GFF

On the & Aring;land Islands, Finland, rare erratic boulders with a pelmatozoan pack-, grainstone lithology occur. These boulders contain predominantly crinoid columnal fragments with columnal diameters of up to 12 mm. Based on petrographic characteristics, the boulders can be interpreted as representing clinoform flank deposits, probably of small patch reefs. The stratigraphic age of one of the boulders can be precisely constrained as belonging to the mid-Sandbian Baltoniodus viirae conodont zone, Dalbyan Regional Stage, Ordovician. It corresponds in age to the pelmatozoan-rich Dalby Limestone of Sweden. The occurrence of erratic boulders of pelmatozoan limestone on the & Aring;land Islands suggests a mid-Sandbian existence of pelmatozoan-rich patch reefs on the proximal, now eroded part of the carbonate platform. This is significantly older than the previously known oldest echinoderm-rich reefs of Baltoscandia.

Natural history collections hold immense global significance - not only as historical archives but also as precious resources for novel scientific discoveries. These collections, housed in museums and institutions worldwide, are (or should be) accessible and open for study. In this paper, we provide a brief history of the fossil collections at Lund University, Sweden, tracing their origins, key historical contributors, contents, significance and current state, as well as their future prospects. The collections' foundation dates back to 1735 when Kilian Stob ae us (1690-1742) bequeathed his extensive assembly of artefacts to the university, which originally included several thousand geological specimens, such as fossils, minerals, rocks and soil samples. Since then, the Lund collections have steadily expanded through contributions from numerous influential Earth science scholars. However, they have also undergone a convoluted history, including multiple relocations, all of which is outlined herein. Beyond documenting the Lund fossil collections, we highlight the broader importance of natural history collections, particularly with regard to type material. Despite their critical role in research and education, these collections in many cases remain undervalued by both the public and policymakers, resulting in insufficient financial support for their curation. This neglect poses an uncertain but likely detrimental impact on scientific and cultural heritage. As stewards of these valuable resources, we have a responsibility to preserve and develop them for future generations.

This paper presents a multiscale rebuttal to the discussion paper by Ulf B. Andersson (Andersson 2025), which critiques the structural interpretations and network of geological structures presented in Veress et al. (2024). We clarify that Veress et al. (2024) is a 3D modeling study, not a traditional mapping study, based on the systematic integration of LKAB's geological subsurface dataset with more than a decade of regional structural fieldwork by our research group. The reply is structured from the regional tectonic framework, through the central Kiruna area, to individual structures questioned in the discussion. We demonstrate that the structures in Veress et al. (2024), many trending NW-SE or NE-SW, fit into a regionally extensive conjugate system formed during late Paleoproterozoic E-W crustal shortening and basin inversion. This deformation regime is well documented by mapping-based studies west, east, south, and north of Kiirunavaara. We further show that the structures under discussion are all supported by LKAB datasets, in particular, drill core logging data and geophysics. Structure D is specifically indicated by drill core data compiled by Ulf B. Andersson himself in a recent report (Andersson 2023), data that include RQD and GSI values that we have now integrated into the updated 3D model, providing additional support for this structure. We also evaluate an alternative cooling-related origin for these structures, previously proposed by Ulf B. Andersson in another report (Andersson & Berglund 2024), and argue that it is inconsistent with the structural context of the wider area.

The L & auml;rbro Group and Tj & auml;ngvide Group are two special groups of picture stones from Gotland, Sweden. They are characterised by their motifs and decorations. The picture stones of the L & auml;rbro Group seem to belong to the same tradition of one group of crafters, whereas the picture stones of the Tj & auml;ngvide Group were probably produced by the same crafter. In this study, we present the carbon (delta 13C) and oxygen (delta 18O) isotope values, and visual facies analyses of the raw material, which were carried out on five sampled picture stones of the L & auml;rbro Group and three sampled picture stones of the Tj & auml;ngvide Group at Statens Historiska Museet in Stockholm, Sweden. The crafters mainly used local materials from single geological units, Slite Group and Hemse Group, to produce picture stones. In addition, we determine possible transport distance minima up to 10 km between the raw material source area and the find place of the analysed picture stones. Finally, we present that coarse and fine reef debris limestones were preferred by the crafters for producing those picture stones.

