Showing papers by "Geological Survey of Sweden published in 2015"

Climate-induced warming imposes a threat to north European spring ecosystems

Abstract: Interest in climate change effects on groundwater has increased dramatically during the last decade. The mechanisms of climate-related groundwater depletion have been thoroughly reviewed, but the influence of global warming on groundwater-dependent ecosystems (GDEs) remains poorly known. Here we report long-term water temperature trends in 66 northern European cold-water springs. A vast majority of the springs (82%) exhibited a significant increase in water temperature during 1968-2012. Mean spring water temperatures were closely related to regional air temperature and global radiative forcing of the corresponding year. Based on three alternative climate scenarios representing low (RCP2.6), intermediate (RCP6) and high-emission scenarios (RCP8.5), we estimate that increase in mean spring water temperature in the region is likely to range from 0.67 °C (RCP2.6) to 5.94 °C (RCP8.5) by 2086. According to the worst-case scenario, water temperature of these originally cold-water ecosystems (regional mean in the late 1970s: 4.7 °C) may exceed 12 °C by the end of this century. We used bryophyte and macroinvertebrate species data from Finnish springs and spring-fed streams to assess ecological impacts of the predicted warming. An increase in spring water temperature by several degrees will likely have substantial biodiversity impacts, causing regional extinction of native, cold-stenothermal spring specialists, whereas species diversity of headwater generalists is likely to increase. Even a slight (by 1 °C) increase in water temperature may eliminate endemic spring species, thus altering bryophyte and macroinvertebrate assemblages of spring-fed streams. Climate change-induced warming of northern regions may thus alter species composition of the spring biota and cause regional homogenization of biodiversity in headwater ecosystems.

LiDAR-derived inventory of post-glacial fault scarps in Sweden

Abstract: Pre-existing bedrock structures that reactivated following deglaciation through a combination of tectonic and isostatic stresses are well documented in northern Fennoscandia. Due to their possible implications for seismic hazards, there is a need to document the locations and geometries of these features. The recent availability of a high-resolution, LiDAR-derived, digital elevation model covering most of Sweden provides an ideal base upon which to map post-glacial fault scarps that appear to crosscut glacial sediments and landforms. The current mapping project has identified new post-glacial fault scarps in central Sweden, and both refined and rejected scarps previously mapped by aerial photographic interpretation in northern Sweden. No post-glacial fault scarps, however, were identified in southern Sweden. The current inventory of post-glacial fault scarps is available for download and will be updated as more data become available.

Joint inversion of gravity, magnetic, and petrophysical data - A case study from a gabbro intrusion in Boden, Sweden

Abstract: We have studied a gabbro intrusion in northern Sweden, using 3D inversion of airborne magnetic data, ground-based gravity data, and petrophysical measurements on outcrop samples. Gabbro intrusions are of interest because they are potential hosts of Cu-Ni and platinum group element mineralization. We developed a joint inversion algorithm and applied it to both potential-field data sets to obtain spatial distributions of density and magnetic susceptibility. The distributions were coupled through a nonrigidly enforced parameter relationship determined from the petrophysical samples. We managed the problem of balancing the influence of the two data sets by a novel adaptive reweighting scheme that enforced the discrepancy principle for each data set independently. We demonstrated in tests with synthetic data that neither individual nor joint inversions gave reliable estimates for the depth extension of the intrusive body, the near-surface details, or any complex geometrical features. However, the joint inversion improved the image of the interface between the intrusion and the surrounding rocks and revealed that the density and susceptibility models satisfied the observed petrophysical relationship, which, in turn, caused the structures in the models to align. The geometry of the intrusion was an intrinsic result of the inversion, based on the two distinct petrophysical trends for the gabbro and the surrounding rocks. The inferred shape was simple and concise, and was therefore a useful and testable hypothesis about the subsurface geology that was in agreement with both potential-field data sets and the petrophysical information.

