GEUS Bulletin (Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland)
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Paleo sea-level indicators and proxies from Greenland in the GAPSLIP database and comparison with modelled sea level from the PaleoMIST ice-sheet reconstruction
No full textOne of the most common ways to assess ice-sheet reconstructions of the past is to evaluate how they impact changes in sea level through glacial isostatic adjustment. PaleoMIST 1.0, a preliminary reconstruction of topography and ice sheets during the past 80 000 years, was created without a rigorous comparison with past sea-level indicators and proxies in Greenland. The basal shear stress values for the Greenland ice sheet were deduced from the present day ice-sheet configuration, which were used for the entire 80 000 years without modification. The margin chronology was based on previous reconstructions and interpolation between them. As a result, it was not known if the Greenland component was representative of its ice-sheet history. In this study, I compile sea–level proxy data into the Global Archive of Paleo Sea Level Indicators and Proxies (GAPSLIP) database and use them to evaluate the PaleoMIST 1.0 reconstruction. The Last Glacial Maximum (c.20 000 years before present) contribution to sea level in PaleoMIST 1.0 is about 3.5 m, intermediate of other reconstructions of the Greenland ice sheet. The results of the data-model comparison show that PaleoMIST requires a larger pre-Holocene ice volume than it currently has to match the sea-level highstands observed around Greenland, especially in southern Greenland. Some of this mismatch is likely because of the crude 2500 year time step used in the margin reconstruction and the limited Last Glacial Maximum extent. Much of the mismatch can also be mitigated if different Earth model structures, particularly a thinner lithosphere, are assumed. Additional ice in Greenland would contribute to increasing the 3–5 m mismatch between the modelled far-field sea level at the Last Glacial Maximum and proxies in PaleoMIST 1.0
Machine learning-based estimation and clustering of statistics within stratigraphic models as exemplified in Denmark
No full textEstimating a covariance model for kriging purposes is traditionally done using semivariogram analyses, where an empirical semivariogram is calculated, and a chosen semivariogram model, usually defined by a sill and a range, is fitted. We demonstrate that a convolutional neural network can estimate such a semivariogram model with comparable accuracy and precision by training it to recognise the relationship between realisations of Gaussian random fields and the sill and range values that define it, for a Gaussian type semivariance model. We do this by training the network with synthetic data consisting of many such realisations with the sill and range as the target variables. Because training takes time, the method is best suited for cases where many models need to be estimated since the actual estimation itself is about 70 times faster with the neural network than with the traditional approach. We demonstrate the viability of the method in three ways: (1) we test the model’s performance on the validation data, (2) we do a test where we compare the model to the traditional approach and (3) we show an example of an actual application of the method using the Danish national hydrostratigraphic model
Neural network predictions of drawdown from groundwater abstraction in the Egebjerg catchment, Denmark
No full textResults from numerical simulations play a vital role in the decision process of everyday groundwater management. However, these simulations can be time-consuming for large-scale investigations, and it can be necessary to apply approximate methods instead. This study investigates the abilities of a neural network to replicate simulated drawdown from groundwater abstraction in a numerical groundwater model of the Egebjerg catchment, Denmark. We follow a generalised methodology that uses the information within the deterministic numerical model to create a training set for the neural network to learn from and extend the method to work in a 3D Danish groundwater model case. We compare the abilities of the trained neural network with the results of conventional computations in terms of speed and accuracy and argue that this approach has the potential to improve decision support for decision-makers within groundwater management
Preface
No full textIn this special issue of GEUS Bulletin, the many riddles regarding the platinum group elements and gold (PGE-Au) mineralisation of the East Greenland Skaergaard intrusion are untangled and discussed. The Skaergard PGE-Au mineralisation, as defined in this study, embodies an enigmatic and rich ore-formation that arguably could have been an economic resource, had it not been for its ice-locked position in central East Greenland.
The authors of this study (Rudashevsky et al. 2023, this volume) characterise the systematic variability in the precious metal mineralogy from the contact towards the interior of the intrusion based on the analysis of more than 4000 individual PGE-Au grains. This variability is interpreted in the light of 90 years of research and over 1000 publications pertaining to magma chamber processes in the Skaergaard intrusion.
With such an impressive library of knowledge, on a comparatively simple magmatic system such as the Skaergard intrusion, we should have discovered a few islands of truth in igneous petrology and ore-deposit formation. And indeed, we have. But we are also enriched with an evolving story, where answering one question only serves to raise three new questions.
