Bacteria,fungi and biokarst in Lechuguilla Cave,Carlsbad Caverns National Park,New Mexico

Lechuguilla Cave is a deep, extensive, gypsumand sulfur-bearing hypogenic cave in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, most of which (>90%) lies more than 300 m beneath the entrance. Located in the arid Guadalupe Mountains, Lechuguilla's remarkable state of preservation is partially due to the locally continuous Yates Formation siltstone that has effectively diverted most vadose water away from the cave. Allocthonous organic input to the cave is therefore very limited, but bacterial and fungal colonization is relatively extensive: (1)Aspergillus sp. fungi and unidentified bacteria are associated with iron-, manganese-, and sulfur-rich encrustations on calcitic folia near the suspected water table 466 m below the entrance; (2) 92 species of fungi in 19 genera have been identified throughout the cave in oligotrophic (nutrient-poor) soils and pools; (3) cave-air condensate contains unidentified microbes; (4) indigenous chemoheterotrophicSeliberius andCaulobacter bacteria are known from remote pool sites; and (5) at least four genera of heterotrophic bacteria with population densities near 5×10⁵ colony-forming units (CFU) per gram are present in ceiling-bound deposits of supposedly abiogenic condensation-corrosion residues. Various lines of evidence suggest that autotrophic bacteria are present in the ceiling-bound residues and could act as primary producers in a unique subterranean microbial food chain. The suspected autotrophic bacteria are probably chemolithoautotrophic (CLA), utilizing trace iron, manganese, or sulfur in the limestone and dolomitic bedrock to mechanically (and possibly biochemically) erode the substrate to produce residual floor deposits. Because other major sources of organic matter have not been detected, we suggest that these CLA bacteria are providing requisite organic matter to the known heterotrophic bacteria and fungi in the residues. The cavewide bacterial and fungal distribution, the large volumes of corrosion residues, and the presence of ancient bacterial filaments in unusual calcite speleothems (biothems) attest to the apparent longevity of microbial occupation in this cave.     

Late-stage calcites in the Permian Capitan Formation and its equivalents, Delaware Basin margin, west Texas and New Mexico: evidence for replacement of precursor evaporites

Comparison of Upper Guadalupian fore-reef, reef and back-reef strata from outcrops in the Guadalupe Mountains with equivalent subsurface cores from the northern and eastern margins of the Delaware Basin indicates that extensive evaporite diagenesis has occurred in both areas. In both surface and subsurface sections, the original sediments were extensively dolomitized and most primary and secondary porosity was filled with anhydrite. These evaporites were emplaced by reflux of evaporitic fluids from shelf settings through solution-enlarged fractures and karstic sink holes into the underlying strata. Outcrop areas today, however, contain no preserved evaporites in reef and fore-reef sections and only partial remnants of evaporites are retained in back-reef settings. In their place, these rocks contain minor silica, very large volumes of coarse sparry calcite and some secondary porosity. The replacement minerals locally form pseudomorphs of their evaporite precursors and, less commonly, contain solid anhydrite inclusions. Some silicification, dissolution of anhydrite and conversion of anhydrite to gypsum have occurred in these strata where they are still buried at depths in excess of 1 km; however, no calcite replacements were noted from any subsurface core samples. Subsurface alteration has also led to the widespread, late-stage development of large- and small-scale dissolution breccias. The restriction of calcite cements to very near-surface sections, petrographic evidence that the calcites post-date hydrocarbon emplacement, and the highly variable but generally ‘light’carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of the spars all indicate that calcite precipitation is a very late diagenetic (telogenetic) phenomenon. Evaporite dissolution and calcitization reactions have only taken place where Permian strata were flushed with meteoric fluids as a consequence of Tertiary uplift, tilting and breaching of regional hydrological seals. A typical sequence of alteration involves initial corrosion of anhydrite, one or more stages of hydration/dehydration during conversion to gypsum, dissolution of gypsum and precipitation of sparry calcite. Such evaporite dissolution and replacement processes are probably continuing today in near-outcrop as well as deeper settings. This study emphasizes the potential importance of telogenetic processes in evaporite diagenesis and in the precipitation of carbonate cements. The extensive mineralogical and petrophysical transformations which these strata have undergone during their uplift indicates that considerable caution must be exercised in using surface exposures to interpret subsurface reservoir parameters in evaporitic carbonate rocks.     

