Constraints of Fe Isotopic Compositions on the Origin of the Luobusa Podiform Chromite Deposit, Tibet

<正>We measured Fe isotopic compositions of mineral separates of harzburgite,dunite and chromitite from Luobusa,Tibet as well as two harzburgites from Zedang for comparison to constrain the origin of podiform chromite deposits.The olivine(Ol)and orthopyroxene(Opx)of harzburgites from both localities have δ~(56) Fe values of     

西藏普兰县姜叶马豆荚状铬铁矿地质特征及找矿前景

姜叶马铬铁矿产于雅鲁藏布江超镁铁质岩带的西段拉昂错岩体之中,为富铬型豆荚状铬铁矿.本文主要讨论姜叶马豆荚状铬铁矿的地质特征及找矿前景.根据对拉昂错岩体岩相特征分析、姜叶马铬铁矿区已发现的豆荚状铬铁矿带和矿点的研究、以及与西藏罗布莎和东巧铬铁矿床的对比,总结了矿体分布和赋存规律,指出该地区具有形成大型豆荚状铬铁矿床的成矿地质条件,呈示出良好的找矿前景.     

Contact Metamorphosed Ultramafic Rocks in the Western Sierra Nevada Foothills, California

Within the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic belt, linear bodiesof alpine-type ultramafic rock, now composed largely of serpentineminerals, parallel the regional strike and commonly coincidewith major fault zones. Within this metamorphic belt, east ofSacramento, California, ultramafic rocks near a large maficintrusion, the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex, have been emplacedduring at least two separate episodes. Those ultramafic rocks,evidently unaffected by the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex andcomposed largely of serpentine minerals, were emplaced alonga major fault zone after emplacement of the Pine Hill IntrusiveComplex. Those ultramafic rocks, contact metamorphosed by thePine Hill Intrusive Complex, show a zonation of mineral assemblagesas the igneous contact is approached: olivine+antigorite+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Cr spinel olivine+talc+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Crspinel olivine+anthophyllite+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Cr spinel olivine+orthopyroxene+aluminous spinel+hornblende+Fe-Cr spinel.Superimposed on these mineral assemblages are abundant secondaryminerals (serpentine minerals, talc, chlorite, magnetite) whichformed after contact metamorphism. Correlation of observed mineralassemblages with the experimental systems, MgO-SiO₂-H₂O andMgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O suggests an initial contact temperature of775±25 °C for the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex assumingPtotal P_fluid PH₂O. The pressure acting on the metamorphic rockduring emplacement of the intrusion is estimated to be a minimumof 1.5 kb.     

Genesis of Podiform Chromite Deposits——Evidence from the Luobosa Chromite Deposits, Tibet

Taking for example the Luobosa chromite deposit in Tibet combined with other deposits of the same type in the world, the paper discusses the genetic mechanism of podiform chromite deposits. The study indicates that chromite and dunite-harzburgite are both the products of different degrees of partial melting of the same primary pyrolite(spinel lherzolite) and that chromite and dunite are the end product of higher degree of partial melting.The melting mechanism lies in the convcrsion of the two subgroups of pyroxenes(Cpx and Opx) into olivine and spinel respectively as a result of their incongruent melting, accompanied by regulation and reformation of accessory chrome spinel and such rock-forming minerals as Ol, Opx and Cpx, thus resulting in the close association of chromite deposits and dunite. The results of this study are of general significance for understanding the genesis of chromite deposits of the same type in the world.     

The Genesis of Zoned Skarns in the Sierra Nevada, California

Zoned skarns occur at plutonic-metamorphic contacts, in veinscutting marble, and at contacts between marble and interlayeredamphibolite and biotite-rich rocks. For P = 2 kb, fluid inclusionsand P-T-X_CO2 stability relations of calc-silicate assemblagessuggest T< 650 °C and a H₂O-rich fluid (X_CO2 < 0.1).Small-scale, Ca-rich endoskarns are common near exoskarns. Massbalance calculations suggest that: (a) the formation of exoskarnrequires the influx of solute in an aqueous solution from uncontaminatedmagma in addition to material derived from the endoskarn, (b)some ‘limestone assimilation’ is required to formendoskarns, and (c) skarn formation was essentially a constant-volumeprocess. Applying chromatographic theory, compositional profilesof garnet and pyroxene across zoned skarns suggest that infiltrationmetasomatism was an important process, although diffusion metasomatismappears to have produced local compositional gradients at theinfiltration ‘fronts’. Fluid flow calculations showthat thick exoskarns could readily form by intergranular infiltration of aqueous solutions. Reciprocal diffusional exchangeis suggested as a dominant mechanism in the formation of zonedskarns formed at contacts between interlayered metamorphic lithologies.     

