Oxygen Isotope Evidence for Chemical Interaction of Ki lauea Historical Magmas with Basement Rocks

Klauea historical summit lavas have a wide range in matrix ¹⁸O_VSMOWvalues (4·9–5·6) with lower values in rockserupted following a major summit collapse or eruptive hiatus.In contrast, ¹⁸O values for olivines in most of these lavasare nearly constant (5·1 ± 0·1). The disequilibriumbetween matrix and olivine ¹⁸O values in many samples indicatesthat the lower matrix values were acquired by the magma afterolivine growth, probably just before or during eruption. BothMauna Loa and Klauea basement rocks are the likely sources ofthe contamination, based on O, Pb and Sr isotope data. However,the extent of crustal contamination of Klauea historical magmasis probably minor (< 12%, depending on the assumed contaminant)and it is superimposed on a longer-term, cyclic geochemicalvariation that reflects source heterogeneity. Klauea's heterogeneoussource, which is well represented by the historical summit lavas,probably has magma ¹⁸O values within the normal mid-ocean ridgebasalt mantle range (5·4–5·8) based on thenew olivine ¹⁸O values. KEY WORDS: Hawaii; Klauea; basalt; oxygen isotopes; crustal contamination     

Water isotopic and hydrochemical evolution of a lake chain in the northern Great Plains and its paleoclimatic implications

Oxygen isotopes and geochemistry from lake sediments are commonly used as proxies of past hydrologic and climatic conditions, but the importance of present-day hydrologic processes in controlling these proxies are sometimes not well established and understood. Here we use present-day hydrochemical data from 13 lakes in a hydrologically connected lake chain in the northern Great Plains (NGP) to investigate isotopic and solute evolution along a hydrologic gradient. The ¹⁸O and ²H of water from the chain of lakes, when plotted in ²H - ¹⁸O space, form a line with a slope of 5.9, indicating that these waters fall on an evaporation trend. However, 10 of the 13 lakes are isotopically similar (¹⁸O = –6 ± 1 VSMOW) and show no correlation with salinity (which ranges from 1 to 65). The lack of correlation implies that the isotopic composition of various source waters rather than in-lake evaporation is the main control of the ¹⁸O of the lakes. Groundwater, an important input in the water budget of this chain of lakes, has a lower ¹⁸O value (–16.7 in 1998) than that of mean annual precipitation (–11) owing to selective recharge from snow melt. For the lakes in this chain with salinity < 15, the water Mg/Ca ratios are strongly correlated with salinity, whereas Sr/Ca is not. The poor correlation between Sr/Ca and salinity results from uptake of Sr by endogenic aragonite. These new results indicate that ¹⁸O records may not be interpreted simply in term of climate in the NGP, and that local hydrology needs to be adequately investigated before a meaningful interpretation of sedimentary records can be reached.     

Sensitive response of desert vegetation to moisture change based on a near-annual resolution pollen record from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China

We present a 50-year pollen record at near-annual resolution from Gahai Lake in the Qaidam Basin on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Chronology of a 22-cm short core was established by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs analysis. The pollen results at 0.5 cm intervals show large changes in Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratios from < 0.2 to 0.95 in the last 50 years. High (low) A/C ratios represent increase (decrease) in steppe pollen production, which correspond to high (low) relative humidity observed at nearby Delingha weather station. On the basis of good correspondence with instrumental records and carbonate content from Gahai Lake, we conclude that A/C ratio is sensitive to moisture change and can be a very useful index in reconstructing paleoclimate of arid regions. Comparison with pollen and snow accumulation data from Dunde ice core suggests that effective moisture at low and high elevations shows the opposite relationship when mountain precipitation was extremely high, possibly due to topography-induced uplifting and subsiding air dynamics.     

Seismic behaviour of pile groups by hybrid experiments

Non-linear seismic soil-pile interaction was studied with a hybrid procedure that used a pseudo-dynamic testing (PDT) method modified to account for frequency dependence and developed for foundation-soil systems. The numerical scheme used in the conventional PDT was improved by the introduction of a time-dependent pseudo-forcing function derived from the frequency-dependent dynamic characteristics of the system by Hilbert transformation in the frequency domain. Single, 2-, 3- and 9-pile group foundation models were used, their mechanical characteristics later being determined from static and forced vibration dynamic tests. Amplitude scaling was used for three recorded accelerograms. Data recorded during an earthquake at the site of the experiments revealed that the proposed methodology predicts well seismic nonlinear interaction and accounts for frequency dependence and non-linearity in the time domain.     

Hybrid experiments on non-linear earthquake-induced soil-structure interaction

Non-linear seismic soil-structure interaction is studied through a hybrid procedure using the pseudo-dynamic testing (PDT) method which is modified to take into account frequency dependence and developed for foundation-soil systems. The numerical scheme used in conventional PDT is improved by introduction of a time-dependent pseudo-forcing function which is derived from frequency-dependent dynamic characteristics of the system by means of Hilbert transformation in the frequency domain. Surface, shallow and caisson foundation models that differed in size and depth of embedment were used. The mechanical characteristics of the systems were determined from static and forced vibration dynamic tests. An amplitude scaling technique was used for three recorded accelerograms.     

Interhemispheric anti-phasing of rainfall during the last glacial period

We have obtained a high-resolution oxygen isotopic record of cave calcite from Caverna Botuverá (27°13′S, 49°09′W), southern Brazil, which covers most of the last 36 thousand years (ka), with an average resolution of a few to several decades. The chronology was determined with 46 U/Th ages from two stalagmites. Tests for equilibrium conditions show that oxygen isotopic variations are primarily caused by climate change. We interpret our record in terms of meteoric precipitation changes, hence the variability of South American Monsoon (SAM) intensity. The oxygen isotopic profile broadly follows local insolation changes and shows clear millennial-scale variations during the last glacial period with amplitudes as large as 3‰ but with smaller centennial-scale shifts (<1‰) during the Holocene. The overall record is strikingly similar to, but strongly anti-correlated with, a number of records from the Northern Hemisphere.We compared our record to other precisely dated contemporaneous records from Hulu Cave eastern China. Minima in δ¹⁸O (wet periods, intense SAM) at our site are synchronous with maxima in δ¹⁸O (dry periods, weak East Asian Monsoon, EAM) in eastern China (within precise dating errors) and vice versa. This anti-phased precipitation relationship between two low-latitude locations may be interhemispheric in extent, based on comparison with records from other sites. Precipitation anti-phasing may be related to north–south shifts in the mean position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and asymmetry in Hadley circulation in two hemispheres, associated not with seasonal changes as observed today, but with millennial-scale climate shifts. The millennial-scale atmospheric see-saw patterns that we observe could have important controls and feedbacks on climate within hemispheres because of water vapor's greenhouse properties.     

Insights into operation of the subduction factory from the oxygen isotopic values of the southern Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc

Abstract Oxygen is the most abundant element in the earth, and isotopic analysis of this element in island arc lavas potentially provides sensitive constraints on the proportion of oxygen recycled from subducted material, relative to that extracted from the mantle. Here we report on 225 new oxygen isotopic analyses of whole‐rock and glass samples, and clinopyroxene separates, from lavas collected from the southernmost 1500 km of the Izu–Bonin–Mariana (IBM) convergent margin. Whole‐rock samples clustered around a mean of 6.11 ± 0.47‰, whereas Mariana Trough glasses and mafic melts, calculated to be in equilibrium with mafic phenocrysts, clustered narrowly around a mean of 5.7‰. These data demonstrate that unequivocal identification of magmatic oxygen requires analysis of fresh glass or mafic minerals, and that the source of southern IBM Arc melts is entirely, or almost entirely, in equilibrium with normal mantle oxygen. If the elemental enrichments characteristic of the subduction component originate in subducted materials, these oxygen isotopic data are most consistent with the interaction of a small amount of sediment melt (<4%; mostly less than 1%) with mantle peridotite to yield the hybrid mantle that melts to form IBM Arc magmas.     

Relationship of Mn-carbonates in varved lake-sediments to catchment vegetation in Big Watab Lake, MN, USA

Mn-carbonates are documented in the late-glacial varved sediments from Big Watab Lake, Minnesota, USA. The Mn-carbonate is authigenic and forms rims around contemporaneous epilimnetic calcite. Although such carbonates are found in minor amounts throughout the entire late-glacial sequence, significant quantities of Mn-carbonate are associated mainly with laminated intervals.Because of the suspected difference in isotopic fractionation between different carbonate minerals, the stable-isotopic compositions of bulk carbonate samples are used as a proxy for relative amounts of the Mn-carbonate in the sediment. High ¹⁸O and low ¹³C values are associated with abundant Mn-carbonates. Low ¹⁸O and high ¹³C values are associated with only minor concentrations of Mn-carbonates.The oxygen-18 record is correlated with fluctuations in the vegetation assemblage based on pollen spectra using a multiple regression model with backward elimination. The proposed link between the sedimentary archive and local vegetation is the mediation of advective mixing in the lake by forest composition. In this model, periods of forest closure resulted in a well-stratified water column that was anoxic at the sediment/water interface, permitting the formation of authigenic Mn-carbonates. Openings of Artemisia in the forest allowed wind shear to mix oxygen to depth, causing bioturbation of the laminations and preventing the formation of Mn-carbonate.     

Skin diseases in Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) from the Paranaguá estuary,Brazil: A possible indicator of a compromised marine environment

We report on the presence of lobomycosis-like disease (LLD) and nodular skin disease (NSD) in a community of Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) inhabiting the biologically and chemically contaminated Paranaguá estuary (Brazil) and on their absence in the community living in the cleaner Cananéia estuary. Prevalence rates of LLD and NSD were 3.9% and 12.6%, respectively, in 103 photo-identified (PI) dolphins from the Paranaguá estuary in the period 2006–2007. Adults and calves were affected. Lobomycosis-like lesions may be extensive and form large plaques. Skin nodules were sometimes ulcerated and associated with cutaneous traumas suggesting that traumatic injuries may play a role in the pathogenesis of this condition. In two adult dolphins, NSD evoked the beginning of LLD. In 1996–2007 none of the 200 PI Cananéia S. guianensis had LLD or NSD, a highly significant difference. Interestingly, these dolphins were reported to harbour relatively low concentrations of organochlorines. LLD and NSD are possibly indicators of environmental changes.