Rock Type (rock + type)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


MAPPING AND CLASSIFYING FLOW UNITS IN THE UPPER PART OF THE MID-CRETACEOUS SARVAK FORMATION (WESTERN DEZFUL EMBAYMENT, SW IRAN) BASED ON A DETEMINATION OF RESERVOIR ROCK TYPES

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
B. Beiranvand
The mid-Cretaceous Sarvak Formation, the second-most important reservoir unit in Iran, is composed mainly of grain-supported carbonates. For the purposes of this study, flow units in the upper part of the formation were identified, mapped and classified as part of an integrated reservoir characterization study at a giant oilfield in SW Iran. Pore types and geometries, pore-scale diagenetic history and core-scale depositional attributes were logged using conventional petrographic and lithological methods. The resulting data were combined with core descriptions, mercury-injection capillary pressure data, and wireline log and geophysical data to identify five reservoir rock types: (i) highly oil-stained, grain-supported carbonates, including patch reef and barrier complex deposits with high porosities and permeabilities; (ii) leeward and seaward shoal deposits including grain-supported packstones and skeletal wackestones with high porosities and permeabilities; (iii) dominantly mud-supported lagoonal and open-marine facies with fair porosity and permeability; (iv) grain-supported but highly cemented facies which had poor reservoir characteristics; and (v) calcareous shales and shaly limestones with no reservoir quality. Based on the reservoir rock types, eight flow units were recognised. Subsequently, four reservoir zones were defined based on these flow units at a field scale. This study has contributed to our understanding of flow units in this complex carbonate reservoir, and has improved our ability to characterize and model the architecture of the reservoir from pore to core to field scale. [source]


The role of moisture cycling in the weathering of a quartz chlorite schist in a tropical environment: findings of a laboratory simulation

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 4 2005
Tony Wells
Abstract Long-term weathering of a quartz chlorite schist via wetting and drying was studied under a simulated tropical climate. Cubic rock samples (15 mm × 15 mm × 15 mm) were cut from larger rocks and subjected to time-compressed climatic conditions simulating the tropical wet season climate at the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory, Australia. Fragmentation, moisture content and moisture uptake rate were monitored over 5000 cycles of wetting and drying. To determine the impact of climatic variables, five climatic regimes were simulated, varying water application, temperature and drying. One of the climatic regimes reproduced observed temperature and moisture variability at the Ranger Uranium Mine, but over a compressed time scale. It is shown that wetting and drying is capable of weathering quartz chlorite schist with changes expected over a real time period of decades. While wetting and drying alone does produce changes to rock morphology, the incorporation of temperature variation further enhances weathering rates. Although little fragmentation occurred in experiments, significant changes to internal pore structure were observed, which could potentially enhance other weathering mechanisms. Moisture variability is shown to lead to higher weathering rates than are observed when samples are subjected only to leaching. Finally, experiments were conducted on two rock samples from the same source having only subtle differences in mineralogy. The samples exhibited quite different weathering rates leading to the conclusion that our knowledge of the role of rock type and composition in weathering is insufficient for the accurate determination of weathering rates. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Pilot study experiments sourcing quartzite, Gunnison Basin, Colorado

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 6 2008
Bonnie L. Pitblado
This paper reports the results of pilot-study efforts to develop methods to profile quartzite, a rock type to which geochemical and other sourcing techniques have only rarely been applied. The long-term goal of the research is to fingerprint sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin, southwest Colorado, used by Paleoindian people ca. 11,500,8,000 years ago to make stone tools. Success would facilitate reconstruction of Paleoindian mobility in the Southern Rocky Mountains and potentially anywhere prehistoric people used quartzite. The goals of this paper are more modest: to demonstrate that a small-scale exploration of sourcing techniques suggests reason for optimism that quartzites may be amenable to source discrimination. For the same twenty Gunnison Basin quartzite samples, this study evaluated petrography, ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF), instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry,both acid-digestion (AD-ICP-MS) and laser ablation (LA-ICP-MS),as means to differentiate among the specimens and the sources they represent. Although more testing is needed to verify and refine our results, the study suggests there is potential for petrography, INAA, and both versions of ICP-MS to discriminate among quartzites from different source localities in the Gunnison Basin. The greatest potential for discriminating among different sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin may lie in a methodology combining petrographic analysis and LA-ICPMS. Future testing is required to evaluate this two-fold approach. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Provenance and microprobe assays of phyllite-tempered ceramics from the uplands of central Arizona

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 2 2008
David R. Abbott
The ceramics in use across a broad upland zone of central Arizona during the early Classic period (ca. A.D. 1100,1300) were characterized by a lack of mineralogical variability; nearly all of the clay containers were tempered with one rock type, phyllite. Consequently, nearly all of the upland pottery is assigned to a single pottery type, Wingfield Plain. This compositional uniformity has frustrated ceramic provenance studies, and, as a result, little has been learned previously about the organization of ceramic production and exchange in the upland territory. There are, however, considerable and interpretable chemical differences in the phyllite-tempered wares, as shown with microanalyses of the temper fragments and pottery clay fractions with an electron microprobe. The chemical patterning is useful for investigating issues pertaining to the upland zone, including the organization of ceramic manufacture, community arrangements, and pottery transactions during a time of prevalent hostilities in central Arizona. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Factors affecting fluid flow in strike,slip fault systems: coupled deformation and fluid flow modelling with application to the western Mount Isa Inlier, Australia

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009
A. FORD
Abstract Deformation and focused fluid flow within a mineralized system are critical in the genesis of hydrothermal ore deposits. Dilation and integrated fluid flux due to coupled deformation and fluid flow in simple strike,slip fault geometries were examined using finite difference analysis in three dimensions. A series of generic fault bend and fault jog geometries consistent with those seen in the western Mount Isa Inlier were modelled in order to understand how fault geometry parameters influence the dilation and integrated fluid flux. Fault dip, fault width, bend/jog angle, and length were varied, and a cross-cutting fault and contrasting rock types were included. The results demonstrate that low fault dips, the presence of contrasts in rock type, and wide faults produce highest dilation and integrated fluid flux values. Increasing fault bend lengths and angles increases dilation and integrated fluid flux, but increasing fault jog length or angle has the opposite effect. There is minimal difference between the outputs from the releasing and restraining fault bend and jog geometries. Model characteristics producing greater fluid flows and/or gradients can be used in a predictive capacity in order to focus exploration on regions with more favorable fault geometries, provided that the mineralized rocks had Mohr,Coulomb rheologies similar to the ones used in the models. [source]