A framework for understanding the hydroecology of impacted wet meadows in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges, California, USA

Meadows of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains of California, USA, support diverse and highly productive wet-meadow vegetation dominated by sedges, rushes, grasses, and other herbaceous species. These groundwater–dependent ecosystems rely on the persistence of a shallow water table throughout the dry summer. Case studies of Bear Creek, Last Chance, and Tuolumne meadow ecosystems are used to create a conceptual framework describing groundwater–ecosystem connections in this environment. The water requirements for wet-meadow vegetation at each site are represented as a water-table-depth hydrograph; however, these hydrographs were found to vary among sites. Causes of this variation include (1) differences in soil texture, which govern capillary effects and availability of vadose water and (2) elevation-controlled differences in climate that affect the phenology of the vegetation. The field observations show that spatial variation of water-table depth exerts strong control on vegetation composition and spatial patterning. Groundwater-flow modeling demonstrates that lower hydraulic-conductivity meadow sediments, higher groundwater-inflow rates, and a higher ratio of lateral to basal-groundwater inflow all encourage the persistence of a high water table and wet-meadow vegetation, particularly at the margin of the meadow, even in cases with moderate stream incision.     

Studies of batholithic feldspars: Sierra Nevada,California

Co-existing plagioclase and alkali feldspars of the Sierra Nevada granites and plagioclases of the mafic inclusions have been analysed using an ARL EMX electron microprobe analyser. Each Sierran rock type contains co-existing feldspar pairs within specific compositional ranges. Core plagioclase compositions of the mafic inclusions are only slightly higher or lower in anorthite than the host rock plagioclases and cluster between An30 and An40. The chemical inhomogeneity of the Sierran potash feldspars and this effect on the Barth k value prohibits the use of the feldspars as geothermometers for these particular rocks. Results of the electron microprobe, x-ray, and petrographic study and the experimental hydrothermal investigation of the granites suggest but do not prove that both the plagioclase composition and the mafic inclusion mineralogy can be explained in terms of a model which considers the inclusions to be the refractory residue left over from the partial melting of crustal material.Submitted to the Faculty of the Department of the Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.     

Holocene glaciation of the central Sierra Nevada,California

Sediment cores from two bedrock-dammed lakes in North Fork Big Pine Creek, Sierra Nevada, California, preserve the most detailed and complete record of Holocene glaciation yet recovered in the region. The lakes are fed by outwash from the Palisade Glacier, the largest (～1.3 km²) and presumably longest-lived glacier in the range, and capture essentially all of the rock flour it produces. Distinct late-Holocene (Matthes) and late-Pleistocene (Recess Peak) moraines lie between the modern glacier and the lakes. The lakes have therefore received continuous sedimentation from the basin since the retreat of the Tioga glacier (Last Glacial Maximum) and capture rock flour related to all post-LGM advances. A total of eight long cores (up to 5.5 m sediment depth) and one short surface sediment short core preserve a coherent record of fluctuating rock flour flux to the lakes through the Holocene. Age constraints on rock flour spikes in First and Second lakes based on 31 14C-dated macrofossils indicate Holocene glaciation began ～3200 cal yr B P, followed by a possible glacier maximum at ～2800 cal yr B P and four distinct glacier maxima at ～2200, ～1600, ～700 and ～250-170 cal yr. B.P., the most recent maximum being the largest.Reconstruction of the equilibrium-line altitudes (ELA) associated with each distinct advance recorded in the moraines (Recess Peak, Matthes, and modern) indicates ELA depressions (relative to modern) of ～250 m and 90 m for Recess Peak and Matthes advances, respectively. These differences represent decreases in summer temperatures of 1.7–2.8 °C (Recess Peak) and 0.2–2° (Matthes), and increases in winter precipitation of 22-34 cm snow water equivalent (s.w.e.) (Recess Peak) and 3-26 cm s.w.e. (Matthes) compared to modern conditions. Although small, these changes are significant and similar to those noted in the Cascade Range to the north, and represent a significant departure from historical climate trends in the region.     

