geochronology stratigraphy and geochemistry of cindery tuff in pliocene hominid bearing sediments of the middle awash ethiopia cindery tuff is a subalkaline rhyolitic air fall deposit that was probably produced by a mixed magma eruption it is a distinctive datable regional isochronous marker bed within the pliocene sediments of the middle awash district and is stratigraphically situated between two new fossil hominid discoveries based on 40ar 39ar analyses of plagioclase rhyolitic glass and basaltic glass as well as fission track analyses of zircons we estimate its age to be 3 8 4 0 myr this implies that associated hominid skull fragments are at least 3 9 myr old

lower silurian subduction related volcanic rocks in the chaleurs group northern new brunswick canadageological survey of canada contribution no 2008 0166 contribution to natural resources canada s targeted geoscience initiative 3 2005 2010 early silurian volcanic and subvolcanic rocks are preserved in the lower part of the chaleurs group at two locations in northern new brunswick at quinn point mafic to intermediate rocks are hosted by sedimentary rocks of the weir formation and at pointe rochette a bed of felsic tuff occurs near the base of the weir these rocks are interpreted as the first evidence in new brunswick of magmatism associated with late ordovician early silurian subduction of tetagouche exploits back arc oceanic crust at quinn point mafic rocks include a thick basaltic flow or sill and intermediate to mafic cobbles in overlying conglomerate beds the in situ mafic rocks and the conglomerate clasts are chemically alike and display subduction related affinities on tectonic discrimination diagrams at pointe rochette fine grained felsic tuff contains elevated th and u and depleted high field strength elements consistent with a subduction influenced setting although rare earth element ree abundances are low and the re

global vegetation dynamics and latitudinal temperature gradients during the mid to late miocene 15 97 5 33 ma a 617 site palaeobotanical dataset for the mid to late miocene is presented this dataset is internally consistent and provides a comprehensive overview of vegetational change from 15 97 to 5 33 ma the palaeobotanical dataset has been translated into the biome4 classification scheme to enable direct comparison with climate model outputs the vegetation change throughout the langhian seravallian tortonian and messinian is discussed the data shows that the langhian which includes the end of the mid miocene climatic optimum represents a world significantly warmer than today the high northern latitudes were characterised by cool temperate forests the mid latitudes by warm temperate mixed forests the tropics by tropical evergreen broadleaf forests and antarctica by tundra shrub vegetation cool temperate mixed forest existed during the seravallian in the high northern latitudes a reduction in warm temperate mixed forests in the mid latitudes and a loss of tundra on antarctica was noted tortonian vegetation distribution indicates that further cooling had occurred since the seravallian the major changes in vegetation include the first evidence for cold taiga forest in the high northern latitudes and a further reduction of warm temperate mixed forests by the messinian this cooling trend had eliminated warm temperate mixed forests from the western usa and australia and had formed mid latitude deserts despite the cooling trend throughout the mid to late miocene the vegetation distribution of all four reconstructed stages reflect the vegetation of a world warmer than the pre industrial conditions the latitudinal distribution of bioclimatic zones suggests that the latitudinal temperature gradient for the langhian would have been significantly shallower than at present and has gradually but asymmetrically become more modern towards the end of the miocene first the southern hemisphere distribution of bioclimatic zones became more modern probably due to the climatic effects of a fully glaciated antarctica the northern hemisphere bioclimatic zone gradient continued to be shallower than modern throughout the miocene and slowly became more modern by the messinian