Intense and widespread seismicity during the end-Triassic mass extinction due to emplacement of a large igneous province

Abstract: Multiple levels of earthquake-induced soft-sediment deformations (seismites) are concentrated in the end-Triassic mass extinction interval across Europe. The repetitive nature of the seismites rules out an origin by an extraterrestrial impact. Instead, this intense seismic activity is linked to the formation of the Central Atlantic magmatic province (CAMP). By the earliest Jurassic the seismic activity had ceased, while extrusive volcanism still continued and biotic recovery was on its way. This suggests that magmatic intrusions into sedimentary strata during early stages of CAMP formation caused emission of gases (SO 2 , halocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) that may have played a major part in the biotic crisis.

Zircon U-Pb and Hf - isotopes from the eastern part of the Sveconorwegian Orogen, SW Sweden : Implications for the growth of Fennoscandia

Abstract: Current models for the growth of Fennoscandia, including the eastern part of the Sveconorwegian Province, are largely based on U-Pb data and do not discriminate between juvenile and reworked crust. Here we present new combined U-Pb and Hf isotopic data, from the Eastern Segment and the Idefjorden terrane of the Sveconorwegian Province, and suggest a revised model of crustal growth. Most of the crystalline basement in this part of the shield formed by mixing of a 2.1-1.9 Ga juvenile component and Archaean crust. Archaean reworking decreases between 1.9 and 1.7 Ga and a mixed Svecofennian crustal reservoir is generated. Succeeding magmatism between 1.7 and 1.4 Ga indicates reworking of this reservoir with little or no crust generation. At c. 1.2 Ga, an influx of juvenile magma is recorded by granite to quartz-syenite magmatism with mildly depleted (eHf 1.18 Ga of c. 3) signatures. The amount of recycled crust in the 1.9- 1.7 Ga arc system is in contrast to previously proposed models for the growth of the southwestern part of the Fennoscandian Shield. This model agrees with long-term subduction along the western margin of Fennoscandia, but suggests substantial reworking of existing crust and decreasing amounts of <1.9 Ga crustal growth.

Distribution, genesis and annual-origin of De Geer moraines in Sweden: insights revealed by LiDAR

Abstract: De Geer moraines (DGMs) were first identified in Sweden by Gerard De Geer in 1889 and have been mapped since then in many parts of Sweden. Using airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data, we have mapped DGMs over the entire country, and we show that they occur predominantly in two distinct areas: in south-central Sweden north of the Middle Swedish end-moraine zone and in northeast Sweden. DGM formation occurs predominantly where the local relief is low, the ice-margin retreat rate was high and the sedimentation rate low. Formation of DGMs occurred over short time spans of a few hundred years – between 11 500 and 11 000 cal years BP for the southern group and from 10 700 and 9900 cal years BP for the DGMs in the north. DGMs have been suggested to be made by a number of processes at subaquatic ice margins, including pushing during winter readvance, squeezing into subglacial crevasses, deformation during calving events and deposition as subaquatic fans. Therefore, we recognize DGMs to be equi...

Delineating structures controlling sandstone-hosted base-metal deposits using high-resolution multicomponent seismic and radio-magnetotelluric methods: a case study from Northern Sweden

Abstract: Over the past few decades seismic methods have increasingly been used for the exploration of mineral, geothermal, and groundwater resources. Nevertheless, there have only been a few cases demonstrating the advantages of multicomponent seismic data for these purposes. To illustrate some of the benefits of three-component data, a test seismic survey, using 60 digital three-component sensors spaced between 2 m and 4 m and assembled in a 160 m-long prototype landstreamer, was carried out over shallow basement structures underlying mineralized horizons and over a magnetic lineament of unknown origin. Two different types of seismic sources, i.e., explosives and a sledgehammer, were used to survey an approximately 4 km-long seismic profile. Radio-magnetotelluric measurements were also carried out to provide constraints on the interpretation of the seismic data over a portion of the profile where explosive sources were used. Good quality seismic data were recorded on all three components, particularly when explosives were used as the seismic source. The vertical component data from the explosive sources image the top of the crystalline basement and its undulated/faulted surface at a depth of about 50 m–60 m. Supported by the radiomagnetotelluric results, however, shallower reflections are observed in the horizontal component data, one of them steeply dipping and associated with the magnetic lineament. The vertical component sledgehammer data also clearly image the crystalline basement and its undulations, but significant shear-wave signals are not present on the horizontal components. This study demonstrates that multicomponent seismic data can particularly be useful for providing information on shallow structures and in aiding mineral exploration where structural control on the mineralization is expected.

