Development of heterogeneities in the subcontinental Mantle: Evidence from the Ferrar Group,Antarctica

Tholeiitic lava flows (Kirkpatrick Basalts) and dolerite sills and dikes (Ferrar Dolerites) of the Jurassic Ferrar Group from Antarctica and dolerite sills from Tasmania, Australia are characterised by initial strontium isotope ratios ranging from 0.7089 to 0.7153. The mean and standard deviation of 85 analyses is 0.7115±0.0012. Some of the scatter in the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios can be attributed to sample inhomogeneity, analytical uncertainties and sample alteration. The published major element data show well-defined trends that are consistent with an evolution by fractional crystallization. Recognition of a parental magma is difficult due to the fractionated nature of the rocks. Trace element analyses, particularly the rare earth elements (REE) support a differentiation model. Compared to mid-ocean ridge basalts, Ferrar Group rocks are enriched in light REE. Kirkpatrick Basalts from the central Transantarctic Mountains show significant correlations between initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios and major elements only for SiO₂ and CaO. The general lack of strong correlation is the basis for rejecting the possibility of wholesale contamination by sialic material as a possible cause of the high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios. Selective contamination of the basaltic magmas is a possibility and cannot be completely discounted. It would probably involve a fluid phase in order to transport and mix the light REE, Rb, ⁸⁷Sr, and other elements. By analogy with selective contamination of ocean ridge basalts by sea water it is difficult to envisage a similar process acting on magma emplaced in a non-marine environment. Because of the elevated values of the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, their similar average value over 2,500 km and the large volume of magma involved (4× 10⁵ km³) a mantle origin for the high Sr ratios is preferred. Models to account for the enrichment of Rb and light REE in the Antarctic mantle during or prior to the Jurassic include:

1. addition of continental material from a Palezoic Mesozoic subduction zone;
2. metasomatism of volatile elements from the lower mantle; and
3. evolution of a mantle with a high Rb/Sr ratio.

     

A K-Ar and Sr-isotopic study of the volcanic rocks of the island of principe,West Africa — Evidence for mantle heterogeneity beneath the Gulf of Guinea

K-Ar dating on a suite of volcanic rocks from the island of Principe gives the following chronology.

1. Basal palagonite breccia (30.6 ± 2.1 Ma).
2. Older Lava Series (OLS) basalt (23.6±0.7 Ma) and hawaiite (19.1±0.5 Ma).
3. Younger Lava Series (YLS) nephelinite (5.60±0.32 Ma) and basanite (3.51 ±0.15).
4. Intrusive phonolite (5.32±0.17 Ma, 5.48±0.19 Ma), tristanite (4.89±0.15 Ma) and trachyphonolite (6.93±0.68 Ma) plugs.

Phonolites and YLS samples plot on a 5.9±0.3 Ma Rb-Sr isochron. The tristanite-trachy-phonolite suite samples also lie on this isochron. This lends support to the suggestion that the YLS basanite magmas were parental to the phonolites but rules out a similar relationship between the OLS magmas and the tristanite-trachyphonolite suite. The mean initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio for the YLS nephelinites and basanites is 0.70297. The basalts and hawaiites of the OLS show a positive ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr vs. Rb/Sr correlation which may be interpreted as a 244±43 Ma pseudoisochron. This could be the result of a large-scale heterogeneity generated in the mantle during the early stages in the break-up of Gondwanaland. The mean initial ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr ratio (at 21 Ma) for the OLS (0.70326) is significantly higher than that for the YLS and implies an isotopically distinct mantle source.     