stratigraphy and ductile structure of the presidential range new hampshire tectonic implications for the acadian orogeny the presidential range of new hampshire with its unique high relief contains exceptionally well exposed rocks of the acadian orogenic hinterland these rocks are within the central maine terrane a belt of complexly metamorphosed and deformed silurian and devonian metasedimentary rocks the presidential range lies between regions to the south dominated by refolded nappes and synkinematic high grade regional metamorphism and regions to the northeast dominated by overlapping multiple deformation and contact metamorphism produced by late and post acadian plutons to better understand these complex tectonic variations and in particular to clearly and accurately determine the effects of the devonian acadian orogeny in a well exposed region the bedrock geology in the alpine zone of the presidential range was mapped in great detail the results of the stratigraphic and ductile structural analyses are presented here five metasedimentary formations have been recognized and constitute a conformable stratigraphy which from oldest to youngest are the silurian rangeley perry mountain smalls falls and madrid formations and the devonian littleton formation the littleton formation has been subdivided into fifteen different members and three submembers based on variations in bedding style of the schists and quartzites and other lithologic peculiarities the madrid smalls falls and perry mountains formations are extremely thin consistent with their deposition near the silurian tectonic hinge the rangeley formation is interpreted as an olistostromal melange and has been subdivided into three different members and six submembers on the basis of lithologic variations in the gneiss and subordinate units the presidential range preserves three phases of ductile folding f1 f2 and f3 and a single phase of thrust faulting t1 well constrained southeast east or northeast facing directions and consistent asymmetry of f1 nappe limbs suggest that nappe vergence was easterly severe refolding of some nappes resulted during f2 collapse of the nappe pile the west vergent greenough spring thrust fault truncated f1 and f2 structures and juxtaposed nonmigmatized and migmatized rocks f3 east vergent folding dominates the alpine zone and represents the final tightening of acadian structures which occurred after early granitic plutonism and prior to the emplacement of postkinematic granitic sheets the structural and sedimentological evidence supports the existence of a subduction system that was active beginning in the early silurian on the east flank of the bronson hill anticlinorium with a west dipping subducting slab geometry this system persisted throughout the acadian

on the initiation of subduction estimates of shear resistance associated with lithospheric thrusting and convergence represent lower bounds on the force necessary to promote trench formation three environments proposed as preferential sites of incipient subduction are investigated passive continental margins transform faults fracture zones and extinct ridges none of these are predicted to convert into subduction zones simply by the accumulation of local gravitational stresses subduction cannot initiate through the foundering of dense oceanic lithosphere immediately adjacent to passive continental margins the attempted subduction of buoyant material at a mature trench can result in large compressional forces in both subducting and overriding plates this is the only tectonic force sufficient to trigger the nucleation of a new subduction zone the ubiquitous distribution of transform faults and fracture zones combined with the common proximity of these features to mature subduction complexes suggests that they may represent the most likely sites of trench formation if they are even marginally weaker than normal oceanic lithosphere

deformation partitioning during transpression in response to early devonian oblique convergence northern appalachian orogen usa abstract transpressive deformation was distributed heterogeneously within the central maine belt shear zone system which formed in response to early devonian oblique convergence during the acadian orogeny in the northern appalachians straight belts are characterized by tight folds s l fabrics and sub parallel form lines and asymmetric structures that together indicate dextral se side up kinematics in contrast intervening zones between straight belts are characterized by open folds and l s fabrics within both types of zone metasedimentary rocks have fabrics defined by the same minerals at the same metamorphic grade including a penetrative moderately to steeply ne plunging mineral lineation thus we interpret accumulation of plastic deformation and regional metamorphic re crystallization to have been synchronous across the central maine belt shear zone system discordance between inclusion trails in regionally developed porphyroblasts of garnet and staurolite and matrix fabrics in straight belt rocks records shortening by tightening of folds and greater reorientation of matrix fabrics with respect to porphyroblasts kinematic partitioning of flow was responsible for the contrasting states of finite deformation recorded in the central maine belt shear zone system perturbations in the flow were caused by serially developed thrust ramp anticlines in the stratigraphic succession immediately above the avalon like basement at which decollement of the shear zone system was initially rooted general shear deformation at the ramps involved strain softening with an enhanced component of noncoaxial flow in contrast deformation during extrusion in the intervening zones involved strain hardening with a greater component of coaxial flow part of the thickening stratigraphic succession exceeded tsolidus reflected by the occurrence of migmatites and granites the latter were partly sourced from the underlying avalon like basement that was involved in the deformation and melting