Seismic characterization of the Grängesberg iron deposit and its mining-induced structures, central Sweden

Abstract: We have conducted a reflection seismic investigation over the apatite-iron deposit at Grangesberg in central Sweden. At the time of closure in 1989, the mine was operated using the sublevel caving method down to approximately a 650-m depth. This mining technique caused subsidence and generated a network of faults that propagated from excavated zones at depth up to the surface. The Grangesberg deposit is the largest iron oxide mineralization in central Sweden and is planned to be mined again in the coming years. It is therefore imperative to have a better understanding of the ore geometry and the fault network. A reconnaissance survey consisting of two seismic lines with a total length of 3.5 km was carried out to address these issues. The profiles intersect the Grangesberg deposit and open pit, as well as the major mining-induced fracture zone present in this area. A drop-hammer source mounted on a hydraulic truck was used to generate seismic signals; cabled and wireless receivers were used for th...

Unraveling Scandinavian geomorphology: the LiDAR revolution

Abstract: In the observational sciences, technical advances are often followed by dramatic increases in scientific discoveries and improved theory. Leuwenhoek’s microscope and Galileo’s telescope gave us a “better look” at the microworld and the cosmos, which led to revolutions of past paradigms. In geomorphology and landscape analysis, similar advances have accompanied new maps and new mapping techniques. The first accurate globes, where the puzzle-piece fit of the southern continents was quickly noticed, were soon followed by the first mention of what would be continental drift. The first topographic maps were accompanied by similar shifts in thinking. For example, accurate topographic maps of the western US brought about the realization that even in arid regions, fluvial erosion can be the dominant landscaping force. Aerial photography provided a similar advance in observation, mapping and understanding. Satellite imagery of the Earth and other planets has dramatically revealed the geomorphic processes operating in inaccessible places, for example meteor impacts, volcanism and the importance of eolian and fluvial processes. Recent observations of Pluto and Mars attest to this fact. Satellite imagery also led to a revolution in glacial geomorphology by providing continent-wide images of features heretofore unnoticed, for example the palimpsest flow indicators of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (Boulton & Clark 1990). In the 90s, the production of digital elevation models (DEMs) and the development of geographic information system (GIS) tools allowed for new highly quantitative analysis of landscapes. The advent of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology is poised to provide a similar rapid advance in observations and the potential for significant advances in geomorphic theory. We see that the ever increasing use of LiDAR technology is creating a similar leap forward in geomorphology, and this issue is dedicated to illustrating this fact for Scandinavia (Fig. 1).

On the scope and management of pesticide pollution of Swedish groundwater resources: The Scanian example

Abstract: Twenty-three south-Swedish public supply wells were studied to assess pesticide pollution of regional groundwater resources. Relations between pesticide occurrence, hydrogeology, and land use were analyzed using Kohonen's Self-Organizing Maps approach. Pesticides are demonstrated to be substantially present in regional groundwater, with detections in 18 wells. Concentrations above the drinking water threshold are confirmed for nine wells. Observations indicate considerable urban influence, and lagged effects of past, less restricted use. Modern, oxic waters from shallow, unconfined, unconsolidated or fracture-type bedrock aquifers appear particularly vulnerable. Least affected waters appear primarily associated with deeper wells, anoxic conditions, and more confined sediment aquifers lacking urban influence. Comprehensive, standardized monitoring of pesticides in groundwater need to be implemented nationwide to enable sound assessments of pollution status and trends, and to develop sound groundwater management plans in accordance with the Water Framework Directive. Further, existing water protection areas and associated regulations need to be reassessed.

