ALBERT

Description: The Molucca Sea Collision Zone in eastern Indonesia is the site of an orthogonal collision between two active subduction systems. Both the Halmahera subduction zone, to the east, and the Sangihe subduction zone, to the west, have subducted oceanic lithosphere of the Molucca Sea Plate, which has now been completely consumed. Both volcanic arcs were active since the Neogene and provide a means of probing the element fluxes through the two systems. The geochemistry of Neogene and Quaternary lavas from each volcanic arc is compared to constrain changes in the mass fluxes through the systems and the processes controlling these fluxes at different times during their history. Both arcs show increased evidence for sediment recycling as the collision progressed, but for contrasting reasons. In Halmahera this may represent an increased sediment flux through the arc front, while in Sangihe it may simply reflect a greater opportunity for melting of sediment-fluxed portions of the mantle wedge. In both cases the change in arc geochemistry can be related to the evolving architecture of the particular subduction zone. The Halmahera lavas also record a temporal change in the chemistry of the mantle component that resulted from induced convection above the falling Molucca Sea Plate drawing compositionally distinct peridotite into the mantle wege.

Description: Recycling of oceanic plate back into the Earth's interior at subduction zones is one of the key processes in Earth evolution. Volcanic arcs, which form above subduction zones, are the most visible manifestations of plate tectonics, the convection mechanism by which the Earth loses excess heat They are probably also the main location where new continental crust is formed, the so-called subduction factoiy' About 400f modern subduction zones on Earth are intra-oceanic. These subduction systems are generally simpler than those at continental margins as they commonly have a shorter history of subduction and their magmas are not contaminated by ancient sialic crust. They are therefore the optimum locations for studies of mantle processes and magmatic addition to the crust in subduction zones. This volume contains a collection of papers that exploit the relative simplicity of intra-oceanic subduction systems to provide insights into the tectonic, magmatic and hydrothermal processes associated with subduction.

Description: In the Huckitta region of the eastern Arunta Inlier, central Australia, two terrains with distinct metamorphic histories are separated by a zone of sinistral strike-slip mylonitic deformation and reworking, the Entire Point Shear Zone (EPSZ). To the south of the EPSZ, in the Harts Range Group, Ordovician (c. 470 Ma) intraplate granulite facies metamorphism (c. 800{degrees}C, 8-10 kbar) was followed by decompression to c. 7 kbar. In contrast, the Kanandra Granulite, to the north of the EPSZ, is characterized by Palaeoproterozoic high-grade metamorphism at 770-850{degrees}C and 5-7 kbar, followed by inferred near-isobaric cooling. Juxta-position of these terrains along the EPSZ occurred at upper amphibolite facies conditions (700{degrees}C, 7 kbar), and resulted in extensive reworking of the Kanandra Granulite. Monazite growth within EPSZ mylonites is dated at 445 {+/-} 5 Ma, whilst a garnet amphibolite gives a Sm-Nd isochron age of 434 {+/-} 6. The timing of this deformation is broadly coincident with the inferred onset of south-vergent compressional deformation in the Harts Range region to the south. This suggests that juxtaposition of the Ordovician granulite terrain with the surrounding Proterozoic terrains occurred during intraplate sinistral transpression in the late Ordovician. Further reworking of the Kanandra Granulite occurred at mid-amphibolite to greenschist facies conditions, during north-vergent mylonitic deformation that exhumed the Ordovician high-grade terrain during the 400-300 Ma Alice Springs Orogeny. Although this zone of Palaeozoic reworking is 〈5 km wide, it forms the northern margin of Palaeozoic high-grade intraplate deformation and represents a major tectonic boundary in central Australia.

Description: This paper is an overview of drift exploration methods for lode Au deposits in areas of thin and thick cover of glacial sediments within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of central Canada. It summarizes a large volume of data produced by government regional surveys and case studies as well as that from industry-led gold exploration programs. Regional till surveys can be used as targeting mechanisms for further Au exploration. Anomalies are defined by a series of samples with elevated Au concentrations that lie along significant bedrock structures, occurring in clusters or as isolated samples in areas of low sample density. Thresholds between background and anomalous Au grain abundances or Au concentrations are variable and depend on location within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Case studies around known deposits provide examples of geochemical and mineralogical signatures of Au deposits that can be expected in till down-ice. These serve as sources of information on appropriate sampling methods and size fractions to analyse, and on ice flow patterns, local glacial stratigraphy and suitable till units for sampling. Two methods for measuring the Au content of till are commonly used: (1) a count of visible Au grains and (2) geochemical elemental analysis. Close to source, till contains thousands to hundreds of thousands ppb Au and several hundred Au grains. The Au grains vary from coarse sand to silt sizes and have pristine shapes. The presence of high Au concentrations in till indicates that the ore zones subcrop and that glacial processes have produced Au dispersal trains down-ice.

Description: Previous stable oxygen isotopic data from surface-dwelling foraminifera indicate that Eocene tropical sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were significantly lower than at present. Here we show that stable isotopic analyses ({delta}18O, {delta}13C) of the late mid-Eocene mixed-layer dweller Morozovella spinulosa are consistent with mid-Eocene mid-latitude SSTs close to, or slightly lower than modern temperatures at Blake Nose, western North Atlantic. In contrast, isotopic analyses of the benthic foraminifer, Nuttalides truempyi reveal a gradual fall in mean bottom-water temperatures from 8 to 7 {degrees}C over c. 500 ka years. These deep intermediate-water temperatures are significantly higher than modern ones and are similar to intermediate- and bottom-water temperatures recorded from earlier in Palaeogene and late Cretaceous time. Large shifts are seen in the {delta}18O and {delta}13C values of the planktonic foraminifers, of up to 1{per thousand} and 2.6{per thousand}, respectively, that probably reflect temperature and nutrient fluctuations controlled by regional changes in upwelling intensity and runoff. The surface to benthos {delta}18O gradient decreases from 3{per thousand} PDB to a minimum of c. 0.5{per thousand} PDB over 400 ka, which could relate to the intensity of upwelling. Spectral analysis reveals precessional forcing in the foraminiferal {delta}18O records, which shows the direct influence of low-latitude insolation on surface-water stratification. Monsoonal wind systems may have forced the upwelling cycles and/or freshwater input. The benthic foraminifer {delta}18O record also contains the obliquity cycle, in addition to the precessional cycles, indicating the inheritance of mid- and high-latitude forcing to subtropical deep waters.

Description: As a result of its relative buoyancy, continental crust is rarely subducted, meaning that successive episodes of continental deformation impart a complex geological character that is not found in younger oceanic lithosphere. This character is largely the result of two related processes: (1) reactivation, involving rejuvenation of discrete structures; and (2) reworking, involving the repeated metamorphism, deformation and magmatism of a previously tectonized crustal or lithospheric volume. Characterizing the style, distribution and timing of reactivation and reworking in different continental settings should therefore provide a crucial data set with which to evaluate the spatial patterns, temporal evolution and dynamic controls of tectonic rejuvenation of the continents and continental lithosphere. This volume presents a combination of review and research papers, which highlight some of the issues and problems associated with the characterization and modelling of continental reactivation and reworking.

Description: In contrast to oceanic lithosphere, the continents are manifestly composed of the products of tectonic processes whose cumulative duration spans much of the Earths history. Most continents contain Archaean nuclei that are enclosed by Proterozoic and Phanerozoic tectonic domains. The evolution of post-Archaean continental volumes has included additions of new continental material, but it has also involved repeated modification of parts of the existing continental lithosphere during periods of tectonic rejuvenation. This generally involves processes such as the formation of new structural fabrics, the over-printing of metamorphic assemblages and the generation and emplacement of magmas. Such behaviour can occur repeatedly throughout the geological record because the quartzofeldspathic continental crust cannot be subducted due to its relative buoyancy and weakness compared with its oceanic counterpart and the underlying lithospheric mantle. Thus, the character of the continents is significantly influenced by the way in which the existing lithosphere responds to new tectonothermal events that follow geologically significant cessations of activity for millions to hundreds of millions of years (Sutton & Watson 1986). Existing continental lithosphere may be modified during its incorporation into new collisional systems, for example the involvement of the Hercynian basement' in the Alpine collision. However, the most dramatic manifestations of continental tectonic rejuvenation occur during intraplate orogeny, where a coherent pre-existing lithospheric volume undergoes large-scale failure. Notable modern examples of intraplate orogeny are the Cenozoic Tien Shan and the Mongolian Alti in north Asia, which are forming in response to the Himalayan collision (e.g. Hendrix et al. 1992; Dickson ... This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract.

Description: Fault zones control the location, architecture and evolution of a broad range of geological features, act as conduits for the focused migration of economically important fluids and, as most seismicity is associated with active faults, they also constitute one of the most important global geological hazards. In general, the repeated localization of displacements along faults and shear zones, often over very long time scales, strongly suggests that they are weak relative to their surrounding wall rocks. Geophysical observations from plate boundary faults such as the San Andreas fault additionally suggest that this fault zone is weak in an absolute sense, although this remains a controversial issue. Our understanding of fault-zone structure and mechanical behaviour derive from three main sources of information: (1) studies of natural fault zones and their deformation products (fault rocks); (2) seismological and neotectonic studies of currently active natural fault systems; (3) laboratory-based deformation experiments using rocks or rock-analogue materials. These provide us with a basic understanding of brittle faulting in the upper crust of the Earth where the stress state is limited by the frictional strength of networks of faults under the prevailing fluid-pressure conditions. Under the long-term loading conditions typical of geological fault zones, poorly understood phenomena such as subcritical crack growth in fracture process zones are likely to be of major importance in controlling both fault growth and strength. Grain-size reduction in highly strained fault rocks produced in the plastic-viscous and deeper parts of frictional regime can lead to changes in deformation mechanisms and relative weakening that can account for the localization of deformation and repeated reactivation of crustal faults. Our understanding the interactions between deformation mechanisms, metamorphic processes and the flow of chemically active fluids is a key area for future study. An improved understanding of how fault- or shear-zone linkages, strength and microstructure evolve over large changes in finite strain will ultimately lead to the development of geologically more realistic numerical models of lithosphere deformation that incorporate displacements concentrated into narrow, weaker fault zones.

Description: The formation of clay minerals within active fault zones, which results from the infiltration of aqueous fluids, often leads to important changes in mechanical behaviour. These hydrous phyllosilicates can (1) enhance anisotropy and reduce shear strength, (2) modify porosity and permeability, (3) store or release significant volumes of water, and (4) increase fluid pressures during shearing. The varying interplay between faulting, fluid migration, and hydrous clay mineral transformations along the central Alpine Fault of New Zealand is suggested to constitute an important weakening mechanism within the upper section of this crustal discontinuity. Well-developed zones of cataclasite and compacted clay gouge show successive stages of hydrothermal alteration, driven by the cyclic, coseismic influx of meteoric fluids into exhumed amphibolite-facies rocks that are relatively Mg rich. Three modes of deformation and alteration are recognized within the mylonite-derived clay gouge, which occurred during various stages of the fault's exhumation history. Following initial strain-hardening and frictional melting during anhydrous cataclastic breakdown of the mylonite fabric, reaction weakening began with formation of Mg-chlorite at sub-greenschist conditions (〈320 {degrees}C) and continued at lower temperatures (〈120 {degrees}C) by growth of swelling clays in the matrix. The low permeability and low strength of clay-rich shears are suitable for generating high pore-fluid pressures during faulting. Despite the apparent weakening of the c. 6 km upper segment of the Alpine Fault, the upper crust beneath the Southern Alps is known to be actively releasing elastic strain, with small (〈M 5) earthquakes occurring to 12 km depth. We predict that larger events will nucleate at c. 6-12 km along an anhydrous, strain-hardened portion of the fault.

Description: Gravitational instability of the continental lithospheric mantle is often associated with orogenic activity. Recent theoretical and experimental developments in the understanding of the convective instability of a dense layer, with non-Newtonian viscosity (representing lithosphere) above a less dense fluid layer (representing asthenosphere) are reviewed. These developments offer an explanation for why the continental lithospheric mantle might be generally mechanically stable in spite of a thermally induced density stratification, which one might expect to be unstable. Gravitational stability of this system depends on the initial amplitude of a disturbance to the stratified system, a disturbance that is most likely to be provided by localized lithospheric thickening associated with plate convergence. If the constitutive law that describes the deformation of dry olivine is applicable to the subcontinental mantle, the perturbation required to produce instability could be created by localized horizontal shortening of the order of 10%. If the wet olivine flow law is applicable, the required amount of shortening may be on the order of only 1%, in each case provided that it occurs in a time short compared with the thermal diffusion timescale of the lithosphere. The long-term stabilization of continental lithosphere may thus be associated with dehydration. Under circumstances of localized lithospheric convergence, the buoyancy of the continental crust plays an important role in determining the form of downwelling. If the crust is strong compared to mantle lithosphere, instability generally takes the form of localized down-welling beneath the centre of the convergent zone. If the crust is weak compared to mantle lithosphere, downwelling commences on the margins of the convergent zone as the buoyant crustal layer resists thickening. The initial instability may then trigger rapid extension of the lithospheric mantle beneath the convergent orogen. The extension is driven by asymmetric cold downwellings that move away from the centre of the convergent zone in a way that bears some resemblance to a delaminating slab or a retreating subduction zone. With these results in mind, some of the geological and geophysical evidence for lithospheric instability in modern orogens of Southern California, the South Island of New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and Central Asia are reviewed. Seismological evidence from Southern California and New Zealand suggest that these young orogens provide examples of lithospheric instability, in which downwelling occurs beneath the centre of the convergent zone where the crustal thickening is maximum. In contrast, the Alboran Sea and Tyrrhenian Sea basins show that extension has followed convergence as downwelling has retreated away from the convergent zone, and lithospheric mantle beneath the centre of convergence apparently has been replaced by asthenosphere. The Tien Shan and Tibetan Plateau provide large modernday examples of continental convergence. In each case there is strong evidence that the mantle lithosphere has undergone some form of instability that has led to at least part of it being replaced by hot asthenosphere. Images provided by teleseismic tomography of variations of seismic wave speeds beneath these orogens suggest that mantle lithosphere has been locally renewed following gravitational instability triggered by orogenic convergence.

Description: Structural, geophysical and metamorphic studies show that collisional orogeny thickens the crust by a factor of two or more. A large volume of continental material at the base of the orogen is, therefore, subject to eclogite facies conditions. Phase equilibration results in a loss of buoyancy and thermodynamic heating of this crustal root. This dense crustal material may be partially subducted, as in the Alps or the Himalayas, and lost to the system. Alternatively, it may rest isostatically below the Moho until it is partially exhumed during orogenic collapse, as in the Scandinavian Caledonides or the Tonbai-Dabie Mountains. Remnant orogenic roots may exist as seismically reflective mantle and provide a locus for subsequent Wilson Cycle rifting. The rate at which these phase transformations take place may have a profound buffering effect on the amount and duration of orogenic contraction. Isostatically compensated transient 2-dimensional finite element thermal models are presented, which seek to place some limits on these processes. It is interesting to speculate whether more is learnt about the process of orogeny from a single exhumed eclogitic boudin or from mapping nappe complexes.

Description: Ocean Drilling Program Sites 1001A (Caribbean Sea) and 1050C (western North Atlantic) display obliquity and precession cycles throughout polarity zone C27 of the late Danian stage (earliest Cenozoic time). Sliding-window spectra analysis and direct cycle counting on downhole logs and high-resolution Fe variations at both sites yield the equivalent of 35-36 obliquity cycles. This cycle-tuned duration for polarity chron C27 of 1.45 Ma (applying a modern mean obliquity period of 40.4 ka) is consistent with trends from astronomical tuning of early Danian polarity chron C29 and 40Ar/39Ar age calibration of the Campanian-Maastrichtian magnetic polarity time scale. The cycle-tuned Danian stage (sensu Berggren et al. 1995, in SEPM Special Publications, 54, 129-212) spans 3.65 Ma (65.5-61.85 Ma). Spreading rates on a reference South Atlantic synthetic profile display progressive slowing during the Maastrichtian to Danian stages, then remained relatively constant through late Palaeocene and early Eocene time.

Description: Although poly-cyclicity is common, many orogens show a remarkable lack of reworking. In this paper, a review of some factors that may either enhance or inhibit reworking of orogens is presented. As a general rule, orogens are unlikely to rift and rework if their lithospheric strength is higher than adjacent lithosphere. The strength of the lithosphere is strongly dependent on the geothermal gradient and the rheology of the rocks; both these factors can depend on the preceding orogenic evolution, even several hundred Ma after orogenesis. Strong orogenic lithosphere is expected if the crust is composed of material with a low radiogenic heat production capacity, such as island arcs, or if the underlying sub-continental lithosphere is still thickened, as in the Urals. Extensive dehydration metamorphism, a concentration of radiogenic heat production in the upper crust and erosional thinning of the orogenic crust can also strengthen the lithosphere and inhibit reworking. However, proximity of Archean cratons and anomalously high mantle heat flow appear to strongly enhance susceptibility to reworking.

