bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Scottish Silurian shorelines
Authors: Clarkson Euan N. K. , Harper David A. T. , Taylor Cecilia M.
Published: November 2011

The Silurian inliers of the Midland Valley of Scotland all exhibit a regressive sequence, and despite evident facies differences between inliers, marine successions invariably pass upwards into redbeds of continental origin. Contrasting types of shoreline facies can be seen in different inliers; here the beds in the North Esk Inlier (NEI) are compared with those previously described from Knockgardner. At Knockgardner a high energy coastal environment prevailed, but in the NEI very different conditions can be identified in near-contemporaneous deposits. In the NEI thin sandstones and siltstones of the Reservoir and Deerhope formations are succeeded by the sandstones and conglomeratic beds of the Cock Rig Formation. These are overlain by the marine mudstones of the Wether Law Linn Formation and, at the top of the sequence, the continental redbeds of the Henshaw Formation.

The Wether Law Linn Formation is interpreted, on various lines of evidence, as a lagoonal system. Conditions therein were initially fully marine, though within the photic zone, but subsequently the faunas were increasingly influenced by fluctuating salinity, prior to deposition of the redbeds. Such a lagoon would have required an offshore bar impounding it, which is represented by the Cock Rig Formation. These sedimentary rocks, previously interpreted as deposits of a laterally unconfined submarine channel, are now considered to be of shallow water origin. The succession closely conforms to classic models in which shoreface sands, consisting of small cross-bedded packets, are succeeded by tabular sandstone sheets representing foreshore beach deposits. Coarser and thicker beds, with herringbone cross-sets, linguoid ripples and trains of rounded pebbles, are interpreted as the deposits of tidal channels within the barrier complex. The barrier-lagoon system persisted throughout the whole of Cock Rig time and most or all of the time during which the Wether Law Linn Formation was deposited, and was either static or prograded seawards until the lagoon dried up during a final marine regression. The sedimentary and faunal evidence is consistent with this interpretation, and the contrast between the shoreline environments of the NEI and Knockgardner is striking. Brief reference is made to other inliers in the Midland Valley.
Scottish Ordovician ostracodes: a review of their palaeoenvironmental, biostratigraphical and palaeobiogeographical significance
Authors: Williams Mark , Floyd James D. , Miller C. Giles , Siveter David J.
Published: November 2011

Ostracodes have a wide geographical distribution in the Ordovician of Scotland. They are known from the Southern Uplands, the Girvan district, the Highland Border region and the Inner Hebrides. Overall, more than forty species are recorded. They occur in clastic and carbonate rocks indicative of a range of shallow to deeper marine-shelf environments. Though many of the faunas are allochthonous, broad patterns of ostracode palaeoenvironmental distribution can be elucidated, and elements of the shallow marineLeperditellaand open marineshelfAnisocyamusassociations (previously recorded from N America) are present. Indigenous faunas are absent from the deep marine sediments of the Southern Uplands Northern Belt. Ostracodes are known from the Arenig, Llanvirn, Caradoc and Ashgill series in Scotland; those of the latter two series have widest biostratigraphical value. In the Girvan district the Caradoc species ‘Ctenobolbina’ ventrospinosa, Krausella variata, Balticella deckeriandMonoceratella tereshave correlative value with N America, whilst the Ashgill speciesKinnekullea commaappears to be a locum for theancepsgraptolite Biozone in Britain, Ireland and possibly the eastern Baltic. The ostracodes are of typical Laurentian affinity, but show progressive generic links with the Baltic region during the late Llanvirn–Caradoc interval, and by Ashgill times display species-level links with southern Britain and Ireland. These distributional patterns suggest approaching geographical proximity for the early Palaeozoic continents of Laurentia, Baltica and Avalonia, and the ability of some Ordovician ostracodes to cross the Iapetus Ocean.
New palynological data from the Leinster Lower Palaeozoic massif, southeastern Ireland
Authors: Brück Peter M. , Higgs Kenneth T. , Maziane-Serraj Nadia , Vanguestaine Michel
Published: November 2011

In southeastern Ireland, the tectonic evolution of the northwestern Avalonian margin is rather poorly understood and only partially constrained. This is because the stratigraphy comprises in the main unfossiliferous turbidites. Nevertheless, some authors have attempted to define ‘terranes’ and ‘tracts’ in the region, aided by several significant Caledonoid-trending structural breaks that can be determined in the field. Palynological work was carried out in the early 1970s and established a range of ages from approximately mid Cambrian to late Silurian, although much of the succession proved barren. In the current study, the Lower Palaeozoic sequences W of the Leinster Granite and in the Slievenamon Inlier to the S have been palynologically re-investigated. Previous work proposed an unbroken succession from lower Ordovician Ribband Group turbidites and volcanics younging westwards conformably into upper Silurian Kilcullen Group sediments. The new study clearly shows that the Ordovician palynomorphs in the older part of the Kilcullen Group are reworked. In fact, there exists a major stratigraphical break between the Ribband Group dated as early Ordovician, Arenig, and the Kilcullen Group which is entirely Silurian, late Llandovery to early Wenlock in age. This major break has a minimum strike length of 150 km and is most likely much longer, extending some hundreds of kilometres SW to Dingle and possibly equating with a similar discontinuity in the Isle of Man to the NE. This break would thus appear to be a major feature within the succession of the northwestern Avalonian margin.
Evidence for metamorphic remagnetisation of upper Precambrian tillite in the Dalradian Supergroup of Scotland
Authors: Stupavsky M. , Symons D. T. A. , Gravenor C. P.
Published: November 2011