The geochemistry and evolution of early precambrian mantle

Seven high-purity cumulate clinopyroxenes from 2.7 b.y. maficultramafic rock associations from the Abitibi belt, Superior Province, Canada, have been analyzed for major elements and K, Rb, Cs, Ba, Sr and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio. Attempts to reconstruct the trace element patterns of the original parent magmas were partially successful; Sr contents (140 ppm), K/Rb (470) and K/Ba (16) ratios are similar to those of modern low-K island arc tholeiites. K/Cs ratios (2700) are significantly lower than island arc tholeiites (17,000) or oceanic island and oceanic ridge basalts (> 30,000); the presentday mantle seems to be more depleted in Cs than in Archean times. Initial Sr isotope ratios of the 7 Archean clinopyroxenes average 0.70114±13(2σ) with relatively little variation; this value is in good agreement with initial ratios published for felsic and mafic rocks of the same age, though the latter show much larger variations and uncertainties. The pyroxene Sr isotope data, in conjunction with data for rocks of other ages, defines the following simple model for mantle evolution:

1. starting with primordial Sr, a short period of relatively rapid ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr growth, followed by Rb depletion;
2. a period between ≧ 3.5 b.y. and ～ 1.7 b.y. when closed-system Sr isotope evolution occurred (with Rb/Sr ～ 0.023);
3. development of large-scale Rb/Sr heterogeneities in the mantle at ～ 1.7 b.y., leading to a present-day mantle with ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ranging from 0.7023 to 0.7065 and Rb/Sr ranging from ～ 0 to 0.065.

     

Charriage crustal,anatexie et decrochements ductiles dans les Maures orientales (Var,France) au cours de l'orogenese varisque

The kinematics of the deformational events recorded in the catazonal gneisses within the eastern part of the Maures massif (Variscan basement of Provence, southeastern France) has been established. These events can be correlated with both the metamorphic and the magmatic evolution, and the orogenic history of the eastern Maures then consists of the following stages:

1. -HP-metamorphism preserved only in relict eclogites and quartzites rich in calc-silicates,
2. -Catazonal metamorphism involving anatectic melting, broadly contemporaneous with large-scale horizontal transport towards the NNE. During this event, the lithologic units were disrupted and intensively mylonitized.
3. -Intrusion of a first generation of anatectic granitoids.
4. -A second tectonic event under epi-to mesozonal metamorphism conditions is responsible for the northward displacement of the eastern Maures relative to the western part along a sinistral strike-slip fault 4 km wide (Ramatuelle — Plan de la Tour fault) in which the early anatectic granitoids have been mylonitized. Outside the fault zone, this event is marked by upright to W-vergent open folds trending N-S, i.e. parallel to the transport direction.
5. -A moderate cataclastic reactivation of the Ramatuelle — Plan de la Tour fault with a dextral sense of shear, locally accompanied in the eastern part of the area by minor lowtemperature thrusting towards the south.
6. -Intrusion of a second generation of anatectic granites about 320 Ma ago.

The metamorphic, magmatic and tectonic evolution of the eastern Maures suggests a continuous orogenic history in an area of rapid crustal thickening by large-scale thrusting within the continental crust. This evolution may be related to the development of continental subduction during the continent/continent collision responsible for the Variscan orogeny in southern Europe.     

Phase equilibria among pumpellyite,lawsonite, epidote and associated minerals in low grade metamorphic rocks

Phase relations of pumpellyite, epidote, lawsonite, CaCO₃, paragonite, actinolite, crossite and iron oxide are analysed on an Al-Ca-Fe³⁺ diagram in which all minerals are projected from quartz, albite or Jadeite, chlorite and fluid. Fe²⁺ and Mg are treated as a single component because variation in Fe²⁺/Mg has little effect on the stability of phases on the diagram. Comparison of assemblages in the Franciscan, Shuksan, Sanbagawa, New Caledonia, Southern Italian, and Otago metamorphic terranes reveals several reactions, useful for construction of a petrogenetic grid:

