atolls in the pacific abstract in order to investigate pacific atoll lagoonal facies and temporal evolution we collected and analyzed surface and core sediments from three pacific atoll lagoons of various sizes and depths kayangel of palau islands enewetak and majuro of the marshall islands the lagoons were divided into three facies calcarina facies calcarina heterostegina mixed facies and heterostegina facies these were based on the presence or absence of the tests of two larger benthic foraminifera calcarina and heterostegina as indicators of reef flat and deep lagoon environments respectively the calcarina facies is composed of allochthonous reef derived materials the calcarina heterostegina mixed facies is a mixture of reef derived and in situ lagoonal materials and the heterostegina facies is composed mainly of in situ lagoonal materials as both foraminifera are widely distributed in the western to central pacific region the facies classification presented in this study can be applicable to other pacific atolls based on the results of radiocarbon dating on samples obtained from cores at majuro lagoon the accumulation rates of the lagoonal sediments were estimated as 0 65 m kyr 1 calcium carbonate production was calculated on the basis of the accumulation rates and density of sediments to be 710 g caco 3 m 2 yr 1

geophysical records of dispersed weathering products on the frasnian carbonate platform and early famennian ramps in moravia czech republic proxies for eustasy and palaeoclimate abstract an exceptionally high sea level in frasnian times early late devonian changed many peneplained cratonised and tectonically undisturbed continental margins of tropical belts into carbonate platforms which became covered by thick banks of limestone the stages marked by very pure carbonates developed during partial sea level highstands since when the flooding reached its maximum the shoreline was distant and conditions for reef growth were good an increased extension of emerged flat coastal areas was coupled with an opposite situation when oscillating sea level fell to its momentary minimum and the accommodation space available for accumulation of carbonate material was low subaerially exposed surfaces were subject to weathering and the products were dispersed by aeolian or aquatic means to form layers when these weathering materials were trapped in carbonates this overall scenario relating to the trapping of weathering products in pure carbonates was tested at geographically isolated platform with a stable and only slowly subsiding basement eastern moravia czech republic the amounts of weathering products dispersed in limestone were documented using the combined methods of ray logging ray spectrometry and magnetic susceptibility measuring i e according to their radioactivity k th and u and magnetism fe six third order frasnian eustatic cycles have been inferred from the data with an estimated period of 1 ma the late frasnian and especially the frasnian famennian f f transition brought the total destruction or at least a strong overlay on this hypothetical background setting the record of strong sea level fluctuations in the f f interval is shown in strong oscillations and offsets related to pronounced hiatuses and flooding surfaces such rapid sea level fluctuation is typical for glacioeustatic control although the present estimates of the maximum amplitudes are larger than realisable by glaciation events and may be explained in combination with tectonoeustatic models comparison of sections between the centre and periphery of the platform substantiates the concept that oscillating late frasnian shorelines were rapidly prograding very low sea level stages of early famennian times changed the depositionary systems from extensive platforms to narrow carbonate ramps which were positioned out and down on the extinct reef bank slopes the central parts of the eastern moravian and also other frasnian platforms in the world were not normally covered by f f sediments the transgressive onlaps above any crystalline highs were not observed and therefore the drowned frasnian reefs on their periphery although emphasised by many geologists may reflect sliding or tectonic subsidence on the margins of platform blocks rather than eustatic rise of sea level

upper devonian carbonate platform correlations and sea level variations recorded in magnetic susceptibility abstract this paper concerns the analysis of four outcrops in the frasnian upper devonian of belgium we compare the results of a precise sedimentological analysis with magnetic susceptibility ms data this comparison allows us to improve stratigraphic correlations and to test the relationship between magnetic susceptibility and sea level changes considering the sedimentological study different microfacies have been identified from the external belt dominated by relatively argillaceous open marine facies with crinoids to the biostromal and the lagoonal belt dominated by algae rich muddy facies fourth and third order sequences have also been identified and are probably related to sea level variations magnetic susceptibility data provides us very good fourth order correlations and the link between magnetic susceptibility and different sedimentological parameters is obvious more precisely ms appears to be related to fourth and third order sequences and to microfacies