A conglomerate test using 36 clast cores (76 specimens) from the upper Precambrian Port Askaid Tillite of the Dalradian Supergroup in the Garvellach–Islay region of Scotland shows that the tillite was remagnetised during orogenic activity in Lower Ordovician time. After 550°C thermal demagnetisation, the clast remanence directions give a mean of 155°, 14° (α95—12°). This is similar to the mean from four tillite matrix sites of 162°, 4° (α95—9°) and the mean ‘primary component direction’ of 166°, −12° (α95—6°) previously determined from the interbedded siltstones. This indicates that the matrix and siltstones were also remagnetised. These mean directions give virtual geomagnetic poles after tilt correction that fall within the cluster of British Ordovician poles from rocks in the Caledonian orogen, and thereby indicate a prefolding Ordovician age for the remagnetisation. Thermal demagnetisation studies and observations from polished and thin sections of tillite clast and matrix specimens show that secondary hematite derived from partially to completely altered magnetite is the dominant carrier of the metamorphic remagnetisation. These results show that remanence data from the Port Askaid Tillite cannot be used to support the hypothesis that a worldwide glaciation occurred during the Late Precambrian.
Structural evolution of migmatites in granulite facies terrane: Precambrian crystalline complex of Angul, Orissa, India
Authors: Halden N. M. , Bowes D. R. , Dash B.
Published: November 2011

Basic granulites, a variety of gneisses including sillimanite-garnet gneiss (khondalite), charnockite and intruded quartzofeldspathic material make up a migmatite complex showing evidence of polyphase deformation, polymetamorphism and successive neosome emplacement. The heterogeneity of the migmatites is dominantly the result of folding and boudinage rather than igneous activity.

Tight to isoclinal folds of the second recognised deformational phase affect lithological layering, granulite facies fabric elements of the first deformational phase and early neosome; they played a major role in the development of the macroscopically heterogeneous nature of the complex and they are also a key structure for correlation. Upright folds of the third deformational phase control the major disposition of lithological units and, together with their axial planar fabric, controlled the uprise of quartzofeldspathic neosome and of volatiles and heat which caused localised ‘charnockitisation’ of sillimanite-bearing gneisses. The effects of semibrittle and brittle deformation, including kink bands, fractures and shears, express late deformational phases during which there was neosome emplacement, some at 854 ± 6 m.y. ago (Rb–Sr muscovite age).
Trilobites from the Ordovician Shihtzupu Formation, Zunyi, Guizhou Province, China
Authors: Zhou Zhiyi , Yin Gongzheng , Tripp Ronald P.
Published: November 2011

Twenty-seven species assigned to 20 genera of trilobites are described from Feilaishi in Guizhou Province, the type section of the Shihtzupu Formation in S W China. They occur in association with a sparse graptolite fauna includingGlyptograptus teretiusculus. Eleven taxa are recorded here for the first time. Much new morphological information is provided regarding previously known species and 3 lectotypes are selected. The trilobites are largely endemic and indicate a quiet and comparatively shallow water environment
Chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics of some Turkish soils derived from volcanic material
Authors: Güzel N. , Wilson M. J.
Published: November 2011

The chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics of five soil profiles developed on volcanic material on the Anatolian plateau of Turkey have been studied. The soils, which are mainly Entisols, have high pH values in the range 7·5 to 8·0, low amounts of organic matter (usually <1·0%), low available water capacities and a low to medium ability to sorb phosphate. The soil parent materials are basalts and tuffs which often contain large proportions of volcanic glass. Weathering of this material in the prevailing semi-arid climate results in the development of a smectite-dominated clay fraction with small amounts of kaolinite. The smectite usually yields anomalously high X-ray spacings, probably due to interstratification and absorption of interlamellar material. The characteristics of the Anatolian soils are in marked contrast to those of Andepts which have formed on similar parent materials in humid, temperate climates.
Diagenetic pyrite formation and sulphur isotope fractionation associated with a Westphalian marine incursion, northern England
Authors: Love L. G. , Coleman M. L. , Curtis C. D.
Published: November 2011

Pyrite textures are described and illustrated and stable S-isotope data are presented from the Alton (Gastrioceras listen) marine horizon of the Westphalian Lower Coal Measures, from sections near Penistone in central northern England, with the object of relating the paragenetic sequence of pyrite formation to the conditions of sediment deposition and diagenesis. The earliest diagenetic pyrite is dispersed as framboidal and related textures. It is followed in the marine shale, coal and ganister by more localised but more intense pyrite deposition and replacement in a variety of textures. Most of this is precompactional in age, but some, together with pyrite in veinlets and cleat, is postcompactional. Marcasite is rare and mainly late. δ34S ratios range between −35·31‰ and +20·39‰. There is a definite trend from lighter values (−1·15 ± 6·47‰) in the marine part of the sequence to much heavier values (+12·73 ± 7·66‰) in the sediment below the coal. This allows the relationship of the earliest pyrite deposition in the coal-peat and ganister to the chemistry of their own depositional fresh water to be seen but then relates the main pyrite deposition to the influx of the marine-water sulphate of the Alton horizon, and shows the penetration of this influence downward into the coal-peat and its seat-bed.
Regional framework and geodynamic evolution of the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone in the Ladakh Himalayas
Authors: Thakur V. C.
Published: November 2011

The Indus-Tsangpo suture and its adjoining tectonic zones are well displayed in the Ladakh Himalayas where four tectonic zones have been distinguished, viz. the Zanskar, Indus suture, Shyok suture and Karakoram zones. The Zanskar zone is made up of Precambrian basement of the Zanskar crystalline complex and overlying Phanerozic sediments including Upper Palaeozoic volcanic rocks of the Zanskar Supergroup; they form the northern margin of the Indian plate. The Indus suture zone consists of a remnant of tectonised oceanic lithosphere represented by the Shergol melange and the Nidar complex with a former volcanic arc indicated by the volcanogenic Dras and Khardung formations and the Ladakh plutonic complex. The Shyok suture zone does not represent a tectonic repetition of the Indus suture; it is interpreted as a relic of a back-arc basin. The Karakoram plutonic complex appears to be genetically related to the Ladakh plutonic complex; both were generated from the subducting Indian oceanic plate. It is proposed that the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates does not lie along the Indus and Shyok sutures, but is located further N at the junction of Central Pamir (Alpine-Himalayan) and North Pamir (Hercynian).
Metamorphic development of cordierite-amphibole rocks and mica schists in the vicinity of the Outokumpu ore deposit, Finland
Authors: Treloar P. J. , Koistinen T. J. , Bowes D. R.
Published: November 2011

Analysed compositions of coexisting phases from cordierite-amphibole-bearing rocks (cordierite-orthoamphibole-cummingtonite-garnet-staurolite-spinel-opaque ores) and mica schists (garnet-staurolite-biotite-muscovite-plagioclase-andalusite-quartz) have been used in conjunction with experimentally determined equilibria to estimate pressures and temperatures of metamorphism for the rocks of the Outokumpu district. The data do not determine a single point in P-T space, but bracket an area such that T ≈ 600 ± 50°C and P ≈ 3·5 ± 1 kb. These conditions represent the maximum temperature attained by the rocks, and the associated sulphide ore bodies, during the Svecokarelian orogeny and are consistent with a regional palaeogeotherm of c. 50°C/km.

Assessment of the composition of the coexisting phases in the cordierite-amphibole-bearing rocks, particularly the Fe-Mg-bearing phases, indicates that it is unlikely that either iron or magnesium was mobile during metamorphism and that the equilibrium assemblage represents essentially isochemical metamorphism of a rock composition that predates the metamorphism. A similar genesis is considered likely for the cordierite-anthophyllite rocks of Orijärvi in southern Finland which forms the basis of the classic statement of the magnesium-metasomatism hypothesis.
Hyalotuff deltaic deposits in the Ballantrae ophiolite of SW Scotland: evidence for crustal position of the lava sequence
Authors: Bluck B. J.
Published: November 2011

Hyalotuff deltaic deposits, a high proportion of volcanogenic sediment and a repeated occurrence of conglomerate with well-rounded clasts constitute evidence for the shallow-water origin of spilitic lavas and volcanogenic sediments in an Ordovician ophiolite at Ballantrae, SW Scotland. One section, >1.5 km thick, shows repeated evidence for a shallow-water origin. This implies accumulation in a subsiding area. In this sense the sequence at Ballantrae is in marked contrast to those found in oceanic islands (hot spots) which are known to grow from deep into shallow water. Neither does it compare well with those from ocean ridges which usually begin in deep water and move, with cessation of vulcanicity, into even deeper water.

The lava sequence at Ballantrae compares well with oceanic island-arc and remnant arc deposits where uplift and subsidence is common. This, the occurrence of intermediate and acidic lavas and clasts, and the restricted palaeontological and radiometric ages support an arc-marginal basin origin for the lavas. Diversity in the chemical composition of the lavas may reflect diverse origins within the marginal basin.

An upward coarsening sedimentary sequence was built by a hyalotuff delta which formed in front of advancing lava flows. As the lavas advanced over the sediments so a sequence was generated where these sediments have a source in lava flows which were eventually to overlie them.

