Chalcedonic quartz and occurrence of quartzine (length-slow chalcedony) in pelagic sediments

ABSTRACT Chalcedony is the most abundant form of quartz in silicified pelagic sediments from the North Pacific. Varieties of chalcedonic quartz present in chert of deep-sea origin include chalcedony (length-fast and zebraic), quartzine (length-slow), and lutecite.
These occurrences of quartzine in known pelagic sediments emphasize the dangers of using quartzine as an indicator of former evaporitic environments. Quartzine is a diagenetic mineral and does indicate pore fluids rich in sulphate and magnesium. In pelagic sediments, it is always associated with authigenic barite and in many cases with authigenic dolomite. Quartzine should not be used, by itself, as an indicator of any particular environment of deposition.     

Crystal structure and growth fabric of length-fast chalcedony

Chalcedony from Brazilian agates, has been investigated by using transmission-electron microscopy, X-ray-diffraction, thermogravimetry and optical techniques. The quartz fibers of length-fast chalcedony are composed of submicroscopical polysynthetic, lamellar-twinned right- and lefthanded crystals, according to the Brazil law. This very narrow twinning causes 3 systems of diffuse diffraction streaks (corresponding to the three-fold symmetry) parallel to 〈10.1〉, very frequently possessing an intensity maximum at h±1/2, k, l±1/2. These extra reflections were detected both in electron- and X-ray-diffraction patterns. Wall-lining chalcedony is parallel fibrous consisting of smaller crystallites with a higher total water content (0.06±0.01 μm and 1.2±0.1 wt %) than spherulitic chalcedony in horizontal agate bands (ca. 0.1 μm and 0.7±0.1 wt%).     

A proposed mechanism for the growth of chalcedony

The structural disparities that distinguish chalcedony from macrocrystalline quartz suggest that different crystallization mechanisms are operative during the growth of these two forms of silica. Although the paragenesis of chalcedony has provoked marked disagreement among researchers, a review of previous studies supports the idea that chalcedony can precipitate from slightly saturated aqueous solutions at relatively low temperatures (<100° C). These conditions for deposition suggest a model for chalcedony crystallization that involves the assembly of short-chain linear polymers via bridging silica monomers. This assembly occurs through a spiral growth mechanism activated by a screw dislocation withb=n/2 [110], wheren is an integer. The proposed model can account for a number of peculiarities that have been observed in chalcedony at the microstructural scale, such as: (1) the direction of fiber elongation along [110] rather than [001]; (2) the periodic twisting of chalcedony fibers about [110]; (3) the high density of Brazil twin composition planes; (4) the common intergrowth of moganite within chalcedony.     

A comparative fluid inclusion study of the Waterville and Sangerville (Vassalboro) Formations,south-central Maine

 Petrologic and oxygen isotope data indicate that water-rich fluids infiltrated metasedimentary rocks of the Waterville and Sangerville (formally Vassalboro) Formations, south-central Maine, during peak metamorphism, and depleted Sangerville rocks in alkalis but not equivalent Waterville rocks. Fluid inclusion data from two outcrops, ∼1 km apart, one of the Waterville and the other of the Sangerville Formations, suggest a cause for the geochemical difference between the two units. Postulated peak metamorphic inclusions, the texturally earliest of aqueous inclusions in the metasediments, approximate the water-rich compositions of peak fluids predicted by mineral-fluid equilibria, and have average salinity in the Sangerville Formation ∼ three times that of equivalent Waterville inclusions. The higher salinity in the Sangerville fluids could explain the greater alkali depletion in these rocks. Probable pre-peak or prograde inclusions are preserved in metasediments as the texturally earliest carbonic inclusions which contain CO₂, CH₄, N₂±H₂O, as determined by microthermometry and Raman spectrometry. They may have formed by breakdown of organic matter. Probable retrograde inclusions occur as texturally late aqueous inclusions in healed fractures with salinity ranges indistinguishable between the two formations. Synmetamorphic granitic dikes present in the two outcrops were ruled out as a source for fluids in metasediments because composition and density ranges of inclusions in dikes and metasediments are fundamentally different, and because there is no correlation between the abundance or composition of inclusions in a sample and proximity to dikes. Isochores for many of the inclusions in both metasediments and dikes are not consistent with the inferred P−T conditions of their trapping, but intersect at ∼300° to 400° C and 1 to 2 kbar. The intersections probably resulted because inclusion densities continued to equilibrate during uplift and cooling until quartz became rigid. The present densities are those at the last equilibration, not the time of trapping. In contrast, the clear distinctions in inclusion compositions between dikes and between dike and country rock show that the original compositional differences generally have been preserved. Received: 4 February 1994 / Accepted: 22 June 1994     