This discussion makes a critical review of some of the major structures (mostly faults) that have been proposed in the Kiruna area. Several authors have proposed km-scale fault zones cross-cutting the rock volume in the area but provided limited evidence in support. It is here argued that most of these structures do not exist in the presented form, and that the displacements observed largely occurred during magma emplacement.

The c. 1.89 Ga Garpenberg Zn-Pb-Ag-(Cu-Au) deposit is hosted by dolomite marble, skarn and felsic metavolcanic rocks. Extensive marble units host part of the mine infrastructure, including sections of bright-colored, chemically pure marble. Assessing the potential of carbonates as by-products to base metal mining is of interest for a sustainable and efficient use of resources and for securing a domestic supply of carbonates. This study characterizes marble units proximal to the Dammsj & ouml;n and Lappberget ore bodies at Garpenberg based on their optical, chemical, mineralogical, and textural properties to delineate controls on their brightness, color, and purity. Methods employed include drill core logging, whole-rock lithogeochemistry, petrography, SEM-EDS, mu XRF, spectrophotometric brightness measurements, and tests of AIR and magnetic separation. The marble units are divided into bright calcite marble (white, gray, and green varieties), dark calcite marble (salmon pink, spotted, brecciated, and ophicalcite varieties) and dolomite marble. Brightness and purity of the marbles are highly correlated, with Fe having a particularly detrimental effect on brightness, both via substitution in the dolomite and calcite lattices, but also via presence of accessory minerals that grind to dark powders. Ore-proximal dolomite marble shows a hydrothermal signature, with elevated base metals, Fe, S and Mn content, whereas impurities in calcite marble seem to mainly be of detrital origin, reflecting co-settled volcaniclastic and siliciclastic material in the limestone precursors. Mainly the bright calcite marble varieties are of potential industrial quality and are present in Garpenberg in significant volumes, but the technoeconomic feasibility of by-product valorization requires further analysis.

Vargite, ideally MnCu2Mn2(OH)4(H2O)4(AsO4)2 - named after the Swedish miner Erik Gustaf Varg (1886-1970), who collected the type specimen - was found in the L & aring;ngban Fe-Mn deposit. It occurs in open cavities in a brecciated and later hydrothermally leached carbonate groundmass, in association with hausmannite, calcite, rhodochrosite, baryte, a serpentine-group mineral, and galena. Additional minor phases are hedyphane, phlogopite and yarrowite. Paragenetically, it is a late-stage mineral, formed as a result of the interaction between an As-rich hydrothermal fluid and Mn-oxide(s) and Cu-sulphide, under low P- and T-conditions. Vargite forms bright green, semi-spherical aggregates up to 0.5 mm across, consisting of numerous thin, lath-shaped crystals, elongated along [100] and with a maximum length of 200 mu m. Mohs hardness is approximate to 3 and Dcalc = 3.49(1) gcm-3. The empirical chemical formula obtained from electron probe micro-analyses analyses and based on 16 anions is (Cu1.77Mg0.33)Sigma 2.10(Mn2.94Ca0.04Pb0.01)Sigma 2.99(As1.95Si0.02)Sigma 1.97O8(OH)4.033.98H2O. The crystal structures of vargite and the isotypic mineral akrochordite [MnMn2Mn2(OH)4(H2O)4(AsO4)2] have been refined in the space group P21/c from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data to R1 = 3.07% and 2.46%, respectively, giving the following sets of unit-cell parameters: a = 5.6251(14), 5.6832(11) & Aring;, b = 17.452(5), 17.631(5) & Aring;, c = 6.905(2), 6.8417(19) & Aring;, beta = 100.21(5)degrees, 99.51(4)degrees, and V = 667.2(3), 676.1(3) & Aring;3, with Z = 2. A Raman spectrum of vargite, with major bands at 3510, 1610, 850, 780, 476, 428, 389, and 308 cm-1, strongly resembles that of isotypic guanacoite, [MgCu2Mg2(OH)4(H2O)4(AsO4)2]. Vargite, akrochordite, and guanacoite constitute the newly established akrochordite group.

