Letters from volcanoes

Geology Today often features letters from geologists working on active volcanoes. Some of the most famous letters from a volcano were written by Sir William Hamilton from Vesuvius in Italy, during the 18th century and earned him the title of 'the first volcanologist'.     

Apatite from African carbonatites

Apatite from three African carbonatites (sövites) are of the carbonate-hyoxy-fluorapatite type with a marked similarity in composition and structural formula. However, apatite from an apatite-magnetite dyke, associated with a carbonatite complex, differs in Ca, P and trace element content. Calculated and observed cell dimensions and ω refractive indices of these apatite phases correspond very well and support the validity of such calculations. The minor element content in apatite from these samples is fairly constant but differs from that of apatite of igneous or metamorphic origin.     

Pseudotachylytes from Corsica: fossil earthquakes from a subduction complex

Subduction zones are the most seismically active tectonic environment on Earth. Here we report fault‐rock evidence of palaeoearthquakes from a subduction complex. Pseudotachylyte veins formed by shear heating on faults at seismic strain rates contain dendrites, spherulites and acicular minerals characteristic of blueschist facies conditions. The veins have been found in both mantle peridotite and gabbro. Our discovery from Corsica opens a new avenue of research towards understanding mechanisms related to subduction zone earthquakes and the conditions at which these are released.     

Biotite from rapakivi

Summary This paper deals with the chemical composition of biotites from rapakivi granites. For this purpose, 61 chemical analyses of biotites from composite anorthosite-rapakivi plutons in the Fennoscandian and Ukranian shields were used. Figurative points of the biotite composition were plotted on diagrams designed for biotites byFoster (1960),Winchell (1949) andVelikoslavinsky (1972). Consideration of the diagrams shows that a) the biotites from rapakivi granites have exotic composition not characteristic of other biotites from other igneous rocks, b) that they belong to the annite-siderophyllite series and c) that they crystallized at low pressures and high temperatures. Model crystallization temperatures range from 760° (early intrusive phases) down to less than 435° (late intrusive phase).

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Biotit von Rapakivi

Zusammenfassung Diese Arbeit hat die chemische Zusammensetzung von Biotit aus Rapakivi Graniten zum Thema. 61 Biotitanalysen von Anorthosit-Rapakivi Plutonen aus dem fennoskandischen und ukrainischen Schild werden präsentiert. Die Zusammensetzung der Biotite wird unter Verwendung von Diagrammen, die vonFoster (1960),Winchell (1949) undVelikoslavinsky (1972) entwickelt wurden, diskutiert. Diese Diagramme zeigen, daß a) Biotite aus Rapakivi eine, im Vergleich zu Biotiten aus anderen magmatischen Gesteinen, untypische Zusammensetzung haben, b) diese Biotite der AnnitSiderophyllit Serie zuzurechnen sind und c) diese Biotite bei niedrigem Druck und hoher Temperatur kristallisierten. Die Kristallisationstemperaturen reichen von 760° in den granitischen Frühphasen bis unter 435°C in den intrusiven Spätphasen.

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With 3 figures     

New Iguanodonts from Central Asia

Ornithischian dinosaur remains from the Maortu site in Alashan' occur in three bone bearing horizons; those in the lower two are of advanced iguanodont affinity and those in the upper are very primitive hadrosaurs. These are the first beds in which iguanodonts have been found so closely associated with hadrosaurs. The uppermost bed is well developed at Iren-Nor, not far from Maortu, from which the primitive hadrosaur Bactrosaurus johnsoni was described. Other remains from Asia described as iguanodonts, upon re-diagnosis turn out to be sauropods. The iguanodont remains from Maortu are assigned to a new genus Probactrosaurus, on the basis of hadrosaur-like characters of dentition and limbs and other distinctive characters that show no particular trend. Two species are described, P. gobiensis from the lowermost horizon, and P. alashanicus from the next superjacent horizon. P. alashanicus is more nearly like the hadrosaur B. johnsoni in most respects, and the sequence P. gobiensis - P. alashanicus - B. johnsoni may indicate stages in a rapid transition from an iguanodont to a hadrosaurian level of organization. On the basis of the morphological affinities of the dinosaur remains, the uppermost bed at Maortu is assigned a Cenomanian (earliest Upper Cretaceous) age, while the two lower beds may be dated to the Aptian-Albian (end of the Lower Cretaceous). — N.H. Hotton III.     