Dolomitization of the Capitan Formation forereef facies (Permian, west Texas and New Mexico): seepage reflux revisited

Abstract Interpretation of seepage reflux dolomitization is commonly restricted to intervals containing evaporites even though several workers have modelled reflux of mesosaline brines. This study looked at the partially dolomitized forereef facies of the Capitan Formation to test the extent of reflux dolomitization and evaluate the possible role of the near‐backreef mesosaline carbonate lagoon as an alternative source of dolomitizing fluids. The Capitan Formation forereef facies ranges from 10% to 90% dolomite. Most of the dolomite is fabric preserving and formed during early burial after marine cementation, before and/or during evaporite cementation and before stylolitization. Within the forereef facies, dolomite follows depositional units, with debris‐flow and grain‐flow deposits the most dolomitized and turbidity‐current deposits the least. The amount of dolomite increases with stratigraphic age and decreases downslope. Within the reef facies, dolomite is restricted to haloes around fractures and primary cavities except where the reef facies lacks marine cements and, in contrast, is completely dolomitized. This dolomite distribution supports dolomitization by sinking fluids. Oxygen isotopic values for fabric‐preserving dolomite (δ¹⁸O = 0·9 ± 1·0‰, N = 101) support dolomitization by sea water to isotopically enriched sea water. These values are closer to the near‐backreef dolomite (δ¹⁸O = 2·1 ± 0·7‰, N = 48) than the hypersaline backreef dolomite (δ¹⁸O = 3·6 ± 0·9‰, N = 11). Therefore, the fabric‐preserving dolomite is consistent with dolomitization during seepage reflux of mainly mesosaline brines derived from the near‐backreef carbonate lagoon. The occurrence of mesosaline brine reflux in the Capitan Formation has important implications for dolomitization in forereef facies and elsewhere. First, any area with a restricted carbonate lagoon may be dolomitized by refluxing brines even if there are no evaporite facies present. Secondly, such brines may travel significant distances vertically provided permeable pathways (such as fractures) are present. Therefore, the absence of immediately overlying evaporite or restricted facies is not sufficient cause to eliminate reflux dolomitization from consideration.     

Geochemical variations within a laminated evaporite deposit: evidence for brine composition during formation of the Permian Castile Formation, Texas and New Mexico, USA

The Upper Permian Castile Formation of the Delaware Basin in northwest Texas and New Mexico consists of up to 600 m of evaporites and is subdivided into units of anhydrite overlain by halite. The Castile Formation has commonly been interpreted as a deep-water, deep-basin deposit in which sediments were laid down in several hundred metres of water or brine. Recent textural observations within anhydrite units, in which the thick-bedded anhydrite horizons have been interpreted as being of shallow-water origin, have challenged this assumption. This geochemical study of the oldest anhydrite unit in the Castile Formation (the Anhydrite 1 Member) attempts to resolve some of the problems regarding brine depth and evolution in the basin. The Anhydrite 1 Member has been subdivided into five major cycles on the basis of the distribution of stratigraphic units of thick-bedded anhydrite.

Stable isotopic analyses of sulphur from anhydrite, and oxygen and carbon from calcite show that the basin waters were chemically homogeneous during precipitation of anhydrite, and do not indicate any significant input of meteoric, continental-derived waters. Throughout the section studied progressive enrichment of ¹⁸O upwards within cored intervals indicates continuous evaporation of the water body. Carbon isotopes appear to indicate fluctuations in organic activity within the cycles. Trace elemental analyses of Fe, Mg, Sr, Mn, Al, Ba, Zn, Pb and Cu from the sulphate fraction of the samples show a very high variability. There is a distinct increase in trace elemental abundances at the tops of cycles which may indicate variations in precipitation kinetics. Analyses of texturally defined cycles show that up-core trends for many of the trace elements correlate with changes in δ¹⁸O, indicating a progressive increase in the influence of evaporation. In addition, cyclical variations in trace elemental composition indicate changes in basin conditions with around a 350-year cyclicity. These changes are independent of δ¹⁸O values. The geochemical data do not provide conclusive proof of water depth during deposition of the Castile Formation. The data are interpreted as reflecting small-scale changes in conditions of deposition, despite the fact that water input remained essentially constant in terms of chemical composition.     

