Petrogenesis of the late-Delamerian gabbroic complex at Black Hill,South Australia: Implications for convective thinning of the lithospheric mantle

Summary A group of funnel-shaped gabbroic plutons at Black Hill, South Australia, consist of a lower series of layered peridotite, troctolite and olivine gabbro cumulates overlain by gabbronorites and potassic gabbronorites, the latter yielding a Sm-Nd isochron of 489 ± 39 Ma. Mineral assemblages in the gabbros record an olivine compositional hiatus (Fo_75-55) and a high temperature (1200-1000°C), low pressure (1 kbar), continental tholeiitic fractionation trend under moderate f_{O 2} (QFM) conditions. The liquid line of descent involved complex open system processes including recharge and crustal assimilation. In one pluton, fine-grained norites may reflect assimilation which resulted in an increaseda _SiO2 ^liquid causing orthopyroxene to crystallize prior to plagioclase.All the gabbros, including the most primitive peridotites, are LREE and incompatible element enriched. Moreover, the calculated parental magma composition in equilibrium with the most primitive troctolite has high La/Yb, La/Nb, Ti/Y and low Rb/Ba, similar to that of basaltic dykes which cut the gabbroic complex. Such compositions are untypical of melts derived from the asthenosphere suggesting that the incompatible element enrichment is not simply due to small degrees of melting. Given the isotopic constraints (Nd_i 3.4 to –4.6,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i 0.7038-0.7065), this enrichment is not easily reconciled by crustal contamination either, and instead it is inferred to reflect an enriched lithospheric mantle source. Published data on mantle xenoliths from local Tertiary volcanoes overlap the isotopic and geochemical array of the gabbros and dykes, supporting this hypothesis.In conjunction with A-type granites and minor volcanic rocks, the gabbroic plutons form part of a high temperature, bimodal magmatic suite which intruded the Adelaide fold belt just after the cessation of convergent deformation during the Cambro-Ordovician Delamerian Orogeny. The appearance of such magmas is problematic since thick orogenic lithosphere severely restricts the likelihood of decompression melting in the asthenosphere. One solution to this dilemma is that convective thinning of the lithospheric mantle beneath the orogen promoted melting of hydrated, enriched regions within the lithospheric mantle. Such a model can reconcile the strong lithospheric mantle signature in the gabbros with the observation that their intrusion was coincident with uplift and the cessation of deformation.

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Die Petrogenese eines spätdelamerischen Gabbrokomplexes von Black Hill, Südaustralien: Schlußfolgerungen zur konvektiven Ausdünnung des lithospharischen Mantels

Zusammenfassung Eine Gruppe von trichterförmigen, gabbroiden Plutonen von Black Hill, Südaustralien, setzt sich aus einer unteren Serie von geschichteten Peridotiten, Troktoliten and Olivin-Gabbro-Kumulaten, die von Gabbro-Noriten und potassischen Gabbros überlagert werden, zusammen; letzgenannte Gesteine ergaben ein Sm-Nd Isochronenalter von 489 ± 39 Ma. Die Mineralzusammensetzungen der Gabbros belegen eine Mischungslücke bei Olivin (Fo_75-55). Die Gesteine folgen einem kontinentalen, tholeiitischen Fraktionierungstrend und kristallisierten bei hohen Temperaturen (1200-1000°C), unter niedrigem Druck ( 1 kbar) and moderatem fo₂ ( QFM). Wiederholte Magmenzufuhr und Krustenassimilation sind weitere zu beriicksichtigende, komplexe Prozesse, die sich in einem offenen System abspielten. Feinkörnige Norite von einem der Plutone könnten durch Assimilationsprozesse - she äußern sich in einer Erhöhung desa _SiO₂ ^liquid liquid - entstanden sein. In diesen Gesteinen kristallisierte Orthopyroxen vor Plagioklas.Alle Gabbros, einschließich der primitivsten Peridotite, sind an LREE und inkompatiblen Elementen angereichert. Die berechnete Zusammensetzung des Ausgangsmagmas, das im Gleichgewicht mit dem primitivsten Troktolit steht, weist hohe La/Yb, La/Nb, Ti/Y and niedrige Rb/Ba auf. Basaltische Dykes, die die Gabbros durchsetzen zeigen ähnliche Elementverhältnisse. Derartige Zusammensetzungen sind untypisch für astenosphärische Schmelzen und belegen, daß die Anreicherung an inkompatiblen Elementen nicht einfach nur mit geringen Aufschmelzungsraten zu erklären ist. Auf Grund der Isotopendaten (Nd_i 3.4 to -4.6,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶ Sr_i 0.7038–0.7065) kann these Anreicherung auch nicht leicht mit Krustenkontamination erklärt werden. Vielmehr wird eine angereicherte, lithosphärische Mantelquelle vermutet. Publizierte Daten an Mantelxenolithen von tertiären Vulkanen zeigen sehr ähnliche isotopische und geochemische Zusammensetzungen and belegen these Hypothese.Gemeinsam mit A-Typ Graniten und untergeordnet, vorkommenden, vulkanischen Gesteinen sind die Gabbros Teil einer hochtemperierten bimodalen, magmatischen Serie, die den Adelaide Fold Belt postdeformativ, während der kambro-ordovizischen delamerischen Orogenese, intrudierten. Das Vorkommen solcher Magmen ist problematisch, da die Präsenz dicker, orogen gebildeter Lithosphäre die Möglichkeit der Dekompressions-Aufschmelzung der Astenosphäre stark vermindert. Eine mögliche Lösung dieses Dilemmas ist, daß konvektives Ausdünnen des lithosphärischen Mantels unterhalb der Orogenzone das Aufschmelzen von hydratisierten, angereicherten Regionen innerhalb der Lithosphäre förderte. Dieses Modell bringt die Beobachtungen, daß die Gabbros einerseits eine lithosphärische Signatur zeigen, andererseits aber während der Hebungsphase und am Ende des Deformationsgeschehens intrudierten, in Einklang.