1. lawsonite+crossite + paragonite = epidote+chlorite + albite + quartz + H₂O
2. lawsonite + crossite = pumpellyite + epidote + chlorite + albite+ quartz + H₂O
3. crossite + pumpellyite + quartz = epidote + actinolite + albite + chlorite + H₂O
4. crossite + epidote + quartz = actinolite + hematite + albite + chlorite + H₂O
5. calcite + epidote + chlorite + quartz = pumpellyite + actinolite + H₂O + CO₂
6. pumpellyite + chlorite + quartz = epidote + actinolite + H₂O

     

Petrochemistry of the volcanic rocks of the Island of Principe,Gulf of Guinea

Principe is one of the volcanic centres comprising the Cameroun line in West Africa. The volcanic rocks can be divided into two stratigraphic units:

1. Younger lava series — basanite and nephelinite overlying.
2. Older lava series — transitional to mildly alkaline basalt and hawaiite.

These units lie on a basement of palagonite breccias of tholeiitic affinities. The basic lavas are intruded by plugs ranging in composition from tristanite to phonolite and are overlain by phonolite lavas. These rocks form two chemically and mineralogically distinct suites:

1. Phonolites which evolved by low pressure crystal fractionation of the younger lava series basanitic magma, and
2. Tristanite — trachyte — trachyphonolite suite which may have evolved by high pressure crystal fractionation of the older lava series magma.

     

Alteration of the upper oceanic crust,DSDP site 417: mineralogy and chemistry

Basalts from DSDP Site 417 (109 Ma) exhibit the effects of several stages of alteration reflecting the evolution of seawater-derived solution compositions and control by the structure and permeability of the crust. Characteristic secondary mineral assemblages occur in often superimposed alteration zones within individual basalt fragments. By combining bulk rock and single phase chemical analyses with detailed mineralogic and petrographic studies, chemical changes have been determined for most of the alteration stages identified in the basalts.

1. Minor amounts of saponite, chlorite, and pyrite formed locally in coarse grained portions of massive units, possibly at high temperatures during initial cooling of the basalts. No chemical changes could be determined for this stage.
2. Possible mixing of cooled hydrothermal fluids with seawater resulted in the formation of celadonite-nontronite and Fe-hydroxide-rich black halos around cracks and pillow rims. Gains of K, Rb, H₂O, increase of Fe³⁺/Fe^T, and possibly some losses of Ca and Mg occurred during this stage.
3. Extensive circulation of oxygenated seawater resulted in the formation of various smectites, K-feldspar, and Fe-hydroxides in brown and light grey alteration zones around formerly exposed surfaces. K, Rb, H₂O, and occasionally P were added to the rocks, Fe³⁺/Fe^T increased, and Ca, Mg, Si and occasionally Al and Na were lost.
4. Anoxic alteration occurred during reaction of basalt with seawater at low water-rock ratios, or with seawater that had previously reacted with basalt. Saponite-rich dark grey alteration zones formed which exhibit very little chemical change: generally only slight increases in Fe³⁺/Fe^T and H₂O occurred.
5. Zeolites and calcite formed from seawater-derived fluids modified by previous reactions with basalt. Chemical changes involved increases of Ca, Na, H₂O, and CO₂ in the rocks.
6. A late stage of anoxic conditions resulted in the formation of minor amounts of Mn-calcites and secondary sulfides in previously oxidized rocks. No chemical changes were determined for this stage.

Recognition of such alteration sequences is important in understanding the evolution of submarine hydrothermal systems and in interpreting chemical exchange due to seawater-basalt reactions.     

Zersetzung von Kalk-Alkali-Gesteinen im rezenten Fumarolengebiet auf Nea Kameni/Santorin/Griechenland

In the present phase of the volcanic activity on Nea Kameni / Santorini / Greece the calc-alkalic volcanic rocks are decomposed by H₂O, CO₂ and SO₂ gases of about 100 °C. Using a method ofGresens (1967) for the determination of gains and losses of compounds five different processes could be distinguished:

1. leaching of compounds
2. enrichment of Ca as gypsum
3. increase of Fe₂O₃ (6%–11%), TiO₂ (0,8%–3%) and Zr
4. enrichment of Al₂O₃ (15%–29%), TiO₂ (0,8%–1,5%) and K
5. increase of Al₂O₃ (15%–26%), Fe₂O₃ (6%–9%), TiO₂ (0,8%–1,3%), Sr, Ba, Pb and Zr

Finally a model for the process of decomposition of calc-alkalic volcanic rocks by sulfuric acid was developed.     

