The deformation history of southern England, and its implications for ground engineering in the London Basin

Author(s):  
John Cosgrove ◽  
Tom Morgan ◽  
Richard Ghail

Structures in the basement beneath the London Basin affect the geology of relevance to geotechnical engineering within London. Unfortunately, the basement beneath London is covered by Cretaceous and Tertiary sediments. It is cut by major faults linked to the compressive phases of the Hercynian and Alpine Orogenies and to the regional extension that occurred during the Mesozoic between these compressive events. Evidence is presented that movement on basement fractures beneath London played a major role in the distribution and deformation of sediments within the Basin, causing local folding and faulting significant to engineering works. Basement rocks are exposed in SW England where the type and orientation of these fractures (faults and joints) can be examined in outcrop. This study, complemented by seismic sections in the southern UK, enable the architecture of this fault network within the basement to be determined. Understanding the fracture system in the basement provides a basis for (i), interpreting the lateral facies variations of sediments in the Basin and hence provides a means for predicting from a ground investigation the likely presence, activity or influence on site of such structures at depth and (ii), understanding the extent of local, steeply inclined and sub-horizontal planar zones of shearing when encountered on site.Thematic collection: This article is part of the Geology of London and its implications for ground engineering collection available at: https://www.lyellcollection.org/cc/london-basin

2018 ◽  
Vol 481 (1) ◽  
pp. 319-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aranya Sen ◽  
Koushik Sen ◽  
Hari B. Srivastava ◽  
Saurabh Singhal ◽  
Purbajyoti Phukon

AbstractThe Bhatwari Gneiss of Bhagirathi Valley in the Garhwal Himalaya is a Paleoproterozoic crystalline rock from the Inner Lesser Himalayan Sequence. On the basis of field and petrographic analyses, we have classified the Bhatwari Gneiss into two parts: the Lower Bhatwari Gneiss (LBG) and the Upper Bhatwari Gneiss (UBG). The geochemical signatures of these rocks suggest a monzonitic protolith for the LBG and a granitic protolith for the UBG. The UBG has a calc-alkaline S-type granitoid protolith, whereas the LBG has an alkaline I-type granitoid protolith; the UBG is more fractionated. The trace element concentrations suggest a volcanic arc setting for the LBG and a within-plate setting for the UBG. The U–Pb geochronology of one sample from the LBG gives an upper intercept age of 1988 ± 12 Ma (n = 10, MSWD = 2.5). One sample from the UBG gives an upper intercept age of 1895 ± 22 Ma (n = 15, MSWD = 0.82), whereas another sample does not give any upper intercept age, but indicates magmatism from c. 1940 to 1840 Ma. Based on these ages, we infer that the Bhatwari Gneiss has evolved due to arc magmatism and related back-arc rifting over a time period of c. 100 Ma during the Proterozoic. This arc magmatism is related to the formation of the Columbia supercontinent.Supplementary material: LA–ICP-MS calibration and adjusted major element data used for computing the isometric log-ratio transformations are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4272158


Author(s):  
J. A. N. Zasadzinski ◽  
R. K. Prud'homme

The rheological and mechanical properties of crosslinked polymer gels arise from the structure of the gel network. In turn, the structure of the gel network results from: thermodynamically determined interactions between the polymer chain segments, the interactions of the crosslinking metal ion with the polymer, and the deformation history of the network. Interpretations of mechanical and rheological measurements on polymer gels invariably begin with a conceptual model of,the microstructure of the gel network derived from polymer kinetic theory. In the present work, we use freeze-etch replication TEM to image the polymer network morphology of titanium crosslinked hydroxypropyl guars in an attempt to directly relate macroscopic phenomena with network structure.


Author(s):  
Adam A. Garde ◽  
Brian Chadwick ◽  
John Grocott ◽  
Cees Swager

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Garde, A. A., Chadwick, B., Grocott, J., & Swager, C. (1997). Metasedimentary rocks, intrusions and deformation history in the south-east part of the c. 1800 Ma Ketilidian orogen, South Greenland: Project SUPRASYD 1996. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 176, 60-65. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v176.5063 _______________ The south-east part of the c. 1800 Ma Ketilidian orogen in South Greenland (Allaart, 1976) is dominated by strongly deformed and variably migmatised metasedimentary rocks known as the ‘Psammite and Pelite Zones’ (Chadwick & Garde, 1996); the sediments were mainly derived from the evolving Julianehåb batholith which dominates the central part of the orogen. The main purpose of the present contribution is to outline the deformational history of the Psammite Zone in the region between Lindenow Fjord and Kangerluluk (Fig. 2), investigated in 1994 and 1996 as part of the SUPRASYD project (Garde & Schønwandt, 1995 and references therein; Chadwick et al., in press). The Lindenow Fjord region has high alpine relief and extensive ice and glacier cover, and the fjords are regularly blocked by sea ice. Early studies of this part of the orogen were by boat reconnaissance (Andrews et al., 1971, 1973); extensive helicopter support in the summers of 1992 and 1994 made access to the inner fjord regions and nunataks possible for the first time.A preliminary geological map covering part of the area between Lindenow Fjord and Kangerluluk was published by Swager et al. (1995). Hamilton et al. (1996) have addressed the timing of sedimentation and deformation in the Psammite Zone by means of precise zircon U-Pb geochronology. However, major problems regarding the correlation of individual deformational events and their relationship with the evolution of the Julianehåb batholith were not resolved until the field work in 1996. The SUPRASYD field party in 1996 (Fig. 1) was based at the telestation of Prins Christian Sund some 50 km south of the working area (Fig. 2). In addition to base camp personnel, helicopter crew and the four authors, the party consisted of five geologists and M.Sc. students studying mafic igneous rocks and their mineralisation in selected areas (Stendal et al., 1997), and a geologist investigating rust zones and areas with known gold anomalies.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-86
Author(s):  
Jennifer Paustenbaugh

