scholarly journals Silicified serpentinite – a residuum of a Tertiary palaeo-weathering surface in the United Arab Emirates

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALICJA M. LACINSKA ◽  
MICHAEL T. STYLES
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Mixing Zone ◽  
Saturated Zone ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Silica Precipitation ◽  
Surface Mixing ◽  
Ph Conditions ◽  
Mineralizing Fluids

AbstractMineralogical studies of a silicified serpentinite from the United Arab Emirates throw light on the formative processes. The silicified serpentinite is a residuum of a palaeo-weathering surface that probably developed in a temperate climate with alternating wet and dry periods during middle Eocene to late Miocene times. The rock textures indicate that silicification occurred in a fluid-saturated zone. Silica precipitation is favoured at near-neutral pH. In this study we infer that these pH conditions of the mineralizing fluids could arise in a near-surface mixing zone where acidic meteoric and hyperalkaline groundwater fluids are mingled. This mingling is believed to have resulted from alternating processes of evaporation and precipitation that prevailed during dry and wet seasons, respectively. The silicified serpentinite is composed of > 95% quartz and exhibits a ghost texture of the protolith serpentinite. Preservation of the textures indicates an iso-volumetric grain-by-grain replacement by dissolution of Mg-silicate and simultaneous precipitation of either opal or microquartz as siliceous seeds. These were subsequently overgrown by silica that was probably remobilized from deeply weathered regolith elsewhere.

scholarly journals TAXONOMICAL CONSIDERATIONS, PHYLOGENY, PALEOGEOGRAPHY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY OF THE MIDDLE EOCENE (BARTONIAN) PLANKTIC FORAMINIFERA FROM JABAL HAFIT, AL AIN AREA, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-20
Author(s):  
Haidar Salim Anan
Keyword(s):  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Present Author ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Planktic Foraminifera ◽  
Oman Mountains ◽  
Foraminiferal Species ◽  
Al Ain ◽  
Eastern Limb ◽  
First Time

The taxonomical consideration, probable phylogeny and stratigraphic significance of twenty-eight middle Eocene (Bartonian) planktic foraminiferal species from the eastern limb of Jabal Hafit, Al Ain area, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Northern Oman Mountains (NOM) are presented, and twenty one of them are illustrated. Identification of these twenty-eight species belonging to ten genera Globoturborotalia, Subbotina, Globigerinatheka, Inordinatosphaera, Orbulinoides, Hantkenina, Acarinina, Morozovelloides, Pseudohastigerina and Turborotalia has led to the recognition of three biostratigraphic zones, in ascending order: Morozovelloides lehneri PRZ (E11), Orbulinoides beckmanni TRZ (E12) and Morozovelloides crassata HOZ (E13). Eight out of the identified species are recorded, in this study, for the first time from Jabal Hafit: Globoturborotalia martini, Subbotina gortanii, S. jacksonensis, S. senni, Globigerinatheca barri, Acarinina praetopilensis, A. punctocarinata and Morozovelloides bandyi. The second or third record of three species from J. Hafit outside its original records are recently documented by the present author: Inordinatosphaera indica, Hantkenina australis and H. compressa. The paleontology, paleoclimatology and paleogeographic distribution of the identified taxa at Jabal Hafit and other Paleogene outcrops in the UAE and Tethys are presented and discussed. The identified fauna emphasis the wide geographic areas in the Tethys, from Atlantic to Indian-Pacific Oceans via Mediterranean.

