Self-reversal explanation for the Laschamp/Olby geomagnetic field excursion

The reversed natural remanent magnetisation (NRM) of the volcanic features at Laschamp and Olby (Chaîne des Puys, Auvergne, France) is commonly believed to document the youngest excursion of the geomagnetic field during the present Brunhes epoch. Recent radiometric dating determines the age of these lavas to be 35000–45000 y. Continuous thermal demagnetisation indicates that under laboratory conditions the NRM of many Olby samples undergoes complete or partial self-reversal; to a lesser extent this is also true for the Laschamp material. Thus self-reversal may be another possible explanation of the reversed NRM directions. Magnetic, optical and microprobe analyses suggest that the self-reversal mechanism is based upon magnetostatic interaction between differently oxidised titanomagnetite phases.     

Fluorophores in the Arabian Sea and their relationship to hydrographic conditions

 Water mass distributions, upwelling and filament formation are of complex significance for biological and chemical processes. Temperature and salinity are routinely used to characterize these hydrographic conditions. In situ profiles and sample analyses from the cruise So119 of RV Sonne in May 1997 into the Arabian Sea indicate that optical parameters such as the fluorescence of phytoplankton pigments, gelbstoff and proteins reflect hydrographic processes as well, and are useful to describe and explain biochemical processes. The dependence of bio-optical parameters to DOC and chlorophyll a concentrations is examined. While the relation between extracted chlorophyll and chlorophyll fluorescence is quite reasonable, DOC and gelbstoff fluorescence do not show a functional dependency. This is mainly due to sunlight-induced degradation of fluorophores in the surface layer. Enhanced gelbstoff signals in intermediate and deep waters are related to Persian Gulf Water. The optical data reveal a relation between the depth of the chlorophyll maximum, the depth of 1% surface light and the geographical latitude. In the context of remote sensing of phytoplankton biomass from ocean colour images, the depth of the chlorophyll maximum is a crucial parameter. Thus, the revealed dependency on latitude is useful for the evaluation of primary production with satellite remote sensing. Received: 22 May 2002 / Accepted: 18 February 2003 Responsible Editor: Andreas Oschlies Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a grant from the Federal Minister of Education and Technology, Bonn, within the framework of the JGOFS Arabian Sea program. We are grateful to the captain and the crew of RV Sonne for their support. Special thanks are given to the chief scientist of the cruise, Pr. V. Ittekkot, for helpful discussions. We are indebted to Mr. Rüdiger Heuermann and Mr. Nils Bürckel for their participation in the cruise and their support in the data analysis.     

Multiple-mineral inclusions in diamonds from the Snap Lake/King Lake kimberlite dike, Slave craton, Canada: a trace-element perspective

Multiple inclusions of minerals in diamonds from the Snap Lake/King Lake kimberlites of the southeastern Slave craton in Canada have been analyzed for trace elements to elucidate the petrogenetic history of these inclusions, and of their host diamonds. As observed worldwide, the harzburgitic-garnet diamond inclusions (DIs) possess sinusoidal REE patterns that indicate an early depletion event, followed by metasomatism by LREE-enriched, HREE-depleted fluids. Furthermore, these fluids appear to contain appreciable concentrations of LILE and HFSE, based on the increasing abundances of these elements in the olivine inclusion that occurs at the outer portion of a diamond compared to that near the core. The compositions of these fluids are probably a mixture of hydrous-silicic melt, carbonatitic melt, and brine, similar to the compositions of micro-inclusions in diamonds reported by Navon et al. (2003). Comparison between the compositions of majoritic and normal harzburgitic garnets shows that the former are more depleted in terms of major/minor elements (higher Cr#) but significantly more enriched in the REE (up to 10×). This characteristic may indicate the higher susceptibility for metasomatic enrichment of previously more depleted garnets. Garnets of eclogitic paragenesis show strong LREE-depleted patterns, whereas the coexisting omphacite inclusion has relatively flat light- and middle-REE but depleted HREE. Whole-rock reconstruction from coexisting garnet and omphacite inclusions indicates that the protolith of these inclusions was probably the extrusive section of an oceanic crust, subducted beneath the Slave craton.     

Nature of diamonds in Yakutian eclogites: views from eclogite tomography and mineral inclusions in diamonds

We have performed dissections of two diamondiferous eclogites (UX-1 and U33/1) from the Udachnaya kimberlite, Yakutia in order to understand the nature of diamond formation and the relationship between the diamonds, their mineral inclusions, and host eclogite minerals. Diamonds were carefully recovered from each xenolith, based upon high-resolution X-ray tomography images and three-dimensional models. The nature and physical properties of minerals, in direct contact with diamonds, were investigated at the time of diamond extraction. Polished sections of the eclogites were made, containing the mould areas of the diamonds, to further investigate the chemical compositions of the host minerals and the phases that were in contact with diamonds. Major- and minor-element compositions of silicate and sulfide mineral inclusions in diamonds show variations among each other, and from those in the host eclogites. Oxygen isotope compositions of one garnet and five clinopyroxene inclusions in diamonds from another Udachnaya eclogite (U51) span the entire range recorded for eclogite xenoliths from Udachnaya. In addition, the reported compositions of almost all clinopyroxene inclusions in U51 diamonds exhibit positive Eu anomaly. This feature, together with the oxygen isotopic characteristics, is consistent with the well-established hypothesis of subduction origin for Udachnaya eclogite xenoliths. It is intuitive to expect that all eclogite xenoliths in a particular kimberlite should have common heritage, at least with respect to their included diamonds. However, the variation in the composition of multiple inclusions within diamonds, and among diamonds, from the same eclogite indicates the involvement of complex processes in diamond genesis, at least in the eclogite xenoliths from Yakutia that we have studied.     

