Occurrence,chemistry, and origin of immiscible silicate glasses in a tholeiitic basalt: A TEM/AEM study

The occurrence and chemistry of immiscible silicate glasses in a tholeiite mesostasis from the Umtanum formation, Washington, were investigated with transmission electron microscopy and analytical electron microscopy (TEM/AEM). TEM observation reveals isolated, dark globules (2.1 micron or less in diameter) randomly distributed in a transparent matrix glass interstitial to plagioclase laths. The globules less than 0.3 micron and larger than 0.8 micron fall beyond the linear relationship defined by the 0.3–0.8 micron globules in a plot of the logarithm of number versus size. Large globules (0.7 micron or larger in diameter) range from homogeneous to heterogeneous in optical properties and chemistry. Homogeneous globules are completely glassy, whereas heterogeneous globules contain crystalline domains. AEM analyses show that the globules have high Si, Fe, Ca, and Ti with subordinate Mg, Al, P, S, Cl, K, and Mn, which gives high normative fa, px, il, and ap. The matrix glass consists dominantly of Si with low Al and minor Na and K, yielding a high normative qz, or, ab, and an.It is proposed that the silicate liquid immiscibility occurs by reaction of network-modifying cations (NMCs) with dominantly chain-like anionic units in the parental melt to form less polymerized, NMC-bearing units and highly polymerized, Si-rich units. The globules nucleated metastably under supercooled conditions, and medium-size globules become either larger or smaller at lower temperatures. Internal nucleation of NMC-rich phases occurred in some larger globules upon cooling.     

Synthesis, properties and stability of end member boromuscovite, KAl2[BSi3O10](OH)2

End member boromuscovite, with nearly the ideal composition, was synthesized as a single phase from mixtures of its own composition, or with excess boron and water, at high pressures of between 15 and 30 kbar at 700 °C. The mica synthesized consists of a mixture of 2M₁ and 1M polytypes with the cell dimensions of 2M₁: a=5.071(4), b=8.786(4), c=19.830(89) Å, #=95.84(12)°, V=878.5(1.4) ų; and 1M: a=5.059(5), b=8.819(6), c=10.025(17) Å, #=101.39(57)°, V=438.4(1.3) Å. The IR spectrum shows characteristic differences relative to that of muscovite. DTA registers an endothermic peak due to dehydration breakdown above 680 °C. Seeded experiments indicate that boromuscovite is a high-pressure phase requiring minimum pressures of 3 to 10 kbar at temperatures that concomitantly increase from 300 to 750 °C. At lower pressures, the anhydrous solid assemblage K-feldspar + Al-borate (probably Al₄B₂O₉) coexists with a vapor rich in boric acid. The conversion of this assemblage to boromuscovite is connected with increases in the coordination number of B from [3] to [4], and of Al from [4] to [6]. Above 10 kbar, the boromuscovite stability field is limited along its high-temperature side by congruent (or incongruent?) melting of the mica, starting near 750 °C and 10 kbar and increasing to about 900 °C at 50 kbar, although, at such very high pressures a supercritical fluid may be present. Because, even in the presence of excess-boron fluid, the synthetic mica shows invariable X-ray properties, it is concluded that one B atom per formula unit represents the maximum, and - contrary to olenitic tourmalines - no further substitution of Si by B linked with addition of hydrogen takes place. In contrast to muscovite, KAl₂[AlSi₃O₁₀](OH)₂, end member boromuscovite is not stable under normal P-T conditions of the Continental Crust along a 30 °C/km geotherm, and especially not during the intrusion of acidic igneous rocks including their pegmatites, which may explain its scarcity in nature. However, it may form in the waning hydrothermal stages of deep-seated (>10.5 km) pegmatites and - providing sufficient boron is available - in HP/LT subduction zone environments, where it may carry boron to considerable depths.     

