A new calcium-aluminate from a refractory inclusion in the Leoville carbonaceous chondrite

The first meteoritic occurrence of CaAl₄O₇ is described from a Ca-Al-rich inclusion (CAI) in the Leoville carbonaceous chondrite. This CAI consists mainly of gehlenitic melilite, spinel, perovskite, and hibonite. CaAl₄O₇ is a minor component and occurs within melilite preferentially in portions rich in perovskite.The CAI is enveloped by a succession of three rims (from inside out): (a) hibonite+melilite+spinel+perovskite, (b) diopside, and (c) olivine.On the basis of mineral associations found and from the presence of moderately volatile elements (Fe and Cr) we conclude that the CaAl₄O₇-bearing CAI from Leoville is of residual nature. CaAl₄O₇ is apparently stable in the very Mg- and Si-poor environment of this CAI and is probably of igneous origin.The rims are interpreted as products of partial evaporation (rim (a)) and associated re-condensation (rims (b) and (c)).     

The geochemical behavior of refractory noble metals and lithophile trace elements in refractory inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites

Recent models of Ca, Al-rich inclusion (CAI) petrogenesis suggest that refractory inclusions may be residues of interstellar dust aggregates that were incompletely evaporated and partially melted in the solar nebula. These models, and the recent availability of new thermodynamic data, have led us to re-examine the traditional interpretation that lithophile refractory trace elements (LRTE) condensed as oxides in solid solution in refractory major condensates, while refractory noble metals (RNM) condensed as micron-sized nuggets of Pt-metal alloys. Calculations of LRTE-RNM alloy stability fields under nebular oxygen fugacities and partitioning experiments lead us to conclude that: (1) Ti, Zr, Nb, Hf, U, and Ta form stable alloys with RNM under nebular conditions; (2) the observation that metallic Zr, Nb, and Ta occur in some Pt-metal nuggets and grains is explained by the stability of these LRTE-RNM alloys under normal nebular oxygen fugacities; (3) metallic Ti, Hf, and U may also occur in some nuggets; (4) the lanthanides, the other actinides (Th, Pu), and Y do not form stable alloys, and thus probably do not occur alloyed with RNM; and (5) the partitioning of U (but not Th, Pu, or the REE) into RNM is a novel actinide and REE/actinide fractionation mechanism that is based on metal/silicate fractionation (rather than on the relative volatility of their oxides).We propose that micron-sized Pt-metal nuggets formed from smaller grains of RNM alloys and compounds during the evaporation and melting of primitive dust aggregates. This process would have been enhanced by: (1) the possibility that the RNM were present as compounds (especially with As and S) as well as metallic alloys in interstellar dust and in some primitive meteoritical material, since they often exhibit non-siderophile behavior; and (2) the fluxing of volatiles through CAI's during distillation. Microscopic nuggets are common in melilite chondrules, indicating that residence in a slowly-cooled silicate melt may have favored their formation. Cation diffusivity and variations in localf_O2 can explain why metallic LRTE-bearing nuggets are not common in CAI's (despite the relative stability of LRTE-RNM alloys). We propose that the lithophile component of Fremdlinge is enriched in super-refractory elements, and that Group II CAI's formed from Fremdlinge-poor dust. We interpret the Group II REE fractionation as a pre-solar event, and predict that Nd/Sm dating will yield an age greater than the canonical age of the solar system. If metal/silicate fractionation in a cold solar nebula can explain Group II REE patterns, the possibility that Group II CAI's are also distillation residues cannot be excluded.     