Description: Understanding the nature and causes of the variability associated with past warm, high pCO2 climates presents a significant challenge to palaeoclimate research. In this paper we investigate the early Eocene climatic response in the North Atlantic region to forcing from an indirect effect of atmospheric methane (via polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs)), and we investigate the response of the climate system to forcing from a combination of orbital insolation changes and high atmospheric pCO2 concentration. We find that sea surface temperatures (SSTs), sea ice extent, net surface moisture, continental runoff and upwelling in the North Atlantic Ocean are all sensitive to those forcing factors, and that the degree of sensitivity is a function of location and season. Our results suggest that high-latitude SST values can vary by as much as 20 {degrees}C during the winter season in response to precessional and polar cloud forcing, whereas in contrast summer temperature varies by 4 {degrees}C or less. Model predictions of net surface moisture balance also vary substantially with our prescribed forcing. There is a large difference in variability between the localized net surface moisture results and the mean North Atlantic Ocean results, which suggests that large-scale assumptions about past surface ocean salinities and seawater {delta}18O may need to be reassessed. According to model results, the influx of terrigenous material via continental runoff to the North Atlantic Ocean should be highly seasonal, with greatest runoff occurring in spring. Our model results also indicate that changes in wind-driven upwelling and in continental runoff on a precessional time scale should be seen in regions of the central North Atlantic.

Description: The Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary interval recovered by the ODP Leg 171 at Site 1049 (Blake Nose, NW Atlantic) contains a thick (9-17 cm) spherule bed marking the boundary. The spherules are mainly perfect spheres with a lesser proportion of oval spherules. They usually range from 100 to 1000 {micro}m. This bed represent the diagenetically altered impact ejecta from Chicxulub and further supports this structure as the site of the K-T impact. Mineralogical and geochemical investigations indicate that impact-generated glass was altered to smectite. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed in some spherules that smectite is forming from a Si-rich or Ca-rich material, which could suggest a precursor similar to Haitian glasses. The variable thickness and the presence of some Cretaceous planktonic foraminifera and clasts of Cretaceous chalk suggest reworking of the ejecta material. However, the spherule bed confirms that a large volume of the Chicxulub ejecta material reached the Blake Nose Plateau.

Description: Repeated reactivation of structures and reworking of crustal volumes are characteristic, though not ubiquitous, features of continental deformation. Reactivated faults and shear zones exposed in the deeply exhumed parts of ancient orogenic belts present opportunities to study processes that influence the mechanical properties of long-lived fault zones at different palaeo-depths. Ancient basement fault systems typically comprise heterogeneous, superimposed assemblages of fault rocks formed at different times and depths for which down-temperature thermal histories are most common. Several lithological and environmental factors influence the evolution of fault rock fabrics and rheology, but most fault/shear zone arrays appear to develop as self-organized deformation systems. Once mature, the kinematic and mechanical evolution of the system is strongly influenced by the rheological behaviour of the interconnected fault/shear zone network. A case study from the crustal-scale Great Glen Fault Zone (GGFZ), Scotland, reveals a complex evolution of mid- to upper-crustal deformation textures formed adjacent to the frictional-viscous transition. Fluid influx in the mid-crust has led to reaction softening of the rock aggregate as strong pre-existing phases such as feldspar are replaced by fine-grained, strongly aligned aggregates of weak phyllosilicates. In addition, a grainsize-controlled switch to fluid-assisted diffusional creep occurs in the highest strain regions of the fault zone. It is proposed that this led to a shallowing and narrowing of the frictional-viscous transition and to long-term overall weakening of the fault zone relative to the surrounding wall-rocks. Cataclasis is particularly important in the deeper part of the frictional regime as it helps to promote retrograde metamorphism and changes in deformation regime, by both reducing grainsize and promoting pervasive fluid influx along fault strands due to grain-scale dilatancy. Equivalent processes are likely to occur along many other long-lived, crustal-scale fault zones.

Description: The Iberia Abyssal Plain segment of the West Iberia margin was drilled during Ocean Drilling Program Legs 149 and 173 and has been extensively studied geophysically. We present new microstructural investigations and new age data. These, together with observed distribution of upper- and lower-crustal and mantle rocks along the ocean-continent transition suggest the existence of three detachment faults, one of which was previously unrecognized. This information, together with a simple kinematic inversion of the reinterpreted seismic section Lusigal 12, allows discussion of the kinematic evolution of detachment faulting in terms of the temporal sequence of faulting, offset along individual faults, and thinning of the crust during faulting. Our study shows that the detachment structures recognized in the seismic profile became active only during a final stage of rifting when the crust was already considerably thinned to c. 12 km. The total amount of extension accommodated by the detachment faults is of the order of 32.6 km corresponding to a {beta} factor of about two. During rifting, the mode of deformation changed oceanwards. Initial listric faulting led to asymmetric basins, accommodating low amounts of extension, and was followed by a situation in which the footwall was pulled out from underneath a relatively stable hanging wall accommodating high amounts of extension. Deformation along the latter faults resulted in a conveyor-belt type sediment accumulation in which the exhumed footwall rocks were exposed, eroded and redeposited along the same active fault system.

Description: Highly serpentinized peridotites derived from the upper mantle beneath a non-volcanic continental margin were sampled from the southern Iberia Abyssal Plain (Ocean Drilling Program Leg 173), and the primary mantle minerals were analysed for major and trace elements to petrologically characterize the upper mantle. The Cr-number (= Cr/(Cr + Al) atomic ratio) of the peridotite spinels varies widely from 0.1 to 0.6. The Na2O content of clinopyroxene is rather constant, 0.5-0.8 wt %. The chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns have light REE (LREE) depleted convex-upward shapes. The LREE/HREE (heavy REE) ratio in clinopyroxene is constant irrespective of the degree of melt extraction of the sample as measured by the Cr-number of spinel. The trend of the peridotites' mineral chemistry is different from both the simple melt extraction and the general mantle metasomatic trends. The geochemical character of the Iberia Abyssal Plain peridotite is intermediate between those of abyssal peridotites and peridotite xenoliths from continental regions. These geochemical features, especially for the trace elements in clinopyroxene, are rather similar to those in peridotite xenoliths from arcs. This chemical trend is probably the result of open-system melting', which involves melting simultaneously with enrichment of trace elements by the influx agent.

Description: Recent geophysical work and Ocean Drilling Program drilling in the southern Iberia Abyssal Plain have indicated that, in a transition zone up to 170 km wide between thinned continental crust and oceanic crust, the basement consists of serpentinized peridotite mantle with sparse mafic intrusive or extrusive rocks. There is no evidence for the addition of significant magmatic material to the stretched continental crust landward of this zone during the last phase of rifting, whereas seaward of this zone, where the half-spreading rate is about 10 mm a-1, the crust rapidly reaches a thickness of c. 6 km, which is normal for Atlantic oceanic crust. Models of melt generation during pure shear, finite-duration continental rifting can successfully reproduce the observed absence of significant syn-rift magmatism on, within and beneath the thinned continental crust if the rifting episode is longer than 10-20 Ma. However, for normal mantle potential temperatures, such models predict significant melt generation in the transition zone seaward of the thinned continental crust even for rift durations longer than 20 Ma. Restricted melting beneath the transition zone might be explained partly by lateral heat loss to the adjacent continental lithosphere, by anomalously low mantle potential temperatures at break-up time, or by depth-dependent stretching such that the observed infinite stretching factor for the crust is not representative of the lithosphere as a whole. An additional mechanism for restricted melt production involves a transitional state between the end of continental extension and the onset of steady-state sea-floor spreading, during which mantle upwelling is less focused than at normal oceanic spreading centres.

Description: The SW Kinsale gas accumulation is located in blocks 48/20 and 48/25 in the North Celtic Sea Basin, 50 km off the south coast of Ireland. The field lies in c. 100 m of water. The discovery well, 48/25-2, was drilled in 1971 and encountered gas-bearing fluviatile sandstones in the Lower Cretaceous Wealden sequence. In 1995, well 48/25-3 was drilled close to the discovery well on the southwestern limb of the Kinsale Head anticline, which is thought to have formed during Tertiary basin inversion. The well data indicate that this southwestern area is in pressure isolation from the main Kinsale Head Field, which lies in the central and eastern sectors of the structure. In 1997 a 3D seismic survey was acquired to assess the suitability of the field as a potential gas storage site. These data suggest that SW Kinsale is in structural isolation from the main Kinsale Head Field. Mapping of the 3D volume reveals SW Kinsale to comprise a relatively simple low-relief anticline. There is c. 160 m of closure from -810 m true vertical depth sub-sea (TVDSS) at its crest to -968 m TVDSS along a syncline to the north. The accumulation is thought to have a shared gaswater contact with the main Kinsale Head Field at -945 m TVDSS, beneath which lies a transition zone to -968 m TVDSS. The area within closure is close to 1200 ha. These data also suggest that the reservoir has undergone a minimal degree of structural compartmentalization. A major Wealden channel axis is interpreted to transect the field. Southwest Kinsale is thought to contain 1.1-1.4 BCM (billion cubic metres) gas initially in place with about 0.85 BCM recoverable. The field was recently developed as a single well sub-sea tieback to the Kinsale Bravo platform. First gas deliveries from the field took place in late 1999.

Description: The Porcupine Basin is characterized by a large central free air gravity anomaly high (+ 55 mGal) flanked by local lows. In contrast, the Procupine Seabight Basin has low-amplitude anomalies in its centre, flanked by edge anomalies. Two transects, one in each of these basins, have been modelled using satellite gravity data; the upper parts of the transects are constrained by interpretation of recent commercial seismic reflection data and two wells. Results from the modelling suggest that the Porcupine Basin is not in isostatic equilibrium. In contrast, the essentially zero free air anomaly over the centre of the Porcupine Seabight Basin suggests that this basin is isostatically compensated. The difference in isostatic compensation between the two basins may reflect a fundamental contrast between the strength of the crust; the crust underlying the Porcupine Basin possesses the greater strength. The Clare Lineament may represent a fundamental boundary within the Avalonian Terrane' that juxtaposes basement blocks of differing rheologies.

Description: The results of a site survey investigation, carried out in Block 26/28 of the Porcupine Basin, suggest the presence of shallow gas above the Connemara oil accumulation. The evidence for shallow gas at or close to the sea bed consists of a series of features interpreted as gas or fluid escape structures. The presence of gas at depth is suggested by two different features: an anomalously high-amplitude seismic reflector, interpreted as a gas-charged sand layer, and some isolated, seismically disturbed zones, which are identified as gas chimneys on both high-resolution 2D seismic and conventional 3D seismic data.

Description: A sequence of bentonite and shale samples in a gouge zone of the Lewis Thrust (Alberta, Canada) that display increasing degree of transformation of clay minerals toward the hanging wall of the thrust has been studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray texture goniometry (XTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission and analytical electron microscopy (TEM-AEM), to examine the relations among mineral transformations, microfabrics and fault zone properties. TEM images of authigenic clays show abundant smectite in shale away from the hanging wall, characterized by anastomosing layers with an average orientation that parallels bedding, coexisting with uncommon R1 illite-smectite (I-S). In the sample nearest the hanging wall, by contrast, the dominant clay is mixed-layered, illite-rich ilite-smectite (R1 I-S), coexisting with discrete illite, occurring in individual packets of relatively straight layers with well-defined boundaries. Deformed clay packets are common. Pore space, where packets intesect at high angles to one another and to bedding, is abundant (c. 25%). The microfabric and proportion of illite of intermediate samples are transitional to these end-members. Inter-layered bentonite samples show properties that are similar to those of shale. TEM observations are supported by quantification of the fabrics using XTG, which shows that the intensity of clay preferred orientation decreases significantly with increasing illitization. These relations imply that faulting was the cause of mineral transformations and formation of secondary pore space. The illitization reaction rate was enhanced both by stress-induced defects in clays, and by increased water/rock ratio resulting from deformation-related pore space, resulting in lowering of the effective stress. The deformation-enhanced reaction thus created a positive feedback for further faulting in clay gouge, leading to enhanced weakening of the fault zone.

Description: Glacial transport of trace elements was studied at seven mineral occurrences in the southern interior of British Columbia; a region where mineral exploration is hampered by the scarcity of bedrock outcrop and by a variable sediment thickness associated with the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. The till deposited in the region was, for the most part, a product of the last glacial period. A review of previous geochemical studies conducted by the mineral exploration industry provides an indication to the variable configuration of the local dispersal patterns in the area. Dispersal trains in till are short, generally 〈 1-2 km, rarely exceeding 10 km in length and are usually proximal to bedrock source. They are commonly ribbon-shaped and rarely exceed 1 km in width. Observed dispersal patterns suggest that drastic changes in topography might have affected basal ice velocity which increased the distance of glacial transport. In addition, the distance that separates bedrock mineralization from its surficial geochemical expression in till varies with drift thickness and topography. Several glacial dispersal trains have been modified in shape by secondary hydromorphic dispersion.

Description: The presence of a well-defined ocean-continent transition (OCT) and the absence of large volumes of extrusive or intrusive rocks on the West Iberia margin make it a good place to investigate how the largely amagmatic rifting and break-up of continental lithosphere evolves into oceanic crust produced by magmatic sea-floor spreading. In the southern Iberia Abyssal Plain there is a broad OCT with a characteristic seismic and magnetic character, distinct from both thinned continental crust and normal oceanic crust, which supports the notion that it consists predominantly of exhumed and serpentinized mantle. Interpretations of magnetic and seismic data indicate that on average only small amounts of syn-rift melt exist within the OCT. Isolated, probably margin-parallel, intrusive melt bodies are scattered within the eastern part of the OCT well beneath the top of acoustic basement. Within the western part of the OCT, closer to unambiguous sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies, such bodies were later(?) emplaced at higher levels and more closely together in the basement until eventually sea-floor spreading began. The evidence does not support the hypothesis that ultraslow sea-floor spreading can explain the magnetic anomalies observed within the wider parts of the West Iberia OCT, where the OCT evolution is best resolved.

Description: The idea for a special publication on non-volcanic margins arose during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 173 off West Iberia, prompted by ODP's decision to cease publishing the scientific results volumes as hard copy. The Shipboard Scientific Party favoured an open scientific meeting and associated publication. But they did not want to produce a book that was a scientific results volume by another name, but rather contribute to a publication that had a much broader scope than just reporting results obtained off West Iberia. These thoughts, and many scientific discussions during the Leg, were influenced by the presence on board of scientists who also work on Alpine geology: hence the evidence from land and sea' approach that underlies the content of this publication. However, when planning the meeting, we were very conscious of the fact that the West Iberia and Alpine examples might not be typical of other non-volcanic margins. We were keen, therefore, to ensure that margins in other parts of the world were discussed, including a margin that is active today, and that was visited by the JOIDES Resolution not long after Leg 173 took place (Leg 180: Woodlark Basin). We caution, therefore, that it may be premature to use models based on the Iberia and Tethyan margins as the paradigm for all non-volcanic margins. The first paper in this book, by Boillot & Froitzheim, reviews the synergies that have occurred between investigations of the eastern Atlantic non-volcanic margins and remnants of similar Mesozoic margins preserved in the ... This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract.

Description: During the last 20 years, regional studies on the West Iberia margin and on the former margins of the Tethys have considerably advanced the understanding of processes related to continental break-up and the onset of sea-floor spreading. However, some questions remain outstanding. To tentatively answer these, a coherent interpretation of available data is proposed, based on the detachment fault concept applied to the continental as well as the oceanic lithosphere, and on the hypothesis of a multi-staged rifting process. The interpretation addresses the nature of the lower crust beneath non-volcanic passive margins, the origin of ophicalcites, the probable time gap between syn- or post-rift crystallization of gabbros and extrusion of basalts on the sea floor, and the significance of dipping reflectors within oceanic lithosphere adjacent to non-volcanic passive margins. The interpretation also considers the symmetry v. asymmetry of continental rifting and break-up, the location of the ocean-continent boundary, and the possible association of magnetic quiet zones with ultramafic sea floor (serpentinized peridotite) bordering non-volcanic passive margins.

Description: Ultramafic and mafic rocks recovered at Holes 1068A and 1070A were drilled during Leg 173 of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) in the ocean-continent transition zone of the Iberia Abyssal Plain. Peridotites show contrasting petrographic characteristics. Hole 1068A peridotites are fine grained and show a well-defined high-temperature foliation marked by elongated pyroxene as well as aligned spinels. Hole 1068A peridotites are strongly serpentinized. Hole 1070A peridotites are coarse grained and show little evidence of high-temperature foliation. The degree of serpentinization is lower and relicts of silicate minerals are preserved. In both sets of recovered material, spinels show a wide range of composition and suggest a complex magmatic evolution. Gabbros dykes, which are found only in Hole 1070A, are very coarse grained and are locally sheared and/or crushed. Magmatic amphiboles are kaersutites and Ti-rich tschermakites that are partially replaced by hornblende and actinolite, and are associated with plagioclase of intermediate composition. Peridotites and pyroxenite have low TiO2, Al2O3 and CaO contents in carbonate-free samples. Ni and Cr contents fall into the upper-mantle array. On the other hand, gabbros have relatively high TiO2 and V contents reflecting modal ilmenite, and suggesting that they are relatively differentiated. This paper presents the very first geochemical data on platinum group elements (PGE) of peridotites and gabbros from passive margins. Peridotites and gabbros show low PGE (25.83 ppb and 1.44 ppb), Pd (2.75 ppb and 0.15 ppb), Pd/Ir ratios (1.45 and 1.3) and mafic index. Pyroxenite has the highest PGE (27.97 ppb), Pd/Ir (19.87) and Pt/Ir (10.25). Interelemental correlation and observation of PGE-bearing sulphide phases suggest that the PGE are hosted by single sulphide phases. From a PGE point of view, extraction of magmas involved very PGE-depleted liquids similar to gabbroic veins cutting the peridotites at Hole 1070A. Partial melting is interpreted as occurring just before oceanic accretion. Geochemical attributes suggest that the peridotites belong to the Ronda and Beni Bousera peridotitic depleted end-member clan. Thus they are believed to be of subcontinental origin. Deformation and retrograde metamorphism of peridotites and gabbros are consistent with exhumation in a rift environment post-dating the 120 Ma magmatic stage.

Description: We search for a description of fault formation consistent with the main features of two very different types of extensional faults: (1) large-offset, low-angle normal faults; (2) small-offset, high-angle normal faults. We use an advanced numerical model to predict how the pattern of faulting varies as a function of the imposed magnitude and rate of weakening of an extending Mohr-Coulomb layer. We assume that fault weakeing is due to reduction of cohesion with fault offset. Faults initiate and slip at high dip angles. When the fault offset is large (i.e. comparable with layer thickness) then the inactive footwall fault surface can be rotated to a flat orientation. We find two requirements for development of a large-offset fault. The magnitude of cohesion loss must be greater than c. 20% of the initial total extensional yield strength. Also, the rate of weakening with fault offset has to be moderate: the fault offset to lose cohesion has to be less than c. 2 km and more than c. 100 m, with the lower bound being harder to define. Using the same cohesion and rate of offset weakening, extension of a thick layer can lead to development of multiple, small-offset, high-angle faults rather than a single low-angle' fault. For cohesion reduction of 20 MPa a brittle lithosphere thicker than 20 km leads to multiple faults. Finally, we show that inclusion of thermal advection weakening can shift the transition to thinner layers for the same magnitude and rate of cohesion weakening.

Description: The remnants of a Mesozoic passive continental margin and of the Tethyan ocean floor are preserved in the Austroalpine and Upper Penninic nappes in eastern Switzerland and northern Italy. Reconstructions of the continent-ocean transition indicate that large areas of subcontinental mantle rocks, but only limited areas of lower-crustal rocks were exposed on the Tethyan sea floor. Microstructures, large shear zones, and the retrograde metamorphic evolution of peridotite and gabbro from Malenco (northern Italy) are investigated to evaluate the role of lower crust and upper mantle during formation of non-volcanic passive continental margins. The combination of petrological constraints and microstructures suggests two contrasting stages: (1) high-temperature (〉 650 {degrees}C) shearing and annealing of microstructures are attributed to pre-rift tectonics; (2) localized mylonitic shear zones cut the high-temperature structures and developed during nearly isothermal decompression (T 〈600{degrees}C), followed by cooling and hydration of the rocks. These shear zones formed during exhumation of the lower crust and upper mantle and are related to early rifting of the Adriatic passive continental margin. The microstructures of the hydrous mylonites display drastic grain-size reduction, which results from a combination of dynamic recrystallization and metamorphic hydration reactions at temperatures 〈650{degrees}C. Strain softening facilitated the formation of crustal-scale shear zones along which the lower crust and upper mantle were exhumed to shallow crustal levels of c. 10-15 km. Such large shear zones excised 10-20 km of mostly intermediate and lower crust, and are linked to and contemporaneous with the formation of rift-related basins in the upper crust. Boudinage of the lower crust during early rifting is proposed as a major process to explain the scarcity of exposed lower crust along non-volcanic passive margins. The compilation of pressure-temperature data and rift-related structures in the deep crust and upper continental mantle from the Alps suggests that most peridotites preserve a high-temperature evolution that is not related to Mesozoic rifting. Granulite-facies rocks occur in pre-rift lower and middle continental crust. Exhumed granulites along passive continental margins preserve much of a history that is not related to the exhumation itself, but to tectonic processes predating rifting.

Description: During ODP Leg 173 (April-May 1997) five new sites (1065, 1067-1070) were drilled at the ocean-continent transition (OCT) zone off the West Iberia margin in the Iberia Abyssal Plain. At Site 1067 the 92 m of cored amphibolites were subdivided into three units based on textural criteria. Unit 1 consists of highly foliated and folded amphibolites and acidic gneiss concordant to and folded along with the foliation of the amphibolite. Unit 2, in the middle part of the section, consists of brecciated amphibolites. Unit 3, at the bottom of the hole, is a weakly deformed zone where magmatic textures are observed in the amphibolites and in associated anorthosites. The amphibolites contain tschermakitic to magnesio-hornblende amphibole, plagioclase, zircon, apatite {+/-} titanite {+/-} Fe-oxide {+/-} quartz. The acidic gneiss consists of garnet, plagioclase, alkali-feldspar, quartz, biotite and zircon. Chlorite, sericite and ilmenite occur as secondary phases. The metamorphic evolution of the amphibolite and acidic gneiss started under amphibolitefacies conditions (Stage I: 670 {+/-} 40{degrees}C and 7 {+/-} 1 kbar). Further exhumation took place through low-grade amphibolite-facies (Stage II: 550 {+/-} 50{degrees}C and 5.5 {+/-} 1 kbar) to green-schist-facies (Stage III: 〈 500{degrees}C and 〈 3 kbar) conditions contemporaneous with the development of ductile structures. The late metamorphic evolution of the amphibolite ended under ocean-floor conditions. Oxygen isotope ratios and studies of fluid inclusion indicate that a magmatic water-rich fluid in equilibrium with the igneous protolith predominated during Stage I. During Stages II and IIII low-temperature water-rich fluids of metamorphic origin predominated, with a probable contribution of sea water. Apatite fission-track dating indicates that the amphibolites record two thermal excursions below 120{degrees}C. The first took place at c. 113-100 Ma and could be related to Cretaceous rifting. The second was brief, and so did not anneal older tracks; it occurred between 75 and 55 Ma and could be related to the Pyrenean orogeny.

Description: Finite-element models of continental rifting show that formation of non-volcanic rifted margins may be the result of extension of a rheologically homogeneous crust. In such circumstances lithosphere necking does not become well developed until late in the rift history, delaying the onset of decompression melting in the asthenosphere until the last 10% of the rifting episode. This result is robust over a broad range of mantle temperatures, margin geometries, and extension rates. A cool mantle is not required, so the models are able to account for the production of oceanic crust at the end of amagmatic rifting episodes. The duration of the syn-rift melting episode is most sensitive to changes in extension rate, with higher extension rates leading to shorter periods of melt production. The duration of the rifting episode is controlled by extension rate and initial crustal thickness, and the geometry of the margin after continental break-up is controlled by initial crustal thickness and the distribution of pre-existing rheological heterogeneity in the crust. The model results are generally compatible with the dimensions and extension rates of rifted continental margins across the globe, and provide a particularly good fit to the evolution of the Iberia Abyssal Plain margin.

Description: An understanding of the thermal and tectonic evolution of sedimentary basins is essential to the effective modelling of source rock maturation and hydrocarbon charge and entrapment histories of potential hydrocarbon systems. A growing body of data suggests that a number of basins on the Atlantic margin to the west of Britain and Ireland have suffered short-lived episodes of migration of anomalously hot fluids through reservoir intervals. These events leave higher temperature signatures in affected basins than predicted from burial under conditions of vertical conductive heat transfer, and should be considered during hydrocarbon appraisal of a prospective basin. The Rathlin Basin displays a thermal history influenced by one or more such hot fluid flow events, with fluid palaeotemperatures in excess of 170{degrees}C recorded in the Permo-Triassic and Carboniferous section, and is typical of other Atlantic margin basins affected in this way.

Description: Well data analysis and the interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic reflection data provide valuable insights into the distribution and timing of fault activity within the Central Irish Sea Basin (CISB). Structural and stratigraphic relationships have been used to constrain the timing of fault movements and to interpret the mapped fault patterns in terms of the tectonic evolution of the area. Four main fault trends are identified at the Top Lower Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Group level: I, a NE-SW fault trend that parallels the basin-bounding faults and is believed to be of Mesozoic age; II, a pervasive system of northsouth-trending faults that cross-cut the earlier NE-SW-trending faults, which manifests evidence of later Mesozoic extension followed by post-Oligocene transpressional fault reactivation; III, a NNE-SSW-trending, steeply dipping, fault set; IV, a WNW-ESE-trending conjugate extensional set that formed perpendicular to the NNE-SSW-trending transpressional faults during Late Tertiary dextral shearing. Early Tertiary axial centred basin inversion and regional exhumation have resulted in the elevation of the Sherwood Sandstone reservoir to shallow structural levels within the basin. Continued fault reactivation into Late Tertiary time has resulted in the compartmentalization of mapped structural closures and suggests that trap integrity is a major exploration risk factor in the CISB.

Description: Ireland is virtually encircled by sedimentary basins which developed in response to periods of rifting and thermal subsidence. These offshore basins have been the focus of intermittent phases of exploration since drilling of the first well in 1970 and, to date, 136 wells have been drilled. Most of the drilling so far has concentrated on structural traps, but recent exploration has begun to focus on a variety of stratigraphic traps, with greater emphasis on results obtained from studies of the Atlantic margin basins. The Petroleum Exploration of Ireland's Offshore Basins contains a set of 27 papers on a wide range of topics relating to recent exploration of the Irish offshore sedimentary basins. These papers address aspects of the structural and stratigraphic evolution, thermal history, petroleum systems, reservoir geology and sea-bed processes in the Irish offshore area. Although the main focus is on petroleum systems and those issues bearing on exploration risk, the exploration effort has yielded fundamental new insight into the wider development of starved passive continental margins. The volume will be of interest to oil industry explorationists and researchers focusing on NW European sedimentary basins and the evolution of the Irish Atlantic margin.

Description: Regional structural synthesis together with 2D forward and reverse flexural isostatic basin modelling techniques have been used to investigate the extensional and subsidence history of the southern part of the Porcupine Basin. Two structural interpretations of seismic line GSP97-19 have been considered: (1) a Mid-Late Jurassic rift basin based upon seismic interpretation of well-defined tilted fault blocks, with subsidence modelling of the thick overlying sediment section predicting high lithosphere stretching factors of up to {beta} = 6; (2) a Mid-Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rift responsible for a thick Barremian-Aptian synrift sequence within the basin centre resulting in reduced maximum lithospheric stretching factors of {beta} = 2.3. The variance in published estimates of crustal thickness beneath the basin cannot distinguish between these scenarios. A comparison between stretching factors and the amount of observable upper-crustal faulting suggests that depth-dependent lithospheric stretching may be a feature of the basin, as in other sedimentary basins along the Atlantic margin, and is directly associated with the onset of Cretaceous plate break-up in the Atlantic.

Description: The Mesozoic and Cenozoic history of the Porcupine Basin may be broadly summarized as a Jurassic synrift phase, followed by Cretaceous and Cenozoic post-rift subsidence. Two periods, Early Cretaceous and Early Eocene times, do not fit the simple pattern of post-rift subsidence and are characterized by increased sedimentation. We recognize distinctive sedimentological responses to the basin flanks being either exposed or submerged, and infer that transient regional uplift caused the Early Eocene event. Modelling subsidence histories of wells and of the Porcupine Bank allows quantification of the magnitude and timing of anomalous uplift and subsidence. Transient uplift of 300-600 m occurred at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary, followed by subsidence of 500-800 m after Early Eocene time, over a period with a minimum length of 25 Ma and a maximum of 55 Ma. Renewed rifting is unlikely to be responsible for the Paleogene subsidence because it cannot account for the preceding uplift, and significant normal faults of Paleogene age are absent. A Paleogene uplift-subsidence cycle has also been noted in the basins surrounding Scotland and along Hatton continental margin. One way to explain regional subsidence between Eocene time and the present is that the European plate moved off the topographic swell above the Iceland plume following continental separation between Greenland and Europe in Early Eocene time. Another possibility is that an anomalously hot layer c. 50 km thick was emplaced beneath the entire region just before the onset of sea-floor spreading in Early Eocene time and was then dissipated by convection following continental separation. A Cretaceous transient uplift-subsidence cycle that shares many similarities with the Paleogene cycle is also recognized. Immediately following Late Jurassic rifting, 200-700 m transient uplift occurred in Early Cretaceous time, followed by 0-500 m subsidence coeval with the onset of sea-floor spreading at the Goban Spur margin. The Cretaceous uplift-subsidence cycle might also be caused by anomalously hot mantle.

Description: At temperatures higher than c. 80{degrees}C, thermally driven, isochemical diagenetic porosity loss in siliciclastic sediments leads to a thinning of the sediment column. This process, termed thermochemical compaction, results in surface subsidence and generation of sediment accommodation space. The diagenetic reactions driving thermochemical compaction will operate regardless of the initial mechanism of basin formation and in addition to any externally controlled processes causing continued subsidence. Thermochemical subsidence rates are an inverse function of geothermal gradients. The total rates of subsidence at the surface, including isostatic and mechanical compaction effects, may reach several tens of metres per million years, and may have been important in driving Tertiary subsidence in basins west of Ireland. Unlike the exponentially decaying subsidence caused by tectonic thinning and rifting of the crust, thermochemical basin subsidence is a self-regulated intrabasinal process, which proceeds at a relatively high constant rate over geological time. If not arrested by extrabasinal or tectonic events, the overall effect can ultimately result in sediment metamorphism and granitization.

Description: The 35/8-2 well, drilled by Phillips Petroleum in 1981, tested oil and gas from a Late Jurassic reservoir within a plunging, tilted fault block. The reservoir is overpressured by 5000 psi and, despite having good porosity and high net to gross ratio, exhibits very low permeability. Three hydrocarbon-bearing sandstone intervals were encountered in the well, and more than 120 m of core was taken from these reservoir sections. The sedimentological structures identified in core are clearly indicative of a deep-water (below storm wave base) submarine fan system, comprising a wide spectrum of turbidite and debris-flow, channel and lobe deposits. Detailed petrographic analysis of the reservoir was undertaken to identify the key factors affecting reservoir quality. The sandstones are chemically immature lithic arenites, containing abundant quartz, feldspar and rock fragments. Reservoir quality is generally poor, largely as a result of the chemical instability of the sandstones. Diagenetic overprinting is the main agent of downgrading the sandstones, with kaolinites and carbonate cements blocking pore throats and reducing permeability. Facies type, sand to mud ratio and ultimately the clastic provenance of the sandstones are also critical factors affecting the reservoir quality in these sandstones. Hydrocarbon flow was predominantly from a single sandstone facies (B1) and was confined to the A' sand interval in well 35/8-2, but it is inferred that this facies may occur away from the wellbore in all three sand intervals. Uncertainties in the results of the drillstem test and pressure data demonstrate that it is not possible to confirm whether the hydrocarbons present in the reservoir are gas condensate or volatile oil. Uncertainty in the extent of the productive reservoir facies, hydrocarbon columns and hydrocarbon type are challenges that must be overcome before the reserves contained within the 35/8-2 structure can be developed.

Description: The Slyne Basin lies c. 60 km offshore west of Ireland, in water depths of 200-500 m. It consists of three asymmetric half-graben that are separated by complex structural transfer zones. Sporadic exploration in the basin over the last 20 years has resulted in the drilling of four exploration wells, which have yielded one gas discovery. Well 18/20-1 (Corrib) successfully tested a faulted anticlinal structure and encountered gas in the Triassic Sherwood Sandstone Formation. Although a number of other potential hydrocarbon traps have been identified in the Slyne Basin, the poor quality of the seismic data, plus the presence of complex transfer zones, has generated considerable uncertainty with respect to the correlation of seismic markers. A primary control on the seismic data quality is the presence of near-sea-bed, high-velocity, Tertiary volcanic and Cretaceous chalk layers. These result in very strong and long multiple trains, energy scattering, mode conversion and attenuation. Studies suggest that improved signal penetration can be achieved when the seismic acquisition is focused on the low-frequency end of the spectrum. However, predictive multiple attenuation has proved ineffective because of the complex nature of the multiple generators. An approach based on detailed velocity analysis and the judicious parameterization of more than one pass of Radon demultiple has yielded good results. This approach, coupled with 3D acquisition and processing with its inherent increase in signal-to-noise ratio, has led to a dramatic improvement in the seismic data quality in the Corrib area.