AN EVALUATION OF SURFACE HARDNESS OF NATURAL AND MODIFIED ROCKS USING SCHMIDT HAMMER: STUDY FROM NORTHWESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2009
VIKRAM GUPTA
ABSTRACT. Four rock types (quartz mica gneiss, schist, quartzite and calc-silicate) located in the Satluj and Alaknanda valleys were used to test whether a Schmidt hammer can be used to distinguish rock surfaces affected by various natural and man-induced processes like manual smoothing of rock surfaces by grindstone, surface weathering, deep weathering, fluvial polishing and blasting during road construction. Surfaces polished by fluvial process yielded the highest Schmidt hammer rebound (R-) values and the blast-affected surfaces yielded the lowest R-values for the same rock type. Variations in R-value also reflect the degree of weathering of the rock surfaces. It has been further observed that, for all the rock types, the strength of relationship between R-values for the treated surfaces (manual smoothing of rock surface by grindstone) and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is higher than for the fresh natural surfaces. [source]


Rates Of Postglacial rock weathering on glacially scoured outcrops (Abisko,Riksgränsen area, 68°N)

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3-4 2002
Françoise André, Marie
Ice,polished quartz veins, feldspar phenocrysts and quartzite layers were used as reference surfaces to assess the impact of Postglacial rock weathering in Lapland (68°N). Over 3200 measurements were carried out on roches moutonées and glaciofluvially scoured outcrops distributed within three study areas covering 8 km2. Inferred weathering rates demonstrate that 10,000 years of Holocene weathering did not significantly modify the geometry of Weichselian rock surfaces. However, rates of general surface lowering range from 1 to 25, depending on the rock type, with average values at 0.2 mm ka,1 for homogeneous crystalline rocks (irrespective of their acidity and grain size), 1 mm ka,1 for biotite,rich crystalline rocks, and 5 mm ka,1 for carbonate sedimentary rocks. Accelerated rates were recorded in weathering pits and along joints with values up to ten times higher than on the rest of the rock surface. Comparisons with cold and temperate areas suggest that solution rates of carbonate rocks are highly dependent on climate conditions, whilst granular disintegration of crystalline rocks operates at the same rate whatever the environment. It probably means that microgelivation is not efficient on ice,polished crystalline outcrops even under harsh climate conditions, and that granular disintegration proceeds under various climates from the same ubiquitous combination of biochemical processes. Last, the weathering state of Late,Weichselian roches moutonées can be usefully compared to that of Preglacial tors of the nearby Kiruna area. [source]


Mass movements caused by recent tectonic activity: The 1999 Chi-chi earthquake in central Taiwan

ISLAND ARC, Issue 4 2003
Wen-Neng Wang
Abstract The Chi-chi earthquake (MS = 7.7), which occurred in September 1999, seriously damaged central Taiwan. Approximately 2 years later (July 2001), the Toraji typhoon brought a heavy rainstorm (650 mm rain/day) and triggered widespread landslides in central Taiwan and parts of eastern Taiwan. Approximately 10 000 Chi-chi earthquake-induced landslides and 6000 Toraji typhoon-related mass movements were delineated in an area of 2400 km2 using Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT; French earth resource satellite) images. The landslide distribution could be closely related to the distribution of peak ground acceleration registered during the Chi-chi earthquake. The study area was composed of Tertiary sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, whose age and induration increased eastward. The earthquake-induced landslides were mostly distributed in the region between the Chelungpu Fault and the Lishan Fault to the east, whereas they were few in the region east of the Lishan Fault. The Toraji typhoon in 2001 severely damaged both regions that had been shattered by the Chi-chi earthquake in 1999. The occurrence of earthquake-induced landslides can be correlated with epicentral distance, and their occurrence has more influence from the rock type than from the ground motion. [source]


Size matters sometimes: wall height and the structure of subtidal benthic invertebrate assemblages in south-eastern Australia and Mediterranean Spain

