late ordovician glacial record of the anti atlas morocco abstract late ordovician glaciogenic deposits are exposed intermittently along an 800 km long outcrop belt in the anti atlas mountains of southern morocco these deposits are of economic significance as potential oil bearing sandstones in the tindouf and boudenib basins and thus are here re examined as analogues to subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs glaciogenic deposits of the upper second bani formation rest unconformably upon underlying shallow marine clastic deposits the unconformity is characterised by a series of palaeovalleys some 0 5 1 0 km wide and up to 100 m deep which may have been cut under elevated hydrostatic pressures as tunnel valleys beneath a late ordovician ice sheet the valleys and intervalley areas are filled with glaciogene sediments categorized into five facies associations namely 1 a tabular sandstone association shallow marine shoreface deposits 2 a massive sandstone and conglomerate ice contact debrites 3 meandriform sandstone deposits ice proximal sandur 4 stratified diamictites ice rafted debris and 5 sigmoidally bedded sandstones intertidal sandstones deformation in these sediments is ubiquitous and includes soft sediment striated pavements metre scale duplex systems thrust and fold belts of deformation affecting some tens of metres of sediment and pervasive lineations these features are interpreted to record the complex nature of deformation processes operating beneath a late ordovician ice sheet including sliding at the ice bed interface folding and deformation within the sediment column and a series of complex ramps detachments and shear zones within an unconsolidated pile of sediment beneath the ice sheet

relationship between deep diagenetic quartz cementation and sedimentary facies in a late ordovician glacial environment sbaa basin algeria abstract production of hydrocarbons from sandstone reservoirs is complicated by their diagenetic history although many aspects of sandstone diagenesis are well studied the character and processes of glacial associated diagenesis remain unknown to address this problem the origin conditions and timing of quartz cementation in glacial ordovician sandstones of the sbaa basin algeria were constrained on the basis of fluid inclusion microthermometry electron microprobe data and quantification by image analysis combined with optical and cathodoluminescence microscopic studies samples of the cambro ordovician formations in the sbaa basin were investigated from four wells at burial depths between 2 0 and 2 5 km and at ambient temperatures between 110 and 130 c quartz cements range in abundance from 1 to 27 of bulk rock volume in all wells three separate phases of quartz cementation are readily distinguished by cathodoluminescence microscopy the main silica sources are interpreted to be dissolution of feldspar grains intergranular quartz dissolution stylolitization and illitization of smectite fluid inclusion data depths indicate that quartz overgrowths precipitated between 100 to 160 c this range of temperature corresponds to the visean namurian burial phase according to the basin thermal history image analysis demonstrates intergranular quartz dissolution also called pressure dissolution in the presence of thin illite coatings around detrital quartz grains these clay coatings were mechanically emplaced below the ordovician ice sheet by pressurized meltwater circulation and subsequent fluid expulsion within sandy subglacial soft bedrock that was initially porous and permeable therefore the subglacial bedrock lithology directly influenced quartz diagenesis because an increase in the content of clay matrix or the presence of an argillaceous layer can block the circulation of fluids flowing below the ice sheet which prevents the formation of clay coatings quartz cements in this environment are favored in less compacted areas without clay coatings and with high porosity the results of this study clearly illustrate the relationships among sedimentary facies ice dynamics and diagenetic architecture of the formation these types of processes may control the porosity permeability distribution in other glacial sandstone successions through quartz cementation and chemical compaction

overdeepened quaternary valleys in the eastern danish north sea morphology and origin abstract a system of 100 350 m deep overdeepened and buried valleys has been mapped in the eastern danish north sea individual valleys can be traced for several tens of kilometres and valleys generally begin and terminate abruptly a correlation to buried valleys onshore southwest denmark is possible the valleys post date glaciotectonic structures and are interpreted to be elsterian and possibly saalian in age the origin of valleys in the eastern danish north sea is explained by repeated cycles of sub glacial down cutting of meltwater channels and channel closure due to ice creep eventually producing deeply incised valleys glacial erosion may have been significant in cases where valleys are broad and shallow the origin of overdeepened quaternary valleys in general can be attributed to a combination of three end member processes i steady state drainage of meltwater ii catastrophic outbursts of meltwater and iii glacial erosion the main requirement for sub glacial valley formation is the presence of a melting ice sheet overlying a poorly consolidated substrate permeability variations of the substrate may produce subregional variations in the pattern of valley incision while pre glacial rivers faults or salt structures are of local importance only

facies architecture and sequence stratigraphy in glacially influenced basins basic problems and water level glacier input point controls with an example from the quaternary of ontario canada abstract sequence architecture is controlled by two fundamental factors the water level relative to the depositional surface which controls accommodation space and the points or areas of sediment injection which control how this space is filled in relative water level accommodation space and injection points normally vary together and various genetic terms are used to define systems tracts but in glacially influenced basins accommodation space is controlled not only by water level but also by the glacier injection points are similarly dually controlled by water level and by the terminus of the glacier during high lake levels the injection point of the glacier may be underwater at the base of the slope genetic terms like highstand and lowstand therefore are meaningless in successions controlled by sediment input points which are independent of water levels and accommodation space distinct water level and glacier input point systems can occur side by side the water level system controlled by lake level or sea level the glacier input point system controlled by the position of the subaqueous glacier front and both can form juxtaposed systems passing laterally into each other a bewildering and incompatible terminology is needed if the terms of genetic sequence stratigraphy are used for both water level and glacier input point systems because the sedimentary injection points and sequence boundaries of the two systems fluctuate out of phase with one another sequences developed by movement of the glacier are completely independent of those controlled by water levels if genetic sequence stratigraphy is applied to a basin with both lake level and glacier input point systems then each needs separate genetic terminologies to describe them which leads only to confusion however descriptive sequence stratigraphy allostratigraphy can be readily applied to successions like the quaternary of lake ontario we therefore suggest that genetic sequence terms be discarded and simpler allostratigraphic terminology used in glacially influenced basins

tidal flexure at ice shelf margins hinge zones accommodate the differential tidal movement between floating ice shelves which move with the sea tide and grounded ice sheets which do not observations on rutford ice stream and ronne ice shelf antarctica using the kinematic method of global positioning system have yielded the first continuous tidal displacement profiles from an ice sheet hinge zone the form of these tidal displacement profiles indicates that the flexure can be fit to an elastic beam model using a parameter space optimization technique the model matches the observed tidal deflection profile to within 5 cm which is similar to the observational uncertainty the same model and parameter fitting technique is then successfully applied to various other published and unpublished tidal displacement data from doake ice rumples bach ice shelf and ekstrom ice shelf antarctica and jakobshavns glacier greenland i conclude that the elastic beam model with a single value of the elastic modulus 0 88 0 35 gpa adequately describes almost all the data and so can usefully be applied elsewhere earlier studies of tidal dissipation in ice shelf hinge zones based on a viscous or transient creep rheology showed that perhaps 30 of global tidal energy dissipation could be occurring in ice shelf hinge zones this study suggests however that an elastic rheology may be equally appropriate in which case this estimation of the tidal energy dissipation is excessively high