Calibrating Late Quaternary terrestrial climate signals: radiometrically dated pollen evidence from the southern Sierra Nevada,USA

We constructed a radiometrically calibrated proxy record of Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate change exceeding 230,000 yr duration, using pollen profiles from two cores taken through age-equivalent dry lakes—one core having greater age control (via ²³⁰Th alpha mass-spectrometry) and the other having greater stratigraphic completeness. The better dated of these two serial pollen records (Searles Lake) served as a reference section for improving the effective radiometric age control in a nearby and more complete pollen record (Owens Lake) because they: (1) are situated ∼90 km apart in the same drainage system (on, and immediately leeward of, the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada), and (2) preserved strikingly similar pollen profiles and concordant sequences of sedimentological changes. Pollen assemblages from both lakes are well preserved and diverse, and document serial changes in Late Pleistocene and Holocene plant zone distribution and composition in the westernmost Great Basin; they consist of taxa now inhabiting montane forest, woodland, steppe, and desert-scrub environments. The studied core intervals are interpreted here to be the terrestrial equivalent of marine δ¹⁸O stages 1 through 9; these pollen profiles now appear to be among the best radiometrically dated Late Pleistocene records of terrestrial climate change known.     

Late Pleistocene vegetation of Kings Canyon,Sierra Nevada,California

Seven packrat midden samples make possible a comparison between the modern and late Pleistocene vegetation in Kings Canyon on the western side of the southern Sierra Nevada. One modern sample contains macrofossils and pollen derived from the present-day oak-chaparral vegetation. Macrofossils from the six late Pleistocene samples record a mixed coniferous forest dominated by the xerophytic conifers Juniperus occidentalis, Pinus cf. ponderosa, and P. monophylla. The pollen spectra of these Pleistocene middens are dominated by Pinus sp., Taxodiaceae-Cupressaceae-Taxaceae (TCT), and Artemisia sp. Mesophytic conifers are represented by low macrofossil concentrations. Sequoiadendron giganteum is represented by a few pollen grains in the full glacial. Edaphic control and snow dispersal are the most likely causes of these mixed assemblages.The dominant macrofossils record a more xeric plant community than those that now occur on similar substrates at higher elevations or latitudes in the Sierra Nevada. These assemblages suggest that late Wisconsin climates were cold with mean annual precipitation not necessarily greater than modern values. This conclusion supports a model of low summer ablation allowing for the persistence of the glaciers at higher elevations during the late Wisconsin. The records in these middens also suggest that S. giganteum grew at lower elevations along the western side of the range and that P. monophylla was more widely distributed in cismontane California during the Pleistocene.     

The remarkable occurrence of large rainfall-induced debris flows at two different locations on July 12, 2008, Southern Sierra Nevada, CA, USA

On July 12, 2008, two convective cells about 155 km apart produced a brief period of intense rainfall triggering large debris flows in the southern Sierra Nevada. The northernmost cell was centered over Oak Creek Canyon, an east-flowing drainage, and its tributaries near Independence, CA, USA. About 5:00 p.m., debris flows passed down the South Fork and North Fork of Oak Creek to merge into a large single feature whose passage affected the historic Mt. Whitney Fish hatchery and blocked California State Highway 395. At about the same time, the southernmost cell was largely centered over Erskine Creek, a main tributary of the west-flowing Kern River. Debris flows issued from several branches to coalesce into a large debris flow that passed along Erskine Creek, through the town of Lake Isabella, CA, USA and into the Kern River. It was observed reaching Lake Isabella about 6:30 p.m. Both debris flows caused significant disruption and damage to local communities.     

