Balance of tectonically accreted and subducted sediment at the Chile Triple Junction

An active oceanic spreading ridge is being subducted beneath the South American continent at the Chile Triple Junction. Mass balance estimations to characterize temporal and spatial variations in the frontal accretion, or underplating and subduction of sediments since the Late Miocene, were made using seismic and drill-hole data. At 200 km north of the triple junction, almost 80% of the sediment on the downgoing Nazca plate are subducted. Sediment subduction rate decreases towards the triple junction because of a low in sedimentation rates as the flank of the spreading ridge approaches the trench. At the triple junction, the forearc is almost completely destroyed by spreading ridge collision and subduction erosion. Less than 12% of the available sedimentary input is accreted. South of the triple junction, where the spreading ridge passed 6 Ma ago, a large fraction (>60%) of the sediment on the incoming Antarctic plate has been scraped off and was frontally accreted to the Chile forearc. Spreading ridge subduction leaves a distinctive geological fingerprint, and has a large impact on the mass balance of the subduction zone. However, the high rates of change in the process may make this fingerprint hard to detect in fossil convergent orogens. In the ridge collision zone the sediment supplied to the trench, and the amount of sediment subducted, show strong and distinctive variations on a 1- to 5-million-year time scale. On a 10-million-year time scale, sediment subduction to the Earth's mantle is reduced by spreading ridge collision, caused by the need of the overriding forearc to regain a low angle of taper by frontal accretion.     

Long-term rates of chemical weathering and physical erosion from cosmogenic nuclides and geochemical mass balance

Quantifying long-term rates of chemical weathering and physical erosion is important for understanding the long-term evolution of soils, landscapes, and Earth's climate. Here we describe how long-term chemical weathering rates can be measured for actively eroding landscapes using cosmogenic nuclides together with a geochemical mass balance of weathered soil and parent rock. We tested this approach in the Rio Icacos watershed, Puerto Rico, where independent studies have estimated weathering rates over both short and long timescales. Results from the cosmogenic/mass balance method are consistent with three independent sets of weathering rate estimates, thus confirming that this approach yields realistic measurements of long-term weathering rates. This approach can separately quantify weathering rates from saprolite and from overlying soil as components of the total. At Rio Icacos, nearly 50% of Si weathering occurs as rock is converted to saprolite; in contrast, nearly 100% of Al weathering occurs in the soil. Physical erosion rates are measured as part of our mass balance approach, making it particularly useful for studying interrelationships between chemical weathering and physical erosion. Our data show that chemical weathering rates are tightly coupled with physical erosion rates, such that the relationship between climate and chemical weathering rates may be obscured by site-to-site differences in the rate that minerals are supplied to soil by physical erosion of rock. One can normalize for variations in physical erosion rates using the “chemical depletion fraction,” which measures the fraction of total denudation that is accounted for by chemical weathering. This measure of chemical weathering intensity increases with increasing average temperature and precipitation in data from climatically diverse granitic sites, including tropical Rio Icacos and six temperate sites in the Sierra Nevada, California. Hence, across a wide range of climate regimes, analysis of chemical depletion fractions appears to effectively account for site-to-site differences in physical erosion rates, which would otherwise obscure climatic effects on chemical weathering rates. Our results show that by quantifying rates of physical erosion and chemical weathering together, our mass balance approach can be used to determine the relative importance of climatic and nonclimatic factors in regulating long-term chemical weathering rates.     

Structural style and tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Neogene–Quaternary Siderno Basin,southern Calabrian Arc,Italy

The Neogene–Quaternary Siderno Basin is located in the southern Calabrian Arc, along an E–W transect including the Ionian side and part of the Tyrrhenian margin. The orogenic belt was generated by ongoing northward subduction of Ionian oceanic lithosphere beginning in the Early Cretaceous. Since the Oligocene, the area has experienced complex tectonics, including NW–SE-oriented pull-apart basins. The forearc region contains >2000 m of Oligocene-to-Quaternary strata that cover pre-Tertiary rocks. The succession forms an E-dipping monocline, with tectonic growth structures increasing upward. Erosional truncations and thickness variations suggest a different evolution for the Siderno Basin, which in comparison with northern and southern parts of the Ionian accretionary wedge, evolved differently during the Serravallian–Tortonian stages. NW–SE and NE–SW fault systems are dominant, the first exhibiting strike–slip and normal kinematics in the Nicotera–Gioiosa and Molochio–Antonimina fault zones. These structures were active during infilling of the Neogene basin, and represent a complex transfer zone.