Lithium enrichment and isotopic variation in minerals from peridotite xenoliths from northwestern Ethiopian plateau

We report Lithium (Li) concentrations and isotopic compositions for co-existing olivine, orthopyroxene (opx), and clinopyroxene (cpx) mineral separates from depleted and metasomatised peridotite xenoliths hosted by basaltic lavas from northwestern Ethiopian plateau (Gundeweyn area). The peridotites contain five lherzolites and one harzburgite and are variably depleted and enriched in LREE relative to HREE. In both depleted and enriched lherzolites, Li is preferentially incorporated into olivine (2.4-3.3 ppm) compared to opx (1.4-2.1 ppm) and cpx (1.4-2.0 ppm) whereas the Li contents of olivines (5.4 ppm) from an enriched harzburgiteare higher than those of lherzolites. Olivines from the samples show higher Li abundances than normal mantle olivines (1.6-1.9 ppm) indicating the occurrence of Li enrichments through melt-preroditite interaction. The average δ⁷ Li values range from +2.2 to +6.0‰ in olivine, from -0.1 to +2.0‰ in opx and from -4.4 to -0.9‰ in cpx from the lherzolites. The Li isotopic composition (3.5‰) of olivines from harzburgite fall within the range of olivine from lherzolites but the opxs show low in δ⁷Li (-2.0‰). Overall Li isotopic compositions of olivines from the peridotites fall within the range of normal mantle olivine, δ⁷Li values of ~+4±2‰ within uncertainty, reflecting metasomatism (enrichment) of the peridotites by isotopically heavy Li-rich asthenospheric melt. Li isotope zonation is also observed in most peridotite minerals. Majority of olivine grains display isotopically heavy cores and light rims and the reverse case is observed for some olivine grains. Orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene grains show irregular distribution in δ⁷Li. These features of Li isotopic compositions within and between grains in the samples reflect the effect of diffusion-driven isotopic fractionation during meltperidotite interaction and cooling processes.     

First dinosaur remains from Ireland

Several specimens from the Lias Group (Lower Jurassic) of Northern Ireland have been suspected as dinosaurian in origin. Bone histology and morphology demonstrates that two of these, both from the same locality in Co. Antrim, demonstrably are from dinosaurs. We interpret one as the proximal end of the left femur of a basal thyreophoran ornithischian, and tentatively assign it to cf. Scelidosaurus. The other is the proximal part of the left tibia of an indeterminate neotheropod, perhaps a member of the averostran-line similar to Sarcosaurus, or a megalosauroid. These are the first dinosaur remains reported from anywhere in Ireland and some of the most westerly in Europe, and they are among only a small number of dinosaurs known from the Hettangian Stage. Two additional specimens are no longer considered to be from dinosaurs. We interpret one as a surangular or mandible fragment from a large marine reptile, perhaps an ichthyosaur or pliosaur; the other is a polygonal fragment of Paleocene basalt.     

Indirect crustal contamination: evidence from isotopic and chemical disequilibria in minerals from alkali basalts and nephelinites from northern Tanzania