seven glacial cycles in the middle late pleistocene of northwest europe geomorphic evidence from buried tunnel valleys the deep ocean marine isotope record and the antarctic and greenland ice caps record numerous glacial and interglacial cycles since the middle pleistocene and yet evidence for similar numbers of ice sheet advances over the continent and shallow shelves of northwest europe is absent here we document seven generations of regionally correlatable subglacial tunnel valleys that record the geomorphic imprint of ice sheets traversing the north sea basin between ca 500 and 40 ka consistent with that predicted by proxy records of glacial and interglacial climate change over 180 subglacial tunnel valleys that incise into pleistocene sediments in the north sea basin were mapped over 60 000 km 2 of three dimensional seismic reflection data using a subset of these data we identified seven separate episodes of subglacial erosion that can be correlated regionally in the uk sector of the central north sea the characteristics of the valley morphologies orientations and infill stratigraphy indicate that each set of tunnel valleys formed during a separate ice sheet advance and retreat cycle stratigraphic data suggest that the tunnel valleys formed significantly later than the brunhes matuyama reversal event at 780 ka and before the last glacial maximum marine isotope stage mis 2 21 ka these results imply a more complicated glacial history for northwest europe and more glaciations than the three glaciation model traditionally interpreted from the terrestrial record for the past 500 k y our data provide the most complete documentary evidence for repeated advance and retreat of the northwest european ice sheets since the middle pleistocene and for the first time indicate that terrestrial ice sheet advances in the north sea can be matched in number with the cold events recorded in oceanic and or ice core proxies of climate change over the past 500 k y

depositional model in subglacial cavities killiney bay ireland interactions between sedimentation deformation and glacial dynamics subglacial meltwater drainage and sedimentary processes play a major role in ice sheet dynamic but there is a lack of study of subglacial environment because modern ice sheet beds remain inaccessible previous authors already intended to provide diagnostic criterion and recent investigations suggest that fluid pressure variations are a key factor in subglacial environment this paper investigated the late devensian sedimentary record in order to describe subglacial sedimentological facies associations and deformation features related to fluid overpressures we used an integrated approach based on stratigraphy sedimentology and deformations styles to demonstrate a subglacial depositional model the studied interval is composed of stratified gravel and sand interbedded with diamicton and boulder pavement deposited in depressions formed by irregularity of the upper surface of diamicton deformation structures include convolutes dykes and normal micro faulting dykes show different dip directions from vertical oblique to subhorizontal from which both directions of shortening and extension can be determined vertical dykes are formed under pure shear strain related to ice weight only oblique dykes imply both ice bed coupling and simple shear strain between ice and substrate induced by flowing ice related to progressively increasing meltwater drainage intensity horizontal dykes are formed when minimum strain is vertical and therefore the overpressure exceeds the weight of overburden they are associated with high meltwater drainage intensity and ice bed uncoupling and refer to hydrofracturing overall depositional and deformation sequence also illustrates the increasing intensity of meltwater drainage in small cavity as high energy channelised deposits and in large cavities where subaqueous fan are deposited under hydraulic jump conditions moreover large cavities represent lee side cavities formed by fast flowing ice over an obstacle hydrofracturing is likely to occur when a dense fluid potentially associated with catastrophic drainage of an upstream cavity enters the low pressure confined environment of a downstream cavity and is injected under pressure in the soft substrate the studied glacial sequence represents a regional pattern probably related to an allocyclic control on sedimentation linked to long term glacial dynamics rather than local depositional conditions based on these results we provided a synthetic model linking depositional and deformation processes during ice sheet growth and decay but also valid at different timescales from annual to seasonal scale

braiding under glass water under glaciers and ice streams often flows under pressure over an erodible substrate do the channel patterns produced by such flows resemble those of their free surface counterparts we studied pressure driven water flow over an erodible noncohesive bed using a physical model with a transparent rigid lid the dominant channel pattern produced in the model is a widely distributed braided network of broad shallow channels relative to braided networks formed under equivalent free surface conditions those formed under pressure show higher braiding intensity greater channel curvature and variability of flow direction and more sharply defined channel margins increasing discharge increases braiding intensity maximum channel size and variability of flow direction downstream pressure gradients are insensitive to changes in discharge which may in part reflect a tendency to maintain constant shear stress in the channels as observed in rivers lateral pressure gradients measured in the pressurized model indicate that pressure surfaces are highly variable in both magnitude and direction over time and space when converted to equivalent topographic slope these pressure gradients represent much larger lateral slopes than are typically produced in rivers accounting for the wider range of channel directions in the pressurized flow experiments

calibrating the late ordovician glaciation and mass extinction by the eccentricity cycles of earth s orbit a process based sedimentological analysis of upper ordovician glacial marine rocks in africa suggests that full glaciation of the continental shelf started in the late extraordinarius zone of the hirnantian two cycles of ice sheet growth are represented during full glaciation initial terrestrial ice sheet growth in the early extraordinarius zone influenced the first event of the late ordovician mass extinction retreat of the ice sheet from the shelf ended by the persculptus zone when the second event of the late ordovician mass extinction began eccentricity controlled ice sheet growth is assumed periodicity 0 1 m y hence two cycles of full glaciation lasted 0 2 m y the duration of the extraordinarius zone is estimated as 0 5 m y therefore the minimum duration of the first extinction event was 0 3 m y

jet efflux deposits of a subaqueous ice contact fan glacial lake rinteln northwestern germany abstract the coarse grained ice contact porta subaqueous fan delta complex was deposited in glacial lake rinteln at the margin of the saalian ice sheet that advanced south of the weser chains nw germany the ice proximal depositional system was up to 15 km long and 10 km wide the present study deals with ice proximal subaqueous fan deposits which are interpreted as products of a subcritical plane wall outflow jet that periodically passed into a supercritical jet with hydraulic jump the proximal facies assemblage consists of the coarse clast supported gravelly deposits of a hyperconcentrated high density effluent and of related cohesionless debris flows attributed to the conduit or immediate proximal jet outflow zone of flow establishment the intermediate facies assemblage attributed to the outflow jet proximal zone of flow transition is dominated by normally graded and cross stratified gravels with scour structures at their bases these gravels were deposited by a high density effluent capable of forming mouthbar like features these deposits pass downcurrent into an assemblage of planar parallel stratified and planar and trough cross stratified sands and pebbly sands partially interpreted as antidunes with abundant scour structures and intercalated layers of fine sand silt and silty mud attributed to the jet distal zone of flow transition the distal facies assemblage consists of trough cross stratified sands and pebbly sands and is attributed to the outflow jet proximal zone of established flow the sedimentary succession as a whole has wedge shape geometry with a gentle fan shaped inclination of the bedding from the southeast to the southwest repeated vertical alternations of supercritical and subcritical deposits and muddy interlayers can be attributed to temporary fluctuations in the meltwater outflow whereas the overall upward fining of the succession indicates a net decline of meltwater discharges

diamict fans in subglacial water filled cavities a new glacial environment abstract the occurrence of glaciolacustrine diamict fans on the south side of volcanic tuyas in the laugarvatn area iceland is reported these fans are composed of sheets of diamict gravel and sand and contain little or no primary volcanic material they post date the volcanic pile within the tuyas and appear to have been deposited in subglacial water filled cavities confined to the down ice side of the tuyas it is suggested that these subglacial water bodies formed as result of an enhanced geothermal heat flux associated with the tuyas the volume of glacial sediment within the fans implies that either basal sediment loads were high in this sector of the former ice sheet or that ice flow converged towards the tuyas during their formation concentrating basal sediment into the lee side cavity and fan the glaciolacustrine diamict fans add to our knowledge of the landforms and sediments associated with tuyas and may also provide evidence of ice flow convergence at thermal anomalies