stratigraphy of the middle devonian boundary formal definition of the susceptibility magnetostratotype in germany with comparisons to sections in the czech republic morocco and spain abstract one major difficulty in geology is high resolution correlation among widely separated sections especially in the paleozoic where magnetostratigraphy polarity is not well established because rocks are often remagnetized where critical biostratigraphic zonation may be poor or lacking or where structural complexities make correlations very difficult to address this problem we have been using magnetostratigraphy susceptibility measurements here we report our work from the middle devonian in europe and north africa the middle devonian emsian eifelian global boundary stratotype section and point gssp located in the eifel hills western germany was ratified by the international subcommission on stratigraphy in 1985 after careful evaluation of the biostratigraphy for this and many other sections the boundary interval has been characterized using biostratigraphy and the beginning of the eifelian stage has been specifically defined by the first occurrence of the conodont polygnathus costatus partitus we have collected the eifel hills section for magnetic susceptibility ms measurement and here we establish it as the magnetostratotype for the emsian eifelian stage boundary by formally defining the magnetostratigraphy susceptibility for the section we then collected measured and compared the magnetostratotype to four other sections for which conodont biostratigraphy has been studied and where p costatus partitus is present two emsian eifelian sections in morocco and two sections in the czech republic including the emsian eifelian parastratotype finally we have measured the ms for the el puerto creek section in the cantabrian mountains of spain and identified the location of the emsian eifelian boundary within the section based on ms comparison to the gssp in conjunction with excellent biostratigraphic indicators primarily brachiopods while the conodont zonation in the el puerto creek section is poorly defined we believe that the correspondence between the ms and biostratigraphy in the section allows the identification of the emsian eifelian boundary these results indicate that this method can be successfully applied to marine sequences where ambiguities in correlation exist

wasp waisted hysteresis loops mineral magnetic characteristics and discrimination of components in mixed magnetic systems rock magnetic studies of complex systems that contain mixtures of magnetic minerals or mixed grain size distributions have demonstrated the need for a better method of distinguishing between different magnetic components in geological materials hysteresis loops that are constricted in the middle section but are wider above and below the middle section are commonly observed in mixed magnetic assemblages such wasp waisted hysteresis loops have been widely documented particularly with respect to rare earth permanent magnets basaltic lava flows remagnetized paleozoic carbonate rocks and an increasingly wide range of other rocks our modelling combined with a review of previous work indicates that there are several conditions that give rise to as well as magnetic properties that are characteristic of wasp waisted hysteresis loops first at least two magnetic components with strongly contrasting coercivities must coexist this condition can arise from either mixtures of grain sizes of a single magnetic mineral or a combination of magnetic minerals with contrasting cocrcivities or a combination of these two situations second materials that give rise to wasp waisted hysteresis loops will have relatively high ratios of the coercivity of remanence to coercive force b cr b c because b0 is controlled by the soft low coercivity component whereas bcris controlled by the hard high coercivity component third values of b cr b c 10 usually only occur for strongly wasp waisted loops when the low coercivity component comprises an overwhelmingly large fraction of the total volume of magnetic grains fourth a given mixture of superparamagnetic and single domain sd grains is more likely to give rise to wasp waisted hysteresis loops than an equivalent mixture of sd and multidomain grains fifth our results provide empirical confirmation that the total magnetization of a material is the sum of the weighted contributions of each component in the absence of significant magnetic interaction between particles thus to contribute significantly to wasp waisted behavior a mineral magnetic component must give rise to a significant portion of the total magnetization of the rock as a result minerals with weak magnetic moments such as hematite need to occur in large concentrations to cause wasp waistedness in materials that also contain ferrimagnetic minerals we outline a method for determining the magnetic components that can give rise to wasp waisted hysteresis loops this method is based on high and low temperature magnetic measurements that are used to identify the dominant remanence bearing mineral s and on mineral magnetic techniques that are used to discriminate between different magnetic domain states the method is illustrated with several examples from archaeological geological and synthetic materials