Mesozoic volcanics of western sicily

The Mesozoic lavas and minor intrusions in the thrust sheets of western Sicily have the following characteristics:

1. The lavas in the Triassic Mufara Formation in the north were broken into fragments which rotated independently within the incompetent strata that enclose them. This behavior is characteristic of igneous rocks found within the more internal (northerly) thrust units.
2. The Jurassic lavas in the more external (southerly) units have consistent directions which agree with those of the Ammonitico Rosso limestones in the same zone and lie about 30° clockwise from those of coeval autochthonous formations in Tunisia.Schult's presumed Cretaceous directions from Custonaci on the north coast (similar to those found in the Cretaceous Scaglia Rossa at Terrasini to the east byChannel et al., 1980) are rotated still more (140°) with respect to those of the autochthonous Iblean platform of SE Sicily. These differences are believed to reflect rotation of the thrust sheets during tectonic transport in Cenozoic times, the internal units being the most strongly rotated.
3. All the igneous rocks are highly altered: generally the original mineralogy cannot be completely determined. Relative abundances of some of the less mobile elements (Ti, Sr, Y) suggest that they are intraplate basalts.

     

Kyanite eclogites

Prior experimental work has shown that in the laboratory the mineralogy of eclogites is sensitive to the ratio of CaO ∶ MgO ∶ FeO and that the reaction pyroxene + kyanite?garnet + quartz proceeds to the right at high pressures in rocks rich in magnesium and to the left in rocks rich in calcium and iron. Typical basalts crystallized at high pressure never contain kyanite. The chemistry and mineralogy of a large number of naturally occurring eclogites show they belong to three classes.

1. Kyanite-free magmatic eclogites, rich in magnesium, from:
2. kimberlites
3. dunites and serpentinites.
4. Kyanite-bearing eclogites and grosspydites rich in CaO and low in FeO with intermediate MgO from:
5. kimberlites
6. gneisses.
7. Kyanite-free eclogites of metamorphic origin rich in iron with low magnesium and intermediate amounts of calcium from:
8. glaucophane schists
9. gneisses.

     

Laihunite—A new iron silicate mineral

Laihuite reported in the present paper is a new iron silicate mineral found in China with the following characteristics:

1. This mineral occurs in a metamorphic iron deposit, associated with fayalite, hypersthene, quartz, magnetitc, etc.
2. The mineral is opaque, black in colour, thickly tabular in shape with luster metallic to sub-metallic, two perfect cleavages and specific gravity of 3.92.
3. Its main chemical components are Fe and Si with Fe³⁺>Fe²⁺. The analysis gave the formula of Fe Fe _1.00 ³⁺ ·Fe _0.58 ²⁺ ·Mg _0.03 ²⁺ ·Si_0.96O₄.
4. Its DTA curve shows an exothermic peak at 713°C.
5. The mineral has its own infrared spectrum distinctive from that of other minerals.
6. This mineral is of orthorhombic system; space group:C _2h ^/5 ?P2₁/c; unit cell:α=5.813ű0.005,b=4.812ű0.005,c=10.211ű0.005,β=90.87°.
7. The Mössbauer spectrum of this mineral is given, too.

