Drought recorded by Ba/Ca in coastal benthic foraminifera

Increasing occurrences of extreme weather events, such as the 2018 drought over northern Europe, are a concerning issue under global climate change. High-resolution archives of natural hydroclimate proxies, such as rapidly accumulating sediments containing biogenic carbonates, offer the potential to investigate the frequency and mechanisms of such events in the past. Droughts alter the barium (Ba) concentration of near-continent seawater through the reduction in Ba input from terrestrial runoff, which in turn may be recorded as changes in the chemical composition (Ba/Ca) of foraminiferal calcium carbonates accumulating in sediments. However, so far the use of Ba/Ca as a discharge indicator has been restricted to planktonic foraminifera, despite the high relative abundance of benthic species in coastal, shallow-water sites. Moreover, benthic foraminiferal Ba/Ca has mainly been used in openocean records as a proxy for paleo-productivity. Here we report on a new geochemical data set measured from living (CTG-labeled) benthic foraminiferal species to investigate the capability of benthic Ba/Ca to record changes in river runoff over a gradient of contrasting hydroclimatic conditions. Individual foraminifera (Bulimina marginata, Non-ionellina labradorica) were analyzed by laser-ablation ICP-MS over a seasonal and spatial gradient within Gullmar Fjord, Swedish west coast, during 2018-2019. The results are compared to an extensive meteorological and hydrological data set, as well as sediment and pore-water geochemistry. Benthic foraminiferal Ba/Ca correlates significantly to riverine runoff; however, the signals contain both spatial trends with distance to Ba source and species-specific influences such as micro-habitat preferences. We deduce that shallow-infaunal foraminifera are especially suitable as proxy for terrestrial Ba input and discuss the potential influence of water-column and pore-water Ba cycling. While distance to Ba source, water depth, pore-water geochemistry, and species-specific effects need to be considered in interpreting the data, our results demonstrate confidence in the use of Ba/Ca of benthic foraminifera from near-continent records as a proxy for past riverine discharge and to identify periods of drought.Peer reviewe

Preliminary Archaeopetrological Study of the Lithic Industry From the l’Hort de la Boquera Rock Shelter (Margalef de Montsant, Tarragona, Spain): Applying Mineralogical and Geochemical Techniques

The l’Hort de la Boquera site is located in the northeastern part of Iberia and its stone tool assemblage includes up to 25,000 flint artefacts. This is the first approach to the analysis of the raw material through an archaeopetrological study. Results were obtained by use of mineralogi¬cal techniques: macroscopic and petrographic analysis, Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Micro-Raman and X-Ray diffraction (XRD); additionally, Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry was applied. It has been possible to discriminate at least four flint categories, the ‘Evaporitic flint type’ (with two local subvarieties – ‘Common evaporitic’ and ‘Garnet’ varieties) that comes from local outcrops of the Ulldemolins Complex, and two flint types that had their origin further afield: the ‘Charophyta flint type’ (coming from the Torrente de Cinca Unit) and the ‘Dark flint type’ (from the La Serra Llarga Formation).These results make this study the most comprehensive analysis of raw materials that has been carried out in the area so fa

New zircon ages from the Tasiusarsuaq terrane, southern West Greenland

In the last three field seasons the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) has undertaken mapping in the south-eastern part of the Nuuk region in southern West Greenland, and here we present new zircon ages that help constrain the northern boundary of the Tasiusarsuaq terrane. The Archaean geology of the Nuuk region is commonly interpreted as a tectonic collage assembled through lateral accretion and collision of oceanic and continental slivers and blocks (e.g. Friend & Nutman 2005). Popular jargon describes these as terranes, bounded by faults or mylonite zones and characterised by rocks of contrasting origin on either side of their tectonic boundaries (Coney et al. 1980). The Isukasia and Færingehavn terranes (Figs 1, 2) are the oldest terranes at ≥3.75 Ga, and extend from the outer part of Godthåbsfjord in the south-west to the margin of the Inland Ice in the north-east, but they might not have a common geological history (Friend & Nutman 2005). The Tre Brødre terrane is mainly represented by the Ikkatoq gneiss and occurs in close spatial relationship with the Færingehavn terrane, and also as a pronounced thrust unit along the Qarliit Nunaat thrust between the Færingehavn and Tasiusarsuaq terranes (Fig. 1; Nutman et al. 1989). The terrane boundaries in the inner fjord region near the Inland Ice margin are less well constrained; the Tre Brødre terrane extends into the region from the south-west, the Kapisilik terrane is defined from the northern and eastern part and borders the Tasiusarsuaq terrane to the south and possibly to the east. The terrane accretion is believed to have taken place in two events. The first terrane accretion is defined from the northern part of the region, and possibly involves the Isukasia, Kapisilik and Akia terranes. The thermal event stitching these terranes is dated to c. 2.99–2.95 Ga (Fig. 2; Hanmer et al. 2002; Friend & Nutman 2005). The second accretion phase of the major continental blocks is believed to have occurred at around 2.725–2.71 Ga. This second event is well described, and includes anatexis and emplacement of continental crust-derived granites, which are associated with contemporaneous metamorphism (Friend et al. 1996). Figure 2 outlines regional plutonic, metamorphic and supracrustal events. Individual terranes were formed during relatively short time periods with active geological processes of creation and recycling of continental crust, and most of the terranes follow a similar pattern of development. The first plutonic events consisted of primitive magmas and produced tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) and dioritic gneisses. Younger, more evolved granitic magmas were often intruded simultaneously with high-grade metamorphism. This development may reflect a stabilisation of the individual terranes