Formation of Wollastonite by Chemically Reactive Fluid Flow During Contact Metamorphism, Mt. Morrison Pendant, Sierra Nevada, California, USA

Quartz–calcite sandstones experienced the reaction calcite+ quartz = wollastonite + CO₂ during prograde contact metamorphismat P = 1500 bars and T = 560°C. Rocks were in equilibriumduring reaction with a CO₂–H₂O fluid with XCO₂ = 0·14.The transition from calcite-bearing, wollastonite-free to wollastonite-bearing,calcite-free rocks across the wollastonite isograd is only severalmillimeters wide. The wollastonite-forming reaction was drivenby infiltration of quartz–calcite sandstone by chemicallyreactive H₂O-rich fluids, and the distribution of wollastonitedirectly images the flow paths of reactive fluids during metamorphism.The mapped distribution of wollastonite and modeling of an O-isotopeprofile across a lithologic contact indicate that the principaldirection of flow was layer-parallel, directed upward, withany cross-layer component of flow <0·1% of the layer-parallelcomponent. Fluid flow was channeled at a scale of 1–100m by pre-metamorphic dikes, thrust and strike-slip faults, foldhinges, bedding, and stratigraphic contacts. Limits on the amountof fluid, based on minimum and maximum estimates for the displacementof the wollastonite reaction front from the fluid source, are(0·7–1·9) x 10⁵ cm³ fluid/cm² rock. Thesharpness of the wollastonite isograd, the consistency of mineralthermobarometry, the uniform measured ¹⁸O–¹⁶O fractionationsbetween quartz and calcite, and model calculations all arguefor a close approach to local mineral–fluid equilibriumduring the wollastonite-forming reaction. KEY WORDS: contact metamorphism, fluid flow, wollastonite, oxygen isotopes, reaction front     

Nested plutons as megageopetal structures: The Merrimac plutons,northern Sierra Nevada,California

Contacts within nested plutons are crucial for constraining the relative timing of pluton emplacement and the internal geometry of composite plutons. Exposures in orogenic belts are commonly discontinuous, however, disguising these contacts. In this paper, the Merrimac plutons in the northern Sierra Nevada of California are used as an example of how composition and foliation patterns can allow the definition of unexposed contacts and identify nested plutons. Image analysis techniques were used to determine modal compositions of a total of 52 samples from the Merrimac plutons. The integrated analysis of compositional data and foliations patterns reveals a critical contact within the plutons, and suggests that the Merrimac plutons indicate way-up towards the north-east at the time of emplacement 142 ± 3 Ma ago. This paper provides guidelines for recognizing nested plutons in poorly exposed areas and shows that consistent structural and compositional assymmetries within nested plutons can be used as regional top-direction indicators.     

Progressive extensional shear structures in a detachment contact in the Western Sierra Nevada (Betic Cordilleras,Spain)

Abstract

The present contact caused by the superposition of the Alpujarride complex over that of the Nevado-Filabride in the western area of Sierra Nevada and Sierra de Filábres corresponds to a detachment. The deformation in the footwall associated with this contact, produced mylonitic fabrics with a significant stretching-lineation, over which brittle structures are superimposed. The deformation in the hanging wall associated with this contact is, on the other hand, essentially brittle. These deformations are subsequent to a series of syn-to post-metamorphic structures related to thrust phases.

The micro- and meso-structures indicate that the hanging wall has moved towards the west-south-west.

Other brittle structures, which began during the same extensional regime, are superimposed on the detachment and have continued to develop up to the present time. These structures were produced in an extensional regime with a non-coaxial deformation component and suggest the possibility of a tectonic evolution similar to that described for core complexes in the USA.     

Hornblendes from Granitic Rocks of the Central Sierra Nevada Batholith, California

Twenty samples of hornblendes from rocks of 14 plutonic unitsin the central Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountains, California,have been studied in detail. Optical, density, single-crystaland powder X-ray diffraction, and major and minor element chemicaldata are reported. The compositions of the hornblendes show only limited correlationwith the chemistry of the rocks in which they occurred. Hornblendesfrom granitic rocks of the eastern Sierra Nevada and Inyo Mountainshave a wide range of tetrahedral aluminum content which is oftenas low as three-quarters of an atom per formula unit, whereashornblendes from younger granitic rocks elsewhere in the SierraNevada batholith contain more than one atom of tetrahedral aluminumper formula unit. Because an increase of aluminum in tetrahedralco-ordination is considered indicative of higher temperaturesof crystallization, the observed differences in the hornblendessuggest that older plutonic rocks of the batholith may havebeen metamorphosed regionally or may have been affected by widespreadhydrothermal action prior to consolidation of later graniticrocks.     

Biotites from Granitic Rocks of the Central Sierra Nevada Batholith, California

Biotites from plutonic recks of the central Sierra Nevada andInyo Mountains, California, have been examined and characterizedby powder X-ray diffraction and optical and chemical methods. Compositions of the biotites define a trend in the compositionaltriangle Fe+3 Fe+2Mg. When related to the experimentally studiedternary system KFe₃+3AlSisO₁₂H-₁-KFe₃+2 AlSi₃O₁₀(OH)₂-KMg₃AlSi₃O₁₀(OH)₂and coupled with the estimated positions of biotite solid solutionsfor different oxygen buffers, the trend suggests that oxygenfugacities in magmas during biotite crystallization were slightlyhigher than those defined by the Ni-NiO buffer. The compositionaldata also suggest that magmas were ‘buffered’ withrespect to oxygen by oxides existing within the magmas themselves. Correlation between the Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio, an inferred temperatureindicator, and other elements is generally poor, which suggeststhat factors other than temperature at the time of crystallizationexerted an important influence on compositions.     

A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA

Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ¹⁸O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin.     

Late Holocene forest dynamics, volcanism, and climate change at Whitewing Mountain and San Joaquin Ridge, Mono County, Sierra Nevada, CA, USA

Deadwood tree stems scattered above treeline on tephra-covered slopes of Whitewing Mtn (3051 m) and San Joaquin Ridge (3122 m) show evidence of being killed in an eruption from adjacent Glass Creek Vent, Inyo Craters. Using tree-ring methods, we dated deadwood to AD 815-1350 and infer from death dates that the eruption occurred in late summer AD 1350. Based on wood anatomy, we identified deadwood species as Pinus albicaulis, P. monticola, P. lambertiana, P. contorta, P. jeffreyi, and Tsuga mertensiana. Only P. albicaulis grows at these elevations currently; P. lambertiana is not locally native. Using contemporary distributions of the species, we modeled paleoclimate during the time of sympatry to be significantly warmer (+3.2°C annual minimum temperature) and slightly drier (−24 mm annual precipitation) than present, resembling values projected for California in the next 70-100 yr.     

Evidence for a magmatic origin for Carlin-type gold deposits: isotopic composition of sulfur in the Betze-Post-Screamer Deposit, Nevada, USA

We report here new sulfur isotope analyses from the Betze-Post-Screamer deposit, the largest Carlin-type gold deposit in the world. Carlin-type deposits contain high concentrations of arsenic, antimony, mercury, tellurium and other elements of environmental interest, and are surrounded by large volumes of crust in which these elements are also enriched. Uncertainty about the source of sulfur and metals in and around Carlin-type deposits has hampered formulation of models for their origin, which are needed for improved mineral exploration and environmental assessment. Previous studies have concluded that most Carlin-type deposits formed from sulfide sulfur that is largely of sedimentary origin. Most of these studies are based on analyses of mineral separates consisting of pre-ore diagenetic pyrite with thin overgrowths of ore-related arsenian pyrite rather than pure, ore-related pyrite. Our SIMS spot analyses of ore-related pyrite overgrowths in the Screamer zone of the Betze-Post-Screamer deposit yield δ³⁴S values of about −1 to 4‰ with one value of about 7‰. Conventional analyses of realgar and orpiment separates from throughout the deposit yield δ³⁴S values of about 5–7‰ with one value of 10‰ in the Screamer zone. These results, along with results from an earlier SIMS study in the Post zone of the deposit and phase equilibrium constraints, indicate that early arsenian pyrite were formed from fluids of magmatic origin with variable contamination from sulfur in Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. Later arsenic sulfides were formed from solutions to which sulfur of sedimentary origin had been added. The presence of Paleozoic sedimentary sulfur in Carlin-type deposits does not require direct involvement of hydrothermal solutions of sedimentary origin. Instead, it could have been added by magmatic assimilation of Paleozoic sedimentary rocks or by hydrothermal leaching of sulfur from wall rocks to the deposit. Thus, the dominant process delivering sulfur, arsenic, gold and mineralizing fluids to Carlin-type systems and their surrounding country rocks was probably separation of fluids from a magmatic source. Editorial handling: G. Beaudoin