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 12 2003
A. R. Davis
Abstract Aim, Variation in the structure of shallow subtidal invertebrate assemblages was examined over three spatial scales; within reef, between reef and between continents. We sought to provide a context from which to examine and interpret ecological processes between continents. In addition, we predicted that variation in pattern would increase as the scale of examination increased. Location, Reefs near Wollongong and within Jervis Bay in south-eastern Australia and Mediterranean reefs on the Costa Brava (Catalonia), north-eastern Spain. Methods, We compared assemblages on vertical rock walls of two heights , short (< 2 m) and tall (> 3 m) in two temperate regions over the same depth range. Specifically we examined the diversity and cover of invertebrates, the cover and biomass of foliose and crustose algae, the size of invertebrate colonies and the biomass of urchins on short and tall walls (n = 3) at each of two locations in each country. Results, Foliose algae dominated rock walls in Spain and although invertebrate cover was high, colonies were generally very small. Two urchin species were commonly encountered on rock walls in Spain, Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus; their biomass was relatively low and did not differ significantly between short and tall walls. These findings contrasted strongly with south-eastern Australia, where foliose algae were almost completely absent. A single urchin species, Centrostephanus rodgersii occurred with extremely high biomass on short walls, which were dominated by grazer-resistant crustose calcareous algae. In contrast, the biomass of this urchin was low on tall walls, which were dominated by invertebrates, usually exceeding 95% in cover. Invertebrate colonies were significantly larger on both short and tall walls in south-eastern Australia relative to the Mediterranean. Findings within a country were consistent between the replicate rock walls and between locations. In contrast to our prediction, however, there was significant variation among walls within a location, but not among locations within a continent. Temporal variation in the structure of these assemblages was not examined, but appears limited. Main conclusions, We conclude that submarine topography, i.e. the presence of short or tall rock walls, as a function of rock type and structure, has a marked impact on community structure in south-eastern Australia, but made little difference to the structure of the assemblage in Mediterranean Spain. The differences in structure we observed between walls of different heights in Australia were correlated with differences in the biomass of urchins and they appear to be major determinants of assemblage structure. Interactions among species are often reported from disparate parts of the globe with little or no reference to the structure of the assemblage of which they are a part; we contend that this will hinder interpretation. Our data are consistent with the organisms in these two regions experiencing distinct selection pressures; for example high levels of urchin grazing activity in south-eastern Australia, and shading and whiplash associated with an algal canopy in the Mediterranean. It may not be appropriate to contrast processes operating at very large (intercontinental) scales unless context can be established with a clear understanding of ecological pattern. Objectivos, En el presente trabajo hemos examinado la variación en estructura de comunidades de invertebrados de aguas someras a tres escalas espaciales: dentro de arrecifes rocosos, entre arrecifes y entre continentes. Nuestro objetivo era proveer un contexto para examinar y interpretar procesos ecológicos entre continentes. Además, realizamos la predicción de que el modelo de variación aumentaría conforme aumentaba la escala de observación. Localidad, Arrecifes rocosos cerca de Wollongong y en Jarvis Bay en la zona sudeste de Australia y arrecifes rocosos mediterráneos en la Costa Brava (Cataluña), en el nordeste de España. Metodos, Comparamos comunidades en paredes rocosas verticales de dos alturas , bajas (< 2 m) y altas (> 3 m) en dos regiones templadas y dentro del mismo rango de profundidades. Específicamente, examinamos la diversidad y el recubrimiento de invertebrados, el recubrimiento y la biomasa de algas foliosas e incrustantes, la medida de las colonias de invertebrados y la biomasa de erizos en paredes bajas y altas (n = 3) en dos localidades de cada país. Resultados, Las algas foliosas dominaban las paredes rocosas en España y, aunque el recubrimiento de invertebrados era alto, las colonias eran generalmente muy pequeñas. Dos especies de erizos eran comunes en las paredes rocosas en España: Arbacia lixula y Paracentrotus lividus. Su biomasa total era relativamente pequeña y no mostraba diferencias significativas entre paredes bajas y altas. Estos resultados contrastan con los hallados en el sudeste de Australia, donde las algas foliosas eran prácticamente ausentes. Una única especie de erizo, Centrostephanus rodgersii, se encontraba en las paredes bajas, donde presentaba elevadas biomasas. Estas paredes estaban dominadas por algas incrustantes y carbonatadas resistentes al ramoneo por erizos. En cambio, la biomasa de este erizo era baja en paredes altas, que estaban dominadas por invertebrados, con recubrimientos normalmente por encima del 95%. Las colonias de invertebrados eran significativamente más grandes tanto en las paredes altas como bajas en el sudeste de Australia en comparación con el Mediterráneo. Los resultados dentro de cada país eran consistentes entre las réplicas de paredes estudiadas y entre localidades. Contrariamente a nuestra predicción, sin embargo, había una variación significativa entre paredes dentro de una localidad pero no entre localidades dentro de un continente. La variación temporal en estructura en estas comunidades no fue estudiada, pero parece ser limitada. Conclusiones Principales, Concluimos que la topografía submarina, esto es, la presencia de paredes bajas o altas en función del tipo de roca y estructura, tiene un efecto importante en la estructura de las comunidades en el sudeste de Australia. Este factor, sin embargo, tiene un efecto muy limitado en el Mediterráneo español. Las diferencias en estructura observadas entre paredes de diferentes alturas en Australia se correlacionan con diferencias en la biomasa de erizos, los cuales parecen ser determinantes en la estructura de las comunidades. Frecuentemente se estudian interacciones entre especies en zonas alejadas del globo con escasa o nula referencia a la estructura de la comunidad de la que forman parte. En nuestra opinión este hecho impide una correcta interpretación. Nuestros datos son consistentes con la idea de que los organismos en las dos regiones estudiadas experimentan diversas presiones selectivas, por ejemplo, niveles altos de ramoneo por erizos en el sudeste de Australia, y oscurecimiento y disturbancia mecánica asociadas a la cobertura de algas en el Mediterráneo. No parece apropiado comparar procesos que operan a escalas muy amplias (intercontinentales) sin establecer antes un contexto con una comprensión clara de los parámetros ecológicos. [source]


Microfabric characteristics and rheological significance of ultra-high-pressure metamorphosed jadeite-quartzite and eclogite from Shuanghe, Dabie Mountains, China

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2010
L. WANG
Abstract Quantitative analysis of the structural evolution of jadeite-quartzite, a rare ultra-high pressure (UHP) rock type from the Dabie Mountains of eastern China, sheds light on the formation and evolution of UHP orogenic belts worldwide. Geological mapping of the Shuanghe area, where jadeite-quartzites crop out, was carried out to determine the spatial relationships between different UHP rocks within this orogen. The deformation mechanisms of jadeite-quartzite, geodynamical parameters (stress, strain, strain rate), and microstructure including lattice preferred orientation (LPO) were determined from six jadeite-quartzite samples from the Shuanghe area. LPOs of clinopyroxene (jadeite and omphacite), garnet, rutile and quartz from these jadeite-quartzite samples are compared with those of three eclogites preserving different degrees of deformation from the Shuanghe area. Microstructural LPOs of jadeite, omphacite, garnet, rutile and quartz were determined using electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) analysis. Quartz fabrics were largely recrystallized during late, low-grade stages of deformation, whereas garnet shows no strong LPO patterns. Rutile fabrics show a weak LS fabric along [001]. Jadeite and omphacite show the strongest eclogite facies LPO patterns, suggesting that they may provide important information about mantle deformation patterns and control the rheology of deeply subducted continental crust. Microstructural data show that the jadeite LPO patterns are similar to those of omphacite and vary between L- and S-types, which correlate with prolate and oblate grain shape fabrics (SPO); quartz LPOs are monoclinic. Microstructural analysis using TEM shows that the dominant slip systems of jadeite in one sample are (100)[001], (110)[001] and (1 1 0)1/2[110], while in another sample, no dislocations are observed. Abundant dislocations in quartz were accommodated by the dominant slip system (0001)[110], indicating basal glide and represents regional shearing during the exhumation process. This suggests that dislocation creep is the dominant fundamental deformation mechanism in jadeite under UHP conditions. The protoliths of jadeite-quartzite, metasedimentary rocks from the northern passive continental margin of the Yangtze craton, experienced the same deep subduction and were deformed under similar rheological conditions as other UHP eclogite, marble and paragneiss. Experimental UHP deformation of quartzo-feldspathic gneiss with a chemical composition similar to the bulk continental crust has shown that the formation of a jadeite,stishovite rock is associated with a density increase of the host rock similar to the eclogite conversion from basaltic protoliths. The resulting rock can be denser than the surrounding mantle pyrolite up to depths of 660 km (24 GPa). Thus, processes of deep continental subduction may be better-understood through understanding the rheology and mechanical behaviour of jadeite. Jadeite-quartzites such as those from the Shuanghe may be exhumed remnants of deeply-subducted slabs of continental crust, other parts of which subducted past the ,depth of no return', and remain in the deep mantle. [source]


