Paleomegnetic of basaltic sequenzes from DSDP Site 462 in the Nauru Basin

The voluminous volcanic eruptions in the Nauru Basin, Western Pacific, have long been regarded as important research targets for tectonic history of the Pacific Plate and for the widespread Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Western Pacific. The Nauru Basin volcanic rocks were recovered at Site 462 by Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Legs 61 and 89, where more than 600 m of lavas and sills were drilled, thereby making it the deepest penetration into crust of Cretaceous age in the Pacific Ocean. For paleomagnetism, this section represents a unique possibility for averaging out secular variation to obtain a reliable paleolatitude estimate. However, previous paleomagnetic studies have only been subjected to alternating field (AF) demagnetization on several core samples, thus, unable to provide comprehensive understanding on the paleolatitude of the basin. The work reported here aims to determine the Cretaceous paleomagnetic paleolatitude for the Pacific Plate and define the magnetostratigraphy for the basaltic sections drilled in the Nauru Basin. A total of 391 basaltic rock samples were carefully re-sampled from DSDP Sites 462 and 462A. Stepwise thermal and AF demagnetizations have isolated characteristic components in the majority of the samples. The most important findings from this study include: (1) Two normal and one reversed polarity intervals are identified in Site 462, and six normal and six reversed polarity intervals are found in Site 462A, although possible erroneous markings of the opposite azimuth for some reversed polarity cores during the DSDP coring cannot be completely ruled out. (2) Based on previous radiometric ages, the magnetostratigraphic correlations with the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale (GPTS) indicate that the lower-basaltic flow unit in Site 462A began to erupt at least before 130 Ma. No correlation is available for the upper-sill unit. (3) Paleosecular variation for the lower-flow unit has been sufficiently averaged out; whereas bias may exist for that of the upper-sill unit; (4) The calculated mean inclination of ~50° for the lower-flow unit yields a paleolatitude of 30.8°S for the Nauru Basin at the time of emplacement. This value is well to the north of suggested location in plate reconstruction models, suggesting that there has been a significant amount of apparent polar wander of the Nauru Basin and Pacific plate since 130 Ma. In addition, the paleolatitude for the Nauru Basin is ~7° further south and the basin's age is more than 10 my older than those of the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP), which suggest that the volcanic eruptions of the lower flows in the Nauru Basin are unlikely related to the emplacement of the Ontong Java Plateau.

Sedimentological and palynological study of sediment cores from the northern Mekong River Delta

A sedimentological and palynological study of three sediment cores from the northern Mekong River Delta shows the regional sedimentary and environmental development since the mid-Holocene sea level highstand. A sub- to intertidal flat deposit of mid-Holocene age is recorded in the northernmost core. Shoreline deposits in all three cores show descending ages from N to S documenting 1) the early stages of the late Holocene regression and 2) the subsequent delta progradation. The delta plain successions vary from floodplain deposits with swamp-like elements to natural levee sediments. The uppermost sediments in all cores show human disturbance to varying degrees. The most intense alteration is recorded in the northernmost core where the palynological signal together with a charcoal peak indicates the profound change of the environment during the modern land reclamation. The sediments from at least one of the three presented cores do not show a "true" delta facies succession, but rather estuary-like features, as also observed in records from southern Cambodia. This absence is probably due to lack of accommodation space during the initial phase of rapid delta progradation which impeded the development of "true" delta successions as shown in cores from the southern Mekong River Delta.