diagenetic cycling of arsenic in amazon shelf sediments in order to help elucidate major natural controls on the diagenetic behavior of as vertical profiles of total dissolved and solid phase as were measured in amazon shelf deposits a deltaic region little influenced by human activity arsenic distributions are typically characterized by subsurface porewater maxima and surficial solid phase enrichment maximum porewater as concentrations 2 4 m are an order of magnitude greater than levels reported in most other coastal marine environments and elevated concentrations extend several meters below the sediment surface dissolved as varies inversely with easily leachable as 40 140 nmol g 1 in the solid phase and directly with increases in solid phase fe ii these patterns reflect a strong redox coupling with fe whereby oxidized as is associated with fe oxyhydroxides in surface sediments then subsequently reduced and released upon burial in the extensive suboxic zone upward diffusion and intense physical reworking of sediments presumably releases the dissolved arsenic fraction to the water column or allows for re adsorption in surface sediments arsenic porewater concentrations generally increase away from the river in some cases regular seasonal variations are evident apparently corresponding to nonsteady state ingrowth of diagenetic profiles following extensive sediment reworking during rising river flow the massive cycling of as in amazon shelf sediments is likely due to the combined effects of intense chemical weathering in regions of the drainage basin production of oxides and a turbulent physical regime present on the shelf both of which promote sedimentary cycling of fe and coupled elements during early diagenesis

multiple wisconsinan glacigenic sequences at wedron illinois lithofacies and their relationships sedimentological and glaciotectonic structures pebble fabrics and laboratory data were used to delineate seven facies associations in a classic upper wisconsinan glacigenic succession near wedron illinois each association is interpreted to represent a different depositional environment proglacial facies include massive and laminated silt lacustrine bedded sand fluvial and massive silt eolian subglacial facies consist of homogeneous diamicton lodgement till and variable diamicton and sorted sediment deformed by folding and shearing deformed till an ice marginal facies of heterogenous diamicton and sorted sediment supraglacial redeposited sediment and a paraglacial facies of laminated silt lacustrine also are present stratigraphic relationships among the facies allow the delineation of three glacigenic sequences from which three glacial events are inferred each sequence consists of proglacial fluvial and or lacustrine sediment subglacial till and fluvial deposits and supraglacial and ice marginal sediment flow fluvial and lacustrine deposits the complete nature of these glacigenic sequences suggests that the area was located primarily in the depositional zone of the laurentide ice sheet during the late wisconsinan erosional contacts and localized sorted sediment between three lithologically distinct till facies in the lowest sequence are interpreted to be subglacial in origin the three facies were deposited during the same event rather than separate events as previously inferred spatial and temporal variability among the subglacial processes of erosion transportation deformation and lodgement is evident within that sequence

pleistocene chronostratigraphy in estonia southeastern sector of the scandinavian glaciation abstract pleistocene chronostratigraphy in estonia is based on 29 studied sites sections the dating of which covers a span from approximately 200 ka bp to the pleistocene holocene chronostratigraphic boundary and a local varved clay chronology for eastern estonia which enables tentative correlation of lateglacial lg events to finnish and swedish varve chronologies analysis of existing and unpublished data was used to review the current pleistocene chronostratigraphy and particularly the history of weichselian cold stage in estonia osl ages from fluvial deposits that included the korvekula holsteinian or rongu eemian continental interglacial deposits revealed that the pre weichselian interglacial deposits were glacially dislocated during the weichselian available osl tl and 14 c dates and new 14 c ams ages of mammoth bones indicate ice free conditions between 105 and 68 ka bp and a comparatively mild middle weichselian between 43 and 22 ka bp the lg chronology indicates in general rapid average 110 m yr deglaciation of the territory between ca 14 7 and 12 7 ka bp the duration of the late weichselian glaciation in estonia ranged between 7 3 and 9 3 ka

were deforming subglacial beds beneath past ice sheets really widespread abstract the concept of widespread large strain deformation of subglacial unconsolidated unfrozen sediments during pleistocene glaciations has inconsistencies in the geological record numerous properties of tills and related sediments are difficult to reconcile with pervasive strains as predicted by the deforming bed theory while accepting glacier bed deformation as a geological process occurring under certain circumstances we propose that it was much less widespread than believed by some instead we believe that basal sliding and englacial transport are major ice movement and debris transport mechanisms

osl and tl dating of buried podsols and overlying sands in ostrobothnia western finland in ostrobothnia western finland buried fossil soils have been recognised in a number of places in the sandy sediments that occur between glaciofluvial deposits and overlying till samples from the soil horizons as well as below and above them were taken for optically stimulated luminescence osl dating the same sites were also sampled for thermoluminescence tl dating altogether five tl dates and seventeen osl dates were obtained the osl dates can be grouped into two age classes i 120 163 ka and ii 76 106 ka whereas all tl dates are of the order 135 155 ka a comparison between the results obtained from the two dating methods shows that osl dates are generally younger than the tl dates for the same sample the discrepancy may arise partly from problems of setting a correct residual level in tl dating if this is the case then the tl dates may indicate an upper limit for the true age the results support the geological interpretation that the fossil soils were formed during the last interglacial that the soil forming processes possibly also continued during the first early weichselian stadial and interstadial brorup sensu lato and that in general the till covered glaciofluvial sequences interpreted as eskers in ostrobothnia were deposited during the saalian or early weichselian deglaciation

sediment dispersal in the argentine basin evidence from visible light spectra abstract visible light reflectance spectra were determined for each of 236 core top samples from the argentine basin and surrounding areas the spectra were analyzed by taking the first derivative of the raw spectral curves and factor analyzing the first derivative values using wavelengths as variables we used a four factor solution that explains about 90 of the cumulative variance factors were evaluated by comparing factor loadings to first derivative curves from known minerals and mineral combinations by the mapped distributions of the factor scores and by comparison to factors from other areas the four factors represent in order of decreasing variance goethite terrigenous vs pelagic sedimentation organic matter and chlorite the goethite and chlorite factors are useful for interpreting sediment influx and dispersal goethitecomes from the falkland plateau and the argentine continental margin once introduce to the deep ocean goethite appears to be transported primarily by isobath parallel currents chlorite on the other hand is transported into the argentine basin by antarctic bottom water aabw and from the falkland plateau however along the falkland plateau chlorite is transported normal to the slope probably by gravitational processes

the last interglacial glacial cycle in ne fennoscandia a nearly continuous record from sokli finnish lapland abstract boreholes from the sokli basin in finnish lapland have recovered a unique sequence of diamicts interlayered with fine grained sediments that are rich in fossils the diamicts are interpreted as till beds deposited by the fennoscandian ice sheet the fine grained intercalations seem to represent a series of warm stages that include one interglacial and three interstadials the interglacial is characterized by a mixed taiga pollen assemblage and corresponds to a distinct diatom gyttja bed the interstadials show progressively colder floras from open birch forest to arctic forest limit to shrub tundra their sediments comprise gyttja interlayered with wood and sand interstadial 1 sands grading into sandy gyttja interstadial 2 and sands overlain by laminated silt and clay interstadial 3 the interstadial 2 and 3 deposits are underlain by diamict and are interpreted as deglaciation sequences silts with a tundra pollen assemblage separate the interglacial and interstadial 1 deposits luminescence dating evidence indicates that the interglacial bed most probably represents the nw european mainland eemian interglacial marine isotope stage mis 5e the interstadial 1 2 and 3 deposits are tentatively correlated with the early weichselian brorup and odderade interstadials and an interstadial of middle weichselian age respectively mis 5c 5a and 3 respectively the correlation implies that the easternmost part of the ice divide zone of the fennoscandian continental ice sheet was deglaciated during part of mis 3

ground penetrating radar and its use in sedimentology principles problems and progress abstract ground penetrating radar gpr also referred to as ground probing radar surface penetrating radar subsurface radar georadar or impulse radar is a noninvasive geophysical technique that detects electrical discontinuities in the shallow subsurface