Palaeosols and sequence stratigraphy of the Lower Permian Abo Member,south‐central New Mexico,USA

The relationship between palaeosols and sequence stratigraphy is tested in the Lower Permian Abo Member, south‐central New Mexico, by comparing interfluve and fluvial‐terrace palaeosols with palaeosols that developed within lowstand‐fluvial deposits. Interfluve and fluvial‐terrace palaeosols consist of primary pedogenic features, including vertical root traces, vertic structures, Stage II and III pedogenic calcite and translocated clay (argillans), which are cross‐cut or replaced by low‐aluminium goethite, gley colour mottling, sparry calcite veins and ankerite. The polygenetic character of the palaeosols is consistent with initial development for several thousand to tens of thousands of years on well‐drained interfluves or fluvial terraces, followed by waterlogging due to invasion by a rising water table that locally may have been brackish. In contrast, lowstand‐fluvial sediment that filled incised valleys contains only rooted and vertic palaeosols, whose immaturity resulted from high aggradation rates. Palaeosols similar to those in the Abo Member have been recognized in other ancient strata and, when combined with high‐resolution correlation, provide evidence for interpretation of sequence‐stratigraphic surfaces and systems tracts.     

An explanation for the varves of the Castile evaporites (Upper Permian), Texas and New Mexico, USA

Abstract Extraordinary sequences of conspicuous, pervasive and laterally persistent varves characterize the Castile evaporites. They occur as singlets (calcite laminae), couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with anhydrite laminae), thick couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with thin anhydrite beds) and triplets (calcite and anhydrite laminae interstratified with thin halite beds). The varves accumulated in a deep (initially ≈ 550 m), persistently stratified, saline lake surrounded by an extinct reef. The lake had formed when the reef grew across a channel between an embayment and the ocean. Although located virtually on the palaeo-equator, the lake experienced negligible meteoric influx and extreme seasonality. During the season of high relative humidity, more marine groundwater entered the lake through the permeable reef barrier than exited as reflux and, secondarily, as evaporation. Consequently, the lake level rose by up to several metres to sea level. The ‘refreshening’ decreased salinity and replenished dissolved CO₂– the critical nutrient limiting growth of indigenous phytoplankton. Algae proliferated, pH increased and CaCO₃ precipitated. It mixed with organic matter to form a thin, dark lamina. During the season of low relative humidity, tens of cubic kilometres of water evaporated from and, secondarily, leaked out through the surrounding reef. More water exited than entered, brine level fell below sea level, and salinity of the upper brine layer increased. Gypsum usually precipitated and rained onto the basin floor forming a couplet; infrequently, halite also precipitated forming a triplet. Every few thousand years, for <50 to several hundred years, the lake became unstratified during the dry season, and wind-induced overturn allowed a layer of gypsum crystals up to ≈ 2 cm high to precipitate on the basin floor. Each layer, now thin beds of anhydrite nodules and anhydrite pseudomorphs after gypsum, and an underlying lamina of CaCO₃ and admixed organic matter formed a thick couplet. The different varve types recur with a period of 1800–3000 years reflecting climatic changes on a millennial time scale.     

贵州紫云晚二叠世-早三叠世初火山作用与生物礁的沉积演化

晚二叠世长兴期是华南地区重要的成礁期,也是火山事件频发的一个时期。生物礁是一种对海洋环境十分敏感的生态系,晚二叠世的火山作用势必影响到当时生物礁的生长和沉积相的演化。然而,前人有关晚二叠世火山事件的研究主要集中在二叠系与三叠系界线附近,而对整个长兴期生物礁的演化与火山事件关系的研究则较少。选择贵州紫云的台地边缘礁为研究对象,通过大量磁化率的测试,分析整个晚二叠世生物礁的沉积演化与火山作用的关系。分析结果显示,长兴早期和末期岩石的磁化率值明显偏高,反映较强的火山活动。在这两个时期,造架生物相对不发育。长兴中期,岩石的磁化率值相较于长兴早期和长兴晚期总体偏低,表明火山活动相对较弱,导致生物礁的快速生长。但长兴中期生物礁灰岩中夹有几层生物碎屑灰岩,其磁化率值有小幅度的升高,说明短时期小规模的火山作用虽然导致了生物礁生长的暂时中断,但礁相动荡的环境使得火山灰中细小的铁磁性物质难以沉积下来。研究发现,尽管早三叠世早期泥岩具有高的磁化率值,但泥质岩中多层火山黏土具有异常高的磁化率值,火山灰物质对磁化率大小的影响远远超过陆源物质的贡献。     