Partial melting of metagreywacke: a calculated mineral equilibria study

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 8 2008
T. E. JOHNSON
Abstract Greywacke occurs in most regionally metamorphosed orogenic terranes, with depositional ages from Archean to recent. It is commonly the dominant siliciclastic rock type, many times more abundant than pelite. Using calculated pseudosections in the Na2O,CaO,K2O,FeO,MgO,Al2O3,SiO2,H2O,TiO2,O system, the partial melting of metagreywacke is investigated using several natural protolith compositions that reflect the main observed compositional variations. At conditions appropriate for regional metamorphism at mid-crustal depths (6,8 kbar), high- T subsolidus assemblages are dominated by quartz, plagioclase and biotite with minor garnet, orthoamphibole, sillimanite, muscovite and/or K-feldspar (±Fe,Ti oxides). Modelled solidus temperatures are dependent on bulk composition and vary from 640 to 690 °C. Assuming minimal melting at the H2O-saturated solidus, initial prograde anatexis at temperatures up to ,800 °C is characterized by very low melt productivity. Significant melt production in commonly occurring (intermediate) metagreywacke compositions is controlled by the breakdown of biotite and production of orthopyroxene (±K-feldspar) across multivariant fields until biotite is exhausted at 850,900 °C. Assuming some melt is retained in the source, then at temperatures beyond that of biotite stability, melt production occurs via the consumption of plagioclase, quartz and any remaining K-feldspar as the melt becomes progressively more Ca-rich and H2O-undersaturated. Melt productivity with increasing temperature across the melting interval in metagreywacke is generally gradational when compared to metapelite, which is characterized by more step-like melt production. Comparison of the calculated phase relations with experimental data shows good consistency once the latter are considered in terms of the variance of the equilibria involved. Calculations on the presumed protolith compositions of residual granulite facies metagreywacke from the Archean Ashuanipi subprovince (Quebec) show good agreement with observed phase relations. The degree of melt production and subsequent melt loss is consistent with the previously inferred petrogenesis based on geochemical mass balance. The results show that, for temperatures above 850 °C, metagreywacke is sufficiently fertile to produce large volumes of melt, the separation from source and ascent of which may result in large-scale crustal differentiation if metagreywacke is abundant. [source]


Petrogenesis of lawsonite and epidote eclogite and blueschist, Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 9 2006
P. B. DAVIS
Abstract The Sivrihisar Massif, Turkey, is comprised of blueschist and eclogite facies metasedimentary and metabasaltic rocks. Abundant metre- to centimetre-scale eclogite pods occur in blueschist facies metabasalt, marble and quartz-rich rocks. Sivrihisar eclogite contains omphacite + garnet + phengite + rutile ± glaucophane ± quartz + lawsonite and/or epidote. Blueschists contain sodic amphibole + garnet + phengite + lawsonite and/or epidote ± omphacite ± quartz. Sivrihisar eclogite and blueschist have similar bulk composition, equivalent to NMORB, but record different P,T conditions: ,26 kbar, 500 °C (lawsonite eclogite); 18 kbar, 600 °C (epidote eclogite); 12 kbar, 380 °C (lawsonite blueschist); and 15,16 kbar, 480,500 °C (lawsonite-epidote blueschist). Pressures for the Sivrihisar lawsonite eclogite are among the highest reported for this rock type, which is rarely exposed at the Earth's surface. The distribution and textures of lawsonite ± epidote define P,T conditions and paths. For example, in some lawsonite-bearing rocks, epidote inclusions in garnet and partial replacement of matrix epidote by lawsonite suggest an anticlockwise P,T path. Other rocks contain no epidote as inclusions or as a matrix phase, and were metamorphosed entirely within the lawsonite stability field. Results of the P,T study and mapping of the distribution of blueschists and eclogites in the massif suggest that rocks recording different maximum P,T conditions were tectonically juxtaposed as kilometre-scale slices and associated high- P pods, although all shared the same exhumation path from ,9,11 kbar, 300,400 °C. Within the tectonic slices, alternating millimetre,centimetre-scale layers of eclogite and blueschist formed together at the same P,T conditions but represent different extents of prograde reaction controlled by strain partitioning or local variations in fO2 or other chemical factors. [source]


Role of fluids in the metamorphism of the Alpine Fault Zone, New Zealand

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 1 2001
J. K. Vry
Abstract Models of fluid/rock interaction in and adjacent to the Alpine Fault in the Hokitika area, South Island, New Zealand, were investigated using hydrogen and other stable isotope studies, together with field and petrographic observations. All analysed samples from the study area have similar whole-rock ,D values (,DWR = ,56 to ,30,, average = ,45,, n = 20), irrespective of rock type, degree of chloritization, location along the fault, or across-strike distance from the fault in the garnet zone. The green, chlorite-rich fault rocks, which probably formed from Australian Plate precursors, record nearly isothermal fluid/rock interaction with a schist-derived metamorphic fluid at high temperatures near 450,500°C (,D of water in equilibrium with the green fault rocks (,DH2O, green) ,,,18,; ,D of water in equilibrium with the greyschists and greyschist-derived mylonites (,DH2O, grey) , ,19, at 500°C; ,DH2O, green , ,17,; ,DH2O, grey , ,14, at 450°C). There is no indication of an influx of a meteoric or mantle-derived fluid in the Alpine Fault Zone in the study area. The Alpine Fault Zone at the surface shows little evidence of late-stage retrogression or veining, which might be attributed to down-temperature fluid flow. It is probable that prograde metamorphism in the root zone of the Southern Alps releases metamorphic fluids that at some region rise vertically rather than following the trace of the Alpine Fault up to the surface, owing to the combined effects of the fault, the disturbed isotherms under the Southern Alps, and the brittle,ductile transition. Such fluids could mix with meteoric fluids to deposit quartz-rich, possibly gold-bearing veins in the region c. 5,10 km back from the fault trace. These results and interpretations are consistent with interpretations of magnetotelluric data obtained in the South Island GeopHysical Transects (SIGHT) programme. [source]


The Quaternary of the British Isles: factors forcing environmental change,

JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010
James Rose
Abstract This paper considers the processes that have controlled cool temperate latitude terrestrial environments over the last ca 3,Ma, with particular reference to the British Isles. A scheme is proposed that is based on the processes that act on the land over any given period of time and are the product of climate modulated by rock type (the resisting agent) and relief (determined by tectonics and antecedent relief-forming factors). Climate is generalised in terms of the range and rates of climate change determined by orbital forcing. During precession cycles climate change was small and insolation levels were forced by chemically and biologically driven processes. The period of obliquity cycles is characterised by patterns of climate change in which physical processes became effective and high-magnitude fluvial and slope processes were reinforced by periglaciation and glaciation in susceptible regions. Eccentricity cycles include climate extremes of longer duration, and glaciation and periglaciation were the major contributors to landscape change, sediment transfer and sediment mixing. These climate-forced processes produce distinctive landform, sediment and soil assemblages characteristic of particular episodes of Quaternary time. The lags between the successive systems are identified. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


The distribution of heath balds in the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina and Tennessee

JOURNAL OF VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 4 2001
Peter S. White
White (1982). Abstract. We used remote sensing and a geographic information system to model the distribution of evergreen shrub communities, called ,heath balds', in the Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina and Tennessee, USA. The 421 heath balds averaged 1.8 ha in size and covered 0.3% of the landscape. They reached their greatest importance on upper slopes (92% had relative slope positions > 80), convex topography (82% occurred on sites with a curvature greater than 2.6), and elevations between 1100 and 1600 m (94% of the balds). Although heath balds were found in old-growth watersheds, the two watersheds with the greatest number of balds burned extensively after logging in the early 1900s. Bald occurrence was positively correlated with burned sites, old growth condition, and a highly acidic rock type. Heath balds showed a striking geographic pattern, with 88.1% of the area of this community found in six watersheds comprising only 35.4% of the study area. Despite similar topography, geology, and history, the eleven other watersheds had only 11.9% of the bald area while comprising 64.4% of the study area. Multivariate models showed that this community occurs on only 0.4 to 9.0% of the seemingly appropriate sites. Once established, this shrub community, with its dense evergreen canopy and thick leaf litter, is resistant to tree invasion. Both forest and shrub communities are stable on sites that are seemingly ideal for heath bald occurrence. [source]


Soils and land use in the Tigray highlands (Northern Ethiopia)

LAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 3 2008
J. Nyssen
Abstract Land use in a 208,ha representative catchment in the Tigray Highlands, Dogu'a Tembien district in Northern Ethiopia was studied in relation to soil geography. Typical soils are Vertisols, Vertic Cambisols, Cumulic Regosols, Calcaric Regosols and Phaeozems. Patterns of land use vary greatly within the catchment and results from ,2 -tests showed strong associations (p,<,0·001) between soil type and land use and crop production system. There is a strong association between cropland and colluvium high in basaltic content because the most fertile soils, such as Vertisols and Vertic Cambisols, have developed on this material. Preference is for autochthonous soils on in situ parent material, irrespective of the rock type, to be put under rangeland. Land use by smallholders in Dogu'a Tembien appears to be the result primarily of the interaction between environmental and social factors. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Geology and geochemistry of shallow drill cores from the Bosumtwi impact structure, Ghana

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 8 2003
Daniel Boamah
The interior of the structure is largely filled by the 8 km diameter Lake Bosumtwi, and the crater rim and region in the environs of the crater is covered by tropical rainforest, making geological studies rather difficult and restricted to road cuts and streams. In early 1999, we undertook a shallow drilling program to the north of the crater rim to determine the extent of the ejecta blanket around the crater and to obtain subsurface core samples for mineralogical, petrological, and geochemical studies of ejecta of the Bosumtwi impact structure. A variety of impactite lithologies are present, consisting of impact glassrich suevite and several types of breccia: lithic breccia of single rock type, often grading into unbrecciated rock, with the rocks being shattered more or less in situ without much relative displacement (autochthonous?), and lithic polymict breccia that apparently do not contain any glassy material (allochtonous?). The suevite cores show that melt inclusions are present throughout the whole length of the cores in the form of vesicular glasses with no significant change of abundance with depth. Twenty samples from the 7 drill cores and 4 samples from recent road cuts in the structure were studied for their geochemical characteristics to accumulate a database for impact lithologies and their erosion products present at the Bosumtwi crater. Major and trace element analyses yielded compositions similar to those of the target rocks in the area (graywacke-phyllite, shale, and granite). Graywacke-phyllite and granite dikes seem to be important contributors to the compositions of the suevite and the road cut samples (fragmentary matrix), with a minor contribution of Pepiakese granite. The results also provide information about the thickness of the fallout suevite in the northern part of the Bosumtwi structure, which was determined to be ,15 m and to occupy an area of ,1.5 km2. Present suevite distribution is likely to be caused by differential erosion and does not reflect the initial areal extent of the continuous Bosumtwi ejecta deposits. Our studies allow a comparison with the extent of the suevite at the Ries, another well-preserved impact structure. [source]


Lithological and fluvial controls on the geomorphology of tropical montane stream channels in Puerto Rico

EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 12 2010
Andrew S. Pike
Abstract An extensive survey and topographic analysis of five watersheds draining the Luquillo Mountains in north-eastern Puerto Rico was conducted to decouple the relative influences of lithologic and hydraulic forces in shaping the morphology of tropical montane stream channels. The Luquillo Mountains are a steep landscape composed of volcaniclastic and igneous rocks that exert a localized lithologic influence on the stream channels. However, the stream channels also experience strong hydraulic forcing due to high unit discharge in the humid rainforest environment. GIS-based topographic analysis was used to examine channel profiles, and survey data were used to analyze downstream changes in channel geometry, grain sizes, stream power, and shear stresses. Results indicate that the longitudinal profiles are generally well graded but have concavities that reflect the influence of multiple rock types and colluvial-alluvial transitions. Non-fluvial processes, such as landslides, deliver coarse boulder-sized sediment to the channels and may locally determine channel gradient and geometry. Median grain size is strongly related to drainage area and slope, and coarsens in the headwaters before fining in the downstream reaches; a pattern associated with a mid-basin transition between colluvial and fluvial processes. Downstream hydraulic geometry relationships between discharge, width and velocity (although not depth) are well developed for all watersheds. Stream power displays a mid-basin maximum in all basins, although the ratio of stream power to coarse grain size (indicative of hydraulic forcing) increases downstream. Excess dimensionless shear stress at bankfull flow wavers around the threshold for sediment mobility of the median grain size, and does not vary systematically with bankfull discharge; a common characteristic in self-forming ,threshold' alluvial channels. The results suggest that although there is apparent bedrock and lithologic control on local reach-scale channel morphology, strong fluvial forces acting over time have been sufficient to override boundary resistance and give rise to systematic basin-scale patterns. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. [source]