Four new symbiotic associations between worms and tabulate corals have been described from the Hirnantian to Ludfordian of Estonia. Chaetosalpinx csp. occurs in Palaeofavosites porkuniensis from the Hirnantian of northern Estonia. Chaetosalpinx ferganensis occurs in Favosites hisingeri from the Telychian, with an infestation rate of about 18%. Chaetosalpinx siberiensis occurs in the Favosites forbesi from the Ludfordian of Estonia, with an infestation rate of about 33%. Endobiotic Cornulites sp . was discovered from the Ludfordian Favosites terrae-novae. Our data suggest that Chaetosalpinx trace makers exhibited a significantly broader parasitic behavior, infesting a wider variety of coral species during the Silurian in the Baltica. The discovery of cornulitid within the corallum of Favosites indicates that the symbiotic relationship between cornulitids and tabulates spanned a broad stratigraphic range, extending from the late Katian to the Ludfordian during the early Paleozoic in Estonia.

Upper-intercept U-Pb ages (TIMS) of two non-foliated I-type granites are 1887 +/- 20 Ma (part of a granodiorite-granite sequence) and 1881 +/- 2 Ma (leucogranite with transitions into pegmatite). A non-foliated S-granite, which according to field observations, is younger than the two I-granites, occurs within the same composite pluton. Zircons of this granite are heterogeneous and contain abundant cores. A 207Pb/206Pb - 238U/206Pb concordia age of 1786 +/- 23 Ma (Tera-Wasserburg diagram) using the LA-ICP method is consistent with the reported age of nearby LCT-pegmatites. The age range of non-foliated Svecofennian granite intrusions in this part of the Baltic Shield is thus of the order of 0.09$\cdot$& sdot;103 Ma. A major part of this pluton is made up of several intrusions of S-type granite. Mapping, gamma-radiation maps, and published chemical analyses give evidence of differences among these intrusions. No data exist on their age span.

The Sorvik granite forms rounded intrusions in the dominating Revsund granite, north-eastern Jamtland, central Sweden. Laser-ablation single-collector magnetic sector field-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry on zircons was used to date the granite. The zircons are inhomogeneous, some with evident cores. The fractionation curves, Pb-207/U-235 versus time (depth), are irregular and often inconsistent with expected curves due to inhomogeneities in the zircon crystals in the Sorvik granite making age determinations difficult. The best-constrained age is a Tera-Wasserburg concordia age of 1776 +/- 9 Ma obtained from five points. An upper-intercept discordia age in the Pb-208/Th-232 - Pb-207/U-235 system obtained from six analyses with <|2.5|% discordance suggests an age of 1.74 (.) 10(3) Ma; these analyses give an identical Pb-208/Pb-207 age (age brackets similar to 1.73 and similar to 1.80 (.) 10(3 )Ma) supporting the U-Pb result. The suggested minimum age of a core and the inhomogeneities in the isotope composition of the crystals are consistent with a pre-Svecofennian age of the source rocks. These results, together with previously reported results from other rocks in the area, support earlier suggestions that the crust formation is no younger than early Palaeoproterozoic.

A unique internal mould of the patelliform mollusc Eesticonus aariensis n. gen. n. sp. is described from the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian Series, Kunda Stage) of northern Estonia. Well-preserved muscle attachment scars are compared to those of Floripatella from strata of Middle Ordovician (Dapingian Series) age in Utah, originally considered to be the oldest known patelloidean gastropod but possibly an untorted mollusc. Comparison with the muscle scar pattern in Archinacellina from the Ordovician of Bohemia suggests that Eesticonus is an archinacelloidean gastropod, but not a patellogastropod.