Synorogenic melting of mafic lower crust: constraints from geochronology, petrology and Sr, Nd, Pb and O isotope geochemistry of quartz diorites (Damara orogen, Namibia)

Quartz diorites represent the earliest (ca. 540 Ma) and most primitive plutonic rocks in the Pan African Damara belt and they pre-date the main phase of high-T regional metamorphism. Two suites of synorogenic quartz diorites are unusual among Damaran intrusive rocks in their elemental and isotopic features. Comparison of the diorite compositions with melts from amphibolite-dehydration melting experiments points to a garnet-bearing meta-tholeiite, probably enriched in K₂O, as a likely source rock. Partial melting processes generated mafic (ca. 50 wt% SiO₂) quartz diorites in the deep crust at temperatures of between 1,000 and 1,100 °C, based on comparison with experimental results and similar temperature estimates based on P₂O₅ solubility in mafic rocks. Subsequently, the quartz diorites evolved by multistage, polybaric differentiation processes including fractional crystallization of mainly hornblende and plagioclase and assimilation of felsic basement gneisses. Although their chemical characteristics (high LILE, low HFSE) resemble those of other quartz diorites with calc-alkaline affinities, they differ in their enriched Sr (initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr: 0.70943-0.71285), Nd (initial ) Nd: -9.1 to -15.2 ) and O ('¹⁸O: 6.8-8.1‰) isotope compositions. Neodymium model ages (T_DM) that range from 1.7 to 2.2 Ga and large variation in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb relative to ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb indicates involvement of ancient crustal material. Lead (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 17.08-17.23, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 15.53-15.62, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb: 37.71-38.16) isotope compositions are strongly retarded, indicating that the source underwent a pre-Pan-African U/Pb fractionation and U depletion. It is proposed that the quartz diorites originated by synorogenic high temperature melting of mafic lower crust. This contrasts with previous suggestions favouring an origin of these rocks by melting of an enriched mantle during Pan-African times with characteristics modified by subduction of oceanic crust and sedimentary rocks.     

Performance of a real‐time pseudodynamic test system considering nonlinear structural response

This paper presents the implementation details of a real‐time pseudodynamic test system that adopts an implicit time integration scheme. The basic configuration of the system is presented. Physical tests were conducted to evaluate the performance of the system and validate a theoretical system model that incorporates the dynamics and nonlinearity of a test structure and servo‐hydraulic actuators, control algorithm, actuator delay compensation methods, and the flexibility of an actuator reaction system. The robustness and accuracy of the computational scheme under displacement control errors and severe structural softening are examined with numerical simulations using the model. Different delay compensation schemes have been implemented and compared. One of the schemes also compensates for the deformation of an actuator reaction system. It has been shown that the test method is able to attain a good performance in terms of numerical stability and accuracy. However, it has been shown that test results obtained with this method can underestimate the inelastic displacement drift when severe strain softening develops in a test structure. This can be attributed to the fact that the numerical damping effect introduced by convergence errors becomes more significant as a structure softens. In a real‐time test, a significant portion of the convergence errors is caused by the time delay in actuator response. Hence, a softening structure demands higher precision in displacement control. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ISEE: Internet‐based Simulation for Earthquake Engineering—Part I: Database approach

An Internet‐based framework, named Internet‐based Simulation for Earthquake Engineering (ISEE) was developed to facilitate collaborative earthquake engineering experiments performed by multiple laboratories in a network environment. One of the approaches in the ISEE framework, named Database Approach, offers an easy way to perform multi‐site networked collaborative pseudo‐dynamic experiments. The Database Approach uses the Structured Query Language (SQL), a common and standardized computer language used in database management systems, for inter‐laboratory communications. Using the SQL protocol, it is easy to monitor the experiments' progress, access the data, as well as develop additional programs to expand the functions for a networked experiment. This approach offers consistency and durability of selected experimental data both during and after experiments. Two networked pseudo‐dynamic experiments were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and expansibility of the Database Approach in ISEE. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