sedimentation beneath ice shelves the view from ice stream b abstract ice shelf development is favored by rapid flow of cold ice from outlet glaciers or ice streams into protected embayments with localized high spots basal melting of ice shelves is rapid near the ice front and may occur near the grounding line ice from outlet glaciers may contain significant englacial debris that is deposited as a dropstone diamicton in regions of basal melting englacial debris is sparse or absent in ice streams evidence from ice stream b draining into the ross ice shelf of west antarctica suggests that the rapid ice velocity arises from deformation of a several meter thick water saturated basal till layer that is eroding an unconformity on sediments beneath and that has deposited a till delta tens of meters thick and tens of kilometers long at the grounding line sea level fall would cause conveyor belt recycling of this till delta and grounding line advance across the ross sea to the edge of the continental shelf forming an ice sheet with a low ice stream profile resting on a several meter thick deforming till layer eroding an unconformity the modern ross sea is characterized by a regional unconformity overlain by a diamicton of probable latest pliocene pleistocene age measuring several meters to tens of meters thick we hypothesize that this diamicton is a deformed glacial till and that the ross sea sediments record one or more expansions of the till lubricated west antarctic ice sheet to the edge of the continental shelf

investigations of an ice plain in the mouth of pine island glacier antarctica we present newly acquired airborne radar data showing ice thickness and surface elevation for pine island glacier antarctica these data when combined with earlier measurements suggest the presence of a lightly grounded area immediately above the grounding line of pine island glacier we identify this region as a ice plain it lies close to the centre line of the glacier has an elevation above buoyancy of 28 km the upstream edge of the ice plain is defined by a coupling line the configuration of the ice plain implies that nearby thinning of the ice stream would result in substantial grounding line retreat we suggest that the grounding line retreat of pine island glacier observed between 1992 and 1996 probably commenced sometime after 1981

subglacial hydrology in north western germany during the last glaciation groundwater flow tunnel valleys and hydrological cycles abstract numerical modelling of groundwater dynamics in an overpressured system of subglacial aquifers and aquitards under the marginal portion of the scandinavian ice sheet in northwestern germany has been coupled with calculations of basal meltwater production rates and with field evidence of meltwater erosional features largely fine grained subglacial sediments with relatively low hydraulic conductivities had a capacity to drain only about 25 of all basal meltwater produced in the relevant subglacial catchment area the rest of the meltwater was evacuated through tunnel valleys in spontaneous outburst events subglacial drainage cycles are proposed in which each cycle begins with meltwater drainage through the substratum groundwater flow followed by water ponding at the ice bed interface and ends in catastrophic meltwater releases through tunnel valleys

pre hirnantian latest ordovician benthic community assemblages controls and replacements in a siliciclastic dominated platform of the eastern anti atlas morocco lower middle ashgill sedimentary strata from the mediterranean region have recorded a key episode of temperate to cold water carbonate productivity predating the onset of the hirnantian glaciation the latitudinal position of the moroccan margin of north gondwana during ashgill should have been adequate for the recorded development of carbonate factories however carbonate productivity was neither homogeneous nor laterally persistent as documented in the eastern anti atlas whereas in the erfoud area the bryozoan dominated limestones of the ashgill khabt el hajar formation indicate the intensive activity of carbonate factories these were dramatically reduced in the tiskaouine and gaiz jbels alnif area ca 100 km to the wsw of erfoud in alnif the caradoc ashgill transition lies within the ktaoua group which represents a siliciclastic dominated platform partly truncated by the hirnantian glaciogenic unconformity there three distinct carbonate factories are recognized across the caradoc ashgill transition and early mid ashgill times primarily controlled by accommodation space distance from source areas and subsequent siliciclastic input and benthic community replacements i quiescent episodes of prograding sandy shoals are indicated by a distinct assemblage of epibenthic to quasi endobenthic brachiopods heterorthids drabovids and rafinesquinids and non pelmatozoan echinoderms sphaeronitids and aristocystitids that colonized inclined foresets ii bryozoan thickets rich in robust and delicate branching and encrusting growth forms flourished on carbonate substrates of the distal offshore parts of the platform during major flooding episodes and iii stratigraphically condensed densely fossiliferous phosphatized coquinas display peaks in biodiversity patterns as they are rich in epibenthic rhynchonellid heterorthid and rafinesquinid brachiopods calymenid dalmanitid cheirurid and illaenid trilobites sinuitid eotomariid and holopeid gastropods and hyolithids other episodic and environmentally restricted carbonate factories developed on the alnif mixed platform but are incompletely constrained due to the allochthonous character of their benthic pelagic assemblages which are ecologically mixed due to the effects of continuous shallow water erosive reworking and taphonomically complex histories these shelly carbonate factories allow recognition of the dominant benthic community assemblages that predated the onset of the hirnantian glaciation on this part of the moroccan margin of north gondwana

evidence for rapid sedimentation in a tunnel channel oak ridges moraine southern ontario canada abstract in south central ontario a late wisconsinan regional unconformity consisting of tunnel channels and drumlinized till crops out north of lake ontario the tunnel channels are locally infilled and the unconformity buried by sediment of the oak ridges moraine based on seismic reflection profiling and drillcore the tunnel channels are known to continue beneath the moraine detailed sedimentological analysis of 300 m of continuous core from two drillholes located 7 km apart in subparallel tunnel channels identified three facies the gravel facies is 17 m thick and occurs in only one of the cores it directly overlies the unconformity and may include a number of upward fining units seismic reflection data suggests the gravel forms stacked gravel mesoforms or quasi horizontal gravel layers bed load sheets deposited from fluidal flows along the deep channel axis the graded massive sand facies up to 37 m thick is the most common facies and consists of silty medium sand with minor coarse sand strata are reverse graded normal graded or massive with isolated silt intraclasts and evidence locally for dewatering this facies is interpreted to have been deposited from hyperconcentrated dispersions downflow of a hydraulic jump or major channel confluence the third facies consists of medium scale and small scale cross stratified sand medium scale cross stratification occurs predominantly in the lower 37 m of the core and is interbedded with the graded massive sand facies small scale cross stratified sand is progressively more common upward in core medium and small scale cross stratified sands was deposited respectively by subaqueous dunes and ripples formed in dilute fluid flows the complete succession is interpreted to have been deposited very rapidly within a subglacial tunnel channel before discharge ceased along the channel deposition followed closely and in part coincided with rapid expansion of the channel by erosion in a hydraulic jump or at a major channel confluence along the grounding line of a subglacial lake scour into unconsolidated sediment contributed to the sediment flux and quickly overloaded the flow with suspended sediment which in turn resulted in extremely high rates of sedimentation immediately downflow such depositional conditions support the notion that tunnel channels in the study area formed and or served as conduits for subglacial jokulhlaup discharges and that the laurentide ice sheet most probably did not generally drain by steady state processes but instead by short lived catastrophic events

incremental subglacial meltwater sediment deposition and deformation associated with repeated ice bed decoupling a case study from the island of funen denmark abstract on the island of funen denmark sediments that are 4 7 m below the land surface consist of a 2 4 m thick sequence of stacked and folded glaciofluvial sediments overlain by a 2 3 m thick basal till the glaciofluvial sediments consist of tabular beds of planar stratified massive and cross stratified sand and gravel with localized channel fills of open framework gravel sand and gravel beds exhibit curvilinear sheath folding often leading to eye folds this folding is attributed to repeated glacier bed decoupling and recoupling with subglacial deposition of sand and gravel by meltwater occurring during the decoupling phase and deformation occurring during recoupling sand and gravel beds are typically separated by silty clay beds and laminations recording slackwater deposition within subglacial cavities folds frequently display attenuated upper limbs reflecting shearing associated with overlying ice movement on lower fold limbs only localized thrusting is observed suggesting water saturation of sands and gravels during deformation and relatively low strain rates folds are frequently truncated by overlying sand and gravel beds no evidence of shearing is found along these contacts which are interpreted as erosional surfaces thus we propose that the glaciofluvial sediment sequence records incremental step wise subglacial deposition and deformation rather than wholesale deformation following emplacement of the entire glaciofluvial sequence specifically we envisage that individual beds were deposited and folded subglacially with ice bed decoupling occurring during sediment deposition followed by recoupling and shearing of the upper bed surface by the ice base to produce folds with attenuated upper limbs incremental deformation and folding were facilitated by elevated porewater pressure within the sediments silty clay beds helped to maintain elevated porewater pressure by acting as local aquitards a general absence of till from the glaciofluvial sequence save for localized cm scale blocks suggests either non deposition or reworking into the glaciofluvial sediments deposition of tabular sand and gravel beds and open framework gravel filling scours within single beds suggest broad sheet like subglacial flows 10 100 m wide that become increasingly channelized we propose that the sedimentary sequence records a highly dynamic glaciohydraulic system characterized by repeated localized subglacial cavity development and storage and release of meltwater leading to glacier decoupling that may have facilitated fast flow of the baltic ice stream