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With 15 Figures     

Particle acceleration and the decay of soft X-ray non-thermal line broadening in solar flares

The relationship between the production of -ray emitting particles and non-thermal soft X-ray line broadening is investigated. A model of particle acceleration via the stochastic interaction with MHD turbulence is assumed and the time development of the wave energy density derived under the condition of energy conservation between waves and particles. The inferred numbers and energy distribution of accelerated protons for four -ray flares are used to define the wave energy density and its temporal development. The presence of Alfvén wave turbulence is considered as the source of the non-thermal motions in the ambient plasma. These motions are observed as excess widths in the soft X-ray line emission from these events. The decay of the waves via the particle acceleration process is compared with the observed decays of this non-thermal line broadening. Our results show that both the -ray emission and excess soft X-ray line widths in these flares can be explained by the single physical phenomenon of Alfvén wave turbulence.     

Temperature–composition–time (T–X–t) data from authigenic K-feldspar: An integrated methodology for dating fluid flow events

Integration of fluid inclusion analysis with high spatial resolution Ar–Ar dating of K-feldspar cements has been used to resolve and reconstruct palaeo-fluid flow. Fluid inclusion analysis allows discrimination of distinct cement phases, thereby identifying discrete episodes of fluid flow. Ar–Ar dating of the same cements via high spatial resolution laserprobe establishes absolute age constraints on the framework previously constructed. Integration of these two datasets yields temperature–composition–time data.     

Paleoenvironmental records of water level and climatic changes from the middle to late Holocene at a Lake Erie coastal wetland, Ontario, Canada

Pollen and diatom assemblages, and peat stratigraphies, from a coastal wetland on the northern shore of Lake Erie were used to analyze water level and climatic changes since the middle Holocene and their effects on wetland plant communities. Peat deposition began 4700 cal yr B.P. during the Nipissing II transgression, which was driven by isostatic rebound. At that time, a diatom-rich wild rice marsh existed at the site. Water level dropped at the end of the Nipissing rise at least 2 m within 200 yr, leading to the development of shallower-water plant communities and an environment too dry for most diatoms to persist. The sharp decline in water level was probably driven primarily by outlet incision, but climate likely played some role. The paleoecological records provide evidence for post-Nipissing century-scale transgressions occurring around 2300, 1160, 700 and 450 cal yr B.P. The chronology for these transgressions correlates with other studies from the region and implies climatic forcing. Peat inception in shallow sloughs across part of the study area around 700 cal yr B.P. coincides with the Little Ice Age. These records, considered alongside others from the region, suggest that the Little Ice Age may have resulted in a wetter climate across the eastern Great Lakes region.     