brunswick subduction complex in the canadian appalachians record of the late ordovician to late silurian collision between laurentia and the gander margin of avalon the brunswick subduction complex in the new brunswick part of the canadian appalachians records the late ordovician to late silurian collision between laurentia and the gander margin of avalon the brunswick complex is anomalously well preserved compared with equivalent rocks and structures elsewhere owing to its unique position in the deepest part of the quebec reentrant of the laurentian margin this part of the margin experienced less underthrusting and exhumation and overprinting by orogen parallel faulting than the adjacent promontories where collision started earlier the early southeast to east vergent thrust related structures represent a progressive d1 deformation that formed in response to northwestward subduction of the previously extended gander margin and subsequent tectonic unroofing of the subduction complex the original shallow northwestward dipping envelope to s1 was deformed in the late silurian by d2 upright folds and associated shear zones into a steep belt during terminal collision the d2 structures probably formed in response to sinistral transpression together d1 and d2 indicate that convergence was oblique and sinistral most rocks incorporated in the subduction complex formed in the tetagouche back arc basin that evolved from rifting of an arenig magmatic arc built on the gander margin into a wide marginal basin subduction was initiated in the late ordovician 455 ma in the back arc basin following collision of the middle ordovician popelogan arc with laurentia in the caradoc shortly after its opening in the late arenig 473 ma the closure history of the iapetus ocean involved more than one subduction zone and arc continent collision and rivals the southwestern pacific ocean in its complexities

early silurian orogenic andesites from the central quebec appalachians the pointe aux trembles formation is a deep to shallow water volcaniclastic apron with massive lava flows deposited in early silurian time the apron deposits extend laterally to a deep water accu

deliberate flood renews habitats for a full week last month the colorado river surged through the grand canyon at nearly triple its average flow a torrent not seen since glen canyon dam was completed more than 30 years ago the flood was a 1 5 million ecological experiment designed to test the idea that controlled floods are a means of rejuvenation for riverbank ecosystems and early results are positive the flood stirred up sediments and rebuilt beaches and sandbars creating new habitats for the grand canyon9s native fishes

silurian tectonics of western avalonia strain corrected subsidence history of the arisaig group nova scotia the arisaig group is a silurian succession of predominantly shallow marine clastic sediments overlying volcanics exposed in northern mainland nova scotia sediment accumulation provides a record of the subsidence of western avalonia during the interval when terranes were being accreted within the canadian appalachians to calculate the amount of subsidence one must correct the measured thicknesses for the effects of tectonic strain deformed fossils on bedding surfaces indicate strain ratios mainly between 1 2 and 1 6 an empirical porosity depth relationship is used to correct for compaction the subsidence curves are then adjusted to allow for variations in water depth and eustatic sea level the resulting curves show significant variations in subsidence rate regardless of which version of the silurian time scale is used an initial episode of rapid subsidence followed eruption of llandoverian volcanics slower subsidence took place in wenlockian and ludlovian time with deeper water sedimentation dur

nd isotopic characteristics of terranes within the avalon zone southern new brunswick nd isotopic data are presented for rock units in four terranes within the traditional avalon zone of southern new brunswick initial end values for igneous rocks within the caledonia terrane range from 1 6 to 4 6 whereas values for sedimentary rocks range from 8 4 to 3 6 a granite within the kingston terrane has end 438 ma 4 0 nd isotopic compositions for the kingston and caledonia terranes are similar to those of the mira terrane in cape breton island the antigonish highlands of nova scotia and plutonic rocks of eastern newfoundland each of these regions may be a dismembered part of a single terrane the avalon terrane sensu stricto initial end values for rocks from the brookville terrane range from 1 3 to 2 8 the coverdale anorthosite within the brookville terrane has a present day end value of 12 1 and a depleted mantle model age of 1 3 ga similar to mesoproterozoic anorthosites in laurentia clastic sedimentary rocks in the green head group have end 750 ma values of 2 0 and 10 9

