A Brief Account of New Petrographic and Isotopic Insights into the Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire Puddingstones of SE England

Determining the process of silicification in silcretes is essential to understanding their environmental significance. For the late Paleocene silcretes of the Anglo-Paris basin this is of particular interest due to their association with the PETM (Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum). Here puddingstone samples from Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire have been examined by optical, BSEM and CL petrography, X-ray diffraction and oxygen isotope analysis. The range of quartz sand luminescence colours indicates a diverse provenance. Flint pebbles show little variability, consistent with a single source. The oxygen isotope compositional range of the flint pebbles is consistent with chemical sedimentation at normal temperatures from Cretaceous seawater, and with the pebbles being derived from the Chalk Group (Upper Cretaceous). The majority of pebbles are well rounded and have an outer zone that is either iron-stained or weathered. Fracturing of pebbles typically post-dates the weathering/oxidation and pre-dates deposition of the pebble bed. A small proportion of the pebbles have been fractured in situ; this fracturing post-dates deposition and pre-dates silicification. Matrix fabrics are diverse, ranging from very fine sand with a cryptocrystalline quartz cement to medium sand with macro-quartz cement with luminescence zoning. Minor formation of authigenic Ti oxides has occurred and locally authigenic Fe oxides are abundant. Ti oxides formed during, or immediately before, silcrete formation, while the Fe oxides are possibly associated with more recent weathering. The oxygen isotope data for the silica cement are consistent with silcrete formation from highlands-derived, low-18O meteoric groundwater at warm near-surface temperatures

Oxygen-isotope Variations in Post-glacial Lake Ontario

The role of glacial meltwater input to the Atlantic Ocean in triggering the Younger Dryas (YD) cooling event has been the subject of controversy in recent literature. Lake Ontario is ideally situated to test for possible meltwater passage from upstream glacial lakes and the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) to the Atlantic Ocean via the lower Great Lakes. Here, we use the oxygen-isotope compositions of ostracode valves and clam shells from three Lake Ontario sediment cores to identify glacial meltwater contributions to ancient Lake Ontario since the retreat of the LIS (~16,500 cal [13,300 14C] BP). Differences in mineralogy and sediment grain size are also used to identify changes in the hydrologic regime. The average lakewater δ18O of –17.5 ‰ (determined from ostracode compositions) indicates a significant contribution from glacial meltwater. Upon LIS retreat from the St. Lawrence lowlands, ancient Lake Ontario (glacial Lake Iroquois) lakewater δ18O increased to –12 ‰ largely because of the loss of low-18O glacial meltwater input. A subsequent decrease in lakewater δ18O (from –12 to –14 ‰), accompanied by a median sediment grain size increase to 9 μm, indicates that ancient Lake Ontario received a final pulse of meltwater (~13,000-12,500 cal [11,100-10,500 14C] BP) before the onset of hydrologic closure. This meltwater pulse, which is also recorded in a previously reported brief freshening of the neighbouring Champlain Valley (Cronin et al., 2012), may have contributed to a weakening of thermohaline circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. After 12,900 cal [11,020 14C] BP, the meltwater presence in the Lake Ontario basin continued to inhibit entry of Champlain seawater into early Lake Ontario. Opening of the North Bay outlet diverted upper Great Lakes water from the lower Great Lakes causing a period (12,300-8,300 cal [10,400-7,500 14C] BP) of hydrologic closure in Lake Ontario (Anderson and Lewis, 2012). This change is demarcated by a shift to higher δ18Olakewater (~ –7 ‰), driven in part by strong evaporative conditions in the Ontario basin and in part by increasing δ18Oprecipitation at this time. The δ18Olakewater then fluctuated only slightly upon the eventual return of the upper Great Lakes water during the Nipissing phase at 5,800 cal [5,090 14C] cal BP (Anderson and Lewis, 2012), after which shelly fauna are no longer preserved in the sediment record

Solving the woolly mammoth conundrum: amino acid 15N-enrichment suggests a distinct forage or habitat

Understanding woolly mammoth ecology is key to understanding Pleistocene community dynamics and evaluating the roles of human hunting and climate change in late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions. Previous isotopic studies of mammoths’ diet and physiology have been hampered by the ‘mammoth conundrum’: woolly mammoths have anomalously high collagen δ15N values, which are more similar to coeval carnivores than herbivores and which could imply a distinct diet and (or) habitat, or a physiological adaptation. We analyzed individual amino acids from collagen of adult woolly mammoths and coeval species and discovered greater  15N enrichment in source amino acids of woolly mammoths than in most other herbivores or carnivores. Woolly mammoths consumed an isotopically distinct food source, reflective of extreme aridity, dung fertilization and (or) plant selection. This dietary signal suggests that woolly mammoths occupied a distinct habitat or forage niche relative to other Pleistocene herbivores