This study demonstrates the variability of PGE-Au phases throughout the ore-forming zone of the Skaergaard intrusion. As previously observed, PGE-Au mineralisation in the central parts is divided into several layers over 30–40 m of the cumulus stratigraphy with increasing Pd/Pt ratios upwards, an Au-rich upper part and a low sulphide content throughout all layers. Close to the contact the precious metal zonation is less pronounced, and it is significantly more sulphide rich. The PGE mineralogy deviates significantly from the centre to the margin. These complex lateral and vertical variations cannot be explained by one genetic model but require an intricate combination of igneous processes including silicate-melt liquid immiscibility, sulphide-melt immiscibility, sulphide-melt resorptions, precious metal transport by volatile-rich fluids and, finally, the solidification rate of the cumulus mushes.
For other well-preserved PGE-Au deposits throughout the world, we observe a great variation of ore-forming models. Remarkably, most of these models may be applied to various parts of the Skaergaard mineralisation. The authors suggest that the Skaergaard intrusion preserves different steps in PGE-Au ore-genesis which, in many other intrusions are obliterated by later igneous events. Therefore, the legacy of the Skaergaard mineralisation is the preservation of igneous ore-forming events that may also precede the genesis of other PGE-Au deposits in the world.
After the last conclusion, I guarantee that you will be confused and perhaps a bit triggered but hopefully also inspired and bursting with new questions on the genesis of PGE-Au deposits in mafic and ultramafic igneous complexes. In light of the recent study, you may even be encouraged to look at your favourite PGE-Au deposit with fresh eyes.
This study beautifully demonstrates that turning the next page in the book of magma chamber processes is more important than seeing ‘The End’
Mudstone diagenesis and sandstone provenance in an Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous evolving half-graben system, Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland
No full textThe influence of rifting on the composition of Kimmeridgian to Barremian mudstones from northern Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland is investigated by petrographic and mineralogical analyses of the Brorson Halvø-1 and Rødryggen-1 cores, and provenance of analysis by zircon U-Pb age dating of nearby sandstones. Mudstone composition varies systematically as a function of the timing of rifting progression and position in the half-graben depositional system. Pyrite primarily precipitated in the early rift to rift climax phases. Euhedral pyrite overgrowths on framboids formed only during the rift climax phase (Lindemans Bugt Formation). Dolomite is the dominant carbonate cement, except for the sediments deposited in the early waning rift phase (Palnatokes Bjerg Formation) where calcite is dominant, and in the late waning rift phase (Stratumbjerg Formation) where siderite dominates. The highest-temperature reactions with precipitation of illite, quartz, ankerite and barite signify sediment burial depths of >2 km prior to exhumation. Uplift-induced fracturing occurred mainly in the early rift to rift acceleration succession (Bernbjerg Formation). Mudstones in the proximal part of the half-graben (Rødryggen-1) include more detrital kaolinite than the distal mudstones (Brorson Halvø-1), which contain more mixed-layer illite-smectite and illite. Vermiculite was deposited only in the proximal part of the basin in the rift climax and waning rift successions. Chlorite was deposited proximally and distally during the waning rift phase, though supply began earlier in the distal part. Fine-grained sediment in the distal part of the half-graben was therefore probably supplied by axial transport from Palaeoproterozoic crystalline rocks and Meso- to Neoproterozoic metamorphic rocks located to the north and north-west. This agrees with the zircon provenance signature from outcropping sand-rich facies, where zircon grains with U-Pb ages of 2.0–1.6 Ga are dominant, in addition to common 1.6–0.9 Ga ages, and fewer 2.8–2.6 Ga and 0.47–0.36 Ga ages
The Rødryggen-1 and Brorson Halvø-1 fully cored boreholes (Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous), Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland – an introduction
No full textTwo fully cored boreholes, the Rødryggen-1 and the Brorson Halvø-1, were drilled in Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland, in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The objective was to test the stratigraphic development of the Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous mud-dominated succession in two different settings within the same fault block of a developing half-graben: centrally (Rødryggen-1 borehole) and near the uplifted crest of the rotating fault block (Brorson Halvø-1 borehole). The drilled deposits are equivalent to the principal petroleum source-rock sequence of the petroliferous basins of North-West Europe, Siberia, and basins off eastern Canada and provide a new record of an important phase of marine deoxygenation in the proto-North Atlantic region.