geochemical and isotopic characteristics of granitoids of the avalon zone southern new brunswick possible evidence for repeated delamination events nd o and pb isotope data from southern new brunswick suggest that 625 to 360 ma granitoid plutons contain a major juvenile component and small amounts of middle proterozoic or older crustal material plutons fall into four major age groups 600 630 540 560 422 430 and 367 396 ma the first and third groups can be related to subduction in other parts of the appalachian orogen but most of the second and fourth magmatic pulses have lithologic associations and chemistry not readily reconciled to subduction the timing and volume of magmatism presence of mafic end members and juvenile signatures in the plutons suggest that crustal delamination may have been involved little evidence exists for extensive middle proterozoic or older continental crust beneath the avalon zone which consists mainly of late proterozoic continental margin arc material intruded by younger granitoid plutons that include a major mantle component this differs from contiguous gander and meguma zones in which plutons contain a ma

the kingston terrane southern new brunswick canada evidence for an early silurian volcanic arc the fault bounded kingston terrane of southern new brunswick consists of felsic and less abundant mafic volcaniclastic rocks and flows and minor interbedded sedimentary rocks of the kingston group intruded by mainly granitic plutons and abundant younger mafic sheets the granitic plutons form about half of the terrane and are characterized by fine grain size and typically granophyric and porphyritic textures indicative of high level emplacement mafic sheets were emplaced in the granitic plutons and parallel to primary layering in the kingston group which is typically steeply dipping and trends northeast to north northeast hence in contrast to some earlier interpretations the kingston terrane does not consist of a bimodal dike complex the kingston group granitic rocks and mafic sheets contain mineral assemblages consistent with metamorphism to upper greenschist lower amphibolite facies new u pb zircon ages of 442 6 ma from a dacitic tuff unit and 437 10 ma from a granitic pluton corroborate previous u pb dates that had suggested that the volcanic and granitic rocks in the kingston terrane are early silurian rather than precambrian as had been earlier assumed the felsic volcanic and granitic rocks are interpreted to be comagmatic on the basis of their field relationships and similar u pb ages and chemical character compositions of both the felsic rocks and less abundant mafic and intermediate and mafic rocks are consistent with calc alkalic affinity and emplacement in a continental margin volcanic arc herein termed the kingston arc a u pb date of 435 5 ma was also obtained from compositionally similar granite that forms a dike in an adjacent fault bounded amphibolite facies metasedimentary unit the similarity in age and composition of the granite dike suggests a link between these metasedimentary rocks and the kingston terrane possibly as part of an accretionary complex if so its location southeast of the kingston terrane indicates that subduction was to the present northwest mafic sheets in the kingston terrane are tholeiitic but have some arc like characteristics consistent with their origin in a former arc setting but the sheets were likely emplaced in a subsequent extensional setting the compositional similarity of the mafic sheets to late silurian mafic volcanic rocks and plutons of the coastal maine magmatic province suggests that they may be related a possible model for evolution of the kingston terrane is proposed wherein the kingston group and related granite formed in an early silurian arc on the margin of ganderia as represented by the new river terrane of late precambrian and early paleozoic age northwestward subduction culminated in collision between the kingston arc and a continental block now represented by the brookville terrane to the southeast subsequent transpressive mo tions in the late silurian may have been responsible for the crustal scale extensional environment in which the coastal maine magmatic province was formed including emplacement of mafic dikes into the deformed former kingston arc transpressive motions related to juxtaposition of the avalon and meguma terranes with the previously accreted more inboard terranes continued through the devonian and into the carboniferous

latest miocene benthic δ 18 o changes global ice volume sea level and the messinian salinity crisis oxygen isotope evidence indicates high but variable 18o values in benthic foraminiferal calcite during the latest miocene and earliest pliocene these high values may represent increases in global ice volume and associated sea level fall the 18o record resembles glacial interglacial cycles but with only one third the amplitude of the late pleistocene signal this variability may reflect instability in the antarctic ice sheet and palaeomagnetic correlation points to an isotopic event coinciding with the isolation and desiccation of the mediterranean basin during the latest messinian