Description: A recent GLORIA (Geological LOng Range Inclined Asdic) sidescan survey covered 200 000 km2 of the sea bed in the Irish Rockall Trough. It revealed a range of sedimentary features on the trough floor and its steep (〉6{degrees}) margins. The western margin is characterized by large-scale (of the order of hundreds of kilometres in length) downslope mass movement. Smaller-scale slides and slumps (tens of kilometres across) occur on the eastern margin, but they are subordinate to canyon, channel and fan systems. The western and central parts of the trough floor contain the Feni Sediment Ridge, a 600 km long contourite sediment build-up covered by large sediment waves trending sub-parallel to the dominant modern current pattern. Strong, northward-flowing bottom currents are thought to have eroded the base of the slope in the east and redeposited the sediments on the western margin and the trough floor. Mass wasting and terrigenous sediment input through canyons is regarded as the primary source of sediment in the region. The increase in the degree and frequency of canyon incision along the NE margin of the trough reflects increased terrigenous input from the Irish mainland and a possible glacial influence on the basin margin. The GLORIA images reflect a broad interplay of alongslope and downslope sediment transport processes in the Rockall Trough with sediments sourced from the NE margin and redistributed by currents along the western margin. Although alongslope and downslope processes are the major controlling factors, basin subsidence, Quaternary glaciations and glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations have also influenced the pattern of sedimentation in the Rockall Trough.

Description: Palaeowaters in Coastal Europe contains 17 contributions from an international array of authors. They discuss the history of groundwater evolution during the late Pleistocene in the coastal areas of Europe from the Baltic region to the Iberian peninsula and the Canary Islands. Geochemical and geophysical techniques for evaluating palaeowaters are reviewed. The focus of the book is on changes in the hydrogeological regime during the Quaternary and their impacts on groundwater movement and chemistry in European coastal aquifers. The work summarized in the papers was carried out by a partnership of European scientists under the auspices of the PALAEAUX project, an EC initiative. Researchers from the fields of hydrogeology, geochemistry, isotope hydrology and Quaternary studies attempted to reconstruct the most probable movement of groundwater in the study area over the past 100 000 years and its response to climatic events of global significance during the last glacial cycle. The results of this work, summarized in this volume, allow a better understanding of the water resources found at and near the coastlines of northern and western Europe. During times of lowered sea level, it appears that groundwaters were replenished to depths greater than occur at the present day. These pristine freshwater reserves are an irreplaceable asset. Their location at coastlines where populations and water demands are high and often seasonal means that they need careful management to avoid over-exploitation or contamination. The inevitable conflicts that this resource management creates are discussed. Palaeowaters in Coastal Europe: evolution of groundwater since the late Pleistocene will be of interest to Quarternary scientists, hydrogeologists, marine scientists engaged in coastal research and those involved in environmental science and the management of groundwater assests.

Description: The Mesozoic history of a number of Atlantic borderland sedimentary basins can be related to the early opening history of the southern North Atlantic Ocean. Regional tectonic controls such as plate motion vectors and the pre-existing tectonic grain had an important role in basin development and are expressed as local tectonostratigraphic events. The evolving palaeogeographies for the region are demonstrated in a series of maps based on computer-generated plate reconstructions. The Porcupine Basin, centrally located in the study area, lay close to the intersection of three plate boundaries that separated Eurasia from North America and controlled opening of the Bay of Biscay. The south Porcupine Basin, where there is relatively poor data control, is considered in the context of broader platetectonic controls, which were also responsible for the development of contiguous and better understood basins during Mesozoic time. This approach provides new insight into the structural evolution and likely facies development in the south Porcupine Basin, allowing broad inferences for petroleum prospectivity to be made. Initial Permo-Triassic fault-controlled extension led to continental deposition, which, if associated with aeolian and/or fluvial reservoir rocks, will mostly be too deep to be prospective. Thermal subsidence during Early Jurassic time was associated with flooding and fine-grained clastic deposition with anticipated moderate source rock potential. Regional uplift of the northern Porcupine area during Mid-Jurassic time forced shorelines and shelves southwards and the south Porcupine Basin could contain good reservoir quality sandstones and possible waxy deltaic-type source rocks of this age. In Late Jurassic time, major crustal extension took place with potential for reservoir and source rocks in locally expanded footwall successions. Further extensional faulting occurred in earliest Cretaceous (Neocomian) time with further synrift plays possible at this level. Growth of the Porcupine Median Volcanic Ridge is attributed to Barremian-Aptian time and related to continuing extension associated with a northwesterly arm of a triple junction positioned to the south of the Porcupine area. Strong subsidence of the basin centre during this time will have a significant impact on source rock maturation and flank trap geometries in the south Porcupine Basin.

Description: A strongly depleted stable isotope composition, absence of 3H and a low radiocarbon concentration are the main indicators of glacial origin of groundwater in the Cambrian-Vendian aquifer in northern Estonia. It is concluded from noble gas analyses that palaeorecharge occurred at temperatures c. 0{degrees}C. In some wells unexpectedly high gas concentrations have been found. Excess air, up to c. 50 %, is common but two-five times oversaturation is very unusual, requiring special processes and explanations, e.g. oversaturation may indicate recharge under highpressure conditions, perhaps by subglacial meltwater recharge through the aquifers. Analyses of the gas composition in some groundwater samples also showed a rather high concentration of CH4, indicating the influence of biogenic reactions in the subsurface that could cause the rather negative {delta}13C values. Results of {delta}13C analyses in two CH4 samples also show that the CH4 is most likely of a biogenic origin. Based on the isotope data, the results of noble gas analyses, and considering the palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental situation in Estonia during the late Weichselian time, it is concluded that palaeorecharge of Cambrian-Vendian aquifer most probably occurred during the last glaciation, probably by subglacial drainage through the tunnel valleys.

Description: A TOBI sidescan sonar survey in the Irish sector of the Rockall Trough reveals the presence of a range of slope failure features of various sizes and extent along both the eastern and western margins. A number of different types are identified. These include incipient cuspate slides, slab failures and evolved slides, and debris flows. It is suggested that the incipient cuspate slides, slab failures and evolved slides represent slope failure of muddy sediments whereas the failures that gave rise to debris flows lie on steeper slopes and may be of less muddy composition. Many of the slope failure features are relatively recent (probably 〈15 ka), although some evidence points towards either a prolonged period of movement or a number of phases of slope movement locally along the margins. A comprehensive understanding of the nature, distribution, age and controls on the formation of the slope failure features will be necessary in planning the likely location of sea-bed structures in the event of petroleum development in the region.

Description: The marked climatic changes that occurred during the Late Quaternary and Holocene have had a significant impact on the evolution of the groundwater systems at and near the English coastline. Lowered sea levels and the emergence of a much larger landmass over most of the past 100 ka have also ensured deeper groundwater circulation in the vicinity of the modern coastline. The impacts on the Chalk and Lower Greensand (Albian) aquifers along the English Channel and North Sea coasts are examined, using mainly geochemical and isotopic evidence, especially from borehole depth profiles and interstitial waters. Along the south coast, fresh groundwaters are found to depths of 250-300 m below OD (ordnance datum) in the Brighton-Worthing area, as well as beneath Poole Harbour, which are related to deeper circulation during lowered sea levels, controlled by the central palaeovalley of the English Channel. In contrast, pockets of saline groundwater are found, protected in east-west structures, which are considered to be little-modified Chalk formation waters. In the Albian sands, near Worthing, freshwaters dating to 7 ka are found at a depth of -450 m OD, suggesting that movement of groundwater towards the shoreline and possibly beyond is still occurring. The east-west structures also influence groundwater migration in north Kent, where fresh palaeowaters can be identified beneath saline water which invaded during the Holocene sea-level rise. In the East Midlands Sherwood Sandstone aquifer, freshwater is found to a depth of -500 m OD, showing continuous geochemical evolution probably over a period of 100 ka, although an age gap' of between c. 20 and 10 ka c. corresponds to permafrost cover. These palaeowaters in coastal and near-coastal areas remain effectively isolated from the active present-day meteoric flow system but represent high-value resources that may, in some cases, extend offshore.

Description: Hydrogeochemical modelling was used to interpret water-sample analyses of three European aquifers: the East Midlands Triassic Sandstone (UK), the Tertiary Ledo-Paniselian (Belgium) and the Aveiro Cretaceous aquifer (Portugal). Soil CO2 pressures at recharge,derived from inverse chemical modelling, correlate well with {delta}18O of the water. Higher soil CO2 pressures correspond to less negative {delta}18O of the recharge water, indicating higher recharge temperatures. This trend is confirmed by noble gas temperatures from the East Midlands aquifer. Cation exchange and carbonate reactions were the most important chemical processes that contributed to the groundwater composition of all three aquifers. Transport modelling of the water quality of the Ledo-Paniselian aquifer confirmed the importance of cation exchange and elucidated that recharge of this aquifer occurs through preferential pathways.

Description: The age of the Earth has long been a subject of great interest to scientists from many disciplines, particularly geologists, biologists, physicists and astronomers. This volume, The Age of the Earth: from 4004 BC to AD 2002, brings together contributors from these different subjects, along with historians, to produce a comprehensive review of how the Earth's age has been perceived since ancient times. Touching on the works of eminent scholars from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, it describes how concepts of the Earth's history changed as geology slowly separated itself from religious orthodoxy to emerge as a rigorous and self-contained science. Fossils soon became established as useful markers of relative age, while deductions made from geomorphological processes enabled the discussion of time in terms of years. By the end of the nineteenth century biologists and geologists were fiercely debating the issue with physicists who were unwilling to give them the time needed for evolution or uniformitarianism. With the discovery of radioactivity, attempts to calculate the Earth's age entered a new era, although these early pioneers in radiometric dating encountered many difficulties, both technical and intellectual, before the enormity of geological time was fully recognized. This effort affected both the theory and practice of geology. Geochronology was largely responsible for it maturing into a professional scientific discipline, as increasingly refined techniques measured not only the age of the rocks, but the rate of processes which now elucidate many aspects of the Earth's evolution. Even today the Earth's chronology remains a contentious topic -- particularly for those dating the oldest rocks -- and it is implicated in debates surrounding our hominid ancestors, the origins and development of life, and the age of the universe. The Age of the Earth: from 4004 BC to AD 2002 will be of particular interest to geologists, geochemists, and historians of science, as well as astronomers, archaeologists, biologists and the general reader with an interest in science.

Description: Smith first described himself as land surveyor and drainer' in his 1801 Prospectus but then as engineer and mineralogist' in his first book of 1806. His several careers are discussed with an attempt to shed new light on his pioneering career as mineral surveyor' (a term invented by his pupil, John Farey, in 1808). The trials for coal with which he was involved can be divided into two: those in which he used his new stratigraphic knowledge in positive searches for new coal deposits; and those where his stratigraphic science could often negatively demonstrate that many such searches were doomed to failure. These latter attempts were being made in, and misled by, repetitious clay lithologies, which resembled, but were not, Coal Measures. Smith was the first to show how unfortunate it was for such coal hunters that the British stratigraphic column abounded in repetitious clay lithologies. It was also unfortunate for Smith that many of the founding fathers of the Geological Society were unconvinced of the reality or the utility of Smith's discoveries. Its leaders at first did not believe he had uncovered anything of significance and then simply stole much of it. The development of Smith's stratigraphic science in the world of practical geology remains poorly understood, but the legacy of his method for unravelling relative geological time and space was one of the most significant of the nineteenth century.

Description: Jean-Andre de Luc (or Deluc) (1727-1817), who first proposed the term geology' almost in its modern sense, was one of the most prominent geologists of his time. His theory of the Earth', published in several versions between 1778 and 1809, divided geohistory in binary manner into two distinct phases. The fossiliferous strata had been formed during a prehuman ancient history' of immense but unquantifiable duration. Then the present continents had emerged above sea-level in a sudden physical revolution', at the start of the Earth's modern history' of human occupation. De Luc argued that the rates of actual causes' or observable processes (erosion, deposition, volcanic activity, etc.) provided natural chronometers' that proved that the modern' world was only a few millennia in age; and he identified the natural revolution at its start as none other than the Flood recorded in Genesis. So nature's chronology' could be constructed from natural evidence, to match the well-established historical science of chronology based on textual evidence from ancient cultures. De Luc's natural chronology was restricted to the recent past, but it provided a template for later geologists to develop a geochronology extending into the depths of geohistory. The historical importance of de Luc's work has only been obscured by the myth of intrinsic conflict between science and religion.

Description: Periodicity is a common component of many sedimentological processes, but seldom is it considered across all scales of fluvial processes in order to understand the complete impact on sediment supply to basins. Temporal changes in sediment supply within drainage systems and sedimentary basins are a consequence of the inherent instability in transport processes. The causes of fluctuations are of 2 main types: (i) changes in factors endemic to the supply of sediment but which are at least partly independent of erosive forces and (ii) changes in the magnitude of forces available to transport sediment. Fluctuations at spatial scales from grain -- through reach -- to basin -- scales and at temporal scales from minutes to millennia are discussed and evaluated. All fluctuations are reflected in sedimentary deposits in some way. For example, irregular patterns of bed break-up during erosion can generate bedforms that are recorded in deposits, the passage of waves of sediment can cause cycles of incision and aggradation in a reach; large flood events will flush sediment into coastal regions and will be recorded as an identifiable package' in the deposits. Many models of basin processes and products assume a consistent supply of sediment which is far from the case in nature. One of the challenges in the coming decade is to move away from using long-term averages of sediment supply and to link models directly into geomorphic processes.

Description: The Mediterranean drainage basin incorporates more than 160 rivers with a catchment 〉200 km2, of which only a few are larger than 50 x 103 km2: this observation emphasizes the role of the smaller rivers. The present investigation, incorporating the analysis of data sets from 69 rivers, has estimated a total sediment flux of some 1 x 109 tonnes (t) year-1; of this, suspended sediment contributes some two-thirds of the load, with the remaining third supplied by the combined dissolved and bed-load components. The magnitude of the sediment supply is best demonstrated by various observations: (i) some 46% of the total length of the Mediterranean coastline (46 133 km) has been formed by sediment deposition; (ii) many Mediterranean deltas have prograded in recent times by, at least, several metres per year; and (iii) Holocene coastal (inner shelf) deposits are some tens of metres in thickness. The construction of hundreds of dams around the Mediterranean Sea, especially over the last 50 years, has led to a dramatic reduction in the sediment supply- to approximately 50% of the potential (natural) sediment supply. Such a reduction is considered to be the primary factor responsible for the loss of coastal (mainly deltaic) land, with annual rates of erosion ranging from tens (Ebro, Po) to hundreds of metres (Nile).

Description: The suggestion of the concept of scientific revolution' by Thomas Kuhn in 1962 was, in itself, a significant event in the history of science, and crucial' episodes or paradigm shifts' have come to be of special interest in the history of geology (as in other sciences). The appearance of a new paradigm is commonly associated with attempts by the most talented and well-established practitioners to consolidate or sustain the position of the previously prevailing paradigm. For almost 40 years, global theories in geology have been developing under the influence of mobilist ideas. It is no secret that in Russia the mobilist school initially met with serious opposition, and that even up to the present it has had numerous opponents. However, Western, and especially popular, scientific literature usually exaggerates the intensity of the situation and underestimates the contribution of Russian geologists and geophysicists to the development of mobilism and plate tectonics. The present paper describes some of the debates in Russia concerning mobilist doctrines, the work done in that country in the last three decades of the twentieth century from a mobilist perspective, and various theories that had currency in Russia at the end of that century.

Description: Between 1890 and the 1920s petrologists and mineralogists began to apply concepts of theoretical chemistry -- in particular, the concept of chemical equilibrium -- to the study of metamorphic rocks. The majority of the petrological community, however, hesitated to apply the new method on a large scale to metamorphism. Focusing on the works of Becke, Goldschmidt and Eskola, some early approaches to a linkage of metamorphic petrology and theoretical chemistry are reviewed. The controversial discussion, particularly of Goldschmidt's classical study of the Christiania area, led Miyashiro to distinguish two paradigms of early twentieth-century metamorphic petrology. With regard to the contemporary discussion, as well as to Miyashiro's interpretation, this paper is concluded by an epilogue on image and logic', which is intended to relate the paradigms of early modern metamorphism to different cultures, and national styles' of Earth sciences in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Description: Before 1900, Henry Clifton Sorby, the founder of sedimentary petrography', covered many aspects of the study of sedimentary rocks. During the first half of the twentieth century, there followed numerous detailed descriptions of such rocks and actualistic ideas were increasingly introduced. Specialization began between the two World Wars. The use of single grains and their statistical evaluation, especially of heavy minerals, and the investigation of clay minerals, were stimulated by the needs of the oil industry, together with regional descriptions, including facies studies on land and on the sea bottom. Specialization further increased between 1945 and 1968, with an explosion of publications. Ongoing field and laboratory studies, and new concepts such as the origin of turbidites, or diagenesis -- especially in carbonate rocks -- were treated in much greater detail. Again the oil industry was one of the major driving forces. Since 1968, global aspects gained greater attention, as for example with the Deep-sea Drilling Project. Geophysics contributed to facies and basin analysis. Extraterrestrial factors such as variation in Earth's orbit or bolide impacts, and their indications in sediments, came to be considered important for understanding world climates, and also evolution. Cross-disciplinary and international approaches have become, and continue to be, of growing importance.

