Moisture origin and stable isotope characteristics of precipitation in southeast Siberia

The paper presents oxygen and hydrogen isotopes of 284 precipitation event samples systematically collected in Irkutsk, in the Baikal region (southeast Siberia), between June 2011 and April 2017. This is the first high-resolution dataset of stable isotopes of precipitation from this poorly studied region of continental Asia, which has a high potential for isotope-based palaeoclimate research. The dataset revealed distinct seasonal variations: relatively high δ¹⁸O (up to −4‰) and δD (up to −40‰) values characterize summer air masses, and lighter isotope composition (−41‰ for δ¹⁸O and −322‰ for δD) is characteristic of winter precipitation. Our results show that air temperature mainly affects the isotope composition of precipitation, and no significant correlations were obtained for precipitation amount and relative humidity. A new temperature dependence was established for weighted mean monthly precipitation: +0.50‰/°C (r² = 0.83; p <.01; n = 55) for δ¹⁸O and +3.8‰/°C (r² = 0.83, p < 0.01; n = 55) for δD. Secondary fractionation processes (e.g., contribution of recycled moisture) were identified mainly in summer from low d excess. Backward trajectories assessed with the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model indicate that precipitation with the lowest mean δ¹⁸O and δD values reaches Irkutsk in winter related to moisture transport from the Arctic. Precipitation originating from the west/southwest with the heaviest mean isotope composition reaches Irkutsk in summer, thus representing moisture transport across Eurasia. Generally, moisture transport from the west, that is, the Atlantic Ocean predominates throughout the year. A comparison of our new isotope dataset with simulation results using the European Centre/Hamburg version 5 (ECHAM5)-wiso climate model reveals a good agreement of variations in δ¹⁸O (r² = 0.87; p <.01; n = 55) and air temperature (r² = 0.99; p <.01; n = 71). However, the ECHAM5-wiso model fails to capture observed variations in d excess (r² = 0.14; p < 0.01; n = 55). This disagreement can be partly explained by a model deficit of capturing regional hydrological processes associated with secondary moisture supply in summer.     

A single vs. double spike approach to improve the accuracy of Th measurements in small-volume seawater samples

²³⁴Th is a particle-reactive radionuclide widely used to trace biogeochemical oceanic processes occurring over short timescales. During the last few years, small-volume techniques based on the co-precipitation of ²³⁴Th with MnO₂ coupled with beta-counting have been developed as an alternative to large volume gamma-spectrometric techniques. Here a procedure has been developed to enhance quantitative measurement of ²³⁴Th in MnO₂ precipitates. The main objectives were to obtain a purified Th fraction for beta-counting and to determine the chemical recovery of ²³⁴Th using Th spikes and alpha-spectrometry as an alternative to ICP-MS based methods. Two variations of the procedure are presented. In the first “1 spike” method a ²³⁰Th tracer is added to the sample prior to precipitation of MnO₂, and UTEVA® extraction chromatography is used to obtain a NdF₃(Th) purified source that can be used for both beta-counting of ²³⁴Th and alpha-spectrometry of ²³⁰Th. In the “2 spike” method a ²³⁰Th spike is added and the MnO₂(Th) precipitate is directly beta-counted for ²³⁴Th and subsequently spiked with ²²⁸Th or ²²⁹Th prior to UTEVA® purification and alpha-spectrometry. The results confirm the need to process small-volume seawater samples for ²³⁴Th measurement in presence of a yield tracer, and show that both the 1 spike and 2 spike methods allow an accurate and precise determination of ²³⁴Th (relative percent difference, RPD, between expected and mean measured value < 1%; CV between replicate samples < 3%). Our work also suggests that, although the combined analytical uncertainty on total ²³⁴Th measurements accomplished with both versions of the NdF₃ procedure is promising (6% for 2-L samples), the precision of the ²³⁴Th flux estimation will ultimately depend on the degree of disequilibrium between ²³⁴Th and ²³⁸U.     

Isothermal compression of an eclogite from the Western Gneiss Region (Norway)

In the Western Gneiss Region in Norway, mafic eclogites form lenses within granitoid orthogneiss and contain the best record of the pressure and temperature evolution of this ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) terrane. Their exhumation from the UHP conditions has been extensively studied, but their prograde evolution has been rarely quantified although it represents a key constraint for the tectonic history of this area. This study focused on a well-preserved phengite-bearing eclogite sample from the Nordfjord region. The sample was investigated using phase-equilibrium modelling, trace-element analyses of garnet, trace- and major-element thermobarometry and quartz-in-garnet barometry by Raman spectroscopy. Inclusions in garnet core point to crystallization conditions in the amphibolite facies at 510–600°C and 11–16 kbar, whereas chemical zoning in garnet suggests growth during isothermal compression up to the peak pressure of 28 kbar at 600°C, followed by near-isobaric heating to 660–680°C. Near-isothermal decompression to 10–14 kbar is recorded in fine-grained clinopyroxene–amphibole–plagioclase symplectites. The absence of a temperature increase during compression seems incompatible with the classic view of crystallization along a geothermal gradient in a subduction zone and may question the tectonic significance of eclogite facies metamorphism. Two end-member tectonic scenarios are proposed to explain such an isothermal compression: Either (1) the mafic rocks were originally at depth within the lower crust and were consecutively buried along the isothermal portion of the subducting slab or (2) the mafic rocks recorded up to 14 kbar of tectonic overpressure at constant depth and temperature during the collisional stage of the orogeny.