tectonics of the acadian orogeny in new england and adjacent canada paleogeographic analysis of post taconian rocks in new england and adjacent parts of canada has revealed the existence of two volcanic arcs which shut off at the time of the acadian orogeny one was built on arc basement previously accreted to north america during the taconic orogeny the other on precambrian continental basement of avalonia in the intervening merrimack fredericton trough metamorphosed and poly deformed turbidites and black shales record deep water conditions in silurian following mckerrow and ziegler 1971 this tract is interpreted as the site of an ocean which closed in siluro devonian by simultaneous subduction beneath both continental margins in the molucca sea in indonesia a comparable arc arc collision is in an early stage of development moore et al 1982 suggested that an accretionary prism built against one arc is overthrusting its counterpart which developed on the other side of the ocean an identical geometry with an avalonian accretionary prism overriding the conve

the tectonic expression slab pull at continental convergent boundaries examination of five thrust belt systems developed at continental subduction boundaries suggests that they comprise two distinct groups that display pronounced and systematic differences in structural style topographic elevation denudation metamorphism postcollisional convergence and foredeep basin geometry and facies the distinctive geological features developed within each thrust belt group appear to be causally linked to the relative rates of subduction and convergence via the magnitude of horizontal compressional stress transmitted across the subduction boundary at subduction boundaries where the rate of overall plate convergence is less than the rate of subduction termed here retreating subduction boundaries the transmission of horizontal compressive stress across the plate boundary is small and regional deformation of the overriding plate is by horizontal extension the tectonic expression of these retreating subduction boundaries includes topographically low mountains little erosion or denudation low grade to no metamorphism little to no involvement of crystalline basement in shortening little to no postcollisional convergence anomalously deep foredeep basins and a protracted history of flysch deposition within the adjacent foredeep basin analysis of deflection and gravity data across three retreating subduction boundaries apennine carpathian and hellenic systems shows that subduction is driven by gravitational forces acting on dense subducted slabs at depths between about 40 and 80 km carpathians 50 and 150 km apennines and 50 and 250 km hellenides the total mass anomalies represented by the slabs are approximately 3 1012 6 1012 and 12 1012 n m respectively the slabs are partially supported by flexural stresses transmitted through the subducted lithosphere to the foreland and partially supported by dynamic viscous stresses in the asthenosphere at subduction boundaries where the rate of overall plate convergence is greater than the rate of subduction termed here advancing subduction boundaries the transmission of horizontal compressive stress across the plate boundary is large and regional deformation of the overriding plate is by horizontal shortening the tectonic expression of these advancing subduction boundaries includes topographically high mountains antithetic thrust belts large amounts of erosion and denudation exposure of high grade metamorphic rocks at the surface extensive deformation of crystalline basement to midcrustal depths protracted postcollisional convergence tens of millions of years and a protracted history of molasse deposition within the adjacent foredeep basins analysis of gravity and deflection data across two advancing subduction boundaries developed within the continental lithosphere western to eastern and southern alps and himalayas shows that the thrust sheets have been translated for great distances over the foreland lithosphere relative to the point at which the subduction forces are applied thus obscuring any flexural and gravity signals from the subducted slab however it appears that far field stresses presumably related to global plate motions drive most of the convergent motion across these subduction boundaries the concept that orogenic belts formed above retreating subduction boundaries have recognizable tectonic signatures that differ from those of orogenic belts formed above advancing subduction boundaries suggests that it may be possible to interpret the plate boundary settings in which ancient orogenic belts evolved appendix b is available with entire article on microfiche order from the american geophysical union 2000 floridaavenue n w washington d c 20009 document t92 004 2 50 payment must accompany order