Stored mafic/ultramafic crust and early Archean mantle depletion

Both early and late Archean rocks from greenstone belts and felsic gneiss complexes exhibit positive ε_Nd values of +1 to +5 by 3.5 Ga, demonstrating that a depleted mantle reservoir existed very early. The amount of preserved pre-3.0 Ga continental crust cannot explain such high ε values in the depleted residue unless the volume of residual mantle was very small: a layer less than 70 km thick by 3.0 Ga. Repeated and exclusive sampling of such a thin layer, especially in forming the felsic gneiss complexes, is implausible. Extraction of enough continental crust to deplete the early mantle and its destructive recycling before 3.0 Ga ago requires another implausibility, that the sites of crustal generation and of recycling were substantially distinct. In contrast, formation of mafic or ultramafic crust analogous to present-day oceanic crust was continuous from very early times. Recycled subducted oceanic lithosphere is a likely contributor to present-day hotspot magmas, and forms a reservoir at least comparable in volume to continental crust. Subduction of an early mafic/ultramafic “oceanic” crust and temporary storage rather than immediate mixing back into undifferentiated mantle may be responsible for the depletion and high ε_Nd values of the Archean upper mantle. Using oceanic crustal production proportional to heat productivity, we show that temporary storage in the mantle of that crust, whether basaltic as formed by 5–20% partial melting, or partly komatiitic and formed by higher extents of melting is sufficient to balance an early depleted mantle of significant volume with ε_Nd at least +3.0.     

A once-molten,coarse-grained,Ca-rich inclusion in Allende

A compact, spheroidal Type B inclusion in Allende contains melilite laths that project radially inward from the inclusion edge which show interference growth textures. The combined textural and chemical features of this object cannot be explained by independent vapor-solid condensation of grains in space, followed by random aggregation of these grains into an inclusion. Rather, it probably formed from a once-molten droplet that crystallized in response to radiative cooling from its outer surface. The crystallization sequence in this and another similar inclusion in which oxygen isotopes have been measured is: melilite-spinel-anorthite-fassaite. This sequence supports the idea that oxygen isotopic heterogeneities in coarse-grained inclusions were formed after complete solidification of these objects by partial exchange with a less¹⁶O-rich gas, and not during or before a melting event.     

Models for the origin and composition of the earth,and the hypothesis of potassium in the Earth's core

Progress in understanding the condensation of planetary constituents from a solar nebula necessitates a re-examination of models for the origin and composition of the Earth. All models which appear to be viable require the Earth to have an Fe–FeS core and the full, or nearly full, solar (i.e. chondritic) K/Si ratio. The crust and upper mantle do not contain the requisite potassium for the entire Earth to have the solar K/Si ratio. Therefore, these models require that much of the Earth's potassium, about 80–90%, must be in the deep interior—in the lower mantle or in the core.The hypothesis that a substantial fraction of the Earth's potassium is in the Fe–FeS core is based on the chalcophilic behavior of potassium. Data including the stability of K₂S, the occurrence of potassium in sulfide phases in meteorites and in metallurgical systems, and most importantly, experiments on potassium partitioning between solid silicates and Fe–FeS melts support this hypothesis. The present data appear to require at least several percent of the Earth's total potassium to be in the core. Incorporation of much larger amounts of potassium into the core, possibly most of the 80–90% of the Earth's potassium which is postulated to be in the deep interior, is not contradicted by the present data. Additional experimental data, at high pressures, are required before quantitative estimates of the core's potassium content can be made.It is likely that⁴⁰K is a significant heat source in the core. Decay of⁴⁰K is a plausible energy source to drive core convection to maintain the geomagnetic field, and to drive mantle convection and seafloor spreading.     

Electrical conductivities of pyrolitic mantle and MORB materials up to the lowermost mantle conditions

The electrical conductivities of natural pyrolitic mantle and MORB materials were measured at high pressure and temperature covering the entire lower mantle conditions up to 133 GPa and 2650 K. In contrast to the previous laboratory-based models, our data demonstrate that the conductivity of pyrolite does not increase monotonically but varies dramatically with depth in the lower mantle; it drops due to high-spin to low-spin transition of iron in both perovskite and ferropericlase in the mid-lower mantle and increases sharply across the perovskite to post-perovskite phase transition at the D″ layer. We also found that the MORB exhibits much higher conductivity than pyrolite. The depth–conductivity profile measured for pyrolite does not match the geomagnetic field data below about 1500-km depth, possibly suggesting the existence of large quantities of subducted MORB crust in the deep lower mantle. The observations of geomagnetic jerks suggest that the electrical conductivity may be laterally heterogeneous in the lowermost mantle with high anomaly underneath Africa and the Pacific, the same regions as large low shear-wave velocity provinces. Such conductivity and shear-wave speed anomalies are also possibly caused by the deep subduction and accumulation of dense MORB crust above the core–mantle boundary.     

