Volume 21 (2015): Issue 4 (December 2015)

The mantle is the most voluminous part of the Earth. However, mantle petrologists usually have to rely on indirect geophysical methods or on material found ex situ. In this review paper, we point out the in-situ existence of oceanic core complexes (OCCs), which provide large exposures of mantle and lower crustal rocks on the seafloor on detachment fault footwalls at slow-spreading ridges. OCCs are a common structure in oceanic crust architecture of slow-spreading ridges. At least 172 OCCs have been identified so far and we can expect to discover hundreds of new OCCs as more detailed mapping takes place. Thirty-two of the thirty-nine OCCs that have been sampled to date contain peridotites. Moreover, peridotites dominate in the plutonic footwall of 77% of OCCs. Massive OCC peridotites come from the very top of the melting column beneath ocean ridges. They are typically spinel harzburgites and show 11.3–18.3% partial melting, generally representing a maximum degree of melting along a segment. Another key feature is the lower frequency of plagioclase-bearing peridotites in the mantle rocks and the lower abundance of plagioclase in the plagioclase-bearing peridotites in comparison to transform peridotites. The presence of plagioclase is usually linked to impregnation with late-stage melt. Based on the above, OCC peridotites away from segment ends and transforms can be treated as a new class of abyssal peridotites that differ from transform peridotites by a higher degree of partial melting and lower interaction with subsequent transient melt.

Computer-aided colour analysis can facilitate cyclostratigraphic studies. Here we report on a case study involving the development of a digital colour analysis method for examination of the Boda Claystone Formation which is the most suitable in Hungary for the disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Rock type colours are reddish brown or brownish red, or any shade between brown and red. The method presented here could be used to differentiate similar colours and to identify gradual transitions between these; the latter are of great importance in a cyclostratigraphic analysis of the succession. Geophysical well-logging has demonstrated the existence of characteristic cyclic units, as detected by colour and natural gamma. Based on our research, colour, natural gamma and lithology correlate well. For core Ib-4, these features reveal the presence of orderly cycles with thicknesses of roughly 0.64 to 13 metres. Once the core has been scanned, this is a time- and cost-effective method.

In the Polish Lowlands, three main ice lobes, referred to as Odra, Vistula and Mazury, formed during the Last Scandinavian Glaciation. These lobes protruded at least several kilometres beyond the main ice margin and it is believed that they represent terminal parts of the ice streams. Applied geostatistical analysis based on numerous geological data has allowed an approximate reconstruction of the Odra ice lobe substratum in the area of northwest Poland and northeast Germany. A spatial representation of the Odra lobe substratum clearly illustrates the adverse slope of the glacier bed, but also indicates areas morphologically prone to ice streaming. It is suggested that the ice took advantage of local topography that enabled advance out of the Baltic basin; consequently, the ice followed a topographic low which, in combination with favourable hydraulic conditions of its substratum, likely initiated ice streaming.

Localised landslide activity has been observed in the area of the plateau slope analysed, in the vicinity of the planned Warsaw Southern Ring Road. Using calculation models quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the impact of natural and anthropogenic load factors on slope stability (and hence, safety) are made. The present paper defines six stages of slope stability analysis, leading to an indication of optimum slope design in relation to the development planned. The proposed procedure produces a ranking of factors that affect slope stability. In the engineering geological conditions under consideration, the greatest factors impacting degradation and failure of slope stability are changes in soil strength due to local, periodic yielding and the presence of dynamic loads generated by intensification of road traffic. Calculation models were used to assess the impact of destabilisation factors and to obtain mutual equivalence with 3D-visualisation relations. Based on this methodology, various scenarios dedicated to specific engineering geological conditions can be developed and rapid stability evaluations of changing slope loads can be performed.

The identification of depositional conditions and stratigraphical position of glacigenic deposits in the Napęków area is important for the genetic and stratigraphical interpretation of Quaternary deposits in the central part of the Holy Cross Mountains, as well as for a revision of the course and extent of Middle Polish (Saalian) glaciations. These deposits comprise a series of diamictons which occur between sandy-gravelly deposits. Based on results of macro- and microscopic sedimentological investigations, analysis of heavy mineral composition, roundness and frosting of quartz grains, as well as OSL dating, this complex must have formed during the Odranian Glaciation (Drenthe, Saalian, MIS 6). Sandy-gravelly deposits are of fluvioglacial and melt-out origin. Diamictons represent subglacial traction till. Their facies diversity is a result of variations in time and space, complex processes of deposition and deformation, responsible for their formation at the base of the active ice sheet. This glacigenic depositional complex was transformed by erosion-denudation and aeolian processes in a periglacial environment during the Vistulian (Weichselian, MIS 5d-2).