The Eocene Thomas Ranch flora, Allenby Formation, Princeton, British Columbia, Canada

Botany ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 514-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Dillhoff ◽  
Thomas A. Dillhoff ◽  
David R. Greenwood ◽  
Melanie L. DeVore ◽  
Kathleen B. Pigg
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Mean Annual Precipitation ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Leaf Analysis ◽  
High Uncertainty

A flora from Thomas Ranch near Princeton, British Columbia, Canada, is assessed for biodiversity and paleoclimate. This latest Early to early Middle Eocene flora occurs in the Allenby Formation. Seventy-six megafossil morphotypes have been recognized, representing at least 62 species, with 29 identified to genus or species. Common taxa include Ginkgo L., Metasequoia Miki, Sequoia Endl., Abies Mill., Pinus L., Pseudolarix Gordon, Acer L., Alnus Mill., Betula L., Fagus L., Sassafras J Presl, Macginitiea Wolfe & Wehr, Prunus L., and Ulmus L. More than 70 pollen and spore types are recognized, 32 of which are assignable to family or genus. The microflora is dominated by conifers (85%–97% abundance), with Betulaceae accounting for most of the angiosperms. The Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) calculates a mean annual temperature (MAT) of 9.0 ± 1.7 °C and bioclimatic analysis (BA) calculates a MAT of 12.8 ± 2.5 °C. Coldest month mean temperature (CMMT) was >0 °C. Mean annual precipitation (MAP) was >70 cm/year but is estimated with high uncertainty. Both the CLAMP and BA estimates are at the low end of the MAT range previously published for other Okanagan Highland localities, indicating a temperate climate consistent with a mixed conifer–deciduous forest.

scholarly journals Fracturing and Near-Surface Diagenesis of a Silicified Miocene Deltaic Sequence: The Montjuïc Hill (Barcelona)

Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Cantarero ◽  
David Parcerisa ◽  
Maria Alexandra Plata ◽  
David Gómez-Gras ◽  
Enrique Gomez-Rivas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Electron Microprobe ◽  
Host Rock ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Silica Precipitation ◽  
Acidic Conditions ◽  
Siliciclastic Rocks ◽  
Host Rocks ◽  
The Hill

Near-surface diagenesis has been studied in the Langhian siliciclastic rocks of the Montjuïc Hill (Barcelona Plain) by means of petrographical (optical and cathodoluminescence) and geochemical (electron microprobe, δ18O, δ13C, δ34S and 87Sr/86Sr) analyses. In the hill, these rocks are affected by strong silicification, but the same unit remains non-silicified at depth. The results reveal that fracturing took place after lithification and during uplift. Fracture cementation is clearly controlled by the previous diagenesis of the host rock. In non-silicified areas, cementation is dominated by calcite, which precipitated from meteoric waters. In silicified areas, fractures show multiepisodic cementation produced firstly by barite and secondly by silica, following the sequence opal, lussatite, chalcedony, and quartz. Barite precipitated only in fractures from the mixing of upflowing seawater and percolating meteoric fluids. The presence of silica stalactites, illuviation, and geopetal structures, and δ18O values indicate that silica precipitation occurred in the vadose regime from low-temperature percolating meteoric fluids, probably during a glacial period. Moreover, the presence of alunite suggests that silica cement formed under acidic conditions. Karst features (vugs and caverns), formed by arenisation, reveal that silica was derived from the dissolution of surrounding silicified host rocks.

scholarly journals Observations of Near-Surface Mixing Behind a Headland

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 68
Author(s):  
Preston Spicer ◽  
Kimberly Huguenard
Keyword(s):  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler ◽  
Bottom Layer ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Vertical Shear ◽  
Small Island ◽  
Streamwise Vorticity ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Surface Mixing ◽  
Complex Features

Field observations were collected near the mouth of the Bagaduce River, Maine, in order to understand how complex features affect the intratidal and lateral variability of turbulence and vertical mixing. The Bagaduce River is a low-inflow, macrotidal estuary that features tidal islands, tidal flats and sharp channel bends. Profiles of salinity, temperature, and turbulent kinetic energy dissipation (ε) were collected for a tidal cycle across the estuary with a microstructure profiler. Lateral distributions of current velocities were obtained with an acoustic doppler current profiler. Results showed intratidal asymmetries in bottom-generated vertical eddy diffusivity and viscosity, with larger values occurring on ebb (Kz: 10−2 m2; Az: 10−2 m2/s) compared to flood (Kz: 10−5 m2/s; Az: 10−4 m2/s). Bottom-generated mixing was moderated by the intrusion of stratified water on flood, which suppressed mixing. Elevated mixing (Kz: 10−3 m2; Az: 10−2.5 m2/s) occurred in the upper water column in the lee of a small island and was decoupled from the bottom layer. The near-surface mixing was a product of an eddy formed downstream of a headland, which tended to reinforce vertical shear by laterally straining streamwise velocities. These results are the first to show near-surface mixing caused by vertical vorticity induced by an eddy, rather than previously reported streamwise vorticity associated with lateral circulation.