Upper Katian (Ordovician) bentonites in the East Baltic, Scandinavia and Scotland: geochemical correlation and volcanic source interpretation

Abstract: Altered volcanic ash interbeds (bentonites) in the upper Katian of Baltoscandia indicate significant volcanic activity in neighbouring tectonically active areas. Katian bentonites in the East Baltic can be reliably correlated using sanidine phenocryst composition. Ratios of immobile trace elements TiO2, Nb, Zr and Th to Al2O3 enable extension of the correlations to Scandinavia, where late diagenetic alterations could have caused recrystallization of sanidine phenocrysts. At least seven volcanic eruptions were recognized in Baltoscandian sections. Several bentonites found in deep-sea sediments are absent in shallow-sea sediments, indicating extensive breaks in sedimentation and erosion during late Katian and Hirnantian times. The areal distribution pattern of Katian bentonites in Baltoscandia indicates a volcanic source from the north or northwest (present-day orientation) from the margins of the Iapetus Palaeo-Ocean. Signatures of ultra-high-pressure metamorphism in the Seve Nappe (Central Sweden) and intrusions in the Helgeland Nappe Complex in Central Norway have been proposed as potential sources of the magmas that generated the volcanic ashes deposited in the East Baltic in Katian times. Geochemical similarities between Baltoscandian and Dob's Linn bentonites from southern Scotland suggest a common volcanic source in Katian times.

Joint inversion of seismic refraction and resistivity data using layered models — Applications to groundwater investigation

Abstract: We developed a method for joint inversion of seismic refraction and resistivity data, using sharp-boundary models with few layers (typically three). We demonstrated the usefulness of the approach v ...

A Middle Ordovician age for the Laisvall sandstone-hosted Pb-Zn deposit, Sweden: A response to early Caledonian orogenic activity

Abstract: Ten sphalerite separates isolated from mineralized samples in proximal and distal positions relative to the proposed main feeder fault systems at the Laisvall deposit were used to obtain an absolute age determination of this world-class Pb-Zn deposit hosted by autochthonous Ediacaran to Lower Cambrian sandstone and located currently along the erosional front of the Scandinavian Caledonides in northern Sweden. Residue and leachate fractions of each separate were obtained using the crush-leaching technique. All samples correspond to sphalerite formed using reduced sulfur derived from thermochemical sulfate reduction, three of them from disseminated ore in the Lower Sandstone, two from the disseminated ore in the Upper Sandstone, and five from steeply dipping galena-sphalerite-calcite veinlets interpreted in previous works as remobilization of disseminated ores. The isotope dilution-thermal ionization mass spectrometry (ID-TIMS) data yield an overall complex Rb-Sr isotope pattern with two distinct trends in the 87Sr/86Sr vs. 87Rb/86Sr isochron diagram. The three sphalerite residues of disseminated mineralization from the Lower Sandstone orebody show Rb-Sr isotope systematics indicative of undisturbed primary precipitates, and yield an isochron model age of 467 ± 5 Ma (mean square weighted deviation, MSWD, 1.4). Since the isochron is based on three points, the obtained age is to be considered as preliminary. Yet, the obtained age is fully consistent with geologic evidence reported by previous authors and pointing to Middle Ordovician timing of ore formation. The ID-TIMS data were complemented by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) analyses on the same sphalerite samples. The data support the hypothesis that the measured ID-TIMS Rb and Sr contents in these sphalerite residues are held in the sphalerite structure itself and are not related to micro-inclusions. The most viable hypothesis, in agreement with published work, is that during rapid growth, sphalerite may incorporate Rb and Sr ions from the hydrothermal fluids in its structure, most probably in octahedral voids. By contrast, the second trend in the 87Sr/86Sr vs. 87Rb/86Sr space defined by most other sphalerite residues and corresponding inclusion fluid leachates from the Upper Sandstone orebody and the veinlet samples is too steep to account for a realistic isochron age determination. This steep linear trend is interpreted to represent a postmineralization disturbance involving fluids rich in Sr. This disturbance of the Rb-Sr isotope system is consistent with the presence of the steeply dipping galena-sphalerite-calcite veinlets and the fact that the Upper Sandstone is, in places, tectonically disrupted because of its proximity to the basal Caledonian decollement. The attempt to date the Granberget deposit, located in tectonically disrupted allochthonous units inside the Caledonian orogen, failed because the Rb-Sr isotope systematics of the three analyzed sphalerite samples are also disturbed. The obtained Middle Ordovician (467 ± 5 Ma) mineralization age at Laisvall can be interpreted as a far-field foreland response to an early Caledonian arc-continent collision and the subsequent development of a foreland basin. Basinal brines formed in the foredeep of the orogen could be conveyed cratonward, interact with permeable Baltica crystalline basement rocks, and resurge as metal-bearing fluids in sandstone at Laisvall along reactivated Paleoproterozoic crystalline basement faults. Mixing of metal-bearing brines with hydrocarbon and H2S-rich fluids in Ediacaran to Lower Cambrian sandstone may explain the initial Sr isotope signature (87Sr/86Sr = 0.715900 ± 60) of the isochron intersect.