Rheological behaviour of the crust in Southern Apennine (Italy): results from a thermal and seismological study

To add information on the brittle/ductile transition of the Southern Apennine, we investigated a rheological profile of the crust along a WSW–ENE‐oriented cross‐section running from Neapolitan Volcanic Zone to Apulia foreland. The rheological model was obtained computing a thermal modelling and constrained by a relocalization of earthquakes of the area. Results show that the area is characterized by horizontal rheological variations, with two horizons interlayered with ductile horizons, that are quite predominant with respect to vertical ones. The horizontal stratification of lithospheric rheology has important geodynamic consequence and could provide new insights to better understand the tectonic processes which have played a major role to construct the Southern Apennine belt. Results of this study suggested that well‐constrained rheological models, built integrating information from both relocated earthquakes and thermal state, could give important hints on the mechanical behaviour of the crust and its related tectonic processes.     

Thermochemistry of the new silica polymorph moganite

Samples of microcrystalline silica varieties containing variable amounts of the new silica polymorph moganite (up to R~82 wt.%) have been studied by a combination of high temperature solution calorimetry using lead borate (2 PbO · B₂O₃) solvent and transposed temperature drop calorimetry near 977 K, in order to investigate the thermochemical stability of this new silica mineral. The enthalpy of solution at 977 K and the heat content (H₉₇₇ — H₂₉₈) of “pure” moganite phase were estimated to be -7.16 ± 0.35 kJ/mol and 43.62 ± 0.50 kJ/mol, respectively. The standard molar enthalpy of formation is-907.3 ± 1.2 kJ/mol. Thus, calorimetry strongly supports results of previous X-ray and Raman spectroscopic studies that moganite is a distinct silica polymorph. Its thermochemical instability relative to quartz at 298 K of 3.4 ± 0.7 kJ/mol is marginally higher than those of cristobalite and tridymite. Structurally, this instability may be related to the presence of distorted 4-membered rings of SiO₄ tetrahedra, which are not found in the quartz structure. The metastability relative to quartz may also explain the apparent scarcity of moganite in altered rocks and in rocks that are older than 130 my.     

Experimental study of thermal effects on the mechanical behaviour of a clay

The paper presents the results of an experimental study of thermal effects on the mechanical behaviour of a saturated clay. The study was performed on CM clay (Kaolin) using a temperature-controlled triaxial apparatus. Applied temperatures were between 22 and 90°C. A comprehensive experimental program was carried out, including: (i) triaxial shear tests at ambient and high temperatures for different initial overconsolidation ratios; (ii) consolidation tests at ambient and high temperatures; and (iii) drained thermal heating for different initial overconsolidation ratios. The obtained results provide observations concerning a wide scope of the thermo-mechanical behaviour of clays. Test results obtained at 90°C were compared with tests performed at ambient temperature. Based on these comparisons, thermal effects on a variety of features of behaviour are presented and discussed. Focus is made on: (i) induced thermal volume change during drained heating; (ii) experimental evidence of temperature influence on preconsolidation pressure and on compressibility index; (iii) thermal effects on shear strength and critical state; and (iv) thermal effects on elastic modulus. Thermal yielding is discussed and yield limit evolution with temperature is presented. The directions of the induced plastic strains are also discussed. Several remarks on the difference in the mechanical behaviour at ambient and high temperatures conclude the paper. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of the thermal behaviour of exposed karst water systems in a mountainous area of Zigui County,Hubei Province,Central China