Geochemistry of greenstones in the Tasiusarsuaq terrane, southern West Greenland

Tonalite-trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) gneisses and melanocratic to ultramafic greenstones dominate the Archaean basement of southern West Greenland. The greenstones are likely to represent different original environments, which is important as the mineral deposits they may host depend on this. For example, massive sulphide deposits associated with gold and base metals are commonly volcanogenic, while chrome, nickel and platinum group elements are more commonly associated with layered intrusions (Robb 2005). Current investigations by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) in southern West Greenland are therefore focused on the origin of greenstones and their relationship to associated TTG gneisses. Here, we report on work in progress on greenstones within the Tasiusarsuaq terrane (Fig. 1; Friend et al. 1996). They differ from many other greenstone belts in southern West Greenland in their spatial association with the TTG gneisses. Unlike the Isua, Ivisârtoq and Storø greenstone belts in the central and northern Nuuk region, the Tasiusarsuaq greenstones are not proximal to terrane boundaries but form dismembered blocks and slivers within the terrane (Fig. 1). Contact relationships to the gneisses are almost exclusively tectonic, and primary textures are, with rare exceptions, obliterated by amphibolite to granulite facies metamorphism

The ca. 2785–2805 Ma high temperature ilivertalik intrusive complex of southern west Greenland

Ferroan granitoid intrusions are rare in the Archaean rock record, but have played a large role in the evolution of the Proterozoic crust, particular in relation to anorthosite-mangerite-charnockite-granite suites. Here we discuss the petrogenesis of the ca. 2785–2805 Ma ferroan Ilivertalik Intrusive Complex, which has many geochemical similarities to Proterozoic iron rich granitoids. We present major and trace element whole rock chemistry and combined in-situ zircon U-Pb, Hf and O isotope data. The intrusive complex divides into: (i) minor tabular units of mainly diorite-tonalite compositions, which are typically situated along contacts to the host basement and (ii) interior larger, bodies of mainly granite-granodiorite composition. Geochemically these two unites display continuous to semi-continuous trends in Haker-diagrams. Whole rock REE enrichment display increases from Yb to La, from 10–25 to 80–100 times chondrite, respectively. The diorite-tonalite samples are generally more enriched in REE compared to the granite-granodiorite samples. The complex has hafnium isotope compositions from around +1.5 to −2.5 epsilon units and δ18O compositions in the range of 6.3 to 6.6‰. The complex is interpreted to be derived from partial melting in a crustal source region during anomalously high crustal temperatures

New zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic constraints on the crustal evolution of the Skjoldungen region, South-East Greenland

We report new zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data from the Skjoldungen region between c. 62°30´ and 63°40´N in South-East Greenland. The work was carried out under the South-East Greenland Mineral Endowment Task (SEGMENT); a joint project between the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) and the Ministry of Mineral Resources (MMR) in Greenland to assess the mineral endowment and update the geological knowledge of the region using modern petrological, geochemical and geochronological tools. This paper presents new zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data from a range of different Archaean rocks in the Skjoldungen region, which greatly improve the understanding of the history of crustal growth

Tracing Proterozoic arc mantle Hf isotope depletion of southern Fennoscandia through coupled zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopes

Constraints on the composition of the depleted mantle Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf crust formation ages have a long history of scientific debate. When calculating mantle extraction ages, and constructing crustal growth models, a linear evolution of incompatible trace elements in a depleted mantle since > 4 Ga is routinely used. Mantle depletion however varies regionally and over time and subduction of sediments and oceanic crust renders a mantle-wedge variously enriched relative to a modelled depleted mantle. Here we show that primitive mantle-derived subduction related gabbroic intrusions from southern Fennoscandia have Hf isotope compositions that are enriched relative to a MORB-like linear depleted mantle evolution curve. Extrapolation of primitive Paleoproterozoic gabbro suites enables the construction of a regional mantle evolution curve, providing improved constraints on model ages, crustal residence times and the fraction of juvenile versus reworked continental crust. Convergent margins are assumed to be one of the main sites of continental crust growth, and using an overly depleted mantle source yield model ages that are too old, and hence cumulative crustal growth models show too much crust generation early in the Earth's history. The approach of using the Hf isotope composition of zircon from primitive subduction related gabbroic intrusions as a proxy for mantle Hf isotope composition, piloted in this study, can be applied to other convergent margins