 Alkali basalts and nephelinites from the volcanic province of northern Tanzania contain pyroxene and nepheline that show evidence for chemical and/or isotopic disequilibria with their host magmas. Olivine, pyroxene, nepheline and plagioclase all appear to be partially xenocrystic in origin. Five whole rock/mineral separate pairs have been analyzed for Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions. The ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios are distinct by as much as 20.94 (whole rock) vs. 19.10 (clinopyroxene separate). The Sr and Nd isotopic disequilibria vary from insignificant in the case of nepheline, to Δ ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 0.0002 and Δɛ_Nd of 0.7 in the case of clinopyroxene. The mineral chemistry of 25 samples indicates the ubiquitous presence of minerals that did not crystallize from a liquid represented by the host rock. The northern Tanzanian magmas are peralkaline and exhibit none of the xenocrystic phases expected from crustal assimilation. The disequilibria cannot be the result of mantle source variations. Rather the xenocrystic phases present appear to have been derived from earlier alkali basaltic rocks or magmas that were contaminated by the crust. Material from this earlier magma was then mixed with batches of magma that subsequently erupted on the surface. Disequilibrium in volcanic rocks has potentially serious consequences for the use of whole rock data to identify source reservoirs. However, mass balance calculations reveal that the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb isotopic compositions of the erupted lavas were changed by less than 0.25% as a result of this indirect crustal contamination. Received: 15 February 1995 / Accepted: 4 May 1996     

Volatile fluxes from volcanoes

Volatile fluxes from Mid Ocean Ridge (MOR) and subaerial volcanism have been estimated or re-evaluated using several natural tracers-³He, ²¹⁰Po, SO₂-and chemical ratios of volatile species in lavas and volcanic gases.
These estimates confirm the net predominance of anthropogenic fluxes over volcanic fluxes for CO₂, SO₂ and trace metals.
They also suggest that, while most of the volatiles transferred during MOR volcanism come from the mantle, volatiles stored at the surface of the Earth supply an appreciable fraction of subaerial fluxes and can be the dominant source for some of them.
The surface inventory of volatile species cannot result from steady-state degassing with constant rate and needs much greater fluxes in the past or other volatile supply processes. This inventory is the result of several of the following processes: capture of the solar nebula and its subsequent partial escape, impact degassing of accreting bodies, and, from Archean to present mantle, degasssing through volcanism and associated phenomena, with recycling into the mantle through subduction.     

Hillslope Topography from Unconstrained Photographs

Quantifications of Earth surface topography are essential for modeling the connections between physical and chemical processes of erosion and the shape of the landscape. Enormous investments are made in developing and testing process-based landscape evolution models. These models may never be applied to real topography because of the difficulties in obtaining high-resolution (1–2 m) topographic data in the form of digital elevation models (DEMs). Here we present a simple methodology to extract the high-resolution three-dimensional topographic surface from photographs taken with a hand-held camera with no constraints imposed on the camera positions or field survey. This technique requires only the selection of corresponding points in three or more photographs. From these corresponding points the unknown camera positions and surface topography are simultaneously estimated. We compare results from surface reconstructions estimated from high-resolution survey data from field sites in the Oregon Coast Range and northern California to verify our technique. Our most rigorous test of the algorithms presented here is from the soil-mantled hillslopes of the Santa Cruz marine terrace sequence. Results from three unconstrained photographs yield an estimated surface, with errors on the order of 1 m, that compares well with high-resolution GPS survey data and can be used as an input DEM in process-based landscape evolution modeling.     

中国东部全新世火山的镭-钍同位素年代学

活火山是指1万年来有过喷发历史的全新世火山。火山的高分辨年代学对火山灾害评估和火山分类具有重要意义。对于缺乏历史记载的全新世火山,直接对火山岩进行同位素定年很困难。本文利用具有高时间分辨率的镭-钍-铀非平衡确定中国东部年轻火山的年龄。根据镭-钍-铀同位素,海南岛的马鞍岭和雷虎岭是全新世火山(马鞍岭:4.3ka;雷虎岭:4.7ka);镜泊湖火山(4.9ka)也是全新世火山;龙岗火山存在晚更新世和全新世活动(7.0ka,15.0ka);大兴安岭阿尔山和诺敏河Ra/Th非平衡消失但~(230)Th/~(238)U非平衡显著,属于晚更新世喷发(阿尔山:63ka;诺敏河:71ka)。海南岛的马鞍岭火山、雷虎岭火山和东北地区的龙岗火山、镜泊湖火山,是4座活火山。至于东北地区的阿尔山和诺敏河火山是否是活火山,有待测试更多样品的Ra/Th同位素。五大连池老黑山和火烧山有历史喷发记录,这与它们都存在显著Ra/Th非平衡一致。五大连池老黑山和火烧山的岩浆滞留年龄分别小于4.2ka和3.2ka,岩浆上升速率 18～23m/y。     