Extinct Juglandaceous Wood from the Eocene of Oregon and Its Implications for Xylem Evolution in the Juglandaceae

IAWA Journal ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven R. Manchester ◽  
E.A. Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
New Taxon ◽  
Common Occurrence ◽  
Axial Parenchyma ◽  
Extant Genus ◽  
Vessel Elements ◽  
The Common ◽  
Perforation Plates ◽  
Helical Thickenings

Clarnoxylon blanchardii gen. et sp. nov. is a new taxon for fossil wood with a suite of features diagnostic of the Juglandaceae. It occurs at two Middle Eocene (c. 43-44 million years b.p.) localities in the Clarno Fonnation of central Oregon, USA. Clarnoxylon resembles the Platycaryeae and the Hicorieae in having exclusively simple perforation plates and solid pith. However, the common occurrence of crystalliferous idioblasts in the rays, but not in the axial parenchyma, and the cooccurrence at Clarno of platycaryoid fmits and pollen unaccompanied by hicorioid fmits indicate that Clarnoxylon has affinities with the Platycaryeae. Differences between Clarnoxylon and Platycarya support previous suggestions that short vessel elements, helical thickenings, and vascular tracheids are derived characters of Platycarya. These differences are also in accord with the ecological adaptation of the extant genus Platycarya to a temperate climate contrasting with the tropical Middle Ebcene setting of Clarnoxylon.

Vegetative Remains of the Rosaceae from the Princeton Chert (Middle Eocene) of British Columbia

IAWA Journal ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio R. S. Cevallos-Ferriz ◽  
Ruth A. Stockey
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Anatomical Variation ◽  
Mature Wood ◽  
Temperate Climate ◽  
Anatomical Features ◽  
Bordered Pits ◽  
Vessel Elements

Several anatomieally preserved twigs, a branehing speeimen and the wood of a large axis with affinities to Rosaeeae are deseribed from the Prineeton ehert (Middle Eoeene) of British Columbia, Canada. Speeimens are eharaeterised by a heteroeellular pith with a peri-medullary rone of thiek-walled oval eells and semi-ring-porous seeondary xylem with vertieal traumatie duets, fibres with eireular bordered pits, and mostly seanty paratracheal and oeeasionally apotracheal parenehyma. Ray to vessel pitting is similar to the alternate intervaseular pitting. Seeondary phloem is eomposed of tangentially oriented diseontinuous bands of alternating fibres and thinwalled eells. Seeondary eortical tissues are represented by a phelloderm eharaeterised by rectangular eells and phellern with rectangular eoneave eells. Anatomical variation between speeimens can be related to age of the woody axes. Juvenile and mature wood of this speeies differ in vessel arrangement and presenee of scanty paratracheal parenchyma in mature wood. Vessel elements are arranged in radial multiples, oeeasional clusters as well as solitary vessels. Tyloses and dark cellular contents are present mainly in mature wood. Some twigs have a heterocellular pith with a few scattered cells with dark contents or, occasionally, short irregular rows of these cells. In the branching specimen eells of this type also are organised in longer rows. Together, these anatomical features suggest that all specimens belong to the same taxon, Prunus allenbyensis Cevallos-Ferriz ' Stockey n. sp. Anatomy of this plant reinforces the interpretation of a subtropical to temperate climate during the time of deposition.

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