High-grade calcareous metasediments from the Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex,Idaho, USA: evidence for passive margin strata and polymetamorphism within the Idaho batholith

ABSTRACT

The Sawtooth Metamorphic Complex (SMC) of central Idaho contains exposures of metasupracrustal rocks, in a crucial location between the Archaean Wyoming craton to the east and the adjacent Mesozoic terranes to the west, that provide constraints on Precambrian crustal evolution in the northwestern United States. Mineral textures, whole-rock geochemistry, and thermobarometry of calc-silicate gneisses record multiple stages of crustal evolution, including protolith deposition, burial and multiple metamorphic and deformational overprints. Whole-rock signatures are consistent with derivation from post-Archaean, continental sources that have undergone sedimentary maturation and recycling typical of clastic sedimentation in passive-margin environments and with a metamorphosed sequence of calcareous sandstones and marls, containing varying proportions of clay and quartzo-feldspathic detritus. The sandstone-to-marl continuum may reflect a shallow-to-deep water transition in the depositional environment of the calc-silicate protoliths. Two metamorphic events and three deformational events are preserved. The assemblage clinopyroxene + quartz + plagioclase + K-feldspar + rutile represents peak metamorphic conditions (M1), estimated at 750–775°C with relatively oxidized metamorphic fluids, during development of D1a foliation. Deformation twinning in clinopyroxene records a widespread, high strain D1b event at high temperature. A second static thermal event (M2), associated with randomly oriented amphiboles overprinting M1 and D1b features, records conditions of ~550–725°C and H₂O-rich fluids. Late-stage, brittle–ductile D2 deformation is characterized by mylonitic lenses of quartz, fractures within M1 clinopyroxenes that crosscut D1b deformation twins, and localized fracturing of M2 amphiboles. Geochemical and mineral chemical signatures of SMC calc-silicates preserve fingerprints of the original protolith through burial to mid-crustal conditions and high-grade metamorphism and suggest crustal thickening to about 20 km. The SMC may reflect rocks at depth beneath the Idaho batholith. These data, indicative of newly recognized post-Archaean terrain with passive-margin, continental sediments suggest that a continuous Cordilleran passive margin sequence may have extended along the western edge of Laurentia.     

生物礁内部地震反射特征的地质解读及以体系域为单元的层序地层学认识——以珠江口盆地生物礁为例

通过分析珠江口盆地东沙隆起生物礁生长方式对海平面变化的响应,归纳出不同时期礁体生长的几种可能的几何形态和相应的地震响应特征,并对生物礁内部地震反射特征进行地质解读,建立了成礁模式,获得以体系域为单元的生物礁层序地层认识,为层序划分和层位对比解释提供了较可靠的参考.     

Aeolian dune interactions and dune‐field pattern formation: White Sands Dune Field,New Mexico

Pattern formation is a fundamental aspect of self‐organization in fields of bedforms. Time‐series aerial photographs and airborne light detection and ranging show that fully developed, crescentic aeolian dunes at White Sands, New Mexico, interact and the dune pattern organizes in systematically similar ways as wind ripples and subaqueous dunes and ripples. Documented interactions include: (i) merging; (ii) lateral linking; (iii) defect repulsion; (iv) bedform repulsion; (v) off‐centre collision; (vi) defect creation; and (vii) dune splitting. Merging and lateral linking are constructive interactions that give rise to a more organized pattern. Defect creation and bedform splitting are regenerative interactions that push the system to a more disorganized state. Defect/bedform repulsion and off‐centre collision cause significant pattern change, but appear to be neutral in overall pattern development. Measurements of pattern parameters (number of dunes, crest length, defect density, crest spacing and dune height), dune migration rates, and the type and frequency of dune interactions within a 3500 m box transect from the upwind margin to the core of the dune field show that most pattern organization occurs within the upwind field. Upwind dominance by constructive interactions yields to neutral and regenerative interactions in the field centre. This spatial change reflects upwind line source and sediment availability boundary conditions arising from antecedent palaeo‐lake topography. Pattern evolution is most strongly coupled to the pattern parameters of dune spacing and defect density, such that spatially or temporally the frequency of bedform interactions decreases as the dunes become further apart and have fewer defects.     