Ca-enrichment in olivines from volcanic rocks

Data are presented on the Ca-content of olivines in a range of volcanic rocks from a variety of suites. These include olivine basalts through to trachytes from Gough, St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha Islands; trachytes from central Victoria, Australia, and a leucitite and phonclitic-tephrite series from Bufumbira, Uganda. In olivine crystals from basaltic lavas the Ca- and Mn-contents are low and Fe shows the most significant zoning from core to rim. In Fe-rich olivines from trachytic differentiates Ca and Mn frequently show more significant variation than Fe. While the Mn-content is proportional to the Fe-content of these olivines, Ca-zoning, in many cases, is unrelated to Fe-content. The marked Ca-enrichment in olivines occurs with the absence of plagioclase in the host lavas. The Ca(Al  Na  K) ratio is shown to be related not only to the Ca-content of the olivines in the lava, but may be used to predict olivine stability in evolved compositions.     

叶城凹陷柯东1井凝析油及柯克亚原油的油源分析

塔里木盆地叶城凹陷拥有多套烃源岩层,主要为石炭系卡拉乌依组、二叠系棋盘组与普司格组2-3段、侏罗系煤系地层与叶尔羌群等,这些烃源岩都可能是柯东1井凝析油和柯克亚第三系原油的母源。在这一地区,油源一直是一个很具争议性的问题。选取了叶城凹陷克里阳构造带柯东1井2个凝析油、柯克亚构造带7个第三系原油,以及叶城凹陷各烃源岩层具有代表性的17个烃源岩样品,对其生物标志物及正构烷烃单体烃稳定碳同位素比值等参数进行了详细的测试分析。油油对比揭示,柯东1井原油与柯克亚第三系原油在正构烷烃组分、成熟度与稳定碳同位素组成等特征上具有明显的相似性,显示同源的特征。油源对比显示,普司格组2-3段下部是这些原油的源岩。这一烃源岩层具有与柯克亚地区原油一致的成熟度和相似的特征性生物标志物,即高含量的重排藿烷、Ts和 C27-C29重排甾烷等,而其他烃源岩层则不具备这类特征。较高成熟阶段形成的原油,解释了普司格组2-3段烃源岩可溶有机质与柯东1井等原油在单体烃稳定碳同位素比值上具有2‰~3‰的差别。     

Chromium contamination from chromite mine

Among the dominant species of chromium, the trivalent form widely occurs in nature in chromite ores or in silicate minerals and is extremely immobile. The higher oxidation state Cr(VI), is, however, rarely found in nature, is more mobile, and several times more toxic than Cr(III). Cr(VI) occurs in chromates and dichromates manufactured from chromite ores. The hexavalent state is stable in an oxidizing alkaline environment, whereas the trivalent state is stable in a reducing acidic environment. Serpentinization and Mg release during deuteric alteration of ultramafic rocks create alkaline pore water and lateritization is an intensive oxidation process. Chromite ore bodies in oxidized serpentinite therefore may generate hexavalent chromium from the inert chromites and cause hazardous chromium pollution of the water. With this end in view, a combined field and laboratory study has been made on chromite-bearing oxidized serpentinite rocks of Sukinda in Orissa, India. Laboratory leaching studies on mine overburden samples, chemical analyses of streamwater, and hydrolysate incrustation on detrital grains taken from stream beds have indicated the possibility of chromium mobilization from the chromite ores into the waterbodies.     

