Extreme P-, Bi-, Nb-, Sc-, U- and F-rich zircon from fractionated perphosphorous granites: The peraluminous Podlesí granite system, Czech Republic

The strongly peraluminous and P-rich, protolithionite and zinnwaldite leucogranites from Podlesí, western Krušné Hory Mts., Czech Republic, contain accessory zircon with extraordinary enrichment of several elements, which constitute trace elements in common zircon. Elements showing a not yet reported anomalous enrichment include P (up to 20.2 wt.% P₂O₅; equivalent to 0.60 apfu, formula calculated on the basis of 4 oxygen atoms), Bi (up to 9.0 wt.% Bi₂O₃; 0.086 apfu), Nb (up to 6.7 wt.% Nb₂O₅, 0.12 apfu), Sc (up to 3.45 wt.% Sc₂O₃; 0.10 apfu), U (up to 14.8 wt.% UO₂; 0.12 apfu) and F (up to 3.81 wt.% F; 0.42 apfu). Strong enrichment of P preferentially involved the berlinite-type substitution (2 Si⁴⁺  P⁵⁺ + Al³⁺) implying that significant Al may enter the Si position in zircon. Incorporation of other exotic elements is primarily governed by the xenotime (Si⁴⁺ + Zr⁴⁺  P⁵⁺ + Y³⁺), pretulite (Sc³⁺ + P⁵⁺  Zr⁴⁺ + Si⁴⁺), brabantite-type (Ca²⁺ + (U, Th)⁴⁺ + 2P⁵⁺  2Zr⁴⁺ + 2Si⁴⁺), and ximengite-type (Bi³⁺ + P⁵⁺  Zr⁴⁺ + Si⁴⁺) substitution reactions. One part of the anomalous zircons formed late-magmatically, from a strongly peraluminous, P–F–U-rich hydrous residual melt that gave rise to the zinnwaldite granite. Interaction with aggressive residual fluids and metamictization have further aided in element enrichment or depletion, particularly in altered parts of zircon contained in the protolithionite granite. Most of the zircon from F-rich greisens have a composition close to endmember ZrSiO₄ and are chemically distinct from zircon in its granite parent. This discrepancy implies that at Podlesí, granitic zircon became unstable and completely dissolved during greisenization. Part of the mobilized elements was reprecipitated in newly grown, hydrothermal zircon.     

D.J. Furbish. Fluid physics in Geology – an introduction to fluid motions on the earth's surface and within its crust

Geologie en Mijnbouw -     

赞皇地区～2.5Ga A型花岗岩的成因及构造背景:以黄岔岩体为例

位于华北克拉通中部的赞皇杂岩中保留有丰富的新太古代-古元古代岩石记录,是探究华北克拉通早期演化的重要地区之一。其中新太古代晚期TTG片麻岩和花岗岩的成因研究是探讨赞皇杂岩构造演化过程的关键。本文选择出露于河北省邢台市西部山区的黄岔花岗岩体进行研究。该岩体呈不规则的岩株产出,与周围地层主要呈构造接触关系,局部侵入于官都群石英岩中。岩体主要由片麻状、似斑状二长花岗岩组成,边缘相偶见细粒片麻岩包体,斑晶为长石和少量石英。LA-ICP-MS岩浆锆石的~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb加权平均年龄为2488±6Ma,代表岩体的形成时代。由于黄岔岩体侵入于官都群,根据该花岗岩的时代可以限定官都群地层时代为太古代,而非古元古代。但官都群与赞皇群的关系还需要进一步研究。黄岔岩体具有高硅(Si O2=72.64%~74.16%)、富钾(K_2O=3.53%~6.15%)、富碱(ALK=7.59%~9.07%)及铁(Fe_2O_3T=1.84%~3.03%),贫钙(CaO=0.67%~1.67%)、低钛(TiO_2=0.18%~0.28%)、低镁(MgO=0.31%~0.46%)的特征。岩石的稀土总量较高(ΣREE=364.2×10~(-6)~661.1×10~(-6)),轻重稀土元素分异较强烈((La/Yb)_N=18.7~29.8),并具有明显的负Eu异常(Eu/Eu*=0.23~0.33)。微量元素中,富Zr、Zn、Nb、Ga、Y,而贫Sr、V、Cr、Co、Ni等元素,Rb/Sr比值较高,介于0.73~2.72之间,平均1.96。岩石Ga/Al值(2.75×10-4~3.11×10-4)高,全岩Zr饱和温度为826~877℃,具有A型花岗岩特征。黄岔岩体锆石εHf(t)为0.96~6.2,单阶段和两阶段Hf模式年龄分别为2552~2746Ma和2576~2826Ma。黄岔岩体具有造山后A型花岗岩的特征,为2.7~2.5Ga的新太古代TTG片麻岩在造山后地壳拉张减薄初期的构造背景下部分熔融所形成。~2.5Ga的碱性花岗岩在华北不同地区分布,并形成于伸展的构造背景。该期碱性花岗岩的出现,标志华北克拉通在太古宙末期已经初步形成稳定的克拉通。     

Comment on ‘Magnetic studies of magma-supply and sea-floor metamorphism: Troodos ophiolite dikes’, by G.J. Borradaile and D. Gauthier

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility is used as a proxy for the determination of magmatic flow direction in mafic dykes. Here we take advantage of the dataset from G.J. Borradaile and D. Gauthier to comment three points: (1) the sampling strategy; (2) the geometric relationship between magnetic axis dyke, and, (3) an alternative interpretation to obtain a flow direction. The magnetic lineations published by Borradaile and Gauthier correspond to the zone axis of the dyke and magnetic foliation poles, questioning the reliability of the magnetic lineation as a flow estimate. An alternative interpretation is based on the use of the tiling of the magnetic foliation plane against the dyke wall.     

The time and place for political ecology: An introduction to the articles honoring the life-work of Piers Blaikie

Political ecology (PE) is experiencing a renaissance and embrace similar to that of Geography itself. Just as there is a rediscovery of the importance of place and thus Geography, Geographers and others are discovering that this critical approach to the human-environment dialectic provides unique theoretical, methodological, and practical insights for unravelling the complexities of this contentious nexus. The host of new volumes that introduce students and the larger academic community to PE each emphasize different theoretical and thematic confluences. This volume is organized around the life-long work and intellectual history of a leading political ecologist, Piers Blaikie, and as such it is both a tribute to that work, and an alternative means to discover what PE is today. Piers Blaikie’s life-work also encompasses research and writing on natural disasters and risk, development policy and practice, international environmental policy, conservation and biodiversity, AIDS in Africa, livelihoods, and books on India and Nepal. By assessing Blaikie’s long and productive career, from pioneering foundational texts, through transdisciplinary exchanges in the fields of Geography, Development Studies, and policy, to constructive and critical engagement with the post-modern turn, and questions of epistemology and methodology, the contributions to this themed issue provide a diverse yet coherent set of insights. The three sessions of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) Conference in Denver in 2005 and group of articles that emerged from them to form this collection serve to clarify the major convergences and dissonances in the field and its ongoing vitality. In Piers Blaikie’s case, as a central actor in both the theory and practice of PE, a collection based upon a critical overview of his contributions to PE provides a new window into seeing and understanding the past, present, and future of the field.