Description: The main determinants of the interaction between surface water and groundwater are the distribution of areas with different infiltration rates, the thickness of sediment layers and the hydraulic head gradient. These conditions determine the volume and velocity of infiltrating water which, together with the direction of water flow, are required to model the interaction processes. Due to difficulties with measurement, only the direction of water flow is usually determined and boundary conditions are estimated from simplified assumptions. Field techniques have now been developed that help characterize surface water-groundwater interaction. Results from field experiments using a percussion probe and a large-scale laboratory column experiment set up to simulate infiltration processes are presented. Measurements of the 222Rn distribution in the column are used to determine infiltration velocities.

Description: The management of groundwater resources in England and Wales was initially based only on measures of the renewable resource. This has been extended to include the need to preserve the springs, river flows and surface water levels dependent on groundwater discharges as a key objective of a sustainable management of groundwater resources. The impacts of all new groundwater abstraction proposals on the surface water environment are now evaluated using a number of techniques, some of which are under further development. The sustainable management of groundwater catchments also includes the control of pumping from existing groundwater sources to meet agreed environmental targets. This approach is illustrated by examples of groundwater catchments managed to augment surface flows, to prevent saline intrusion and to preserve the integrity of wetland conservation sites.

Description: Arsenic is widespread in groundwater of the Holocene alluvial aquifers in southern Bangladesh, yet its concentration is highly variable spatially and with depth. A conceptual model of arsenic in the aquifer is proposed, as a basis for addressing questions concerning sustainability of groundwater development. Patterns and profiles of arsenic distribution in the aquifer have been determined at Meherpur in western Bangladesh, over an area of 15 km2 and a depth range of 15-225 m. The hydrochemical and hydraulic environments of arsenic occurrence have been established. The conceptual model incorporates the conditions of arsenic release to groundwater, the depth distribution of the arsenic source, likely sedimentological controls on the lateral discontinuity of the arsenic source, and the hydraulic regime imposed by pumping from the hydrogeologically leaky, multi-layered aquifer. Reducing conditions, conducive to arsenic release from sedimentary iron oxyhydroxides, are widespread. The arsenic source occurs at a distinct horizon at a depth of about 20m, but is laterally discontinuous. The catchments of shallow, hand-pumped tubewells (HTWs) are limited in extent by vertical leakage. Arsenic concentration in water pumped from tubewells depends on the depth separation between the HTW screen and the arsenic source, the overlap between the HTW catchment and the arsenic source layer, and the duration of pumping. Implications are drawn for treatment, tubewell location and design, monitoring, and predictive modelling.

Description: Groundwater abstractions affect the water balance in catchments of rivers in hydraulic continuity with groundwater and may lead to reductions in river baseflow. The Environment Agency issues licences for groundwater abstractions and takes into account the risk of such adverse impacts when deciding whether to grant licences and what conditions to associate with each licence. Assessing the impact of a particular licence is a difficult task, but analytical solutions to idealizations of the complex river-aquifer interaction can help guide such judgements. This paper presents a brief review of available analytical solutions and discusses their applicability to real groundwater systems. The most useful analytical solutions (developed by Theis, Hantush and Stang) have been incorporated into a spreadsheet and a new methodology has been made available to support Environment Agency hydrogeologists working in abstraction licensing. This offers a consistent approach to making an initial evaluation of the impact of groundwater abstraction on river flow that may be applied across the diverse hydrogeological systems found throughout the Environment Agency Regions of England and Wales. The use of analytical solutions in this methodology inevitably represents a significant simplification of what is generally a very complex issue, and the limitations of the new methodology are emphasized.

Description: In the Arabian Peninsula, hydrogeological and engineering solutions have failed to solve the severe and worsening problem of unsustainable groundwater abstraction, which threatens rural environments and livelihoods. Conventional western fiscal and regulatory measures to reduce abstractions seem to be impracticable in the present institutional and social contexts. In the region, groundwater rights without volume limitations are distributed mostly among numerous private well owners, and individual interests predominate over a communal imperative for aquifer sustainability. The solution may lie more in modifying the institutional context than in attempting to introduce official controls. This would involve the decentralization of water resources management to a basin or aquifer level and the development of local users associations. Water users associations could improve users' understanding of local hydrological limitations, promote conservation among irrigators, and cooperatively develop sustainable strategies and rules, which might ultimately include tradable rights and quotas. Government subsidies and incentives are necessary. Essential components of this participatory approach are strong leadership at national and local levels, the active engagement and leadership of Islamic institutions, and the use of modern communication methods.

Description: Cretaceous radiation of angiosperms from low to high palaeolatitudes, coupled with the break-up of Gondwana, played a major role in establishing and maintaining biogeographic patterns across the southern hemisphere. Uncertainties in details of plate reconstructions provide conflicting hypotheses about area relationships of Gondwana fragments. This has led to a number of competing proposals concerning angiosperm migration across Gondwana. Central to this debate is the role of the Antarctic Peninsula, a region that is often envisaged as providing the main connection between east and west Gondwana. The initial radiation of angiosperms into the Antarctic Peninsula region, however, postdates appearances elsewhere in east Gondwana (e.g. Australia), strongly suggesting that the Antarctic Peninsula was not the main gateway, at least in the early stages of Gondwana radiation. A steep climatic gradient in this part of the world probably acted as an effective barrier to angiosperm radiation. The peak of floristic replacement coincides with the peak of Cretaceous warmth (Turonian) which in turn suggests that climatic warming acted as a forcing mechanism by pushing latitudinal belts of vegetation southwards. Once into the southern high latitudes angiosperms diversified, and as climates cooled during the Late Cretaceous a number of important groups seem to have their origins here. Recent investigations of Antarctic macro- and microfloras indicate progressive floristic replacement through the Cretaceous. Bryophytes, hepatophytes, bennettites and other seed plants all show a rapid decline in diversity. In contrast, ferns initially decline then recover, while conifers remain relatively stable. The ecological preferences of the replaced groups imply that angiosperms initially occupied areas of disturbance and were understorey colonizers, only later replacing fern thickets and becoming important in the overstorey. This pattern is consistent with those observed elsewhere through the Cretaceous.

Description: Over long periods of time the tectonic evolution of the solid Earth has been recognized as the major control on the development of the global climate system. Tectonic activity acts in one of two different ways to influence regional and global climate: (i) through the opening and closing of oceanic gateways and its effect on the circulation patterns in the global ocean; (ii) through the growth and erosion of orogenic belts, resulting in changes in oceanic chemistry and disruption of atmospheric circulation. The Arabian Sea region has several features that make it the best area for studies of climate and palaeoceanographic responses to tectonic activity, most notably in the context of the South Asian monsoon and its relationship to the growth of high topography in the adjacent Himalayas and Tibet. The Tectonic and Climatic Evolution of the Arabian Sea Region brings together a collection of recent studies on the area from a wide group of international contributors. The paper range from high resolution, Holocene palaeoceanographic studies of the Pakistan margin to regional tectonic reconstructions of the ocean basin and surrounding margins throughout the Cenozoic. Marine geophysics, stratigraphy, isotope chemistry and neotectonics come together in a multidisciplinary approach to the study of interactions of land and sea. while much work remains to be done to understand fully the tectonic and climatic evolution of the Arabian Sea, a great deal has been achieved since the last major review, as detailed in the 26 contributions. This volume is essential reading for palaeoceanographers, sedimentologists and geophysicists. It will also be interest to structural geologists and those working in the petroleum industry.

Description: We present a revised magnetic isochron map of the conjugate Arabian a and Eastern Somali basins based on an up-to-date compilation of Indian, French, and other available seasurface magnetic data. We have used the magnetic anomaly and the modulus of the analytical signal computed from the magnetic anomaly to identify and precisely locate the young and old edges of magnetic chrons in both basins. In addition to the major, well-defined anomalies, we have also used correlatable second-order features of the magnetic anomalies, the tiny wiggles', to strengthen the interpretation. The resulting isochrons and tectonic elements have been validated using the stochastic method of palaeogeographical reconstruction. The magnetic anomaly pattern in both basins depicts clear oblique offsets, characteristics of pseudofaults associated with propagating ridge segments. Our tectonic interpretation of the area revealed: (1) a complex pattern of ridge propagation between Chrons 28n (c. 63 Ma) and 25n (c. 56 Ma), with dominant eastward propagation between Chrons 26n (c. 58 Ma) and 25n; (2) numerous, systematic westward propagations between Chrons 24n (c. 53 Ma) and 20n (c. 43 Ma); (3) asymmetric crustal accretion (caused by ridge propagation and asymmetric sea-floor spreading) in the conjugate basins during the whole period; (4) a slowing of India-Somalia motion after c. 52 Ma.

Description: The Iranian Makran has been entirely mapped geologically on a scale of 1:250 000, except for a narrow coastal strip, which exposes the very youngest Cenozoic sediments of the main Makran accretionary prism. The geology of the Makran is less widely known than the geology of Oman, because it has been published in detail only in reports of the Geological Survey of Iran. There is no extension of the geological formations of Oman into the Makran, the only extension of Oman ophiolitic formations into Iran being at Neyriz and Kermanshahr, hundreds of kilometres to the NW. This summary is based on field mapping, photo-interpretation being used only to connect traverse lines. The oldest rocks are metamorphic rocks, which form the basement to the Bajgan-Dur-kan microcontinental sliver', a narrow block that extends hundreds of kilometres from the Bitlis Massif in Turkey, through the Sanandaj-Sirjan Block of the Zagros, to north of Nikshahr in the east of the Makran. Other metamorphic rocks form the Deyader Complex near Fannuj on the southern margin of the Jaz Murian Depression. These include blueschists, and are thought to form the tip of the Tabas Microcontinental Block, largely exposed north of the depression. There is also a small microcontinental block to the east, the Birk Block, which exposes only Cretaceous platform limestones and Permian sediments. The Bajgan Metamorphic Series are overlain, with a tectonized unconformable contact, by highly deformed and disrupted platform carbonates of Early Cretaceous to Early Paleocene age (Dur-kan Complex), containing tectonic inliers of Carboniferous, Permian and, rarely, Jurassic age. Ophiolites occur in two structural positions. South of the Bajgan-Dur-kan Block, the tectonic Coloured Melange of the Zagros continues eastwards inland of the Bashakerd Fault; this includes two layered ultramafic complexes, one with chromities. The blocks forming the melange include radiolarites and deep-water limestones of Jurassic to Early Paleocene age. Ophiolites developed north of the microcontinental block form three distinct igneous complexes, two layered and one with intermediate sheeted dykes. Intercalated in the volcanic rocks of these ophiolites are radiolarites and deep-water limestones ranging in age from Jurassic to Paleocene time. There are small developments of Cretaceous sediments carrying rudists in the extreme NW of the inner ophiolite tract. In the NE, ophiolites are developed in the Talkhab Melange. All these ophiolites represent former, largely Cretaceous, tracts of deep ocean. The Cenozoic rocks form two immense accretionary prisms. The main Makran prism includes Eocene-Oligocene and Oligocene-Miocene flysch turbidite sequences, estimated as individually 〉10 000 m thick. Above these sequences, there is an abrupt passage up without any apparent unconformity, through reefal Burdigalian limestones, and locally a harzburgite conglomerate development, into neritic sequences with minor turbidites, extending into the Pliocene units. The Saravan accretionary prism to the east repeats tectonically three thick flysch turbidite sequences of Eocene-Oligocene age, but younger sediments are restricted here to minor Oligocene-Miocene conglomerates, unconformable on the above sequences. There is a line of Oligocene(?) granodiorite bodies within the Saravan accretionary prism. Intense folding and development of schuppen structure, dislocation and melanging of the sediments affected the entire region in Late Miocene-Early Pliocene time. Post-tectonic uplift was followed by scattered developments of fanglomerates beneath the fault scarps. The Neogene deformation has obscured earlier deformational events. There is unconformity beneath Eocene sediments representing a mid-Paleocene disturbance. There is also evidence of a discontinuity in mid-Oligocene time. Pliocene-Pleistocene fanglomerates are unconformable on folded rocks. There are discontinuous developments of Eocene-Oligocene neritic sediments unconformably above the older rocks (ophiolites, platform limestones, metamoprhic rocks), and to the north of the southern edge of the Jaz Murian Depression, the northern limit of the Makran, there is evidence of the survival here of a very shallow sea through Neogene time and the formation of small patches of reefal Oligocene-Miocene limestones, and Eocene to Pliocene shallow-water clastic sediments. A 150 km wide tract separates the coast from the trench, the total Cenozoic accretionary prism being 500 km wide. Extension from the Murray Ridge affects the extreme east of the region. The Saravan accretionary prism, it is suggested, faced a gulf, comparable with the Gulf of Oman, and this Saravan Gulf filled up and closed up by Early Oligocene time. Seismological evidence suggests that there is now active continental collision continuing along this suture.

Description: Settling nitrogen fluxes intercepted by sediment traps on the mid-slope and in the deep basin off Somalia show a consistent annual range of 3.4 {+/-} 0.2{per thousand} in their stable isotope composition. Seasonal minima in {delta}15N of 3.7{per thousand} are associated with the moderate N fluxes derived from coastally upwelled water, which is rapidly carried offshore along eddy margins passing over the mooring sites during the SW monsoon (June-September). Coastal upwelling, offshore transport and deep wind mixing cease at the end of the SW monsoon, leading to enhanced utilization of the up to 20 {micro}M of NO3- in the photic layer, maxima in the N export flux, and an increasing {delta}15N by Rayleigh distillation. Yet as stratification develops, nutrient exhaustion follows and export production collapses as the {delta}15N increases to over 7{per thousand}. Cyanobacterial N2 fixation probably diminishes the {delta}15N by 0.4-1.6{per thousand} during the autumn intermonsoon (November-December) when settling N fluxes are lowest. Nutrient utilization remains high during the NE monsoon (January-March), when nutrient entrainment by deep wind mixing results in enhanced N export with maxima in {delta}15N of up to 7.4{per thousand}. Annual N fluxes have virtually the same {delta}15N of 6.0{per thousand} in all traps despite considerable differences in both N flux and {delta}15N between the traps during the year and at different depths. In comparison with the annual {delta}15N of 6.0{per thousand} arriving on the sea floor, core-top sediments are enriched by +0.6{per thousand} on the upper slope (at 487 m) increasing to +2.9{per thousand} in the deep basin (at 4040 m), whereas the N sediment burial efficiency declines from about 17% to 3%. It appears that the extent of oxic decomposition at the sediment-water interface is the most likely cause of such isotope enrichment. Similar positive gradients in {delta}15N with bottom depth have been reported from other continental margin transects and are generally attributed to increased nutrient utilization in the photic ocean with distance offshore. As for Somalia, nitrogen isotope fractionation as a result of oxic decomposition on the bottom rather than nutrient utilization at the ocean surface may account for the observed increase of sedimentary {delta}15N down continental margins in general.

Description: We review previous models for the Paleogene tectonic evolution of the Arabian and Eastern Somali basins and present a model based on a new compilation of magnetic and gravity data. Using plate reconstructions, we derive a self-consistent set of isochrons for Chron 27 to Chron 21 (61-46 Ma). The new isochrons account for the development of successive ridge propagation events along the Carlsberg Ridge, leading to an important spreading asymmetry between the conjugate basins. Our model predicts the growth of the outer and inner pseudofaults associated with the ridge propagation events. The location of outer pseudo-faults appears to remain very stable despite a drastic change in the direction of ridge propagation before Chron 24 (c. 54 Ma). The motion of the Indian plate relative to the Somalian plate is stable in direction through Paleogene time; spreading velocities decrease from 6 to 3 cm a-1. Our reconstructions also confirm that the Arabia-India plate boundary was located west of the Owen Ridge along the Oman margin during Paleogene time; some compression is predicted at about Chron 21 (47 Ma) between the Indian and Arabian plates.

