ULF geomagnetic anomalies of possible seismogenic origin observed at Teoloyucan station, México, in 1999–2001: Intermediate and short-time analysis

The analysis of ULF geomagnetic field measured at Teoloyucan station (Central Mexico, 11′35.735″ W, 19 44′45.100″ N, 2280 m height) is presented in an intermediate (± 15 days) and short time scale (the day of the EQ occurrence) in relation to 7 major earthquakes occurred in Mexico in 1999–2001. Local changes in the fractal dynamics of the magnetic field are found to be important: a pronounced fall of the fractal index is frequently observed prior to the main shock. The study of the ULF resonant structure recently discovered in the frequencies f_R1 = 10.2−11.1 mHz and f_R2 = 13.6−14.5 mHz reveals changes in their character probably related to the processes of the earthquakes preparation. The success of the observation of the mentioned anomalies (specially the fractal index decrease) strongly depends on how close is the station from the epicenter, and what is the magnitude of the earthquake.     

Paleoproductivity changes during the Holocene in the inner shelf of Cabo Frio, southeastern Brazilian continental margin: Benthic foraminifera and sedimentological proxies

Sedimentological and benthic foraminifera analyses carried out on a core (length 4.15 m, collected at 22°56′31″S and 41°58′48″W, at a water depth of 43 m) sampled from the inner shelf of Cabo Frio, southeastern Brazilian continental margin, allowed identification of different hydrodynamic and productivity regimes related to sea-level fluctuations and/or climatic changes, during the last 9.4 ka cal BP. Prior to 7.0 ka cal BP, a less intense hydrodynamic and lower productivity regime occurred at lower sea levels and under drier climatic conditions. Between 7.0 and 5.0 ka cal BP, relatively stronger local oceanic circulation and relatively high productivity were observed, in a scenario of rising sea levels and more humid conditions. From 5.0 to 3.0 ka cal BP, bottom currents weakened and input of nutrients increased, with productivity levels similar to the previous phase at lower sea level and in a drier climate. From 3.0 ka cal BP up to the present, stronger hydrodynamic conditions and a higher productivity regime are linked to the establishment of the upwelling process in Cabo Frio. From 2.5 ka cal BP to the present, upwelling enhancement has been recognized, resulting from the combined action of NE winds and the intensification of the meandering pattern of the Brazil Current (BC).     

The hot spring and geyser sinters of El Tatio, Northern Chile

The siliceous sinter deposits of El Tatio geothermal field in northern Chile have been examined petrographically and mineralogically. These sinters consist of amorphous silica (opal-A) deposited around hot springs and geysers from nearly neutral, silica-saturated, sodium chloride waters. Water cooling and evaporation to dryness are the main processes that control the opal-A deposition in both subaqueous and subaerial settings, in close spatial relation to microbial communities. All fingerprints of organisms observed in the studied sinter samples represent microbes and suggest that the microbial community is moderately diverse (cyanobacteria, green bacteria, and diatoms). The most important ecological parameter is the temperature gradient, which is closely related to the observed depositional settings: 1) Geyser setting: water temperature = 70–86 °C (boiling point at El Tatio: 4200 m a.s.l.); coarse laminated sinter macrostructure with rapid local variations; biota comprises non-photosynthetic hyperthermophilic bacteria. 2) Splash areas around geysers: water temperature = 60–75 °C; laminated spicule and column macrostructure, locally forming cupolas (< 30 cm); predominant Synechococcus-like cyanobacteria. 3) Hot spring setting: water temperature = 40–60 °C; laminated spicules and columns and subspherical oncoids characterize the sinter macrostructure; filamentous cyanobacteria Phormidium and diatoms (e.g., Synedra sp.) are the most characteristic microbes. 4) Discharge environments: water temperature = 20–40 °C; sinter composed of laminated spicules and oncoids of varied shape; cyanobacterial mats of Phormidium and Calothrix and diatoms (e.g., Synedra sp.) are abundant. El Tatio is a natural laboratory of great interest because the sedimentary macrostructures and microtextures reflect the geological and biological processes involved in the primary deposition and early diagenesis of siliceous sinters.     

Metallogenesis of the Carajás Mineral Province, Southern Amazon Craton, Brazil: Varying styles of Archean through Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic base- and precious-metal mineralisation