Intraplate seismicity in the western Bohemian Massif (central Europe): A possible correlation with a paleoplate junction

Locations of the Eger Rift, Cheb Basin, Quaternary volcanoes, crustal earthquake swarms and exhalation centers of CO₂ and ³He of mantle origin correlate with the tectonic fabric of the mantle lithosphere modelled from seismic anisotropy. We suggest that positions of the seismic and volcanic phenomena, as well as of the Cenozoic sedimentary basins, correlate with a “triple junction” of three mantle lithospheres distinguished by different orientations of their tectonic fabric consistent within each unit. The three mantle domains most probably belong to the originally separated microcontinents – the Saxothuringian, Teplá-Barrandian and Moldanubian – assembled during the Variscan orogeny. Cenozoic extension reactivated the junction and locally thinned the crust and mantle lithosphere. The rigid part of the crust, characterized by the presence of earthquake foci, decoupled near the junction from the mantle probably during the Variscan. The boundaries (transitions) of three mantle domains provided open pathways for Quaternary volcanism and the ascent of ³He- and CO₂-rich fluids released from the asthenosphere. The deepest earthquakes, interpreted as an upper limit of the brittle–ductile transition in the crust, are shallower above the junction of the mantle blocks (at about 12 km) than above the more stable Saxothuringian mantle lithosphere (at about 20 km), probably due to a higher heat flow and presence of fluids.     

Implications of correlated Nd and Sr isotopic variations for the chemical evolution of the crust and mantle

Published data showing a linear correlation between initial Nd and Sr isotope compositions in young basalts indicate the existence of a spectrum of isotopically distinct reservoirs in the mantle which represent either (1) mixtures of two homogeneous endmember reservoirs, one of which may be undifferentiated material or (2) fractionated reservoirs all derived from a homogeneous initial reservoir with the same ratio of enrichment factors for Sm/Nd and Rb/Sr. The slope of the correlation, which can be described approximately by (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) = ?3.74114 (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd) + 2.61935orε_Nd = ?2.7 ε_Sr, places constraints on the origin of these reservoirs and hence on the chemical evolution of the crust-mantle system. The reservoirs could be residual regions of the mantle left after ancient partial melting events. If so, the requirement of constant relative fractionation of Sm/Nd and Rb/Sr in refractory residues is a strong constraint on partial melting models. Calculations suggest that batch melting models are more compatible with this constraint than are fractional melting models, but models incorporating currently accepted distribution coefficients and residual phase assemblages cannot reproduce the observed isotope effects except under highly specific conditions. The slope of the correlation is not consistent with the hypotheses that chemical structure in the mantle is due to accretional heterogeneity or variable loss of elements to the core. If the mantle reservoirs are complementary in composition to the continental crust, and if the crust + mantle has ε_Nd = 0andε_Sr = 0 and chondritic Sr/Nd, then Rb/Sr in the crust is calculated to be less than 0.10, suggesting that the crust may be more mafic in composition and contain a smaller proportion of the earth's Rb and heat-producing elements than previously estimated.     