Temperature, discharge, and stable isotope ratios of five karst springs in a mountainous area of Zigui County, Hubei Province, Central China, were analyzed. The purpose was to illustrate the heat exchanges linked to circulation depth in the exposed karst water systems through the development of a method for estimating heat input and heat flux during a rainstorm. Meteorological water in the study area conformed to a local meteoric water line (δD?=?8.37 δ¹⁸O?+?12.99) with a mean δ¹⁸O elevation gradient of ?4.0‰ km^?1, which was used to estimate mean circulation depths of 209–686 m. The mean spring temperatures defined a vertical gradient of ?5.4 °C km^?1, which resembled that of the stable atmosphere of the Earth, indicating that the thermal response patterns are mainly controlled by surface air temperature. Thermal convection after rainfall events dominated heat exchange between baseflow and recharge water, leading to a warmer and colder recharge during summer and winter, respectively, whereas thermal conduction dominated the heat exchange only between groundwater, surrounding geology, and the interface air under a condition of no rainfall, resulting in only small temperature variations of the baseflow. Successful application of the method for estimating heat exchange showed that the characteristics of shallow circulation, strong karstification, and well-developed epikarst readily allowed disruption of the thermal balance of the Yuquandong system, resulting in a poor heat regulation capacity, a larger variation of heat input, a lower mean heat flux, and lower baseflow temperatures compared to those of the Dayuquan system.

     

Opal and chalcedony speleothems on quartz sandstones in the Sydney region,southeastern Australia

Speleothems of silica are far rarer than those of calcite but occur in a range of types including stalactites, stalagmites and flowstones. This study has found a wider range and far greater number of silica speleothems on the quartz sandstones of the Sydney region than the small number of previous accounts had suggested. Speleothems on the Sydney region sandstones are composed of multiple layers of amorphous opal‐A and cryptocrystalline chalcedony. Silica slowly dissolved from detrital and diagenetic quartz and kaolinite clays of the host arenites is redeposited as opal‐A at the sandstone surface when groundwater evaporates. This amorphous silica converts over time by Ostwald‐type paragenesis to the cryptocrystalline form, but the expected intermediate opal‐CT phase has not been detected. The crystallisation of chalcedony at earth‐surface temperatures is generally believed to take an extremely long time and its presence makes these speleothems very significant, especially as it is reported in only a small number of silica speleothems elsewhere. Furthermore, a similar paragenetic silica‐‘ripening’ mechanism may also be involved in the low‐temperature earth‐surface formation of other crystalline silica deposits such as silcrete duricrusts and pedogenic quartz. Additional closely coupled laboratory and field investigations into the processes that control silica paragenesis under earth‐surface conditions are sorely needed.     

The thermal behaviour of liottite

Thermal behaviour of liottite, the ABABAC six-layer member of the cancrinite-sodalite supergroup, has been investigated in situ real-time using laboratory parallel-beam X-ray powder diffraction data. Thermal expansion has been analysed from 323 to 1,223 K with temperature steps of 25 K. Dependence of the hexagonal cell parameters from temperature indicates a different behaviour with respect to afghanite, an ABABACAC eight-layer member of the supergroup. Three different regimes were observed, the last coincident with the starting of the conversion of liottite to haüyne (prevailing) and leucite-HT (minor). A smaller thermal expansion as compared to afghanite was observed. Isothermal annealing at 1,173 K led to a more extended conversion to haüyne, an a-parameter contraction, and a c-parameter expansion with respect to the starting RT cell parameters.     

A new bounding surface model for thermal cyclic behaviour

To accurately predict soil volume changes under thermal cycles is of great importance for analysing the performance of many earth structures such as the energy pile and energy storage system. Most of the existing thermo‐mechanical models focus on soil behaviour under monotonic thermal loading only, and they are not able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles. In this study, a constitutive model is proposed to simulate volume changes of saturated soil subjected to cyclic heating and cooling. Two surfaces are defined and used: a bounding surface and a memory surface. The bounding surface and memory surface are mainly controlled by the preconsolidation pressure (a function of plastic volumetric strain) and the maximum stress experienced by the soil, respectively. Under thermal cycles, the distance of the two surfaces and plastic modulus increase with an accumulation of plastic strain. By adopting the double surface concept, a new elastoplastic model is derived from an existing single bounding surface thermo‐mechanical model. Comparisons between model predictions and experimental results reveal that the proposed model is able to capture soil volume changes under thermal cycles well. The plastic strain accumulates under thermal cycles, but at a decreasing rate, until stabilization. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Upwarped high velocity mafic crust, subsurface tectonics and causes of intraplate Latur-Killari (M 6.2) and Koyna (M 6.3) earthquakes, India – A comparative study