Mapping of hazard from rainfall-triggered landslides in developing countries: Examples from Honduras and Micronesia

Loss of life and property caused by landslides triggered by extreme rainfall events demonstrates the need for landslide-hazard assessment in developing countries where recovery from such events often exceeds the country's resources. Mapping landslide hazards in developing countries where the need for landslide-hazard mitigation is great but the resources are few is a challenging, but not intractable problem. The minimum requirements for constructing a physically based landslide-hazard map from a landslide-triggering storm, using the simple methods we discuss, are: (1) an accurate mapped landslide inventory, (2) a slope map derived from a digital elevation model (DEM) or topographic map, and (3) material strength properties of the slopes involved. Provided that the landslide distribution from a triggering event can be documented and mapped, it is often possible to glean enough topographic and geologic information from existing databases to produce a reliable map that depicts landslide hazards from an extreme event. Most areas of the world have enough topographic information to provide digital elevation models from which to construct slope maps. In the likely event that engineering properties of slope materials are not available, reasonable estimates can be made with detailed field examination by engineering geologists or geotechnical engineers. Resulting landslide hazard maps can be used as tools to guide relocation and redevelopment, or, more likely, temporary relocation efforts during severe storm events such as hurricanes/typhoons to minimize loss of life and property. We illustrate these methods in two case studies of lethal landslides in developing countries: Tegucigalpa, Honduras (during Hurricane Mitch in 1998) and the Chuuk Islands, Micronesia (during Typhoon Chata'an in 2002).     

Three polytypes of lepidolite from Czechoslovakia

The micas come from two pegmatites penetrating serpentinite in Western Moravia, Czechoslovakia. The lepidolite from Biskupice is chemically halfway between polytithionite and trilithionite, and exhibits the 2M₁ structure which so far was unknown in natural lepidolites. The optical axial plane is perpendicular to (010). In lepidolite crystals from Radkovice, the 2M₂ structure predominates over 1M. The composition is close to trilithionite. The optic axial plane is parallel to (010). Refractive indices, densities, and cell volumes are similar, but the IR absorption spectrum, thermal behaviour, and 2V are different from the corresponding parameters in lepidolite from Biskupice.     

Chemical differences between minerals from mineralizing and barren intrusions from some North American porphyry copper deposits

Major-element analyses (by electron microprobe) and copper contents (by ion-probe) are reported for primary biotite, amphibole, magnetite, pyroxene, ilmenite, sphene and secondary biotite from intrusive rocks from mineralizing and barren stocks. The districts studied include Christmas, Globe-Miami, Sierrita and Tombstone, in Arizona; Bingham and Alta, Utah; Ely, Nevada; and Brenda, British Columbia. Amphiboles from barren rocks are relatively iron-rich and display only minor compositional variation. In contrast, amphiboles from mineralizing rocks span the range from magnesio-hornblende to actinolite, commonly even within one grain. Barren intrusions (type B) that are temporally distinct from mineralizing intrusions, and barren intrusions outside areas of known mineralization have higher Cu contents in their constituent minerals than do mineralizing intrusions. Barren intrusions (type A) that are deep-level temporal equivalents of Cu-bearing porphyritic rocks are depleted in copper. This suggests that copper is abstracted from not only the apical portions of porphyries but from parts of the deeper parent intrusions. The Cu contents of biotites (av. 23 ppm) and magnetites (97 ppm) from barren type B intrusions contrast with those from mineralizing intrusions, with biotites containing 7 ppm Cu and magnetites 3 ppm Cu. Primary amphiboles from all intrusive rock types have low copper contents, typically 2 to 5 ppm. In the continental North American deposits, the amount of copper available by liberation from or non-incorporation into amphibole, biotite and magnetite during magmatic crystallization or the early hydrothermal stage is low, perhaps too low to be the sole source of copper mineralization, unless copper is abstracted from large volumes (∼ 100 km³) of rock. These results contrast with a study of the island-arc porphyry copper at Koloula, Guadalcanal, where it was argued that sufficient copper for mineralization could have been abstracted from relatively small volumes of host rocks that originally contained as much Cu as the contemporaneous barren rock types.     