An electron microprobe study of P645/T390: Evidence for an Early Helladic III Lerna,Aegina connection

GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 8 2002
Michael J. Dorais
Middle Helladic Aeginetan Ware is widely distributed throughout the Aegean. It is characterized by a "gold mica or volcanic ash" fabric and is abundant at Lerna on the Argive plain, Greece, in the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic I periods. A group of Early Helladic III ceramics at Lerna includes P645/T390, which also has a volcanic fabric. We have sampled all the major rock types of the separate volcanic episodes on Aegina, Methana, and Poros and analyzed the constituent minerals with the electron microprobe. These analyses provide a reference standard against which the mineralogy of P645/T390 and other potential Aeginetan wares can be compared. The compositions of amphibole, clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and biotite in P645/T390 are identical to the same minerals in dacites on Aegina, suggesting an origin on that island. Compositional mismatches with the minerals of Methana and Poros indicated the ceramic was not manufactured at these locations. This narrow-necked jar represents the earliest occurrence of Aeginetan Ware on mainland Greece that has been confirmed by a quantitative method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Factors affecting fluid flow in strike,slip fault systems: coupled deformation and fluid flow modelling with application to the western Mount Isa Inlier, Australia

GEOFLUIDS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2009
A. FORD
Abstract Deformation and focused fluid flow within a mineralized system are critical in the genesis of hydrothermal ore deposits. Dilation and integrated fluid flux due to coupled deformation and fluid flow in simple strike,slip fault geometries were examined using finite difference analysis in three dimensions. A series of generic fault bend and fault jog geometries consistent with those seen in the western Mount Isa Inlier were modelled in order to understand how fault geometry parameters influence the dilation and integrated fluid flux. Fault dip, fault width, bend/jog angle, and length were varied, and a cross-cutting fault and contrasting rock types were included. The results demonstrate that low fault dips, the presence of contrasts in rock type, and wide faults produce highest dilation and integrated fluid flux values. Increasing fault bend lengths and angles increases dilation and integrated fluid flux, but increasing fault jog length or angle has the opposite effect. There is minimal difference between the outputs from the releasing and restraining fault bend and jog geometries. Model characteristics producing greater fluid flows and/or gradients can be used in a predictive capacity in order to focus exploration on regions with more favorable fault geometries, provided that the mineralized rocks had Mohr,Coulomb rheologies similar to the ones used in the models. [source]


AN EVALUATION OF SURFACE HARDNESS OF NATURAL AND MODIFIED ROCKS USING SCHMIDT HAMMER: STUDY FROM NORTHWESTERN HIMALAYA, INDIA

GEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES A: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, Issue 3 2009
VIKRAM GUPTA
ABSTRACT. Four rock types (quartz mica gneiss, schist, quartzite and calc-silicate) located in the Satluj and Alaknanda valleys were used to test whether a Schmidt hammer can be used to distinguish rock surfaces affected by various natural and man-induced processes like manual smoothing of rock surfaces by grindstone, surface weathering, deep weathering, fluvial polishing and blasting during road construction. Surfaces polished by fluvial process yielded the highest Schmidt hammer rebound (R-) values and the blast-affected surfaces yielded the lowest R-values for the same rock type. Variations in R-value also reflect the degree of weathering of the rock surfaces. It has been further observed that, for all the rock types, the strength of relationship between R-values for the treated surfaces (manual smoothing of rock surface by grindstone) and the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) is higher than for the fresh natural surfaces. [source]


Temporal and spatial variability of cation and silica export in an alpine watershed, Emerald Lake, California

HYDROLOGICAL PROCESSES, Issue 10 2004
T. Meixner
Abstract A reaction set of possible mineral weathering reactions is proposed to explain observed cation and silica export for the Emerald Lake watershed, a small Sierra Nevada, California catchment. The reaction set was calculated through a stoichiometric mole-balance method, using a multiyear record of stream flow and snowpack chemical analyses and site-specific mineral compositions. Reaction-set calculations were intended to explore how the processes controlling stream cation and silica export depend on differing bedrock mineralogy across the catchment as snowmelt and runoff patterns change over the year. Different regions within the watershed can be differentiated by lake inflow subdrainages, each exhibiting different stream-flow chemistry and calculated weathering stoichiometry, indicating that different silica and cation generation processes are dominant in wet steep portions of the catchment. Short-term differences in stream concentrations were assumed to reflect ion exchange equilibria and rapid biological processes, whereas long-term persistent stream concentration differences in different areas of the catchment were assumed to reflect spatial variability in mineral weathering stoichiometry. Mineralogical analyses of rock samples from the watershed provided site-specific chemical compositions of major mineral species for reaction calculations. Reaction sets were evaluated by linear regression of calculated versus observed differences between snowmelt and stream-flow chemistry and by a combined measure. Initially, single weathering reactions were balanced and evaluated to determine the reactions that best explained observed stream chemical export. Next, reactions were combined, using mineral compositions from different rock types to estimate the dependence of ion fluxes on lithology. The seasonal variability of major solute calculated fluxes is low, approximately one order of magnitude, relative to the observed three orders of magnitude variability in basin discharge. Reaction sets using basin-averaged lithology and Aplite lithologies gave superior explanations of stream chemical composition. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Cold subduction and the formation of lawsonite eclogite , constraints from prograde evolution of eclogitized pillow lava from Corsica