A unique attempt is made to understand the genesis of intraplate seismicity in the Latur-Killari and Koyna seismogenic regions of India, through derived crustal structure by synthesizing active and passive seismic, magnetotelluric, gravity and heat flow data. It has indicated presence of relatively high velocity/density intermediate granulite (and amphibolite) facies rocks underneath the Deccan volcanic cover caused mainly due to a continuous geodynamic process of uplift and erosion since Precambrian times. These findings have been independently confirmed by detailed borehole geological, geochemical and mineralogical investigations. The crystalline basement rock is found to contain 2 wt% of carbon-di-oxide fluid components. The presence of geodynamic process, associated with thermal anomalies at subcrustal depths, is supported by a high mantle heat flow (29–36 mW/m²) beneath both regions, although some structural and compositional variations may exist as evidenced by P- and S-wave seismic velocities. We suggest that the stress, caused by ongoing uplift and a high mantle heat flow is continuously accumulating in this denser and rheologically stronger mafic crust within which earthquakes tend to nucleate. These stresses appear to dominate over and above those generated by the India–Eurasia collision. The role of fluids in stress generation, as advocated through earlier studies, appears limited.     

A comparative study of the Rare Earth Element (REE) distributions within the Lower Cretaceous dolomites and limestones of Central Tunisia

REE distribution, strontium content and oxygen isotopic composition have been studied in the Lower Cretaceous dolomites and their interbedded and/or parental limestones of Central Tunisia. Dolomites, as indicated by previous sedimentologic, geochemical and isotopic study, are different in origin. Environments of dolomite formation include: evaporitic sabkha, deep phreatic, karst and lacustrine. With the exception of the sabkha environment, dolomitizing fluids presumably have been essentially meteoric. The comparison between REE distributions in dolomites and limestones clearly suggests that the general shapes of the REE patterns are preserved during dolomitization. Nevertheless, the total REE amounts are somewhat lowered in dolomites comparatively to parental limestones. Moreover, within the dolomites, the total REE contents are positively correlated to the Sr and δ¹⁸O contents; thus indicating that the decrease in REE, Sr, and δ¹⁸O contents is related to a decrease in the salinity of dolomitizing fluids. In addition, dolomites associated with emergence surfaces (karst) are the most impoverished in REE. Furthermore, they are relatively enriched in light REE, indicating a more or less important fractionation with the REE distributions. This enrichment has been related to the influence of the inorganic complexes which favours the greatest solubility of the heavy REE in basic solution with respect to the lightest members of the REE group.     

巨型山东龙的系统分类、生活习性与生态环境研究

简要回顾了我国山东省诸城市吕标乡库沟村龙骨涧晚白垩世早期辛格庄组中产出的巨型山东龙的研究历史,并讨论了巨型山东龙与"巨大诸城龙"的系统分类关系。对比两者的产出状况、骨骼结构和个体发育特征,作者认为两者为同物异名。依据古生物命名法规的优先律,巨型山东龙命名在先,合法有效;"巨大诸城龙"命名较晚,是一无效名称,应予取消。还讨论了巨型山东龙的生活习性和生态环境,认为巨型山东龙属陆栖性、群居性、植食性恐龙,生活在气候温暖、雨水充沛、植被繁茂的低山或丘陵地区。此外研究了巨型山东龙赋存地层的沉积特征,认为是一套辫状河流相或冲积扇相沉积,而不是湖相沉积。恐龙化石的密集产出是非正常集群死亡于突发性灾害事件的结果,而与国际上的K/T事件无关。