Integrated use of LiDAR and multibeam bathymetry reveals onset of ice streaming in the northern Bothnian Sea

Abstract: Geomorphological mapping from the new LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)-derived digital elevation model for Sweden and a high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data-set for the Gulf of Bothnia reveals a continuous system of glacial landforms crossing the transition between the modern terrestrial and marine environments. A palaeo-ice stream in the northern Bothnian Sea is reconstructed, with an onset tributary over the present-day Angermanland–Vasterbotten coastline. Systematic contrasts in landform morphology and lineation length indicate that this ice stream comprised a relatively narrow (∼40 km) corridor of fast flow, flowing first SW then S, and likely fed by converging flow around the upper Bothnian Sea. The geometry and landform associations of this system imply that ice, at the time period represented here, did not flow across the Gulf of Bothnia: SSE-ward ice flow indicators on the northern Swedish coast do not correspond directly with landform assemblages of the large SE-oriented Finnish d...

Boat-towed radio-magnetotellurics — A new technique and case study from the city of Stockholm

Abstract: We have developed a new data acquisition system and technique to measure the radio magnetotelluric (RMT) signals from distant radio transmitters with the objective of mapping and modeling electric ...

Redefinition of thalénite-(Y) and discreditation of fluorthalénite-(Y): A re-investigation of type material from the Österby pegmatite, Dalarna, Sweden, and from additional localities

Abstract: Using type material from the Osterby pegmatite in Dalarna, Sweden, the chemical composition and structural parameters of thalenite-(Y) [ideally Y3Si3O10(OH)] were examined by wavelength dispersive spectroscopy electron microprobe (WDS EMP) analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. High contrast back-scatter electron images of the Osterby material show at least two generations of thalenite-(Y). The formula of the primary thalenite-(Y) normalized to 11 anions is (Y2.58Dy0.11Yb0.09Gd0.06Er0.06Ho0.02Sm0.02Tb0.02Lu0.02Nd0.01Tm0.01)Σ3.00Si3.01O10F0.97OH0.03. The secondary thalenite-(Y), replacing the primary material, is weakly enhanced in Y and depleted in the lightest and the heaviest rare-earth elements, yielding the formula (Y2.63Dy0.12Yb0.06Gd0.06Er0.05Ho0.02Sm0.02Tb0.02Tm0.01Nd0.01Lu0.01)Σ3.00Si3.01O10F0.98OH0.02. Structural data for thalenite-(Y) from Osterby clearly indicate the monoclinic space group P 21/ n , with a = 7.3464(4), b = 11.1726(5), c = 10.4180(5) A, β = 97.318(4)°, V = 848.13(7) A3, Z = 4, which is consistent with previous investigations. The structure was refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data to R 1 = 0.0371 for 1503 unique observed reflections, and the final chemical composition obtained from the refinement, (Y2.64Dy0.36)Σ3.00F0.987[Si3O10], Z = 4, is in good agreement with the empirical formula resulting from electron microprobe (EMP) analysis. Both techniques reveal a strong dominance of F over OH, which means that the type material actually corresponds to the fluorine analogue. Moreover, new EMP analyses of samples of thalenite-(Y) from an additional seven localities (Askagen and Reunavare in Sweden; White Cloud and Snow Flake in Colorado, USA; the Guy Hazel claim in Arizona, USA; Suishoyama and Souri in Japan) clearly show the prevalence of F over OH as well. Based on these observations, the Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification of the International Mineralogical Association has recommended a redefinition of the chemical composition of thalenite-(Y) to represent the F-dominant species with the ideal formula Y3Si3O10F, as it has historical priority. Consequently, the later described fluorthalenite-(Y) has to be discredited.