IMPLICATIONS FROM CHEMICAL,STRUCTURAL AND MINERALOGICAL STUDIES OF MAGNETIC MICROSPHERULES FROM AROUND THE LOWER YOUNGER DRYAS BOUNDARY (NEW MEXICO,USA)

Hollow magnetic microspherules from along the lower Younger Dryas boundary (c. 12.9 ka bp ) in New Mexico (USA) were studied using scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis, X‐ray diffraction, and laser‐ablation inductively coupled‐plasma mass spectrometry methods. The shell of the microspherules (10–15% of the spherule's diameter) displays dendritic surface textures, which are likely due to quenching during rapid cooling of molten material. Structurally, multiple single‐magnetite crystals attached together form the bulk of the microspherules. Iron dominates the microspherules’ composition (～90% FeO_tot), Mn is the second most abundant element (up to 0.4% MnO), Al is detected in low concentrations (<0.30% of Al₂O₃). Among the trace elements, the rare earth elements display slightly fractionated patterns with concentrations of 0.1–1.0× CI chondrite. The microspherules contain elevated concentrations of Ni relative to detrital magnetite (up to 435 ppm) and very low concentrations of Ti (down to 5 ppm). Chemical, structural and mineralogical features of the microspherules do not contradict the existing models of the formation during ablation while a meteoroid goes through the Earth's atmosphere. Elevated concentrations of the magnetic microspherules in sediments can be a stratigraphic marker for the lower Younger Dryas boundary in North America.     

Hornblende- and Phlogopite-Bearing Gabbroic Xenoliths from Volcan San Pedro (36{degrees}S), Chilean Andes: Evidence for Melt and Fluid Migration and Reactions in Subduction-Related Plutons

Two groups of gabbroic xenoliths (I and II) containing largeproportions of late-crystallized hornblende (up to 50 vol. %)and Na-rich phlogopite (up to 15 vol. %), were brought to thesurface by a late Holocene eruption of Volcán San Pedro,the youngest edifice of the Tatara–San Pedro VolcanicComplex (36°S, Chilean Andes). Group I are inferred to befragments of partially solidified Holocene plutons because theycontain residual interstitial glass, whereas exsolution anddeformation textures in Group II indicate that they are fragmentsof pre-Quaternary plutonic basement. On the basis of texturalrelations plus the mineral and whole-rock compositions of bothgroups of xenoliths, we suggest that hornblende and phlogopitewith high mg-numbers and Cr contents have formed by reactionsbetween refractory cumulus minerals (olivine, Cr-spinel, pyroxenesor plagioclase) and evolved melts ± aqueous fluids thatmigrated through partly solidified crystalline frameworks. Thus,the hydrous minerals are not early-crystallized phases in thebasaltic magmas from which the cumulus minerals precipitated.The high proportions of hornblende in many subduction-relatedgabbroic plutons and xenolith suites compared with its paucityin basaltic or basaltic andesitic lavas may be partially explainedby multistage plutonic crystallization histories involving reactionand migration of evolved melt ± aqueous fluids that eithercould have originated within the cumulus pile of the mafic intrusionor were derived externally, from broadly contemporaneous felsicmagmas. KEY WORDS: Tatara–San Pedro; gabbroic xenolith; hornblende; phlogopite; melt migration     

The Campos Sales meteorite from Brazil: A lightly shocked L5 chondrite fall

Abstract— The Campos Sales meteorite fell close to the town of Campos Sales in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará (7°2′ S, 40°10′ W) on 1991 January 31 at 10:00 P.M. (local time). Several fragments were recovered from an area estimated to be 1 × 3 km. The stone is an ordinary L5 chondrite (Fa_25.0 and FS_21.6) and is lightly shocked (S1). Metal phases present are kamacite, tetrataenite, and antitaenite. Noble gases He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe have been analyzed in two bulk samples of Campos Sales. All exposure ages based on determination of cosmogenic ³He, ²¹Ne, ³⁸Ar, ⁸³Kr, and ¹²⁶Xe abundances and on the cosmogenic ⁸¹Kr/⁸³Kr ratio agree well, which suggests no gas loss during cosmic-ray exposure. The cosmic-ray exposure age is 23.3 ± 1.0 Ma, which falls in the range observed for L5 chondrites (20–30 Ma). The gas-retention ages indicate He loss that must have occurred prior to or during ejection from the L-chondrite parent body.     

Evolution of Holocene Dacite and Compositionally Zoned Magma, Volcan San Pedro, Southern Volcanic Zone, Chile