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2010
E. J. K. RAVNA
Abstract A new discovery of lawsonite eclogite is presented from the Lancône glaucophanites within the Schistes Lustrés nappe at Défilé du Lancône in Alpine Corsica. The fine-grained eclogitized pillow lava and inter-pillow matrix are extremely fresh, showing very little evidence of retrograde alteration. Peak assemblages in both the massive pillows and weakly foliated inter-pillow matrix consist of zoned idiomorphic Mg-poor (<0.8 wt% MgO) garnet + omphacite + lawsonite + chlorite + titanite. A local overprint by the lower grade assemblage glaucophane + albite with partial resorption of omphacite and garnet is locally observed. Garnet porphyroblasts in the massive pillows are Mn rich, and show a regular prograde growth-type zoning with a Mn-rich core. In the inter-pillow matrix garnet is less manganiferous, and shows a mutual variation in Ca and Fe with Fe enrichment toward the rim. Some garnet from this rock type shows complex zoning patterns indicating a coalescence of several smaller crystallites. Matrix omphacite in both rock types is zoned with a rimward increase in XJd, locally with cores of relict augite. Numerous inclusions of clinopyroxene, lawsonite, chlorite and titanite are encapsulated within garnet in both rock types, and albite, quartz and hornblende are also found included in garnet from the inter-pillow matrix. Inclusions of clinopyroxene commonly have augitic cores and omphacitic rims. The inter-pillow matrix contains cross-cutting omphacite-rich veinlets with zoned omphacite, Si-rich phengite (Si = 3.54 apfu), ferroglaucophane, actinolite and hematite. These veinlets are seen fracturing idiomorphic garnet, apparently without any secondary effects. Pseudosections of matrix compositions for the massive pillows, the inter-pillow matrix and the cross-cutting veinlets indicate similar P,T conditions with maximum pressures of 1.9,2.6 GPa at temperatures of 335,420 °C. The inclusion suite found in garnet from the inter-pillow matrix apparently formed at pressures below 0.6,0.7 GPa. Retrogression during initial decompression of the studied rocks is only very local. Late veinlets of albite + glaucophane, without breakdown of lawsonite, indicate that the rocks remained in a cold environment during exhumation, resulting in a hairpin-shaped P,T path. [source]


Metamorphic phase relations in orthopyroxene-bearing granitoids: implication for high-pressure metamorphism and prograde melting in the continental crust

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
S. K. BHOWMIK
Abstract In this work, the factors controlling the formation and preservation of high-pressure mineral assemblages in the metamorphosed orthopyroxene-bearing metagranitoids of the Sandmata Complex, Aravalli-Delhi Mobile Belt (ADMB), northwestern India have been modelled. The rocks range in composition from farsundite through quartz mangerite to opdalite, and with varying K2O, Ca/(Ca + Na)rock and FeOtot + MgO contents. A two stage metamorphic evolution has been recorded in these rocks. An early hydration event stabilized biotite with or without epidote at the expense of magmatic orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Subsequent high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism (,15 kbar, ,800 °C) of these hydrated rocks produced two rock types with contrasting mineralogy and textures. In the non-migmatitic metagranitoids, spectacular garnet ± K-feldspar ± quartz corona was formed around reacting biotite, plagioclase, quartz and/or pyroxene. In contrast, biotite ± epidote melting produced migmatites, containing porphyroblastic garnet incongruent solids and leucosomes. Applying NCKFMASHTO T,M(H2O) and P,T pseudosection modelling techniques, it is demonstrated that the differential response of these magmatic rocks to high-pressure metamorphism is primarily controlled by the scale of initial hydration. Rocks, which were pervasively hydrated, produced garnetiferous migmatites, while for limited hydration, the same metamorphism formed sub-solidus garnet-bearing coronae. Based on the sequence of mineral assemblage evolution and the mineral compositional zoning features in the two metagranitoids, a clockwise metamorphic P,T path is constrained for the high-pressure metamorphic event. The finding has major implications in formulating geodynamic model of crustal amalgamation in the ADMB. [source]


Timing relationships between pegmatite emplacement, metamorphism and deformation during the intra-plate Alice Springs Orogeny, central Australia

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 9 2008
I. S. BUICK
Abstract In the Harts Range (central Australia), the upper amphibolite facies to lower granulite facies, c. 480,460 Ma Harts Range Metamorphic Complex (HRMC), and the upper amphibolite facies, c. 340,320 Ma Entia Gneiss Complex are cut by numerous, generally peraluminous pegmatites and their deformed equivalents. The pegmatites have previously been interpreted as locally derived partial melts. However, SHRIMP U,Pb monazite and zircon dating of 29 pegmatites or their deformed equivalents, predominantly from the HRMC, reveal that they were emplaced episodically throughout almost the entire duration of the polyphase, c. 450,300 Ma intra-plate Alice Springs Orogeny. Episodes of pegmatite intrusion correlate with the age of major Alice Springs-age structures and with deposition of syn-orogenic sedimentary rocks in the adjacent Centralian Superbasin. Similar Alice Springs ages have not been obtained from anatectic country rocks in the HRMC, suggesting that the pegmatites were not locally derived. Instead, they are interpreted as highly fractionated granites, and imply that much larger parental Alice Springs-age granites exist at depth. The mechanism to allow repeated felsic magmatism in an intraplate setting, where all exposed rock types had a previous high-temperature history, is enigmatic. However, we suggest that episodic underthrusting and dehydration of unmetamorphosed Centralian Superbasin sedimentary rocks allowed crustal fertility to maintained over a c. 140 Ma interval during the intra-plate Alice Springs Orogeny. [source]


Metamorphic evolution of kyanite,staurolite-bearing epidote,amphibolite from the Early Palaeozoic Oeyama belt, SW Japan

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2004
T. Tsujimori
Abstract Early Palaeozoic kyanite,staurolite-bearing epidote,amphibolites including foliated epidote,amphibolite (FEA), and nonfoliated leucocratic or melanocratic metagabbros (LMG, MMG), occur in the Fuko Pass metacumulate unit (FPM) of the Oeyama belt, SW Japan. Microtextural relationships and mineral chemistry define three metamorphic stages: relict granulite facies metamorphism (M1), high- P (HP) epidote,amphibolite facies metamorphism (M2), and retrogression (M3). M1 is preserved as relict Al-rich diopside (up to 8.5 wt.% Al2O3) and pseudomorphs after spinel and plagioclase in the MMG, suggesting a medium- P granulite facies condition (0.8,1.3 GPa at >,850 °C). An unusually low-variance M2 assemblage, Hbl + Czo + Ky ± St + Pg + Rt ± Ab ± Crn, occurs in the matrix of all rock types. The presence of relict plagioclase inclusions in M2 kyanite associated with clinozoisite indicates a hydration reaction to form the kyanite-bearing M2 assemblage during cooling. The corundum-bearing phase equilibria constrain a qualitative metamorphic P,T condition of 1.1,1.9 GPa at 550,800 °C for M2. The M2 minerals were locally replaced by M3 margarite, paragonite, plagioclase and/or chlorite. The breakdown of M2 kyanite to produce the M3 assemblage at <,0.5 GPa and 450,500 °C suggests a greenschist facies overprint during decompression. The P,T evolution of the FPM may represent subduction of an oceanic plateau with a granulite facies lower crust and subsequent exhumation in a Pacific-type orogen. [source]


