To better understand how the evolution of Cenozoic deep-water circulation related to changes in global climate and ocean basin configuration, we generated Nd isotope records from Ocean Drilling Program sites in the southeastern Atlantic to track deep water mass composition through time. We used fossil fish debris from ODP Sites 1262-1264 (Leg 208), spanning present-day water depths of 2500-4750 m, to reconstruct the isotopic signature of deep waters over the past ~53 Ma. The data indicate an initial transition from relatively non-radiogenic values (??Nd=~-10) at 53 Ma to more radiogenic values (~-8.5) at ~32 Ma. From ~32 Ma to 3.85 Ma, the Nd signal becomes more nonradiogenic, ~-12.3 at the top of the record. Comparison of our data with Nd isotopic records derived from a North Atlantic Fe-Mn crust show similar non-radiogenic values (~-10.5) in the 53??32 Ma interval and a trend toward more non-radiogenic values beginning at ~20 Ma. The data likely reflect an overall shift from a Southern Ocean deep water source to the ultimate incursion of deep waters from the North Atlantic. The non-radiogenic values at the base of the record reflect a Southern Ocean source of deep water. The shift toward more radiogenic values indicates an increased contribution of Pacific waters to the Southern Ocean source as the tectonic gateways changed after ~35-33 Ma. The subsequent trend toward more non-radiogenic Nd isotope values is approximately concurrent with the increase of benthic foraminiferal ??18O values, based on comparison with a compilation of global data. Thus, changes in oceanic gateway configuration in addition to overall cooling and the build-up of continental ice on Antarctica may have altered the Nd isotope character of Southern Ocean deep waters during the early Oligocene.

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Thesis advisor: Ethan F. Baxter / Spiral garnets are well-documented metamorphic microstructures that have been observed in orogens throughout the world. The preferred orientation of spiral garnet axes has been proposed (Bell and Johnson, 1989) to record and preserve information about the timing, rate, and orientation of the tectonic-scale processes. Using the model of Be Spiral garnets are well-documented metamorphic microstructures that have been observed in orogens throughout the world. The preferred orientation of spiral garnet axes has been proposed (Bell and Johnson, 1989) to record and preserve information about the timing, rate, and orientation of the tectonic-scale processes. Using the model of Bell and Johnson (1989), Aerden et al. (2013) proposed a link between the preferred orientation of spiral garnets and changes in relative plate motion between Iberia and Africa. The goal of this thesis is to this relationship by absolutely dating, eight samples from the Betic-Rif arc with measurable spiral axis orientations were chosen for Sm-Nd garnet geochronology. Chapter one is a detailed literature review of prior work on the formation and interpretation of spiral garnets. In chapter two we present 11 bulk Sm-Nd garnet ages from eight samples, these ages range from 35.6 ± 2.8 to 13.62 ± 0.69 Ma. The results from the obtained bulk garnet ages reveal a more complex relationship between FIA orientations and plate motion that originally hypothesized in Aerden et al. (2013). Large-scale rigid block rotations that postdate garnet growth may have influenced the current orientation of FIA from the western Betic-Rif. In chapter three, zoned geochronology was conducted on a single sample from the Nevado-Filabride Complex. This study revealed spiral garnet formation occurring on a rapid timescale, just 〖0.45〗_(-0.32)^(+0.51) Myr. While other zoned garnet studies have shown similar rapid growth in subduction zone setting (Dragovic et al., 2012), this is the first such documentation of such rapid growth from a garnet hosting spiral inclusion trails in a regional metamorphic setting. We calculated strain rates considering different genetic models for the spiral inclusion trails either by garnet rotation in simple shear, or by episodic overgrowth of suborthogonal crenulation cleavages due to switching stress axes. In both cases a similar fast strain rate of ca. 10-13 s-1 was obtained, which is an order of magnitude faster than typical regional strain rates and faster than previous spiral garnet studies regardless of the method used to calculate strain-rate. / Thesis (MS) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Earth and Environmental Sciences.