Helium, volatile fluxes and the development of continental crust

Mantle-derived helium has a substantial primordial component and is readily distinguished from radiogenic “crustal” He by its isotopic composition. For some years it has been known to be escaping at mid-ocean ridges and more recently it has been shown to be escaping through the continental lithosphere in tectonically active areas, particularly those undergoing extension or volcanism. The C/³He value observed in ocean ridge basalts and continental gases that contain only mantle He, is close to 10⁹. This is believed to be a typical value for the upper mantle. Other continental gases have ratios that vary widely and are diluted with crustal carbon. The ratio C/⁴He decreases with time through the production of radiogenic⁴He, and depends on the C/(U + Th) value. Departures from the average may result from exceptional concentrations of U and Th or from C/He fractionation.There is circumstantial evidence for a steady-state flux of He through the continents that may be estimated from He accumulations in lakes and aquifers. The mantle component of such fluxes is calculated from their³He content. If the mantle component is accompanied by C in the proportion indicated above, and extensional areas make up as little as 10% of the crust at any one time, then about 10% of the present inventory of crustal C would have been added to the crust every Ga by this means. C/K values for the crust and mantle are today very similar, and K may therefore scale as C. K/U and K/Th vary within narrow limits and they may scale with C also.The most plausible means of scavenging He from the mantle is by partial melting: He is expected to enter the first few percent of liquid formed, and the loss of mantle He and C at the surface is associated with the emplacement of basaltic bodies in the lower crust carrying K, U and Th. Some limits are placed on the thickness of basalt added in extensional areas.Mantle-derived CO₂ has often been invoked as a means of dehydrating continental crust to produce granulites. However, the amounts of CO₂, estimated from mantle He fluxes, entering the crust in those active tectonic areas studied so far appears too small to produce dehydration on a regional scale. The addition of mantle-derived material to the crust in extensional zones is a first-order crustal growth process the importance of which has previously been underestimated.     

Studies of Brazilian meteorites: III. Origin and history of the Angra dos Reis achondrite

The Angra dos Reis meteorite fell in 1869 and is a unique achondrite. It is an ultramafic igneous rock, pyroxenite, with 93% fassaite pyroxene which has 15.7% Ca-Tschermak's molecule, plus calcic olivine (Fo_53.1; 1.3% CaO), green hercynitic spinel, whitlockite (merrillite), metallic Ni-Fe, troilite, as well as magnesian kirschsteinite (Ks_62.3Mo_37.7), within olivine grains, and celsian (Cs_90.2An_7.7Ab_1.7Or_0.4) which are phases reported in a meteorite for the first time, and plagioclase (An_86.0), baddeleyite, titanian magnetite (TiO₂, 21.9%), and terrestrial hydrous iron oxide which are phases reported for the first time in this meteorite. Petrofabric analysis shows that fassaite has a preferred orientation and lineation which is interpreted as being due to cumulus processes, possibly the effect of post-depositional magmatic current flow or laminar flow of a crystalline mush. The mineral chemistry indicates crystallization from a highly silica-undersaturated melt at low pressure. Since the meteorite formed as a cumulate, pyroxene crystals may have gravitationally settled from a melt which crystallized melilite first. Plagioclase would be unstable in such a highly undersaturated melt, and feldspathoids would be rare or absent due to the very low alkali contents of the melt. The presence of rare grains of plagioclase and celsian may be the result of late-stage crystallization of residual liquids in local segregations. Thus, the Eu anomaly in Angra dos Reis may be the result of pyroxene separation from a melt which crystallized melilite earlier, rather than plagioclase as previously suggested.     

Rapid formation of eclogite in a slightly wet mantle

A model, in which dissolved ions migrate through water films surrounding mineral grains to sites of reaction, predicts the geologically rapid occurrence of the gabbro-eclogite phase change in the earth's mantle at temperatures less than 600–800°C. In a water-undersaturated mantle, interstices within the rock can contain water vapor in equilibrium with small amounts of hydrous phases such as chlorite, tremolite or talc and in the presence of other gases such as CO₂, at H₂O pressures less than the lithostatic pressure of the rock. The solubility of ions in this interstitial water vapor is strongly dependent on pressure and is the rate-limiting process in the model; reaction occurs rapidly if the water pressure is at least 0.5–1 kbar. The 5 km of oceanic gabbroic crust can transform to eclogite upon subduction into the mantle at depths of several tens of kilometers, depending on the rate of heating of the descending crustal material and the nature of the minor hydrous phases present. The downward body force on the descending slab due to the eclogitization of oceanic crust is comparable to the downward forces associated with thermal contraction of the slab and the elevation of the olivine-spinel phase boundary.     

Viscosity and conductivity of the lower mantle; an experimental study on a MgSiO3 perovskite analogue,KZnF3

We have investigated the high-temperature rheological and electrical behaviour of single-crystal KZnF₃ fluoperovskite, an analogue of the MgSiO₃ perovskite in the lower mantle.The crystals flow by Newtonian dislocation creep (Harper-Dorn creep), predominantly on {100} planes. Below the melting point, solid-electrolyte behaviour appears, accompanied by a weakening of the mechanical properties. Geophysical implications are examined: the lower mantle can convect by Newtonian dislocation creep and an asthenosphere may exist at the bottom of the mantle. Electromagnetic interactions between the core and solid-electrolyte lower mantle may also be important.     

Inversion of seismic and gravity data for the composition and core sizes of the Moon

We model the internal structure of the Moon, initially homogeneous and later differentiated due to partial melting. The chemical composition and the internal structure of the Moon are retrieved by the Monte-Carlo inversion of the gravity (the mass and the moment of inertia), seismic (compressional and shear velocities), and petrological (balance equations) data. For the computation of phase equilibrium relations and physical properties, we have used a method of minimization of the Gibbs free energy combined with a Mie-Gr@uneisen equation of state within the CaO-FeO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ system. The lunar models with a different degree of constraints on the solution are considered. For all models, the geophysically and geochemically permissible ranges of seismic velocities and concentrations in three mantle zones and the sizes of Fe-10%S core are estimated. The lunar mantle is chemically stratified; different mantle zones, where orthopyroxene is the dominant phase, have different concentrations of FeO, Al₂O₃, and CaO. The silicate portion of the Moon (crust + mantle) may contain 3.5–5.5% Al₂O₃ and 10.5–12.5% FeO. The chemical boundary between the middle and the lower mantle lies at a depth of 620–750 km. The lunar models with and without a chemical boundary at a depth of 250–300 km are both possible. The main parameters of the crust, the mantle, and the core of the Moon are estimated. At the depths of the lower mantle, the P and S velocities range from 7.88 to 8.10 km/s and from 4.40 to 4.55 km/s, respectively. The radius of a Fe-10%S core is 340 ± 30 km.     

Phase transformations in a harzburgite composition to 26 GPa: implications for dynamical behaviour of the subducting slab

The mineralogy adopted by a depleted harzburgite composition has been studied over the pressure interval 5–26 GPa at temperatures of 1300–1400°C. The pyroxene-garnet component of the harzburgite composition (harzburgite minus 82 wt.% olivine) transforms to majorite garnet by 18–19 GPa, and further disproportionates to the assemblage of garnet + stishovite + Mg₂SiO₄ spinel above 20 GPa. At still higher pressures, first ilmenite (22–24 GPa) and then perovskite MgSiO₃ (24–26 GPa) are found to coexist with garnet. Garnet disappears at 26 GPa and almost complete transition to perovskite is achieved at this pressure. The mineral proportions and density profiles in the subducting oceanic lithosphere, modelled by a combination of 80% harzburgite + 20% primitive MORB compositions are calculated as a function of depth under conditions isothermal with surrounding pyrolite mantle, and also for a temperature distribution in which the slab is substantially cooler than surrounding mantle to below 700 km. Under isothermal conditions, the slab has a density similar to surrounding mantle to a depth of 600 km. However, between 600 and 700 km, the slab is up to 0.08 g/cm³ denser than surrounding mantle. This is caused primarily by the higher alumina content in pyrolite as compared to harzburgite, which causes the transition to perovskite in pyrolite to occur at substantially higher pressures than in harzburgite. The presence of alumina also smears out the garnet-perovskite transition in pyrolite over a depth interval of 50 km, whereas this transformation is much sharper in the harzburgite composition. Calculations based on the observed phase equilibria also show that a subducted cool slab remains much denser (by 0.1–0.3 g/cm³) than surrounding mantle to a depth of 700 km but possesses a density similar to surrounding mantle below this depth. These results have important implications for the dynamical behaviour of slabs possessing different thermal regimes when they encounter the 670 km discontinuity and also for the nature of this discontinuity.     

Creep of crystals: J.P. Poirier,Cambridge University Press, 1985, xii + 260 pp., £27.50, US$ 49.50, ISBN 0-521-26177-5

Fractional crystallization behaviour of a magma ocean extending to lower mantle depths was deduced from estimations of melting relations for the deep mantle and the density relationships between ultrabasic liquid and mantle minerals. The accretional growth of the Earth necessarily involves a molten zone (magma ocean) in the outer layer of the growing Earth. The fractionation by melting during accretion results in primary stratification composed of a molten ultrabasic upper mantle (magma ocean), a perovskite-rich lower mantle, and an iron core. A certain amount of Al₂O₃ and CaO was removed from the magma ocean and retained in the lower mantle due to eclogite fractionation in the early stage of accretion and the perovskite fractionation in the later stage of accretion. Models of the stratification of the upper mantle arising from fractional crystallization of the magma ocean and subsequent convective disturbance were deduced on the basis of estimations of melting relations for the deep mantle and the density relationships between the ultrabasic liquid and mantle minerals. The stratification of the mantle, which is consistent with geophysical constraints is as follows; the upper mantle is composed of two layers, the upper olivine-rich layer and the lower garnet-rich layer with a thickness around 200 km, and the lower mantle with a perovskite-rich composition. In this model, both the 400 and 650 km discontinuities are the chemical boundaries.     

Melting temperature distribution and fractionation in the lower mantle

The melting curve of perovskite MgSiO₃ and the liquidus and solidus curves of the lower mantle were estimated from thermodynamic data and the results of experiments on phase changes and melting in silicates.The initial slope of the melting curve of perovskite MgSiO₃ was obtained as $\text{d}\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>m</mtext>}}\text{/}\text{d}\text{P?77}\text{K}\text{GPa}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$ at 23 GPa. The melting curve of perovskite was expressed by the Kraut-Kennedy equation as $\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>m</mtext>}}\text{(}\text{K}\text{)=917(}\text{1+29.6ΔV}\text{V}{}_0\text{)}$, where T_m?2900 K and P?23 GPa; and by the Simon equation, $\text{P(}\text{GPa}\text{)?23=21.2[}\text{(T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>m</mtext>}}\text{(}\text{K}\text{)}\text{2900)}{}^{1.75}\text{?1}\text{]}$.The liquidus curve of the lower mantle was estimated as $\text{T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>liq</mtext>}}\text{? 0.9 T}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>m</mtext>}}$ (perovskite) and this gives the liquidus temperature T_liq=7000 ±500 K at the mantle-core boundary. The solidus curve of the lower mantle was also estimated by extrapolating the solidus curve of dry peridotite using the slope of the solidus curve of magnesiowüstite at high pressures. The solidus temperature is ～ 5000 K at the base of the lower mantle. If the temperature distribution of the mantle was 1.5 times higher than that given by the present geotherm in the early stage of the Earth's history, partial melting would have proceeded into the deep interior of the lower mantle.Estimation of the density of melts in the MgOFeOSiO₂ system for lower mantle conditions indicates that the initial melt formed by partial fusion of the lower mantle would be denser than the residual solid because of high concentration of iron into the melt. Thus, the melt generated in the lower mantle would tend to move downward toward the mantle-core boundary. This downward transportation of the melt in the lower mantle might have affected the chemistry of the lower mantle, such as in the D″ layer, and the distribution of the radioactive elements between mantle and core.     

Orthorhombic perovskite phases observed in olivine,pyroxene and garnet at high pressures and temperatures

Ferromagnesian silicate olivines, pyroxenes and garnets with Mg/(Mg + Fe)?0.3 (molar) have been found to transform to high-pressure phases characterized by the orthorhombic perovskite structure when compressed to pressures above 250 kbar in a diamond-anvil press and heated to temperatures above 1,000°C with a YAG laser. The zero-pressure density of the perovskite phase of (Mg,Fe)SiO₃ is about 3–4% greater than that of the close-packed oxides, rocksalt plus stishovite. For (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄ compounds, the perovskite plus rocksalt phase assemblage is 2–3% denser than the mixed oxides. The experimental synthesis of such high-density perovskite phases in olivine, pyroxene and garnet compounds suggests that (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite is the dominant mineral phase in the earth's lower mantle.     