Evolution of the Pan-African Wadi Haimur metamorphic sole, Eastern Desert, Egypt

JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 6 2000
H. Abd El-Naby
By comparison with the general features of metamorphic soles (e.g. vertical and lateral extension, metamorphic grade and diagnostic mineral parageneses, deformation and dominant rock types), it is inferred that the amphibolites, metagabbros and hornblendites of the Wadi Um Ghalaga,Wadi Haimur area in the southern part of the Eastern Desert of Egypt represent the metamorphic sole of the Wadi Haimur ophiolite belt. The overlying ultramafic rocks represent overthrusted mantle peridotite. Mineral compositions and thermobarometric studies indicate that the rocks of the metamorphic sole record metamorphic conditions typical of such an environment. The highest P,T conditions (c. 700 °C and 6.5,8.5 kbar) are preserved in clinopyroxene amphibolites and garnet amphibolites from the top of the metamorphic sole, which is exposed in the southern part of the study area. The massive amphibolites and metagabbros further north (Wadi Haimur) represent the basal parts of the sole and show the lowest P,T conditions (450,620 °C and 4.7,7.8 kbar). The sole is the product of dynamothermal metamorphism associated with the tectonic displacement of ultramafic rocks. Heat was derived mainly from the hot overlying mantle peridotites, and an inverted P,T gradient was caused by dynamic shearing during ophiolite emplacement. Sm/Nd dating of whole-rock,metamorphic mineral pairs yields similar ages of c. 630 Ma for clinopyroxene and hornblende, which is interpreted as a lower age limit for ophiolite formation and an upper age limit for metamorphism. A younger Sm/Nd age for a garnet-bearing rock (c. 590 Ma) is interpreted as reflecting a meaningful cooling age close to the metamorphic peak. Hornblende K/Ar ages in the range 570,550 Ma may reflect thermal events during late orogenic granite magmatism. [source]


MAPPING AND CLASSIFYING FLOW UNITS IN THE UPPER PART OF THE MID-CRETACEOUS SARVAK FORMATION (WESTERN DEZFUL EMBAYMENT, SW IRAN) BASED ON A DETEMINATION OF RESERVOIR ROCK TYPES

JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, Issue 4 2007
B. Beiranvand
The mid-Cretaceous Sarvak Formation, the second-most important reservoir unit in Iran, is composed mainly of grain-supported carbonates. For the purposes of this study, flow units in the upper part of the formation were identified, mapped and classified as part of an integrated reservoir characterization study at a giant oilfield in SW Iran. Pore types and geometries, pore-scale diagenetic history and core-scale depositional attributes were logged using conventional petrographic and lithological methods. The resulting data were combined with core descriptions, mercury-injection capillary pressure data, and wireline log and geophysical data to identify five reservoir rock types: (i) highly oil-stained, grain-supported carbonates, including patch reef and barrier complex deposits with high porosities and permeabilities; (ii) leeward and seaward shoal deposits including grain-supported packstones and skeletal wackestones with high porosities and permeabilities; (iii) dominantly mud-supported lagoonal and open-marine facies with fair porosity and permeability; (iv) grain-supported but highly cemented facies which had poor reservoir characteristics; and (v) calcareous shales and shaly limestones with no reservoir quality. Based on the reservoir rock types, eight flow units were recognised. Subsequently, four reservoir zones were defined based on these flow units at a field scale. This study has contributed to our understanding of flow units in this complex carbonate reservoir, and has improved our ability to characterize and model the architecture of the reservoir from pore to core to field scale. [source]


Drill core LB-08A, Bosumtwi impact structure, Ghana: Geochemistry of fallback breccia and basement samples from the central uplift

METEORITICS & PLANETARY SCIENCE, Issue 4-5 2007
Ludovic FERRIÈRE
Two boreholes were drilled to acquire hard-rock samples of the deep crater moat and from the flank of the central uplift (LB-07A and LB-08A, respectively) during a recent ICDP-sponsored drilling project. Here we present results of major and trace element analysis of 112 samples from drill core LB-08A. This core, which was recovered between 235.6 and 451.33 m depth below lake level, contains polymict lithic breccia intercalated with suevite, which overlies fractured/brecciated metasediment. The basement is dominated by meta-graywacke (from fine-grained to gritty), but also includes some phyllite and slate, as well as suevite dikelets and a few units of a distinct light greenish gray, medium-grained meta-graywacke. Most of the variations of the major and trace element abundances in the different lithologies result from the initial compositional variations of the various target rock types, as well as from aqueous alteration processes, which have undeniably affected the different rocks. Suevite from core LB-08A (fallback suevite) and fallout suevite samples (from outside the northern crater rim) display some differences in major (mainly in MgO, CaO, and Na2O contents) and minor (mainly Cr and Ni) element abundances that could be related to the higher degree of alteration of fallback suevites, but also result from differences in the clast populations of the two suevite populations. For example, granite clasts are present in fallout suevite but not in fallback breccia, and calcite clasts are present in fallback breccia and not in fallout suevite. Chondrite-normalized rare earth element abundance patterns for polymict impact breccia and basement samples are very similar to each other. Siderophile element contents in the impact breccias are not significantly different from those of the metasediments, or compared to target rocks from outside the crater rim. So far, no evidence for a meteoritic component has been detected in polymict impact breccias during this study, in agreement with previous work. [source]


EXPLORING IDENTITY AND PLACE: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROVENANCE OF PASSAGE GRAVE STONES ON GUERNSEY AND JERSEY IN THE MIDDLE NEOLITHIC

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
DAVID BUKACH
Summary. This study examines the provenance of rock types used in the construction of Middle Neolithic passage grave stones on the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, focusing on the social dimensions of stone selection. The use of stones in passage grave construction includes both local and non-local rock types, which at some sites are organized in distinctive patterns. It is argued that the choice of stones was bound by concepts of identity, and that the communities which gathered to build these monuments may have used specific rock types to represent their community and their local mythologies. The relationship between identity and stone selection is supported both by analogy and by research into the role of landmarks in the development of local landscapes and ideology. The success of megalith provenance studies on Guernsey and Jersey suggests considerable potential for future research in other geologically diverse regions. [source]