The Record of an Extreme Flood in the Sediments of Montane Lillooet Lake, British Columbia: Implications for Paleoenvironmental Assessment

Severe rainfall in mid October, 2003 produced the largest floods in almost a century of record on rivers in the Cordillera of southwestern British Columbia. Sediment deposited in Lillooet Lake as a result of this event is clearly distinguished by stratigraphy, colour, texture, magnetic properties, and organic content. Each of these physical properties is related to the lacustrine processes, especially turbid underflow, that distributed the sediment through the lake. The flood, which lasted less than a week, delivered 8–12 times the amount of sediment that accumulates in most entire years in the deepest, central parts of the lake. Recognition of events of this type in the stratigraphic record offers a means of assessing the changing nature of extreme hydroclimatic events, and their relation to more ubiquitous, lower-energy processes.     

Retrieving cloud fraction in the field-of-view of a high-spectral resolution infrared radiometer

The combination of radiance from both clear and cloudy regions of sky within the instrument's field of view (FOV) adds significant uncertainty to retrievals of atmospheric state profiles and cloud microphysical properties from infrared spectroradiometers. In this letter, we use observations of radiance from both the 8-13 and 3-5 /spl mu/m bands to retrieve estimates of the cloud fraction in the instrument's FOV, as well as microphysical cloud properties, from high-spectral-resolution infrared radiometers. Cloud fraction derived from imagers as well as high-time-resolution observations show good agreement and high correlation with our derived cloud fraction values. This is shown for both ground-based and aircraft-based observations. We also demonstrate that the use of the additional information in the 3-5 /spl mu/m band extends the dynamic range and accuracy of microphysical properties that can be retrieved from infrared radiance data.     

Recent Rapid Regional Climate Warming on the Antarctic Peninsula

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed that mean global warming was 0.6 ± 0.2 °C during the 20th century and cited anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases as the likely cause of temperature rise in the last 50 years. But this mean value conceals the substantial complexity of observed climate change, which is seasonally- and diurnally-biased, decadally-variable and geographically patchy. In particular, over the last 50 years three high-latitude areas have undergone recent rapid regional (RRR) warming, which was substantially more rapid than the global mean. However, each RRR warming occupies a different climatic regime and may have an entirely different underlying cause. We discuss the significance of RRR warming in one area, the Antarctic Peninsula. Here warming was much more rapid than in the rest of Antarctica where it was not significantly different to the global mean. We highlight climate proxies that appear to show that RRR warming on the Antarctic Peninsula is unprecedented over the last two millennia, and so unlikely to be a natural mode of variability. So while the station records do not indicate a ubiquitous polar amplification of global warming, the RRR warming on the Antarctic Peninsula might be a regional amplification of such warming. This, however, remains unproven since we cannot yet be sure what mechanism leads to such an amplification. We discuss several possible candidate mechanisms: changing oceanographic or changing atmospheric circulation, or a regional air-sea-ice feedback amplifying greenhouse warming. We can show that atmospheric warming and reduction in sea-ice duration coincide in a small area on the west of the Antarctic Peninsula, but here we cannot yet distinguish cause and effect. Thus for the present we cannot determine which process is the probable cause of RRR warming on the Antarctic Peninsula and until the mechanism initiating and sustaining the RRR warming is understood, and is convincingly reproduced in climate models, we lack a sound basis for predicting climate change in this region over the coming century.     

Redshift surveys

Recent results and current plans for redshift surveys were the subject of an RAS discussion meeting on 10 October 2003, organized by Ofer Lahav and Jon Loveday. Sarah Bridle and Alan Heavens report.     

From in-situ coal to fly ash: a study of coal mines and power plants from Indiana

This paper presents data on the properties of coal and fly ash from two coal mines and two power plants that burn single-source coal from two mines in Indiana. One mine is in the low-sulfur (<1%) Danville Coal Member of the Dugger Formation (Pennsylvanian) and the other mines the high-sulfur (>5%) Springfield Coal Member of the Petersburg Formation (Pennsylvanian). Both seams have comparable ash contents (11%). Coals sampled at the mines (both raw and washed fractions) were analyzed for proximate/ultimate/sulfur forms/heating value, major oxides, trace elements and petrographic composition. The properties of fly ash from these coals reflect the properties of the feed coal, as well as local combustion and post-combustion conditions. Sulfur and spinel content, and As, Pb and Zn concentrations of the fly ash are the parameters that most closely reflect the properties of the source coal.