Clasts of tholeiite were derived from lavas which are now spilite. This, together with the presence of spilitic lava clasts and tuff immediately beneath the flow suggests that the spilitisation resulted from metasomatic activity associated with the convective circulation of trapped water, with the lava as a heat source.
New observations on Sawdonia ornata from Scotland
Authors: Rayner R. J.
Published: November 2011

Recent collections of Sawdonia ornata have been made from the Strathmore Group which crops out in the Midland Valley of Scotland. The sediments are Lower Devonian, probably Emsian, in age. New morphological features discovered include planar branching of vegetative and fertile axes, abaxial emergences close to branch points and H branching. Well preserved cuticles have permitted reinterpretation of the structure of stornata, rosettes (hair bases), papillae and spines, and striated cuticle is identified as S. ornata. The morphology of sporangia and in situ spores is described. Pyritised axes have revealed details of xylem shape, maturation, changes in the vicinity of branching, tracheidal structure and the arrangement of xylem and cortex in deformed axes.
Chelicerata from the Dinantian of Foulden, Berwickshire, Scotland
Authors: Waterston Charles D.
Published: November 2011

A lower Carboniferous limulaceanRolfeia fouldenensisgen. et sp. nov. is described. It is regarded as a sister group ofPaleolimulusand distinguished from it by the presence of fixed opisthosomal spines and by the more primitive outline of the opisthosoma. Both characters could have been derived from belinuroid ancestors, and both were retained in the advanced belinurids and euproopids. The view that limulaceans are more closely related to certain primitive belinuraceans rather than descended from the euproopaceans is thus supported by the new evidence. AlthoughRolfeiawas probably still capable of coaption, it is postulated that, like other limulaceans, it had adopted burial as a form of defence. It is suggested that the primary adaptive function of the fixed opisthosomal spines was to support the body over a soft substrate although they may also have served a defensive role.

The occurrence at Foulden of the eurypteridCyrtoctenus peachiStørmer and Waterston is confirmed. The eoscorpiidTrachyscorpio squarrosusKjellesvig-Waering 1984 has been described from Foulden anddisjecta membraofGigantoscorpiocf.willsiStørmer discovered in the recent excavation are described. The type of preservation and adaptive features of the chelicerates would suggest that the eurypterid and scorpion fragments are allochthonous and the xiphosurans probably autochthonous.
Actinopterygian fish from the Dinantian of Foulden, Berwickshire, Scotland
Authors: Gardiner B. G.
Published: November 2011

The four stem-group neopterygians from Foulden are redescribed: Carboveles ovensi White, Aetheretmon valentiacum White, Strepheoschema fouldenensis White and Fouldenia ottadinica White. Carboveles is shown to be a junior synonym of Phanerosteon Traquair, Fouldenia ottadinica White is synonymised with Styracopterus fulcratus (Traquair), Strepheoschema rhodesi Moy-Thomas with S. fouldenensis White and Aetheretmon whitei Moy-Thomas with A. valentiacum White. The family Strepheoschemidae is erected to comprise Strepheoschema and Aetheretmon, characterised by paired ventral ridge scales in front of the pelvic fins. Cosmoptychius striatus (Agassiz), recorded here from Foulden for the first time, is widespread in the geologically younger Oil Shale Group. The Foulden actinopterygian fauna is identical to that of the Cementstone Group at Coomsdon Burn, Northumberland, although with two additional taxa. Styracopterus fulcratus occurs also at a further two Cementstone Group localities in Scotland.
Palaeoecology of the Dinantian of Foulden, Berwickshire, Scotland
Authors: Clarkson E. N. K.
Published: November 2011

The Foulden Fish Bed was deposited in a semi-permanent brackish water lake on a floodplain between a northerly mountain range and the sea. The lake supported a rich biota mainly of swimming animals (fish and crustaceans) with a benthos of trace fossils only in the earlier and later stages of the lake's development. Xiphosurans are very rare. This biota changed according to the physical conditions of the lake. Salinity, fluctuating according to water level, was a dominant control. Early in the lake's history there was a dominant benthos of euryhaline bivalves; at the same time, large rhizodonts lived in the lake as the top carnivores. Subsequently, crustaceans were the dominant nektobenthos, in a probable brackish-water regime, the rareBairdopspreying on the commonBelotelson; there was a limited infauna. Following this, palaeoniscids abound in the middle part of the sequence, perhaps due to a higher water level but crustaceans are absent at this horizon. During the last stages before final silting-up following a mass-mortality episode, biotic diversity reached a maximum with many fishes and crustaceans and some trace fossils, due to optimal salinity conditions.

Comparisons are made with other Carboniferous biotas and with the Jurassic Solnhofen limestone.
Sensory and other superficial structures in living marine Crustacea
Authors: Laverack M. S. , Barrientos Y.
Published: November 2011

Living Crustacea possess many types of sensory receptors that detect environmental signals. These structures allow the speculation that similar organs existed in fossil arthropods and were involved in similar ways in the fossil forms when they were extant.

Posture, for example, is difficult to reconstruct in fossils without the understanding that internal proprioceptors monitoring position and movement are crucial in determining the placement of limbs, and the position of the abdomen and other jointed portions of the body. These receptors are associated also with autotomy reflexes through soft cuticle detectors that respond to strain not associated with joints.

Many receptors are placed on the outer surface of the animal, the eyes being the most obvious. The eyes receive no attention in this paper, but descriptions are given of a number of different types of setae, serving both mechanical and chemical sensors. The possession of a pore at the apex (or sub-apex) of a seta or setule probably indicates a chemoreceptor function, but its absence does not necessarily indicate a lack of such sensitivity. A range of forms is illustrated.

The dorsal organ is a recently discovered structure in decapod larvae. It is composed of a central single gland cell opening via an aperture in the midline just behind the rostrum. It is bounded by four depressions each containing a central ‘nipple’. These prove to be sensors, with ciliated endings (bifid) that end in a highly modified cuticle at the depression nipple. The function is unknown, but it is proposed that it represents an unusual chemoreceptor.
Functional morphology and affinities of extant Chelicerata in evolutionary perspective
Authors: van der Hammen L.
Published: November 2011

A survey is given of the functional morphology of extant Chelicerata with special reference to segmentation of the body, segmentation and articulation of the legs, coxal glands, mouthparts and ingestion, respiratory organs, sperm transfer, and development. This is followed by a discussion of primitive types, evolution and diversity, the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life, and the affinities of extant chelicerate groups.
Pelagic trilobites as an example of deducing the life habits of extinct arthropods
Authors: Fortey R. A.
Published: November 2011

This paper reviews the methods which have been used to deduce the life habits of trilobites. The most reliable conclusions are those that satisfy three independent criteria of evidence: (1) functional morphology of the exoskeleton; (2) analogy with living arthropods; and (3) geological evidence, as from facies relationships, or palaeogeography. Pelagic trilobites are one of the better examples for life habit reconstruction. The Ordovician trilobites that were most probably pelagic are those with hypertrophied eyes—Telephinidae, Opipeuteridae, Bohemillidae and Cyclopygidae—which satisfy the threefold requirements for evidence.Opipeuter, Carolinites(and other telephinids) were probably epipelagic, whereas cyclopygids andBohemillawere likely to have been mesopelagic, living in exterior sites around the perimeter of Gondwana in the earlier Ordovician. These pelagics divide into two morphological groups: poorly streamlined, sluggish species somewhat like the living hyperiidParathemisto, and well-streamlined species which are larger, and are considered to have been fast and active swimmers, with predatory habits. The streamlining of this group has been demonstrated by experiment. Other trilobites may also have been pelagic, but the evidence is less complete:Irvingellaand its homeomorphs, andRemopleurides. Most Olenidae, however, which have been supposed to have been pelagic, were benthic forms inhabiting a specialised environment low in oxygen and possibly below the thermocline; only the leptoplastines may have been pelagic.

It is also shown that there are cases where ventral terrace ridges did not function to grip sediment during filter feeding. This applies not only to pelagic trilobites, but also to benthic ones in which the width and disposition of the doublure renders engagement with the sediment unlikely.
Trilobite palaeobiology and substrate relationships
Authors: Seilacher A.
Published: November 2011

A model suggesting that the trilobite carapace served primarily as a tight hood, under which sandy sediment could be processed for food, is consistent with morphological and ichnological data. It helps us to understand not only the origin of trilobite design, but also its modification for other habitats and modes of life.
Trilobite abnormalities
Authors: Owen Alan W.
Published: November 2011

There is abundant evidence of injury, teratology and pathological conditions in trilobites although it is commonly difficult to distinguish between their morphological results. Many injuries were probably sustained during moulting, with spines, bilamellar fringes and narrow gaps between dorsal exoskeleton and doublure being most vulnerable. Some injuries were the result of predaceous attack and provide important clues to the trophic structure of Palaeozoic communities. Many injuries show evidence of repair. Some supposedly teratological conditions, most notably the number of paradoxidid thoracic segments, are so common that they must be considered part of normal variation. Others represent genetic mutation or ontogenetic malfunction, the latter possibly externally induced. Undoubted pathological conditions are restricted to swellings and borings presumably caused by parasitic infestation.

Abnormalities affecting lateral areas are more common than those involving the rachis and glabella and this probably reflects both greater mortality when the axial region is involved, and greater vulnerability of peripheral regions to predaceous and moulting damage. The first explanation also accounts for the rarity of cephalic abnormalities compared to those of the pygidium.
Life habit and enrolment in Calymenacea (Trilobita) and their significance for classification
Authors: Hammann W.
Published: November 2011

The life habit ofNeseuretusis reconstructed on the basis of functional analysis and compared with that of other Calymenacea.Neseuretus, like all Calymenidae, was probably a filter feeder, burrowing downward into the sediment, where it rested hidden in a U-shaped attitude. Homalonotidae developed frontal burrowing and Bathycheilidae probably lived on the sediment. These calymenid families have different enrolment and behavioural patterns. Enrolment structures are developed, analysis of which leads to an understanding of phylogeny. Bathycheilidae maintained an unspecialised spiral enrolment. Flexicalymeninae and Calymeninae developed an advanced spiral enrolment, while a pseudosphaeroidal enrolment was achieved along independent lines in Kerfornellinae and Homalonotidae.
Collision zone between the Kohistan arc and the Asian plate in NW Pakistan
Authors: Pudsey C. J. , Coward M. P. , Luff I. W. , Shackleton R. M. , Windley B. F. , Jan M. Q.
Published: November 2011

This paper describes the suture zone between the Asian plate and the accreted Kohistan island arc in the Chitral district of NW Pakistan.

The southern part of the Asian plate consists of two tectonic units separated by the N-dipping Reshun fault. The northwestern unit comprises Devonian carbonates and quartzites overlain by Devonian to Permian shales and slates with some limestones (Lun shales). Its structure is complex with S-verging thrusts and isoclinal folds. Along the Reshun fault, the relatively undeformed Reshun Formation may represent molasse. The central unit includes N-dipping Upper Palaeozoic slates and quartzites (Darkot Group), probably faulted against an antiformal tract of slates, schists derived from a volcanic assemblage and Cretaceous limestones (Chitral slate, Koghozi greenschist, Krinj and Gahiret limestones). Asian plate sediments are intruded by granitic and granodioritic plutons, variably deformed and locally porphyritic.

The Northern suture melange of volcanic, sedimentary and serpentinite blocks in a slate matrix separates the Asian plate from the southeastern unit, the Kohistan arc. This comprises Cretaceous volcanic rocks with some sediments (Shamran Volcanic Group, Drosh, Purit and Gawuch Formations) intruded by aphyric diorites, tonalites and granites. These intermediate plutonic rocks pass southwards into a mafic layered complex and amphibolites representing deep levels of the arc. The volcanic rocks and sediments dip to the N and have a horizontal lineation. The structural history of southern Asia and Kohistan is consistent with an originally curved Northern suture: motion of the arc was initially to the NE relative to Asia and subsequently to the NW.
Palaeoecology and sedimentology of the Achanarras fish bed of the Middle Old Red Sandstone, Scotland
Authors: Trewin Nigel H.
Published: November 2011

The Achanarras fish bed of Middle Devonian age in the Orcadian Basin was deposited in a large freshwater lake of variable productivity in which thermal stratification was normally developed. The fish bed consists of lacustrine laminites of organic, carbonate (dolomite and calcite) and clastic types. Carbonate laminae were precipitated as a result of photosynthetic activity and organic laminae were deposited following algal decay, clastic material was introduced by processes including overflow and interflow currents and wind transport.

The fish bed represents a major lacustrine transgression during a wetter climatic period which provided connections to other lakes and by overflow to the sea. Calcitic laminites represent the deepest water (>60 m) phase with greatest faunal variety due to availability of migration routes and stability of environments caused by lake overflow.

Initial lake transgression was characterised byDipteras-dominated faunas which reappear as the last surviving fish during lake regression. Further regression resulted in the introduction of turbidites to the laminites.

Many fish were preserved following mass mortalities induced by algal blooms, mixing of waters by storms and lake overturn. Most of the fish inhabited shallow areas of the lake and drifted as rotting carcases to their final site of deposition. The fauna comprises a variety of benthonic and nektonic fish including predators, scavengers and omnivorous forms. Fish such asCoccosteusrepresented almost exclusively by adults may have bred outside the area of the lake.
Arthropod larvae from the Upper Cambrian of Sweden
Authors: Müller Klaus J. , Walossek Dieter
Published: November 2011

Four tiny obvious larvae unassignable to larger “Orsten” arthropods are described and reconstructed. Two of them have a naupliar appearance and may belong to crustaceans, whereas the other two represent as yet unknown types of euarthropodan larvae.
The structural evolution of the Dalradian of the Central Highlands of Scotland
Authors: Treagus J. E.
Published: November 2011

The first section of the paper is concerned with a detailed account of the structure of the classic Schiehallion area. The account is extended to the flat belt via the Glen Lyon-Ben Lawers area. It is demonstrated that major D1 folds involve the whole of the Appin and Argyll groups and now face SE. However, the original D1 folds were probably open upward-facing folds which have been refolded and modified by the dominant D2 deformation. D2 is represented by an antiformal complex which culminates downwards in the Boundary Slide, a zone of strong deformation associated with NW translation of Dalradian over the ‘young Moine’ rocks. D3 has been responsible for the rotation of the originally flat D2 structures into their present ‘steep’ attitudes N of Glen Lyon. D4 is represented by the strike-swing of the lower Dalradian formations, possibly related to early movements on the two major faults that bound the area. The concept of a D1 Tay Nappe which roots in the ‘young Moine’ to the N is retained, although the scale and flat attitude of that fold is regarded as in part a product of D2.
Sedimentology of part of the Lower Oil-Shale Group (Dinantian) sequence at Granton, Edinburgh, including the Granton “shrimp-bed”
Authors: Cater John M. L.
Published: November 2011

The Dinantian Lower Oil-Shale Group of the Edinburgh area records the evolution of a SW–NE trending basin within an area of fluvial-dominated deltaic sedimentation, with rare marine incursions from the E. The sequence at Granton records the abandonment of a delta lobe, with deltaic sandstones overlain by lagoonal mud-shales. These thinly-laminated non-bioturbated mud-shales record low-energy, stagnant conditions. Fish, ostracodes and conchostracans inhabited the lagoon at this time.

Within the mud-shale sequence is the dolomitic Granton “shrimp-bed” which contains fenestrae, possible gypsum pseudomorphs andin situshrinkage breccias suggesting periods of emergence. The “shrimp-bed” contains a number of laminae packed with soft-bodied fossils including marine forms, which resulted from brief marine incursions into the stagnant lagoon. The fluctuating salinity conditions seem to have favoured the development of an unusual fauna of shrimp-like crustaceans, fish, conchostracans, ostracodes and bellerophontid gastropods. This fauna appears to have suffered periodic mass mortalities during marine incursions which brought orthocone cephalopods, polychaete worms and conodonts into the lagoon, according to our current knowledge of the distribution of these marine taxa in the sequence.

The Granton sequence displays a variety of ductile and brittle deformation features most of which can be attributed to local SW-directed extension related to regional dextral strike-slip across the Midland Valley of Scotland.
Niveo-aeolian sand deposits on An Teallach, Wester Ross, Scotland
Authors: Ballantyne Colin K. , Whittington Graeme
Published: November 2011

Deposits of windblown sand up to 4 m thick on the Torridon Sandstone massif of An Teallach are shown to be of predominantly niveo-aeolian origin, a form of sedimentation hitherto unrecognised in upland Britain. Sand grains weathered from bedrock and from exposed clasts on plateau areas are blown on to the winter snowpack on surrounding slopes. When the snow melts, the grains are lowered on to the underlying vegetation, which traps the sand and thus allows a stable deposit to accumulate. The deposits formed in this way are massive, poorly sorted and coarser than most aeolian deposits, comprising mainly medium sand (212–600μm) with a substantial proportion of coarse sand and even very small pebbles. The coarseness and poor sorting of the sands reflect the size of grains available for transportation, the strength of the wind, short transport distances and admixture of different grades of sand during deposition. Sand accumulation began in the Early Flandrian before c. 7900 BP, but was eventually much reduced by the establishment of vegetation cover over the plateau source area. Recent disruption of this vegetation cover triggered either by increased storminess or overgrazing resulted in extensive erosion of sand deposits on the plateau and their redeposition on surrounding slopes. Niveo-aeolian deposition continues on lee slopes at present, but is offset by erosion of unvegetated scarps at the margins of the deposits.
Formation of late Caledonian subvolcanic breccia pipes at Cruachan Cruinn, Grampian Highlands, Scotland
Authors: Platten I. M. , Money M. S.
Published: November 2011

Pipe-shaped breccia bodies associated with diorite intrusions are composed mainly of angular clasts of local schists with a few transported clasts of quartzite. Plate shaped fragments are commonly oriented to define planar fabrics in the breccias. These features indicate the operation of gas fluidisation within the pipes and both entrainment and expanded bed conditions are inferred. The fabrics result from the collapse of the fluidised suspensions as the gas flow declined. Dilational fracture patterns in the country rock comparable with the stress release patterns found around mine shafts can be matched with the fractures required to produce the angular schist clasts. It is concluded that fracturing and the introduction of fragments into the fluidised breccia system was a continuous process and that the pipe diameter increased progressively with time. Microdiorite sheets and related stock like bodies of diorite cut and metamorphose the breccias. Compaction, hornfelsing and hydrothermal alteration also contributed to breccia formation.
Constraints on the significance of the Orlock Bridge Fault within the Scottish Southern Uplands: A discussion of “The Orlock Bridge Fault: a major Late Caledonian sinistral fault in the Southern Uplands terrane, British Isles” by T. B. Anderson and G. J. H. Oliver
Authors: Floyd J. D. , Stone P. , Barnes R. P. , Lintern B. C.
Published: November 2011

In their account of the Orlock Bridge Fault of Northern Ireland and its presumed continuation into the Scottish Southern Uplands (the Kingledores Fault) Anderson and Oliver (1986) provide welcome detail in support of major strike-slip movement. However, their identification of the Kingledores Fault as a line of massive strike-slip movement is based on a number of assumptions which are permissible only because biostratigraphical control is generally sparse. In particular the assertion that the Kingledores Fault is a “giant step in the diachronous southerly ascent of the turbidite base” is founded largely on a misinterpretation of evidence recorded by Peach and Horne (1899), Griffith and Wilson (1982) and others.
The use of long-term rainfall records for augmenting historic flood series: a case study on the upper Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Authors: McEwen L. J.
Published: November 2011

Establishing the magnitude and frequency of floods within upland catchments on the basis of short-term gauged runoff records is crucially dependent upon the extent to which the record is truly representative. In the case of the River Dee, upstream of Crathie in Aberdeenshire, gauged discharge records are limited in length. Although the middle Dee has been gauged since 1929, the gauge within the upper catchment has only ten years of record. Thus, reliable estimates of the return intervals of extreme floods for this part of the Dee can only be obtained by using a variety of historical sources to extend the flood series.

Long-term rainfall records, where available, provide a valuable independent check on the reconstructed flood series. Such rainfall records, when analysed in terms of the magnitude, frequency and duration of major events, should, in general terms, correspond with the flood series. In this paper, the recurrence interval of extreme rainfalls of varying magnitude and duration in upper Deeside is estimated by extreme value analysis of the annual maximum series. The frequency of rainfall events above varying thresholds is also assessed. The existence of climatic fluctuations giving highly variable recurrence intervals for rainfall events of the same magnitude is demonstrated. Finally, the seasonality of frequent flood-producing storms is analysed. Patterns observed within the rainfall record are compared with those previously established within the historic flood series to substantiate and augment the flood record.
The hydrology of a drained, afforested peat bog in southern Scotland, 1977–1986
Authors: Ledger D. C. , Harper S. E.
Published: November 2011