tunnel valley formation in northwest germany geology mechanisms of formation and subglacial bed conditions for the bornhoved tunnel valley the bornhoved tunnel valley consists of a relatively broad elongated depression filled primarily with tills and a narrow channel in the axial part filled with outwash glaciolacustrine sediments and tills the tunnel valley is at least 13 km long 222 m deep bottom at 191 m b s l and extends parallel to the axis of a peripheral sink between two permian salt diapirs in the substratum it is suggested that the initiation of the tunnel valley was controlled by a differential response of the bed materials to ice overriding on top of and between the salt structures the bornhoved tunnel valley is a polygenetic feature that resulted from different erosional processes throughout all three main glaciations in northern germany during the elsterian glaciation glaciotectonic squeezing occurred to be later replaced by subglacial meltwater erosion during the ice retreat and the holsteinian interglacial the valley was filled with fine grained glaciolacustrine and marine sediments which were subsequently removed and redeposited further down ice as a 200 m thick glaciotectonic melange by the first saalian advance the second saalian advance caused only minor changes and the tunnel valley was reactivated as a subglacial channel during the weichselian glaciation it is suggested that at the time of the first weichselian ice advance a large subglacial water reservoir developed in the area of the baltic sea basin and caused a rapid surge like ice movement as the ice sheet advanced out of the baltic sea basin drainage of the water reservoir was prevented by the ice toe overriding the permafrost on the saalian highlands during the ice retreat frozen ground was left beyond the ice margin and subglacial meltwater catastrophically drained through the tunnel valley with a discharge roughly estimated at about 3 75 103 m3 s it seems possible that drainage of the subglacial water collector through the bornhoved tunnel valley and other similar channels south of the baltic sea led to increased ice sheet basal friction and was one reason for successively smaller extents of the subsequent weichselian advances evidence against pervasively deforming bed materials in the vicinity of the bornhoved tunnel valley in the weichselian glaciation indicates that the valley served as an efficient drainage path for porewater from the subglacial sediments

sedimentation in a subglacial lake enniskerry eastern ireland abstract field relationships between a subglacial lake fill from the enniskerry basin eastern ireland provide evidence for dynamic links between the sedimentary fill regional subglacial meltwater flow and regional ice dynamics the basin fill 6 7 km2 forms an integral part of an extensive 30 km subglacial meltwater system which developed parallel to north south ice flow along the western marginal sector of the late pleistocene irish sea glacier high magnitude sediment fluxes were directed into the subglacial lake southwards across the northern basin rim from two nye type channels and westwards by a rothlisberger type channel the resulting subaqueous fans typically consist of cones of coarse boulder gravels deposited by jet effluxes overlain by cross bedded sands and foreset gravels in places these are eroded and overlain by multistorey dish shaped channels cut and filled by subglacial meltwaters driven by a high hydrostatic head a variety of gravelly and sandy bedforms indicate that sediment migrated over efflux cores towards deeper parts of the basin facies variability within the ice proximal fans and spreads record deposition from a wide range of high and low density turbulent flows traction currents density underflows suspension and sediment gravity flows a surficial drape of winnowed diamict is related to areal resedimentation as jet effluxes closed down at one site the gravelly sequence shows a largely conformable transition upwards into glaciotectonised gravel and basal till in the lee of the basin rim elsewhere the upper part of the sediment pile is occasionally deformed by the drag of the ice roof a series of sequential events is postulated for the evolution of the subglacial drainage system and subglacial lake development initially a rock ridge transverse to ice flow resulted in the development of a relatively low pressure lee zone along the northern margin of the basin ice sheet decoupling within the basin was enhanced by water migration into this low pressure lee zone which also melted an ice roof cavity closure and maintenance of the ice roof was prevented by a fast ice flux generated by intense marine downdraw in the main ice lobe centred in the irish sea basin regional ice directed meltwater pressure gradients and erosion enhanced subglacial lake development in the lowest topographic point of the system major inlet and outlet nye type channels incised transverse to the rims of the basin testify to the intensity of ice directed drainage along the marginal sector of the irish sea glacier in a wider context the concepts of high magnitude subglacial meltwater flow coupled with high rates of debris flux invoked for the subglacial basin fill are also necessary to explain the thick tidewater sequences present in adjacent sectors of the irish sea basin

fabric signature of subglacial till deformation breidamerkurjokull iceland the foreland of breidamerkurjokull iceland is the only locality where tills known to have undergone subglacial deformation are exposed till on the foreland has a two tiered structure consisting of a dilatant upper horizon c 0 5 m thick and a compact lower till these horizons correspond to the ductile deforming a horizon and the brittle ductile b horizon observed below the glacier by g s boulton and co workers the relationship between known strain history and a variety of macrofabric elements is examined for these two genetic facies of deformation till the upper horizon exhibits variable a axis fabrics and abundant evidence for clast re alignment reflecting ductile flow and rapid clast response to transient strains in contrast the lower horizon has consistently well organized a axis fabrics with a narrow range of dip values recording clast rotation into parallel with strain axes during brittle or brittle ductile shear the data indicate that till strain history imparts identifiable macrofabric signatures providing important analogues to guide the interpretation of pleistocene tills

maximum extent of ice sheets in morocco during the late ordovician glaciation new field data demonstrate that during the late ordovician hirnantian glaciation an ice sheet expanding northwestwards over the anti atlas range reached into the southern meseta of northern morocco its growth to a glacial maximum position resulted in extensive subglacial erosion and deformation including the development of soft sediment striated surfaces and streamlined subglacial bedforms preserved between the high atlas of marrakech and rehamna these features imply that this ice mass extended 200 km further than previously thought and increase its size by at least ca 190 000 km2 comparable in area to the uk correlation between a measured section in the high atlas of marrakech and that of the southern meseta identifies sedimentary evolution within an ice contact system common to both these findings imply that the west african craton and northern morocco were in full glaciological communication during the latest ordovician palaeogeographic reconstruction shows that beyond the ice sheet south and southeastward palaeoslopes persisted on the shelf a palaeohigh beyond the main ice sheet was a major source for sand feeding delta systems that grew along the shelf as far as the shelf break this palaeohigh probably formed as a result of rift shoulder uplift and supported a satellite ice mass in the eastern meseta a thick 350 m underflow dominated deep marine fan was fed both from this shelf delta system and from glaciogenic debris derived from the main ice sheet the occurrence of this unexpected deep marine area in northern morocco implies that continued northward advance of the ice sheet was hampered by a dramatic break in bathymetry two depositional units are recognised across the meseta containing four distinct sedimentary cycles each recognised as a glacioeustatic response to the waxing and waning of ice masses elsewhere in west gondwana