The NE–SW system shows two types of tectonic kinematics: (1) a compressive stage, with NW–SE-orientated shortening, responsible for inversion tectonics documented by east-verging folds, thrusts, and back-thrusts, and (2) emplacement of the variegated clay during the Langhian, which is related to back-thrust propagation. The strike–slip accommodated stress generated in the accretionary prism in response to subduction of Ionian lithosphere and progradation of the accretionary front of the Calabrian forearc.     

Time scales and mechanisms of growth of active margins of Gondwana: A model based on detrital zircon ages from the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Blovice accretionary complex,Bohemian Massif

New U–Pb detrital zircon ages from (meta-)graywackes of the Blovice accretionary complex, Bohemian Massif, provide an intriguing record of expansion of the northern active margin of Gondwana during late Neoproterozoic and Cambrian. The late Neoproterozoic (meta-)graywackes typically contain a smaller proportion of Archean and Paleoproterozoic zircons and show a 1.6–1.0 Ga age gap and a prominent late Cryogenian to early Ediacaran age peak. The respective zircon age spectra match those described from other correlative Cadomian terranes with a West African provenance. On the other hand, some samples were dominated by Cambrian zircons with concordia ages as young as 499 Ma. The age spectra obtained from these samples mostly reflect input from juvenile volcanic arcs whereas the late Cambrian samples are interpreted as representing relics of forearc basins that overlay the accretionary wedge.The new U–Pb zircon ages suggest that the Cadomian orogeny, at least in the Bohemian Massif, was not restricted to the Neoproterozoic but should be rather viewed as a continuum of multiple accretion, deformation, magmatic and basin development events governed by oceanic subduction until late Cambrian times. Our new U–Pb ages also indicate that the Cadomian margin was largely non-accretionary since its initiation at ~ 650–635 Ma and that most of the material accreted during a short time span at around 527 Ma, closely followed by a major pulse of pluton emplacement. Based on the new detrital zircon ages, we argue for an unsteady, cyclic evolution of the Cadomian active margin which had much in common with modern Andean and Cordilleran continental-margin arc systems. The newly recognized episodic magmatic arc activity is interpreted as linked to increased erosion–deposition–accretion events, perhaps driven by feedbacks among the changing subducted slab angle, overriding plate deformation, surface erosion, and gravitational foundering of arc roots. These Cadomian active-margin processes were terminated by slab break-off and/or slab rollback and by a switch from convergent to divergent plate motions related to opening of the Rheic Ocean at around 490–480 Ma.The proposed tectonic evolution of the Teplá–Barrandian unit is rather similar to that of the Ossa Morena Zone in Iberia but shows significant differences to that of the North Armorican Massif and Saxothuringian unit in Western and Central Europe. This suggests that the Cadomian orogenic zoning was complexly disrupted during early Ordovician opening of the Rheic Ocean and Late Paleozoic Variscan orogeny so that the originally outboard tectonic elements are now in the Variscan orogen's interior and vice versa.     

非岩溶流水中碳酸盐岩试块的侵蚀速率及其控制因素: 以湖南郴州礼家洞为例

2004年2月、9月、12月和2005年3月,利用澳大利亚产的微侵蚀计(M EM,M icroe-rosion m eter)对湖南郴州礼家洞观测点非岩溶流水中的碳酸盐岩(包括石灰岩和白云岩)试块进行了侵蚀速率的精确测定,共取得数据1550个。用SPSS应用软件对数据进行了处理,发现礼家洞非岩溶流水中的碳酸盐岩的侵蚀速率异常的高,最大的达到了13.6mm/a。在每次测量碳酸盐岩侵蚀速率的同时,使用德国WTW公司生产的MultilineP3多参数自动记录仪,对每个碳酸盐岩试块放置点的水温、pH值、电导率进行了现场监测,并取回水样分析了其中的主要阴阳离子浓度。通过对这些水化学资料的分析,发现礼家洞非岩溶流水的侵蚀能力很强,表现在水的CO2分压很高(可达到12882Pa),而方解石和白云石的饱和指数很低(分别达到-4.78和-10.35)。对比发现,非岩溶流水中碳酸盐岩的侵蚀速率与其方解石和白云石的饱和指数呈负相关关系,即水中方解石和白云石的饱和指数愈低,碳酸盐岩的侵蚀速率就愈高。此外,观察发现,碳酸盐岩试块本身的结构特别是本试验中白云岩的粗晶结构对其侵蚀速率有巨大的影响,反映了机械侵蚀(流水的物理搬运)对侵蚀速率的贡献(可达90%以上),这与传统的将碳酸盐岩试片放入土壤中测得的主要是化学溶蚀速率不同。     