Description: Petrographic and geochemical data for new basalt and peridotite samples recovered from sampling sites at the Southern Murray Ridge help to constrain models for the evolution of the Owen-Murray Ridge system, which forms the northwestern boundary of the Indian plate. Trace elements immobile during alteration (Ti, Zr, Nb, Y and rare earth elements) suggest that the altered microphyric metabasalt has affinities to magmatism of active margins (island-arc tholeiite sensu lato). It is distinctly different from mid-ocean ridge basalt, back-arc-basin basalt, or intra-plate Deccan Trap basalt. The sampled serpentinized harzburgite or clinopyroxene-poor lherzolite was deformed under mantle conditions and is similar to the mantle section of nearby ophiolite sequences. This association of rocks suggests that an ophiolite melange was sampled. However, results from sampling station 462 NIOP indicate that the Murray Ridge complex also contains igneous rocks with Deccan Trap affinity. For the emplacement of the island-arc tholeiite we assume an origin in a convergent supra-subduction setting, related to the closing of a Late Cretaceous Neo-Tethyan ocean basin between the Arabian and Indian plates to the south and the Eurasian plate to the north. Since Neogene time, the Murray Ridge-Dalrymple Trough has been underlain by attenuated (?)continental crust and characterized by extensional rift tectonics.

Description: The northern Arabian Sea is at present characterized by a pronounced oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) with oxygen concentrations reaching values as low as 2 {micro}M between 150 and 1250 m. This intense mid-water OMZ results from high annual organic particle fluxes and a moderate rate of thermocline ventilation. Sediment studies have shown that the intensity of the northern Arabian Sea OMZ has fluctuated on Milankovitch and sub-Milankovitch time scales, in conjunction with changes in either surface water productivity or thermocline ventilation. Here we evaluate the role of convective mixing in the periodical breakdown of the OMZ by reconstructing the density gradient for periods showing a well-ventilated water column. For this reason we reconstructed sea surface temperatures and salinities for the last 70 ka based on alkenone thermometry and {delta}18O analyses on planktic and benthic foraminifers. For the studied time span thermocline ventilation by intermediate water formation in the northern Arabian Sea is a viable mechanism to explain observed fluctuations in the intensity of the OMZ. We postulate that the necessary decrease in the vertical density gradient during well-ventilated periods resulted from intensified winter monsoonal winds in combination with effects caused by glacio-eustacy.

Description: Absolute and relative abundances of calcareous dinoflagellate cyst species in surface sediment samples from the Arabian Sea are compared with environmental parameters of the upper 100 m of the water column to gain information on their largely unknown autecology. Ten species or morphotypes were encountered of which four occurred only as accessories. On the basis of the distribution patterns of the six more abundant species or morphotypes, the studied area is subdivided into three provinces, demonstrating a clear relationship to monsoon-controlled upper-ocean conditions. The two dominant species, Thoracosphaera heimii and Orthopithonella granifera, show opposite trends in distribution of both their absolute and relative abundances. In the NE Arabian Sea, low absolute and relative abundances of T. heimii are mainly attributed to enhanced dissolution of the small tests in this region, whereas elevated concentrations of O. granifera seem to be related to higher water temperatures and the influence of the Indus River. Sphaerodinella albatrosiana and Calciodinellum operosum are most abundant in the open ocean, associated with lower nutrient levels, relatively high temperatures and low seasonality. Spiny cysts (mainly represented by Scrippsiella trochoidea), in contrast, exhibit a more shelf-ward distribution and are most abundant in regions that are influenced by coastal upwelling, characterized by eutrophic and rather unstable conditions with seasonally lower temperatures and a shallow thermocline. A generally negative correlation of calcareous dinoflagellate cysts with primary productivity or high nutrient concentrations, as proposed by other workers, cannot be confirmed. Cyst accumulation rates off Somalia show that strong turbulence and high current speeds are unfavourable for calcareous dinoflagellates, suggesting that these organisms are more successful under rather stratified conditions.

Description: The hot springs at Bath are the largest natural thermal source in Britain. Sustainable use of the waters for a spa requires maintenance of their temperature and flow rate. Together with smaller springs at Hotwells, Bristol, they form the outflow from a regional thermal aquifer that occurs where the Carboniferous Limestone is buried at depths 〉 2.7 km in the Bristol-Bath structural basin. The aquifer is recharged via limestone outcrops forming the south and west portions of the basin rim. Current knowledge of the basin's structure is reviewed, and important uncertainties identified concerning the hydrogeological role of thrust faults which may cut the limestone at depth. A simple numerical model is used to determine the possible influence of thrusts upon groundwater flow within the thermal aquifer. Comparison of the modelled flow patterns with geochemical data and structure contours eliminates the hypothesis that thrusts completely disrupt the continuity of the aquifer. The most successful model is used to simulate the possible impact of dewatering by large quarries at the limestone outcrops north and south of Bath. Substantial reductions in modelled flow at Bath result from proposed dewatering in the eastern Mendips, although the steady-state approach adopted has severe limitations in that it does not take account of the incremental staging of actual dewatering, nor allow for partial restitution of groundwater levels. The geological uncertainties highlighted by the modelling could be addressed by future research into the effect of thrusts on the continuity of the Carboniferous Limestone. More refined modelling to predict the timing of possible impacts of quarry dewatering will require measurements of the storativity of the thermal aquifer.

Description: The High Plains Aquifer, located in the United States, is one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world and is threatened by continued decline in water levels and deteriorating water quality. Understanding the physical and cultural features of this area is essential to assessing the factors that affect this groundwater resource. About 270f the irrigated land in the United States overlies this aquifer, which yields about 300f the nation's groundwater used for irrigation of crops including wheat, corn, sorghum, cotton and alfalfa. In addition, the aquifer provides drinking water to 820f the 2.3 million people who live within the aquifer boundary. The High Plains Aquifer has been significantly impacted by human activities. Groundwater withdrawals from the aquifer exceed recharge in many areas, resulting in substantial declines in groundwater level. Residents once believed that the aquifer was an unlimited resource of high-quality water, but they now face the prospect that much of the water may be gone in the near future. Also, agricultural chemicals are affecting the groundwater quality. Increasing concentrations of nitrate and salinity can first impair the use of the water for public supply and then affect its suitability for irrigation. A variety of technical and institutional measures are currently being planned and implemented across the aquifer area in an attempt to sustain this groundwater resource for future generations. However, because groundwater withdrawals remain high and water quality impairments are becoming more commonplace, the sustainability of the High Plains Aquifer is uncertain.

Description: Numerical models of groundwater flow and arsenic transport to tubewells in southern Bangladesh have been developed, based on a conceptual model derived from field observations. The catchment of a single hand-pumped tubewell (HTW) is incorporated within a model domain 8110m2 in area and 60m thick. Three tubewell specifications represent typical Bangladesh HTW designs. Constant-concentration cells act as a single-layered arsenic source, arranged to represent the observed depth distribution of arsenic in the aquifer and the range of possible patterns of overlap between HTW catchments and discontinuous zones of arsenic release from sediment to groundwater. A variety of sorption regimes is simulated, and sensitivity to sorption is illustrated. Boundary conditions are modified to simulate the effects of deep production wells. The models reproduce the observed scale and range of arsenic concentration in groundwater pumped from HTWs, and demonstrate likely long-term trends. Breakthrough of arsenic to HTWs may occur a few years after the start of pumping, but at many tubewells the concentration of arsenic could continue to rise significantly over tens to hundreds of years. Spatial distributions and depth profiles of arsenic in groundwater from tubewells should be viewed as transient in the long term. These preliminary models allow implications for the sustainability of the shallow alluvial aquifer to be quantified provisionally. The mechanisms and scale of sorption of arsenic by the aquifer sediments remain as significant uncertainties.

Description: Mining is an important part of the economy of Chile. A high proportion of mines are located in remote, high altitude, extremely arid environments in northern Chile. The demands of the mining industry for potable and ore-processing water, along with existing longer term demands, mean that water has a high commercial value in this region. Set against this is the desire to conserve the unique flora and fauna, highlighted by the existence of a number of conservation sites of international importance. A typical case study charting the investigation of an aquifer in this region [the Monturaqui-Negrillar-Tilopozo (MNT) aquifer] and the development of a plan for groundwater use observing the requirement for sustainability is presented. The important aspects of the geology and hydrogeology of the aquifer are presented, and a description is given of the techniques used to arrive at a sustainable groundwater development strategy. The unusual characteristics of the aquifer meant that the use of spatially distributed time-variant numerical models to identify a sustainable groundwater abstraction strategy was necessary. The abstraction strategy will enable sustainable abstraction of a significant volume of groundwater from the MNT basin, taking advantage of the high storage to recharge/discharge ratio of the aquifer.

Description: The thermal and denudational history of Ireland is evaluated using an extensive new apatite fission-track (AFT) dataset derived from surface samples. Modelled thermal histories are used to construct maps of denudation for a number of time slices from Triassic time to 10 Ma using a time-dependent palaeogeotherm. The maps illustrate the spatial variability of denudation and subsidence within each time slice. The patterns of denudation are complex, showing considerable variability at the length scale of 101-102 km, with especially high denudation rates found over known igneous centres such as the Mournes of County Down. Based on the onshore AFT data alone, there is no definitive signature of an Irish Sea Dome extending significantly across Ireland in Early Tertiary time. The cumulative amount of denudation during Tertiary time varies depending on the AFT annealing model used, but is generally in the region between 1 and 2 km and without clear spatial trends. High amounts of denudation have been mapped over the Tertiary intrusions in County Down, reflecting their unroofing since emplacement in Paleocene time. The cumulative denudation from Triassic time to 10 Ma shows relatively low amounts of denudation (〈2 km) in the Irish Midlands and the extreme NE of the island, consistent with the observation that Mesozoic-Tertiary sediments and igneous products are preserved in the Ulster Basin. The western flank of Ireland and the region between Dublin and County Down show high cumulative amounts of denudation (〈4 km), the latter being consistent with the high amounts of denudation interpreted for the Irish Sea region. This denudation pattern explains in part the outcrop of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic rocks in these areas. The spatial integration of the denudation over the entire landmass gives the average denudation rate and the sediment discharge from Ireland as a function of time. Average denudation rates are moderately high in Triassic time, falling to low values in Cretaceous time, and increasing substantially in Tertiary time. However, the total volumetric discharge of sediment in Tertiary time is an order of magnitude smaller than the preserved solid volume of Tertiary sediment in the basins offshore western Ireland.

Description: Based upon dinoflagellate cyst and nannofossil data, a detailed zonation of the Lower Paleocene succession in the Nuussuaq Basin, onshore West Greenland has been established. The succession is divided into the five dinoflagellate cyst zones: Trithyrodinium evittii, Cerodinium pannuceum, Senegalinium iterlaaense, Palaeocystodinium bulliforme and Alisocysta margarita. The dinoflagellate cyst zones are correlated with nannoplankton zones. The stratigraphically most important nannofossils recorded include Chiasmolithus cf. bidens, Neochiastozygus modestus, N. perfectus, N. saepes, Prinsius martinii and Zeugrhabdotus sigmoides. A new zonal scheme has been erected and resolves previous problems relating biostratigraphic and 40Ar/39Ar data in the region. The Upper Maastrichtian-Lower Paleocene succession records faulting and valley/submarine canyon incision resulting from pre-volcanic rifting and regional uplift of the basin. Two Early Paleocene tectonic phases have been recognized during NP1-NP3. These uplift phases were followed by rapid subsidence during NP4. Initiation of volcanism onshore West Greenland is broadly concurrent with the Alisocysta margarita Zone indicating that volcanism began during late NP4, in accordance with recent palaeomagnetic results and 40Ar/39Ar dating of the volcanics. On the basis of the first occurrence datum of the dinoflagellate cyst species Cerodinium kangiliense and Alisocysta margarita, it is possible to correlate the lowermost volcanic Anaanaa Member hyaloclastites from the southwestern part of Nuussuaq with sediments of the Eqalulik Formation from the northern coast of Nuussuaq.

Description: The papers in this volume represent a step forward in our knowledge of the geological evolution of the North Atlantic from the Cretaceous-Palaeogene boundary through to the early Eocene. With the increase in hydrocarbon exploration activities in the Faroe-Shetland Basin (Fig. 1), new interpretations of the regional geology have become increasingly important, and the accuracy of the time frame for this work is vital to our understanding of the sequence of volcanic and sedimentary events. The synthesis of data relating to Palaeogene volcanism and sedimentation along the Norwegian Margin by Eldholm et al. emphasizes the importance of transfer zones, possibly inherited from the Proterozoic basement, in the distribution of sediments and volcanic products during rifting (Fig. 2). Furthermore, subsequent uplift and the development of marginal highs are invoked as factors which affected water circulation within the basins, leading to a deterioration in the Eocene climate. This work identifies the relevance of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) as an influence on environmental systems on a global scale. Ar-Ar and Pb-U isotopic age data show that the main period of continental flood basalt volcanism in the NAIP extended from c. 60.5 Ma through to c. 54.5 Ma (Table 1). Biostratigraphical analysis of these volcanic-sedimentary sections (Jolley et al. 2002) shows that the onset of this interval equates to the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum (LPTM). New isotopic dating of the oldest part of the volcanic sequence on the Faroe Islands, the Lower Formation, by Waagstein et al. has further confirmed the age ... This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract.

Description: Palaeogene volcanism on the NW margin of the Faroe-Shetland Basin is represented by the Faroes Lava Group, within an age range of 57.5-60.56 Ma. The volcanic sequence comprises 〉1000 m of basaltic volcaniclastic rocks deposited in estuarine or marginal lagoons, overlain by three laterally-extensive formations of subaerial facies basaltic lavas: Lower, c. 3250 m; Middle, c. 1400 m; Upper, at least 900 m (top not preserved). The Lower and Upper formations comprise high-volume sheet flows, commonly with ferrallitized tops, interbedded with reddened, thin, fluvial claystone and basaltic siltstone deposits. Laterally-impersistent coals occur within the Lower Lava Formation. The Coal-bearing Formation (c. 20 m) was deposited in an overbank floodplain environment during an hiatus in the volcanism between the Lower and Middle formations. The Volcaniclastic Sandstone Sequence comprises hydroclastic and pyroclastic deposits which post-date the Coal-bearing Formation and represent a return to volcanism, prior to the eruption of the Middle Lava Formation which is mainly characterized by inflated pahoehoe flows. The onshore sequence of the Faroes Lava Group can be correlated with basaltic flows within the Faroe-Shetland Basin, where lavas in Well 205/9-1 are interpreted to be of Lower Lava Formation affinity, possibly erupted from a local vent system. Seismic and gravity mapping and modelling suggest that the offshore extension of the Lower Lava Formation, together with the oldest part of the Middle Lava Formation, comprise subaqueous hyaloclastites deposited in a prograding Gilbert-type lava delta system. The youngest part of the Middle Lava Formation and all of the Upper Lava Formation occur as subaerial facies lavas within the basin.

Description: An extensive suite of igneous sills, collectively known as the Faroe-Shetland Sill Complex, has been intruded into the Cretaceous and Tertiary sedimentary section of the Faroe-Shetland Channel area. These sills have been imaged offshore by three-dimensional (3D) reflection seismic surveys and penetrated by several exploration boreholes. Data from wireline log measurements in these boreholes allow us to characterize the physical properties of the sills and their thermal aureoles. The borehole data has been compiled to produce new empirical relationships between sonic velocity and density, and between compressional and shear sonic velocities within the sills. These relationships are used to assist in calculation of synthetic seismic traces for sills intruded into sedimentary section, in order to calibrate the seismic response of the sills as observed in field data. This paper describes how the seismic amplitude response of the sills can be used to predict sill thickness where there is some nearby well control, and use this technique to estimate the volume of one well-imaged sill penetrated by Well 205/10-2b. Since the sills have a high impedance contrast with their host rocks, they return strong seismic reflections. 3D seismic survey data allow mapping of the morphology of the sills with a high level of confidence, although in some instances disruption of the downgoing seismic wavefield causes the seismic imaging of deeper sills and other structures to be very poor. Examples of sub-circular and dish-shapes sills, and also semi-conical and sheet-like intrusions, which are highly discordant are shown. The introduction of intrusive rocks can play an important role in the subsequent development of the sedimentary system. An example is shown in which differential compaction or soft sediment deformation around and above the sills appears to have controlled deposition of a reservoir quality sand body. The positioning of the sills within sedimentary basins is discussed, by constructing a simple model in which pressure support of magma from a crustal magma chamber provides the hydrostatic head of magma required for intrusion at shallow levels. This model is made semi-quantitative using a simple equation relating rock densities to intrusion depth, calibrated to observations from the Faroe-Shetland area. The model predicts that sills can be intruded at shallower levels in the sedimentary section above basement highs, which agrees with observations detailed in this paper.

Description: The North Faroe-Shetland Basin (NFSB) Sill Complex is of late Paleocene/earliest Eocene age and was emplaced within Cretaceous and Paleocene sedimentary rocks, in places to depths as shallow as a few hundred metres below the contemporaneous basin floor. Intersections of the Complex occur in exploration wells drilled by the oil industry and indicate tholeiitic basaltic compositions. High quality 3D seismic data, obtained during hydrocarbon exploration along the NE Atlantic Margin, provide a unique view of an uneroded suite of these sheet-like intrusions in UK Quadrants 218 and 219 and indicate the multi-centred nature of the NFSB Sill Complex, with upward-fingering terminations from broad bowlshaped foci of intrusion. Where the intrusion depth is very shallow, depending upon the host lithology, sill emplacement has lead to the development of structures on the contemporaneous basin floor interpreted as submarine hyaloclastite-dominated vents, up to c. 2 km across and with heights of up to c. 100 m. Where intrusion depth is greater, seismic chimney' structures are interpreted as the fluidescape feeders of sedimentary-hydrothermal mounds. Subsequent differential compaction of sedimentary sections, with and without shallow-emplaced sills, has given rise to distinctive eye' structures, as seen in seismic sections.