Antecedent aeolian dune topographic control on carbonate and evaporite facies: Middle Jurassic Todilto Member,Wanakah Formation,Ghost Ranch,New Mexico,USA

The Middle Jurassic Todilto Member of the Wanakah Formation is a carbonate and gypsum unit inset into the underlying aeolian Entrada Sandstone in the San Juan Basin. Field and thin section study of the uppermost Entrada and Todilto at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, identified Todilto facies and their relationship to remnant Entrada dune topography. Results support the previous interpretation that the Entrada dunes, housed in a basin below sea level, were rapidly flooded by marine waters. Mass wasting of the dunes gave rise to sediment‐gravity flows that largely buried remnant dune topography, leaving ca 12 m of relief that defined the antecedent condition for Todilto deposition. Previously interpreted as seasonal varves deposited in a stratified water body, the Todilto is reinterpreted as a microbial biolaminite. Most diagnostic are organic‐rich laminae with structures characteristic of filamentous microbes and containing trapped aeolian silt, and clotted‐texture laminae with a fabric associated with calcification of extracellular polymeric substances. The spatial arrangement of Todilto facies is controlled by the dune palaeotopography. A continuous basal laminated mudstone thickens over the dune crest, reflecting the optimum conditions for microbial mat development, and is interpreted to have been deposited when marine waters submerged the topography. Subsequent drying caused emergence of the crestal area, and formation of tepee structures and a dissolution breccia. Gypsiferous mudflats and periodic ponds occupied the dune flanks and interdune area, with gypsum concentrated within the interdune area. Entrada sands remained unstable during Todilto deposition with common injection structures into the Todilto, and a remnant slope caused the downslope movement and folding of Todilto strata on the upper lee face. Although some expansion of the gypsum occurred in the subsurface, facies architecture fostered development of a dissolution front adjacent to the interdune gypsum body with section collapse of gypsiferous limestone on the dune flanks.     

Monazite-Xenotime Thermochronometry and Al2SiO5 Reaction Textures in the Picuris Range, Northern New Mexico, USA: New Evidence for a 1450-1400 Ma Orogenic Event

Al₂SiO₅ reaction textures in aluminous schist and quartziteof the northern Picuris range, north-central New Mexico, recorda paragenetic sequence of kyanite to sillimanite to andalusite,consistent with a clockwise P–T loop, with minor decompressionnear the Al₂SiO₅ triple-point. Peak metamorphic temperaturesare estimated at 510–525°C, at 4·0–4·2kbar. Kyanite and fibrolite are strongly deformed; some prismaticsillimanite, and all andalusite are relatively undeformed. Monaziteoccurs as inclusions within kyanite, mats of sillimanite andcentimetre-scale porphyroblasts of andalusite, and is typicallyaligned subparallel to the dominant regional foliation (S₀/S₁or S₂) and extension lineation (L₁). Back-scatter electron imagesand X-ray maps of monazite reveal distinct core, intermediateand rim compositional domains. Monazite–xenotime thermometryfrom the intermediate and rim domains yields temperatures of405–470°C (±50°C) and 500–520°C(±50°C), respectively, consistent with the progradeto peak metamorphic growth of monazite. In situ, ion microprobeanalyses from five monazites yield an upper intercept age of1417 ± 9 Ma. Near-concordant to concordant analyses yield²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb ages from 1434 ± 12 Ma (core) to 1390± 20 Ma (rim). We find no evidence of older regionalmetamorphism related to the 1650 Ma Mazatzal Orogeny. KEY WORDS: Al₂SiO₅; metamorphism; monazite; thermochronometry; triple-point     

Magmatic anhydrite and calcite in the ore-forming quartz-monzodiorite magma at Santa Rita, New Mexico (USA): genetic constraints on porphyry-Cu mineralization

A quartz-monzodioritic dike associated with the porphyry-Cu mineralized stock at Santa Rita, NM, has been studied to constrain physico-chemical factors (P, T, f_O2, and volatile content) responsible for mineralization. The dike contains a low-variance mineral assemblage of amphibole, plagioclase (An_30–50), quartz, biotite, sphene, magnetite, and apatite, plus anhydrite and calcite preserved as primary inclusions within the major phenocryst phases. Petrographic relationships demonstrate that anhydrite originally was abundant in the form of phenocrysts (1–2 vol.%), but later was replaced by either quartz or calcite. Hornblende–plagioclase thermobarometry suggests that several magmas were involved in the formation of the quartz-monzodiorite, with one magma having ascended directly from ≥14 km depth. Rapid magma ascent is supported by the presence of intact calcite inclusions within quartz phenocrysts.