The high-pressure phases of MgSiO3

The high-pressure and temperature phase transformations of MgSiO₃ have been investigated in a diamond-anvil cell coupled with laser heating from 150 to 300 kbar at 1000–1400°C. X-ray diffraction study of the quenched samples reveals that the sequence of phase transformations for this compound is clinoenstatite → β-Mg₂SiO₄ plus stishovite → Mg₂SiO₄(spinel) plus stishovite → ilmenite phase → perovskite phase with increasing pressure. The hexagonal form of MgSiO₃ observed by Kawai et al. is demonstrated to have the ilmenite structure and the “hexagonal form” of MgSiO₃ observed by Ming and Bassett is shown to be predominantly the orthorhombic perovskite phase plus the ilmenite phase. The mixture of oxides, periclase plus stishovite, reported by Ming and Bassett was not observed in this study. The very wide stability field for the ilmenite phase of MgSiO₃ found in this study suggests that this phase is of importance in connection with the observed rapid increase of velocity in the transition zone of the earth's mantle. On the basis of the extremely dense-packed structure of the perovskite phase of MgSiO₃, this phase should be the most important component for the lower mantle.     

Combined geothermal-geophysical models of the earth's crust and upper mantle for the European continent

An attempt is made to obtain a combined geophysical model along two regional profiles: Black Sea— White Sea and Russian Platform—French Central Massif. The process of the model construction had the following stages: 1. The relation between seismic velocity (V_p, km/s) and density (σ, g/cm³) in crustal rocks was determined from seismic profiles and observed gravity fields employing the trial and error method. 2. Relations between heat production HP (μW/m³), velocity and density were established from heat flow data and crustal models of old platforms where the mantle heat flow HF_M is supposed to be constant. The HF_M value was also determined to 11 ± 5 mW/m². 3. A petrological model of the old platform crust is proposed from the velocity-density models and the observed heat flow. It includes 10–12 km of acid rocks, 15–20 km of basic/metamorphic rocks and 7–10 km of basic ones. 4. Calculation of the crustal gravity effects; its substraction from the observed field gave the mantle gravity anomalies. Extensively negative anomalies have been found in the southern part of Eastern Europe (50–70 mgal) and in Western Europe (up to 200 mgal). They correlate with high heat flow and lower velocity in the uppermost mantle. 5. A polymorphic advection mechanism for deep tectonic processes was proposed as a thermal model of the upper mantle. Deep matter in active regions is assumed to be transported (advected) upwards under the crust and in its place the relatively cold material of the uppermost mantle descends. The resulting temperature distribution depends on the type of endogeneous regime, on the age and size of geostructure. Polymorphic transitions were also taken into account.     

Sources of ore-forming fluids and metallic materials in the Jinwozi lode gold deposit,eastern Tianshan Mountains of China

This paper presents gas compositions and H-, O-isotope compositions of sulfide- and quartz-hosted fluid inclusions, and S-, Pb-isotope compositions of sulfide separates collected from the principal Stage 2 ores in Veins 3 and 210 of the Jinwozi lode gold deposit, eastern Tianshan Mountains of China. Fluid inclusions trapped in quartz and sphalerite are dominantly primary. H-and O-isotopic compositions of pyrite-hosted fluid inclusions indicate two major contributions to the ore-forming fluid that include the degassed magma and the meteoric-derived but rock ¹⁸O-buffered groundwater. However, H- and O-isotopic compositions of quartz-hosted fluid inclusions essentially suggest the presence of groundwater. Sulfide-hosted fluid inclusions show considerably higher abundances of gaseous species CO₂, N₂, H₂S, etc. than quartz-hosted ones. The linear trends among inclusion gaseous species reflect the mixing tendency between the gas-rich magmatic fluid and the groundwater. The relative enrichment of gaseous species in sulfide-hosted fluid inclusions, coupled with the banded ore structure indicating alternate precipitation of quartz with sulfide minerals, suggests that the magmatic fluid has been inputted to the ore-forming fluid in pulsation. Sulfur and lead isotope compositions of pyrite and galena separates indicate an essential magma derivation for sulfur but the multiple sources for metallic materials from the mantle to the bulk crust.