Description: The NW Arabian Sea is characterized by a strong seasonal contrast in surface water hydrography. During the SW monsoon of 1992, we encountered strong coastal upwelling characterized by low sea surface temperatures (SST), high nutrient concentrations, a shallow thermocline and a near-surface chlorophyll maximum. By contrast, the hydrography during the NE monsoon of 1993 was characterized by a relatively warm nutrient-depleted surface mixed layer and a deep chlorophyll maximum. We show that the faunal composition, depth habitat and abundance of living planktic foraminifera respond to the hydrographic changes controlled by the seasonally reversing monsoon system. Total shell concentrations (〉 125 {micro}m) ranged from 4 to 332 individuals (ind.) m-3 during upwelling and from 3 to 85 ind. m-3 during the non-upwelling season. During upwelling, the fauna was dominated by Globigerina bulloides. During non-upwelling the fauna was characterized by relatively high concentrations of tropical symbiont-bearing species such as Globigerinoides ruber, Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globigerinella siphonifera, whereas concentrations of Globigerina bulloides were an order of magnitude lower. Factor analysis on 15 species yields an upwelling assemblage (UA), a tropical assemblage (TA) and a subsurface assemblage (SA). A fourth factor represents the distribution of the species Globigerina falconensis, which is mainly found in subsurface waters during the non-upwelling period (NE monsoon). A model is presented to calculate the base of the productive zone from the vertical shell concentration profile of a given species. The model is validated by comparing the range in calcification temperatures of G. bulloides, derived from its {delta}18O, with the in situ sea-water temperature range of the productive zone as predicted from the model. It appears that shell growth (calcite precipitation) is restricted to the productive zone as defined by this method. The average calcification temperature of G. bulloides corresponds to the point of maximum change in the shell concentration profile (i.e. the inflection point). For most shallow-dwelling species, the inflection point is found at or below the depth of the chlorophyll maximum, although above the main thermocline. This study indicates that the depth habitat and abundance of different species varies seasonally. Consequently, the abundance and stable isotope composition of specimens in the fossil record reflects a mixture of specimens that were produced at various depths during the different seasons.

Description: Interaction between uplift related to the Cretaceous--Paleocene opening of the North Atlantic, Neogene shortening (basin inversion) and Pleistocene glacio-isostasy is illustrated by the complex denudation pattern of Britain; such denudation is greatest over the submergent East Irish Sea basin, some 500 km from the Atlantic margin. This paper reports on analysis of sedimentary porosities using sonic velocity logs from 42 wells in the East Irish Sea basin. We present a new map showing the variation in exhumation magnitude at the uppermost Mesozoic unconformity (i.e. thickness of denuded Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks), today buried beneath a thin veneer of Pleistocene sediment. It indicates that exhumation is mostly 〈 1500 m (632-2132 m; mean standard deviation 407 m), less than denudation results obtained from vitrinite reflectance and apatite fission-track data. The map also reveals substantial variation in exhumation over short distances, often between adjacent wells sited on opposing walls of individual faults. This is interpreted in terms of the influence of Neogene basin inversion on the exhumation of the EISB. The role of late Tertiary tectonics in western UK exhumation is therefore discussed.

Description: Denudational history is commonly reconstructed from basin sediments derived from the denuded source area, and less frequently from the source area itself. Northern Britain is an important source area for the surrounding sedimentary basins and this paper reviews the erosional history of Scotland from Devonian time to the present using evidence both from onshore geology and geomorphology and from patterns of sedimentation in surrounding basins. Cover rocks were extensive in Scotland during late Palaeozoic time but the persistence of sediment source areas within the upland areas of Scotland makes it unlikely that basement highs were ever completely buried, and depths of post-Devonian erosion of basement have been correspondingly modest (〈 1-2 km). During Mesozoic time, Scotland experienced several major erosional cycles, beginning with uplift, reactivation of relief and stripping of cover rocks, followed by progressive reduction of relief through etchplanation and culminating in extensive marine transgressions in Late Triassic, Late Jurassic and Late Cretaceous time. Mid-Paleocene pulses of coarse sediment to the Moray Firth Basin coincided with major uplift. This uplift was associated with major differential tectonics within the Highlands, with warping and faulting along the margins of the Minch and the inner Moray Firth Basins. Tectonic activity was renewed on a lesser scale in late Oligocene time and continued into Late Neogene time. Differential weathering and erosion under the warm to temperature humid climates of Neogene time created the major elements of the preglacial relief, with formation of valleys, basins, scarps and inselbergs, features often closely adjusted to lithostructural controls and, in some cases, with precursors that can be traced back to Devonian time. The history that can be read' from the onshore region complements the source area history interpreted from sedimentary basins derived from these areas.

Description: We use the flux of bulk sediment (CaCO3, biogenic opal, organic carbon, lithogenic material), and of planktic foraminifera (PF) and other shell-bearing plankton from sediment trap EPT-2 off Pakistan to (1) constrain the seasonal pattern of regional productivity and (2) search for indications of the NE monsoon winter situation that may serve as a modern analogue to better reveal the seasonal climatic signals preserved in the sedimentary record of the Arabian Sea. Our trap data show a clear seasonality of fluxes that can also be traced in the composition of non-bioturbated (varved) summer and winter sediment laminae preserved within the oxygen minimum zone. In EPT-2, the flux of PF is low during summer, but during winter and late spring it is higher, as at trap station WAST, in the upwelling area of the western Arabian Sea. Globigerina bulloides, a PF species linked to summer upwelling and high productivity, is of minor importance off Pakistan. In contrast, Globigerina falconensis dominates in flux and relative abundance, and is indicative of winter mixing, when NE monsoonal winds cool the highly saline surface waters and break up stratification. An enhanced horizontal flux of suspended sediments stirred up on the shelf and upper slope is clearly shown by the peak in occurrence of small benthic foraminifera during winter. Altogether, our data suggest that the particle flux in the northeastern Arabian Sea is determined by local sediment resuspension and winter productivity rather than by summer monsoonal upwelling, representing a non-upwelling' environment, in contrast to the summer upwelling' regime off Oman, Somalia and southern India. We used this evidence to reconstruct the seasonal intensity of both monsoons for the past 25 ka: the SW and NE monsoon both were weak during the last glacial period. The NE monsoon peaked during the cool phases of the glacial to interglacial climatic transition (i.e. during the Younger Dryas (YD) and Heinrich Event H1). The SW monsoon was reinforced after the YD. Both monsoons were enhanced during early Holocene time, when summer insolation and hence atmospheric forcing was at a maximum.

Description: The tectonic evolution of Archaean granite-greenstone terranes remains controversial. Here this subject is reviewed and illustrated with new data from the Slave craton. These data show that a thick, c. 2.7Ga, pillow basalt sequences extruded across extended sialic basement of the Slave craton at a scale comparable with that of modern large igneous provinces. The pillow basalts do not represent obducted oceanic allochthons. Basement-cover relationships argue for autochthonous to parautochthonous development of the basaltic greenstone belts of the west-central Slave craton, an interpretation that is further supported by geochemical and geochronological data. Similar data exist for several other cratons and granite-greenstone terrains, including the Abitibi greenstone belt of the Superior craton, where stratigraphic and subtle zircon inheritance data are equally incompatible with accretion of oceanic allochthons. Many classical granite-greenstone terrains, including most well-documented komatiite occurrences, thus appear to have formed in extensional environments within or on the margins of older continental crust. Closest modern analogues for such basalt-komatiite-rhyolite-dominated greenstone successions are rifts, marginal basins and volcanic rifted margins. Indeed, these environments have high preservation potential compared with fully oceanic settings. Collapse and structural telescoping of these highly extended volcano-sedimentary basins would allow for the complex structural development seen in granite-greenstone terrains while maintaining broadly autochthonous to parautochthonous tectonostratigraphic relationships. Seismic reflection profiles cannot discriminate between these telescoped autochthonous to parautochthonous settings and truly allochthonous accretionary complexes. Only carefully constructed structural-stratigraphic cross-sections, allowing some degree of palinspastic reconstruction, and underpinned by sufficient U-Pb zircon dating, can address the degree of allochthoneity of greenstone packages. Furthermore, seismic reflection profiles are essentially blind for the steep structures produced by multiple phases of upright folding and buoyant rise of mid- to lower-crustal, composite, granitoid and gneiss domes. Such structures are ubiquitous in granite-greenstone terrains and, indeed, most of these terrains appear to have experienced at least one phase of convective overturn to re-establish a stable density configuration, irrespective of the complexities of the pre-doming structural history. Buoyant rise of mid- to lower-crustal granitoid and gneiss domes can explain the typical size and spacing characteristics of such domes in granite-greenstone terranes, and the coeval deposition of late-kinematic, Timiskaming-type' conglomerate-sandstone successions in flanking basins. The extensional and subsequent contractional evolution of granite-greenstone terrains may have occurred in the overall context of a plate tectonic regime (e.g. volcanic rifted margins, back-arc basins) but highly extended, intraplate, rift-like settings seem equally plausible. Explaining the evolution of the latter in terms of Wilson cycles is misguided. Periods of intense rifting and flood volcanism (e.g. 2.73-2.70 Ga) may have been related to increased mantle plume activity or perhaps catastrophic mantle overturn events. Although there is evidence for plate-like lateral movement in late Archaean time (e.g. lateral heterogeneity of cratons, arc-like volcanism, cratonscale deformation patterns, strike-slip faults, etc.), the details of how these plate-like crustal blocks interacted and how they responded to rifting and collision appear to have differed significantly from those in Phanerozoic time. The most productive approach for Archaean research is probably to more fully understand and quantify these differences rather than the common emphasis on the superficial similarities with modern plate tectonics.

Description: The continental cycle of silicate weathering and metamorphism dynamically buffers atmospheric CO2 and climate. Feedback is provided by the temperature dependence of silicate weathering. Here we argue that hydrothermal alteration of oceanic basalts also dynamically buffers CO2. The oceanic cycle is linked to the mantle via subduction of carbonatized basalts and degassing of CO2 at the mid-ocean ridges. Feedback is provided by the dependence of carbonatization on the amount of dissolved carbonate in sea water. Unlike the continental cycle, the oceanic cycle has no thermostat. Hence surface temperatures can become very low if CO2 is the only greenhouse gas apart from water. Currently the continental cycle is more important, but early in Earth's history the oceanic cycle was probably dominant. We argue that CO2 greenhouses thick enough to defeat the faint early Sun are implausible and that, if no other greenhouse gases are invoked, very cold climates are expected for much of Proterozoic and Archaean time. We echo current fashion and favour biogenic methane as the chief supplement to CO2. Fast weathering and probable subduction of abundant impact ejecta would have reduced CO2 levels still further in Hadean time. Despite its name, the Hadean Eon might have been the coldest era in the history of the Earth.

Description: Lithosphere that formed in Archaean and possibly early Proterozoic time is thicker, more buoyant, and geochemically distinct from lithosphere that formed after about 2.3 Ga. Mantle xenolith and seismic data indicate that some cratonic roots, or keels', extend to depths of c. 250 km, compared with normal continental lithosphere of thickness 150 km or less; yet many cratons have experienced uplift, dyking and kimberlite emplacement, suggesting interactions with hot, rising asthenosphere referred to as mantle plumes. Plumes supply additional heat to the base of the lithospheric plates, whose base can be heated and entrained in the flow (thermal erosion). How have these cratonic keels persisted despite their interactions with mantle plumes? The geometry of cratonic keels during their interactions with mantle plumes is a critical factor controlling keel preservation. To a laterally spreading plume head, cratonic keels appear as major obstacles, and the hot, buoyant plume material ponds beneath thinner lithosphere. Our model simulations show that deep keels deflect mantle plume material and that steep gradients at the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary between Archaean keels and normal' lithosphere will focus flow, leading to localized adiabatic decompression melting. Plume processes can lead to a reduction in the breadth of a cratonic root where the plume rises beneath the craton, regardless of the initial breadth of the craton. Where the plume rises beneath a craton the hot plume material will spread laterally beneath the keel and attain thicknesses of tens of kilometres. This transfers heat to the base of the lithosphere and could generate small volumes of melt at considerable depth, depending on the composition of the lower lithosphere. We have used model simulations of plumes beneath Africa to predict the magnitude and direction of seismic anisotropy caused by lateral flow of hot plume material beneath and around a cratonic keel. The shear-wave splitting in our models is greatest at the edge of the cratonic keel, and its azimuth is parallel to the plume flow direction.

Description: Depressurization of reservoirs in petroliferous basins commonly occurs through cap-rocks at structural crests where pore pressures are locally elevated because of either the presence of a hydrocarbon column or the redistribution of overpressures by water flow along laterally extensive inclined permeable aquifers. In exhumed petroliferous basins this deflation of excess pore pressures is enhanced by the denudation process, which results in the large-scale removal of overburden during regional uplift. Evidence from the exhumed basins of the Atlantic margin indicates that hydrocarbon accumulations in these basins are commonly characterized by underfilled traps and hydrostatically pressured or modestly overpressured reservoirs. These observations are reviewed in the context of the generic mechanisms by which top-seals leak, the properties of cap-rocks and the physical processes that occur during exhumation. Water-wet shaly cap-rocks can form a capillary seal to a hydrocarbon column while simultaneously accommodating brine flow and equilibration of pressures between the reservoir and the top-seal. In contrast, thick, low-permeability shale or evaporite sequences may form pressure seals that restrict vertical brine and hydrocarbon flow and prevent the equilibration of aquifer pressures above and below the seal. In any sedimentary basin, the presence of regional pressure seals can result in a layered hydrogeological regime with hydrostatically pressured strata decoupled from over- or underpressured cells. Recently exhumed basins typically show limited overpressuring and in a number of these basins underpressured reservoirs have been described. Post-exhumation overpressure generation is primarily driven by tectonic compression, aquathermal pressuring and hydraulic head. The fluid retention capacity of any cap-rock lithology during exhumation is dependent upon the physical and mechanical characteristics of the cap-rock at the time of exhumation and the timing and conditions of the associated deformation relative to the timing of hydrocarbon emplacement. The permeability and deformational characteristics of halite render it an excellent cap-rock with a high retention capacity, even under conditions of exhumation. However, mudrocks may also form effective cap-rocks in exhumed basins when the deformation associated with exhumation occurs before embrittlement and the shale cap-rock exhibits ductile behaviour. Shale and evaporite cap-rocks form the main regional seals to hydrocarbon accumulations in exhumed basins of the Atlantic margin and borderlands. Syn-exhumation top-seal efficiency (fluid retention capacity) is a major exploration risk in these basins, although post-exhumation top-seal integrity in these basins may be relatively high under certain conditions. Consequently, a major exploration risk factor in exhumed basin settings pertains to the limited hydrocarbon budget available post-regional uplift and the efficiency of the remigration process.

Description: The volcanic succession in the inland Prinsen af Wales Bjerge contains the oldest known onshore lava flows (61 Ma) of the Palaeogene East Greenland flood basalt province. These flows and interbedded sediments define the Urbjerget Formation and are found in the southernmost part of Prinsen af Wales Bjerge. Flows of the Urbjerget Formation are chemically similar to the coastal Vandfaldsdalen Formation flows and the two formations may be chronostratigraphical equivalents. The Urbjerget Formation is overlain by the 〈 57 Ma tholeiitic basalts of the Milne Land Formation. Four regional volcanic formations are found along the Blosseville Kyst, but the Milne Land Formation is the only one present in the southern Prinsen af Wales Bjerge. Flows of the absent formations (Geikie Plateau, Romer Fjord and Skraenterne formations) may not have been able to enter the area due to local uplift, more distal located eruption sites or possibly topographic features. A high-Si (SiO2 〉 52 wt%) lave flow succession in the Milne Land Formation consists of crustally contaminated magmas which were arrested in crustal chambers as the magma supply rate from the mantle decreased, either due to a general lowering of potential mantle temperatures or a decrease in the rate of continental rifting. Tholeiitic high-Ti flows (MgO: 10-15 wt%, TiO2: 5-6 wt%) within the Milne Land Formation are unique to the Prinsen af Wales Bjerge region, and equivalents have not been reported from other flood basalt provinces. Local flow composition variations in the Milne Land Formation can be explained as the result of melting under lithosphere of variable thickness, small-scale variations in mantle composition and mixing in small magma chambers. Unconformably overlying the Milne Land Formation is a succession of c. 53 Ma alkaline flows, known as the Prinsen af Wales Bjerge Formation. Several crater sites are known from this flow succession and this suggests that the Prinsen af Wales Formation was only covered locally by later volcanic or sedimentary units. The duration of alkaline volcanic activity in the Prinsen af Wales Bjerge is not well constrained but may have been less than 2.5 Ma. The hiatus between the Urbjerget and Milne Land formations is a regional feature in the North Atlantic as it occurs at a similar stratigraphic level at Nansen Fjord, the Faroe Islands and in the ODP Leg 152 volcanic succession off SE Greenland at c. 63{degrees}N. It represents a 3-4 Ma long cessation of, or very low frequency of activity in East Greenland/Faroese volcanism and may be explained as the time interval between two pulses in the palaeo-Icelandic plume.