combined surface and borehole seismic imaging in a hard rock terrain a field test of seismic interferometry abstractseismic images are inherently directionally biased by the source receiver geometry this directional bias is particularly problematic for seismic imaging in hard rock terrains where structural dips may have any orientation with respect to the surface we tested a technique for partially mitigating directional bias by combining surface and borehole seismic data and evaluated the results of a first field test of the technique in this technique surface data acquired using standard 2d acquisition procedures were combined with borehole data derived from a walk away vertical seismic profile vsp the vsp data were transformed into the borehole datum using seismic interferometry the interferometry created virtual shot records comprising sources and receivers in the borehole the virtual shot records were then processed using standard common midpoint techniques resulting in an image from the borehole datum the combination of the surface and borehole data increased the range of illumination angles r

the late ordovician early silurian glacial period abstract late ordovician to early silurian tillites and evidence of extensive glacial erosion were first discovered in the western sahara in the late 1950 s although the concept of a glacial period at this time had been around since the late 19th century further evidence of glaciation is now available from west africa south africa the arabian peninsula eastern north america west and central southe america and europe several glacial episodes can be distinguished the earliest evidence local mountain glaciation appears to be of caradoc age the major episode may have begun in caradoc time and lasted much of ashgill time when a major ice sheet covered at least north central and west africa which was then centered near the south pole however independent palaeontological and sea level evidence from areas far removed from the centre of glaciation suggests a time span for this episode of less than 2 ma this conflict has yet to be resolved the latest evidence of glaciation is wenlock in age but is confined to south america which by then was replacing africa over the south polar region however this latest episode may simply have been a rather intensive mountain glaciation rather than being of ice sheet dimensions the lack of land in the north polar region probably explains the absence of tillites from the then northern hemisphere land masses the total area affected by glaciation in early palaeozoic time in north africa alone is at least 6 106 km2 combined with other glaciated areas glaciation may have been on the scale of that of present day antarctica

flow dynamics and till genesis associated with a marine based antarctic palaeo ice stream geophysical and geological data indicate that during the last glacial cycle a palaeo ice stream drained the antarctic peninsula ice sheet apis through marguerite bay to the edge of the continental shelf via a bathymetric trough marguerite trough mega scale glacial lineations msgl in outer marguerite trough are formed in an acoustically transparent sediment unit consisting of a soft deformation till the association of msgl with deformation till indicates that bed deformation occurred beneath the ice stream and the thickness of the subglacial deforming layer was on the order of several metres msgl within outer marguerite trough are related to a pre existing thick sequence of soft sediments on the outer shelf and are inferred to have formed by a combination of subglacial sediment deformation by attenuation from a point source and groove ploughing morphologically the msgl differ in several respects from those documented elsewhere and this variation suggests a polygenetic origin for this subglacial landform an initial advance of the apis across the marguerite bay continental shelf at the lgm deposited a stiff subglacial till following this advance the ice margin within marguerite trough retreated 70 100 km before stabilising and depositing a grounding zone wedge an ice stream then developed in the trough and extended to the shelf edge forming a soft deformation till development of the ice stream may have been a glacio dynamic response to regional deglaciation subsequent retreat of the marguerite trough ice stream was underway by 13 490 uncorrected 14c years before present based on the geophysical and core data ice stream retreat appears to have been rapid and it contrasts with reconstructions of palaeo ice streams from other locations in antarctica this implies marked regional variations in antarctic ice stream dynamics during late quaternary deglaciation

glacigenic debris flows on the north sea trough mouth fan during ice stream maxima abstract numerous short sediment cores which penetrate through the glacimarine section and into glacigenic debris flow debrites gdfs on the north sea fan are investigated the sampled gdfs represent the uppermost of several sequences of these stacked bodies many hundreds of metres thick the gdfs occurred over slopes from 0 3 to 0 7 and examples are found from the shelf break at the mouth of the norwegian channel to the norway basin floor 300 km distant the gdf diamicts are structureless and homogeneous in terms of grain size magnetic susceptibility nrm bulk density water carbonate foraminiferal and rock fragment content this applies both from gdf to gdf across the fan and in a proximal distal sense comparison of the investigated lithologic parameters with weichselian till from a borehole in the norwegian channel 200 km up ice shows striking similarity to the gdf debrites ams 14c dates at the gdf glacimarine contact and stratigraphic relationships indicate voluminous deposition before 18 ka continuing possibly uninterrupted until ca 16 ka and a final phase halting just before 15 ka when the norwegian channel became ice free this chronology the comparable lithologic character between till and gdf debrites and a seismic continuity confirms inferences that the gdfs are directly associated with glacial ice at the shelf break the glacial efflux has not been subject to subsequent sorting and the homogeneity of the gdf is thought to reflect thorough mixing in a deforming till layer beneath a fast flowing ice stream the glacimarine section subsequent to gdfs shows no indications of turbidity flow observations are compatible with a slow non disintegrating cohesive plug flow transport mechanism with little sediment water interaction on the upper surface minor distal differentiation might reflect a change in flow process deposition on the fan margins from water borne glacimarine processes simultaneous with gdf deposition is limited

glacimarine processes at grounding line fans and their growth to ice contact deltas abstract grounding line fans originate from subglacial and basal stream tunnels at grounding lines of glaciers terminating in a marine environment during melt seasons discharge forms a turbulent jet beyond the efflux over the initial zone of flow establishment in the jet it may remain in contact with the sea floor for up to 13 4 d d tunnel diameter along a runout distance if velocity is constant plug flow in this zone deposits marine outwash sediment commonly having chaotic texture and graded and welded contacts texture may vary rapidly because of discharge pulses and the jet may move laterally to produce sheet or cut and fill geometries imbricate gravel is deposited near the efflux then farther out are sheet or weakly channelized finer grained gravels and sands in some instances a migrating barchanoid bar forms at the detachment zone and forms large scale trough cross beds beyond the detachment zone the turbulent jet becomes vertical and sediment cascades from it in a veil this sediment is added to by flows from continuous failures of bed load sediment in the detachment zone resulting deposits are interstratified sediment gravity flows and thick coarse end members of cyclopsams the jet changes to a plume when inertial forces become less than buoyancy forces turbulent vorticies within the jet can re entrain particles into a buoyant plume the plume remains vertical although continuously spreading until reaching neutral buoyancy fan depocentres have been observed to accumulate at over 10 6 m 3 a 1 in temperate glacial areas eventually at quasi stable grounding lines fans may aggrade to sea level to form ice contact deltas at incipient deltas when the delta plain is intertidal coarse sediment is redistributed to the prodelta with each tidal cycle intense prodelta rhythmites mark the transition of a fan into a delta

lower silurian hot shales in north africa and arabia regional distribution and depositional model abstract lowermost silurian organic rich hot shales are the origin of 80 90 of palaeozoic sourced hydrocarbons in north africa and also played a major role in petroleum generation on the arabian peninsula in most cases the shales were deposited directly above upper ordovician peri glacial sandstones during the initial early silurian transgression that was a result of the melting of the late ordovician icecap deposition of the main organic rich shale unit in the north african arabian region was restricted to the earliest silurian rhuddanian stage acuminatus atavus and probably early cyphus graptolite biozones during this short period 1 2 m y a favourable combination of factors existed which led to the development of exceptionally strong oxygen deficiency in the area in most countries of the study area the post rhuddanian silurian shales are organically lean and have not contributed to petroleum generation the distribution and thickness of the basal silurian hot shales have been mapped in detail for the whole north african region using logs from some 300 exploration wells in libya tunisia algeria and morocco in addition all relevant accessible published and unpublished surface and subsurface data of the lower silurian shales in north africa and arabia have been reviewed including sedimentological biostratigraphic and organic geochemical data the lowermost silurian hot shales of northern gondwana are laterally discontinuous and their distribution and thickness were controlled by the early silurian palaeorelief which was shaped mainly by glacial processes of the late ordovician ice age and by pan african and infracambrian compressional and extensional tectonism the thickest and areally most extensive basal silurian organic rich shales in north africa occur in algeria tunisia and western libya while on the arabian peninsula they are most prolific in saudi arabia oman jordan and iraq the hot shales were not deposited in egypt which was a large palaeohigh at that time the depositional model presented may help in better understanding the source potential of the basal silurian shales in less explored regions of north africa and arabia including morocco northern niger and the kufra basin in southeast libya

late ordovician glaciogenic reservoir heterogeneity an example from the murzuq basin libya in north africa late ordovician glaciogenic reservoirs contain large volume of recoverable hydrocarbon reserves but their heterogeneity and internal complexity means they are poorly understood to improve this understanding this paper presents the case study of the murzuq basin sw libya and a synthesis of the stratigraphic architecture of upper ordovician glaciogenic reservoirs the mamuniyat formation within it particular attention is paid to regionally extensive stratigraphic boundaries and the geometry of sandstone units of potential reservoir quality four disconformity bound units are recognised the bounding surfaces of which are flat or of high relief unit 1 the oldest and unit 3 are mud dominated and tend towards non reservoir in contrast units 2 and 4 the youngest are sand dominated have poor to excellent reservoir quality but distinctly different sedimentological architectures across the basin unit 2 comprises transitions from glaciofluvial intertidal sandstones to offshore turbidites and formed exclusively during glacial retreat the occurrence of a significant palaeotopography affected sandbody geometry with glaciofluvial intertidal deposits concentrating in the lee of these palaeohighs or infilling the bottom of tunnel valleys unit 4 is a compound stratigraphic unit recording the effects of glacial retreat and isostatic rebound in deep marine settings turbidite fans were deposited during retreat but in shallow water settings structural reactivation and sediment reworking had a more profound effect on sedimentation sedimentological architectures are variable at this level and include prograding coarse clastic wedges away from a palaeohigh or the infill of half graben basins during isostatic rebound

late ordovician glaciation in southern turkey abstract we present a new survey of several palaeozoic sections in both the taurus range and the border folds that documents typical glacial features including a glacial pavement and striated dropstones halevikdere formation and demonstrates the former presence of an ice sheet in southern and south eastern turkey evidence for the late ashgill hirnantian age of this episode is provided by macro and microfossils found within the glacial formation the extension of ice related deposits into the northernmost part of the arabian platform mardin region implies a much wider distribution of the ordovician ice sheet than was previously believed and strongly suggests that southern turkey lay close to egypt during the lower palaeozoic

subglacial to proglacial depositional environments in an ordovician glacial tunnel valley alnif morocco abstract this paper presents the sedimentary analysis of an exceptional ordovician glacial tunnel valley in the eastern part of the anti atlas the valley infill comprises two major glacial erosion surfaces striated pavements each overlain by a fining upward glacial unit these units are composed of five distinct facies associations recording the evolution from subglacial to proglacial environments and an additional sixth facies association overtopping the tunnel valley infill and associated with post glacial environments the tunnel valley infill also records a transitional environment between the subglacial and proglacial settings which is compared with the antarctic ice sheet margin these three environments are defined by the position of the grounding line and the coupling line the new proposed depositional model also differs from usual ordovician depositional models in which the main tunnel valley infill is interpreted as essentially proglacial outwash deposits in a range of glaciomarine to glaciofluvial environments overall a substantial part of the valley infill 50 of volume was deposited in a subglacial setting the sedimentary bodies could form potentially thick and laterally extended although these were limited by the shape and extent of the subglacial accommodation space finally the sedimentary record when compared with regional analogues also provides information for the palaeogeographic reconstruction of the ordovician ice sheet in this region

strain signatures of fjord sediment sliding micro scale examples from yakutat bay and glacier bay alaska u s a abstract samples of gravity cores recovered from yakutat bay and glacier bay in southeast alaska were examined in thin section the samples representing rhythmically laminated plume deposits current derived silts and sands and iceberg rafted diamicts exhibit microstructures indicative of vertical deformation such as loading and water escape as well as boudinage and other features which are indicative of simple shear deformation narrow zones in many of the fine grained core intervals show subtle patterns of preferred clay mineral orientations plasmic fabrics we interpret these intervals as being low strain simple shear zones they all show a consistent and regular internal configuration that is formed by sets of conjugate shear planes the setting and conditions in the alaskan fjords allow the assumption that the shear zones are exclusively associated with penecontemporaneous movements of the unconsolidated sediment on subaqueous slopes analyzing characteristics and trends relating to symmetry and strain intensity we argue that these are diagnostic identifiers for sliding mass movements we present a conceptual model in which deformation resulting from gravity driven sliding is described we suggest that strain signatures can be used to recognize types of shear zones and be helpful in distinguishing between for example gravity driven deformation and subglacial deformation in sedimentary records

fabric shape and the interpretation of sedimentary fabric data abstract the concept of fabric shape provides a powerful means of visualizing and analyzing data on sedimentary fabric the shape of a fabric is defined in terms of the ratios between eigenvalues s1 s2 and s3 derived using the orientation tensor method a continuum of all possible orthorhombic fabric shapes can be clearly represented on equilateral ternary diagrams originally developed for the presentation of particle shape data two indices are of particular value in scaling these diagrams fabric isotropy i s3 s1 and fabric elongation e 1 s2 s1 together these indices uniquely define the shape of any orthorhombic fabric and provide a rational and quantitative basis for reconstructing depositional and de ormational processes equilateral ternary diagrams provide a more versatile and powerful basis for analyzing fabric data than other eigenvalue diagrams now in use use of the diagrams in reconstructing processes of sediment transport and deposition is illustrated using fabric data from subglacial tills and a variety of slope deposits

late ordovician tunnel valleys in southern jordan theupperordovicianglacialrecordofsouthernjordan ammarfm essentiallycon sists of palaeovalley infills and of a subordinate time transgressive fluvial to shallow marine suc cession overstepping both the palaeovalleys and interfluvial areas valley size depth 60 160 m width 1 3 km steep 20 508 margins internal organization and depositional facies point to an origin as tunnel valleys the tunnel valleys are infilled by either fluvioglacial sandstones or fluvio deltaic coarsening upward successions including fine grained clayey sediments re occupation of previous valleys is evident in places at least three generations of tunnel valleys are inferred from cross cutting relationships although they most probably only reflect temporary standstills and minor re advances related to the overall recession following the main glacial advance recorded in saudi arabia petrophysical measurements indicate that higher permeabilities are located in the glacially related strata 1 5 3 darcy in fluvioglacial infills with a somewhat reduced porosity 22 28 relative to the preglacial sandstones owing to a higher clay content probably of diagenetic origin sandstone amalgamation however gives the fluvioglacial sandstones a high reservoir quality

buried and open tunnel valleys in denmark erosion beneath multiple ice sheets abstract tunnel valleys are large elongate and irregular depressions cut beneath the margin of former ice sheets they are generally believed to play a substantial role for the entire hydraulic system beneath ice sheets and thus also for ice sheet behaviour their origin however remains poorly understood examination of newly collected danish hydrogeophysical and lithological data has revealed numerous systems of buried valleys 50 350 m deep and 0 5 4 km wide these valleys are similar to the open tunnel valleys found in the present day landscape infills comprise a variety of sediments often with subglacial clay till and meltwater deposits the incised substratum consists of limestone heavy paleogene clay sand and silt the tunnel valleys have preferred orientations and can be divided into several generations each ascribed individual ice advances or ice sheets occurring during multiple glaciations the processes forming the valleys appear to prefer pre existing open and buried valleys for the renewed erosion thus old subglacial erosion pathways have been re used several times and some of the present tunnel valleys may have been established in the middle or early quaternary or even earlier this valley re use effect causes apparently anastomosed valley systems to emerge in the data images the valleys were mainly eroded by meltwater supposed to have drained from subglacially stored reservoirs probably behind a frozen margin the water was most likely released in repeated jokulhlaups and flowed in relatively small channels on the floors of the tunnel valleys which gradually became ice filled with the lowering of the bed selective linear glacial erosion is also believed to have contributed to the erosion this however was most pronounced for the widest valleys and is supposed to have played a secondary role