compositions of sandstones in circum pacific subduction complexes and fore arc basins arc trench systems of the circum pacific orogenic belt contain voluminous sandstones within fore arc terranes that include complexly deformed subduction complexes and relatively undeformed fore arc basins of several types turbidites incorporated within subduction complexes include not only axially transported trench fill but also abyssal plain sediments deposited on the sea floor beyond the trench and slope basin deposits perched on the accretionary trench slope mean framework modes of circum pacific sandstone suites can be expressed adequately by the use of qfl and qmflt plots supplementary qmpk and qplvls plots depict partial modes of mineral grains alone and polycrystalline lithic fragments respectively source rocks were mainly volcanic and plutonic terranes of he circum pacific magmatic arcs although some recycled sedimentary and metasedimentary debris is also present analysis of point counts for 2 587 rocks grouped into 104 suites from california the pacific northwest southern alaska southwest japan and new zealand indicates that the characteristic fore arc sandstones display similar compositional ranges everywhere and can be termed the circum pacific volcano plutonic graywacke suite knowledge of their petrology may aid the recognition of analogous tectonic settings in the geologic past frameworks vary across a compositional spectrum that ranges chiefly from feldspatholithic sands derived mainly from volcanic cover in undissected magmatic arcs to lithofeldspathic sands derived largely from plutonic batholiths in dissected magmatic arcs quartz contents are typically intermediate and the feldspar to quartz ratio is semiconstant plagioclas is the dominant feldspar and volcanic rock fragments are commonly the most abundant lithic fragments interpretations of compositional trends within subduction complexes and adjacent fore arc basins imply that simple transverse delivery of sediment from the arc orogene to the fore arc region is not the rule instead sand evidently is distributed along subduction zones by longitudinal turbidity currents initiated at widely spaced sediment delivery points where sediment derived from tectonic culminations along the arc trench system can bypass the sediment traps of fore arc basins moreover turbidites shed from dormant or transform segments of arc orogenes are locally spread far into the ocean basin as abyssal plains which are later rafted bodily into the subduction zone finally no sedimentologic explanations of compositional contrasts across fore arc graywacke terranes can be acce ted without considering the alternative of postdepositional tectonic transport by strike slip

sedimentology pollen spores and diatoms of a 148 m deep miocene drill hole from oku lake east central nigeria abstract the oku lake series in nigeria to the ne of makurdi comprise about 148 m of continental deposits resting on folded cretaceous marine sediments of the benue trough an oblique core 192m long includes four different lithologic units from bottom to top 1 clays and sandstones weathered at the top 2 grey to black massive and laminated muds with alternating oxidized levels 3 green to white muds covered with 4 reddish mixed clay and sand these units correpond to 4 environmental stages for the oku lake a a shallow water lake subaerially exposed during the development of a thick paleosol b an open lacustrine environment influenced by low episodic water levels c littoral margin and flats d an emergent phase the palynological sequence which appears continuous through the black muds is interpreted as a transition from an open lacustrine environment to a thicker boggy forested area and then to a poorly drained grassland vegetation the diatom floras show parallel trends and indicate that the age could range from late miocene to early pliocene however on the basis of the climatic interpretation proposed a late miocene age is adopted

stratigraphy and tectono sedimentary evolution of the late ordovician to middle devonian gaspe belt in northern new brunswick evidence from the restigouche area the gaspe belt in the restigouche area comprises three successions separated by a late silurian salinic disconformity and an early devonian angular unconformity the lower upper ordovician to lower silurian sequence consists of siliciclastic turbidites of the boland brook and whites brook formations grog brook group overlain by calcareous turbidites of the pabos and white head formations matapedia group and slope and shelf deposits of the upsalquitch and limestone point formations lower chaleurs group above the salinic disconformity the upper chaleurs group and the dalhousie group record a transgressive regressive cycle the former comprises pridolian carbonate rocks of the west point formation and overlying pridolian to lochkovian sedimentary rocks of the indian point formation the chaleurs group is conformably overlain by lochkovian to early emsian subaerial volcanic rocks of the dalhousie group val d amour formation which is unconformably overlain by alluvial lacustrine deposits of the late emsian campbellton formation acadian orogenesis began during the emsian and is characterized by open to closed folding heterogenous cleavage development and reverse and strike slip faults the salinic orogeny is manifested in extensional block faulting within plate volcanism and uplift and deep erosion of early silurian strata early devonian high level intrusion of the matapedia group white head clasts in indian point conglomerate and thermal maturation data all indicate an extended period of late silurian early devonian uplift in parts of the restigouche area thermal maturities of west point and indian point strata are within the oil and condensate windows and suggest potential for hydrocarbons in the study area