Scaling the Danish national water resources model for a pan-European quasi-3D groundwater resources model
No full textIn this study, we upscale and simplify hydrostratigraphic information from a detailed model for Denmark to a pan-European scale. This is part of a larger project to develop a harmonised overview of the volume and depth of groundwater resources in a quasi-3D European groundwater resource model. A 10 km grid and a maximum of c. 10 hydrostratigraphic layers were chosen as the common scale for the European database. The Danish information is based on the national water resources model (the DK-model), where the information is significantly more detailed (100 m grid and up to 26 layers). Information was transferred from the DK-model to the quasi-3D model by a method involving computations of mean volumes and expert assessment to reduce layers in each cell. In this process, detailed hydrostratigraphic information is lost, which could otherwise be used for local groundwater flow modelling in Denmark. However, the strength of the quasi-3D model is that it still contains the volumes of all hydrostratigraphic units, both the saturated and unsaturated parts. Hence, the upscaled model can contribute to a relatively precise calculation of European groundwater resources for the quantitative assessment of groundwater status across Europe at a 10 × 10 km scale
Stratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous in the Rødryggen-1 and Brorson Halvø-1 boreholes, Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland
No full textTwo shallow cores drilled in northern Wollaston Forland, North-East Greenland, provide a combined section covering the upper Kimmeridgian (Upper Jurassic) – Barremian (Lower Cretaceous) and comprising the Bernbjerg, Lindemans Bugt, Palnatokes Bjerg and Stratumbjerg Formations. A new lithostratigraphic unit, the Storsletten Member, is defined within the Lindemans Bugt Formation. The black mudstone-dominated intervals are dated primarily by dinoflagellate cysts and ammonites, whereas the calcareous mudstones of the Palnatokes Bjerg Formation – sandwiched between the black mudstones – are dated by calcareous nannofossils. The stratigraphy demonstrates an almost complete succession in the Rødryggen-1 core, representing a deeper position in the basin, where the hiatus at the latest Jurassic rift climax predicted in previous models for the eastern Wollaston Forland Basin is absent. In contrast, the Brorson Halvø-1 core represents a position closer to a block crest where unconformities developed. In combination, the cores provide a key biostratigraphic reference section for the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary interval in the Arctic
Danish Water Supply Areas and their links to water production facilities: an open-access data set
No full textThis data set establishes the missing link between drinking-water quality monitoring data at the water production facility level in the Danish national geodatabase Jupiter and supply areas. Water Supply Areas (WSAs) were collected at municipality level, digitised and linked to the waterworks they are supplied by. Infrastructural changes between 1978 and 2019 were taken into account by allowing WSA polygons to change over time. The number of active WSAs decreased from 3172 in 1978 to 2602 in 2019. The data set consists of longitudinal WSA polygons and a table linking WSAs to the water production facility identification in the Jupiter database, allowing the estimation of current and historical drinking-water quality across Denmark. In combination with the Danish Address Register and the Civil Registration System, this data set allows exposure assessments of drinking-water quality at high spatiotemporal resolution for the entire Danish population. Therefore, this data set is an essential part of studying health effects of drinking-water quality in epidemiological research in Denmark
The sedimentology and depositional environments of the Bastians Dal and Muslingebjerg formations: evidence for the earliest phases of Jurassic rifting in North-East Greenland
No full textThe aim of this study is to elucidate the character of the earliest phases of Jurassic rifting in North-East Greenland. To achieve this, detailed sedimentological analysis and geological mapping were undertaken on the outcrops of central Kuhn Ø (74°53’55’’N,20°20’56”W). In this region the basement is overlain by the fluvial Bastians Dal Formation (Middle Jurassic) which is, in turn, overlain by the coal-bearing Muslingebjerg Formation. A maximum thickness of 140 m is calculated for the Bastians Dal Formation and mapping of stratal geometries demonstrates thinning to both the north and south, confirming that these deposits infill a palaeovalley. Predominantly south-westward palaeocurrent orientations are observed and likely reflect the orientation of the palaeovalley (NE–SW). The overlying Muslingebjerg Formation displays significant lateral variations in thickness as well as facies, thickening from a 5-m-thick coal seam in the north to 50 m in the south. Southern outcrops include two intervals of fine-grained sandstones displaying low-angle and trough cross-bedding some of which contain suggestions of tidal bundling. The arrangement of facies suggests that coal formation occurred in both fluvial- and shallow-marine (tidal?) environments. Coals are similar to those described elsewhere from the Muslingebjerg Formation and display subtle differences consistent with variable degrees of marine influence. Mapping demonstrates the presence of an NE–SW-oriented bounding fault in the south of the region into which the Muslingebjerg Formation thickens. This likely also controlled the orientation of the underlying NE–SW-aligned palaeovalley and is oblique to the proposed overall N–S orientation of faulting related to rifting through the Mid to Late Jurassic. Instead, these alignments resemble those that define pre-Jurassic phases of rifting and may therefore indicate a transitional phase of tectonism. Faulting on a similar alignment can be traced SW, cutting Lindeman Fjord and following the valleys east of the A. P. Olsen Land plateau