Mobility of trace elements and leaching rates of rhyolitic glass shards from some New Zealand tephra deposits

It is shown that glass shards from volcanic eruptions of known age are useful in natural analogue studies connected with nuclear waste disposal. They may be sequentially leached in bulk with HF and the hydration layer thickness determined. If they have also been irradiated with neurons in a reactor, some elemental profile information is available at the same time. Applying this to New Zealand volcanic glass shards gave as many as 15 different fractions, and information about the distribution of up to 16 trace elements. Those shards from a 22 ka eruption yielded hydration rates of ∼2.5 × 10⁻¹¹ g/cm²/d while rates from a 340 ka eruption were 1.5 × 10⁻¹² −1.2 × 10⁻¹¹ g/cm²/d. The percentage of the total mass hydrated ranged between 5 and 35%. As found in some other studies, many elements accumulate on the surface of the shards, particularly Cr, Co and Fe, but it is shown here that they mostly originate in surrounding groundwater rather than the bulk glass. Rubidium and Cs tend to be removed instead. There was no obvious correlation between degree of hydration and the environment of deposition. The use of glass shards from volcanic eruptions is recommended for such studies because they are ubiquitous, and occurrence is less dependent on local geology than for some sample types.     

Homogeneity of water content in obsidian from the coso volcanic field: Implications for obsidian hydration dating

Users of the obsidian hydration dating method have routinely assumed that artifacts which originate from the same geological flow will be of the same chemical composition and thus hydrate at the same rate under equivalent conditions of temperature and relative humidity. Recent laboratory experimentation into the hydration process has shown that the intrinsic water content of the glass is the dominant factor in establishing the rate of hydration. Water content determinations on a large suite of samples from numerous prehistoric quarries within the Coso volcanic field, California, indicated that water content values, and thus hydration rate, varied significantly on a within flow basis. It is recommended that water determinations be made on individual artifacts prior to obsidian hydration dating. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

江苏三处旧石器遗址中发现的火山玻璃

火山灰年代学是判断第四纪沉积物年龄的有效手段。文章报告在江苏三处旧石器遗址（和尚墩、放牛山和将军崖）上部堆积中发现的火山玻璃及初步研究结果。和尚墩遗址的火山玻璃主要出现在两个层位: 上层距地表约45cm,火山玻璃的水合层很薄,年代有可能晚于K Ah火山（7.3ka）;  下层距地表约70cm,火山玻璃的水合过程已经完成,时代稍老,大致与日本晚更新世火山同期,至少相当于AT火山,年代等于/大于25ka。遗址中的火山玻璃分为pm型和bw型。形态、屈折率及微量包含物的研究表明,火山玻璃的来源可能与日本的火山喷发无关。江苏旧石器遗址中发现的火山玻璃对判断中国东部地区更新世沉积物时代以及埋藏其中的旧石器遗存年代具标志意义。     

A natural analogue of nuclear waste glass in compacted bentonite

A marine based argillaceous rock containing volcanic glass shards has been investigated to infer the long-term durability of vitrified nuclear waste in compacted bentonite, which is a candidate for buffer material constituting the engineered barrier system for nuclear waste disposal. Fission track ages indicate that the volcanic glass shards, andesitic scoria, have been buried in the argillaceous rock for about 1 Ma. Neither glass matrix dissolution nor precipitation on the surface was seen under an optical microscope. Little leaching of any element has been recognized by analyses using an electron microprobe analyzer. Secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, however, indicates significant hydration which may dominantly be a permeation of molecular water.As an indicator of durability of glass against groundwater a normalized mass loss of Si (NL_Si) has been evaluated for the volcanic glass based on free energy for hydration. The difference between estimated NL_Si of the volcanic glass and that of a simulated waste glass is within one order so that the volcanic glass may be analogous to a waste glass with respect to durability to water. The argillaceous rock is analogous to the compacted bentonite with respect to physical properties such as dry-density, unconfined compression strength, porosity, and hydraulic conductivity. The ambient physical and chemical conditions surrounding the volcanic glass have been also investigated: temperature was in the range from 4 to 30°C due to the burial history of the volcanic glass. Over most of the past 1 Ma the volcanic glass has been in contact with groundwater originating from seawater. Thermodynamic calculations indicate (1) pH (=7.74–7.94) of the groundwater has mainly been controlled by dissolution of carbonate minerals, (2) the redox potential (Eh=−34–−73 mV) of the groundwater has dominantly been controlled by decomposition of organic materials to produce CH₄(g), and (3) activity of aqueous silica of the groundwater was in equilibrium with SiO₂ amorphous. Because of the equilibrium between aqueous silica and SiO₂ amorphous, the volcanic glass did not dissolve during the burial.Vitrified nuclear waste sealed in compacted bentonite, therefore, will not dissolve significantly if buried in an environment as mentioned above.     

Age and Chemistry of Miocene Volcanic. Rocks from the Kiraz Basin of the Küçük Menderes Graben: Its Significance for the Extensional Tectonics of Southwestern Anatolia,Turkey'

Neogene volcanic rocks and granitoid plutons are among the most important geological components of western Turkey. Although they are voluminous north of the Gediz Graben, they are very scarce to the south, where volcanic rocks occur as isolated small exposures in a small number of localities. The Kiraz Basin of the Küçük Menderes Graben is a key locality, in which Tertiary volcanic rocks crop out at three locations. These rocks have been chemically analysed and dated (³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar whole rock and biotite analyses) in order to understand their tectonic setting of emplacement and its relation to the wider structure of western Anatolia. Whole rock and biotite ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages vary between 13.9 ± 0.2 Ma and 14.6 ± 0.2 Ma.

The Kiraz volcanic rocks are calc-alkaline, with a compositional range from basaltic andesite to dacite. They are strongly enriched in the light ion lithophile elements (LILE) and have chemistries typical of lavas erupted in subduction-related settings. Their close association with rift-bounding faults suggests eruptions via conduits flanking grabens in an extensional environment. The difference in chemical composition and age between the Kiraz volcanic rocks and the slightly older calc-alkaline volcanic rocks north of the Gediz Graben is attributed to their relatively younger ages and greater proximity to the Aegean Arc. Their calc-alkaline chemistry reflects magma generation influenced by the slab descending beneath this arc and eruption/emplacement in an extensional setting.     

火山灰全岩与原位分析差异:以四海龙湾记录的1 600年前金龙顶子火山喷发为例

火山灰地层学主要依靠火山玻璃的成分进行源区的识别,然而,当火山玻璃成分不均一时就会对源区识别造成影响.四海龙湾玛珥湖位于东北新生代龙岗火山区内,其湖泊沉积物可以记录周边的火山喷发,电子探针等方法得到的火山玻璃成分可以揭示其喷发来源.同时,玛珥湖的纹层年龄可以限定其喷发年龄.在四海龙湾沉积物(钻孔2008) 的78~79 cm岩芯处出现一层火山灰层,其纹层年龄为AD 308 a,电子探针结果显示火山玻璃具有不均一的主量元素组成,为玄武质粗安岩到碱玄质响岩.FeO、TiO₂及Al₂O₃等与MgO协变图解更清楚地显示了此次火山喷发的火山玻璃成分的不均一性.火山玻璃与火山灰全岩对比分析显示,全岩分析在火山灰地层学应用中容易造成对比偏差.      

Late Quaternary volcanic record from lakes of Michoacán,central Mexico

This paper describes the initial stages of the development of a tephrochronology for the region of the Michoacán–Guanajuato volcanic field (MGVF) in central Mexico. There are two elements to this: the geochemical characterisation of volcanic glass and the linkage of tephra deposits to eruptions of known age. The MGVF is dominated by cinder cones and shield volcanoes which erupt only once. There are only two stratovolcanoes (multiple eruptions) which are common elsewhere in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Tephras were sampled from sub-aerial sites close to cones of known age and from lake sediment cores from the Zirahuén, Pátzcuaro and Zacapu basins in the State of Michoacán. Multiple samples were collected to ensure that each tephra was well represented. The glass was analysed by electron microprobe and found to be calc-alkaline in composition. SiO₂ abundances varied from 52% to 75%. Full results are available at http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/tephra/. The ages of the dated cones ranged from the 20th century AD to ca 17,000 ¹⁴C years BP. Tephras from eruptions of El Jabali (3840 ¹⁴C years BP), Jorullo (1759–1774) and Paricutín (1943–1952) have been identified in lake cores. These provide a means of correlating between basins and have the potential to provide a basis for understanding the volcanic history of this area and for dating a wider range of sediment sequences.     

The behavior of 232Th and the 238U decay chain nuclides during magma formation and volcanism

Concentrations of the members of the ²³⁸U decay chain and ²³²Th were determined in volcanic rocks from convergent plate margins, intraplate volcanoes and oceanic spreading centers. Contemporary and historical volcanic rocks from Mt. St. Helens, Arenal, El Chichon, Hawaii and Iceland and submarine basaltic glass from the Galapagos spreading center all show no fractionation of U and Th in the mantle source or during magma formation at least for the past 300,000 years. Mauna Kea (Hawaii) rocks of alkaline composition greater than 4000 years old and an old submarine basalt show disequilibrium for several of the nuclides in the ²³⁸U decay chain. We interpret these as resulting from post-emplacement processes.     

Thermal expansion on volcanic tuff rocks used as building stones: examples from Mexico

Three cities in the center of Mexico, declared as cultural heritage, were erected mainly of volcanic tuffs as main construction element. Many of the historic buildings of these cities show significant damage and deterioration. One of the causes of these damages can be attributed to a phenomenon poorly studied in volcanic tuffs, the thermal expansion. To understand the response of volcanic tuffs to thermal expansion, as well as to know their thermal expansion coefficient, thermal expansion test was performed on 12 representative tuffs of these localities. In the same way and to know which of their petrographic, petrophysical, mineralogical, and geochemical properties influence this phenomenon, several laboratory studies were carried out to determine which of these plays an important role in the expansion. The results of our tests showed that volcanic tuffs rocks have very varied thermal expansion values, ranging from 0.7 mm/m at their maximum expansion to even contraction in the order of ??0.5 mm/m. Equally varied were the thermal expansion coefficient values ranging from 10.1 to ??7.2 10^?6/K. The most dominant behavior type is the “anisotropic no residual strain behavior”. In general, the behavior of the tuffs in practically all the tests carried out showed a very important heterogeneity in the rocks; however, in spite of the non-homogeneous behavior of the tuffs, three main factors could be identified that play an important role in the thermal expansion of the studied rocks, the chemical composition, e.g., acid volcanic tuff rocks (rhyolitic composition) had greater expansions, while the more basic rocks (basaltic composition) expanded less, the textural and fabrics homogeneity, e.g., the most homogeneous rocks texturally have higher expansion values and the degree of crystallinity, and, e.g., the tuff rocks with the largest amount of glass showed smaller thermal expansions than the tuffs composed of microcrystals.     

Abundances of F,Cl S and P in Volcanic Magmas and Their Evolution,Wudalianchi

F, Cl, S and P were determined, using electron microprobe, in magmatic inclusions trapped within minerals and glass mesostasis from Wudalianchi volcanic rocks. The initial volcanic magma from Wudalianchi corresponds to the basanitic magma crystallized near the surface ( pressure < 91 Mpa ). The potential H₂O content of this magma is in the range 2 — 4 wt. %. The initial composition of volcanic magmas varies regularly from early to late volcanic events. From the Middle Pleistocene to the recent eruptions (1719 – 1721 yr.), the basicity of volcanic magma tends to increase, as reflected by an increase in MgO and CaO contents and by a progressive decrease in SiO₂ and K₂O contents. Meanwhile. from early (Q₂ ) to late (Q₃) episodic eruptions of the Middle Pleistocene, the initial concentrations of chlorine in volcanic magmas range from 1430 – 1930 ppm to 1700 ppm and decrease to 700 — 970 ppm for the first episodic eruption during the Holocene (Q ₄ ¹ ). The chlorine concentrations of volcanic magmas of recent eruption (Q ₄ ² ) are increased again to 2600 – 2870 ppm. A parallel evolution trend for phosphorus and chlorine concentrations in magmas has been certified: 1500 – 5970 ppm (Q₂)→ 3500 – 4210 ppm (Q₃)→ 1100– 3500 ppm (Q ₄ ¹ )→ 6800– 7900 ppm (Q ₄ ² ). The fluorine contents of volcanic magmas, from early to late volcanic events, show the same trend: 770 – 2470 ppm → 200–700 ppm → 700 – 800 ppm. During the crystallization-evolution of volcanic magmas, fluorine and phosphorus tend to be enriched in residual magmas as a result of crystal-melt differentiation. for example. the fluorine contents reach 5000– 6800 ppm and the phosphorus contents, 2.93wt.% in residual magmas. An appreciable amount of chlorine may be lost from water rich volcanic magmas prior to eruption as a result of degassing. Apparently, water serves as a gas carrier for the chlorine. The chlorine contents of residual magmas may decrease to 100 – 300 ppm. The volcanic magmas from Wudalianchi are poor in sulfur, normally ranging from 200 to 400ppm. On account of the behavior of sulfur in magmas and the strontium and oxygen isotopic analyses ((⁸⁷Sr /⁸⁶Sr)_i=0.70503– 0.70589; δ¹⁸O = + 5.50 – + 6.89 ‰ ), it can be considered that the basanitic magmas in the Wudalianchi volcanic area came from the upper mantle and have not yet been contaminated probably by continental crust materials.     

Cooling rate variation in natural volcanic glasses from Tenerife,Canary Islands

 Silicate melts form glasses in a variety of geological environments. The relaxation (equilibration) of the frozen glass structure provides a means of investigating the quench rates of natural glasses, and this cooling history provides an important constraint for models of melt dynamics. Phonolite glasses from the central volcanic edifice of Tenerife, Canary Islands indicate a range of five orders of magnitude cooling rate, determined by modeling the relaxation of the structure-dependent property, enthalpy (H) across the glass transition. The relaxation of enthalpy is determined by heat capacity (c _p = ΔH/ΔT) measurement of natural glass samples by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Upon heating, the heat capacity curve in the vicinity of the glass transition has a geometry characteristic of the previous cooling rate. A series of thermal treatments applied to each individual sample results in a set of sample-specific parameters which are used to model the heat capacity curve of the naturally cooled glass. The cooling rate is then derived. The equivalence of shear and enthalpic relaxation enables the relaxation of enthalpy for these volcanic samples to be described by a general term for the evolution of fictive temperature. Quench rates for thirty-one glasses are calculated to be within the range 10°C s^–1 to 7°C per day. The cooling rates quoted are linear approximations across the glass transition. Within different volcanic facies cooling rates depend on several factors. The most rapidly cooled glasses occur where samples lose heat by radiation from the surface. Our analyses indicate that in certain environments, a natural annealing process results in slow quench rates. This is interpreted as either a slow initial cooling process or the reheating of a glass to an annealing temperature within the glass transition interval. The latter results in relaxation to a lower temperature structure. Controls on these processes include the initial temperature and dissipation of thermal energy from the volcanic body. Our results are consistent with an influence of volatiles on quench rates in volcanic bombs where glass adjacent to vesicular layers is relatively rapidly quenched. We interpret this as a rapid quench rate frozen into the glass resulting from a change in viscosity due to volatile degassing. In lava flows, the conduction of heat from the hot flow interior controls the cooling process and diminishes the effect of volatile exsolution. Relaxation geospeedometry can be applied to glass samples from a variety of geological environments where cooling rates cannot be measured directly. Such measurements provide a means of determining cooling rates for a variety of volcanic processes, an independent calibration for existing temperature and time data and a means for testing cooling-rate-dependent models. Received: 9 January 1996 / Accepted: 13 May 1996     

New Discovery of the Early Cretaceous Volcanic Rocks on the Barton Peninsula, King George Island,Antarctica and Its Geological Significance

Ages determined with the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic system affirms the Early Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. Two specimens of basaltic andesite collected from the lowermost volcanic sequence of the peninsula were irradiated and analyzed in different experiments, yielding an identical age spectrum, and two magmatic thermal events of the Early Cretaceous (120.4± 1.6 Ma, 119± 1 Ma) and Early Tertiary (53.1± 1.5 Ma, 52± 1 Ma) are distinguished. The former is interpreted to represent the primary cooling age of basaltic andesite, whereas the latter is the thermal reset age caused by the intrusion of granitic pluton. These new ages clearly indicate that volcanism was active during the Early Cretaceous on the Barton Peninsula and that intensive hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of Mesozoic volcanic rocks resulted from Tertiary magmatism.     

The Main Ostrava Whetstone: composition, sedimentary processes, palaeogeography and geochronology of a major Mississippian volcaniclastic unit of the Upper Silesian Basin (Poland and Czech Republic)

The Main Ostrava Whetstone (MOW) is an important lithostratigraphic horizon of the Late Carboniferous sedimentary fill of the late Palaeozoic foreland Upper Silesian Basin. It is the largest and best-identified volcanogenic horizon in the basin, reaching thicknesses of 15.3 m and occupying an area of ca 2,973 km² and a volume after lithification of 9.24 km³. It consists of volcanic materials transported to the basin probably by an aeolian process. Just after sedimentation, these materials were redeposited a short distance away in a shallow water environment. Granularity corresponds to a range from argillaceous siltstones to fine-grained sandstones. The components are dominated by glass shards replaced by clay minerals (mixed illite–smectite structures) in addition to quartz of volcanogenic and terrigenous origins. Sanidine and a plagioclase close to albite are also present. The sedimentary structures, micro-structures and composition of the MOW indicate variable and dynamic hydrodynamic conditions. The MOW represents a series of flooding events, which could be connected with unusual rainfall. Such major flooding events were most likely induced by volcanic eruptions. The available drill-core log data were used to construct a digital model of the whetstone, which showed an east–west zonality in the thicknesses, with the majority being synsedimentary. CA-TIMS U–Pb dating the volcanogenic zircons yields an age of 327.35 ± 0.15 Ma. The source location of the volcanogenic material is not clear; however, it is presumed to have been located in the west of the Upper Silesian Basin.     

Low-temperature isotopic exchange in obsidian: Implications for diffusive mechanisms

While a great deal is known about the interaction between water and rhyolitic glasses and melts at temperatures above the glass transition, the nature of this interaction at lower temperatures is much more poorly understood. This paper presents the results of a series of isotopic exchange experiments aimed at further elucidating this process and determining the extent to which a point-by-point analysis of the D/H or ¹⁸O/¹⁸O isotopic composition across the hydrated rim on a geological or archaeological obsidian sample can be used as a paleoclimatic monitor. Experiments were performed by first hydrating the glass for 5 days in water of one isotopic composition, followed by 5 days in water of a second composition. Because waters of near end-member compositions were used (nearly pure ¹H₂¹⁶O, ¹H₂¹⁸O, and D₂¹⁶O), the relative migration of each species could be ascertained easily by depth-profiling using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). Results suggest that, during hydration, both the isotopic composition of the waters of hydration, as well as that of intrinsic water remaining from the initial formation of the glass vary dramatically, and a point-by-point analysis leading to paleoclimatic reconstruction is not feasible.     

Old Crow tephra: A new late Pleistocene stratigraphic marker across north-central Alaska and western Yukon Territory

Old Crow tephra is the first extensive Pleistocene tephra unit to be documented in the northwestern part of North America. It has a calc-alkaline dacitic composition with abundant pyroxene, plagioclase, and FeTi oxides, and minor hornblende, biotite, apatite, and zircon. Thin, clear, bubble-wall fragments are the dominant type of glass shard. This tephra can be recognized by its glass and phenocryst compositions, as determined by X-ray fluorescence, microprobe, and instrumental neutron activation techniques. It has an age between the limits of 60,000 and 120,000 yr, set by ¹⁴C and fission-track measurements, respectively.Old Crow tephra has been recognized in the Koyukuk Basin and Fairbanks region of Alaska, and in the Old Crow Lowlands of the northern Yukon Territory, some 600 km to the east-northeast. The source vent is unknown, but these occurrences, considered in relation to the distant locations of potential Quaternary volcanic sources, demonstrate the widespread distribution of this tephra and underscore its importance as a regional stratigraphic marker.     

The age,origin, and volcanological significance of the Y-5 ash layer in the Mediterranean

The Y-5 ash is the most widespread layer in deep-sea sediments from the eastern Mediterranean. This ash layer was previously correlated with the Citara-Serrara tuff on Ischia Island and dated at approximately 25,000 yr B.P. New data on the glass chemistry of the Y-5 ash and pyroclastic deposits from the Neopolitan volcanic province suggest that the layer is correlative with the large-volume Campanian ignimbrite and not with the deposit from Ischia Island. The volume of the Y-5 ash is approximately 65 km³ which is comparable in magnitude to the volume of the Campanian ignimbrite. An interpolated age of approximately 38,000 yr B.P. is estimated based on sedimentation rates derived from δ¹⁸O stratigraphy. There is a discrepancy between this estimate and previously reported radiocarbon ages which range from 24,000 to 35,000 yr B.P. We propose that the “Campanian tuff ash layer” should be adopted as the full stratigraphic name for the Y-5 ash. The deep-sea ash layer is divisible into two units in proximal localities, probably correlating with two major phases of the eruption: plinian and ignimbrite.     

Imaging global chemical and thermal heterogeneity in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle with garnets and xenoliths: Geophysical implications

Suites of mantle-derived xenoliths in volcanic rocks provide estimates of the geothermal gradient and composition of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) at the time of the volcanic eruption. The development of single-grain thermometry and barometry, applied to xenocryst minerals in volcanic rocks, has greatly expanded the number of localities for which such data can be obtained and made it feasible to map the geology of the SCLM on a broader scale, both vertically and laterally. From garnet xenocrysts, it is possible to derive profiles showing mean values of olivine composition, bulk-rock composition, density and seismic velocities, as well as geotherm parameters and constraints on the thickness of the SCLM. Geochemical profiles, coupled with Re–Os dating of peridotites and their enclosed sulfide minerals, show that Archean or Proterozoic SCLM is preserved at shallow levels beneath many areas of younger tectonothermal age; this implies rapid vertical variations in Vs and Vp with depth, which may affect seismic interpretations. Data from several hundred localities worldwide define a secular evolution in the composition of the SCLM, related to the tectonothermal age of the overlying crust. Archean SCLM is typically strongly depleted in basaltic components, highly magnesian and thick (160–250 km), and has low geotherms; Phanerozoic SCLM is typically fertile (rich in basaltic components), Fe-rich, thin (50–100 km) and has a range of high geotherms; Proterozoic SCLM (much of which may be reworked Archean mantle) tends to be intermediate in all respects. The correlated variations in SCLM fertility, lithospheric thickness and geotherm reinforce the effects of each on seismic velocity, and produce more rapid lateral variations in seismic response than would result from thermal effects alone. These correlations are the key to using seismic tomography images to map the lateral extent of different types of SCLM.     

Metamorphism of a Late Jurassic volcano-plutonic arc, northern California, USA

Abstract The metamorphic history of the Middle to Upper Jurassic volcanic and hypabyssal rocks exposed in the Klamath Mountains and Sierra Nevada of California is related, in part, to the rifting of a volcano-plutonic arc. The Callovian to Kimmeridgian rocks exposed in the region consist of, from north-west to south-east, a back-arc ophiolite, a rifted volcanic arc and a volcanic arc complex. All of these units have been metamorphosed and contain various combinations of the phases chlorite, amphibole, epidote, prehnite and pumpellyite. Projection of coexisting phases onto the composition plane MgO/(MgO + FeO) and Al₂O₃+ Fe₂O₃ - 0.75 CaO - Na₂O through quartz, water, albite and epidote results in consistent mineralogical compatibilities within each region, but crossing tie-lines between regions. This suggests that the volcanic and hypabyssal rocks from each region have equilibrated under different intensive conditions. The back-arc ophiolite in the north has suffered subseafloor high-T/P hydrothermal metamorphism with geothermal gradients on the order of 100° C km^?1. The rifted volcanic arc has undergone synchronous burial, hydrothermal and contact metamorphism. Metamorphic field gradients in the region pass through the prehnite-pumpellyite and greenschist facies suggesting geothermal gradients on the order of 30° C km^?1. The southernmost volcanic arc complexes contain metavolcanics of the pumpellyiteactinolite and greenschist facies suggesting moderate- to high-P/T metamorphism and geothermal gradients on the order of 20° C km^?1. The apparent increase in rifting and calculated geothermal gradients from south-east to north-west suggest that the observed very low- and low-grade metamorphism may be a response to enhanced thermal gradients during extension of the volcanic arc. This correlation between the extent of rifting and metamorphism is consistent with a model of diastathermal metamorphism of a propagating rift along the western margin of North America during the Late Jurassic. The plate tectonic setting may be analogous to the present-day Andaman Sea region.     

Groundwater origin and flow along selected transects in Ethiopian rift volcanic aquifers

The disruption of lithologies by cross-cutting faults and the variability in volcanic structures make the hydrogeology of the rifted volcanic terrain in Ethiopia very complex. Along two transects, selected due to their hydrogeologic characteristics, groundwater flow, depth of circulation and geochemical evolution have been conceptualized. The groundwater flow continuity between the high rainfall plateau bounding the rift and the rift valley aquifers depends principally on the nature of the bounding faults. Up to 50% of recharge to the rift aquifers comes from the plateau as groundwater inflow where the rift is cross cut by transverse fault zones. Recharge from the mountains is found to be insignificant where the rift is bounded by marginal grabens; channel loss and local precipitation are the principal sources of recharge to the rift aquifers in such cases. At a regional scale, there is a clear zonation in the geochemical compositions of groundwaters, the result of aquifer matrix composition differences. The environmental isotope results show that the majority of the aquifers contain modern groundwaters. In a few localities, particularly in thermal groundwaters representing deeper circulation, palaeo-groundwaters have been identified. Deeper groundwaters in the rift floor have a uniform ¹⁴C age ranging between 2,300 and 3,000 years.     

东昆仑大灶火沟—万宝沟晚二叠世陆缘弧火山岩的发现及意义

东昆仑地区物质组成复杂、构造演化历史悠久,现保存的建造物质记录了从古元古代以来该区发生的地质事件,在多次洋陆转化中中泥盆世—中三叠世造山阶段尤为重要,同时也是该区岩浆活动和成矿作用的主要时期之一,长期以来缺失二叠纪火山岩记录。最近开展的1∶25万大灶火幅区调工作新发现一套中酸性高钾钙碱性系列火山岩组合,用LA-ICP-MS技术测得次流纹英安岩锆石U-Pb年龄为254.7±0.6Ma。根据剖面研究和区域对比,将这套陆缘弧环境下喷发的火山岩命名为晚二叠世大灶火沟组,主要分布在大灶火沟—万保沟一带,地层严格受昆南断裂控制,出露面积大于74km~2。这一发现不仅为东昆仑岩浆弧长期争论的是否存在二叠纪火山岩提供了明确的证据,而且填补了东昆仑地区晚二叠世火山岩地层的空白。东昆仑地区从二叠纪开始昆南洋向北俯冲,形成了规模巨大的碰撞型花岗岩,大灶火沟组火山岩的形成标志着晚二叠世东昆仑处于区域性挤压阶段。