the dog bay liberty line and its significance for silurian tectonics of the northern appalachian orogen1this article is one of a series of papers published in this cjes special issue in honour of ward neale on the theme of appalachian and grenvillian geology 2geological survey of canada contribution 20100257 the dog bay line a silurian suture key to deciphering appalachian accretionary history was first recognized in newfoundland it marks where the ordovician tetagouch exploits ensimatic back arc basin teb which had opened within the leading peri gondwanan gander terrane finally closed here we extrapolate this suture into new england placing it between the liberty orrington miramichi inliers lom and the merrimack fredericton trough mft southeastward marine strata of the mft overlie the teb passive margin exposed in the ganderian st croix block and display southeast vergent structures transected by acadian cleavage they structurally underlie southeast vergent thrusts at the base of the lom northwestward the lom central maine matapedia trough cmmt and lower silurian igneous rocks record elements of the upper plate trench arc system respectively a subduction complex forearc basin and arc the cmmt forearc received detritus both from the northwesterly arc region and also from the

soil organic carbon within the vadose zone of a floodplain past studies have focused on carbon variation in the upper 1 m of the soil profile however there is limited information on carbon variation at deeper depths e g 0 4 m and mathematical functions to extrapolate carbon content at these depths the objective of this study was therefore to assess the vertical variation in soc reached 4 m of the tarim river floodplain in northwestern china the vertical distribution in soc was described by exponential and power functions based on 1 soil depth 2 soil depth and silt content 3 soil depth and soc at the shallowest and deepest depths 4 soil depth silt content and soc at the shallowest and deepest depths and 5 soil depth and soc at the shallowest depth we found soc content decreased with depth from 6 82 g kg 1 at 0 0 2 m to 1 0 g kg 1 below 3 2 3 4 m averaged across five locations along the floodplain both the power and exponential functions provided a good fit to the measured data in the upper 1 m of the soil profile whereas the power function provided a better fit to the data when extrapolating to a depth of 3 4 m the power function describing soc as a function of soil depth silt content and soc at the shallowest and deepest depths best portrayed the distribution in soc with depth considering the cost and labor in measuring soil properties our results suggest that soc at the shallowest depth can provide good estimates of the vertical distribution in soc in a floodplain

paleoceanographic implications of miocene deep sea hiatuses miocene paleoceanographic evolution exhibits major changes resulting from the opening and closing of passages the subsequent changes in oceanic circulation and development of major antarctic glaciation the consequences and timing of these events can be observed in variations in the distribution of deep sea hiatuses sedimentation patterns and biogeographic distribution of planktic organisms the opening of the drake passage in the latest oligocene to early miocene 25 20 ma resulted in the establishment of the deep circumpolar current which led to thermal isolation of antarctica and increased global cooling this development was associated with a major turnover in planktic organisms resulting in the evolution of neogene assemblages and the eventual extinction of paleogene assemblages the erosive patterns of two widespread hiatuses ph 23 0 22 5 ma and nh 1 20 18 ma indicate that a deep circumequatorial circulation existed at this time characterized by a broad band of carbonate ooze deposition siliceous sedimentation was restricted to the north atlantic and a narrow band around antarctica a major reorganization in deep sea sedimentation and hiatus distribution patterns occurred near the early middle miocene boundary apparently resulting from changes in oceanic circulation beginning at this time deep sea erosion occurred throughout the caribbean hiatus nh 2 16 15 ma suggesting disruption of the deep circumequatorial circulation and northward deflection of deep currents and or intensification of the gulf stream sediment distribution patterns changed dramatically with the sudden appearance of siliceous ooze deposition in the marginal and east equatorial north pacific by 16 0 to 15 5 ma coincident with the decline of siliceous sedimentation in the north atlantic this silica switch may have been caused by the introduction of norwegian overflow water into the north atlantic acting as a barrier to outcropping of silica rich antarctic bottom water the main aspects of the present oceanic circulation system and sediment distribution pattern were established by 13 5 to 12 5 ma hiatus nh 3 coincident with the establishment of a major east antarctic ice cap antarctic glaciation resulted in a broadening belt of siliceous ooze deposition around antarctica increased siliceous sedimentation in the marginal and east equatorial north pacific and indian oceans and further northward restriction of siliceous sediments in the north atlantic periodic cool climatic events were accompanied by lower eustatic sea levels and widespread deep sea erosion at 12 to 11 ma nh 4 10 to 9 ma nh 5 7 5 to 6 2 ma nh 6 and 5 2 to 4 7 ma nh 7

emsian synorogenic paleogeography of the maine appalachians abstract the acadian deformation front in the northern appalachians of maine and new hampshire can now be closely located during the early emsian early devonian 408 406 ma tight correlations between paleontologically and isotopically dated rocks are possible only because of a new 408 ma time scale tie point for the early emsian the deformation front lay between a belt of lower devonian flysch and molasse that were deposited in an acadian foreland basin and had not yet been folded and a belt of early emsian plutons that intruded folded lower devonian rocks this plutonic belt includes the newly dated ore mountain gabbro u pb 406 ma which hosts magmatic sulfide mineralization along the deformation front a 407 ma pluton that locally truncates acadian folds katahdin was the feeder to volcanic rocks traveler rhyolite 406 407 ma that are part of the foreland basin succession involved in these same folds the emsian igneous rocks thus define a syncollisional magmatic province that straddled the d

primary and diagenetic carbonates in the anoxic sediments of lake bosumtwi ghana cores of organic rich muds from the tropical meteorite crater lake bosumtwi ghana contain laminae of authigenic calcite polyhedra and aragonite needles as well as scattered diagenetic calcite mg calcite spherulites and aggregates of dolomite crystals their respective origins are traced by analyses of oxygen and carbon stable isotopes anoxic dolomite and mg calcite formed in pore waters reflecting highest degrees of evaporative concentration and high rates of methanogenesis carbon dioxide reduction must have been the dominant methanogenic pathway producing diagenetic carbonates with delta sup 13 c values up to 27 pdb this example shows the inherent problems of interpreting bulk samples with progressive mineralogical sequences of calcite to mg calcite to aragonite to dolomite merely in terms of mg sup 2 ca sup 2 in lake waters it provides a model for the interpretation of ancient lacustrine carbonates from organic rich environments

silurian deformation and metamorphism of ordovician arc rocks of the casco bay group south central maine the casco bay group in south central maine consists of a sequence of late cambrian to early ordovician interlayered quartzofeldspathic granofels and pelite cape elizabeth formation overlain by early to late ordovician back arc volcanic spring point formation and volcanogenic sedimentary rocks diamond island and scarboro formations these rocks were tightly folded and subjected to low pressure amphibolite facies metamorphism in the late silurian this phase of deformation and metamorphism was followed by the development of a variety of structures consistent with a period of dextral transpression in middle devonian early carboniferous time previously dated plutons within the sequence range in age from 422 389 ma and record a period of prolonged intrusive activity in the region similarities in age volcanic rock geochemistry and lithologic characteristics argue strongly for a correlation between rocks of the casco bay group and those in the miramichi belt of eastern maine and northern new brunswic

characteristics of soil infiltration in the tarim river floodplain the ecology in the tarim river basin is influenced by inundation of its floodplain to date however there is limited information about the infiltration properties of floodplain soils that are inundated by this river the aim of this study was to investigate steady infiltration rates of these soils under four different hydraulic heads 5 10 20 and 30 cm results showed that the mean infiltration rates were generally high and ranged from 3 17 to 3 50 cm h 1 when the hydraulic head was between 5 and 30 cm the steady infiltration increased slightly as the hydraulic head increased the relationship between the hydraulic head and the infiltration rate can be described by the equation y 0 0122x 3 072 r2 0 739 where y is the steady infiltration rate and x is the hydraulic head there was no significant difference between the infiltration rates for the four different hydraulic heads the infiltration rate was highest for loamy sand followed by sandy loam and was lowest for silt soils infiltration was influenced by soil texture and crust and was low 1 cm h 1 hydraulic head of 5 cm for soils with thick crusts and high for soils without surface crusts mean of 6 09 cm h 1 hydraulic head of 5 cm the steady infiltration rate was not influenced by soil organic matter these results indicate that flood water can percolate into the floodplain soils and give an improved understanding of the factors that influence the ecological processes on the tarim river floodplains