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to provide a tribute to the life and work of library fund‐raiser Gwen Leighty.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses personal knowledge and references to Academic Libraries Advancement and Development Network (ALADN) and LIBDEV web sites.FindingsThe paper finds that fundraising is connecting with people and the journey that each development officer must make while raising funds for their library.Originality/valueThe paper presents a brief history of ALADN and the valuable contribution one person made to the cause of library fund‐raising.


Minerals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 604
Author(s):  
Evgeny V. Vetrov ◽  
Johan De Grave ◽  
Natalia I. Vetrova ◽  
Fedor I. Zhimulev ◽  
Simon Nachtergaele ◽  
...  

The West Siberian Basin (WSB) is one of the largest intracratonic Meso-Cenozoic basins in the world. Its evolution has been studied over the recent decades; however, some fundamental questions regarding the tectonic evolution of the WSB remain unresolved or unconfirmed by analytical data. A complete understanding of the evolution of the WSB during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras requires insights into the cooling history of the basement rocks as determined by low-temperature thermochronometry. We presented an apatite fission track (AFT) thermochronology study on the exposed parts of the WSB basement in order to distinguish tectonic activation episodes in an absolute timeframe. AFT dating of thirteen basement samples mainly yielded Cretaceous cooling ages and mean track lengths varied between 12.8 and 14.5 μm. Thermal history modeling based on the AFT data demonstrates several Mesozoic and Cenozoic intracontinental tectonic reactivation episodes affected the WSB basement. We interpreted the episodes of tectonic activity accompanied by the WSB basement exhumation as a far-field effect from tectonic processes acting on the southern and eastern boundaries of Eurasia during the Mesozoic–Cenozoic eras.


Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Aurélie Labeur ◽  
Nicolas E. Beaudoin ◽  
Olivier Lacombe ◽  
Laurent Emmanuel ◽  
Lorenzo Petracchini ◽  
...  

Unravelling the burial-deformation history of sedimentary rocks is prerequisite information to understand the regional tectonic, sedimentary, thermal, and fluid-flow evolution of foreland basins. We use a combination of microstructural analysis, stylolites paleopiezometry, and paleofluid geochemistry to reconstruct the burial-deformation history of the Meso-Cenozoic carbonate sequence of the Cingoli Anticline (Northern Apennines, central Italy). Four major sets of mesostructures were linked to the regional deformation sequence: (i) pre-folding foreland flexure/forebulge; (ii) fold-scale layer-parallel shortening under a N045 σ1; (iii) syn-folding curvature of which the variable trend between the north and the south of the anticline is consistent with the arcuate shape of the anticline; (iv) the late stage of fold tightening. The maximum depth experienced by the strata prior to contraction, up to 1850 m, was quantified by sedimentary stylolite paleopiezometry and projected on the reconstructed burial curve to assess the timing of the contraction. As isotope geochemistry points towards fluid precipitation at thermal equilibrium, the carbonate clumped isotope thermometry (Δ47) considered for each fracture set yields the absolute timing of the development and exhumation of the Cingoli Anticline: layer-parallel shortening occurred from ~6.3 to 5.8 Ma, followed by fold growth that lasted from ~5.8 to 3.9 Ma.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-213
Author(s):  
Lucie Soucková ◽  
Dana Kominkova

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the historical pollution of the Hostivar Reservoir (largest reservoir in Prague) sediment by metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and identify the trends in pollution of aquatic environment. Design/methodology/approach Core samples, 140 cm long, recording the 45-year history of the reservoir, were separated to 5 cm width subsamples (approximately 1.5 years of sedimentation) and analyzed for metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Al), PAH and PCB. Following methods were used: US EPA 3051 for metals, US EPA 505 and US EPA 8082 A for PCB, and ISO 18287:2006 for PAH. Findings Most of the contaminants had the highest concentration at the beginning of the existence of the reservoir, suggesting that the contamination results from construction activities. Significant decrease of Pb occurred in the second half of the 1990s. It was caused by termination of the addition of lead as a detonation suppressant to the gasoline. Most concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and metals, except copper do not present eco-toxicological risk. Practical implications The results show the volume of priority pollutants removed from the reservoir by sediment extraction, and point risk to the terrestrial environment due to application of the sediment in the construction of a noise protecting wall. Originality/value The paper presents unique data about historical contamination of the largest reservoir in Prague, the capital of Czech Republic. It shows how the watershed and the construction phase of the dam cause a pollution of the reservoir sediment and possible environmental risk for aquatic biota.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document