3D magnetotelluric modelling including surface topography

An edge finite‐element method has been applied to compute magnetotelluric (MT) responses to three‐dimensional (3D) earth topography. The finite‐element algorithm uses a single edge shape function at each edge of hexahedral elements, guaranteeing the continuity of the tangential electric field while conserving the continuity of magnetic flux at boundaries. We solve the resulting system of equations using the biconjugate gradient method with a Jacobian preconditioner. The solution gives electric fields parallel to the slope of a surface relief that is often encountered in MT surveys. The algorithm is successfully verified by comparison with other numerical solutions for a 3D‐2 model for comparison of modelling methods for EM induction and a ridge model. We use a 3D trapezoidal‐hill model to investigate 3D topographic effects, which are caused mainly by galvanic effects, not only in the Zxy mode but also in the Zyx mode. If a 3D topography were approximated by a two‐dimensional topography therefore errors occurring in the transverse electric mode would be more serious than those in the transverse magnetic mode.     

An intercomparison of four wet deposition schemes used in dust transport modeling

The characteristics of four wet deposition schemes widely used in dust modeling studies are examined within the framework of a regional scale dust model. Since these schemes are based on different formulations, the scavenging coefficients of them deviate by a factor of 10³ depending on precipitation rate and particle size. The four schemes coupled with the dust model are applied to simulate a 2002 Asian dust event. The corresponding wet deposition patterns and scavenging efficiencies are compared. It is found that apart from the scheme derived from scavenging coefficient measurements, the other three schemes give similar wet deposition patterns although their scavenging efficiencies are different depending on the particle-size range. The results suggest that the performances of these schemes are affected by the particle size distribution of the dust emission, together with the model's performance of precipitation prediction.     

Geochronology and petrogenesis of Pan-African, syn-tectonic, S-type and post-tectonic A-type granite (Namibia): products of melting of crustal sources, fractional crystallization and wall rock entrainment

The Oetmoed Granite–Migmatite Complex (OGMC), Central Damara Orogen, Namibia, consists mainly of 526 to 516 Ma garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite and subordinate 488 to 494 Ma hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite in the form of planar sheets and dykes. Additionally, a slightly elongated granite body occurs in the center of the complex. The garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite has major- and trace-element characteristics of S-type granite but the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite has higher HFSE and REE contents similar to A-type granite. Whereas the garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite contains numerous restitic xenoliths, the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite is xenolith-free. The country rocks are cordierite–sillimanite–K-feldspar–garnet-bearing metasedimentary rocks and migmatite. Cordierite- and garnet-rich xenoliths in the S-type granite do not represent primary restite, their depleted chemical composition is best explained by varying and large degrees of partial melting of incorporated country rocks. Most chemical variations among the garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite can be explained by processes linked with fractional crystallization of plagioclase, biotite and accessory phases, mostly monazite and zircon. Major and trace element data and high δ ¹⁸O values suggest that the least evolved members of the garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite were derived from metapelitic rocks at ca. 800°C as inferred from monazite and apatite dissolution thermometry. Higher CaO and Na₂O but lower SiO₂ contents and lower Rb/Sr ratios as well as lower δ ¹⁸O values of the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite suggest that they are more likely generated by partial melting of non-pelitic sources (metagranitoids?) at temperatures in excess of 900°C. Decreasing TiO₂, Na₂O, FeO_tot., MgO, CaO, total REE content but increasing Al₂O₃ and K₂O indicate fractionation of mainly hornblende and titanite in the case of the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite. The differing compositions of the garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite and the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite are attributed to different source rocks (metapelite instead of metagranitoid) and different temperatures during melting as inferred from accessory phase dissolution thermometry. Furthermore, significant entrainment of country rock in some samples played a major role during petrogenesis of the garnet- and cordierite-bearing granite but was not important during the evolution of the hornblende- and titanite-bearing granite. Intrusion of such hot, felsic magmas close to the inferred peak of metamorphism has probably caused, in part, the high temperature metamorphism and anatexis of the country rocks at relatively low pressures.