architectural element analysis applied to glacial deposits internal geometry of a late pleistocene till sheet ontario canada deposits left by continental ice sheets are characterized by sedimentological complexity and stratigraphic heterogeneity but stratigraphic descriptions of such deposits and resulting first generation facies models are still based primarily on one or two dimensional borehole or outcrop data reconstruction of depositional environments hydrogeological investigations of pleistocene glacial deposits and hydrocarbon exploration in pre pleistocene glaciated basin fills require a more detailed understanding of the form and heterogeneity of lithofacies sequences in three dimensions architectural element analysis is used widely by sedimentologists for categorizing internal stratigraphic heterogeneity in sandstones particularly those of fluvial origin this paper demonstrates the first application of architectural element analysis to glacial deposits such as tills outcrop borehole and a broad range of subsurface geophysical data were collected from a thick 60 m till sheet present across an 80 km 2 study area near toronto canada the till sheet is not homogeneous but is composed of three distinct architectural elements and associated lithofacies viz diamict elements interbeds of subglaciofluvial sediments and glaciotectonically deformed zones application of architectural element analysis to these subglacial strata provides insights into the origin of drumlin bedforms and subglacial processes below the laurentide ice sheet and creates a framework for understanding ground water and contaminant movement in underlying aquifers

facies characteristics of middle pleistocene saalian ice margin subaqueous fan and delta deposits glacial lake leine nw germany abstract the blocking of major river valleys in the leinebergland area by the early saalian scandinavian ice sheet led to the formation of a large glacial lake referred to as glacial lake leine where most of the sediment was deposited by meltwater at the initial stage the level of glacial lake leine was approx 110 m a s l the lake level then rose by as much as 100 m to a highstand of approx 200 m a s l two genetically distinct ice margin depositional systems are described that formed on the northern margin of glacial lake leine in front of the retreating scandinavian ice sheet the bornhausen delta is up to 15 m thick and characterized by a large scale tangential geometry with dip angles from 10 28 reflecting high angle foreset deposition on a steep delta slope foreset beds consist of massive clast supported gravel and pebbly sand alternating with planar parallel stratified pebbly sand deposited from cohesionless debris flows sandy debris flows and high density turbidity flows the finer grained sandy material moved further downslope where it was deposited from low density turbidity currents to form massive or ripple cross laminated sand in the toeset area the freden ice margin depositional system shows a more complex architecture characterized by two laterally stacked sediment bodies the lower part of the section records deposition on a subaqueous ice contact fan the upper part of the freden section is interpreted to represent delta slope deposits beds display low to high angle bedding 3 30 and consist of planar and trough cross stratified pebbly sand and climbing ripple cross laminated sand the supply of meltwater transported sediment to the delta slope was from steady seasonal flows during higher energy conditions 2 d and 3 d dunes formed migrating downslope and passing into ripples during lower energy flow conditions thick climbing ripple cross laminated sand beds accumulated also on higher parts of the delta slope

deep sea floor evidence of past ice streams off the antarctic peninsula the past existence of a giant ice stream off the northern end of the antarctic peninsula is suggested by a convex upward elongated sediment body now at a mean water depth of 1000 m because of its morphological characteristics i e a set of parallel to subparallel ridges and grooves to 100 km long with an overall width of 25 km we call this depositional body a bundle structure we hypothesize that bundle structures form by accumulation of basal deformation till under their parent ice streams from its location size and overall characteristics the bundle structure described here constitutes the best preserved largest deepest and relatively low latitude evidence of giant ice streams that flowed offshore antarctica during glacial maxima bundle structures reveal the very dynamic behavior of ice caps in the northern antarctic peninsula during the last glacial maximum with catchment areas draining rapidly under marine based critical subglacial conditions bundle structures represent a new megascale streamlined glacial landform

large scale channel fill structures in late ordovician glacial deposits in mauritania western sahara abstract late ordovician siliciclastic glacial and related deposits on the north gondwana continental shelf comprise striking incised features referred to as large scale channel fill structures these are described from exposures and aerial photographs in two areas adrar and hodh in mauritania the channel fill structures are up to several kilometres in length and several hundred metres wide they are slightly sinuous narrow sandstone bodies deeply incised into the late ordovician glacial drift and the cambro ordovician bedrock palaeogeographical reconstructions indicate that these structures were located in the ice marginal zone they are preferentially oriented parallel to palaeo ice flow directions sedimentary facies analysis reveals three vertically stacked architectural units infilling a u shaped erosional basal unconformity unit 1 is thin and made up of conglomeratic sandstones of various origins comprising debris flows deltaic like progradational foresets and trough cross stratified sands in adrar architectural unit 2 shows sheet like evenly laminated fine to medium grained well sorted sandstones characteristic of a high energy marine environment in contrast in the hodh area unit 2 displays vertically stacked successions of coarse grained sandstones that indicate high discharge sediment laden flows these are interpreted as meltwater sediments in both adrar and hodh architectural unit 3 is made up of gravelly coarse grained trough cross stratified sandstone emplaced in a braided low sinuosity fluvial environment the three stage infilling history and the palaeogeographic location combined with size and shape criteria make it possible to compare the channel fill structures with pleistocene tunnel valleys found in areas of low relief in cool temperate and low arctic zones such features are incised by high pressure subglacial meltwater and later infilled by proglacial to postglacial deposits based on this comparison architectural unit 1 represents subglacial or proglacial outwash high sediment discharge in unit 2 took place in a proglacial environment in the hodh area while an isostatically downwarped shelf was responsible for a marine incursion in the adrar channels and deposits in unit 3 are fluvial postglacial sediments identification of preserved channel fill structures may be useful in reconstructing late ordovician ice sheet dynamics

late ordovician climbing dune cross stratification a signature of outburst floods in proglacial outwash environments climbing dune scale cross statification is described from late ordovician paraglacial successions of the murzuq basin sw libya this depositional facies is comprised of medium grained to coarse grained sandstones that typically involve 0 3 to 1 m high 3 to 5 m in wavelength asymmetrical laminations most often stoss depositional structures have been generated with preservation of the topographies of formative bedforms climbing dune cross stratification related to the migration of lower flow regime dune trains is thus identified related architecture and facies sequences are described from two case studies i erosion based sandstone sheets and ii a deeply incised channel the former characterized the distal outwash plain and the fluvial subaqueous transition of related deltaic wedges while the latter formed in an ice proximal segment of the outwash plain in erosion based sand sheets climbing dune cross stratification results from unconfined mouth bar deposition related to expanding sediment laden flows entering a water body within incised channels climbing dune cross stratification formed over eddy related side bars reflecting deposition under recirculating flow conditions generated at channel bends associated facies sequences record glacier outburst floods that occurred during early stages of deglaciation and were temporally and spatially linked with subglacial drainage events involving tunnel valleys the primary control on the formation of climbing dune cross stratification is a combination between high magnitude flows and sediment supply limitations which lead to the generation of sediment charged stream flows characterized by a significant relatively coarse grained sand sized suspension load concentration with a virtual absence of very coarse to gravelly bedload the high rate of coarse grained sand fallout in sediment laden flows following flow expansion throughout mouth bars or in eddy related side bars resulted in high rates of transfer of sands from suspension to the bed net deposition on bedform stoss sides and generation of widespread climbing dune cross stratification the later structure has no equivalent in the glacial record either in the ancient or in the quaternary literature but analogues are recognized in some flood dominated depositional systems of foreland basins