     

Sedimentmikrobioiogie und ihre geologischen Aspekte

The influence of bacteria on recent sediments was first discussed in 1885, whenFischer andGazert were discussing the cycle of substances in the sea as well as in sediments. The influence of bacteria on the cycling of C, N, S, P in recent sediments and the open sea was soon accepted by marine geologists. Nevertheless, only very few experiments have, so far, shown more than qualitative and quantitative data collection in various restricted areas. This is due to the extensive and complicated chain of reactions on the surface of sediments and in the sediment itself. Biologists are asking for the amount of organic and inorganic matter which is reworked and released to the sea. Geologists usually emphasize the amount of substances which are sedimentated. For biologists the sediment is only part of their dominant ecosystem (the sea). While, for geologists the “sea” is only furnishing and influencing their first range system sediment. How much then, are bacteria involved in the slow process of conversion from a recent sediment to sedimentary rocks? Bacteria influence more or less strongly and to a more or less advanced degree of diagenesis:

1. The organic matter in sediments and the final form in which it is found.
2. The anions CO₃ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, OH-, SO₄ ^2?, PO₄ ^3? as well as their intermediate stages and the resulting minerals.
3. The cations H⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and a series of metals which are dissolved or precipitated by microbial activities as for example Fe, Mn, Cu, Ag, V, Co, Mo, Ni, U, Se, Zn.
4. The equilibrium of silicium. At least diatoms and radiolarians are precipitating silica, while other reactions which have been proved are not yet shown to influence marine sediments.
5. p_H-values and oxidation-reduction potentials of the sediment.
6. The composition of interstitial waters.
7. The surface activity of minerals, since bacteria are growing especially on particle surfaces.
8. The energy content and temperature of sediments.
9. The texture of fine grained sediments.
10. The fossilization of microfauna, macrofauna and trace fossils.

Sedimentology and mineralogy may also influence the bacterial activities and the composition of the microflora within sediments. Methods and problems of sediment microbiology are demonstrated by some investigations in the German Bay (North Sea) in connection with the first German Underwater Station (UWL). Ecological work proves to be difficult in various directions. The main cause of difficulties in microbiological work on sediments are the great variety of different factors influencing the environment (microbial, chemical, physical, mineralogical), the difficulty of taking representative samples, and the small amount of data which has been collected so far.     

Nd and Sr isotopes in ultrapotassic volcanic rocks from the Leucite Hills,Wyoming

Nd and Sr isotopic compositions and Rb, Sr, Sm and Nd concentrations are reported for madupites, wyomingites and orendites from the Pleistocene volcanic field of the Leucite Hills, Wyoming. All Leucite Hills rocks have negative εNd signatures, indicating derivation or contribution from an old light rare earth element (LREE) enriched source. In this respect they are similar to all occurrences of high potassium magmas so far investigated. But Sr isotopic variations are comparatively small and ⁸⁷Sr/ ⁸⁶Sr ratios are unusually low for high-K magmas (0.7053–0.7061, one sample excluded). These values suggest that the light REE enrichment of the source was not accompanied by a strong increase in Rb/Sr. Wyomingites and orendites are isotopically indistinguishable which is consistent with chemical and petrographic evidence for their derivation from a common magma series depending on emplacement conditions. Basic to ultrabasic madupites and more silicic wyomingites/orendites are distinct in their Nd isotopic variations (madupites: εNd= ?10.5 to ?12.3; wyomingites/orendites: εNd= ?13.7 to ?17.0) despite similar Sm/Nd ratios and complete overlap in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. Selective or bulk assimilation of crustal material is unlikely to have significantly affected the Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of the magmas. The measured isotopic ratios are considered to reflect source values. The distinct isotopic characteristics of madupite and wyomingite/orendite magmas preclude their derivation by fractional crystallization, from a common primary magma, by liquid immiscibility or by partial melting of a homogeneous source. Two isotopically distinct, LREE enriched and slightly heterogeneous sources are required. Heterogeneities were most pronounced between magma sources from each volcanic centre (butte or mesa). The relationship between the madupite and wyomingite/orendite sources and their evolution is discussed on the basis of two simple alternative sets of models:

1. a two-stage evolution model with an old enrichment event (a metasomatic event?) perhaps taking place during the stabilization of the Wyoming Craton 3.2 to 2.5 Gyr ago but not later than 1.2 Gyr ago or
2. a mixing model involving mixing between one endmember with εNd near zero and another end-member with a strong negative εNd signature.

     

The Araguainha astrobleme/Central Brazil

The following facts have supported the origin of the Araguainha circular structure in Central Brazil by a meteoritic impact:

1. the almost circular contour
2. the impact-morphologic sequence including a central uplift, ring walls and a basin rim of escarpments
3. outcrops of suevites and mixed breccias
4. the evidence of shock metamorphism
5. the presence of shatter cones, and
6. negative anomalies of the total intensity of the magnetic field at the center of the ring structure.

     

Impacts of agricultural irrigation recharge on groundwater quality in a basalt aquifer system (Washington, USA): a multi-tracer approach

Irrigation in semi-arid agricultural regions can have profound effects on recharge rates and the quality of shallow groundwater. This study coupled stable isotopes (²??, ¹⁸O), age-tracers (³H, CFCs, ¹⁴C), ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and elemental chemistry to determine the sources, residence times, and flowpaths of groundwater and agricultural contaminants (e.g. NO ₃ ^?C ) in the Saddle Mountains Basalt Aquifer in central Washington, USA, where over 80% of the population depend on groundwater for domestic use. Results demonstrate the presence of two distinct types of water: contaminated irrigation water and pristine regional groundwater. Contaminated irrigation water has high NO ₃ ^?C concentrations (11?C116? mg/l), ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70659?C0.71078) within range of nitrogen-based fertilizers, detectable tritium (2.8?C13.4 TU), CFC ages 20?C40?years, high ??¹⁸O values (?16.9 to ?13.5??), and ??100 percent modern ¹⁴C. Pristine regional groundwater has low NO ₃ ^?C concentrations (1?C5? mg/l), no detectable tritium (??0.8 TU), low ??¹⁸O values (?18.9 to ?17.3??) and ¹⁴C ages from ??15 to 33?ky BP. Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of NO ₃ ^?C , combined with high dissolved oxygen values, show that denitrification is not an important process in the organic-poor basalt aquifers resulting in transport of high NO ₃ ^?C irrigation water to depths greater than 40?m in less than 30? years.     

Agents of low temperature ocean crust alteration

¹⁸O and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotopic data from smectites, calcites, and whole rocks, together with published isotopic age determinations, alkali element concentration data and petrographic observations suggest a sequential model of ocean floor alteration. The early stage lasts about 3 m.y. and is characterized by palagonite and smectite formation, and solutions with a large basaltic component, increasing with temperature which varies from 15° to 80° C at DSDP site 418A. Most carbonates are depositedafter this stage from solutions with a negligible basaltic Sr component and temperatures of 15° to 40° C. Water of seawater Sr and O isotopic composition is shown to percolate to at least 500 m into the basaltic basement. No evidence was found for continuing exchange of strontium or oxygen after 3 m.y.Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory Contribution number 3199     

Origin of coronas in metagabbros of the Adirondack mts., N. Y.

Metagabbros from two widely separated areas in the Adirondacks show development of coronas. In the Southern Adirondacks, these are cored by olivine which is enclosed in a shell of orthopyroxene that is partially, or completely, rimmed by symplectites consisting of clinopyroxene and spinel. Compositions of the corona phases have been determined by electron probe and are consistent with a mechanism involving three partial reactions, thus:

1. Olivine=Orthopyroxene+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺.
2. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Ca⁺⁺=Clinopyroxene+Spinel+Na⁺.
3. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Na⁺=Spinel+more sodic plagioclase+Ca⁺⁺.

Reaction (a) occurs in the inner shell of the corona adjacent to olivine; reaction (b) in the outer shell; and (c) in the surrounding plagioclase, giving rise to the spinel clouding which is characteristic of the plagioclase in these rocks. Alumina and silica remain relatively immobile. These reactions, when balanced, can be generalized to account for the aluminous nature of the pyroxenes and for changing plagioclase composition. Summed together, the partial reactions are equivalent to:

1. Olivine + Anorthite = Aluminous orthopyroxene + Aluminous Clinopyroxene + Spinel (Kushiro and Yoder, 1966).

In the Adirondack Highlands, coronas between olivine and plagioclase commonly have an outer shell of garnet replacing the clinopyroxene/spinel shell. The origin of the garnet can also be explained in terms of three partial reactions:

1. Orthopyroxene+Ca⁺⁺=Clinopyroxene+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺.
2. Clinopyroxene+Spinel+Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺=Garnet+Ca⁺⁺+Na⁺.
3. Plagioclase+(Mg, Fe)⁺⁺+Na⁺=Spinel + more sodic plagioclase+Ca⁺⁺.

These occur in the inner and outer corona shell and the surrounding plagioclase, respectively, and involve the products of reactions (a)-(d). Alumina and silica are again relatively immobile. Balanced, and generalized to account for aluminous pyroxenes and variable An content of plagioclase, they are equivalent to:

1. Orthopyroxene+Anorthite+Spinel=Garnet (Green and Ringwood, 1967).

Amphibole coronas about opaque oxides in rocks of both areas are the result of oxide/plagioclase reactions with addition of magnesium from coexisting olivine. Based on published experimental data, pressure and temperature at the time of corona formation were on the order of 8 kb and 800° C for the garnet bearing coronas, with somewhat lower pressures indicated for the clinopyroxene/spinel coronas.     

Mg-ilmenite megacrysts from the Arkhangelsk kimberlites, Russia: Genesis and interaction with kimberlite melt and postkimberlite fluid

In the present work we studied Mg-ilmenite megacrysts from the Arkhangelsk kimberlites (the Kepino kimberlite field and mantle xenoliths from the Grib pipe). On the basis of isotopic (Rb/Sr, Sm/Nd, δ¹⁸O) and trace-element data we argue that studied Mg-ilmenite megacrysts have a genetic relation to the “protokimberlitic” magma, which was parental to the host kimberlites. Rb-Sr ages measured on phlogopite from ilmenite-clinopyroxenite xenoliths and the host Grib kimberlite overlap within the error (384 Ma and 372 ± 8 Ma, respectively; Shevchenko et al., 2004) with our estimation of the Kotuga kimberlite emplacement (378 ± 25 Ma). Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of megacrysts are close to the isotopic composition of host kimberlites (Mg-ilmenites from kimberlites have ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_{(t = 384)} = 0.7050–0.7063, ?Nd_{(t = 384)} = + 1.7, +1.8, ilmenite from ilmenite-garnet clinopyroxenite xenolith has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶St_{(t = 384)} = 0.7049, ?Nd_{(t = 384)} = +3.5). Oxygen isotopic composition of ilmenites (δ¹⁸O = +3.8–+4.5‰) is relatively “light” in comparison with the values for mantle minerals (δ¹⁸O = +5–+6‰). Taking into account ilmenite-melt isotope fractionation, these values of δ¹⁸O indicate that ilmenites could crystallize from the “protokimberlitic” melt. Temperatures and redox conditions during the formation of ilmenite reaction rims were estimated using ilmenite-rutile and titanomagnetite-ilmenite thermo-oxybarometers. New minerals within the rims crystallized at increasing oxygen fugacity and decreasing temperature. Spinels precipitated during the interaction of ilmenite with kimberlitic melt at T = 1000–1100°C and oxygen fugacity $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ [QFM] ≈ 1. Rims comprised with rutile and titanomagnetite crystallized at T ≈ 1100°C, $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ [NNO] ≈ 4 and T = 600–613°C, $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ [QFM] ≈ 3.7, respectively. Rutile lamellae within ilmenite grains from clinopyroxenitic xenolith were formed T ≥ 1000–1100°C and oxygen fugacity $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ [NNO] = ?3.7. Since the pressure of clinopyroxene formation from this xenolith was estimated to be 45–53 kbar, redox conditions at 135–212 km depths could be close to $\Delta \log f_{O_2 }$ [NNO] = ?3.7.     

Stratigraphy,type and formation conditions of the late precambrian banded iron ores in south China

Based on research on the “Xinyu-type” Sinian iron deposits in Jiangxi Province and metamorphosed iron deposits in Jiangkou and Qidong of Hunan, Sanjiang and Yingyangguan of Guangxi, Longchuan of Guangdong and some other areas in Fujian, the authors have come to the following conclusions:

1. The metamorphosed late Precambrian iron ores widespread in south China may be roughly assigned to two ore belts, namely the Yiyang-Xinyu (Jiangxi)-Jiangkou(Hunan)-Sanjiang (Guangxi) ore belt or simply the north ore belt, and the Songzheng(Fujian)-Shicheng (Jiangxi)-Bailing (Longchuan of Guangdong)-Yingyangguan (Guangxi) ore belt or the south ore belt. Tectonically, the former lies along the southern margin of the “Jangnan Old Land”, while the latter along the northwestern border of the “Cathaysian Old Land”.
2. Iron deposits of this type occur exclusively in the same interglacial horizon of the Sinian Glaciation in south China. Above and below the ore bed there lie the glacial till-bearing volcanic-sedimentary layers.
3. Based on sedimentary features, the iron formations can be divided into four types: silica-iron-basalt formation, silica-iron-clastic rock formation, silica-iron-tuff formation and silica-iron-carbonate rock formation, which progressively grade into each other.
4. Iron ores were formed at the late stage of late Proterozoic rifting in neritic environments, with their distribution governed by the rift valleys on the margins of the “Jiangnan Old Land” and “Cathaysian Old Land”. Consequently, intense mafic volcanism as well as weathering and denudation of palaeocontinent during rifting provided material sources for the formation of iron deposits. Meanwhile, warm and humid stationary neritic environment during the south China great glacial period constitutes favorable palaeoclimatologic and palaeogeographic conditions for the deposition of iron ores.
5. The iron formations have undergone regional metamorphism of greenschist-amphibolite facies.

To sum up, the late Precambrian banded iron ores should be of metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary type.     

Phase relations of talc and tremolite in metamorphic calcite-dolomite sediments in the southern portion of the Damara Belt (South West Africa)

The occurrence of talc and tremolite in a temperature gradient was investigated in siliceous calcite-dolomite sediments exposed along a strip in the southeastern part of the Damara Orogen. Five bivariant reactions may lead to the formation of talc and tremolite:

1. 3 dolomite+4 quartz+1 H₂O ? 1 talc+3 calcite+3 CO₂
2. 5 talc+6 calcite+4 quartz ? 1 tremolite+6 CO₂+2 H₂O
3. 2 talc+3 calcite ? 1 tremolite+1 dolomite+1 CO₂+1 H₂O
4. 5 dolomite+8 quartz+1 H₂O ? 1 tremolite+3 calcite+7 CO₂
5. 2 dolomite+1 talc+4 quartz ? 1 tremolite+4 CO₂.

The common paragenesis of four mineral assemblages tc+cc+dol+qtz¹ and tre+tc+ cc+qtz with increasing temperature over an extended area show that the reactions must have taken place along the equilibrium curve or when fluid pressure is not constant along the equilibrium plane of reactions (1) or (2). The described occurrence of the five mineral assemblage tre+tc+cc+dol+qtz can be stable only on the isobaric intersection point, or when P _f is variable on the univariant intersection curve of the equilibrium planes of all five reactions. The genetic relations of the described parageneses are illustrated with the help of a phase diagram. Minimum P-T conditions which prevailed during metamorphism in this part of the Damara Orogen have been estimated to be about 590° C and 5 kb.