Luminescence dating of buried cobble surfaces from sandy beach ridges: a case study from Denmark

Here we investigate the use of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) for dating cobbles from the body of successive beach ridges and compare cobble surface‐derived ages to standard quartz OSL ages from sand. Between four and eight cobbles and sand samples (age control) were dated with the luminescence method, taken from the modern beach and from beach ridges on the south and north extremes of a prograding spit on the westernmost coast of Lolland, Denmark. Luminescence‐depth profiles perpendicular to the surfaces of the cobbles show that the feldspar infrared signals stimulated at 50 °C were fully reset to various depths into the cobbles prior to final deposition; as a result, the equivalent doses determined from close to the surface of such cobbles can be used to calculate burial ages. Beach‐ridge burial ages given by the average of ages of individual cobbles taken from the same site are consistent, within errors, with the ages derived from the sand samples. Cobble‐ and sand‐derived ages show that the southernmost beach ridge at Albuen was formed around 2 ka ago, indicating that this sandy spit is younger than other coastal systems in Denmark. The agreement between ages derived from clasts and from standard quartz OSL in this study confirms that, even in the absence of sandy sediments, we can reliably date sites using OSL by targeting larger clasts. In addition, the record of prior light exposure contained in the shape of the cobbles’ luminescence‐depth profile removes one of the major uncertainties (i.e. the degree of signal reset prior to burial) in the luminescence dating of high latitude sites.     

Palygorskite from cave sediments: case study from Wadi Haqil,United Arab Emirates

The x-ray powder diffraction identification of clay minerals both in bulk samples and in separated clay fraction confirmed the presence of palygorskite in samples of cave sediments from Wadi Haqil (the western slopes of Musandam Mountains; Ras Al-Khaimah Emirate, UAE). Samples contain quartz, gypsum, smectite, kaolinite, calcite, and palygorskite, some of them chlorite, illite, feldspars, and goethite. Calcite dominates in most samples; smectite prevails in clay fraction. After heating, the 001 reflection of chlorite shifts to higher diffraction angles and its intensity decreases; these features indicate that the chlorite represent a Fe-dominant species. Unit-cell dimensions of major phases as refined by the Rietveld method are in agreement with literature data. Chemical composition of palygorskite was derived from unit-cell dimensions as follows: MgO content is 11–14 wt% and Al₂O₃ 10–13 wt%. Clay mineralogy is only hard to ascertain from the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images even after being combined with the energy-dispersive spectrometer data. The SEM was also used to characterize gypsum grains; they often display flow deformation features. Studied cave sediments represent palygorskite-bearing weathering products and desert soils re-deposited from the cave surroundings by slope processes and wind and/or surface runoff. The mixture with other clay minerals, quartz, feldspars, etc. supports this interpretation. Fine-grained quartz fraction is probably wind-blown. Gypsum and calcite are the precipitates (crusts and/or cements), although gypsum can also be re-deposited from omnipresent gypsum-cemented surface sediments.     

Paleoelevation Estimated from Tertiary Floras

One method of estimating the elevation of Tertiary flora involves the difference in elevation indicated by a flora in the uplands that is similar to vegetation in the lowlands, shown by examples from Tibet-Himalayas and the Andes. A second method relies on the difference in estimated paleotemperature between a paleoflora now in the uplands and that of similar vegetation in the lowlands, assuming a normal lapse rate in most cases. The former method provides only a general indication of the amount of uplift. The latter can suggest not only the amount of uplift, but the decrease in length of the growing season (Warmth: days), the frequency of freezing (% hrs/yr), and the degree of temperateness as illustrated by examples from the Sierra Nevada. The latter method also suggests that in the Sierra Nevada, the condition for treeline (W 10°C, 0 days warmer) increased 100 m in 10 m.y. between two superposed floras. Following 7 to 5 Ma, the range added 637 m to reach its present level of 2775 m. Regionally, Miocene floras from the central Great Basin represent deciduous hardwood forests that indicate only moderate elevation over the lowlands into the late Tertiary (～5 Ma), following which much of the present relief developed. Eocene floras from the Rocky Mountains, where major volcanism was widespread, show that forests above lowland broadleafed evergreen forests (i.e., Wasatch, Kisinger, etc. floras) were zoned with respect to decreasing Warmth at higher elevation, from W 15°C (227 days) to W 11.3°C (96 days), and from nearly frostless in the Eocene lowlands to fully 15% hrs/yr subfreezing in the uplands at treeline (W 10°C, 0 days), then at 2365 m (6600 ft.).