Description: Quartz veins in the Eastern Tonale mylonite zone (Italian Alps) were deformed in strike-slip shear. Due to the synkinematic emplacement of the Adamello Pluton, a temperature gradient between 280{degrees}C and 700{degrees}C was effected across this fault zone. The resulting dynamic recrystallization microstructures are characteristic of bulging recrystallization, subgrain rotation recrystallization and grain boundary migration recrystallization. The transitions in recrystallization mechanisms are marked by discrete changes of grain size dependence on temperature. Differential stresses are calculated from the recrystallized grain size data using paleopiezometric relationships. Deformation temperatures are obtained from metamorphic reactions in the deformed host rock. Flow stresses and deformation temperatures are used to determine the strain rate of the Tonale mylonites through integration with several published flow laws yielding an average rate of approximately 10-14s-1 to 10-12s-1. The deformation conditions of the natural fault rocks are compared and correlated with three experimental dislocation creep regimes of quartz of Hirth & Tullis. Linking the microstructures of the naturally and experimentally deformed quartz rocks, a recrystallization mechanism map is presented. This map permits the derivation of temperature and strain rate for mylonitic fault rocks once the recrystallization mechanism is known.

Description: Sulphide-rich sediments, stromatolitic limestones and tidal-flat deposits in the late Archaean (2.7 Ga) Manjeri and Cheshire Formations, Belingwe greenstone belt, Zimbabwe show evidence for complex and extensive prokaryotic mat communities, including (1) shallow-water coastal sulphur mats; (2) mats, probably in somewhat deeper water; (3) nearby stromatolites that lived by oxygenic photosynthesis in shallow coastal settings. Petrological and geochemical (rare earth element; REE) evidence, coupled with high-resolution stable isotope results, identifies several complex interdependent metabolic consortia of bacteria and archaea. These microbial consortia would have exchanged nutrients and products both locally within prokaryotic mats and more widely via the waters of the Belingwe basin. This isotopic, sedimentological and REE evidence for a complex ecology of bacteria and archaea is consistent with metabolic inferences from rRNA phylogeny and is direct evidence that a diverse prokaryotic community, managing carbon on a global scale, had evolved by the late Archaean.

Description: High pressure (HP) and ultrahigh (UHP) metamorphic rocks are exhumed from subduction zones at high rates on the order of plate velocity (cm/year). Their structural and microstructural record provides insight into conditions and physical state along the plate interface in subduction zones to depths of 〉100 km. Amazingly, many identified (U)HP metamorphic rocks appear not to be significantly deformed at (U)HP conditions, despite their history within a high strain rate mega-shearzone. Other (U)HP metamorphic rocks seem to be deformed exclusively by dissolution-precipitation creep. Indications of deformation by dislocation creep are lacking, apart from omphacite in some eclogites. Available flow laws for dislocation creep (extrapolated to low natural strain rates, which is equivalent to no deformation on the time scales of subduction and exhumation, i.e., 1 to 10 Ma) pose an upper bound to the magnitude of stress as a function of temperature along the trajectory followed by the rock. Although the record of exhumed (U)HP metamorphic rocks may only be representative of specific types or evolutionary stages of subduction zones, for such cases it implies: (1) strongly localized deformation; (2) predominance of dissolution-precipitation creep and fluid-assisted granular flow in the shear zones, suggesting Newtonian behaviour; (3) low magnitude of differential stress; which (4) is on the order of the stress drop inferred for earthquakes; and (5) negligible shear heating. These findings are easily reconciled with exhumation by forced flow in a low viscosity subduction channel prior to collision, implying effective decoupling between the plates.

Description: To investigate the influence of stress on permeability anisotropy during mechanical compaction, a series of triaxial compression experiments with a new loading configuration called hybrid compression were conducted on three porous sandstones. The effective mean and differential stresses in hybrid compression tests were identical to those in conventional triaxial extension tests. Permeability was measured along the axial direction in both hybrid compression and conventional extension tests, which corresponds to flow along the maximum principal stress direction in the former case and the minimum principal stress direction in the latter case. Since their loading paths coincide, the comparison of permeability values from the two types of tests provides quantitative estimates of the development of permeability anisotropy as a function of effective mean and differential stresses. Our data show that the permeability evolution is primarily controlled by stress. Before the onset of shear-enhanced compaction C*, permeability and porosity reduction are solely controlled by the effective mean stress, with negligible stress-induced anisotropy. With the onset of shear-enhanced compaction and initiation of cataclastic flow, the deviatoric stress induces enhanced permeability and porosity reduction. The permeability tensor may show significant anisotropy. Our data indicate that the maximum principal component of permeability tensor k1 is parallel to the maximum principal stress {sigma}1, and the minimum principal component k3 is parallel to the minimum principal stress {sigma}3. During the initiation and development of shear-enhanced compaction, k1 can exceed k3 by as much as two orders of magnitude. With the progressive development of cataclastic flow, changes of permeability and porosity become gradual again, and the stress-induced permeability anisotropy diminishes as k1 and k3 gradually converge. Our data imply that permeability can be highly anisotropic in tectonic settings undergoing cataclastic flow, inducing the fluid to flow preferentially along conduits subparallel to the maximum compression direction. However, this development of permeability anisotropy is transient in nature, becoming negligible with an accumulation of strain of about 10%. The anisotropic development of permeability in a lithified rock is dominantly controlled by microcracking and pore collapse. This is fundamentally different from the mechanisms active in unconsolidated materials such as sediments and fault gouges, in which the permeability evolution is primarily controlled by the development of fabric and shear localization via the accumulation of shear strain.

Description: Several recent studies have suggested that antitaxial fibrous veins may form without fracturing, and not by the commonly invoked crack-seal mechanism. It has also been suggested that such veins would derive their nutrients locally by diffusional transport. This hypothesis was tested on carbonaceous shale-hosted antitaxial fibrous calcite veins from Oppaminda Creek in the northern Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Apart from their fibrous texture, these veins lack the classical features of crack-seal veins, such as wallrock-parallel inclusion bands. Diffusional transport of locally derived calcite cannot explain all major and trace element data of the veins and their adjacent wallrock and indicate that part of the calcite was transported over distances of at least 〉decimetres, probably 〉〉100m. Sr isotopic fingerprinting shows that an external fluid that carried radiogenic Sr must have percolated through the system. Fluid flow was pervasive as there is no evidence that this fluid preferentially percolated through the veins. Our data support the view that antitaxial fibrous veins of the type found at Oppaminda Creek grew in the absence of fractures, but show that such veins do not necessarily indicate local diffusional transport. Our data confirm a recently postulated basin-wide fluid flow event around 586 Ma that is probably related to copper mineralization in the area.

Description: Multidisciplinary studies undertaken within the EU-funded PACE Network have permitted a new 3-D reassessment of the relationships between the principal crustal blocks abutting Baltica along the Trans-European Suture Zone (TESZ). The simplest model indicates that accretion was in three stages: end-Cambrian accretion of the Bruno-Silesian, [L]ysogory and Ma[l]opolska terranes; late Ordovician accretion of Avalonia, and early Carboniferous accretion of the Armorican Terrane Assemblage (ATA), which had coalesced during Late Devonian -- Early Carboniferous time. All these accreted blocks contain similar Neoproterozoic basement indicating a peri-Gondwanan origin: Palaeozoic plume-influenced metabasite geochemistry in the Bohemian Massif in turn may explain their progressive separation from Gondwana before their accretion to Baltica, although separation of the Bruno-Silesian and related blocks from Baltica during the Cambrian is contentious. Inherited ages from both the Bruno-Silesian crustal block and Avalonia contain a 1.5 Ga Rondonian' component arguing for proximity to the Amazonian craton at the end of the Neoproterozoic: such a component is absent from Armorican terranes, which suggests that they have closer affinities with the West African craton. Models showing the former locations of these terranes and the larger continents from which they rifted, or to which they became attached, must conform to the above constraints, as well as those provided by palaeomagnetic data. Hence, at the end of the Proterozoic and in the early Palaeozoic, these smaller terranes, some of which contain Neoproterozoic ophiolitic marginal basin and magmatic arc remnants, probably occurred within the end-Proterozoic supercontinent as part of a Pacific-type' margin, which became dismembered and relocated as the supercontinent fragmented.

Description: The Superior Province, which forms the nucleus of North America, is the largest preserved Archaean crustal block in the world and may have originated as the result of a widespread crustal accretion event (c. 2.7 Ga) manifested in Archaean cratons worldwide. An understanding of the accretionary evolution of this craton is the objective of the continuing Lithoprobe transect in the Western Superior Province, Canada. The geophysical components of the transect include seismic reflection and refraction, magnetotellurics and teleseismic experiments. The Teleseismic Western Superior Transect (TWiST) was designed to explore the structural and physical properties of the subcrustal lithosphere and their implications for proposed accretionary models. A north-south-trending array of 17 broadband three-component seismometers was deployed between May and November 1997. Surface-wave analyses, SKS-splitting studies and travel-time tomography show variations in the velocity structure and anisotropy between the southern end of the transect, a region affected by Keweenawan rifting, and the northern part, which lies in the Proterozoic Trans-Hudson shear zone. Surface waves reveal evidence for a thin high-velocity layer, 5-20 km thick, beneath a 37-43 km thick crust and above c. 250 km of high-velocity continental root. This thin layer is also visible in wide-angle refraction data from the southern end of the line and may be evidence of underplating during terrane accretion. Discrepancies in the Love and Rayleigh waves and surface-wave particle motions show evidence for an anisotropic mantle. SKS analysis shows large amounts (up to 2 s) of shear-wave splitting with a roughly eastwest trend in the fast-shear-wave polarization direction for most stations. This conforms with crustal deformation trends. Stations in the younger Trans-Hudson orogen show much less splitting. Detailed analysis at a permanent station in the Western Superior shows evidence for two layers of anisotropy. A thinner upper layer is aligned with the surface geology, indicating crust-mantle coupling during craton formation, whereas a thicker lower layer is aligned with the direction of absolute plate motion. Tomographic results show a featureless mantle beneath the Sachigo proto-craton and more heterogeneity towards the south end of the line. A steeply dipping slab-like feature in the lithosphere correlates with wide-angle refraction and deep-reflection seismic profiles. A similar high-velocity feature continues well into the transition zone, but its origin remains to be understood. Towards the southern end of the line there is a deep-seated low-velocity anomaly, which may be associated with Keweenawan plume activity. As a whole, the seismic results show many features that support ideas of subduction-related accretion of a thick stable Archaean tectosphere. There are, however, interesting details that are to date unique to the Western Superior Province. These include thicker than normal Archaean crust, a slab-like velocity anomaly in the mantle transition zone, and large SKS splitting in the Archaean Superior Province but little splitting in the surrounding Trans-Hudson Proterozoic shear zone.

Description: This review discusses the attempts that have been made by geologists to numerically simulate the evolution of microstructures in rocks. The strengths and weaknesses of the differing techniques are compared and equivalent materials science results are included. In particular we focus on the application of techniques that have been used to predict texture development, grain boundary geometries, deformation in one and two-phase systems and crystal growth.

Description: Continued studies of xenolith suites found in kimberlites on and around the Kaapvaal Craton, together with those from newly discovered localities on other cratons, are providing new insights into the generation and evolution of the Earth's oldest continents. Comparison of modal abundance data with melt depletion models, together with trace element and isotope systematics in Kaapvaal low-temperature peridotites, suggest that much or all of the diopside and garnet in these rocks may have formed significantly after initial melt depletion. The Re-Os isotope system has been instrumental in providing an improved understanding of the timing of the formation of cratonic lithospheric keels. New studies that focus on carefully selected whole-rock peridotites and use combined platinum group element (PGE) and Re-Os isotope analysis provide better constraints on the significance of Re-Os model ages. The large database of Re-Os isotope analyses for peridotites for the Kaapvaal Craton indicate formation of significant amounts of lithospheric mantle in Neoarchaean time, associated with voluminous mafic magmatism. Formation of lithospheric mantle in Neoarchean time (3.0-2.5 Ga) follows the cessation of major crustal differentiation events at c. 3.1 Ga and marks the onset of craton stabilization. Some lithospheric mantle was produced in Palaeo- to Mesoarchaean time (3.8-3.0 Ga) in southern Africa, which preserved ancient crustal fragments. Large-scale preservation of Archaean continental masses was effective only after the formation of substantial, buoyant, rigid, deep lithospheric keels and their stabilization in Neoarchean time. Formation of lithospheric mantle beneath the surrounding Proterozoic crustal regions occurred in Mesoproterozoic time, with lower degrees of mantle melting than associated with the cratonic peridotites. This circum-cratonic mantle is of similar age to the oldest overlying crust and has been coupled to the margins of the craton since its formation. Major magmatic events, some coincident with the formation of circumcratonic mantle, added new lithosphere to the Kaapvaal mantle root but failed to destroy it. The mechanically strong, buoyant lithospheric keels beneath cratons protect their crust from subduction and recycling over 3 Ga time periods.

Description: We present fault analyses from the exhumed middle crustal slab of the High Himalaya in eastern Lunana in NW Bhutan. Fault planes from within two-mica, tourma-line-bearing leucogranites, leucogranitic rocks and migmatites indicate a complex brittle fault pattern with two distinct fault groups. A first group of faults (D1) characterized by chlorite, quartz and tourmaline slickenfibres is mainly defined by steeply SSE-dipping oblique-slip normal faults, and by shallowly NNW-dipping normal faults. A second, younger group of faults (D2) characterized by cataclasis products comprises strike-slip faults displaying conjugate patterns and E- and W-dipping conjugate normal faults, all which indicate E-W extension. Cross-cutting relationships amongst the D1 fault group demonstrate that progressively steeper members of the fault group become younger within the NNW-dipping faults and become older within the SSE-dipping faults. These are all post-dated by the D2 fault group. The D1 fault group indicates that the slab experienced ongoing NNW-SSE extension (i.e. flow) via brittle fault accommodation, contemporaneous with fault rotation. This may reflect rotation of the entire upper orogen due to movement over deeply located major ramp structures formed by out-of-sequence thrusting (Kakhtang Thrust) within the High Himalayan Slab of the Bhutan Himalaya.

Description: X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques have been applied to quantitative texture analysis of a glaucophanite from the Sesia-Lanzo Zone (Western Italian Alps), naturally deformed under eclogite facies conditions. The comparison has been carried out in order to reveal the limits and problems of texture analysis related to strongly deformed polymineralic. Different methods of measuring and computing the orientation distribution function from diffraction data have been tested, in particular X-rays, direct peak integration, and neutron diffraction using Rietveld-texture analysis. Due to grain-size problems and heterogeneity of individual amphibole minerals, neutron radiation is shown to be the best probe for characterizing the whole rock: being more penetrative than conventional X-rays, a larger volume of the mineral aggregate is sampled, giving better statistics. However, results obtained by summing the corresponding individual spectra of at least three X-ray diffraction experiments on parallel slabs of the same specimen also give statistically valid, semiquantitative results that reproduce the overall textures. The quantitative texture analysis shows the strong texture of the two generations of amphiboles (AmpI and AmpII), which are mainly characterized by [001]*-directions at an angle of about 10{degrees} to the mineral lineation and by (hk0) planes describing girdles around the lineation. The texture is comparable to those described in the literature for amphibole deformed under different temperature and pressure conditions, and the pronounced asymmetry of the [001]* directions with respect to the mineral lineation is consistent with a non-coaxial component that occurs during the deformation.

Description: The influence of the dominance of different processes on the microstructural development of a quartzite was investigated using the numerical model ELLE'. Dynamic recrystallization of a polycrystalline aggregate was simulated by the concurrent operation of viscous deformation, lattice rotation, subgrain formation, rotational recrystallization, nucleation of new grains from strongly strained grains and recovery. The different observed microstructural characteristics depend on the relative rates at which grain boundary migration, subgrain formation, recrystallization by rotation and nucleation affect the microstructure. Observed sizes of recrystallized grains are significantly influenced by these different relative rates of processes. These rates are determined by parameters that mainly depend on temperature, fluid absence or presence, shear stress and strain rate. Therefore, the specific conditions at which deformation took place have to be taken into account if recrystallized grain sizes are used for palaeopiezometry. Comparison and combination of our results with experimental data and observations in natural examples provide the possibility of interpreting microstructures quantitatively in terms of temperature and shear strain rate.