Volcán San Pedro in the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone(SVZ) Chile, comprises Holocene basaltic to dacitic lavas withtrace element and strontium isotope ratios more variable thanthose of most Pleistocene lavas of the underlying Tatara–SanPedro complex. Older Holocene activity built a composite coneof basaltic andesitic and silicic andesitic lavas with traceelement ratios distinct from those of younger lavas. Collapseof the ancestral volcano triggered the Younger Holocene eruptivephase including a sequence of lava flows zoned from high-K calc-alkalinehornblende–biotite dacite to two-pyroxene andesite. Notably,hornblende–phlogopite gabbroic xenoliths in the daciticlava have relatively low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios identical to theirhost, whereas abundant quenched basaltic inclusions are moreradiogenic than any silicic lava. The latest volcanism rebuiltthe modern 3621 m high summit cone from basaltic andesite thatis also more radiogenic than the dacitic lavas. We propose thefollowing model for the zoned magma: (1) generation of hornblende–biotitedacite by dehydration partial melting of phlogopite-bearingrock similar to the gabbroic xenoliths; (2) forceful intrusionof basaltic magma into the dacite, producing quenched basalticinclusions and dispersion of olivine and plagioclase xenocryststhroughout the dacite; (3) cooling and crystallization–differentiationof the basalt to basaltic andesite; (4) mixing of the basalticandesite with dacite to form a small volume of two-pyroxenehybrid andesite. The modern volcano comprises basaltic andesitethat developed independently from the zoned magma reservoir.Evolution of dacitic and andesitic magma during the Holoceneand over the past 350 kyr reflects the intrusion of multiplemafic magmas that on occasion partially melted or assimilatedhydrous gabbro within the shallow crust. The chemical and isotopiczoning of Holocene magma at Volcán San Pedro is paralleledby that of historically erupted magma at neighboring VolcánQuizapu. Consequently, the role of young, unradiogenic hydrousgabbro in generating dacite and contaminating basalt may beunderappreciated in the SVZ. KEY WORDS: Andes; dacite; gabbro; Holocene; strontium isotopes     

Evidence for Pleistocene wet aeolian dune and interdune accumulation,S. Pedro da Maceda,north‐west Portugal

Outcrops and cored/counter‐flushed boreholes in the coastal area between Espinho and Aveiro (north‐west Portugal) were investigated to reconstruct the changing patterns of sedimentation during the Late Pleistocene–Holocene. To obtain a common comparison basis, the grain‐size data from outcrop and borehole samples were analysed. The outcrops and the cored parts of the boreholes were dated by radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence. The results show that, on top of pebble‐rich beds of fluvial origin, a wet aeolian dune and interdune environment was active during the later part of the Pleistocene, turning to dry aeolian at the transition to the Holocene. The data indicate also that aeolian accumulation was controlled by vegetation changes (climate) and groundwater table fluctuations. During the Holocene, a podzol formed on the Pleistocene dunes and extensive vegetation precluded major aeolian accumulations. Remobilization of sand started again because of human deforestation and – last but not least – the Little Ice Age.     

三维虚拟动画模拟食鱼古魔翼龙Kellner & Tomida, 2000 (翼龙目, 翼手龙亚目)的站姿生物力学

Pterosaurs, usually known as flying reptiles, were the first vertebrate group to develop active flight. Despite being studied for more than 200 years, there are still many controversial questions regarding pterosaur functional morphology, such as the stance and gait when grounded, which rely primarily on direct examination of well-preserved articulated specimens, ichnofossils (trackways) and phylogenetic inferences.     

Properties of dust aerosol particles transported to Portugal from the Sahara desert

Aerosol properties of mineral particles in the far field of an African desert dust outbreak were investigated that brought Saharan dust over the Mediterranean in different layers to Portugal. The measurements were performed inside the project Desert Aerosols over Portugal (DARPO) which was linked to the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM). The maximum particle mass concentration was about 150 μg m⁻³ and the corresponding scattering coefficient was 130 M m⁻¹ which results in a mass scattering efficiency of 0.87 m² g⁻¹. The aerosol optical depth reached values up to 0.53 and the lidar ratio was between 45 and 50 in the whole dust loaded column. A comparison between particle size distributions and refractive indices derived from different instruments and models showed a general good agreement but some minor differences could also be observed. Measurements as well as calculations with a particle transport model suggest that there is a relatively higher concentration of very large particles in the upper region of the dust layer than on the surface which is likely connected with meteorological conditions at the observational site (Évora, Portugal).     

THE INSENSITIVITY OF REFLECTED SH WAVES TO ANISOTROPY IN AN UNDERLYING LAYERED MEDIUM1

Propagation in the plane of mirror symmetry of a monoclinic medium, with displacement normal to the plane, is the most general circumstance in anisotropic media for which pure shear-wave propagation can occur at all angles. Because the pure shear mode is uncoupled from the other two modes, its slowness surface in the plane is an ellipse. When the mirror symmetry plane is vertical the pure shear waves in this plane are SH waves and the elliptical SH sheet of the slowness surface is, in general, tilted with respect to the vertical axis. Consider a half-space of such a monoclinic medium, called medium M, overlain by a half-space of isotropic medium I with plane SH waves incident on medium M propagating in the vertical symmetry plane of M. Contrary to the appearance of a lack of symmetry about the vertical axis due to the tilt of the SH-wave slowness ellipse, the reflection and transmission coefficients are symmetrical functions of the angle of incidence, and further, there exists an isotropic medium E with uniquely determined density and shear speed which gives exactly the same reflection and transmission coefficients underlying medium J as does monoclinic medium M. This means that the underlying monoclinic medium M can be replaced by isotropic medium E without changing the reflection and transmission coefficients for all values of the angle of incidence. Thus no set of SH seismic experiments performed in the isotropic medium in the symmetry plane of the underlying half-space can reveal anything about the monoclinic anisotropy of that underlying half-space. Moreover, even when the underlying monoclinic half-space is stratified, there exists a stratified isotropic half-space that gives the identical reflection coefficient as the stratified monoclinic half-space for all angles of incidence and all frequencies.