This paper reports on the progress to date of a long-term investigation of the effects of drainage and afforestation on the hydrology of a peat bog near Edinburgh based on the use of runoff plots and other related equipment. The hydrology of the area immediately after ploughing is described and recently collected data are presented to show how this has changed over a six-year period. The main changes appear to be a substantial reduction in water yield and a move towards a less flashy runoff regime. Data are presented to show that these are most probably due to an increase in the amount of rainfall intercepted by the vegetation now covering the area and to a deterioration in the hydraulic efficiency of the drainage network.
Flood frequency estimation in Scotland using index floods and regional growth curves
Authors: Acreman M. C. , Werritty A.
Published: November 2011

The index flood/regional growth curve method is the most commonly used procedure for estimating a design flood at an ungauged site in the United Kingdom when only the instantaneous peak discharge is required. This paper summarises recent work in Scotland in which the authors have refined the equations for estimating the index flood from the physical characteristics of the drainage basin and have proposed new methods for classifying basins to increase the hydrological homogeneity of the regions on which the growth curves are based. A new algorithm for estimating regional growth curves is reported which allows for correlation between flood magnitude at different sites. Simulation experiments are described which highlight the consequences of the data failing to meet the assumptions of the models used.
Solute leaching in light-textured soils: prediction of solute leaching in light-textured soils using a chromatographic plate method
Authors: Vinten A. J. A. , Yazid S. , Naysmith D. B. , Parkes M. E.
Published: November 2011

The leaching of non-adsorbed tracer ions was studied at two field sites and in undisturbed columns. Results of field work are compared with leaching predicted using a simple chromatographic plate model. This comparison shows that in most cases less leaching than predicted occurs. This suggests that nitrate ions may be protected from leaching in field soils because of the presence of immobile water, and column experiments support this hypothesis. The extent of protection is larger than observed in other work for soils of similar texture.
A re-assessment of phosphorus inputs to Loch Leven (Kinross, Scotland): rationale and an overview of results on instantaneous loadings with special reference to runoff
Authors: Bailey-Watts A. E. , Kirika A.
Published: November 2011

Concern over the effects of eutrophication of Loch Leven led to an assessment of the phosphorus (P) loading and the contributions from runoff (from a catchment area of 145 km2), rain on the loch, roosting wildfowl, treated sewage effluent and P-rich industrial waste. Integrated programmes of flow gauging and nutrient analyses on twelve stream systems were carried out at eight-day intervals from January 1985 to February 1986. The paper concentrates on runoff and is restricted largely to total phosphorus (TP) loadings estimated from instantaneous flow and concentration data. The potential for deriving continuous loadings is discussed; examination of instantaneous and continuous discharge figures for a major inflow suggests that the present sampling regime has characterised its hydrological behaviour well. Nearly 90% of the water enters the loch in four streams of 0·1–1·0 m3 s−1 mean flow. The total input of water was high in 1985–134·4 × 106 m3 which is equivalent to a flushing rate of 2·6 (loch volumes); the effect on the loading results of the unusually wet study period is discussed.

Inflow concentrations of TP ranged from <10μg 1−1 to c. 4 mg 1−1; they generally increased with increasing flow but co-efficients of determination (r2 values) were only ≦0·57. Rating curves based on log load/log flow gave, for most waters, r2 values of 0·85, suggesting that load-flow, rather than concentration-flow models, will prove more favourable for predicting loads on non-sampling dates.

The total TP loading in runoff in 1985 was 9·4 tonnes, 38% of which was in soluble reactive form (SRP). Losses of P varied between sub-catchments, with 0·41–1·67 kg TP ha−1 yr−1 and typically <0·25 kg SRP ha−1 yr−1—representing only 5% of the annual agricultural applications of P. Initial calculations of inputs from sewage treatment works and industry suggest that these point-sources together contribute at least as much TP as in runoff, and twice the SRP in runoff. The significance of these findings for P control is discussed.
Petrology and geochemistry of post-obduction dykes of the Ballantrae complex, SW Scotland
Authors: Holub F. V. , Klápová H. , Bluck B. J. , Bowes D. R.
Published: November 2011

Doleritic intrusions known to post-date the obduction of the Ballantrae complex during Arenig times record changing magma provenance during the cooling and serpentinisation of obducted peridotite. There are two groups of dolerites with different petrographical and geochemical characteristics.

The earlier emplaced group, which is subordinate, is characterised by amphibole formed under low metamorphic facies conditions and the virtual absence of Fe–Ti oxides. Chemically these rocks are of primitive tholeiitic character and are similar to modern island-arc basalts. They were derived from a strongly depleted mantle source region. The source region of the later emplaced group, which is predominant, was much less depleted. Clinopyroxene and plagioclase, much of it albitised, are the dominant minerals. Fe–Ti oxides also are common and there are pronounced chilled margins and well-preserved ophitic textures. Although showing mildly alkaline tendencies, these rocks originated from a tholeiitic parental magma of “within-plate” type.

Both groups show evidence of rodingitisation and associated alteration related to serpentinisation of the peridotite. During the metasomatic activity, only some elements were mobile, while Al2O3, total Fe, MgO, TiO2, Cr, Ni, Nb, Y and Zr remained almost constant. Assessment of original magma type and geotectonic environment, and demonstration that both groups of doleritic rocks show the products of fractionation, has relied heavily on data for the apparently immobile elements and on petrographical study which identified those rocks least affected by alteration.