redox control of arsenic mobilization in bangladesh groundwater abstract detailed hydrochemical measurements 34sso4 and 3h analyses were performed on 37 groundwater samples collected during february 1999 january and march 2000 from 6 locations in eastern and southeastern bangladesh to examine redox processes that lead to as mobilization in groundwater the study sites were chosen based on available nation wide as surveys to span the entire spectrum of as concentrations in bangladesh groundwater and to represent 3 of 5 major geological units of the ganges brahmaputra delta uplifted pleistocene terrace fluvial flood plain and delta plain arsenic was found to be mobilized under fe reducing conditions in shallow aquifers 50 g l or 0 7 m were always accompanied by high dissolved hco3 4 mm and were close to saturation with respect to calcite groundwater enriched in as 200 800 g l or 2 7 10 7 m and phosphate 30 100 m but relatively low in dissolved fe 5 40 m probably resulted from re oxidation of reducing as and fe enriched water this history was deduced from isotopic signatures of 34sso4 and 3h2o 3h to delineate the nature of redox changes for some of the reducing groundwaters in contrast as is not mobilized in presumed pleistocene aquifers both shallow 30 60 m and deep 150 270 m because conditions were not reducing enough due to lack of sufficient o2 demand

organic remains in finnish subglacial sediments abstract many sites in fennoscandia contain pre late weichselian beds of organic matter located mostly in the flanks of eskers it is a matter of debate whether these fragmentary beds were deposited in situ or whether they were deposited elsewhere and then picked up and moved by glacial ice the till mantled esker of harrinkangas includes a shallow depression filled with sand and silt containing for example several tightly packed laminar sheets of brown moss bryales remains it is argued that these thin peat sheets were transported at the base of the ice sheet or englacially and were deposited together with the silt and sand on the side of a subglacial meltwater tunnel subglacial meltout till subsequently covered the flanks of the esker near the receding ice margin information about the depositional and climatic environments was obtained from biostratigraphic analysis of the organic matter pollen spectra for the peat represent an open birch forest close to the tundra zone a thin diamicton beneath the peat contains charred pine wood recording the former presence of pine forests in western finland the unhumified extremely well preserved peat evidently originated during the final phase of an ice free period most probably the end of the eemian interglaciation it was redeposited in the esker by the last ice sheet reconstructions of the pleistocene chronology and stratigraphy of central fennoscandia that rely on such redeposited organic matter should be viewed with caution

southwest scandinavia 40 15 kyr bp palaeogeography and environmental change twelve palaeogeographical reconstructions illustrate environmental changes at the southwest rim of the scandinavian ice sheet 40 15 kyr bp synchronised land sea and glacier configurations are based on the lithostratigraphy of tills and intertill sediments dating is provided by optically stimulated luminescence and calibrated accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon an interstadial sequence ca 40 30 kyr bp with boreo arctic proglacial fjords and subarctic flora and occasional glaciation in the baltic was succeeded by a last glacial maximum sequence ca 3020 kyr bp with the closure of fjords and subsequent ice streams in glacial lake basins in kattegat and the baltic steadily flowing ice from sweden bordered the norwegian channel ice stream a deglaciation sequence ca 20 15 kyr bp indicates the transgression of arctic waters retreat of the swedish ice and advance of baltic ice streams succeeded by a return to interstadial conditions when ameliorated ice free conditions prevailed in maritime regions glaciers advanced through the baltic and when interstadial regimes dominated the baltic glaciers expanded off the norwegian coast the largest glacier extent was reached in the north sea around 29 kyr bp about 22 kyr bp in denmark and ca 18 kyr bp in the baltic our model provides new data for future numerical and qualitative landform based models copyright c 2003 john wiley sons ltd less

sediment deformation beneath glaciers rheology and geological consequences experiments beneath breidamerkurjokull in iceland have led to development of flow laws for the subglacial till relating strain rate to shear stress and effective pressure and assuming either bingham fluid or nonlinearly viscous fluid behavior water pressures in the till are less than ice pressures and it is suggested that this may lead to infiltration of ice into the sediment which inhibits sliding at the ice sediment interface where water pressures are equal or near to ice pressures infiltration does not occur and sliding may result a one dimensional theory of subglacial deformation is developed in which the empirical flow law is coupled with a model of subglacial hydrology and consolidation this predicts stable states in which subglacial sediment either does not deform or a dilatant deforming horizon forms with positive effective pressures at the ice bed interface or unstable states where zero or negative effective pressures are predicted time dependent analyses show that response times following perturbations of the system may be of the order of 103 years and thus that unsteady behavior may be normal on glaciers flowing over unlithified sediment beds it is suggested that the natural variability of material properties in subglacial sediment beds leads to the development of drumlins on the glacier bed it is suggested that unstable deformation at zero or negative effective stress leads to piping in subglacial sediments at the glacier terminus and the growth of sediment floored subglacial tunnels their frequency is that which is sufficient to draw down subglacial water pressures so as to prevent unstable deformation where they discharge large water volumes subglacial sediments flow laterally toward them producing tunnel valleys this sediment is then removed by water flowing along the axial tunnel tunnel valleys can be regarded as the equivalent in soft sediment areas of eskers in bedrock areas

iron isotope geochemistry of biogenic magnetite bearing sediments from the bay of vidy lake geneva article dissimilatory microbial iron oxide reduction dir has been hypothesized to be an important respiratory pathway on early earth potentially generating significant quantities of fe ii that have been preserved in proterozoic and archean sedimentary rocks in particular dir has been implicated in the formation of magnetite inprecambrian marine sediments todate however onlyone modern sedimentary environmentexists wherein situ magnetite formation has been linked to dir the bay of vidy in lake geneva switzerland previous work at this locality has characterized a magnetic susceptibility anomaly that reflects the presence of fine grained magnetite produced viamicrobial reduction of amorphous fe iii oxidesthat enterthebayof vidy from a nearby sewage treatment plant in this study we report on the fe isotope composition of aqueous and solid phase fe in the bay of vidy sediments extensive fe iii reduction has occurred resulting in the conversion of nearly all reactive non silicate fe iii to a variety of fe ii bearing phases with mixed fe valence magnetite being a minor but easily detectable component 0 5 8 wt very little fe isotope variation was observed in any solid phase fe components including magnetite although significant fractionation was observed between aqueous and solid phase fe ii because fe mass balance was dominated by the solid phase little net change in 56 fe

hydrogeochemical contrasts between low and high arsenic groundwater and its implications for arsenic mobilization in shallow aquifers of the northern yinchuan basin p r china summary little is known about hydrogeochemical contrasts between low and high as groundwaters and their connection to as mobilization in the yinchuan basin investigations were carried out to evaluate as distribution and geochemical processes for as mobilization in three regions including piedmont proluvial fans pa dry farmland df and paddy farmland pf ninety two groundwater samples 4 surface water samples and 66 sediments samples were collected and analyzed for chemical and isotopic components results show that low as groundwater is generally found in pa however high as concentrations up to 105 g l 1 are mainly observed in groundwaters from df and pf which are associated with reducing conditions high as groundwater is characterized by high concentrations of nh4 dissolved mn dissolved fe and fe ii and low concentrations of no3 and so42 the intensive irrigation in pf recharges the aquifers by vertical infiltration of the diverted yellow river water and leads to the higher redox potentials and the lower dissolved as in comparison with those in df environmental isotopes 18o and d show that evaporation due to the intensive irrigation plays a minor role in as enrichment the positive correlation between as and dissolved fe suggests that groundwater as would result from the reductive dissolution of fe oxides besides dissolved p may be involved in competing with as for binding sites on fe oxide minerals sediment as ranges between 3 94 and 75 2 mg kg 1 hcl leached as accounts for 60 of total as in the sediments while h3po4 leached as accounts for 5 depth matched samples show a good correlation between dissolved as and h3po4 leached as in sediments arsenic distribution coefficient kd calculated from h3po4 leached as and dissolved as ranges between 5 08 and 17 3 cm3 g 1 which generally depends on groundwater redox potentials in reducing conditions low values are found with as being preferentially partitioned into groundwater

a time dependent glaciological model of the weichselian ice sheet a time dependent model is used to study the evolution of the weichselian ice sheet the results indicate three stages of the glaciation a mountain centered ice sheet between 110 000 and 80 000 bp followed by a phase with an extension similar to or slightly larger than the younger dryas zone the last and maximum extent was reached about 30 000 20 000 bp and the main deglaciation began about 15 000 bp the model is based on a finite element method solution of the continuity equation the climatic records from the camp century and summit ice cores are used for climate control and the model is calibrated using geological deglaciation evidence in scandinavia the assumption of a general sliding condition for elevations below 100 m with an enhanced sliding zone through the center of the baltic sea and gulf of bothnia yield broad agreement for marginal positions in sweden and finland during a simulated termination

geophysical characterization of late quaternary glaciofluvial complex and glacial stratigraphy in the satakunta sandstone area koylio southwest finland

late quaternary ice sheet history of northern eurasia the maximum limits of the eurasian ice sheets during four glaciations have been reconstructed 1 the late saalian 140 ka 2 the early weichselian 100 80 ka 3 the middle weichselian 60 50 ka and 4 the late weichselian 25 15 ka the reconstructed ice limits are based on satellite data and aerial photographs combined with geological field investigations in russia and siberia and with marine seismic and sediment core data the barents kara ice sheet got progressively smaller during each glaciation whereas the dimensions of the scandinavian ice sheet increased during the last ice age the barents kara ice sheet attained its maximum size as early as 90 80 000 years ago when the ice front reached far onto the continent a regrowth of the ice sheets occurred during the early middle weichselian culminating about 60 50 000 years ago during the late weichselian the barents kara ice sheet did not reach the mainland east of the kanin peninsula with the exception of the nw fringe of taimyr a numerical ice sheet model forced by global sea level and solar changes was run through the full weichselian glacial cycle the modeling results are roughly compatible with the geological record of ice growth but the model underpredicts the glaciations in the eurasian arctic during the early and middle weichselian one reason for this is that the climate in the eurasian arctic was not as dry then as during the late weichselian glacial maximum

a relict landscape in the centre of fennoscandian glaciation geomorphological evidence of minimal quaternary glacial erosion abstract the parkajoki area in northeastern sweden is situated near the central area of fennoscandian glaciation despite its location the area is dominated by landforms induced by subaerial weathering and erosion processes such as well developed tors and associated saprolites boulder fields and boulder depressions the glacial geomorphology is dominated by lateral and proglacial meltwater channels subglacial imprints indicative of thawed bed conditions and reshaping by glacier sliding e g fluting drumlins striae are lacking hence most of the landscape still exhibits a preglacial appearance because of its location near the central area of glaciation we attribute preservation to frozen bed conditions of overriding ice sheets the widespread distribution of well developed tors and boulder fields and the degree of chemical weathering of the bedrock indicate that the area has been protected from glacial erosion during all glacial cycles since ice sheet initiation in the late cenozoic unlike most other areas with tors in glaciated regions the parkajoki area is uniquely situated in the lowlands at 150 400 m a s l moreover this relict landscape is surrounded by glacial landscapes including drumlins ribbed moraine and eskers of varying age and at similar elevation hence topographical reasons for this area being persistently cold based cannot be invoked by inference we conclude that strain heat release never managed to cancel the initial subglacial permafrost conditions we attribute this to divergent ice flow towards the convex outline of the ice sheet margin during deglaciations and to the relative roughness of the area compared to its surroundings the implication is that to explain preservation throughout the quaternary all large scale glaciations must have had a similar evolution concerning ice sheet configuration and internal dynamics as the last glaciation for which good constraints on evolution and outline are available

mis 3 mammoth remains from sweden implications for faunal history palaeoclimate and glaciation chronology the distribution of low arctic megafaunal remains in time and space from the area previously covered by the scandinavian ice sheet sis suggests the presence of breeding mammoth populations in the circum baltic region during the time interval from 44 to 26 ka ago the transport history of 30 mammoth teeth and bones from southern and north central sweden was estimated and the remains were subjected to osteological analyses and 14c dating oxygen isotope analyses of tooth enamel indicate a palaeoclimate considerably more homogenous than that experienced in sweden today showing moderate north south gradients in the d18o value of precipitation and temperature in general the results support the model of restricted ice sheet distribution during the second half of the middle weichselian the clear discrepancy in the inferred absence of glaciation in the central swedish uplands and the baltic basin as evidenced by the swedish mammoth data versus the danish osl based glaciation chronology in the period from 40 to 30 ka ago is discussed in the light of radiocarbon calibration and glacial dynamics r 2007 published by elsevier ltd less

arsenic distributions in porewaters and sediments of puget sound lake washington the washington coast and saanich inlet b c solid phase as mn al and excess 210pb and dissolved total as as 3 as 5 mn 2 fe 2 po 34 nh 4 and h2s profiles in 12 cores from puget sound lake washington the washington coast and saanich inlet b c are presented typically strong correlations between solid phase as and mn concentration maxima in surficial sediments are a result of intense as scavenging in the overlying waters by mn or ferich phases or solid phase as dissolution at depth followed by upward diffusion and co precipitation with mn or fe oxides at or near the sediment water interface atypically anthropogenic inputs cause high sedimentary as concentrations without accompanying high mn levels sedimentary as fluxes are an order of magnitude greater in puget sound and lake washington than off the washington coast and in saanich inlet porewater total as concentration profiles exhibit sub surface maxima with magnitudes 10 60 times greater than in overlying bottom waters porewater maxima in marine environments are proportional to associated solid phase as concentrations these maxima consistently occur within 1 0 cm of the bottom of the 210pb derived surface mixed layer suggesting solid phase as release to porewater in response to a redox gradient across this mixing boundary dissolved as behavior beneath these maxima indicates as removal to solid phases in marine but not lacustrine porewaters porewater as 3as 5 ratios are 1 0 for washington coastal environments and usually between 1 0 4 0 for puget sound and lake washington as 5 is below the detection limit in porewaters of saanich inlet when the overlying bottom water is anoxic but as 3as 5 ratios as low as 2 8 exist in near surface porewater under oxic bottom water conditions

extent and dynamics of the scandinavian ice sheet during oxygen isotope stage 3 65 000 25 000 yr b p the climate of the middle weichselian glaciation marine oxygen isotope stage 3 ois 3 a relatively mild period compared to the glacial maxima of ois 4 and ois 2 consisted of long warm interstades punctuated by brief cold excursions that grew colder and more frequent with time the ois 4 ice sheet is generally thought to have persisted throughout ois 3 but evidence from dated ois 3 interstadial deposits suggests that it was swiftly reduced to small remnants which only briefly expanded and retreated only 30 000 years ago the deteriorating climate initiated a sustained ice advance leading toward the final glacial maximum of ois 2 dynamic ice sheet models support the existence of a prolonged ice free interval during ois 3 induced perhaps by low precipitation due to extensive sea ice cover offshore

variation in particle size distribution over a small dune the variation in particle size distribution for a sequence of sand samples collected from the surface of a small barchanoid dune along a sampling line parallel to the windflow is studied by means of the hyperbolic distribution the modal or typical value of the log size increases linearly with distance from the windward foot to the crest of the dune and falls off steeply on the lee side the spread of the log size distribution locally near the modal value is roughly constant on the windward side but decreases significantly down the slip face two other parameters of the four parameter hyperbolic distribution can be considered largely constant a comparison of the log size distributions for heavy and light mineral grains based on a selected set of the samples showed that heavy and light minerals follow different hyperbolic patterns however the difference in modal size of the distributions for the two types of minerals was virtually constant among the samples

characterization of pebble fabrics in modern terrestrial glacigenic sediments pebble fabric data are available from several facies of glacigenic sediments deposited by modern glaciers where sedimentary processes can be observed or inferred with relatively little ambiguity over 100 samples from contemporary environments illustrate fabrics characterizing melt out till deformed and undeformed lodgement till sediment flow deposits and ice slope colluvium lodgement till fabric variability is related to the two layer structure of these sediments a structureless friable upper layer with low shear strength and high consolidation coefficient overlying a very compact material of horizontal platy structure fabric strength assessed by eigenvalue analysis is weaker and pebble dip is more dispersed in the upper structureless horizon stronger fabrics in the lower platy horizon may be primary depositional fabrics which are destroyed by subglacial shearing to give weaker fabrics in the upper horizon alternatively upper horizon fabrics may be characteristic of all recently deposited lodgement tills with stronger fabrics developing at depth by dewatering and consolidation there is a general reduction in fabric strength and an increase in particle dip associated with the transition from melt out tills through undeformed and deformed lodgement tills to sediment flow deposits and ice slope colluvium there is however considerable overlap in the fabric strengths characteristic of sediment flow deposits and deformed lodgement tills fabric data from modern glacial sedimentary facies are used to assist in interpreting the mode of deposition of some quaternary glacial sediments relatively strong fabrics characteristic of melt out tills and undeformed lodgement tills are more likely to be diagnostic of genesis than weaker fabrics associated with deformed sediments

geomorphology and quaternary stratigraphy the roles of morpho litho and allostratigraphy abstract the subdivision and ordering of quaternary sediments and landforms is very often based on geomorphology quaternary landforms such as moraines river terraces palaeoshorelines and indeed any other landform can be arranged and ordered in time based on their relative position in the landscape morphostratigraphy is the subdivision of sedimentary units primarily on the basis of surface form whilst surface form is often used as a criterion for separating sedimentary units morphostratigraphy also usually incorporates lithological criteria to aid stratigraphical subdivision and morpho and lithostratigraphy are often interlinked in quaternary science however another approach allostratigraphy has increasingly been applied to subdivide and order quaternary sediment landforms allostratigraphy uses discontinuities to subdivide sedimentary successions allostratigraphy enables lateral variations in lithology to be included within the same stratigraphical unit furthermore it enables lithologically similar sediments stacked on top of each other to be divided into separate units based on discontinuities this paper examines the applications of morpho litho and allostratigraphy to subdivide sediment landform assemblages and critically reviews their role in quaternary stratigraphy

early diagenesis of arsenic in sediments of the kalix river estuary northern sweden solid phase as fe mn s and al and pore water total as fe mn and s have been determined for two cores from the kalix river estuary at the same station the depositional flux of arsenic was measured sediment traps fe iii oxides persist in the anoxic zone of the sediment and act as a carrier for arsenic down to depths of 10 15 cm the release of arsenic into the pore water is controlled by the reduction dissolution of these oxides as a result internal cycling of arsenic i e upward diffusion in pore water re adsorption onto fe iii oxides in the oxidized surface layer and reburial occurs in the uppermost 10 15 cm at the base of the arsenic cycling zone solid phase arsenic maxima 160 170 g g 1 of probable diagenetic origin occur the quantity of arsenic diffusing back towards the oxidized surface layer 2 2 g cm 2 yr 1 as is close to 75 of the quantity of arsenic being deposited due to sedimentation 2 9 g cm 2 yr 1 as however a mass balance for the surface layer indicates that re adsorption of arsenic onto fe iii oxides may effectively prevent diffusion of dissolved arsenic back into the overlying water column it is concluded that the interpretation of sedimentary arsenic profiles may be severely complicated due to post depositional migration of arsenic

effect of groundwater flow on forming arsenic contaminated groundwater in sonargaon bangladesh summary three dimensional groundwater flow in sonargaon bangladesh is numerically simulated in order to evaluate the flow paths of as contaminated drinking groundwater in the holocene aquifer of the ganges blamaptra meghna delta plain over a recent 30 year period the model indicates that vertical infiltration of surface groundwater into the shallow holocene aquifer occurs frequently in the ganges blamaptra meghna delta plain it predicts that the water recharged from ground surface moves approximately 10 20 m vertically downward beneath the flood plain with a gradually increasing horizontal flow toward the underlying pleistocene middle mud layer aquitard the model also predicts that groundwaters containing highest as concentrations 700 g l are formed on the vertical groundwater flow paths where surface water recharges the holocene aquifer and not on the horizontal flow paths combining with the groundwater chemistry reducing groundwater condition is not essential for the as contaminated groundwater of the studied area in the ganges delta plain

holocene and modern sediment budgets for the ganges brahmaputra river system evidence for highstand dispersal to flood plain shelf and deep sea depocenters the partitioning of fluvial sediment load across continental margins is an important control on strata formation and sequence development however few quantitative sediment budgets that encompass entire dispersal systems exist for the ganges brahmaputra river system sediment discharge is estimated to be 10 9 t yr at gauging stations 300 km inland of the coast but little has been known of the downstream fate of this material geochronological geophysical and stratigraphic investigations of the lowland flood plain delta plain and shelf help to delineate the extent of holocene fill and allow calculation of a first order sediment budget results reveal that 1500 10 9 m 3 of sediment fill has been sequestered within the flood plain and delta plain since ca 7000 yr b p or about one third of the annual discharge the remaining load appears to be apportioned between the prograding subaqueous delta 1970 10 9 m 3 and transport to the deep sea bengal fan via a nearshore canyon modern 100 yr budget estimates based on short term accretion rates indicate a similar dispersal pattern and show that contemporaneous deposition continues within these disparate depocenters the roughly equal partitioning of sediment among flood plain shelf and deep sea settings reflects the respective influence of an inland tectonic basin a wide shelf and a deeply incised canyon system the findings also support new sequence stratigraphic models for these settings and indicate the important insight that modern river deltas can provide for ancient margin systems furthermore results affirm that values of riverine sediment flux to the oceans may be considerably overestimated by not accounting for loss to the flood plains downstream of the gauging stations

initiation of the last glaciation in northern europe abstract the bio and chronostratigraphy of the eemian interglacial marine isotope substage 5e and an early weichselian glaciation 5d a established from representative and detailed sequences can be correlated with the deep sea oxygen isotope stratigraphy ice core data sea level fluctuations and coupled ice sheet climate models biostratigraphic sequences from fennoscandian key sections are correlated with reference sequences from estonia and from sections located near or beyond the margins of the last glaciation organic sediments previously attributed to early and middle weichselian interstadial periods in finland are argued to be redeposited and mixed older last interglacial material pollen and diatom spectra of the undisturbed materials suggest that the eemian climatic optimum was followed by a continuously cooling climate and a regressive marine level if only undisturbed sequences are considered the major climatic fluctuations of the early weichselian apparent in central and western europe are not apparent in the sequences from the central part of the glaciated terrain instead some sequences are truncated by sediments indicating approaching ice sheets soon after the interglacial this may imply that the ice sheet grew over finland during the first early weichselian stadial the preservation of the interglacial beds and the lack of younger non glacial sediments support the interpretation that the area remained ice covered until the final deglaciation during the early weichselian the norwegian coast was probably occasionally ice free similar to the coastal zone of greenland today the authors interpretation of the fennoscandian organic deposits of the last glaciation may also explain similar observations from the central parts of the laurentide ice sheet

the electrification of volcanic jets and controlling parameters a laboratory study abstract lightning is ubiquitous in large ash rich eruptions however the quantification of the link between volcanic and electrical activities is still missing hindering its potential for monitoring explosive eruptions here we focus on vent lightning i e discharges occurring within the ash laden jet we use a shock tube apparatus generating jets with variable mass of ash grain size distribution and initial overpressure the experimental jet is directed inside a faraday cage where the current flux of electrical charges is measured allowing to estimate the total charge of the plume and the number and magnitude of jet to ground discharges three mechanisms control the electrical structure of the jet i the tribocharging of the ash particles against the shock tube walls ii the particle particle tribocharging in the jet flow iii the particle and charge separation according to the particle size leading to the formation of clusters of electrical charges the number and magnitude of discharges mainly rely on the two latter mechanisms while the particle particle interactions define the total charge in all the clusters which is linked to the observed cumulative magnitude of the discharges the jet structure defines the size of the individual clusters and in turn how the cumulative magnitude is partitioned on a number of discharges finally our experimental relationships between eruptive and electrical parameters are compatible with field observations suggesting that the pattern of discharges recorded by electrical monitoring systems can be used to interpret the structure of volcanic jets and their dynamic evolution

lithostratigraphy and age estimations of the pleistocene erosional remnants near the centre of the scandinavian glaciations in western finland abstract extensive 20 100 m thick quaternary sediment accumulations deposited before the latest weichselian stage were discovered in the suupohja region in western finland near the centre of the scandinavian glaciations fourteen lithofacies have been identified and interpreted in the accumulations geomorphologically and lithostratigraphically these accumulations occur in two forms 1 till covered beaded gravelly ridges that have occasional fine grained sediments and paleosols between the gravel and the overlying till and 2 irregularly shaped broad multilayer accumulations that include up to seven till units three silt clay units and three sand units these sediments have been deposited in glacial glaciofluvial glaciomarine lacustrine and possibly in littoral and eolian environments during up to six glacial deglacial cycles the units are divided into five formations which are proposed to form the suupohja group according to the luminescence datings lithostratigraphy and sedimentary structures the sediments below the uppermost till are interpreted to have been deposited before the latest weichselian glaciation which occurred during the middle or late weichselian substage this article clarifies the multiple lithostratigraphy of the suupohja region and introduces potential type sections for further stratigraphic studies the rich diversity of the sediments and their large extent makes this region one of the key areas in the pleistocene research of the glaciated areas of northern europe

paleoceanographic significance of sediment color on western north atlantic drifts i origin of color reflectance spectra collected during odp leg 172 were used in concert with solid phase iron chemistry carbonate content and organic carbon content measurements to evaluate the agents responsible for setting the color in sediments factor analysis has proved a valuable and rapid technique to detect the local and regional primary factors that influence sediment color on the western north atlantic drifts sediment color is the result of primary mineralogy as well as diagenetic changes sediment lightness is controlled by the carbonate content while the hue is primarily due to the presence of hematite and fe 2 fe 3 changes in clay minerals hematite most likely derived from the permo carboniferous red beds of the canadian maritimes is differentially preserved at various sites due to differences in reductive diagenesis and dilution by other sedimentary components various intensities for diagenesis result from changes in organic carbon content sedimentation rates and h2s production via anaerobic methane oxidation iron monosulfides occur extensively at all high sedimentation sites especially in glacial periods suggesting increased high terrigenous flux and or increased reactive iron flux in glacials 7 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

the last interglacial glacial cycle in fennoscandia abstract the climate and glacier fluctuations during the last interglacial glacial cycle in fennoscandia seem to correspond roughly in time with the climate fluctuations recorded in france germany holland however the climate in fennoscandia was considerably colder and the coldest phases are recorded as periods with glacier fluctuations admittedly the exact age and amplitudes of some fluctuations are still much debated

late cenozoic deep weathering patterns on the fennoscandian shield in northern finland a window on ice sheet bed conditions at the onset of northern hemisphere glaciation abstract the nature of the regolith that existed on the shields of the northern hemisphere at the onset of ice sheet glaciation is poorly constrained in this paper we provide the first detailed account of an exceptionally preserved deeply weathered late neogene landscape in the ice sheet divide zone in northern finland we mine data sets of drilling and pitting records gathered by the geological survey of finland to reconstruct regional preglacial deep weathering patterns within a gis framework using a large geochemical data set we give standardised descriptions of saprolite geochemistry using a variant of the weathering index of parker wip as a proxy to assess the intensity of weathering we also focus on mineral prospects and mines with dense pit and borehole data coverage in order to identify links between geology topography and weathering geology is closely linked to topography on the preglacial shield landscape of northern finland and both factors influence weathering patterns upstanding resistant granulite granite gabbro metabasalt and quartzite rocks were associated with fresh rock outcrops including tors or with thin fines values above 3000 and 4000 beneath valley floors developed along mineralised shear and fracture zones weathering penetrated locally to depths of 50 m and included intensely weathered kaolinitic clays with wip fines values below 1000 late neogene weathering profiles were varied in character tripartite clay gruss saprock profiles occur only in limited areas bipartite gruss saprock profiles were widespread with saprock thicknesses of 10 m weathering profiles included two discontinuities in texture materials and resistance to erosion between saprolite and saprock and between saprock and rock limited core recovery when drilling below the soil base in mixed rocks of the tana belt indicates that weathering locally penetrated deep below upper fresh rock layers such deep seated weathered bands in rock represent a third set of discontinuities incipient weathering and supergene mineralisation also extended to depths of 100 m in mineralised fracture zones the thin weathering crusts found extensively beneath till may represent types of early or middle pleistocene palaeosols we confirm that glacial erosion has been very limited

laminated sediments in glacimarine environments diagnostic criteria for their interpretation abstract fine grained laminated deposits are often reported from contemporary and ancient glacimarine sedimentary sequences laminated glacimarine sediments form by a variety of processes including suspension settling from turbid overflow plumes turbidity current deposition and contour current activity subglacial deformation of pre existing sediments may also produce laminated deposits in the form of glacitectonite and deformation till the development of diagnostic criteria for genetic discrimination of laminated glacimarine sediments is important both for their correct interpretation in sedimentary sequences and also for the accurate reconstruction of former glacier extent and geometry as laminated sediments may form in subglacial ice proximal and ice distal environments this paper reviews the processes by which laminated glacimarine sediments form and their resulting sedimentology the aim is to provide a synthesis of diagnostic sedimentological criteria for laminated glacimarine deposits that will assist in the interpretation of such sediments in the geological record laminated sediments are genetically differentiated on the basis of sedimentary structures bedding contacts stratigraphic relationships and macrofaunal content bioturbation these attributes also facilitate discrimination between glacimarine and glacilacustrine rhythmites the paper concludes by discussing the glaciological significance of laminated glacimarine sediments in terms of glacier hydrology reconstructions of former ice dynamics and basal thermal regime

ice wedges growth thaw transformation and palaeoenvironmental significance frost cracking and ice wedge growth are fundamental processes within the permafrost environment extensive areas of contemporary permafrost terrain are characterised by frost fissure polygons formed by repeated thermal contraction cracking of the ground the incremental growth of ice veins and wedges along the axes of contraction cracks contributes significantly to the volume of ground ice in near surface permafrost in areas beyond the present limit of permafrost the recognition of ice wedge pseudomorphs provides one of the few unambiguous indications of the former existence of permafrost conditions an understanding of the processes of ice wedge growth and thaw transformation is essential if contemporary ice wedges are to be used as analogues for pleistocene frost fissure structures in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

consolidation of sediments by glaciers relations between sediment geotechnics soft bed glacier dynamics and subglacial ground water flow a theory of subglacial consolidation is developed which shows how the meltwater flux beneath a glacier leaves a consolidation signature from which many important glacier dynamic properties can be inferred conditions under which water is discharged through channels or in a thin film at the ice bed interface or by ground water flow are discussed and it is concluded that glaciers flowing over aquifers of high transmissibility can induce deep circulation patterns quite different from non glacial circulation

sedimentary facies and depositional architecture of ice contact glaciomarine systems abstract the characteristics of ice contact glaciomarine systems are reviewed based on a range of weichselian and holocene examples from the fjordal basins in norway and svalbard these depositional systems occur as large morphological ridges end moraines including push moraines which are coarse grained and show large scale foreset bedding the paper addresses some of the major problems with regard to the recognition classification and stratigraphic analysis of these systems the ice proximal glaciomarine systems are classified here into three categories 1 ice contact submarine fans 2 ice contact deltas and 3 glaciofluvial deltas this classification integrates morphological and sedimentological criteria and renders these glaciomarine systems not only easier to recognize in the stratigraphic record but also possible to compare with common non glacial deltaic systems the emphasis is on the criteria for the recognition of the ice contact glaciomarine systems i e ice contact fans and ice contact deltas and their discrimination from common gilbert type deltas and fan deltas the review further focuses on ice contact glaciomarine systems as highly sensitive recorders of glacier dynamics and climatic fluctuations it is shown that both the periods of ice front stability and changes in the ice front position as well as the magnitude and rate of those changes are all recorded in the ice contact depositional system the sedimentary record further reflects glacio isostatic sea level changes and local palaeogeography a new conceptual model is suggested which places these ice contact glaciomarine systems in a dynamic stratigraphic context the model integrates sedimentary facies and their depositional architecture in an allostratigraphic framework and is meant to be a guide for the analysis of the sedimentary record of ice contact systems

numerical reconstructions of the eurasian ice sheet and climate during the late weichselian abstract geological investigations undertaken through the quaternary environments of the eurasian north programme established ice sheet limits for the eurasian arctic at the last glacial maximum lgm sedimentary records of palaeo ice streams and uplift information relating to ice sheet configuration and the pattern of deglaciation ice sheet numerical modelling was used to reconstruct a history of the eurasian ice sheet compatible with these geological datasets the result was a quantitative assessment of the time dependent behaviour of the ice sheet its mass balance and climate and predictions of glaciological products including sediments icebergs and meltwater at the lgm ice cover was continuous from scandinavia to the arctic ocean margin of the barents sea to the north and the kara sea to the east in the west along the continental margin between the norwegian channel and svalbard the ice sheet was characterised by fast flowing ice streams occupying bathymetric troughs which fed large volumes of sediment to the continental margin that were deposited as a series of trough mouth fans ice streams may also have been present in bathymetric troughs to the north between svalbard and franz josef land further east however the ice sheet was thinner across the kara sea the ice thickness was predicted to be less than 300 m while on severnaya zemlya the ice cover may have been thinner at the lgm than at present it is likely that the taymyr peninsula was mainly free of ice at the lgm in the south the ice margin was located close to the shoreline of the russian mainland the climate associated with this ice sheet is maritime to the west and in stark contrast desert like in the east atmospheric general circulation modelling has revealed that such a contrast is possible under relatively warm north atlantic conditions because a circulation system develops across the kara sea isolating it from the moisture laden westerlies which are diverted to the south ice sheet decay began through enhanced iceberg calving in the deepest regions of the barents sea which caused a significant ice embayment within the bear island trough by about 12 000 years ago further iceberg calving reduced ice extent to the northern archipelagos and their surrounding shallow seas ice decay was complete by about 10 000 years ago

palaeoglaciology of an ice sheet through a glacial cycle the european ice sheet through the weichselian abstract satellite images provide unique means of identifying large scale flow generated lineations produced by former ice sheets they can be interpreted to reconstruct the major elements which make up the integrated large scale structure of ice sheets ice divides ice streams interstream ridges ice shelves calving bays the evolving palaeoglaciological structure of the european ice sheet during its decay from the last glacial maximum lgm is reconstructed by reference to these components and in the context of a new map showing isochrons of retreat during the retreat phase in particular the time dependent dynamic evolution of the ice sheet and the pattern of ice stream development are reconstructed crossing lineations are widespread the older ones are suggested to have formed during molten bed phases of ice sheet growth and preserved by frozen bed conditions during the glacial maximum particularly in areas which lay during deglaciation beneath ice divides and inter ice stream ridges both areas of slow flow and possibly frozen bed conditions four phases of growth a1 to a4 and five phases of decay r1 to r5 are used to describe the major climatically and dynamically determined stages in the evolution of the ice sheet through the last glacial cycle the growth and decay patterns are quite different and associated with major shifts in the ice divide reflecting growth from the fennoscandian mountains and decay away from marine influenced margins these patterns were determined by the locations of nucleation areas spatial patterns of climate and calving at marine margins the prevalence of streaming within the retreating ice sheet suggests that the mean elevation of the ice sheet was lower than predicted from glaciological models which do not include streaming and that this might reconcile glaciological models and earth rheology models which infer paleao ice sheet thickness by inverting sea level data

controls on facies distribution and stratigraphic preservation in the ganges brahmaputra delta sequence abundant sediment supply and accommodation space in the bengal basin have led to the development of a major late quaternary delta sequence this sequence has formed in a tectonically active setting and represents an important example of a high energy marine and fluvial high yield continental margin deposit recent studies have detailed the delta s stratigraphy and development noting that tectonics and sediment supply control the ganges brahmaputra more significantly than in many other delta systems these ideas are developed here through a discussion of the effects that spatial and temporal variations in tectonics and sediment supply have had on deltaic processes and sequence character unique and differing stratigraphies are found within thedeltasystem suchthatfine grainedsedimentpreservationisfavoredinareasofactivetectonicprocessessuchasfolding block faulting and subsidence coarse grained deposits dominate the stratigraphy under the control of high energy fluvial processes and mixed fine coarse stratigraphies are found in areas dominantly influenced by eustatic sea level change overlaid upon these spatially varying stratigraphic patterns are temporal patterns related to episodic events e g earthquakes and rivers avulsions and long termchangesinclimate andsediment supply modelingisalsousedtoinvestigatethe influenceofavariable sedimentsupply on sequence character results show that the timing and magnitude of sediment input relative to sea level rise is a significant control on the subaerial extent of the delta and the relative dominance of alluvial and marine facies within the sequence d 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

provenance and fate of arsenic and other solutes in the chaco pampean plain of the andean foreland argentina from perspectives of hydrogeochemical modeling and regional tectonic setting extensive arsenic as enriched groundwater is known to occur in the aquifers of the chaco pampean plain of argentina previous studies speculated that the as mobilization in these groundwaters was a direct result of their elevated ph and oxidative conditions the volcanic glass layers present in the aquifer matrix were hypothesized as one of the possible sources of as to the groundwaters here we examine the groundwater chemistry of the santiago del estero province of chaco pampean plains of argentina and test these hypotheses by using hydrogeochemical modeling within the framework of the regional geologic tectonic setting the study area is located in the active foreland of the andean orogenic belt which forms a continental arc setting and is dotted with several hot springs rhyolitic volcanic glass fragments derived from arc volcanism are abundant within the aeolian fluvial aquifer sediments and are related to the paleo igneous extrusion in the vicinity hydrogeochemical analyses show that the groundwater is in predominantly oxidative condition in addition some of the groundwaters exhibit very high na cl and so42 concentrations it is hypothesized in this study that the groundwater chemistry has largely evolved by dissolution of rhyolitic volcanic glass fragments contained within the aquifer sediments along with mixing with saline surface waters from adjoining salinas which are thought to be partially evaporated remnants of a paleo inland sea flow path modeling stability diagrams and thermodynamic analyses undertaken in this study indicate that the dominant evolutionary processes include ion exchange reactions chemical weathering of silicate and evaporites in monosialitization dominated weathering geochemical modeling predicts that plagioclase feldspar and volcanic glass are the major solids phases that contribute metal cations and dissolved silica to the local groundwaters co influxed oxyanions with similar ionic radii and structure e g mo si v po43 compete with as for mineral surface site leading to as mobilization to the groundwaters without considering the influence of microbial activities further the transition of the ca rich groundwater to na rich groundwater by mixing with water from the salinas and or evaporative concentration might also have led to counter ion effects a type of ion exchange reactions and hence further enrichment of groundwater by as some of the as may also have been contributed from mixing of meteoric water with magmatic sourced water in the geothermal springs

fennoscandian palaeoglaciology reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model the evolution of ice sheet configuration and flow pattern in fennoscandia through the last glacial cycle was reconstructed using a glacial geological inversion model i e a theoretical model that formalises the procedure of using the landform record to reconstruct ice sheets the model uses mapped flow traces and deglacial melt water landforms as well as relative chronologies derived from cross cutting striae and till lineations as input data flow trace systems were classified into four types i time transgressive wet bed deglacial fans ii time transgressive frozen bed deglacial fans iii surge fans and iv synchronous non deglacial event fans using relative chronologies and aggregation of fans into glaciologically plausible patterns a series of ice sheet configurations at different time slices was erected a chronology was constructed through correlation with dated stratigraphical records and proxy data reflecting global ice volume geological evidence exists for several discrete ice sheet configurations centred over the scandinavian mountain range during the early weichselian the build up of the main weichselian fennoscandian ice sheet started at approximately 70 ka and our results indicate that it was characterised by an ice sheet with a centre of mass located over southern norway this configuration had a flow pattern which is poorly reproduced by current numerical models of the fennoscandian ice sheet at the last glacial maximum the main ice divide was located overthe gulf of bothnia a major bend in the ice divide was caused by outflow of ice to the northwest over the lowest part of the scandinavian mountain chain widespread areas of preserved pre late weichselian landscapes indicate that the ice sheet had a frozen bed core area which was only partly diminished in size by inward transgressive wet bed zones during the decay phase

arsenic in groundwater testing pollution mechanisms for sedimentary aquifers in bangladesh in the deltaic plain of the ganges meghna brahmaputra rivers arsenic concentrations in groundwater commonly exceed regulatory limits 50 m gl 21 because feooh is microbially reduced and releases its sorbed load of arsenic to groundwater neither pyrite oxidation nor competitive exchange with fertilizer phosphate contribute to arsenic pollution the most intense reduction and so severest pollution is driven by microbial degradation of buried deposits of peat concentrations of ammonium up to 23 mg l 21 come from microbial fermentation of buried peat and organic waste in latrines concentrations of phosphorus of up to 5 mg l 21 come from the release of sorbed phosphorus when feooh is reductively dissolved and from degradation of peat and organic waste from latrines calcium and barium in groundwater come from dissolution of detrital and possibly pedogenic carbonate while magnesium is supplied by both carbonate dissolution and weathering of mica the 87 sr 86 sr values of dissolved strontium define a two component mixing trend between monsoonal rainfall 0 711 6 0 001 and detrital carbonate 0 735

preservation of landforms under ice sheets and ice caps abstract this article addresses the question of whether or not distinct glacial and non glacial landforms can survive beneath ice sheets and ice caps with little or no morphological alteration a review of recent work documents the existence of pre last stadial landforms and landscapes in areas covered by the fennoscandian and laurentide ice sheets a substantial number of independent works indicate that landforms such as eskers drainage channels and boulder fields have escaped destruction despite complete ice overriding during several tens of millenia full preservation of former ground surfaces or delicate landforms probably is linked to areas where the ice sheet base was continuously frozen to its bed larger robust landforms such as large drumlins appear to have been preserved even under wet based conditions in glaciated areas patches preserved under dry cold based conditions provide important windows towards the past showing landscapes that were destroyed in surrounding areas affected by wet based and eroding ice some consequences for the research fields of non glacial geomorphology archaeology and botany include the possibility of subglacial museums and refugia a time space model describes geomorphological access to information from older events in glaciated areas

subglacial processes of the scandinavian ice sheet in fennoscandia inferred from flow parallel features and lithostratigraphy abstract subglacial processes of the last scandinavian ice sheet in fennoscandia were investigated on two different scales a detailed case study in southwestern finland and a generalized study in the central parts of the ice sheet previously reconstructed time transgressive glacial flow patterns were correlated with different types of glacial flow parallel features and lithostratigraphic units the comparison of orientations of each flow parallel feature with relative ages of different flow patterns enabled estimations of relative distances of the orientation generating processes in relation to the receding ice margin this method was also used to infer sedimentary environments of each lithostratigraphic facies identified generalized lithostratigraphic sequences were compiled in fennoscandia using sections described previously in areas of ice streams a sandy till showing mature deformation structures forms till sheets drumlins and some ribbed moraines the facies is overlain by occasional glaciofluvial deposits and partly washed deformation till both indicating abundant excess water at the ice bed interface in interlobate areas glaciofluvial material is under and overlain by a silty till showing ductile deformation structures in places uppermost thin clayey till interpreted to be a subglacial melt out till mantles underlying till and subglacial glaciofluvial deposits the characteristics of different units are controlled by ice flow velocities subglacial hydrology and deformation type of the substratum the time transgressive origin of till beds and intervening washed sediment as well as divergent ice flow patterns is emphasized ice flow was concentrated in streams which generated marginal fan shaped lobes interstream areas of low basal velocities and melting rates were left between adjacent ice streams in areas of ice streams fast basal ice flow velocities continuously generated heat and meltwater which flowed at first in the sediment and closer to the margin also in thin discontinuous sheets at the ice bed interface excess water may have subsequently formed a linked cavity system and channelized to a tunnel network initiating esker deposition or incision of tunnel channels most processes operated continuously during deglaciation with spatial and temporal differences in their activity the mode of subglacial drainage changed periodically during deglaciation and was probably controlled by the volume of subglacial meltwater available in some periods sheet flow of basal water deposited major marginal complexes and subsequently tunnel networks were re established esker pattern and sedimentation rates of proglacial varved clays indicate that tunnel drainage of subglacial water was partly episodic

mobility of arsenic in a bangladesh aquifer inferences from geochemical profiles leaching data and mineralogical characterization aquifer geochemistry was characterized at a field site in the munshiganj district of bangladesh where the groundwater is severely contaminated by as vertical profiles of aqueous and solid phase parameters were measured in a sandy deep aquifer depth 150 m below a thick confining clay 119 to 150 m a sandy upper aquifer 3 5 to 119 m above this confining layer and a surficial clay layer 3 5 m in the deep aquifer and near the top of the upper aquifer aqueous as levels are low 10 g l but aqueous as approaches a maximum of 640 g l at a depth of 30 to 40 m and falls to 58 g l near the base 107 m of the upper aquifer in contrast solid phase as concentrations are uniformly low rarely exceeding 2 g g in the two sandy aquifers and never exceeding 10 g g in the clay layers solid phase as is also similarly distributed among a variety of reservoirs in the deep and upper aquifer including adsorbed as as coprecipitated in solids leachable by mild acids and reductants and as incorporated in silicates and other more recalcitrant phases one notable difference among depths is that sorbed as loads considered with respect to solid phase fe extractable with 1 n hcl 0 2 m oxalic acid and a 0 5 m ti iii citrate edta solution appear to be at capacity at depths where aqueous as is highest this suggests that sorption limitations may in part explain the aqueous as depth profile at this site competition for sorption sites by silicate phosphate and carbonate oxyanions appear to sustain elevated aqueous as levels in the upper aquifer furthermore geochemical profiles are consistent with the hypothesis that past or ongoing reductive dissolution of fe iii oxyhydroxides acts synergistically with competitive sorption to maintain elevated dissolved as levels in the upper aquifer microprobe data indicate substantial spatial comapping between as and fe in both the upper and deep aquifer sediments and microscopic observations reveal ubiquitous fe coatings on most solid phases including quartz feldspars and aluminosilicates extraction results and xrd analysis of density magnetic separates suggest that these coatings may comprise predominantly fe ii and mixed valence fe solids although the presence of fe iii oxyhydroxides can not be ruled out these data suggest as release may continue to be linked to dissolution processes targeting fe or fe rich phases in these aquifers copyright 2004 elsevier ltd

sedimentology of an ice contact glaciomarine delta carey valley northern ireland an extensive late pleistocene delta body related to a water plane at 100 m above sea level is exposed in the upper carey valley northern ireland exposures along the modern river show a lowermost facies association of massive diamict and poorly sorted gravel deposited as sediment gravity flows overlain by a gravelly foreset and topset facies association recording the progradation of a large glacier fed delta diamict facies were emplaced as subaqueous debris flows associated gravels are chaotically bedded and were deposited by the downslope slumping of poorly sorted boulder gravel their subtle grading characteristics can be linked with a variety of mass flow processes sediment gravity flow facies originated upvalley from rapidly deposited sediments which accumulated near the exit of a narrow subglacial channel below an ice margin fronting in water subsequent ice retreat allowed the growth of a gilbert type delta regional evidence shows that the delta top records high relative sea levels in response to isostatic downwarping around the periphery of the last british ice sheet the sedimentology and structure of the carey valley infill may be typical of high level glaciomarine deltas preserved in topographic lows around the coastline of north britain

ancient and modern cold climate aeolian sand deposition a review although partly active aeolian sand sheets and dunes cover large areas in the zones of dis continuous permafrost little precise information is available about the influence of cold climate conditions on modern aeolian processes this means that palaeoenvironmental reconstructions in the stabilised mainly late pleistocene dune fields and cover sand regions in the sand belts of the european lowlands and the northern great plains of the usa and canada are necessarily still based on ancient evidence cold climate wind deposits are typically derived from areas of abundant sediment supply like unvegetated flood plains glacial outwash plains till plains and lake shores the common parabolic and transverse dune forms resemble those observed in temperate regions although a variety of periglacial features has been identified in late pleistocene dune and cover sands none of them indicate that permafrost is crucial to aeolian activity specific structures in aeolian strata permit tentative interpretation of the moisture content of depositional sand surfaces the nature of annual sedimentation cycles and the processes by which strata were deposited and or contorted but surprisingly little is known about the role of vegetation in the process of sand accumulation dunes are most informative with respect to reconstructions of past wind regimes which offer important data for verification of palaeoclimatic simulations

the significance of large sediment supply active tectonism and eustasy on margin sequence development late quaternary stratigraphy and evolution of the ganges brahmaputra delta abstract borehole data from the ganges brahmaputra delta system unveil an intriguing late quaternary history controlled by immense sediment discharge tectonics and eustasy sea level first intersected a major portion of the lowstand surface 10 000 11 000 cal yr bp marking the onset of sediment trapping and delta growth despite rapid sea level rise 1 cm yr sediment load was sufficient to maintain relative shoreline stability during this time by 7000 cal yr bp accommodation was quickly infilled with slowed sea level rise leading to upstream channel migration and widespread dispersal of sands this forced coastal progradation along the western delta front where the ganges was situated and much of the river s fine grained discharge bypassed the subaerial delta and formed a prograding deltaic clinoform on the shelf concurrently brahmaputra sediments were sequestered to an inland tectonic basin thus starving the adjacent shoreline and leading to transgression along the eastern delta by 5000 cal yr bp the two rivers had migrated or changed course to discharge along the eastern delta shoreline which began to prograde into what is now the modern river mouth estuary present delta configuration appears to have developed by 3000 cal yr bp evolution of the tectonically active ganges brahmaputra g b system reveals important similarities and differences with other deltas overall facies succession follows that of basic models progressing from an alluvial valley to coastal marine delta front to a prograding subaerial delta plain however the timing thickness and controls of these deposits differ immense sediment discharge from the ganges and brahmaputra rivers allowed initial delta growth 2000 3000 yr earlier than the global average despite debouching onto a canyon incised high energy margin subsequently a thick 50 m transgressive systems tract was formed during the early holocene phase of delta aggradation contrasting with extensive shoreline retreat documented along most margins highstand progradation of coastal and shelf sequences ensued by the middle holocene but subsiding inland basins also favored accumulation of a thick to 40 m highstand sequence in the lower floodplains unlike many other delta systems subsidence in the subaerial g b delta is not dominated by compaction but rather by plate driven tectonic processes that generate rates up to 4 mm year overall the huge sediment load tectonic subsidence major seismic events and a nearshore canyon system have led to widespread sediment dispersal and sequence formation across the subaerial delta shelf and deep sea bengal fan throughout the late quaternary

decoupling of as and fe release to bangladesh groundwater under reducing conditions part i evidence from sediment profiles this study reexamines the notion that extensive as mobilization in anoxic groundwater of bangladesh is intimately linked to the dissolution of fe oxyhydroxides on the basis of analyses performed on a suite of freshly collected samples of aquifer material detailed sediment profiles extending to 40 to 70 m depth below the surface were obtained at six sites where local groundwater as concentrations were known to span a wide range the sediment properties that were measured include 1 the proportion of fe ii in the fe fraction leached in hot 1 2 n hcl 2 diffuse spectral reflectance and 3 magnetic susceptibility in parallel with local concentrations of dissolved as ranging from 5t o 600g l fe ii fe ratios in shallow gray holocene sands tended to gradually increase with depth from values of 0 3 to 0 5 to up to 0 9 in deeper orange aquifers of presumed pleistocene age that were separated from shallow sands by a clay layer and contained 5 g l dissolved as leachable fe ii fe ratios averaged 0 2 there was no consistent relation between sediment fe ii fe and dissolved fe concentrations in groundwater in nearby wells the reflectance measurements indicate a systematic linear relation r 2 of 0 66 n 151 between the first derivative transform of the reflectance at 520 nm and fe ii fe the magnetic susceptibility of the shallow aquifer sands ranged from 200 to 3600 x 10 9 m 3 kg si and was linearly related r 2 of 0 75 n 29 to the concentrations of minerals that could be magnetically separated 0 03 to 0 79 dry weight no systematic depth trends in magnetic susceptibility were observed within the shallow sands although the susceptibility of deeper low as aquifers was low up to 200 10 9 m 3 kg si

new radiocarbon dates from finnish mammoths indicating large ice free areas in fennoscandia during the middle weichselian new radiocarbon dates from finnish subfossil mammoth material mammuthus sp transported by glacial ice range in age from ca 32000 to ca 22500 yr bp these results suggest that there was a larger ice free area in fennoscandia during the middle weichselian than previously assumed in addition two dates are also presented for bones found in clay with a different transport history copyright 1999 john wiley sons ltd

geochemistry and arsenic behaviour in groundwater resources of the pannonian basin hungary and romania abstract groundwater resources in the pannonian basin hungary romania croatia and serbia are known to contain elevated naturally occurring as published estimates suggest nearly 500 000 people are exposed to levels greater than the eu maximum admissible concentration of 10 g l in their drinking water making it the largest area so affected in europe in this study a variety of groundwaters were collected from romania and hungary to elucidate the general geochemistry and identify processes controlling as behaviour concentrations ranged from so 4 2 reduction containing low as levels so 4 2 ongoing so 4 2 reduction will release s2 removing as from solution either by the formation of as sulfides or from sorption onto fe sulfide phases in methanogenic waters as released by reductive dissolution is not removed from solution and can rise to the high levels observed levels of organic c are thought to be the ultimate control on the redox conditions in these 2 groups high levels of organic c as found in group 1 would quickly exhaust any so 4 2 present in the waters driving the system to methanogenesis and subsequent high levels of as group 2 has much lower concentrations of organic c and so so 4 2 is not exhausted therefore as levels in waters of the pannonian basin are controlled not by release but by retention mechanisms ultimately controlled by levels of toc and so 4 2 in the waters d and 18o analysis showed that groundwaters containing elevated as dated mostly from the last ice age and are sourced from late pliocene to quaternary aquifers the importance of toc and retention capabilities of so 4 2 reduction have only previously been suggested for recent holocene sediments and groundwater most notably those in se asia as these are the most likely to contain the right combination of factors to drive the system to a redox situation leading to high aqueous as concentrations in contrast it is shown here that a much older system containing as bearing fe oxides also has the potential to produce elevated levels of as if the toc is suitable for the microbial population to drive the system to the correct redox situation and so 4 2 is either absent or wholly consumed

age dating and the orbital theory of the ice ages development of a high resolution 0 to 300 000 year chronostratigraphy using the concept of orbital tuning a continuous high resolution deep sea chronostratigraphy has been developed spanning the last 300 000 yr the chronology is developed using a stacked oxygen isotope stratigraphy and four different orbital tuning approaches each of which is based upon a different assumption concerning the response of the orbital signal recorded in the data each approach yields a separate chronology the error measured by the standard deviation about the average of these four results which represents the best chronology has an average magnitude of only 2500 yr this small value indicates that the chronology produced is insensitive to the specific orbital tuning technique used excellent convergence between chronologies developed using each of five different paleoclimatological indicators from a single core is also obtained the resultant chronology is also insensitive to the specific indicator used the error associated with each tuning approach is estimated independently and propagated through to the average result the resulting error estimate is independent of that associated with the degree of convergence and has an average magnitude of 3500 yr in excellent agreement with the 2500 yr estimate transfer of the final chronology to the stacked record leads to an estimated error of 1500 yr thus the final chronology has an average error of 5000 yr