The Itacaiúnas Belt of the highly mineralised Carajás Mineral Province comprises ca. 2.75 Ga volcanic rocks overlain by sedimentary sequences of ca. 2.68 Ga age, that represent an intracratonic basin rather than a greenstone belt. Rocks are generally at low strain and low metamorphic grade, but are often highly deformed and at amphibolite facies grade adjacent to the Cinzento Strike Slip System. The Province has been long recognised for its giant enriched iron and manganese deposits, but over the past 20 years has been increasingly acknowledged as one of the most important Cu–Au and Au–PGE provinces globally, with deposits extending along an approximately 150 km long WNW-trending zone about 60 km wide centred on the Carajás Fault. The larger deposits (approx. 200–1000 Mt @ 0.95–1.4% Cu and 0.3–0.85 g/t Au) are classic Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits that include Salobo, Igarapé Bahia–Alemão, Cristalino and Sossego. They are largely hosted in the lower volcanic sequences and basement gneisses as pipe- or ring-like mineralised, generally breccia bodies that are strongly Fe- and LREE-enriched, commonly with anomalous Co and U, and quartz- and sulfur-deficient. Iron oxides and Fe-rich carbonates and/or silicates are invariably present. Rhenium–Os dating of molybdenite at Salobo and SHRIMP Pb–Pb dating of hydrothermal monazite at Igarapé-Bahia indicate ages of ca. 2.57 Ga for mineralisation, indistinguishable from ages of poorly-exposed Archean alkalic and A-type intrusions in the Itacaiúnas Belt, strongly implicating a deep magmatic connection.A group of smaller, commonly supergene-enriched Cu–Au deposits (generally < 50 Mt @ < 2% Cu and < 1 g/t Au in hypogene ore), with enrichment in granitophile elements such as W, Sn and Bi, spatially overlap the Archean Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits. These include the Breves, Águas Claras, Gameleira and Estrela deposits which are largely hosted by the upper sedimentary sequence as greisen-to ring-like or stockwork bodies. They generally lack abundant Fe-oxides, are quartz-bearing and contain more S-rich Cu–Fe sulfides than the Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits, although Cento e Dezoito (118) appears to be a transitional type of deposit. Precise Pb–Pb in hydrothermal phosphate dating of the Breves and Cento e Dezoito deposits indicate ages of 1872 ± 7 Ma and 1868 ± 7 Ma, respectively, indistinguishable from Pb–Pb ages of zircons from adjacent A-type granites and associated dykes which range from 1874 ± 2 Ma to 1883 ± 2 Ma, with 1878 ± 8 Ma the age of intrusions at Breves. An unpublished Ar/Ar age for hydrothermal biotite at Estrela is indistinguishable, and a Sm–Nd isochron age for Gameleira is also similar, although somewhat younger. The geochronological data, combined with geological constraints and ore-element associations, strongly implicate a magmatic connection for these deposits.The highly anomalous, hydrothermal Serra Pelada Au–PGE deposit lies at the north-eastern edge of the Province within the same fault corridor as the Archean and Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au deposits, and like the Cu–Au deposits is LREE enriched. It appears to have formed from highly oxidising ore fluids that were neutralised by dolomites and reduced by carbonaceous shales in the upper sedimentary succession within the hinge of a reclined synform. The imprecise Pb–Pb in hydrothermal phosphate age of 1861 ± 45 Ma, combined with an Ar/Ar age of hydrothermal biotite of 1882 ± 3 Ma, are indistinguishable from a Pb–Pb in zircon age of 1883 ± 2 Ma for the adjacent Cigano A-type granite and indistinguishable from the age of the Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au deposits. Again a magmatic connection is indicated, particularly as there is no other credible heat or fluid source at that time.Finally, there is minor Au–(Cu) mineralisation associated with the Formiga Granite whose age is probably ca. 600 Ma, although there is little new zircon growth during crystallisation of the granite. This granite is probably related to the adjacent Neoproterozoic (900–600 Ma) Araguaia Fold Belt, formed as part of the Brasiliano Orogeny.Thus, there are two major and one minor period of Cu–Au mineralisation in the Carajás Mineral Province. The two major events display strong REE enrichment and strongly enhanced LREE. There is a trend from strongly Fe-rich, low-SiO₂ and low-S deposits to quartz-bearing and more S-rich systems with time. There cannot be significant connate or basinal fluid (commonly invoked in the genesis of Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits) involved as all host rocks were metamorphosed well before mineralisation: some host rocks are at mid- to high-amphibolite facies. The two major periods of mineralisation correspond to two periods of alkalic to A-type magmatism at ca. 2.57 Ga and ca. 1.88 Ga, and a magmatic association is compelling.The giant to world-class late Archean Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits show the least obvious association with deep-seated alkaline bodies as shown at Palabora, South Africa, and implied at Olympic Dam, South Australia. The smaller Paleoproterozoic Cu–Au–W–Sn–Bi deposits and Au–PGE deposit show a more obvious relationship to more fractionated A-type granites, and the Neoproterozoic Au–(Cu) deposit to crustally-derived magmas. The available data suggest that magmas and ore fluids were derived from long-lived metasomatised lithosphere and lower crust beneath the eastern margin of the Amazon Craton in a tectonic setting similar to that of other large Precambrian Fe-oxide Cu–Au deposits.     

Geology and geochemistry of the adjacent Changkeng gold and Fuwang silver deposits, Guangdong Province, South China

The Changkeng Au and Fuwang Ag deposits represent an economically significant and distinct member of the Au–Ag deposit association in China. The two deposits are immediately adjacent, but the Au and Ag orebodies separated from each other. Ores in the Au deposit, located at the upper stratigraphic section and in the southern parts of the orefield, contain low Ag contents (< 11 ppm); the Ag orebodies, in the lower stratigraphic section, are Au-poor (< 0.2 ppm). Changkeng is hosted in brecciated cherts and jasperoidal quartz and is characterized by disseminated ore minerals. Fuwang, hosted in the Lower Carboniferous Zimenqiao group bioclastic limestone, has vein and veinlet mineralization associated with alteration comprised of quartz, carbonate, sericite, and sulfides. Homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions from quartz veinlets in the Changkeng and Fuwang deposits are in the range of 210 ± 80 °C and 230 ± 50 °C, respectively. Salinities of fluid inclusions from the two deposits range from 1.6 to 7.3 wt.% and 1.6 to 2.6 wt.% equiv. NaCl, respectively. The δD_H2O, δ¹⁸O_H2O, δ¹³C_CO2 and ³He/⁴He values of the fluid inclusions from the Changkeng deposit range from − 80‰ to − 30‰, − 7.8‰ to − 3.0‰, − 16.6‰ to − 17.0‰ and 0.0100 to 0.0054 Ra, respectively. The δD_H2O, δ¹⁸O_H2O, δ¹³C_CO2 and ³He/⁴He values of fluid inclusions from the Fuwang deposit range from − 59‰ to − 45‰, − 0.9‰ to 4.1‰, − 6.7‰ to − 0.6‰ and 0.5930 to 0.8357 Ra, respectively. The δD_H2O, δ¹⁸O_H2O, δ¹³C_CO2 and ³He/⁴He values of the fluid inclusions suggest the ore fluids of the Changkeng Au-ore come from the meteoric water and the ore fluids of the Fuwang Ag-ore are derived from mixing of magmatic water and meteoric water. The two deposits also show different Pb-isotopic signatures. The Changkeng deposit has Pb isotope ratios (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 18.580 to 19.251, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.672 to 15.801, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 38.700 to 39.104) similar to those (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 18.578 to 19.433, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.640 to 15.775, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 38.925 to 39.920) of its host rocks and different from those (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 18.820 to 18.891, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.848 to 15.914, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 39.579 to 39.786) of the Fuwang deposit. The different signatures indicate different sources of ore-forming material. Rb–Sr isochron age (68 ± 6 Ma) and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age (64.3 ± 0.1 Ma) of the ore-related quartz veins from the Ag deposit indicate that the Fuwang deposit formed during the Cenozoic Himalayan tectonomagmatic event. Crosscutting relationships suggests that Au-ore predates Ag-ore. The adjacent Changkeng and Fuwang deposits could, however, represent a single evolved hydrothermal system. The ore fluids initially deposited Au in the brecciated siliceous rocks, and then mixing with the magmatic water resulted in Ag deposition within fracture zones in the limestone. The deposits are alternatively the product of the superposition of two different geological events. Age evidence for the Fuwang deposit, together with the Xiqiaoshan Tertiary volcanic-hosted Ag deposit in the same area, indicates that the Pacific Coastal Volcanic Belt in the South China Fold Belt has greater potential for Himalayan precious metal mineralization than previous realized.     

Fluid geochemistry in the Ivigtut cryolite deposit, South Greenland

The 1.27 Ga old Ivigtut (Ivittuut) intrusion in South Greenland is world-famous for its hydrothermal cryolite deposit [Na₃AlF₆] situated within a strongly metasomatised A-type granite stock. This detailed fluid inclusion study characterises the fluid present during the formation of the cryolite deposit and thermodynamic modelling allows to constrain its formation conditions.Microthermometry revealed three different types of inclusions: (1) pure CO₂, (2) aqueous-carbonic and (3) saline-aqueous inclusions. Melting temperatures range between − 23 and − 15 °C for type 2 and from − 15 to − 10 °C for type 3 inclusions. Most inclusions homogenise between 110 and 150 °C into the liquid.Stable isotope compositions of CO₂ and H₂O were measured from crushed inclusions in quartz, cryolite, fluorite and siderite. The δ¹³C values of about − 5‰ PDB are typical of mantle-derived magmas. The differences between δ¹⁸O of CO₂ (+ 21 to + 42‰ VSMOW) and δ¹⁸O of H₂O (− 1 to − 21.7‰ VSMOW) suggest low-temperature isotope exchange. δD (H₂O) ranges from − 19 to − 144‰ VSMOW. The isotopic composition of inclusion water closely follows the meteoric water line and is comparable to Canadian Shield brines. Ion chromatography revealed the fluid's predominance in Na, Cl and F. Cl/Br ratios range between 56 and 110 and may imply intensive fluid–rock interaction with the host granite.Isochores deduced from microthermometry in conjunction with estimates for the solidification of the Ivigtut granite suggest a formation pressure of approximately 1–1.5 kbar for the fluid inclusions. Formation temperatures of different types of fluid inclusions vary between 100 and 400 °C. Thermodynamic modelling of phase assemblages and the extraordinary high concentration in F (and Na) may indicate that the cryolite body and its associated fluid inclusions could have formed during the continuous transition from a volatile-rich melt to a solute-rich fluid.     

Fashion and phases of late Pleistocene aggradation and incision in the Alaknanda River Valley, western Himalaya, India

We study the aggradation and incision of the Alaknanda River Valley during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The morphostratigraphy in the river valley at Deoprayag shows the active riverbed, a cut terrace, and a fill terrace. The sedimentary fabric of the fill terrace comprises four lithofacies representing 1) riverbed accretion, 2) locally derived debris fan, 3) the deposits of waning floods and 4) palaeoflood records. The sedimentation style, coupled with geochemical analysis and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating, indicate that this terrace formed in a drier climate and the river valley aggraded in two phases during 21–18 ka and 13–9 ka. During these periods, sediment supply was relatively higher. Incision began after 10 ka in response to a strengthened monsoon and aided by increase of the tectonic gradient. The cut terrace formed at ~ 5 ka during a phase of stable climate and tectonic quiescence. The palaeoflood records suggest wetter climate 200–300 yr ago when the floods originated in the upper catchment of the Higher Himalaya and in the relatively drier climate ~ 1.2 ka when locally derived sediments from the Lesser Himalaya dominated flood deposits. Maximum and minimum limits of bedrock incision rate at Deoprayag are 2.3 mm/a and 1.4 mm/a.     

Ordovician ferrosilicic magmas: Experimental evidence for ultrahigh temperatures affecting a metagreywacke source

Peculiar magmatic rocks were erupted and emplaced at depth at the margin of the Gondwana supercontinent during the Cambro-Ordovician transition. These rocks are characterized by high contents in silica and iron but they do not have equivalents in the high-silica members of the calc-alkaline series. They have particular geochemical signatures, with Al saturation index, ASI > 1, FeO > 2.5 wt.%, MgO > 0.8 wt.% for very low contents in calcium (CaO < 2.0 wt.%), supporting a derivation from near-total melting (> 80 vol.% melt) of metagreywackes. The results from inverse experiments indicate that the most plausible conditions are within the range 1000 °C (excess water) and 1100–1200 °C (subsaturated and dry) at pressures of 1.5 to 2.0 GPa. A tectonic scenario implying melting of subducted sediments within an ascending mantle-wedge plume is suggested for the generation of primary ferrosilicic melts at the Gondwana continental margin during Upper Cambrian to Lower Ordovician times.     

Fluid inclusion and stable isotope study of the Cobre–Babilonia polymetallic epithermal vein system, Taxco district, Guerrero, Mexico

The Cobre–Babilonia vein system formed during a single major hydrothermal stage and is part of the Taxco district in Guerrero, southern Mexico. Homogenization and ice melting temperatures range from 160 to 290 °C and from − 11.6 to − 0.5 °C, respectively. We determined an approximate thermal gradient of 17 to 20 °C per 100 m using fluid inclusions. A thermal peak marked by the 290 °C isotherm is interpreted as a major feeder channel to the veins. The highest content of Zn + Pb in ore coincides with the 220 and 240 °C isotherms. Salinities of mineralizing fluids range from 0.8 to 15.6 wt.% NaCl equiv, and are distributed in two populations that can be related with barren or ore-bearing vein sections, with 0.8 to 6 wt.% NaCl equiv and 7 to 15.6 wt.% NaCl equiv, respectively. δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O water values from calcite from the Cobre–Babilonia vein system and the Esperanza Vieja and Guadalupe mantos range − 5.4‰ to − 10.4‰ and 9.9‰ to 13.4‰, respectively. δ³⁴S values range from 0‰ to 3.2‰ and − 0.7‰ to − 4.3‰ in sphalerite, − 4‰ to 0.9‰ in pyrite, and − 1.4‰ to − 5.5‰ in galena. Both fluid inclusion and stable isotope data are compatible with magmatic and meteoric sources for mineralizing fluids. Also, sulfur isotope compositions suggest both magmatic and sedimentary sources for sulfur.     

Geochronological framework and Pb, Sr isotope geochemistry of the Qingchengzi Pb–Zn–Ag–Au orefield, Northeastern China

The Qingchengzi orefield in northeastern China, is a concentration of several Pb–Zn, Ag, and Au ore deposits. A combination of geochronological and Pb, Sr isotopic investigations was conducted. Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb ages of 225.3 ± 1.8 Ma and 184.5 ± 1.6 Ma were obtained for the Xinling and Yaojiagou granites, respectively. By step-dissolution Rb–Sr dating, ages of 221 ± 12 Ma and 138.7 ± 4.1 Ma were obtained for the sphalerite of the Zhenzigou Zn–Pb deposit and pyrargyrite of the Ag ore in the Gaojiabaozi Ag deposit, respectively. Pb isotopic ratios of the Ag ore at Gaojiabaozi (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.38 to 18.53) are higher than those of the Pb–Zn ores (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.66 to 17.96; Chen et al. [Chen, J.F., Yu, G., Xue, C.J., Qian, H., He, J.F., Xing, Z., Zhang, X., 2005. Pb isotope geochemistry of lead, zinc, gold and silver deposit clustered region, Liaodong rift zone, northeastern China. Science in China Series D 48, 467–476.]). Triassic granites show low Pb isotopic ratios (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 17.12 to 17.41, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.47 to 15.54, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 37.51 to 37.89) and metamorphic rocks of the Liaohe Group have high ratios (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.20 to 24.28 and 18.32 to 20.06, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.69 to 16.44 and 15.66 to 15.98, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 37.29 to 38.61 and 38.69 to 40.00 for the marble of the Dashiqiao Formation and schist of the Gaixian Formation, respectively).Magmatic activities at Qingchengzi and in adjacent regions took place in three stages, and each contained several magmatic pulses: ca. 220 to 225 Ma and 211 to 216 Ma in the Triassic; 179 to 185 Ma, 163 to 168 Ma, 155 Ma and 149 Ma in the Jurassic, as well as ca. 140 to 130 Ma in the Early Cretaceous. The Triassic magmatism was part of the Triassic magmatic belt along the northern margin of the North China Craton produced in a post-collisional extensional setting, and granites in it formed by crustal melting induced by mantle magma. The Jurassic and Early Cretaceous magmatism was related to the lithospheric delamination in eastern China. The Triassic is the most important metallogenic stage at Qingchengzi. The Pb–Zn deposits, the Pb–Zn–Ag ore at Gaojiabaozi, and the gold deposits were all formed in this stage. They are temporally and spatially associated with the Triassic magmatic activity. Mineralization is very weak in the Jurassic. Ag ore at Gaojiabaozi was formed in the Early Cretaceous, which is suggested by the young Rb–Sr isochron age, field relations, and significantly different Pb isotopic ratios between the Pb–Zn–Ag and Ag ores. Pb isotopic compositions of the Pb–Zn ores suggest binary mixing for the source of the deposits. The magmatic end-member is the Triassic granites and the other metamorphic rocks of the Liaohe Group. Slightly different proportions of the two end-members, or an involvement of materials from hidden Cretaceous granites with slightly different Pb isotopic ratios, is postulated to interpret the difference of Pb isotopic compositions between the Pb–Zn–(Ag) and Ag ores. Sr isotopic ratios support this conclusion. At the western part of the Qingchengzi orefield, hydrothermal fluid driven by the heat provided by the now exposed Triassic granites deposited ore-forming materials in the low and middle horizons of the marbles of the Dashiqiao Formation near the intrusions to form mesothermal Zn–Pb deposits. In the eastern part, hydrothermal fluids associated with deep, hidden Triassic intrusions moved upward along a regional fault over a long distance and then deposited the ore-forming materials to form epithermal Au and Pb–Zn–Ag ores. Young magmatic activities are all represented by dykes across the entire orefield, suggesting that the corresponding main intrusion bodies are situated in the deep part of the crust. Among these, only intrusions with age of ca. 140 Ma might have released sufficient amounts of fluid to be responsible for the formation of the Ag ore at Gaojiabaozi.Our age results support previous conclusions that sphalerite can provide a reliable Rb–Sr age as long as the fluid inclusion phase is effectively separated from the “sulfide” phase. Our work suggests that the separation can be achieved by a step-resolution technique. Moreover, we suggest that pyrargyrite is a promising mineral for Rb–Sr isochron dating.     

Constraining models of the tectonic setting of the giant Olympic Dam iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, South Australia, using deep seismic reflection data

In the Gawler Craton, the completeness of cover concealing the crystalline basement in the region of the giant Olympic Dam Cu–Au deposit has impeded any sufficient understanding of the crustal architecture and tectonic setting of its IOCG mineral-system. To circumvent this problem, deep seismic reflection data were recently acquired from  250 line-km of two intersecting traverses, centered on the Olympic Dam deposit. The data were recorded to 18 s TWT ( 55 km). The crust consists of Neoproterozoic cover, in places more than 5 km thick, over crystalline basement with the Moho at depths of 13–14 s TWT ( 40–42 km). The Olympic Dam deposit lies on the boundary between two distinct pieces of crust, one interpreted as the Archean–Paleoproterozoic core to the craton, the other as a Meso–Neoproterozoic mobile belt. The host to the deposit, a member of the  1590 Ma Hiltaba Suite of granites, is situated above a zone of reduced impedance contrast in the lower crust, which we interpret to be source-region for its  1000 °C magma. The crystalline basement is dominated by thrusts. This contrasts with widely held models for the tectonic setting of Olympic Dam, which predict extension associated with heat from the mantle producing the high temperatures required to generate the Hiltaba Suite granites implicated in mineralization. We use the seismic data to test four hypotheses for this heat-source: mantle underplating, a mantle-plume, lithospheric extension, and radioactive heating in the lower crust. We reject the first three hypotheses. The data cannot be used to reject or confirm the fourth hypothesis.     

Variable microstructure of peridotite samples from the southern Mariana Trench: Evidence of a complex tectonic evolution

We retrieved samples of peridotite from a dredge haul (KH92-1-D2) collected during Cruise KH92-1 undertaken by the research vessel (R/V) Hakuho in 1992 at the landward trench slope of the southern Mariana Trench (11°41.16′N, 143°29.62′E; depth 6594–7431 m), which is the deepest ocean in the world. Ten of 30 retrieved samples possessed both a foliation and lineation, as assessed from 46 thin sections of various orientations and observations of hand samples. The samples showed marked variation in microstructure, ranging from coarse (> 5 mm) equigranular and intensely elongated textures to finer (< 1 mm) porphyroclastic and fine-grained equigranular textures. Olivine fabrics also varied among the different samples, with (010)[100] and (010)[001] patterns (termed A- and B-type, respectively) observed in samples with coarse textures and no clear patterns observed in samples with fine textures. Even though the peridotite samples were retrieved from a single dredge site, some contain primary tectonic microstructures and some contain secondary microstructures. Recent bathymetric and topographic analyses indicate that the lithosphere in this region is as thin as 20 km. Such a thin lithosphere may have been intensely deformed, even perhaps in the ductile regime, during fore-arc extension; consequently, the observed variations in microstructure within the peridotite samples probably reflect the complex tectonic evolution of the southern Mariana region.     

Mineral assemblages of the Francisco I. Madero Zn–Cu–Pb–(Ag) deposit, Zacatecas, Mexico: Implications for ore deposit genesis

The Francisco I. Madero deposit, central Mexico, occurs in the Mesozoic Guerrero Terrane, which hosts many ore deposits, both Cretaceous (volcanogenic massive sulfides) and Tertiary (epithermal and skarn deposits). It is hosted by a 600 m-thick calcareous-pelitic unit, of Lower Cretaceous age, crosscut by porphyritic dikes that strike NW–SE. A thick felsic volcanic Tertiary sequence, consisting of andesites and rhyolitic ignimbrites, unconformably overlies the Cretaceous series. At the base, the mineralization consists of several mantos developed within calcareous beds. They are dominantly composed of sphalerite, pyrrhotite and pyrite with minor chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite and galena. At the top of the orebody, there are calcic skarns formed through prograde and retrograde stages. The resulting mineral assemblages are rich in manganoan hedenbergite (Hd_75–28Di_40–4Jh_40–20), andraditic garnets (Adr_100–62Grs_38–0), epidote (Ep_95–36Czo_60–5Pie_8–0), chamosite, calcite and quartz. The temperature of ore deposition, estimated by chlorite and arsenopyrite geothermometry, ranges from 243° to 277 °C and from 300° to 340 °C, respectively. The pressure estimated from sphalerite geobarometry averages 2.1 kbar. This value corresponds to a moderately deep skarn and agrees with the high Cu content of the deposit. Paragenesis, P–T conditions and geological characteristics are compatible with a distal, dike-related, Zn skarn deposit. Its style of mineralization is similar to that of many high-temperature carbonate replacement skarn deposits in the Southern Cordillera.     

Lateglacial and Holocene palaeohydrology in the western Mediterranean region: The Lake Estanya record (NE Spain)

The multi-proxy analysis of sediment cores recovered in karstic Lake Estanya (42°02′ N, 0°32′ E; 670 m a. s. l., NE Spain), located in the transitional area between the humid Pyrenees and the semi-arid Central Ebro Basin, provides the first high-resolution, continuous sedimentary record in the region, extending back the last 21 000 years. The integration of sedimentary facies, elemental and isotopical geochemistry and biogenic silica, together with a robust age model based on 17 AMS radiocarbon dates, enables precise reconstruction of the main hydrological and environmental changes in the region during the last deglaciation.Arid conditions, represented by shallow lake levels, predominantly saline waters and reduced organic productivity occurred throughout the last glacial maximum (21–18 cal kyrs BP) and the lateglacial, reaching their maximum intensity during the period 18–14.5 cal kyrs BP (including Heinrich event 1) and the Younger Dryas (12.9–11.6 cal kyrs BP). Less saline conditions characterized the 14.5–12.6 cal kyrs BP period, suggesting higher effective moisture during the Bölling/Allerød. The onset of more humid conditions started at 9.4 cal kyrs, indicating a delayed hydrological response to the onset of the Holocene which is also documented in several sites of the Mediterranean Basin. Higher, although fluctuating, Holocene lake levels were punctuated by a mid Holocene arid period between 4.8 and 4.0 cal kyrs BP. A major lake-level rise occurred at 1.2 cal kyrs BP, conducive to the establishment of conditions similar to the present and interrupted by a last major water level drop, occurring around 800 cal yrs BP, which coincides with the Medieval Climate Anomaly.The main hydrological stages in Lake Estanya are in phase with most Western Mediterranean and North Atlantic continental and marine records, but our results also show similarities with other Iberian and northern African reconstructions, emphasizing peculiarities of palaeohydrological evolution of the Iberian Peninsula during the last deglaciation.     

Mineralogical and textural changes accompanying ageing of silica sinter

Twenty nine samples of silica sinter, ranging in age from modern to Miocene, record temporal changes in both mineralogy and texture. When first deposited, sinters consist largely of noncrystalline spheres (<1–8 μm diameter) of opal-A exhibiting varying degrees of close-packing. Particle densities range from 1.5 to 2.1 g cm⁻³, total water 4–10 wt%, and porosities 35–60%. Changes over ∼10,000 years following deposition are slight although the spheres may be invested by an additional film of secondary silica. For the next 10,000 to ∼50,000 years, the silica incrementally crystallises to become poorly crystalline opal-CT and/or opal-C; spherical particles of thin-bladed crystals (lepispheres) replace opal-A particles and coalesce in microbotryoidal aggregates (∼10–30 μm diameter). Amygdaloidal fibrous clusters occur with lepispheres. As silica lattice ordering becomes enhanced, total water content drops to <7 wt%, particle density increases to ∼2.3 g cm⁻³, and porosity reduces to <30%. The change from opal-A to opal-C takes place over a briefer periods (∼50 years) in silica sinters that contain other materials (e.g. calcite, sulfur, alunite, plant remains). Sinters older than ∼50,000 years have recrystallised to microcrystalline quartz. With the onset of quartz crystallisation at ∼20,000 years, total water is <0.2 wt%, particle density approximates quartz (2.65 g cm⁻³), and porosity is <4%. The progressive changes in silica species and texture yield ageing profiles for sinters that may serve as guides to the paleohydrology of geothermal systems and/or epithermal ore deposits in areas where surface thermal activity has declined or ceased. Received: 18 November 1998 / Accepted: 6 July 1999     

Reconstruction of the hydrothermal history of the Cu–Ag vein-type mineralisation at Dikulushi, Kundelungu foreland, Katanga, D.R. Congo

The Kundelungu foreland, north of the Lufilian arc in the Democratic Republic of Congo, contains a number of various vein-type and stratiform copper mineralisations. The geodynamic context and metallogenesis of these mineral occurrences remain enigmatic. Currently, the vein-type Cu–Ag ore deposit at Dikulushi is the most significant deposit in the region. Mineralisation at Dikulushi comprises two major styles: 1) a polysulphide assemblage (Zn–Pb–Fe–Cu–As) within brecciated rocks along an anticlinal closure; and 2) a vein-hosted Cu–Ag assemblage. Petrographic and fluid inclusion studies indicate that the early Zn–Pb–Fe–Cu–As assemblage formed from a high-salinity Ca–Na–Cl fluid of modest temperature (135–172 °C). The later, economically more significant vein-related Cu–Ag mineralisation formed from intermediate salinity, lower temperature (46–82 °C) Na–Cl fluids. Weathering of the sulphide minerals resulted in a supergene enrichment with the formation of secondary Cu-minerals.     

Poly-orogenic multi-stage metamorphic evolution inferred via P–T pseudosections: An example from Aspromonte Massif basement rocks (Southern Calabria, Italy)

The metamorphic evolution of a key sector of the western Mediterranean internal Alpine orogenic belt (southern Calabrian Peloritani Orogen) is identified and described by means of P–T pseudosections calculated for selected metapelite specimens, showing evidence of multi-stage metamorphism.Attention focused on the two lowermost basement nappes of the Aspromonte Massif (southern Calabria), which were differently affected by poly-orogenic multi-stage evolution. After a complete Variscan orogenic cycle, the upper unit (Aspromonte Peloritani Unit) was involved in a late-Alpine shearing event. In contrast, the several underlying metapelite slices, here grouped together as Lower Metapelite Group, show exclusive evidence of a complete Alpine orogenic cycle.In order to obtain reliable P–T constraints, an integrated approach was employed, based on: a) garnet isopleth thermobarometry; and b) theoretical predictions of the P–T stability fields of representative equilibrium assemblages. This approach, which takes into account the role of the local equilibrium volumes in controlling textural developments, yielded reliable information about P–T conditions from early to peak metamorphic stages, as well as estimates of the retrograde trajectory in the pseudosection P–T space.According to inferred detailed P–T paths, the evolution of the Aspromonte Peloritani Unit is characterised by a multi-stage Variscan cycle, subdivided into an early crustal thickening stage with P–T conditions ranging from 0.56 ± 0.05 GPa at 570 ± 10 °C to 0.63–0.93 GPa at 650–710 °C (peak conditions) and evolving to a later crustal thinning episode in lower P–T conditions (0.25 GPa at 540 °C), as documented by the retrograde trajectory.Conversely, the prograde evolution of the rocks of the Lower Metapelite Group shows evidence of a HP-LT early Alpine multi-stage cycle, with P–T evolving from 0.75–0.90 GPa at 510–530 °C towards peak conditions, with pressure increasing northwards from 1.12 ± 0.02 GPa to 1.24 ± 0.02 GPa, and temperatures of 540–570 °C.A late-Alpine mylonitic overprint affected the rocks of both the Aspromonte Peloritani Unit and the Lower Metapelite Group. This overprint was characterised by an initial retrograde decompression trajectory (0.75 ± 0.05 GPa at 570–600 °C), followed by a joint cooling history, ranging from 0.38 ± 0.14 at temperature from 450 to 520 °C.These inferred results were then used: a) to interpret the Lower Metapelite Group as a single crystalline basement unit exclusively affected by a complete Alpine orogenic cycle, according to the very similar features of P–T paths, comparable petrography and analogous structural characteristics; b) as a tool for more reliable correlations between the Aspromonte Massif, the other Calabrian terranes and the north African Orogenic Complexes. They may therefore consider a contribution to the geodynamic modelling of the western Mediterranean.     

Fluid inclusion study of the Plomositas–Los Arcos polymetallic epithermal vein tract, Plomosas district, Sinaloa, Mexico

The most important deposit in the Plomosas–Rosario district, Sinaloa, is the vein tract named Plomositas–Plomosas–Los Arcos. These are NNW–SSE striking veins hosted in rocks of the Lower Volcanic Supergroup (LVS), and also in rocks at the bottom of the Upper Volcanic Supergroup (UVS). Both supergroups belong to the Sierra Madre Occidental. These veins evolved from an early intermediate sulfidation stage (1), rich in base metal sulfides, to a low sulfidation stage (2), rich in silver sulfides and sulfosalts. There is also a 45 m-wide stockwork with native silver and gold. Stage 1 is found in the deeper portion of the veins whereas stage 2 is found in the most shallow portion of the deposit. These stages record fluid inclusion salinities ranging from 7 to 12 wt.% NaCl equiv., and from 0.2 to 3.5 wt.% NaCl equiv., respectively. Homogenization temperatures range from 120 °C for surface samples to 200 °C at a depth of 320 m. The low homogenization temperatures recorded, and the dispersion of veins within host rocks as veinlets, suggest that this deposit formed at shallow depths and was probably blind.     

Climate and ocean variability during the middle and late Holocene recorded in laminated sediments from Alfonso Basin, Gulf of California, Mexico

A laminated sequence (core BAP96-CP 24°38.12′N, 110°33.24′W; 390 m depth) from the Alfonso Basin in Bay of La Paz, southern Gulf of California, contains a record of paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes of the past 7900 yr. Radiolarian assemblages and magnetic susceptibility are used as proxies of oceanographic and climatic variability. The records provide a regional scenario of the middle and late Holocene, suggesting two major climatic regimes and several millennial-scale events. Conditions relatively warmer and drier than today occurred from 7700 to 2500 cal yr BP, promoting the intensification of evaporation processes and the prevalence of the Gulf of California water in the Basin. These conditions correlate with strong droughts in the middle Holocene of North America and with minimal incursion of tropical waters into the Gulf of California. Proxies indicate a warm scenario and the dominance of the Equatorial Surface Water in the Alfonso Basin from 2400 to 700 cal yr BP, suggesting the intensification of ENSO cycles. A climatic signal between 1038 and 963 cal yr BP may be correlated with global signal of the “Medieval Warm Period.” Several cooling events are recognized at 5730, 3360, 2700, 1280 and 820 cal yr BP and are associated with intensification of northwest winds leading to upwellings and enhanced productivity in the Basin.     

Transient calcite fracture fillings in a welded tuff, Snowshoe Mountain, Colorado

The core from two boreholes (13.1 and 19.2 m depth) drilled 500 m apart in the fractured, welded tuff near the summit of the Snowshoe Mountain, Colorado (47°30′N, 106°55′W) had unique petrographic and hydrodynamic properties. Borehole SM-4 had highly variable annual water levels, in contrast to SM-1a, whose water level remained near the land surface. Core samples from both boreholes (n=10 and 11) were examined petrographically in thin sections impregnated with epoxy containing rhodamine to mark the pore system features, and were analyzed for matrix porosity and permeability. Core from the borehole sampling the vadose zone was characterized by open fractures with enhanced porosity around phenocrysts due to chemical weathering. Fractures within the borehole sampling the phreatic zone were mineralized with calcite and had porosity characteristics similar to unweathered and unfractured rock. At the top of the phreatic zone petrography indicates that calcite is dissolving, thereby changing the hydrogeochemical character of the rock (i.e. permeability, porosity, reactive surface area, and mineralogy). Radiocarbon ages and C and O stable isotopes indicate that calcite mineralization occurred about 30 to 40 ka ago and that there was more than one mineralization event. Results of this study also provide some relationships between primary porosity development from 3 types of fracture in a welded tuff.