palaeozoic clay mineral sedimentation and diagenesis in the dinant and avesnes basins belgium france relationships with variscan tectonism abstract clay mineral investigations have been performed on more than 500 limestones and shales sampled in lower devonian emsian to lower carboniferous namurian outcrops in the dinant and avesnes basins ardenne massif nw europe clay mineral data have been placed in the palaeoenvironmental and structural histories documented by previous lithological stratigraphical palaeontological diagenetic and tectonic contexts the clay associations are dominated by illite and chlorite derived partly from the erosion of land masses surrounding the marine domain the geothermal gradient estimated from correlation with conodont colour alteration index ranges between 40 and 70 c km a diachronous northwards migration of the diagenesis metamorphism interface links to uplift caused by late carboniferous compressional folding and overthrusting associated clay minerals include smectite locally preserved from diagenetic changes mainly by early pore closure that reflect lagoonal or quiet offshore marine conditions smectite and subordinate kaolinite abundances decrease upwards during the devonian in three successive intervals suggesting alternations of sub arid to drier climates the local occurrence of corrensite ordered chlorite smectite mixed layer is attributed to the moderate diagenetic transformation of pre existing smectite

stratigraphic significance and resolution of spectral reflectance logs in lower devonian carbonates of the barrandian area czech republic a correlation with magnetic susceptibility and gamma ray logs abstract spectral reflectance sr is a relatively novel technique which is used as a proxy for organic carbon and siliciclastic input in carbonate sediments in particular in core research this study summarizes results from high resolution outcrop sr logging of a lower devonian distal ramp carbonate section of the barrandian area czech republic the sr data were correlated with parallel petrophysical and geochemical data with an aim to improving their cyclostratigraphic and event stratigraphic interpretation potential and the gaps sr data can fill transgressive regressive trends indicated by facies stacking patterns caco 3 data and spectral gamma ray grs logs are well correlated in the regional context and point to third order eustatic sea level fluctuations peak regressions of the tr cycles are sensitively marked by cie l a b parameters and percent reflectance in colour bands the sr and magnetic susceptibility ms data are markedly cyclic on a more detailed scale their inferred periods vary between 49 2 and 205 kyr indicating that they may have been forced by orbital cycles in the milankovitch band the sr and ms cycles are either in phase or out of phase the latter cycles point to a strong diagenetic forcing of the colour cyclicity hematite concentration cycles inferred from sr signal in the pragian red hemipelagic carbonates are interpreted as reflecting changing bottom oxygenation and subsurface redox gradients during early diagenesis the cie l parameter was found to be related to the presence of diagenetic hematite which indicates that cyclostratigraphic analysis of simple greyscale data can be affected by considerable error due to chromacity although the cie l parameter is partly correlated with caco 3 concentrations the ms data are not which suggests that the ms signal can be significantly influenced by diagenetic minerals and its cyclostratigraphic interpretation can be potentially misleading the sr data backed up by grs ms and caco 3 data indicate that the red colour in the pragian hemipelagic limestones originated from early diagenetic hematite precipitation under the conditions of an oxygenated ocean floor this suggests that deep sea bottom oxygentation may have been in operation during the early devonian which is traditionally perceived as a typical greenhouse period the sr data can be obscured in several m thick zones of elevated cie l and other colour changes leaching zones related to postdepositional alteration along subvertical faults however this fault related telogenic alteration has little influence on the ms signal the combined use of sr and ms has a synergic effect and can significantly improve the interpretation of their respective cyclic signals particularly in relation to the diagenetic overprint and possible carriers of the ms

the magneto susceptibility event and cyclostratigraphy msec method used in geological correlation of devonian rocks from anti atlas morocco magneto susceptibility event and cyclostratigraphy msec is used here as a means of establishing sensitive chronostratigraphic markers and chronohorizons useful for high resolution correlation msec is a composite of the magnetic susceptibility ms record of marine strata and the coeval biostratigraphic record and similar to chronozones zones based on msec data have boundaries that are isochronous ms a measure of the concentration of magnetic grains in sediments proxies for the ratio of lithogenic to biogenic components controls on the detrital input of lithogenic material include eustasy and climate however induced and sea floor basin subsidence the development of an initial msec composite reference curve for the middle upper devonian of the anti atlas region of southern morocco is presented and discussed in the context of global sea level transgressive and regressive cycles msec trends composed of increasing ms magnitudes correlate well with episodes of regression whereas trends of decreasing ms magnitudes correlate with episodes of transgression