low temperature aqueous mobility of the rare earth elements during sandstone diagenesis abstract diagenetic francolite carbonate fluor apatite occurs as overgrowths on detrital apatite grains in sandstones from the lower jurassic statfjord formation of the north sea the francolite overgrowths are considerably more enriched in the rare earth elements up to 1 wt ce 2 o 3 sr and f than the detrital cores these elements were carried in aqueous solution probably in the form of complex ligands involving organically sourced carbon and halogens it is possible that reported aberrant neodymium isotope model ages within the statfjord formation are the result of mobilization and relative fractionation of sm and nd during diagenesis rather than a result of changes in provenance

the moroccan anti atlas the west african craton passive margin with limited pan african activity implications for the northern limit of the craton abstract the moroccan anti atlas region located south of the south atlas fault has been viewed traditionally as containing two segments separated by the anti atlas major fault these two segments are said to consist of a 600 700 ma pan african segment located in the northeast and b 2 ga eburnian segment situated to the southwest on the basis of observations in the zenaga and saghro inliers and of a recent literature review we suggest that this subdivision is inappropriate in that eburnian and pan african materials occur throughout the anti atlas region the entire anti atlas is underlain by eburnian crust unconformably overlain by a lower neoproterozoic passive margin allochthonous pan african ocean crustal slices were thrust onto the west african craton wac passive margin sequence 685 ma ago as a result of pan african accretion tectonics high level high k calc alkaline and alkaline granitoids locally intruded the anti atlas sequence as a whole at the end of the pan african orogeny at 585 560 ma the intervening 100 m y interval was marked by quiescence this succession of events can be related to the behaviour of one single rigid cratonic passive margin during an orogeny and correlated to the pan african events that occurred to the east in the tuareg shield and to the north in avalonian terranes this model implies that the actual northern limit of the wac is located at the south atlas fault saf and not at the anti atlas major fault aamf we propose that the aamf corresponds to the southwestern boundary of an aulacogen that formed along the northern margin of the wac during early neoproterozoic times this is consistent with the development of the gourma aulacogen on the eastern side of the wac this model further suggests that the northeastern boundary of the wac occurs north and not south of ougarta algeria support for this model is provided by geological and geophysical evidence

subglacial till formation sedimentary characteristics and classification we review the major subglacial till forming processes as presently understood by glacial researchers and define the parameters within which tills are produced and reconcile them with sedimentary end members processes of deformation flow sliding lodgement and ploughing coexist at the base of temperate glacier ice and act to mobilize and transport sediment and deposit it as various end members ranging from glacitectonically folded and faulted stratified material to texturally homogeneous diamicton the dominance of any one subglacial process varies both spatially and temporally giving rise to the possibility that a till or complex till sequence contains a superimposed signature of former transportation deposition at the ice bed interface we recommend that while glacial geologists and geomorphologists should be able to recognize the sedimentary imprints of various subglacial processes genetic fingerprinting of subglacial tills should be less process specific and till classification must reflect the range of products encompassed by the subglacial till production continuum glacial geologists can presently unequivocally identify a glacitectonite rock or sediment that has been deformed by subglacial shearing deformation but retains some of the structural characteristics of the parent material b subglacial traction till sediment deposited by a glacier sole either sliding over and or deforming its bed the sediment having been released directly from the ice by pressure melting and or liberated from the substrate and then disaggregated and completely or largely homogenised by shearing and support the theoretical case for c melt out till sediment released by the melting of stagnant or slowly moving debris rich glacier ice and directly deposited without subsequent transport or deformation because observations on contemporary glaciers reveal that their beds are most likely to be mosaics of deformation and sliding and warm based and cold based conditions the patterns of which change temporally and spatially it is extremely unlikely that subglacial till end members in the geological record will be anything but hybrids produced by the range of processes operative in the subglacial traction zone

subglacial deformation and water pressure cycles as a key for understanding ice stream dynamics evidence from the late ordovician succession of the djado basin niger subglacial deformation is crucial to reconstructing glacier dynamics sediments associated with the late ordovician ice sheet in the djado basin niger exhibit detailed structures of the subglacial shear zone three main types of subglacial shear zones ssz are discriminated the lowermost ssz developed on sandstones displays riedel macrostructures and cataclastic microstructures these resulted from brittle deformation associated with strong glacier bed coupling and low pore water pressure where they developed on a clay rich bed the overlying ssz display s c to s c fabrics sheath folds and dewatering structures these features indicate high ductile shear strain and water overpressure on fine grained sand beds the ssz exhibit homogenized sand units with sand stringers interpreted as fluidized sliding beds the succession of subglacial deformation processes depends on fluid pressure behavior in relation to subglacial sediment permeability fluid overpressure allows subglacial sediment shear strength and ice bed coupling to be lowered leading to ice streaming

cyclic sedimentation produced by fluctuations in meltwater discharge tides and marine productivity in an alaskan fjord glacimarine sediment deposited in the fjord adjacent to muir glacier in south eastern alaska consists of rhythmically laminated muds stratified sandy mud sand and gravelly mud facies cyclicity is recorded by gravelly mud facies deposited during winter by ice rafting black mud laminae formed by spring plankton blooms and variations in tidal rhythmite thickness and texture produced by the interaction of meltwater discharges and tidal currents in the macrotidal fjord regular cyclicity in laminae thickness is tested statistically by fourier transform and can be attributed to a lunar tidal cycle control in the five cores collected up to 6 km from the sediment source cores close to the source can have additional laminae as a result of discharge fluctuations and distal cores may lack full cycles because of variability in the plume path and attenuation with distance cyclic variations in sediment texture are recorded in magnetic susceptibility ms profiles of the cores high ms values are produced by turbidite sand beds or by stratified sandy mud deposited by overflow plumes during peak summer meltwater discharge low values reflect muddy intervals deposited during periods of low meltwater discharge such as during autumn and winter sediment accumulation rates measured by 210pb dating range from 82 cm year 1 2 km from the sediment source at the head of the fjord to 16 cm year 1 6 km away these rates are within the same range as average sediment accumulation rates determined from cyclic seasonal markers within the cores these data show that with careful documentation annual cycles of glacimarine sediment accumulation can be detected within marine cores cores collected from the distal portion of the basin were deposited during the transition of muir glacier from a tidewater terminus ending in deep water to a terrestrial glacier with an ice contact delta deposited in front of the terminus this transition is recorded by a coarsening upward sedimentary sequence formed by turbidite sands originating from the prograding delta above fine grained laminated basin fill deposited by turbid overflow plumes

changes in the ice plain of whillans ice stream west antarctica data from the mouth of the decelerating whillans ice stream wis west antarctica spanning 42 years are reviewed deceleration has continued with local areas of both thinning and thickening occurring the mean thinning rate is 0 48 0 77m a 1 no consistent overall pattern is observed ice thickens immediately upstream of crary ice rise where deceleration and divergence are strongest suggesting expanded upstream influence of the ice rise thinning is prevalent on the ross ice shelf grounding line advance at a rate of 0 3 km a 1 is detected in a few locations basal stresses vary across an ice stream transect with a zone of enhanced flow at the margin marginal shear is felt at the ice stream center mass balance values are less negative but larger errors of earlier measurements mask any possible temporal pattern comparisons of the recent flow field with flow stripes suggest wis contributes less ice to the deep subglacial channel carved by mercer ice stream and now flows straighter the general lack of geometric changes suggests that the regional velocity decrease is due to changing basal conditions