The assemblage quartz+sphene+magnetite+Mg-rich amphibole in the quartz-monzodiorite constrains magmatic oxygen fugacity at logf_O2>NNO+1, in agreement with the presence of magmatic anhydrite and a lack of magmatic sulfides. The same reasoning generally applies for rocks hosting porphyry-Cu deposits, seemingly speaking against a major role of magmatic sulfides in the formation of such mineralizations. There is increasing evidence, however, that magmatic sulfides play an important role in earlier stages of porphyry-Cu evolution, the record of which is often obliterated by later processes.     

Depositional facies and the sequence stratigraphic control of a mixed-process influenced clastic wedge in the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: The Gallup System,New Mexico,USA

Depositional facies have been hypothesized to be linked to sequence stratigraphic positions. Also, shoreline systems are built by mixed processes, including rivers, storms, fair-weather waves and tides. Resolving the complexity of shoreline deposition requires detailed quantitative facies analysis with particular attention to heterolithic successions. In this study, 71 sections in a 130 km long outcrop belt of the Cretaceous Gallup Formation in the north-west of the San Juan Basin were measured. Five major facies associations were identified using sedimentological and iconological interpretations, including offshore shelf, non-deltaic shoreline sandstones, deltas, coastal bayline and fluvial. Each facies association also comprises subordinate facies. Depositional facies interpretations are placed in a high-resolution sequence stratigraphic framework that allows for reconstructions of the palaeogeography of individual parasequence sets that demonstrate temporal and spatial evolution of facies associations and depositional processes. The results show that the Gallup is a mixed-process-controlled depositional system with fair-weather and storm-wave dominance, river influence and tide-effect, contrasting with previous interpretations of a solely fair-weather wave-dominated environment. Depositional processes and the resultant facies change with sequence stratigraphic positions in response to relative sea-level changes – particular facies are only deposited in certain systems tracts. Distinction and transition between non-deltaic shorefaces and wave-dominated deltas have also been documented in this study. Non-deltaic shorefaces are characterized by homogeneous sandstones with a wide-range bioturbation index and the absence of mudstones. Wave-dominated deltas are subject to river influence and contain prodelta facies. This study shows the importance of detailed facies analysis with high-resolution sequence stratigraphic control using outcrops for documenting sedimentary processes of shallow marine shoreline systems.     

Sequence stratigraphy of the Mancos Shale,lower Tres Hermanos Formation,and coeval middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata,southern New Mexico,USA

Sequence stratigraphic analysis of four widely spaced outcrops of middle Cenomanian to middle Turonian strata deposited in the Western Interior foreland basin in southern New Mexico, USA, defines ten sequence boundaries in a marine shale‐rich interval ca 200 m thick. The majority of sequence boundaries are based on basinward shifts in lithofacies characterized by either a non‐Waltherian contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying lower offshore shale, or an erosional contact between distal‐bar or lower shoreface sandstone and underlying upper offshore shale. The sequence boundaries commonly correlate basinward to packages of storm‐deposited sandstone and to beds of sandy grainstone composed of winnowed inoceramid shell fragments. In several cases, however, the sequence boundaries pass basinward into presumably conformable successions of lower offshore shale. Maximum flooding surfaces within the sequences are represented by one or more beds of locally phosphatized globiginerid wackestone and packstone or exist within a conformable succession of lower offshore shale. Following initial south/south‐westward transgression into the study area, the regional trend of palaeoeshorelines was north‐west to south‐east, although isopach data indicate that lobes of sandstone periodically spread south‐eastward across the study area. The ten sequences in the study area are arranged into a third‐order composite megasequence that is characterized by overall upward‐deepening followed by upward‐shallowing of sequences. The composite megasequence is similar but not identical to the previously established T‐1 transgression and R‐1 regression in New Mexico. Based on radioisotopic dates of bentonites, the average frequency of the sequences within the study area was ca 327 kyr, which is consistent with fourth‐order cycles of ca 400 kyr interpreted in coeval marine strata elsewhere in the world.     