An Overview of Anorthosite-bearing Layered Intrusions in the Archaean Craton of Southern West Greenland and the Superior Province of Canada: Implications for Archaean Tectonics and the Origin of Megacrystic Plagioclase

Anorthosite-bearing layered intrusions are unique to the Archaean rock record and are abundant in the Archaean craton of southern West Greenland and the Superior Province of Canada. These layered intrusions consist mainly of ultramafic rocks, gabbros, leucogabbros and anorthosites, and typically contain high-Ca (\u3eAn70) megacrystic (2–30 cm in diameter) plagioclase in anorthosite and leucogabbro units. They are spatially and temporally associated with basalt-dominated greenstone belts and are intruded by syn-to post-tectonic granitoid rocks. The layered intrusions, greenstone belts and granitoids all share the geochemical characteristics of Phanerozoic subduction zone magmas, suggesting that they formed mainly in a suprasubduction zone setting. Archaean anorthosite-bearing layered intrusions and spatially associated greenstone belts are interpreted to be fragments of oceanic crust, representing dismembered subduction-related ophiolites. We suggest that large degrees of partial melting (25–35%) in the hotter (1500–1600 °C) Archaean upper mantle beneath rifting arcs and backarc basins produced shallow, kilometre-scale hydrous magma chambers. Field observations suggest that megacrystic anorthosites were generated at the top of the magma chambers, or in sills, dykes and pods in the oceanic crust. The absence of high-Ca megacrystic anorthosites in post-Archaean layered intrusions and oceanic crust reflects the decline of mantle temperatures resulting from secular cooling of the Earth

Nitrogen Isotopes Suggest a Change in Nitrogen Dynamics between the Late Pleistocene and Modern Time in Yukon, Canada

A magnificent repository of Late Pleistocene terrestrial megafauna fossils is contained in ice-rich loess deposits of Alaska and Yukon, collectively eastern Beringia. The stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope compositions of bone collagen from these fossils are routinely used to determine paleodiet and reconstruct the paleoecosystem. This approach requires consideration of changes in C- and N-isotope dynamics over time and their effects on the terrestrial vegetation isotopic baseline. To test for such changes between the Late Pleistocene and modern time, we compared δ13C and δ15N for vegetation and bone collagen and structural carbonate of some modern, Yukon, arctic ground squirrels with vegetation and bones from Late Pleistocene fossil arctic ground squirrel nests preserved in Yukon loess deposits. The isotopic discrimination between arctic ground squirrel bone collagen and their diet was measured using modern samples, as were isotopic changes during plant decomposition; Over-wintering decomposition of typical vegetation following senescence resulted in a minor change (~0±1 ½) in δ13C of modern Yukon grasses. A major change (~2±10 ½) in δ15N was measured for decomposing Yukon grasses thinly covered by loess. As expected, the collagen-diet C-isotope discrimination measured for modern samples confirms that modern vegetation δ13C is a suitable proxy for the Late Pleistocene vegetation in Yukon Territory, after correction for the Suess effect. The N-isotope composition of vegetation from the fossil arctic ground squirrel nests, however, is determined to be ~2.8‰ higher than modern grasslands in the region, after correction for decomposition effects. This result suggests a change in N dynamics in this region between the Late Pleistocene and modern time

Giant Beaver Palaeoecology Inferred from Stable Isotopes

This is a multi-individual (n = 11), stable carbon and nitrogen isotope study of bone collagen (δ13Ccol and δ15Ncol) from the giant beaver (genus Castoroides). The now-extinct giant beaver was once one of the most widespread Pleistocene megafauna in North America. We confirm that Castoroides consumed a diet of predominantly submerged aquatic macrophytes. These dietary preferences rendered the giant beaver highly dependent on wetland habitat for survival. Castoroides’ δ13Ccol and δ15Ncol do not support the hypothesis that the giant beaver consumed trees or woody plants, which suggests that it did not share the same behaviours as Castor (i.e., tree-cutting and harvesting). The onset of warmer, more arid conditions likely contributed to the extinction of Castoroides. Six new radiocarbon dates help establish the chronology of the northward dispersal of the giant beaver in Beringia, indicating a correlation with ice sheet retreat

Stable Isotopes of Clay Minerals from Autoclave Tests of Oil Sands: Implications for Clay Formation during Steaming of Alberta Clearwater Oil Sands