青藏高原的剥蚀与构造抬升*

利用宇宙成因核素¹⁰ Be和²⁶ Al对西昆仑和可可西里北部地表基岩的剥蚀速率进行了测定,得到的结果是:西昆仑的平均剥蚀速率为12m/Ma, 可可西里北部的平均剥蚀速率为15m/Ma。裂变径迹和宇宙成因核素这两种手段所得到的平均剥蚀速率的时间尺度是不同的,前者得到的是几个至数十百万年的平均剥蚀速率,而后者得到的是十几至几十万年的平均剥蚀速率。比较通过这两种手段得到的青藏高原北部和中部的平均剥蚀速率可以发现其平均剥蚀速率从20Ma以来的100m/Ma以上减少到了最近几十万年以来的10m/Ma,我们认为这一剥蚀速率下降的趋势反映了青藏高原从中新世到第四纪晚期构造活动的减弱,据此推断青藏高原北部和中部的隆升应该主要发生在第四纪晚期之前,而不是在最近的几十万年。     

Neoproterozoic (800 Ma) orogeny in the Tuva-Mongolia Massif (Siberia): island arc–continent collision at the northeast Rodinia margin

The Tuva-Mongolia Massif is a composite Precambrian terrane incorporated into the Palaeozoic Sayany-Baikalian belt. Its Neoproterozoic amalgamation history involves early (800 Ma) and late Baikalian (600–550 Ma) orogenic phases. Two palaeogeographic elements are identified in the early Baikalian stage — the Gargan microcontinent and the Dunzhugur oceanic arc. They are represented by the Gargan Glyba (Block) and the island-arc ophiolites overthrusting it. The Gargan Glyba is a two-layer platform comprising an Early Precambrian crystalline basement and a Neoproterozoic passive-margin sedimentary cover. The upper part comprises olistostromes deposited in a foreland basin during the early Baikalian orogeny. The Dunzhugur arc ophiolite form klippen fringing the Gargan Glyba, and show a comprehensive oceanic-arc ophiolite succession. The Dunzhugur arc faced the microcontinent, as shown by the occurrence of forearc complexes. The arc–continent collision followed a pattern similar to Phanerozoic collisions. When the marginal basin lithosphere had been completely subducted, the microcontinental edge partially underthrust the arc, and the forearc ophiolite overrode it. Continued convergence caused a break of the arc lithosphere resulting in the uplift of the submerged microcontinental margin with the overthrust forearc ophiolites sliding into the foreland basin. Owing to the lithospheric break, a new subduction zone, inclined beneath the Gargan microcontinent, emerged. Initial melts of the newly-formed continental arc are represented by tonalites intruded into the Gargan microcontinent basement and its cover, and into the ophiolite nappe. The tonalite Rb–Sr mineral isochron age is 812±18 Ma, which is similar to a U–Pb zircon age of 785±11 Ma. A period of tonalite magmatism in Meso–Cenozoic orogenic belts is recognized some 1–10 m.y. after the collision. Accordingly, the Dunzhugur island arc–Gargan microcontinent collision is conventionally dated at around 800 Ma. It is highly probable that in the early Neoproterozoic, the Gargan continental block was part of the southern (in modern coordinates) margin of the Siberia craton. It is suggested that a chain of Precambrian massifs represents an elongate block separated from Siberia in the late Neoproterozoic. The Tuva-Mongolia Massif is situated in the northwest part of this chain. These events occurred on the NE Neoproterozoic margin of Rodinia, facing the World Ocean.     

Volatile (H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O,CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>, Cl,S) budget of the Central American subduction zone

After more than a decade of multidisciplinary studies of the Central American subduction zone mainly in the framework of two large research programmes, the US MARGINS program and the German Collaborative Research Center SFB 574, we here review and interpret the data pertinent to quantify the cycling of mineral-bound volatiles (H₂O, CO₂, Cl, S) through this subduction system. For input-flux calculations, we divide the Middle America Trench into four segments differing in convergence rate and slab lithological profiles, use the latest evidence for mantle serpentinization of the Cocos slab approaching the trench, and for the first time explicitly include subduction erosion of forearc basement. Resulting input fluxes are 40–62 (53) