equatorial aridity in western pangea lower permian loessite and dolomitic paleosols in northeastern new mexico u s a abstract lower permian strata have been extensively cored in the subsurface of the bravo dome field northeastern new mexico analysis of core indicates that these strata consist of conglomeratic and sandy fluvial deposits and volumetrically significant eolian silt loessite fluvial facies dominate the lower half of the study interval and include matrix supported massive conglomeratic debris flow units and laminated arkosic sandstone whereas loessite dominates the upper half of the study section and consists of massive well sorted quartzose siltstone that locally reaches thicknesses as much as 120 m in the greater study region paleosols are present throughout the study interval and consist of protosols and dolosols commonly exhibiting vertic features dolomite that is interpreted to be of pedogenic origin is an unusual but volumetrically significant component in these paleosols paleogeographic reconstructions and paleomagnetic data indicate that these strata accumulated at equatorial 3 8 latitudes but depositional and pedogenic evidence both suggest seasonally wet to markedly arid conditions from early wolfcampian to early leonardian time the loessite covers a substantial area 6000 km2 making this the largest pre cenozoic loess accumulation yet documented this is significant because loess generally suggests arid to semiarid conditions intercalated paleosols in the loessite section record repeated cessation of silt influx coupled with landscape stability which we relate to high frequency oscillation between dry and slightly wetter conditions possibly attributable to glacial interglacial climatic conditions that prevailed at low latitudes at a lower frequency the evolution from a predominance of fluvial to primarily eolian strata in tandem with changes in pedogenic character reflect a long term aridification for the study interval these data corroborate independent inferences of monsoon induced equatorial aridity in western pangea and help constrain the timing of the zonal to monsoonal transition to earliest permian time

u pb geochronological constraints for paleoproterozoic evolution of the core zone southeastern churchill province northeastern laurentia abstract the core zone of the southeastern churchill province northeastern laurentia is a composite of paleoproterozoic lithotectonic domains assembled in the vise between obliquely colliding archean superior and north atlantic cratons between ca 1860 and 1810 ma detailed geological and u pb geochronological studies of domains in the southern core zone highlight significant differences in archean and paleoproterozoic geology between domains and constrain timing and models for paleoproterozoic assembly in the south central part of the core zone crossroads and orma domains consist of late archean granite greenstone terrane crust crossroads domain also contains a significant number of granite charnockite intrusions belonging to the 1840 1810 ma de pas batholith magmatism pre dates and overlaps with ca 1820 1775 ma high grade metamorphism and attendant deformation in marked contrast orma domain which occurs to the east of crossroads domain contains only local evidence of paleoproterozoic de pas related intrusions and appears to have mainly escaped paleoproterozoic metamorphism and penetrative deformation a model compatible with available data suggests the de pas batholith is a continental magmatic arc formed above an east dipping subduction zone paleoproterozoic metamorphism and deformation is concentrated in regions contiguous with arc magmatism west of crossroads domain and separated from it by the lac tudor shear zone mckenzie river domain is dominated by archean orthogneiss 80 m y older than gneisses in crossroads and orma domains minor amounts of paleoproterozoic supracrustal rocks absent in domains to the east and 1815 ma tonalite it does not contain de pas intrusions u pb geochronology suggests juxtaposition of the mckenzie river domain with domains to the east may have occurred around 1810 ma one possible model envisages the mckenzie river domain as a piece of reassembled superior craton crust incompletely rifted from the superior margin during ca 2 17 ga rifting domains occurring east of the lac tudor shear zone are interpreted to be exotic with respect to the superior craton

the pangaea megamonsoon records evidence from the triassic mungaroo formation northwest shelf of australia abstract an integrated analysis in this study of paleogeographic paleontologic seismic and sedimentologic data has been used to explain the effect of the pangaean megamonsoon on the whole triassic especially the middle late triassic mungaroo formation in the north carnarvon basin northwest shelf of australia our results show that the three triassic formations from bottom to top locker shale mungaroo formation and brigadier formation comprise a complete depositional cycle and correspond to an undeveloped strong and weak monsoon periods respectively during the strong monsoon period of the mungaroo formation the palynological evidences exhibited mixture spore pollen characteristics of the hygrophytic assemblage spore pollen from the pteridophyte spores seed ferns and cycads pollen in humid environment of lowlands and coastal plain and the xerophytic assemblage pollen from the drought tolerant plants of the interior mountainous areas the sedimentary evidences of the mungaroo formation show low angle shingled progradational seismic reflection configuration the highly seasonal variations in precipitation during deposition of the mungaroo formation exhibited typical sandwiched depositional characteristics of coarse channels sandstone fining upward fluvial aggradational cycles facs with poor to moderately sorting and angular to subangular roundness organic mudstone and coal seam interbedded finally in contrast to today s typical examples of poyang lake delta a shallow water braided delta conceptual depositional model of the mungaroo formation is formed with a large proximal and distal delta plain and small delta front the model results serve mainly to indicate the importance of various climate forming factors climate topography eustatic whereas tectonic activity unlikely played any significant role in this process

jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the east european platform implications for palaeobathymetry and palaeoclimate clay minerals cannot only give information on sedimentary depositional environment but also the climate regime under which sediment was weathered the successions of non marine to marine middle and late jurassic strata of the east european platform show upwards increasing contents of smectite and decreasing contents of kaolinite there is also an increasing smectite vs kaolinite ratio laterally in a basinward direction within individual formations vertical smectite and kaolinite content curves coincide broadly with the sahagian and jones eustatic sea level curve all this implies differential settling of smaller smectite particles offshore and larger kaolinite particles onshore smectite formation preservation and supply were further enhanced as the eastwards expanding late jurassic arid zone of laurasia influenced weathering conditions in the sediment source areas to the north and east of the east european platform

metamorphic p t paths and zircon u pb ages of archean ultra high temperature paragneisses from the qian an gneiss dome east hebei terrane north china craton

the influence of changing orbital parameters and surface boundary conditions on climate simulations for the past 18 000 years abstract general circulation model experiments at 3000 year intervals for the past 18 000 years were made to estimate the magnitude timing and pattern of the climatic response to prescribed changes of orbital parameters date of perihelion axial tilt eccentricity and glacial age lower boundary conditions ice sheets land albedo sea ice and sea surface temperature the experiments used the community climate model ccm of the national center for atmospheric research ncar the response of monsoon circulations and tropical precipitation to the orbitally produced solar radiation changes was much larger than the response to changes of glacial age boundary conditions the continental interior of eurasia was 2 4 k warmer in summer and summer monsoon precipitation of north africa south asia was increased by 10 20 between 12 000 and 6000 yr bp before present when perihelion occurred during northern summer rather than in winter as now and the earth s axial tilt was larger than now southern hemisphe

simulations of permian climate and comparisons with climate sensitive sediments abstract we use a climate model to simulate two intervals of permian climate the sakmarian ca 280 ma at the end of the major permo carboniferous glaciation and the wordian ca 265 ma we explore the climate sensitivity to various levels of atmospheric co2 concentration and to changes in geography and topography between the two periods the model simulates large seasonality and high aridity in the continental interiors of both hemispheres for both periods the northern summer monsoon weakens and the southern monsoon strengthens between the sakmarian and the wordian owing to changes in geography and topography the northern middle and high latitudes cool in winter between the sakmarian and wordian associated with northward shift of the continents this high latitude cooling strengthens the winter westerlies and shifts the maximum storm track precipitation south in the southern hemisphere the winter westerlies weaken from the sakmarian to the wordian starting the simulations with no permanent i

palustrine lacustrine and alluvial facies of the norian owl rock formation chinle group four corners region southwestern u s a implications for late triassic paleoclimate abstract the upper triassic norian owl rock formation was deposited in a low gradient floodbasin at a subtropical paleolatitude the lower part of the formation consists predominantly of fine grained siliciclastic lithofacies deposited by sheetflood and sinuous streams on a muddy floodplain during a period of continuous basin aggradation nodular calcretes are increasingly mature higher in the formation suggesting increasingly episodic depositional conditions the upper part of the formation consists mostly of interbedded fine grained siliciclastic facies and laterally continuous ledges of limestone and sandstone the predominant limestone facies has brecciated to peloidal fabrics spar filled circumgranular cracks and root channeling the subordinate limestone facies displays wavy to irregular argillaceous lamination desiccation cracks and oscillation ripples and is vertically and laterally gradational with the brecciated facies the upper owl rock formation records deposition of aggrading sequences of alluvial sediments deposited during base level rise capped by highstand carbonates deposited in small perennial and ephemeral carbonate lakes and ponds base level lowstand in an overall semiarid climate resulted in extensive pedogenesis of the limestone and laterally equivalent alluvial facies basin wide variations in base level are interpreted as resulting from climatic fluctuations this depositional model is consistent with an interpreted trend towards aridification on the colorado plateau during the late triassic as pangea drifted northward from one climate zone to another

a noble gas study of a granulite sample from the nilgiri hills southern india implications for granulite formation the he and ar isotopic composition of several mineral separates from a 2 5 ga old enderbite sample from the nilgiri hills southern india were analyzed the sample contains abundant high density carbonic fluid inclusions which have been well characterized in previous studies 1 2 on this particular sample garnet contains synmetamorphic primary fluid inclusions while quartz and plagioclase contain re equilibrated secondary inclusions the noble gases were extracted by crushing or heating of the minerals all measured 3he 4he ratios are above the typical value of old crustal rocks which is about 0 01 0 02 times the atmospheric ratio ra fluid inclusions from the crushed garnet sample contain helium with the highest 3he 4he ratio of 2 34 0 36 ra the he excess is mantle derived and cannot be explained by a cosmogenic or nucleogenic 3he rich component the elemental and isotopic ratios of he ne and ar in all minerals can be explained by a combination of elemental fractionation during diffusional loss of noble gases production of radiogenic nucleogenic4he 21ne 22ne and40ar and atmospheric contamination depending on the assumptions made for the evolution of the he trapped in the garnet fluid inclusions we obtain mixing ratios between mantle derived he and crustal he ranging from 1 5 5 to essentially pure mantle he however probably pure mantle he was trapped in the minerals 2 5 ga ago these data suggest that the enderbite sample represents a former mantle derived tonalitic magma which exsolved its volatiles upon crystallization in the lower crust liberation of a huge amount of co2 by similar intrusions together with the heat provided by them might be responsible for the dehydration of the former amphibolite facies rocks to the north bordering the nilgiri hills

high resolution clay mineral and major elemental characterization of a permian triassic terrestrial succession in southwestern china diagenetic and paleoclimatic paleoenvironmental significance abstract relatively high resolution clay mineralogical and chemical index of alteration cia analyses were conducted on the terrestrial lubei section in southwestern china to gain a better understanding of the paleoclimatic paleoenvironmental evolution on land during the permian triassic transition p tr transition clay mineral species include illite smectite mixed layers i s illite irregular chlorite expandable mixed layers c e chlorite kaolinite vermiculite hydroxyl interlayered mineral him and corrensite cia values are as high as approaching 100 in the permian and show a gradual and subtle decrease towards the lowermost triassic where a sudden decrease to persistently

stratigraphical and palaeogeographical significance of the continental sedimentary transition across the permian triassic boundary in spain abstract the permian triassic transition a time of phenomenal palaeoenvironmental and palaeogeographical change represents the largest episode of mass extinctions known to palaeontologists this episode is however very poorly understood and a lack of sediments and palaeontological data particularly in the continental record is a feature common to every basin despite compelling information on the continental permian triassic boundary ptb emerging from recent efforts evaluating vertebrate evolution fungal events and isotope curves results are still insufficient to make any valuable correlations among continental basins and are even less appropriate for relating sediments of continental to those of marine origin the present report discusses and attempts to locate the ptb in the basins of iberia and balearic islands through an analysis of the palaeontological and sedimentary record across the permian triassic transition the aim of the paper is to contribute to our present knowledge of the palaeogeographical and stratigraphical significance of the permian and triassic continental units of western europe the present day iberian ranges catalonian ranges and balearic islands hold the most complete late permian early triassic sedimentary record in iberia this record consists of alluvial sediments mainly of braided fluvial systems corresponding to the saxonian and buntsandstein facies all the units examined so far have been dated through palynological associations the two saxonian facies formations are of thuringian age although the lower one shows some palynological elements of autunian affinities the buntsandstein units range from thuringian to anisian in age there being no evidence up to now of the scythian in iberia the exact position of the ptb in iberia is up to now impossible to pinpoint with the precision of the marine series sedimentary characteristics and palynological data in the iberian ranges point that it lies at the sedimentary interval 10 to 30 m thick formed by the upper member of the la hoz del gallo formation and the lowermost beds of the canizar formation or its time equivalent the prades and eramprunya units in the catalonian ranges and the asa and b 1 in the balearic islands we compare a normalized standard late permian middle triassic column of the iberian ranges with standards from western and central europe and the southern urals using recent permian time scales a palaeogeographic essay map of the permian triassic transition is provided for the iberian plate the plate was located in a northern subtropical position 200 400 km from the westernmost tethys coast as part of the central pangean mountain range comprised of the appalachian mauretanide variscan orogenic belts of estimated altitudes 2000 4000 m based on this palaeogeographic location sedimentary characteristics and the main wind flows established for the tethys we can infer conditions of high precipitation dominated by monsoon and seasonal regimes with isolated semiarid areas for the iberian plate during the transition

parent brine of the castile evaporites upper permian texas and new mexico abstract the upper permian lower ochoan castile formation is a major evaporite sequence 10 000 km3 of calcite anhydrite and halite in west texas and southeastern new mexico traditionally the castile brine has been considered to have been derived from seawater this tradition has recently been challenged by two versions of the closed basin drawdown model they call for deposition from a mixed brine in part marine and in large part nonmarine they propose drawdown of as much as 500 m to form a major sink for ground water issuing from the surrounding capitan reef complex a large fraction of the solute in the brine body is inferred to have been recycled from older permian evaporites on the surrounding shelf strontium isotope analyses show no evidence that meteoric ground water was contributed to the castile brine from a stratigraphic geographic and lithologic array of 65 samples of anhydrite gypsum and calcite 59 have an 87sr 86sr ratio of 0 706923 sw of 225 0 a ratio that is the same as that of strontium in early ochoan ocean water if considerable 15 influx of meteoric water had occurred enough continental strontium would have been introduced to have resulted in higher ratios low bromide values 20 40 ppm in castile halite which have been used to argue for meteoric influx and for recycled salt probably resulted from diagenesis during shallow burial by halite centimeter size bottom grown crystals of gypsum were altered to nodular anhydrite the rising water of dehydration caused the halite to recrystallize during the recrystallization some bromide was expelled despite the large volume of water that evaporated annually from its surface 52 km3 yr assuming an evaporation rate of 2 m yr the castile brine body never completely desiccated the surrounding shelf was flat hot and generally dry it probably could not have supplied a significant volume of meteoric spring water to the basin over tens of thousands of years more likely during the entire history of the evaporite sequence influx was dominantly marine marine ground water flowed through the capitan formation into the evaporite basin along its southern and possibly western margin probably with a rate of flow that was usually fast enough to prevent major drawdown of the brine surface

climatic implications of the variable obliquity explanation of cretaceous paleogene high latitude floras the record of high latitude cretaceous paleogene floras has been interpreted as indicative of warmth and climatic equability and has also been the basis for arguments of reduced obliquity climate model simulations suggest that a reduced obliquity will result in a substantial polar cooling that is incompatible with the interpretation for polar warmth paleobiologic adaptations to low light levels may be an alternative to a variable obliquity

controls on permo carboniferous precipitation over tropical pangaea a gcm sensitivity study abstract a series of late paleozoic climate model simulations was developed using the genesis atmospheric general circulation model to investigate the independent roles of gondwanan deglaciation atmospheric co 2 rise and regional tectonism on the long term 10 6 yr evolution of continental precipitation over tropical pangaea the model results indicate that either deglaciation or a co 2 increase from 1 to 8 present atmospheric levels could have caused substantial drying and warming at low latitudes a result that is consistent with late paleozoic proxy records yet the atmospheric processes that led to drying differ between these cases the deglaciation of gondwana reduces low latitude temperature gradients in the southern hemisphere decreasing by as much as 60 the meridional overturning in the southern hemisphere winter cell of the hadley circulation the decline in overturning reduces convective precipitation over equatorial pangaea in contrast high levels of co 2 have little effect on the large scale meridional overturning circulation but increase continental temperatures leading to high evaporation rates and reduced available soil moisture the source of convective precipitation on land in comparison to deglaciation and p co 2 regional uplift erosion of the central pangaean mountains cpms has a secondary effect on tropical precipitation in genesis and cannot explain the long term aridification and warming of western pangaea we suggest that the deglaciation of gondwana and a concomitant rise in atmospheric p co 2 could explain much of the late paleozoic climate change over low latitude pangaea

the stratigraphic and geochemical record of playa cycles monitoring a pangaean monsoon like system triassic middle keuper s germany abstract the combination of high resolution stratigraphy with high resolution geochemistry allowed monitoring the cyclicity of a playa system in two dimensions time and space the playa cycles of the middle upper triassic steinmergel keuper located in southern germany were studied both in terms of lateral facies shift variations and long term cyclic patterns the lateral variation was expressed by investigating a time equivalent transect that spanned the kieselsandstein horizon within a 130 km distance from marginal to mid playa position whereas the long term cyclic pattern was investigated in core malschenberg where a time record of ca 5 106 years was encountered mudstone dolomite cycles with dolomites representing the wet and mudstones the dry phases reflect cyclic playa lake level changes indicating varying intensities of monsoon like circulation moisture transport from the tethys ocean into the german basin is implied by 18o depletion trends of isochronous dolomite beds from the margin to mid playa position suggesting dominantly rayleigh like circulation patterns distinct covariance of 18o 13c is used as indicator of lake level stands the k al curve with inverse covariation compared to 18o reflects fluctuating weathering conditions on the fan and the vindelician high a hierarchic cycle stacking pattern composed of metre scale to tens of metre cycles is interpreted to be a result of changing pangaean monsoon like intensities in the milankovitch frequency band spectral analysis shows that the power spectra are dominated by precession and eccentricity

the geologic record of climatic change this paper reviews the principal results from paleoclimate studies and includes background material slanted toward climate modelers the inferred temperature history of the last 4 6 billion years indicates major changes in the components of the earth s climate system a secular change in global insolation receipt is due to a 20 30 increase in solar luminosity since the formation of the earth a co2 h2o greenhouse effect may have offset the lower luminosity during early earth history inferred fluctuations of global temperature have occurred over a broad range of time scales on time scales of 106 108 years paleogeographic factors e g continental drift and sea level changes have contributed significantly to temperature changes associated with transitions between nonglacial and glacial states preliminary modeling efforts indicate that additional factors e g co2 changes in atmospheric circulation must also be considered in order to explain the origin of nonglacial climates the origin of polar ice caps may result from ocean circulation changes that were caused by plate tectonic processes fluctuations of ice volume on a time scale of 10 105 years correlate with insolation variations caused by orbital perturbations feedback interactions within the land sea air ice system e g ocean circulation changes and bedrock dynamics have been responsible for a significant modulation of the orbital signal ice ages may be due to orbitally induced temperature changes superimposed on a global cooling of terrestrial origin

triassic climates state of the art and perspectives abstract the climate of the triassic period was characterized by a non zonal pattern dictated by a strong global monsoon system with effects that are most evident in the tethys realm this strong monsoonal regime is related to the aggregation of the pangaean supercontinent which by triassic time was already completed climate oscillations existed within this framework the harsh hot house climatic conditions that characterized the late permian and perhaps precipitated the end permian mass extinction were probably maintained during the early triassic and may account for the impoverished but distinctive faunal and floral lower triassic associations although metazoan reef builders were probably the most affected group carbonate production remained high at least in the western tethys realm the middle triassic was characterized locally by humid episodes although their geographical distribution has yet to be clarified the carnian pluvial event marks an episode of increased rainfall documented worldwide was the most distinctive climate change within the triassic different hypotheses have been proposed for its causes changes of atmospheric or ocean circulation driven by plate tectonics a peak of the global monsoon due to maximum continent aggregation or triggering by the eruption of a large igneous province subsequently the late carnian and norian seem to have been climatically stable although minor climatic changes have recently been described even from this time period finally the end triassic extinction event is also associated with climate change specifically warming and increased rainfall but this evidence comes mostly from the northern parts of the central atlantic magmatic province and the global pattern of climate change at the triassic jurassic boundary has still to be resolved many facets of triassic climate are intriguing and deserve further research however palaeoclimate studies on the triassic have so far been carried out only locally with different proxies those proxies will require inter calibration in order to depict correctly the temporal and geographical patterns of triassic climate

late triassic liassic paleoclimatology of the photo central north atlantic rift system abstract the photo central north atlantic rift system was a complex of grabens and half grabens trending southwest northeast sedimentological and paleontological evidence suggests increasing aridity toward the northern end of the rift system and increasing aridity from the late triassic into the liassic the entire rift system drifted slowly northward during the triassic and liassic its northern end had reached about 20 n at the end of the triassic salt deposits in the eastern and central part of the rift synchronous with coal swamps fresh water lakes and zeolitic playas in basins on the western margin of the rift system suggest that the local climatology was controlled by adiabatic processes associated with the lower eastern and higher western border mountains

the pikwitonei granulite domain manitoba a giant neoarchean high grade terrane in the northwest superior provincethis article is one of a series of papers published in this special issue on the theme of geochronology in honour of tom krogh n machado t e krogh and w weber are deceased the pikwitonei granulite domain located at the northwestern margin of the superior province is one of the largest neoarchean high grade terranes in the world with well preserved granulite metamorphic assemblages preserved in a variety of lithologies including enderbite opdalite charnockite and mafic granulite u pb geochronology has been attempted to unravel the protolith ages and metamorphic history of numerous lithologies at three main localities natawahunan lake sipiwesk lake and cauchon lake the u pb age results indicate that some of the layered enderbite gneisses are mesoarchean 3 4 3 0 ga and the more massive enderbites are neoarchean the high grade metamorphic history of the pikwitonei granulite domain is complex and multistage with at least four episodes of metamorphic zircon growth identified 1 2716 1 3 8 ma 2 2694 6 0 6 ma 3 2679 6 0 9 ma and 4 2642 5 0 9 ma metamorphic zircon growth during episodes 2 and 3 are interpreted to be regional in extent corresponding

palaeoclimatic interpretation of the wood structures of the trees in the chinle formation upper triassic petrified forest national park arizona usa abstract typically the fossil woods in the upper triassic chinle formation in petrified forest national park arizona usa do not show annual growth rings but contain irregular growth interruptions similar to those found in trees now growing in the humid tropics these interruptions could be due to endogenous hormonal effects or to occasional local variations in water supply therefore it is conclucded that the late triassic fossil forests in the park lived in conditions that permitted continuous tree growth limited data from areas outside of the park suggests that similar conditions prevailed in adjacent areas in the southwestern united states during the late triassic although this region is reported to have been under the influence of a monsoonal circulation pattern during the late triassic the growth of the trees does not appear to have been greatly affected

paleoproterozoic lithotectonic divisions of the southeastern churchill province western labrador the southeastern churchill province secp is a paleoproterozoic system of orogens that formed during collision of the nain and superior cratons with a composite lithotectonic terrane that now forms the medial metamorphic plutonic core zone of the secp in western labrador the core zone consists of reworked archean gneisses paleoproterozoic supracrustal rocks and variably deformed 1 83 1 81 ga granitic plutons it is subdivided into three paleoproterozoic lithotectonic domains mckenzie river crossroads and orma which are separated from each other by dextral transpressive high strain zones crossroads and orma domains are thought to be derived from archean high grade granite greenstone terrane crust whereas mckenzie river domain is inferred to have been part of an archean orthogneiss terrane dominated by the ca 2776 ma flat point gneiss u pb geochronological data indicate that the igneous precursor of the flat point gneiss is 80 ma older than the oldest tonalite granite intrusions in crossroad

gold bearing iron formation in a granulite terrane of the canadian shield a possible deep level expression of an archean gold mineralizing system gold occurs in metamorphosed iron formation within a migmatized paragneiss terrane in the eastern superior province of the canadian shield the main gold prospect which is located 100 m from a tonalite pluton has undergone skarn like metamorphism that occurred late during the granulite grade metamorphism despite its occurrence in a high grade metamorphic host rock the mineralization shares many of the characteristics of lowergrade archean greenstone belt gold mineralization such as 1 enrichment in au as s sb w u and feo 2 a low base metal gold ratio 3 the inclusion of gold in arsenopyrite 4 the proximity to a felsic pluton 5 an iron rich fractured host rock and 6 a similar mineralization time around 2650 ma this gold occurrence occurs near the metamorphic peak and represents a deep level expression of the widespread crustal scale mineralizing system documented for the late archean the main conclusion of this work is that the principal characteristics of archean gold mineralization are present in the deep crust and do not come from the leaching of upper level rock piles such as greenstone belts

atmospheric circulation upwelling and organic rich rocks in the mesozoic and cenozoic eras abstract by using the basic principles of atmospheric circulation and analogies from present circulation patterns it is possible to construct qualitative atmospheric circulation models on paleogeographic maps the wind patterns predicted by these models then serve as the basis for predicting the locations of ancient upwelling zones atmospheric circulation and upwelling models for seven geologic stages in the mesozoic and cenozoic were constructed and the distribution of the upwelling zones compared with the distribution of organic rich rocks for all time periods together the correlation was statistically significant when the individual time periods were analyzed separately the following pattern emerged significant correspondence between upwelling zones and organic rich rocks in the triassic middle early cretaceous to late cretaceous and middle paleogene to neogene no significant correspondence was found for the intervening times upwelling does not account for all organic rich rocks so called anoxic oceanic events and transgressions play an important role in their deposition it is suggested that upwelling contributes significantly to the pattern of organic rich rock distribution and is important in determining organic facies

giant granulite terranes of northeastern superior province the ashuanipi complex and minto block the ashuanipi complex and minto block of the superior province are large regions that have been classified as high grade gneiss terranes on the basis of the presence of orthopyroxene bearing units like the granite greenstone and metasedimentary subprovinces of the southern superior province the two terranes consist predominantly of intrusive rocks but are distinguished by their primary magmatic orthopyroxene both high grade and gneiss are misnomers because granulite facies gneisses are only sparingly present and the regions consist dominantly of massive unmetamorphosed plutonic rock the ashuanipi complex consists of a deformed metamorphosed package of metasedimentary rocks and primitive early tonalite cut by widespread orthopyroxene garnet granodiorite diatexite as well as plutons of tonalite granite and syenite based on its lithological and chronological similarity and on strike position the complex appears to be the continuation of metasedimentary subprovinces such as the quetico its evolution involved deposition of immature greywacke in an accretionary prism early arc tonalitic magmatism and deformation followed by widespread intracrustal magmatism in the period 2700 2670 ma both metamorphic and igneous rocks record equilibration under granulite facies conditions 700 835 c 0 35 0 65 gpa a 0 3 and indicate exposure levels of 20 km the minto block at the latitude of leaf river consists of several north northwest trending domains of similar scale and diversity to the east trending subprovinces of the southern superior province the central goudalie domain is dominantly amphibolite facies tonalitic rocks including some with ages 3 ga with small belts of volcanic and sedimentary origin lake minto domain contains poorly preserved supracrustal remnants in a plutonic complex comprising hornblende granodiorite clinopyroxene orthopyroxene granodiorite orthopyroxene biotite diatexite and granite the hornblende granodiorite suite constitutes most of the utsalik and tikkerutuk domains and is thought to represent continental arc magmatism on the basis of their distinct aeromagnetic and lithological character two additional domains are evident north of the leaf river area the inukjuak domain in the west and the douglas harbour domain in the east the northerly grain of the minto block appears to have been established in situ with respect to the easterly belts of the southern superior province i e no large scale block rotation during the same interval of time 3 0 2 7 ga modification of the tectonic framework for the superior province is required to explain minto arc magmatism in the interval 2730 2690 ma ago a continental magmatic arc built the berens river and bienville subprovinces and minto block on the southern and eastern edges respectively of a northern protocratonic foundation in the same period primitive volcanic arcs and accretionary prisms developed outboard on oceanic crust and were accreted to form a southern tectonic regime

an initial study of the sensitivity of modeled cretaceous climate to cyclical insolation forcing some cretaceous rhythmic sedimentation such as the colorado greenhorn formation deposited in the western interior seaway u s may have been produced by cyclic precipitation intensity change responding to orbitally produced insolation forcing to test this hypothesis a general circulation model was forced with the seasonal maximum and minimum insolation calculated from assumed cretaceous orbital parameters geographic comparisons for july and january of surface temperature surface pressure and precipitation were prepared for january maximum land sea contrast produced an increase of more than 6 mm day precipitation over the interior seaway however the july maximum simulation did not produce precipitation increase despite an anticipated monsoonlike circulation over the region north america appears to be very arid during cretaceous northern hemisphere summer

reversed determination of the reaction phlogopite quartz enstatite potassium feldspar h 2 o in the ranges 750 875 degrees c and 2 12 kbar at low h 2 o activity with concentrated kcl solutions the reaction of phlogopite plus quartz to enstatite potassium feldspar and aqueous fluid in the system kmash kcl was reversed at 2 12 kbar and 750 875 degrees c and at low h 2 o activities by reversal of the h 2 o content of concentrated kcl solutions equilibrated with product and reactant assemblages synthetic 1m phlogopite kmg 3 alsi 3 o 10 oh 2 and enstatite mgsio 3 maintained end member stoichiometry throughout and the potassium feldspar kalsi 3 o 8 was a high sanidine based on unit cell refinements the broad p t xh 2 o and narrow reversal ranges of this investigation were possible because of the low and well defined h 2 o activity yet powerful fluxing action of concentrated kcl solutions solubility experiments on quartz and potassium feldspar in our p t xh 2 o range showed that fluid phase solution of silicate constituents was too small to have affected the h 2 o activity in the experiments the new determinations are more definitive than previous work done at very low pressures with pure h 2 o or in co 2 h 2 o mixtures they establish the standard free energy of the reaction in the experimental range with an uncertainty of about 1 kj and indicate that the synthetic phlogopite has maximal al si disorder under our experimental conditions the standard enthalpy of reaction at 298 k is 106 54 or 2 0 kj 2sigma based on our reversals a value 6 kj less positive than that currently used by many workers in calculations of biotite stability and h 2 o activity in the petrogenesis of high grade metamorphic rocks the lower thermal stability that we find for phlogopite requires revision in estimates of h 2 o activity of granulite facies metamorphism typical values for the natural assemblage orthopyroxene biotite garnet potassium feldspar plagioclase quartz at deep crustal metamorphic conditions 750 850 degrees c 5 10 kbar are alpha h2o 0 4 0 6 compared with values of 0 15 0 30 which would have been estimated with previously available data on phlogopite stability an important consequence of the expanded h 2 o activity range of granulites is that alkali chloride solutions of only moderate concentration xh 2 o 0 5 0 7 which are the values observed in actual fluid inclusions in many kinds of igneous and metamorphic rocks are a feasible alternative to the vapor absent conditions considered necessary by many workers based on previous low estimates of h 2 o participation of concentrated brines in deep crust upper mantle metamorphic processes enables alkali metasomatism and other kinds of chemical transport in an aqueous fluid without large scale melting of the crust

wind directions predicted from global circulation models and wind directions determined from eolian sandstones of the western united states a comparison panfish j t and peterson f 1988 wind directions predicted from global circulation models and wind directions determined from eolian sandstones of the western united states a comparison in g kocurek editor late paleozoic and mesozoic eolian deposits of the western interior of the united states sediment geol 56 261 282 wind directions for middle pennsylvanian through jurassic time are predicted from global circulation models for the western united states these predictions are compared with paleowind directions interpreted from eofian sandstones of middle permsylvanian through jurassic age predicted regional wind directions correspond with at least three quarters of the paleowind data from the sandstones the rest of the data may indicate problems with correlation local effects of paleogeography on winds and lack of resolution of the circulation models the data and predictions suggest the following paleoclimatic developments through the time interval studied predominance of winter subtropical high pressure circulation in the late pennsylvanian predominance of summer subtropical high pressure circulation in the permian predominance of summer monsoonal circulation in the triassic and earliest jurassic and during the remainder of the jurassic influence of both summer subtropical and summer monsoonal circulation with the boundary between the two systems over the western united states this sequence of climatic changes is largely owing to paleogeographic changes which influenced the buildup and breakdown of the monsoonal circulation and possibly owing partly to a decrease in the global temperature gradient which might have lessened the influence of the subtropical high pressure circulation the atypical humidity of triassic time probably resulted from the monsoonal circulation created by the geography of pangaea this circulation is predicted to have been at a maximum in the triassic and was likely to have been powerful enough to draw moisture along the equator from the ocean to the west

geochemical evolution of the minto block a 2 7 ga continental magmatic arc built on the superior proto craton abstract a 400 km long by 100 km wide geological transect across the minto block of northeastern superior province reveals five plutonic suites and minor amphibolite to granulite grade supracrustal remnants the oldest regionally significant plutonic rocks include 3 0 0 1 ga foliated to gneissic tonalite characterized by high na k ratios high al contents light ree enrichment and initial gend 1 8 the leaf river plutonic suite is the most widespread with crystallization ages of about 2725 5 ma across the transect the suite comprises massive to foliated pyroxene and hornblende bearing granodiorite tonalite granite diorite and minor gabbro pyroxenite and syn plutonic mafic dykes the rocks are i type calc alkaline have variable na k ratios moderate to high ba and sr contents and ree patterns with variable light ree enrichment depletion of heavy rees with increasing silica and neutral negative or positive eu anomalies initial nd values for the suite range from 0 5 to 1 3 mean 0 4 and initial 87 sr 86 sr ratios isr are 0 7020 the diatexite plutonic suite 2713 ma occurs within a 150 km wide zone and consists of orthopyroxene garnet granodiorite containing 25 50 inclusions of granulite grade mafic supracrustal and tonalitic inclusions the variable major and trace element chemistry of the suite with generally high ni and cr contents reflects heterogeneous source materials and the presence of non liquid components initial nd values are from 0 1 to 1 7 monzogranite and orthopyroxene granite dykes plugs and plutonic masses both 2690 ma comprise the last important plutonic suites both biotite monzogranite and orthopyroxene granite are light ree enriched but the former have negative eu anomalies and the latter positive initial nd values range from 0 7 to 3 2 for monzogranite isr 0 7016 to 0 7067 and 0 7 to 0 2 for orthopyroxene granite isr 0 701 to 0 702 the initial nd and isr values of the 2 7 ga plutonic suites are lower and higher respectively than estimatesf of the contemporaneous depleted mantle suggesting significant and wide scale reworking of older tight ree enriched high rb sr lithosphere early tonalite orthogneiss from goudalie domain may be derived by partial melting of mafic crust at high pressures the lithological and geochemical diversity of the 2725 ma leaf river plutonic suite indicate a range of parental magma compositions and petrogenetic processes but fractional crystallization of mantle derived basaltic melts which had assimilated small amounts of significantly older lower crust may have been the dominant mechanism crustal inclusion charged granodioritic diatexite 2713 ma was probably derived by partial melting of heterogeneous lower crustal materials under relatively dry conditions late biotite monzogranite was generated by partial melting of older sialic crust and orthopyroxene granite by deeper melting or fractional crystallization of more juvenile source materials with garnet as a residual mineral we infer from the presence of coeval mafic dykes in all plutonic suites that heat for melting was ultimately derived from intrusion of basaltic magmas at depth the 2 7 ga magmatism in the minto block occurred during a period of active production and accretion of juvenile oceanic terranes in the southern superior province the northwest directed subduction regime inferred from the southern superior province arc terranes may also have been responsible for the magmatism that acted on 3 ga lithosphere in the northern superior province melting within the mantle wedge beneath the proto cratonic lithosphere and in the lower crust occurred within a tectonic setting similar to that of modem continental magmatic arcs

seasonal cycle variations on the supercontinent of pangaea the seasonal cycle of temperatures on pangaea early late permian configuration is simulated with a two dimensional energy balance climate model results indicate that the annual range of temperatures in the southern hemisphere of pangaea was considerably larger than any occurring at present maximum mean monthly summer temperatures are 38 c daytime highs probably exceed 45 c in some regions however summer temperatures in polar regions are considerably lower 0 5 c and are favorable for persistence of ice in eastern australia and glaciation in siberia conditions that receive some support from geologic data these simulations suggest that very high summer temperatures and a large annual range are major features of supercontinent environments such conditions may have significantly influenced the distribution of terrestrial permian biota our results are difficult to reconcile with postulated equable climates for some supercontinent configurations

orbital control on upper triassic playa cycles of the steinmergel keuper norian a new concept for ancient playa cycles abstract the norian steinmergel keuper smk represents a low latitude cyclically bedded playa system of the mid german basin we investigated a drilling site core morsleben and sections from marginal positions dolomite red mudstone beds form rhythmic alternations that were associated with varying monsoon activity hence low k al ratios of dolomite beds suggest increased chemical weathering of the crystalline hinterland and therefore increased monsoonal rainfall high k al ratios in red mudstone beds reflect increased physical weathering of the hinterlands during dryer periods dolomite layers reflect the lake stage maximum monsoon while red mudstones indicate the dry phase minimum monsoon of the playa cycle we distinguished five major types of cyclic facies alternations representing specific facies zones in the playa system we have implemented spectrophotometry as a tool for high resolution cyclostratigraphy the dense sampling increment up to 1 cm allows for the recognition of all orbital frequencies sediment colour profiles reveal striking hierarchical cycles from semi precession sp 99 kyr over precession p 19 8 kyr and obliquity o 36 kyr to eccentricity e1 2 109 kyr e3 413 kyr a significant 2 myr signal is attributed to the longer term eccentricity e4 one monsoonal precession cycle includes two carbonate precipitation events we propose that stratified mudstone and red mudstone are associated with maximum and minimum monsoon during the transition of the solstices in perihelion and aphelion respectively the two carbonate precipitation events were most likely created when equinoxes were in perihelion and aphelion respectively a sedimentary semi precession response cycle is a novel finding for the norian strata the obliquity signal is attributed to incoming atmospheric moisture from the northeast of the smk basin the e4 cycle controls lake level changes over long times apparently e4 is responsible whether or not a threshold value is crossed bundles of 109 kyr and 413 kyr in red mudstones suggest a dry system with reduced monsoonal activity in contrast humid periods reveal thick layers of dolomite beds indicating that during those intervals the monsoonal activity was strong enough to prevent the playa system from drying out completely

on the pseudomorphing of melt filled pores during the crystallization of migmatites pseudomorphs of melt filled pores recognized by their generally cuspate shape are used as diagnostic for the former presence of partial melt they are commonly observed in migmatites from the mid to deep crust although they occur in the smaller pores in migmatites from shallower levels 1 2 kbar the pseudomorphing of meltfilled pores is controlled by the kinetics of nucleation and is a consequence of the greater supersaturation required for nucleation in a small pore compared with a larger one we examine three migmatites in detail a contact metamorphosed cherty band from an iron formation an archaean regional granulite from an accretionary prism and an amphibolite facies sample from the roots of an archaean mountain chain the greater undercooling required for nucleation in progressively smaller pores is recorded by the composition of plagioclase pseudomorphs a study of dihedral angles at the corners of pseudomorphed pores demonstrates that melt solid textural equilibrium was probably attained only in the contact aureole the regional granulite preserves an almost unmodified reaction controlled melt distribution with little evidence for either melt solid textural equilibration or solid solid re equilibration whereas the reactioncontrolled melt distribution in the regional amphibolite facies example has been modified by a partial approach to solid solid textural equilibrium it is not clear whether the differences in dihedral angle population are due to differences in uplift and exhumation rates or due to the presence of h2o on grain boundaries

permian phytogeography in gondwana abstract phytogeographic patterns based on multivariate techniques multidimensional scaling are proposed for the permian vegetation of gondwana this approach requires a data set with broad geographic coverage based on generic composition and with good time control in general strong phytogeographic differentiation can be observed throughout the permian in order to identify short term phytogeographic patterns the permian period was informally divided into five time slices in the permian stage i earliest permian the vegetation was strongly influenced by glacial conditions a very impoverished vegetation is seen except in patagonia and parts of south america four units were identified patagonia nothosouthamerica australia and indo africa by far patagonia was the most diverse and had the most favourable climatic conditions perhaps as a result of palaeogeographic separation from western gondwana nothosouthamerica which included plant assemblages from nw argentina and brazil perhaps as two subunits is a mid latitude area with glacial influence in the brazilian sector indo africa had a much lower diversity occupying high latitudes whereas australia had the lowest diversity of all the vegetational regions in stage i the early permian stage ii shows a more diversified and expanded plant cover vegetation of eastern and western gondwana was differentiated patagonia and south america including a brazilian and nw argentinean unit had the richest plant assemblages whereas africa indo australia and antarctica as separate units are less diverse probably due to late glacial influence by the late early permian stage iii gondwana shows much more ameliorated climatic conditions basically due to drifting into more temperate latitudes as well as increased moisture resulting in expansion of peat forming areas this is immediately reflected in the vegetation as shown by diversified plant assemblages even in antarctica nonetheless a differentiation is again observed between eastern gondwana patagonian and south american units and the western sector indo australian and antarctic units whereas africa would probably represent an ecotone beginning in the late permian stage iv there was a decrease in the number of plant assemblages and diversity indicating a deterioration in climate resulting from generally drier conditions latitudinal differentiation can be observed with antarctica as a polar unit afro australia at high latitudes whereas the south american indian and patagonian units are located in middle latitudes finally in permian stage v latest permian a south american unit can be differentiated clearly from the rest africa and indo australia antarctica is interpreted again as a discrete unit in the stage v time slice eastern gondwana returns to more humid climatic conditions allowing the formation of extended peat swamps whereas the western sector is affected by seasonal and strong droughtness this kind of phytogeographic approach has proven useful for detecting some palaeogeographic problems such as those involving the patagonian subcontinent in this regard palaeogeographic reconstructions and palaeoclimatic models should be tested against these phytogeographic patterns

large scale melt depletion in granulite terranes an example from the archean ashuanipi subprovince of quebec this study uses field petrographic and geochemical methods to estimate how much granitic melt was formed and extracted from a granulite facies terrane and to determine what the grain and outcrop scale melt flow paths were during the melt segregation process the ashuanipi subprovince located in the north eastern superior province of quebec is a large 90 000 km2 metasedimentary terrane in which 85 of the metasediments are of metagreywacke composition that was metamorphosed at mid crustal conditions 820 900 c and 6 7 kbar in a late archean dextral transpressive orogen decrease in modal biotite and quartz as orthopyroxene and plagioclase contents increase together with preserved former melt textures indicate that anatexis was by the biotite dehydration reaction biotite quartz plagioclase melt orthopyroxene oxides using melt orthopyroxene ratios for this reaction derived from experimental studies the modal orthopyroxene contents indicate that the metagreywacke rocks underwent an average of 31 vol partial melting the metagreywackes are enriched in mgo cao and feot and depleted in sio2 k2o rb cs and u have lower rb sr higher rb cs and th u ratios and positive eu anomalies compared to their likely protolith these compositions are modelled by the extraction of between 20 and 40 wt granitic melt from typical archean low grade metagreywackes a simple mass balance indicates that about 640 000 km3 of granitic melt was extracted from the depleted granulites the distribution of relict melt at thin section and outcrop scales indicates that in layers without leucosomes melt extraction occurred by a pervasive grain boundary porous flow from the site of melting across the layers and into bedding planes between adjacent layers in other rocks pervasive grain boundary flow of melt occurred along the layers for a few to tens of centimetres followed by channelled flow of melt in a network of short interconnected and structurally controlled conduits visible as the net like array of leucosomes in some outcrops the leucosomes contain very little residual material 5 biotite orthopyroxene indicating that the melt fraction was well separated from the residuum left in situ as melt depleted granulite only 1 3 vol percentage melt remained in the melt depleted granulites hence the extraction of melt generated by biotite dehydration melting in these granulites was virtually complete under conditions of natural melting and strain rates in a contractional orogen

translating milankovitch climate forcing into eustatic fluctuations via thermal deep water expansion a conceptual link sedimentological evidence indicates metre scale cyclic changes in global sea level during mesozoic greenhouse climates the cyclicity is thought to be due to milankovitch forcing the absence of continental ice caps requires other mechanisms than glacier build up to explain these variations we propose that thermal expansion of the entire oceanic water column may partly explain the observed sea level variations on milankovitch timescales using existing climate model results we show that an increase in deep water temperature of 2 c and a corresponding sea level rise of 1 7 m by thermal expansion can be induced by milankovitch forcing via increased formation of warm deep waters in low latitudes

melt segregation in the continental crust distribution and movement of melt in anatectic rocks the grain and outcrop scale distribution of melt has been mapped in anatectic rocks from regional and contact metamorphic environments and used to infer melt movement paths at the grain scale anatectic melt is pervasively distributed in the grain boundaries and in small pools consequently most melt is located parallel to the principal fabric in the rock typically a foliation short branched arrays of linked melt bearing grain boundaries connect melt depleted parts of the matrix to diffuse zones of melt accumulation protoleucosomes where magmatic flow and alignment of euhedral crystals grown from the melt developed the distribution of melt leucosome and residual rocks normally melanocratic in outcrop provides different but complementary information the residual rocks show where the melt came from and the leucosomes preserve some of the channels through which the melt moved or sites where it pooled different stages of the melt segregation process are recorded in the leucosome melanosome arrays regions where melting and segregation had just begun when crystallization occurred are characterized by short arrays of thin branching leucosomes with little melanosome a more advanced stage of melting and segregation is marked by the development of residual rocks around extensive branched leucosome arrays generally oriented along the foliation or melting layer places where melting had stopped or slowed down before crystallization began are marked by a high ratio of melanosome to leucosome because most of the melt has drained away very few leucosomes remain to mark the melt escape path this is common in melt depleted granulite terranes many migmatites contain abundant leucosomes oriented parallel to the foliation mostly these represent places where foliation planes dilated and melt drained from the matrix via the branched grain boundary and larger branched melt channel leucosome arrays collected melt collected in the foliation planes was partially or fully expelled later when discordant leucosomes formed leucosomes or veins oriented at high angles to the foliation layering formed last and commonly lack melanocratic borders hence they were not involved in draining the matrix of the melting layer discordant leucosomes represent the channels through which melt flowed out of the melting layer

cretaceous climate a comparison of atmospheric simulations with the geologic record abstract atmospheric simulations using realistic cretaceous geography 100 million years ago suggest that paleography is an important factor governing the nature of the circulation the simulated cretaceous atmospheric circulations are markedly different both from the present day atmospheric circulation and from the classical hypotheses of a weaker circulation and poleward displacement of circulation features e g the subtropical high therefore they pose specific questions which can be tested against the geologic record aspects of the cretaceous simulations are verified in comparisons with the geologic record the simulations serve to guide areas of future paleoclimatic research and to formulate better the nature of the problem of warm equable climates

continental drift runoff and weathering feedbacks implications from climate model experiments changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide have been proposed as a major regulator of climate during the last 570 million years continental weathering and its variation over time are hypothesized to be important for controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide continental weathering is altered by changes in total runoff as well as changes in the size and elevation of the land masses to be weathered when paleogeographic information for the phanerozoic 570 m y ago to present is used in a global climate model the model exhibits substantial variations in precipitation evaporation and runoff even with dramatically different land ocean distributions an increase in global surface temperature leads to an increase in global precipitation but not always an increase in global runoff during the early phanerozoic 514 342 ma when the continents are relatively small and widely distributed runoff depends on continental evaporation and temperature as the continents migrate into subtropical latitudes global runoff decreases as global land temperatures and evaporation increase as the continents shift to higher latitudes global runoff increases as global land temperatures and evaporation decrease during the middle to late phanerozoic 306 ma present when large continental land masses predominate runoff depends on continental precipitation experiments with increased atmospheric co 2 for the middle ordovician 458 ma when the paleocontinent of gondwana was centered at subtropical latitudes and the early silurian 425 ma when gondwana had shifted to middle and high latitudes also point to a correlation between land mass location and runoff global runoff increases 15 with increased co 2 at 425 ma but remains unchanged for 458 ma even though global mean temperature and precipitation increase comparable amounts for the two time periods these results imply that weathering feedback between temperature and runoff may be dependent on land ocean configuration

systematics of chromitite occurrences in central palawan philippines the chromitite occurrences in the central palawan ophiolite can be classified into four groups based on their chemistry and geological relationships group i chromites from a deep tectonite level of the ophiolite complex show cr cr al values of between 0 78 and 0 90 whereas group ii from a shallower level gives values of 0 64 0 78 and group iii from the immediate gabbro lower contact dunite cumulates and diapirs show values of 0 5 0 64 group iv chromites from the gabbro zone have ratios around 0 38 0 5 larger orebodies type a representing a first stage of partial melting of a primordial mantle show cr fe ratios between 2 5 and 4 5 whilst those of small chromitite bodies with a thin dunite envelope type b lie below 2 5 these small bodies belong to a second stage of magma generation for both types the cr fe ratio increases with the chromite silicate ratio within individual occurrences an additional method which may help to subdivide these chromitites involves their silicate and ore inclusions the platinum group minerals for example occur mainly in chromites of group ii type a the intensive tertiary tectonic activity to which the ophiolite was subjected during and after emplacement disturbs the regular pattern of the ophiolite stratigraphy and its chromitite occurrences

paleobiology and skeletochronology of jurassic dinosaurs implications from the histology and oxygen isotope compositions of bones fossil biogenic phosphate of fast growing primary bone tissue of dinosaurs can preserve a histologic and isotopic time series of annual seasonality in temperature variations similar to tooth enamel and other accretionary skeletal phases such as corals or wood on two bone fragments from sympatric dinosaurs with different histologic patterns of bone growth high resolution oxygen isotope profiles were analyzed along the radial direction of bone growth the investigated specimens are from the jurassic shishugou formation in the junggar basin nw china and have distinct patterns of compositional variation a fibrolamellar dinosaur bone with multiple lines of arrested growth lags and periodic growth cycles of decreasing bone laminae thickness displays a cyclic intra bone variation in 18o values of about 2 corresponding with the lags these growth cycles in fast growing fibrolamellar bone provide evidence for seasonal growth of dinosaurs in lower latitudes 45 n possibly influenced by a monsoon type paleoclimate seasonal changes in temperature and water supply are consistent with the oxygen isotope composition measured in dinosaur bone phosphate as well as with growth rings in contemporaneous fossil conifer wood from the same locality in contrast a plexiform sympatric sauropod bone displays continuous growth free of lags and has a lower intra bone variation of 0 8 differences in bone histology are also reflected in the oxygen isotopic composition and its intra bone variability indicating different physiological responses to external climatic stress between sympatric dinosaur species seasonal intra bone oxygen isotope variations combined with bone histology may thus yield new insights into species specific response to climatic stress and its influence on dinosaur growth formation of growth marks growth rates as well as dinosaur thermophysiology

water fluxed melting of the continental crust a review abstract water fluxed melting also known as fluid or water present melting is a fundamental process in the differentiation of continents but its importance has been underestimated in the past 20 years during which research efforts focused mostly on dehydration melting reactions involving hydrate phases in the absence of a separate aqueous phase the presence of a free aqueous phase in anatectic terranes influences all major physical and chemical aspects of the melting process from melt volumes viscosity and ability to segregate from rock pores to melt chemical and isotopic composition a review of the literature shows that melting due to the fluxing of aqueous fluids is a widespread process that can take place in diverse tectonic environments active tectono magmatic processes create conditions for the release of aqueous fluids and deformation driven transient high permeability channels capable of fluxing high temperature regions of the crust where they trigger voluminous melting water fluxed melting can be either congruent in regions at the water saturated solidus or incongruent at suprasolidus p t conditions incongruent melting reactions can give rise to peritectic hornblende or to nominally anhydrous minerals such as garnet sillimanite or orthopyroxene in this case the presence of an aqueous phase is indicated by a mismatch between the large melt fraction generated and the much smaller fractions predicted in its absence the relatively small volumes of aqueous fluids compared to that of rocks imply that melting reactions are generally rock buffered fluids tend to move upwards and down temperature however there are cases in which pressure gradients drive fluids up temperature potentially fluxing suprasolidus terranes crustal regions at conditions equivalent to the water saturated solidus represent a natural impediment to the up temperature migration of aqueous fluids because they are consumed in melting reactions in this case continued migration into supra solidus terranes take place through the migration of water rich melts thus melts become the transport agent of water into supra solidus terranes and responsible for water fluxed melting other processes such as the relatively rapid fluid migration through fractures also allow regional aqueous fluids to by pass the water saturated solidus fluid trap and trigger melting above solidus conditions when aqueous fluids or hydrous melts flux rocks at supra solidus conditions they equilibrate with the surroundings through further melting decreasing water activity and giving rise to undersaturated melts it is in these conditions that hornblende or anhydrous peritectic phases are stabilized unlike dehydration melting the melt fraction generated in this case is not limited by the water contained in hydrous minerals but by the volume of water added to the system unlike melting at the water saturated solidus these melts are capable of rising without freezing and do give rise to upper crustal granitic bodies

late cretaceous climbing erg systems in the western xinjiang basin palaeoatmosphere dynamics and east asia margin tectonic forcing on desert expansion and preservation abstract this study reassesses the terrestrial deposits of the late cretaceous tangbian formation in the western xinjiang basin of the south china block originally considered to be aqueous deposits we reinterpret these strata as representing an extensive aeolian system in a desert environment this paper suggests that the development of aeolian deposits in the tangbian fm represents the culmination of the late cretaceous desertification that followed the relatively humid early late cretaceous epoch in the interior of south china the area was dominated by subtropical high pressure systems on a planetary scale combined with coastal mountains caused by sustained orogenic activity the interaction between subtropical high pressure systems and topographic conditions ultimately caused the development of a tropical desert climate characterized by an extensive dry climbing aeolian dune system we propose that the coastal mountains not only blocked moisture transport from the ocean and led to the aridification of south china interior but also exerted a control and transformed the original prevailing surface wind pattern

rainfall patterns and the distribution of coals and evaporites in the mesozoic and cenozoic abstract paleoclimatologists have adequately demonstrated over the last twenty years that the distribution of climatically sensitive sediments can be related to present day climatic zones that are roughly parallel to latitude for example coals were deposited at paleolatitudes that correspond to the present day rainy zones at the equator and at about 55 n and 55 s indicating that those zones were present in the past from this it can be concluded that atmospheric circulation has not been radically different from its present configuration despite some apparently great differences in some climatic parameters such as the equator to pole temperature gradient nevertheless the zonal model for predicting the distribution of climatically sensitive sediments is not wholly adequate although general atmospheric circulation may not have been radically altered from its present pattern it would have differed in some respects because the paleogeography was different from the present geography therefore we have constructed what we believe are more realistic maps of the distribution of rainfall through time these maps are based on maps of atmospheric circulation that have been successfully used to predict the distribution of some petroleum source beds and phosphorites we have compared the predicted distribution of rainfall to the distribution of coals and evaporites for each of seven geologic stages the circulation rainfall maps were more successful than the zonal model for predicting the distribution of evaporites and coals for times when the paleogeography would have maximized the development of a monsoonal circulation which most effectively disrupts the general zonal pattern for times when a monsoonal circulation would not have been important the zonal model adequately predicted the distribution of these rocks

climate change on tectonic time scales abstract observational and modeling studies relevant to climate change on tectonic time scales are reviewed probably the most significant climate result from this time scale involves inferences about nearly ice free conditions for some intervals of earth history some additional results suggest relatively rapid transitions between climate states modeling studies indicate that although tectonic changes significantly modify the atmosphere and ocean circulation in most cases such modifications do not appear to be sufficient to explain ice free climates increased atmospheric co2 levels 5 10 presentvalues may be needed to completely reconcile models and data although the co2 paradigm has received widespread attention in the last few years the results summarized herein indicate that co2 is only one of several important factors influencing climate i believe the time is appropriate for contemplating climate change on tectonic time scales in terms of a post co2 synthesis in which direct tectonic factors are approximately equal in importance to co2 fluctuations in the last few years modeling studies have progressed from a state of virtually no work on the topic to one where the models are in some respect ahead of the observations in the sense that data have not been compiled to test even some of the most basic model predictions in particular information is needed on past atmospheric co2 levels tropical sea surface temperatures seasonality of continental interiors and locations and production rates of deep waters initial steps are being taken to integrate observational and modeling activities on tectonic time scales and some of these shortcomings may be rectified over the next few years

raman spectroscopic characterization of h2o in co2 rich fluid inclusions in granulite facies metamorphic rocks abstract water h2o has been identified during raman analyses at 150 200 c of fluid inclusions from granulites that were previously thought to contain pure co2 at room temperature h2o in a co2 rich fluid inclusion forms an optically unresolvable liquid wetting the inclusion walls during heating the h2o phase evaporates into the co2 phase to produce a homogeneous h2o co2 fluid throughout the inclusion volume and the h2o raman peak at 3640 cm 1 is clearly resolvable at elevated temperatures to test and confirm the method synthetic h2o co2 fi of known composition 87 5 mol and 95 mol co2 were also analyzed previously studied granulite samples from the adirondack mountains usa and from the kerala khondalite belt sittampundi complex and sevitturangampatti india were tested for the presence of h2o in co2 rich fluid inclusions traces of h2o were found in co2 rich fluid inclusions in quartz crystals from the adirondacks and from the kerala khondalite belt h2o was not detected in co2 rich secondary fluid inclusions in garnet from the sittampundi complex and from sevitturangampatti rather hydrogarnet was detected along the walls of inclusions in garnet as evidenced by a peak at 3661 cm 1 the hydrogarnet is interpreted to be a step daughter phase that formed by reaction of the h2o in the fluid inclusion with the garnet host during retrogression these observations confirm the presence of an h2o bearing co2 rich fluid at some time during granulite petrogenesis but do not resolve the question of whether these co2 rich fluids were trapped at peak metamorphic conditions or during retrogression or whether the fluid inclusions have reequilibrated following entrapment

zoning patterns in orthopyroxene and garnet in granulites implications for geothermometry compositional maps of orthopyroxene and garnet of contrasting grain size and in contact with different minerals were made from two paragneiss granulites from the minto terrane of northern quebec the compositional maps provide clear evidence of late exchange of fe fe mg after ca in garnet and al in orthopyroxene had been quenched in the extent of late fe mg exchange was controlled by neighbouring minerals with negligible fe mg gradients against plagioclase and quartz and substantial gradients against exchangeable fe mg minerals cores of grains in contact with exchangeable fe mg neighbours are progressively more reset in fe fe mg as grain size decreases whereas cores of even small grains surrounded by only plagioclase and quartz are not significantly different in fe fe mg than cores of the largest grains gradients of ca in garnet and of al in orthopyroxene in grains of uniform fe fe mg preserve a high temperature retrograde history during which intergranular exchange effected compositional uniformity of mineral rims and intragranular fe mg diffusion in garnet and orthopyroxene was rapid enough to homogenize fe fe mg the transition from efficient intergranular exchange at relatively high temperatures to local fe mg exchange at lower temperatures may have been controlled by loss of an intergranular exchange medium in the rock possibly an internally generated dehydration melt phase implications for geothermometry of granulites include the following numerical values are particular to this study 1 core compositions of garnet and orthopyroxene grains in contact with exchangeable neighbours may be reset in fe fe mg relative to the most refractory compositions by an amount equivalent to 120d c 2 fe mg exchange thermometry using even the most refractory fe fe mg compositions may not record peak granulite conditions possibly recording instead the temperature at which an intergranular exchange medium was lost from the rock and 3 temperature sensitive net transfer equilibria involving al solubility in orthopyroxene yield temperatures up to 150d c higher than maximum fe mg exchange temperatures even in grains with flat fe fe mg compositional profiles making them a better means of estimating peak granulite temperatures than fe mg exchange thermometry

geochemistry and origin of megacrystic granitoid rocks from eastern ghats granulite belt abstract the eastern ghats granulite belt eggb forms part of a continuous precambrian metamorphic terrain in gondwana it is characterised by widespread development of an archaean khondalite suite of metasedimentary rocks archaean to late proterozoic charnockites and late proterozoic anorthositic granitic and syenitic emplacements a 1900 ma megacrystic granitoid suite containing varying proportions of charnockites and granites forms an important and widely distributed litho unit in the central khondalite and eastern migmatite zones of the eggb it contains metasedimentary enclaves megacrystic k feldspar quartz plagioclase ovoids biotite garnet porphyroblasts and coronas apatite zircon ilmenite magnetite etc hypersthene is present in the charnockite phase monazite is present in some garnet free granites it is characterised by low na 2 o k 2 o ratios high alumina saturation index cao mgo and ree negative correlation of tio 2 al 2 o 3 fe 2 o 3 t mgo mno cao p 2 o 5 ba sr zr and v with sio 2 positive correlation of k 2 o ree th and rb with sio 2 fractionated lree relatively flat hree and negative eu anomalies the data suggest s type nature of the suite fractionation of the granitic magma and local variations in ph 2 o and fco 2 caused the formation of megacrystic charnockites formation of the corona garnet is related to the reworking of the suite during late proterozoic ca 1250 ma isothermal decompression associated with channelised co 2 rich fluid flux along narrow shear zones

fluid transfer in anorthosites and related rocks from rogaland southwest norway evidence from stable isotopes abstract c and h contents and c h and o isotopic compositions have been measured in sixteen samples of the ana sira massif type anorthosite rogaland southwest norway and in 30 surrounding rocks including the metamorphic envelope and magmatic intrusions related to the anorthosite emplacement oxygen isotopic compositions of the ana sira anorthositic massif 18 o 6 1 0 3 and the tellnes orebody 18 o 5 2 0 2 are consistent with a pure mantle origin and show no evidence for exchange with hydrothermal fluids the associated rocks norites to charnockites have 18o values 5 2 0 9 similar to uncontaminated mantle derived magmas the h2o content of the rocks magmatic or metamorphic is lower than 0 54 suggesting the preservation of original granulite facies conditions during cooling and uplift due to their cumulate origin the anorthosites are very poor in carbon bulk c the carbon distribution observed at the contact between later intrusions and anorthosites as well as gneisses indicates that some co2 has fluxed from the later magmas over a distance of a few hundred metres this suggests only minimal lateral propagation of the fluids by diffusion or infiltration tentative carbon budgets suggest that most of the volatiles were transferred upwards into the overlying continental crust

introduction to special section mechanisms and consequences of melt segregation from crustal protoliths much of petrological effort has been concentrated on attempts to discern define and interpret regularly recurring patterns of igneous and metamorphic petrogenesis i do not wish to deny the existence of discernable order in petrological phenomena but every geological event is unique if we concentrate too heavily on discernment of order and pattern may we perhaps overlook or underrate the unique quality of each igneous or metamorphic episode possibly uniqueness may have as great significance as conformity to pattern when we attempt to fit the phenomena of petrology into the broad framework of geology francis j turner presidential address to the mineralogical society of america november 11 1969

high grade metamorphism and partial melting in archean composite grey gneiss complexes much of the exposed archaean crust is composed of composite gneiss which includes a large proportion of intermediate to tonalitic material these gneiss terrains were typically metamorphosed to amphibolite to granulite facies conditions with evidence for substantial partial melting at higher grade recently published activity composition a x models for partial melting of metabasic to intermediate compositions allows calculation of the stable metamorphic minerals melt production and melt composition in such rocks for the first time calculated p t pseudosections are presented for six bulk rock compositions taken from the literature comprising two metabasic compositions two intermediate dioritic compositions and two tonalitic compositions this range of bulk compositions captures much of the diversity of rock types found in archaean banded gneiss terrains enabling us to present an overview of metamorphism and partial melting in such terrains if such rocks are fluid saturated at the solidus they first begin to melt in the upper amphibolite facies however at such conditions very little 5 melt is produced and this melt is granitic in composition for all rocks the production of greater proportions of melt requires temperatures above 800 850 oc and is associated with the first appearance of orthopyroxene at pressures below 8 9 kbar or with the appearance and growth of garnet at higher pressures the temperature at which orthopyroxene appears varies little with composition providing a robust estimate of the amphibolite granulite facies boundary across this boundary melt production is coincident with the breakdown of hornblende and or biotite melts produced at granulite facies range from tonalite trondhjemite granodiorite ttg for the metabasic protoliths granodiorite to granite for the intermediate protoliths and granite for the tonalitic protoliths under fluid absent conditions the melt fertility of the different protoliths is largely controlled by the relative proportions of hornblende and quartz at high grade with the intermediate compositions being the most fertile the least fertile rocks are the most leucocratic tonalites due to their relatively small proportions of hydrous mafic phases such as hornblende or biotite in the metabasic rocks melt production becomes limited by the complete consumption of quartz to higher temperatures the use of phase equilibrium forward modelling provides a thermodynamic framework for understanding melt production melt loss and intracrustal differentiation during the archaean this article is protected by copyright all rights reserved

high northern palaeolatitude jurassic cretaceous palaeotemperature variation new data from kong karls land svalbard abstract the traditional view of warm equable global climates in the mesozoic with weakly developed latitudinal temperature gradients has been challenged by several recent studies however reliable high palaeolatitude palaeotemperature data is still rare in this study palaeotemperature data based on oxygen stable isotope palaeothermometry of well preserved mid jurassic to lower cretaceous belemnites from kong karls land svalbard are presented these data show cool high latitude marine isotopic palaeotemperatures for endemic species during the lower to mid valanginian 7 7 c which may be compatible with the formation of high latitude ice middle bathonian to kimmeridgian samples give warmer isotopic palaeotemperatures 9 4 c whilst samples from the aalenian to bajocian give isotopic palaeotemperatures which are warmer still 12 7 c comparison of the callovian temperatures with those from a mid latitude location shows them to be warmer than would be expected if previous latitudinal temperature gradients are correct this may be due to the ameliorating effect of oceanic heat transport pole wards from the panthalassa ocean via the south anyui ocean

continental drift and the global pattern of sedimentation the breakup of pangaea through rifting and separation of the continents has special implications for the global pattern of sedimentation the important initial conditions of pangaea are area elevation the nature of the drainage and climate the development of interior uplifts associated with rifting caused significant reorganization of drainage systems rifting and continental breakup result in unique sediment sequences on passive margins

influence of insolation and glaciation on atmospheric circulation in the north atlantic sector implications of general circulation model experiments for the late quaternary climatology of europe abstract atmospheric general circulation models have been used to simulate the sensitivity of regional climates to late quaternary changes in insolation ice sheets and atmospheric co 2 model results for full glacial conditions 18 ka show the atlantic westerly jet strengthened and shifted south a corresponding southward shift of the icelandic low and a strengthening and northward shift of the subtropical anticyclone sta a glacial anticyclone developed over the european ice sheet and cold dry conditions prevailed over much of europe the full glacial climate anomaly for the north atlantic sector is explained by a combination of low atmospheric co 2 reducing global surface temperatures and circulation changes caused by the ice sheets by the early holocene 9 ka the ice sheets were much reduced while the orbital anomaly was near its maximum producing mid continental summer warming and winter cooling and a reduced latitudinal temperature gradient in the northern hemisphere in both seasons the jet and the icelandic low were displaced to north of their present position producing strong onshore flow and mild wet winters in northern europe while the sta was also shifted northwards producing offshore flow and dry summers in the same region during the late glacial transition the effects of insolation and glaciation were antagonistic for some features of the circulation and synergistic for others the model results suggest palaeoclimatic hypotheses that could be directly tested by comparison with palaeoclimatic data mapped at a synoptic scale

astronomical forcing of meandering river behaviour milankovitch cycles in devonian of east greenland abstract a more than 1100 m thick succession dominated by single and multistorey sandstone bodies from the upper devonian kap graah group in east greenland is interpreted as a meandering river and associated overbank deposits the sandstone bodies display well developed lateral accretion bedding and are interpreted to be deposited as point bars in a well exposed section 215 m thick individual sandstone bodies have been analized quantitatively in order to compare the individual palaeochannel characteristics the results indicate cyclic variations in discharge channel slope and channel size the cycles are of the order of c 20 m thick with superimposed c 100 m mega cycles both are interpreted as reflecting cyclic variations in precipitation rate the cycles are interpreted as being governed by astronomical forcing of the climate reflecting milankovitch type precession cycles in the order of 20 000 years with modulation by c 110 000 years eccentricity mega cycles this study confirms that the precession and eccentricity cycles exhibit the main forcing on low latitude monsoonal climate

schlieren formation in diatexite migmatite examples from the st malo migmatite terrane france schlieren are trains of platy or blocky minerals typically the ferromagnesian minerals and accessory phases that occur in granites and melt rich migmatites such as diatexites they have been considered as 1 unmelted residue from xenoliths or the source region 2 mineral accumulations formed during magma flow 3 compositional layering and 4 sites of melt loss in order to help identify schlieren forming processes in the diatexites at st malo differences in the size shape orientation distribution and composition of the biotite from schlieren and from their hosts have been investigated small biotite grains are much less abundant in the schlieren than in their hosts schlieren biotite grains are generally larger have greater aspect ratios and have except in hosts with low 10 biotite contents a much stronger shape preferred orientation than host biotite the compositional ranges of host and schlieren biotite are similar but schlieren biotite defines tighter sharper peaks on composition frequency plots hosts show magmatic textures such as imbricated tiled unstrained plagioclase some schlieren show only magmatic textures tiled biotite no crystal plastic strain features but many have textures indicating submagmatic and subsolidus deformation e g kinked grains and these schlieren show the most extensive evidence for recrystallization magmas at st malo initially contained a significant fraction of residual biotite and plagioclase crystals smaller biotite grains were separated from the larger plagioclase crystals during magma flow since plagioclase was also the major early crystallizing phase the plagioclase rich domains developed rapidly and reached the rigid percolation threshold first forcing further magma flow to be concentrated into narrowing melt rich zones where the biotite had accumulated hence increasing shear strain and the degree of shape preferred orientation in these domains schlieren formed in these domains as a result of grain contacts and tiling in the grain inertia regime final amalgamation of the biotite aggregates into schlieren involved volume loss as melt trapped between grains was expelled after the rigid percolation threshold was reached in the biotite rich layers

a guide to phanerozoic cold polar climates from high latitude ice rafting in the cretaceous the high latitude extent of warm climate indicators at certain times in earth history has been considered as evidence that the globe was ice free for long intervals despite theoretical considerations and results from numerical modelling experiments1 2 indicating that this was unlikely one of the warmest periods the cretaceous displays faunal and floral evidence for cool temperate to sub tropical conditions very near to the poles however our studies of lower cretaceous mudstones of central australia that contain outsized exotic blocks have led to the conclusion that the blocks were emplaced by ice rafting implying that high latitude ice was present at sea level strata of a similar origin of mid jurassic to mid cretaceous age occur on other continents that were positioned between 65 and 78 palaeolatitude indeed there is a record of high latitude ice rafting throughout the phanerozoic suggesting that ice was present on earth for much of its history and that ice free conditions could have been at most only episodic over the past 600 myr

temperatures of granulite facies metamorphism constraints from experimental phase equilibria and thermobarometry corrected for retrograde exchange this study assesses temperatures of formation of common granulites by combining experimental constraints on the p t stability of granulite facies mineral associations with a garnet orthopyroxene grt opx thermobarometry scheme based on al solubility in opx corrected for late fe mg exchange we applied this scheme to 414 granulites of mafic intermediate and aluminous bulk compositions our findings suggest that granulites are much hotter than traditionally assumed and that the p t conditions of the amphibolite granulite transition portrayed in current petrology textbooks are significant underestimates by over 100 c for aluminous and intermediate granulites mean corrected temperatures based on our method are 890 17 and 841 11 c respectively uncertainties reported as 95 confidence limits on the mean consistent with minimum temperatures for orthopyroxene production by fluid absent partial melting in these bulk compositions in contrast mean temperatures based on grt opx fe mg exchange equilibria using the same thermodynamic data are 732 22 and 723 11 c respectively well below the minimum temperatures for opx stability for mafic granulites the mean corrected temperature using our method is 816 12 c similar to the mean temperature of 793 13 c from fe mg exchange reasons for the differences between the mafic granulites and aluminous intermediate granulites are unclear but may be due to the lower al concentrations in opx in the mafic rocks and possible deficiencies in the thermodynamic modelling of these low concentrations we discuss a number of well known granulite terrains in the context of our findings including the adirondacks the acadian granulites of new england the incipient charnockites of southern india and sri lanka and the kerala khondalite belt our findings carry implications for thermotectonic models of granulite formation a computer program to perform our thermobarometry calculations rclc is available from the journal of petrology website at http www petrology oupjournals org or from the authors at http www geo ucalgary ca pattison drm pattison rclc htm

events around the triassic jurassic boundary in northern and eastern spain a review abstract more than 20 successions containing the triassic jurassic t j boundary were studied in five of the major geological units of spain the data are from outcrop cored boreholes and interpreted well logs a consistent 3 4 13 c org isotope excursion starting in the rhaetian and continuing in the hettangian was recorded in asturias climate changes in the t j transition show a warming episode in the early hettangian other climate changes are indicated by an increase in hygrophytic miospores above the t j boundary this reflects a more humid episode at the beginning of the hettangian the messejana dyke in southeastern iberia is part of the central atlantic magmatic province camp co 2 outgassing related to extensive magmatic activity in the camp is thought to be one of the possible factors responsible for the end triassic mass extinction no major sea level changes or unconformities were recorded at the t j boundary only in the asturias area was there a well defined shallow carbonate platform during the t j transition the other areas of eastern and northern spain were occupied by coastal playas and sabkhas that developed in arid climatic conditions the biotic crisis around the t j boundary is reflected in the palynomorph record in asturias seven species do not persist beyond the late rhaetian and only six appeared in the triassic jurassic transition however 22 taxa appeared in the early hettangian

pangaean climates megamonsoons of the megacontinent the climate for a highly idealized geographic representation of the megacontinent of pangaea corresponding to the period 250 200 m y ago is explored using a low resolution atmospheric general circulation model that is coupled to a static mixed layer ocean of constant depth with a provision for sea ice formation and decay soil moisture is included as a predicted variable on the continent because there are large uncertainties about key factors that might influence the pangaean climate sensitivity experiments are used to examine the climate for two different mean elevations 0 and 1000 m two different snowcover prescriptions and two different levels of implied greenhouse heating and solar luminosity modern co2 concentration and modern solar luminosity fivefold increase in modern co2 concentration and a 1 decrease in modern solar luminosity in all of the experiments the large bipolar land masses of laurasia and gondwanaland joined near the equator in the west and separated by the tethys sea in the east exhibit extreme continentality with hot summers cold winters and large scale summer and winter monsoon circulations year round or seasonal aridity is simulated for all but the eastern coastal regions the tropical western coast and the regions poleward of 40 latitude the simulated climate of the idealized pangaean continent has many features that correspond qualitatively with geologic evidence for tropical warmth and aridity in the late permian and triassic however the model results serve mainly to indicate the importance of various climate forming factors geography topography heating detailed comparisons will require new experiments with better models and more accurate geologic boundary conditions

tracking physicochemical conditions of evaporite deposition by stable magnesium isotopes a case study of late permian langbeinites magnesium isotopic compositions of evaporite deposits may record information concerning brine evolution during deposition we report mg isotopic values delta mg 26 dsm3 measured from an evaporite deposit of langbeinite k2mg2 so4 3 found in the permian salado formation we used these data to model mg isotope fractionation between langbeinite and its parent brine in addition both measured and theoretical results are used to estimate precipitation temperature and interpret depositional environment the salado langbeinite delta mg 26 values are relatively low and fall within a relatively narrow range 4 12 0 03 parts per thousand to 3 81 0 07 parts per thousand equilibrium fractionation factors between langbeinite and aqueous mg2 solutions were calculated using quantum chemical density functional theory all computations were performed at the b3lyp 6 31 g d p level solvation effects were addressed using a solvent model water droplet approach and mineral structures were investigated using volume variable cluster models vvcm the equilibrium mg isotopic fractionation factors a between langbeinite and model brine solution we obtained are 1 0005 1 0004 and 1 0003 delta mg 26 langb water approximate to 10 3 ln alpha 0 473 parts per thousand 0 390 parts per thousand and 0 322 parts per thousand at 10 degrees c 25 degrees c and 40 degrees c respectively these relatively large equilibrium fractionation factors indicate significant mg isotope fractionation between langbeinite and its parent brine during precipitation as langbeinite preferentially incorporates the heavier mg 26 and mg 25 isotopes rayleigh distillation modeling of the salado langbeinite s relatively light mg isotopic composition requires delta mg 26 dsm3 values of 4 parts per thousand for the parent brine models favor a precipitation temperature as high as 40 degrees c under equilibrium conditions potential disequilibrium precipitation conditions suggested by mg isotopic data also imply rapid deposition in a hot arid sedimentary environment prevailing in the southwestern u s during the late permian

warm saline bottom water in the ancient ocean considerable isotopic evidence indicates that oceanic bottom water was much warmer in the geological past a simple convection model driven by multiple turbulent buoyant plumes and observations of present deep water formation have led to the development of a theory for the formation of warm saline bottom water it is suggested that changes in the size and configuration of marginal seas in net evaporation zones due to lithospheric plate motions and eustatic sea level change caused these seas to become sources of warm saline bottom water evidence from the palaeotemperature record and palaeogeography during the late cretaceous is used to reinforce the hypothesis climatic and chemical consequences of the formation of warm saline bottom water are discussed

pedogenic record of climate change across the pennsylvanian permian boundary in red bed strata of the cutler group northern new mexico usa abstract the upper pennsylvanian to lowermost permian el cobre canyon and arroyo del agua formations are well exposed in a 250 m section in the chama basin in northern new mexico this is one of the few known successions of fossiliferous red bed siliciclastic sediments encompassing the pennsylvanian permian boundary in the american southwest and thus may inform questions regarding changing paleoclimate in tropical pangea across the pennsylvanian permian boundary the section consists mainly of silty mudstones and sandstones with sheet like to ribbon geometry and very minor limestones and records an upward transition from mainly braided stream deposition in the el cobre canyon formation to anastomosing stream deposition in the arroyo del agua formation we recognized multiple paleosol types within these strata including calcic protosols calcic argillisols argillic calcisols and calcisols all generally consistent with the interpretation of a seasonal sub humid to semi arid climate the calcretes in these paleosols occur primarily as truncated profiles although calcisols occur in both formations we note that protosols are more common in the el cobre canyon formation and argillisols dominate in the arroyo del agua formation also we find that the calcretes in the arroyo del agua formation are generally thicker than those in the underlying el cobre canyon formation the difference in calcrete maturity could be explained by changes in source area relief and sedimentation rate however stable isotope analyses of pedogenic carbonate indicate that a significant enrichment of 18o occurs near the transition between the two formations which approximates the virgilian wolfcampian equals gzhelian asselian boundary although the 13c data suggest that pco2 remained stable during the interval of deposition the 18o data are consistent with the interpretation of climate aridification across the pennsylvanian permian transition potentially related to the onset of gondwanan glaciation in the earliest permian

u pb geoehronology and evolution of the english river subprovince an archean low p high t metasedimentary belt in the superior province u pb isotopic data for zircon monazite and titanite are used to assess the evolution of the late archean english river subprovince ers and adjacent domains of the winnipeg river subprovince in the northern superior province ontario the ers consists of turbiditic metasedimentary rocks deposited during the final stages of magmatic and tectonic accretion within the greenstone granite uchi subprovince to the north at around 2720 to 2710 ma the sedimentary rocks were intruded by a suite of calc alkalic plutons at 2698 ma major regional deformation amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism anatexis and emplacement of an extensive peraluminous granitic suite culminated at 2691 ma late episodes of metamorphism metasomatism and emplacement of pegmatites occurred locally at circa 2680 and 2669 ma in contrast the winnipeg river subprovince to the south consists of widespread tonalitic suites formed mainly between 3200 and 2800 ma and granodioritic to granitic intrusions formed between 2710 and 2690 ma metamorphism occurred at around 2710 ma in southern domains and a distinct granulite facies event at around 2680 ma affected central and northern domains of the winnipeg river subprovince the rapid sequence of events recorded in the ers supports the notion that metamorphism was caused by thermal perturbations related to injection of granitic magmas these melts were generated through partial melting of the lower crust by a thermal anomaly presumably caused by mantle upwelling related to collapse of the inactivated subducting plate the short lived nature of the metamorphic events and their cyclicity follow the behaviour predicted by recent models linking the evolution of strain rates to episodes of segregation and upward magma transfer in the course of prolonged orogenic events

a sedimentological model for the continental upper triassic tadrart ouadou sandstone member recording an interplay of climate and tectonics argana valley south west morocco the continental upper triassic tadrart ouadou sandstone member was deposited in an extensional setting on the pangaean continent strongly influenced by a low latitude climatic regime 10 to 20 north complex interaction of basin subsidence and climatically driven processes led to high facies variability and a lack of correlatable units across the argana valley exposures a process orientated approach integrating detailed facies with architectural element analysis was undertaken which resulted in a multistage depositional model for the tadrart ouadou sandstone member the basin scale model shows that basal alluvial fan and braided river systems are confined to the centre of the argana valley exposures aeolian deposits occur throughout the sequence but dominate in the north after a phase of playa deposition prominent basin wide fluvial incision of up to 8 m marks the onset of perennial fluvial flow these well sorted internally complex and locally highly amalgamated fluvial sandstones are widespread throughout the basin and are focused in a north to south south west flowing channel system after a final stage of aeolian sedimentation sandstone deposition of the tadrart ouadou sandstone member in the argana valley is terminated rapidly by the onlap of lacustrine mudstones of the sidi mansour member the study revealed that except for one pronounced period of perennial conditions sedimentation is controlled largely by ephemeral fluvial flow alternating ground water tables deflation processes and periods with limited periodic local run off the study highlights that facies architecture in the basin is the result of complex interaction of local syn sedimentary tectonics and the climatic regime within the basin but also the climate of the catchment area to the east the data suggest a proximal to mid distal basin setting in the rain shadow to the west of a mountain range massif ancien which exerted a strong control on the depositional environments of triassic deposits exposed in this part of south west morocco

application of the fujita ziegler paleoclimate model early permian and late cretaceous examples abstract the fujita ziegler model is a new semi quantitative technique for reconstructing atmospheric circulation and resulting rainfall patterns of the geological past using uniformitarian assumptions in this paper we evaluate the performance of the model when applied to geographic and climatic conditions that were significantly different from the recent a late cretaceous maastrichtian reconstruction permits a test of the performance of the technique during a time that apparently lacked polar ice caps and steep latitudinal temperature gradients an early permian sakmarian reconstruction is used to evaluate the performance of the technique when the equator to pole temperature gradient was steep more like today but all major land masses had merged to form one large supercontinent pangea for both the maastrichtian and sakmarian the model produced more detailed retrodictions of surface air pressure and precipitation continuity than previously published paleoclimate reconstructions the results compare favorably with the known distribution of climatically sensitive sediments such as coals evaporites and phosphorites although the model considers complex relationships among land and sea distribution air pressure surface winds ocean currents and specific precipitation mechanisms it is still relatively simple and easy to apply therefore it is an excellent learning tool for the student of paleoclimate and should be an important technique to complement other methods of paleoclimate reconstruction

late early triassic climate change insights from carbonate carbon isotopes sedimentary evolution and ammonoid paleobiogeography the late early triassic sedimentary facies evolution and carbonate carbon isotopemarine record 13ccarb of ammonoid rich outer platform settings show striking similarities between the south china block scb and the widely distantnorthern indianmargin nim the studied sections are located within the triassic tethyshimalayan belt losar section himachal pradesh india and the nanpanjiang basin in the south china block jinya section guangxi province respectively carbon isotopes from the studied sections confirm the previously observed carbon cycle perturbations at a time of major paleoceanographic changes in the wake of the end permian biotic crisis this study documents the coincidence between a sharp increase in the carbon isotope composition and the worldwide ammonoid evolutionary turnover extinction followed by a radiation occurring around the smithian spathian boundary based on recent modeling studies on ammonoid paleobiogeography and taxonomic diversity we demonstrate that the late early triassic smithian and spathian was a time of a major climate change more precisely the end smithian climate can be characterized by a warm and equable climate underlined by a flat pole to equator sea surface temperature sst gradient while the steep spathian sst gradient suggests latitudinally differentiated climatic conditions moreover sedimentary evidence suggests a transition froma humid and hot climate during the smithian to a dryer climate fromthe spathian onwards by analogywith comparable carbon isotope perturbations in the latedevonian jurassic andcretaceouswe propose that high atmosphericco2 levels could have been responsible for the observed carbon cycle disturbance at the smithian spathian boundary we suggest that the end smithian ammonoid extinction has been essentially caused by a warm and equable climate related to an increased co2 flux possibly originating froma short eruptive event of the siberian igneous province this increase in atmospheric co2 concentrations could have additionally reduced the marine calcium carbonate oversaturation and weakened the calcification potential of marine organisms including ammonoids in late smithian oceans

atmospheric circulation during warm geologic periods is the equator to pole surface temperature gradient the controlling factor paleoclimatologists have hypothesized that the equator to pole surface temperature gradient is a dominant control on the paleocirculation of the oceans and the atmosphere atmospheric simulations using realistic cretaceous 100 m y ago geography are used to examine quantitatively the relationships between paleogeography surface temperature gradients and the nature of the atmospheric circulation these results raise questions concerning the classical theories and interpretations of warm paleoclimates and suggest that paleogeography is an important factor governing the nature of the circulation

monsoonal precipitation in the paleo tethys warm pool during the latest permian abstract simulations of the late permian 251 ma are analyzed with respect to the northern hemispheric pangean monsoon we find that the presence and spatial distribution of the warm pool and not land sea temperature differences are the primary forcing agents for the monsoon the land sea temperature gradient as a monsoonal mechanism is tested by eliminating the cathyasian peninsula and is found to have little impact on the spatial character of the monsoon furthermore the response of the monsoon to the warm pool was tested by removing all paleo tethys equatorial islands which allows the warm pool to expand and migrate westward thus shifting the pattern of monsoonal precipitation given that paleogeography changes through time these results have important implications for the migration and strength of the tropical monsoon over geologic time additionally different co2 regimes are presented in which a 10 fold change in forcing produces diverging climates and therefore different warm pool and monsoon locales tropical and equatorial ocean currents impact the seasonal progression and location of the warm pool and atmospheric mass flux for the monsoonal regime is characterized and shown to change with warm pool movement experiments were conducted using the low resolution version of community climate system model version 3 ccsm3 in both coupled and fixed sea surface temperature sst context for validation purposes a modern control is briefly presented with observations and is shown to represent both the spatial and seasonal progression of the indian monsoon

tropical marine climate during the late paleozoic ice age using trace element analyses of brachiopods abstract the late paleozoic ice age can be considered an important analogue to the modern ice age but comparisons between the two time intervals have been hampered by the difficulty of resolving climatic changes that occur over short e g seasonal time scales in the paleozoic record as a first step toward overcoming these limitations this study employed mg ca trace element ratios sampled across the growth bands of six specimens of the brachiopod composita to assess differences in tropical marine mean temperature and seasonality in visean and moscovian time these time intervals bracket the onset of the late paleozoic ice age which occurred in mid serpukhovian time and thus provide a snapshot of climate changes from a greenhouse to an icehouse world shells were screened for diagenetic alteration by cathode luminescence and by comparing the values of mn sr na and b to those reported for modern brachiopods in addition a 87sr 86sr value measured for one specimen agreed with a published strontium isotope curve for the late paleozoic era both the mean and range of mg ca values were larger in visean than moscovian time suggesting colder and less seasonal temperatures during the late paleozoic ice age the decline in seasonality was due to a greater proportional reduction of maximum values which presumably represent summer temperatures than minimum values these relative differences between the pre ice age and ice age tropical climate provide a first step toward understanding the broad patterns of seasonal scale changes in temperature during a critical time in earth s history