Development of a Continental Volcanic Field: Petrogenesis of Pre-caldera Intermediate and Silicic Rocks and Origin of the Bandelier Magmas, Jemez Mountains (New Mexico, USA)

The Miocene–Quaternary Jemez Mountains volcanic field(JMVF) is the site of the Valles caldera and associated BandelierTuff. Caldera formation was preceded by > 10 Myr of volcanismdominated by intermediate composition rocks (57–70% SiO₂)that contain components derived from the lithospheric mantleand Precambrian crust. Simple mixing between crust-dominatedsilicic melts and mantle-dominated mafic magmas, fractionalcrystallization, and assimilation accompanied by fractionalcrystallization are the principal mechanisms involved in theproduction of these intermediate lavas. A variety of isotopicallydistinct crustal sources were involved in magmatism between13 and 6 Ma, but only one type (or two very similar types) ofcrust between 6 and 2 Ma. This long history constitutes a recordof accommodation of mantle-derived magma in the crust by meltingof country rock. The post-2 Ma Bandelier Tuff and associatedrhyolites were, in contrast, generated by melting of hybridizedcrust in the form of buried, warm intrusive rocks associatedwith pre-6 Ma activity. Major shifts in the location, styleand geochemical character of magmatism in the JMVF occur withina few million years after volcanic maxima and may correspondto pooling of magma at a new location in the crust followingsolidification of earlier magma chambers that acted as trapsfor basaltic replenishment. KEY WORDS: crustal anatexis; fractional crystallization; Jemez Mountain Volcanic Field; Valles Caldera; radiogenic isotopes; trace elements     

Ring complexes in the Peninsular Ranges Batholith, Mexico and the USA: magma plumbing systems in the middle and upper crust

Subvolcanic ring complexes are unusual in that they preserve a rapidly frozen record of intrusive events. This sequential history is generally lost or complicated in plutons owing to mixing and mingling in a dynamic state. Thus, subvolcanic ring complexes are more like erupted rocks in their preservation of instantaneous events, but the self-contained nature of the complexes allows detailed structural and chemical work to be conducted in environments where the relative timing between individual magmatic events is commonly well preserved.

We suggest that development of subvolcanic ring complexes in the western Peninsular Ranges Batholith (PRB) involved the following three-stage generalized sequence: (1) fracturing of the roof above a buoyant or overpressured magma chamber, which resulted in moderately inward-dipping conical fractures that locally hosted cone sheets; (2) subsequent loss of magma from the chamber, combined with degassing of the melt, which facilitated collapse of the roof along near-vertical ring faults that locally hosted ring dikes; and (3) resurgence of the chamber, and/or intrusion of a broadly cogenetic nested pluton, which locally destroyed evidence for the earlier history of the system. This sequence has been repeated twice in one of the ring complexes that we have identified, which resulted in nested intrusive centers.

Calderas, subvolcanic ring complexes and plutons may represent progressively deeper sections through linked magma plumbing systems, and the systematic occurrences of these features in the western PRB are consistent with progressively deeper along-strike exposures of the batholith from south to north over a distance greater than 250 km.

In addition to subvolcanic complexes in the western PRB, deeper crustal levels exposed in the transition zone between eastern and western parts of the batholith preserve ring complexes emplaced at depths of up to 18 km. Occurrence of these deeper-level complexes suggests either that caldera subsidence can extend to mid-crustal levels or that other processes can produce ring complexes.     

Rapid natural acid weathering, physical erosion, and debris-flow hazards in scar areas developed on hydrothermally-altered rocks along the Red River Valley near Questa, New Mexico, USA

Prominent erosional scars on hillslopes along the Red River Valley have steep, denuded slopes and associated down-gradient debris fans. The scars developed naturally on stockwork-veined, quartz-sericite-pyrite （QSP）-altered volcanic rocks proximal to porphyry-Mo deposits, including those mined at the Molycorp＇s Questa mine. Downcutting of the Red River, following development of the Rio Grande rift to the west, initiated scar formation. Mineralized rocks in the scars were decomposed chemically （by pyrite oxidation and acid weathering） and physically （by freeze-thaw action and volume expansion from secondary gypsum formation） to produce a weathered veneer of sand- to pebble-size fragments of unweathered rock in a matrix of secondary gypsum, clays, and jarosite. Unoxidized QSP-altered bedrock crops out in steep scar gully bottoms, indicating that the weathered veneer is at most 3-30 m thick. Acidic （pH 2.6 to 4.4）, metal-rich waters develop in the weathered veneer and near-surface bedrock of the scars. Carbonates in the unweathered, QSP-altered bedrock are sufficient to neutralize acid in deeper ground waters, which have near-neutral pH （5.7 to 7.6） and lower metal contents. The scars grow along steep headwalls by slope failure of the weathered veneer.     