Surface wave tomography of the Barents Sea and surrounding regions

The goal of this study is to refine knowledge of the structure and tectonic history of the European Arctic using the combination of all available seismological surface wave data, including historical data that were not used before for this purpose. We demonstrate how the improved data coverage leads to better depth and spatial resolution of the seismological model and discovery of intriguing features of upper-mantle structure. To improve the surface wave data set in the European Arctic, we extensively searched for broad-band data from stations in the area from the beginning of the 1970s until 2005. We were able to retrieve surface wave observations from regional data archives in Norway, Finland, Denmark and Russia in addition to data from the data centres of IRIS and GEOFON. Rayleigh and Love wave group velocity measurements between 10 and 150 s period were combined with existing data provided by the University of Colorado at Boulder. This new data set was inverted for maps showing the 2-D group-velocity distribution of Love and Rayleigh waves for specific periods. Using Monte Carlo inversion, we constructed a new 3-D shear velocity model of the crust and upper mantle beneath the European Arctic which provides higher resolution and accuracy than previous models. A new crustal model of the Barents Sea and surrounding areas, published recently by a collaboration between the University of Oslo, NORSAR and the USGS, constrains the 3-D inversion of the surface wave data in the shallow lithosphere. The new 3-D model, BARMOD, reveals substantial variations in shear wave speeds in the upper mantle across the region with a nominal resolution of 1°× 1°. Of particular note are clarified images of the mantle expression of the continent-ocean transition in the Norwegian Sea and a deep, high wave speed lithospheric root beneath the Eastern Barents Sea, which presumably is the remnant of several Palaeozoic collisions.     

Sicilian serpentinite xenoliths containing abiotic organics with nanodiamond clusters as key model for prebiotic processes

Rock fragments from the deepest parts of a buried hydrothermal system belonging to the Mesozoic Tethys Ocean entered as xenoliths in a Miocenic diatreme,hence brought to the surface,in the Hyblean Plateau(Sicily).Some xenoliths consist of strongly serpentinized ultramafic rocks bearing blebs of abiotic organic matter,where clusters of amorphous carbon nanoparticles,including nanodiamonds,are immersed.Such an occurrence conjures up established hypotheses that diamond surfaces are suitable catalytic platforms stimulating the assemblage of complex bio-organic molecules relevant to the emergence of life on Earth.The appearance of bio-organic molecules under primitive Earth conditions is one of the major unsolved questions on the origin of life.Here we report new micro-Raman spectra on blebs of abiotic organic matter from a selected xenolith.Diamond bands were related to hydrogenated nanocrystalline diamonds,with size of nearly 1-1.6 nm,formed from organics at low pressures and temperatures.In particular,diamond surfaces can give rise to crystalline interfacial water layers that may have played a fundamental role in the early biosphere evolution as a good medium for rapidly transporting positive charges in the form of hydrated protons.Nowadays,proton gradients in alkaline hydrothermal vents along oceanic ridges are generally viewed as key pre-biotic factors.In general,serpentinites span the entire geological record,including prebiotic times.These hydrous ultramafic rocks often display evidence of abiotic carbon species,both organic and inorganic,including nanodiamonds,being also capable to give rise to chemiosmotic processes and proton gradients necessary to the organisms,such as the"Last Universal Common Ancestor"(LUCA),in the prebiotic Earth.     

A novel probe for point injections in groundwater monitoring wells

Hydrogeology Journal - Groundwater monitoring wells or boreholes often show complex flow behaviors that are essential to understand for the characterization of aquifer systems. In karst or...     

Multi-stage metasomatism of diamondiferous eclogite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe,Yakutia, Siberia

The primary garnet (pyrope-almandine)-omphacite (Cpx 1, 6.5–7 wt% Na₂O)-sulfide (Fe-Ni-Co mss) assemblage of the two diamondiferous eclogite xenoliths studied (U33/1 and UX/1) experienced two mantle metasomatic events. The metasomatic event I is recorded by the formation of platy phlogopite (~ 10 wt% K₂O), prior to incorporation of the xenoliths in the kimberlite. The bulk of the metasomatic alteration, consisting of spongy-textured clinopyroxene (Cpx 2A, 1–3 wt% Na₂O), coarser-grained clinopyroxene (Cpx 2B, 2–5 wt% Na₂O), pargasitic amphibole (~ 0.8 wt% K₂O; 3–3.5 wt% Na₂O), kelyphite (Cpx 3, mostly <1 wt% Na₂O; and zoned Mg-Fe-Al spinel), sodalite, calcite, K-feldspar, djerfisherite (K_5.95Na_0.02Fe_18.72Ni_2.36Co_0.01Cu_4.08S₂₆Cl ) and a small amount of K-Ca-Fe-Mg glass, is ascribed to the metasomatic event II that occurred also in the upper mantle, but after the xenoliths were incorporated in the kimberlite. A pervasive chloritic alteration (mainly clinochlore + magnetite) that overprints earlier assemblages probably took place in the upper crustal environment. The diamonds are invariably associated with secondary clinopyroxene and chlorite, but the diamonds formed before the entrainment of the xenoliths in the Udachnaya kimberlite.Editorial Responsibility: T.L. Grove