In an effort to evaluate mineral-water isotopic exchange during cyclic steam stimulation (CSS), solutions and\u3c2 μm berthierine-dominated solids from the Clearwater Formation oil sands of Alberta, Canada were analyzed for stable isotope compositions before and after reaction in autoclaves for 1008 h at 250 °C. There was no significant change in solution δ18O and δ2H, which is consistent with the high water/mineral ratio used in the experiments. The solids showed a marked decrease in both δ18O and δ2H following the experiments. Pre-run solids have δ18O of +9.5 to +12.9‰and δ2H of −114 to −113‰, whereas post-run solids have δ18O of −4.7 to +2.1‰ and δ2H of −147 to −128‰. Neither oxygen- nor hydrogen-isotope equilibrium was established between the solids and the solutions. Calculation suggests that oxygen-isotope exchange (44–58%) was greater between the solids and the solutions than was the case for hydrogen isotopes (23–50%). We propose that this behaviour resulted from partial inheritance of the pre-run berthierine structure during formation of the post-run smectite, chlorite-smectite and chlorite. This process confounds the use of clay mineral stable isotope compositions as a temperature indicator of in situ steam/steam condensate interaction with oil-sands reservoirs. The results also suggest an additional mechanism by which new clay minerals can be formed during CSS-related, artificial diagenesis

Stable isotope investigation of the migratory behavior of silverhaired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in eastern North America

We investigated the migratory movements of silver-haired bats (Lasionycteris noctivagans) across the eastern extent of the species’ range. We conducted stable hydrogen isotope analysis of fur samples (δ2Hfur) from museum specimens collected across latitudes and at all times of the year. We first used these data to estimate the timing of fur replacement and to develop a model associating δ2Hfur with that of local precipitation (δ2Hprecip) at the location where fur replacement occurred. We then used this model to 1) identify individuals that had migrated across latitudes, and 2) investigate the presence of continental-scale patterns in the estimated distance traveled. Bats were at their location of fur replacement between 20 June and 26 August, and there was a strong linear relationship between δ2Hfur and δ2Hprecip in bats collected during this time. There was substantial variation in the migratory movements of this species. Twenty-four of 38 females and 14 of 30 males showed isotopic evidence of leaving the area where fur replacement occurred (i.e., migrating across latitudes), whereas the remaining bats were either sedentary or moved at a small spatial scale. Males appeared to migrate consistently, regardless of latitude of origin, whereas there was a partial leapfrog pattern in migratory movements of females. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of leapfrog migration in bat

Origin of Graphite in the Southwestern Grenville Province

Two graphite deposits in the southwestern Grenville Province are investigated to evaluate the origin of graphitic carbon and to test if the graphite mineralization is syngenetic or epigenetic. Graphite mineralization in the Bissett Creek deposit is characterized by homogeneously distributed and disseminated graphite flakes (approximately 1 to 5 mm in size and 2 to 10 vol.%) within graphitic gneisses. The graphite flakes are intergrown with metamorphic minerals, most notably biotite. The Montpellier graphite showing in Qu´ebec contains graphite concentrations of up to 20 vol.%. In contrast to the disseminated and homogenously distributed graphite in the Bissett Creek deposit, graphite mineralization at Montpellier forms lenses of variable sizes that occur at the top of a calc-silicate unit and as graphite-rich lenses in biotite-sillimanite-rich paragneiss. The δ13C of graphite ranges from –29 to –17 ‰ at Bissett Creek and from –18 to –14 ‰ at Montpellier. Carbon isotope compositions of graphite from both deposits support a biogenic source for the carbon and the spread in δ13C can be generated through Rayleigh fractionation. A minor contribution of inorganic carbon from the devolatilization of carbonate minerals is possible at Montpellier. Mineralization at Bissett Creek and Montpellier is interpreted to represent syngenetic graphite mineralization from organic-rich material during high-temperature metamorphism

Microbially induced sedimentary structures in the Paleoproterozoic, upper Huronian Supergroup, Canada

The Paleoproterozoic Gordon Lake and Bar River formations, Huronian Supergroup, contain a variety of sedimentary structures in the Flack Lake area of Ontario, Canada, that have been considered of debatable origin. We identify these structures as microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS). The preserved MISS are related to microbial mat destruction and decay, and include sand cracks, mat chips, remnant gas domes, pyrite patches, and iron laminae. A biological origin for the fossil structures is supported by their similarities to modern and ancient documented examples of MISS, the sand-dominated nature of the substrate in which they are preserved, and key microtextures identified in thin section. Microtextures include curled, frayed and layered mat chips, carbonaceous laminae, oriented grains, and concentrated heavy minerals. On outcrop scale, the presence of desiccation cracks, flaser and lenticular bedding, and ripples in association with the types of MISS identified in the Gordon Lake Formation support the interpretation of a tidal flat depositional environment. The Gordon Lake Formation contains a greater number and diversity of MISS than the overlying Bar River Formation, as a result of lower energy deposition in the former. The quartz arenite of the Bar River Formation contains fine-grained to pebbly granulestone characterized mainly by tangential and planar cross beds, which is consistent with a tidal channel or sand shoal setting. Although fossil evidence of life is rare in the rocks of the Huronian Supergroup, identification of MISS in the Flack Lake area provides a significant and convincing indication of microbial colonization at the time of deposition