Markov chain analysis was applied to studies of cyclic sedimentation in the Coal Complex of the Bełchatów mining field (part of the Bełchatów lignite deposit). The majority of ambiguous results of statistical testing that were caused by weak, statistically undetectable advantage of either cyclicity over environmental barriers or vice versa, could be explained if only the above-mentioned advantages appeared in the neighbourhood. Therefore, in order to enhance the credibility of statistical tests, a new approach is proposed here in that matrices of observed transition numbers from different boreholes should be added to increase statistical reliability if they originated in a homogeneous area. A second new approach, which consists of revealing statistically undetectable cyclicity of lithofacies alternations, is proposed as well. All data were derived from the mining data base in which differentiation between lithology and sedimentary environments was rather weak. For this reason, the methodological proposals are much more important than details of the sedimentation model in the present paper. Nevertheless, they did reveal some interesting phenomena which may prove important in the reconstruction of peat/lignite environmental conditions. First of all, the presence of cyclicity in the sedimentation model, i.e., cyclic alternation of channel and overbank deposits, represents a fluvial environment. It was also confirmed that the lacustrine subenvironment was cut off from a supply of clastic material by various types of mire barriers. Additionally, our analysis revealed new facts: (i) these barriers also existed between lakes in which either carbonate or clay sedimentation predominated; (ii) there was no barrier between rivers and lakes in which clay sedimentation predominated; (iii) barriers were less efficient in alluvial fan areas but were perfectly tight in regions of phytogenic or carbonate sedimentation; (iv) groundwater, rather than surface flow, was the main source of CaCO₃ in lakes in which carbonate sedimentation predominated; (v) a lack of cyclic alternation between abandoned channels and pools with clayey sedimentation; (vi) strong evidence for autocyclic alternation of phytogenic subenvironments and lakes in which carbonate sedimentation predominated was found in almost all areas studied.

Our reconstruction of the pre-compactional thickness of the Main Dolomite strata from the so-called Grotów Peninsula (northwest Poland) was based on macroscopic observations of drill cores from three wells: Mokrzec-1, Sieraków-4 and Międzychód-5. These wells are located in various palaeogeographical zones of the Main Dolomite and cored rocks represent a range of microfacies. The amount of compactional reduction in thickness of the Main Dolomite was estimated by summing the total heights (W_st) of all stylolites encountered in logs of these wells. For calculations, a generalised model of a drill core was developed, which embraced all types of stylolite seams present in the Main Dolomite succession studied. Also the method of stylolite dimensioning was demonstrated. The number of stylolites in the drill cores studied varied from 511 in the Sieraków-4 well to 1,534 in the Międzychód-5 well. In all cores studied low-amplitude macrostylolites predominated, but the reduction of thickness was controlled mostly by the low- and medium-amplitude macrostylolites. The largest number of stylolites was found in the grainstone/packstone microfacies. The turnout of stylolites depends of microfacies. The highest density of stylolites was documented in mudstones/wackestones (24 stylolites per metre of rock thickness) and the lowest in boundstones (14 stylolites per metre of rock thickness). The low-amplitude stylolites appear most frequently in the mudstone/wackestone microfacies (15 stylolites per metre of rock thickness); in grainstones/packstones, rudstones/floatstones and boundstones middle-amplitude stylolites are rare (3 stylolites per metre of rock thickness). The degree of compaction of the Main Dolomite succession studied varied from 6 to 10%; hence, its calculated initial thickness also varied in the wells studied: from 41.3 m in the Sieraków-4 well to 56.9 m in the Mokrzec-1 well and to 97.1 m in the Międzychód-5 well. The volumes of reservoir fluids expelled during compaction of 1 m³ of Main Dolomite carbonates were estimated as 56 l in the Sieraków-4 well, 90 l in the Mokrzec-1 well and 97 l in the Międzychód-5 well.