Evaporites and siliciclastics of the Permian Nippewalla Group of Kansas, USA: a case for non-marine deposition in saline lakes and saline pans

The mid‐Permian Nippewalla Group of Kansas consists of bedded evaporites, red‐bed siliciclastics and grey siliciclastics deposited in a non‐marine environment. Lithologies and sedimentary features indicate lacustrine and aeolian deposition, subaerial exposure and palaeosol formation. Grey siliciclastic mudstones characterized by planar and convolute laminations, ostracods, peloids and plant material represent a freshwater‐brackish perennial lake facies. Bedded anhydrites containing gypsum‐crystal pseudomorphs, clastic anhydrite grains and grey mud drapes and partings suggest deposition in saline lakes. Bedded halites consist of chevron and cumulate crystals, dissolution surfaces and pipes and mudcracked microcrystalline salt crusts, which were deposited in saline pans dominated by flooding, evaporative concentration and desiccation. Chaotic halite, composed of red‐bed mudstone and siltstone with displacive halite crystals, formed in saline mudflats. Red‐bed mudstone and siltstone with little or no displacive halite, but with abundant cracking, root and plant features, suggest deposition in a dry mudflat. Red‐bed sandstone, composed of well‐sorted, well‐rounded quartz grains cemented with halite, indicate aeolian and rare shallow‐water deposition. Most deposition took place in halite‐dominated ephemeral saline lakes surrounded by saline and dry mudflats, sandflats and sand dunes. Evaporation, desiccation, flooding and wind played significant roles in this environment. The Nippewalla Group siliciclastics and evaporites represent an evolution from a perennial lacustrine system to a non‐marine, acidic saline pan system in the mid‐continent of North America. The problem of distinguishing between ancient marine and non‐marine evaporites, as well as recognizing those evaporites deposited in acid settings, with detailed field, core and petrographical study of both evaporite deposits and associated sedimentary rocks has successfully been addressed. In addition, interpretations of mid‐Permian palaeoclimate data in the form of short‐term air temperature proxies within longer‐term wet–dry trends have been made. These data provide a new palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic model for the mid‐Permian of western Pangaea.     

Enterolithic folds in evaporites as microbially induced sedimentary structures: New model of formation and interpretation in the geological record

Enterolithic structures are stratigraphically localized folds in gypsum beds found in certain saline evaporitic sedimentary units in a wide variety of basins. Different models of formation have been proposed, all related to inorganic processes. These models include: diagenetic transformation of gypsum beds producing either displacive growth of crystals or volume changes; mechanical folding caused by compressional stress; and folding produced by slumping. The analysis of three Cenozoic evaporite sequences in Spain reveals that none of the previous models explains their origin and existence. In these outcrops, gypsum enterolithic structures occur in horizontal beds with parallel troughs and crests of the folds. They appear in shoreline facies of lacustrine environments and did not undergo major diagenetic transformations after the primary lithification of the original sediment. Based on these observations, together with the study of a modern analogue in Minorca, Spain, a new model is proposed for the genesis of enterolithic structures. This new model is based on the existence of a microbial mat exposed to brine concentration–dilution cycles and strong wind events. The high wind flow events enhanced folding of the microbial mat that became subaerially exposed and lithified due to subsequent evaporation. Therefore, the presence of enterolithic structures could be used as an indicator of shallow water environmental conditions subject to variations in brine concentration in areas with strong wind flow events. Previous studies of some evaporitic successions should be revisited, taking into account the proposed model, which would imply new depositional environment interpretations. At the same time, the proposed model could explain the existence of Kinneyia‐type structures, also known as wrinkle structures, formed beneath microbial mats in peritidal zones. Moreover, considering enterolithic structures as microbially induced sedimentary structures could be useful as evidence of microbial life in the ancient geological record and on other planets such as Mars.