According to most sources, the type locality for the hydrous iron silicate mineral hisingerite is Riddarhyttan, Vastmanland, Sweden, first reported in 1828. However, it was described by A.F. Cronstedt as early as 1751 from Vaster Silvberg, Dalarna (under the name "kolspeglande jarnmalm"), and in 1810 by W. Hisinger from the Gillinge iron mine, Sodermanland ("svart stenart", later "gillingit"). J. Berzelius introduced the presently valid species name (originally spelt "hisingrit") in 1819. Potential type materials are preserved by the Swedish Museum of Natural History, from Gillinge and Riddarhyttan. A Hisinger specimen from Gillinge has recently been analysed and was shown to contain associated potassic-hastingsite, magnetite and fayalite that explain the previously observed aluminium contents and high density for "gillingit", compared to pure hisingerite.

We document diverse and well-preserved dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from Cretaceous successions in the Kullemolla 1 drill core (640.0 m-590.0 m), Vomb Trough, southern Sweden. Palynology reveals a nearshore marine environment. Dinoflagellate index taxa indicate an Albian to Coniacian age, thus spanning the Early-Late Cretaceous boundary. The lower part of the core is Albian, based on the presence of the index dinocyst taxa Pareodinia and Callaiosphaeridium asymmetricum. The First Appearance Datum (FAD) of Oligosphaeridium prolixispinosum, together with the presence of Achomosphaera ramulifera, Heterosphaeridium difficile and Oligosphaeridium pulcherrimum, reveals a Cenomanian age for the interval 635- m-617 m. The Turonian interval is characterized by an increase in the dinocysts Chatangiella spectabilis and Florentinia spp., in combination with the FAD of Senoniasphaera rotundata, whereas the youngest samples are dated to the Coniacian as defined by the appearance of Glaphyrocysta sp.We show that Cenomanian and Turonian strata are indeed represented by a relatively condensed section between 635 m and 612 m in the Kullemolla 1 core showing that the apparent hiatus recorded by calcareous microfossils elsewhere is likely a result of post-depositional dissolution of calcareous tests and limestone, a process that did not affect the organic-walled plankton. This is further supported by the presence of hardgrounds and dissolution features.This updated, detailed biostratigraphical assessment based on dinoflagellates provides a framework for correlation with zonations based on other marine fossil groups, useful, for e.g., correlating aquifers in subsurface successions and, further, provides opportunities for linking marine and continental biotas.

A thin (20-80 cm), patchy layer of silt-rich sediment occurs at the surface throughout Svartedalen, a nature reserve 30 km north of Gothenburg, Sweden. This surface silt mantles a bedrock-dominated, fracture-valley landscape. Using data from grain-size analysis, OSL dating and detrital-zircon U-Pb dating, we argue that the silt is loess sourced from glacial sediment that was eroded from local bedrock. The sediment has a grain-size distribution typical of wind-blown silt and is especially similar to thin deposits of loess overlying coarser material. OSL ages on five samples range from 1 to 8 ka, although analysis of equivalent dose distributions of one may suggest an age as old as 11 ka. The dates may represent true depositional ages and represent several Holocene eolian events. However, we consider as more likely that the loess was deposited during deglaciation, and quartz-grain signals have been partially reset during bioturbation. U-Pb ages on 273 zircon grains from the loess show prominent peaks at 1.6 and 1.8 Ga, as well as smaller numbers of grains from 1.0 to 1.6 Ga. These ages match dates from the Idefjord Terrane which comprises the bedrock of the study area. We argue that during ice-margin retreat, debris in the glacier was dominated by locally derived debris. This glacial sediment was left in thin patches uplands and particularly in large ice-marginal deltas. These deposits served as the proximal source for the loess. The presence of thin loess in Svartedalen suggests loess to be common in soils of southwest Sweden.

Based on a new deep drilling on southern Gotland (Sweden), this study is the first to document the carbon isotope chemostratigraphy of the Upper Ordovician through lowermost Silurian sedimentary record from the central parts of the Baltic Sea subsurface. The lithological record of the Stora Sutarve core has similarities with adjacent successions in both the Viki core in the East Baltic area and the Borenshult core in the Swedish mainland. The core includes the Kahula (including 13 bentonites in the "Kinnekulle K-bentonite complex"), Hirmuse(?), R & auml;gavere, Paekna, Jonstorp, Loka, Motala and Kallholn formations. Several of the internationally recognized upper Ordovician delta C-13 excursions have been identified in the core, including the Guttenberg Isotope Carbon Excursion (GICE), Moe excursion, Hirnantian Isotope Carbon Excursion (HICE), and an undefined early Silurian carbon isotope excursion, presumably the Early Aeronian Carbon Isotope Excursion (EACIE). We particularly address the microstratigraphy of the Hirnantian Stage and the finer details of the HICE, which is not fully complete and entirely confined to the 2.09-m-thick Loka Formation. This formation yields abundant, but low-richness brachiopod faunas characteristic of the Hirnantian Stage and is, based on erosional-depositional surfaces and facies, interpreted as reflecting interglacial warming and eustatic transgression related to ice-sheet contraction in Gondwana. Based on very dense carbon isotope sampling we identify four clusters of delta C-13 values that aid to define significant changes in the preserved record of the HICE and which may facilitate global correlation of the succession and the herein interpreted sea-level record.

The graptolites of the Toyen Shale Formation of Kinnekulle in Vastergotland, south-central Sweden, are described for the first time and their biostratigraphic distribution is documented from drill core and outcrop material. The faunas indicate an age of mid to late Floian (Billingenian), thus showing a reduced biostratigraphic range of the Toyen Shale as compared to other areas where this rock unit occurs. A considerable stratigraphic gap is apparent at its base, from the late Tremadocian to mid-Floian, as the limestones of the Ceratopyge acicularis trilobite Zone (late Tremadocian Bjorkasholmen Formation) are followed by shales with a fauna of the Baltograptus jacksoni graptolite Biozone. Unverified records suggest that mid-late Ottenbyan (Hunnebergian) strata (Megistaspis planilimbata trilobite Zone s.l.) locally may be present in the uppermost Bjorkasholmen Formation as identified herein. There is no indication that the Toyen Shale reaches into the Dapingian, as Dapingian graptolites have not been recognized. The overlying limestones of the "Lanna Limestone" belong to the Megistaspis polyphemus trilobite Zone and the Baltoniodus triangularis conodont Zone, suggesting a gradual contact of the lithological units.

Here we present geomorphological evidence of a previously unrecognised similar to 50 km long, ice-marginal moraine complex in southwestern Skane, southernmost Sweden, which we name the "Lund Moraine". This lobate moraine marks a sharp boundary between heavily streamlined and gently undulating landscapes, and closely outlines the extent of the "Lund till/diamicton". We interpret that the moraine was formed by a northward readvance, corresponding to a last Young Baltic readvance of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet into oresund. Consequently, we infer that the "Lund till/diamicton" was formed subglacially, in contrast to earlier interpretations of it being a waterlain diamicton. Based on previously published dates, stratigraphically below "Lund till/diamicton", we infer that this readvance occurred sometime after c. 16 cal. ka BP. This readvance could offer an explanation to the apparent discrepancy of observations of the postglacial marine limit from outside and inside the Lund Moraine. Our observations will hopefully settle the similar to 50 years long controversy concerning the extent or even existence of such a readvance into oresund. We expect that our findings will guide further work towards disentangling the complex deglacial history of Skane and the wider oresund region.

The depression of the ancient Lumparn meteorite impact structure is partly infilled by Cambrian and Ordovician sediments, lying nowadays below the seawater. The Ordovician carbonate succession at this site, recognised through erratic boulders and by the drilling project in the late 1950s, is of particular interest due to its isolated and distant location from other areas with Ordovician sediments in the Baltoscandian Palaeobasin. In this study, we present new data on ostracod biostratigraphy and stable carbon isotope chemostratigraphy obtained from three old drillcores. Comparison of ostracod distribution with sections in Estonia generally supports the previous interpretations of a Darriwilian and Sandbian age for the lowermost Tranvik Limestone (which we propose renaming the "orthoceratite limestone" in the angstrom land Islands area). The uppermost ostersjo Limestone spans almost the entire Katian age. We also observe the global MDICE and GICE carbon isotopic excursions, as well as Katian Rakvere and Saunja excursions, within the Lumparn succession. The Ordovician succession in Lumparn Bay is facially resembling the Estonian Shelf facies of the Baltoscandian Palaeobasin.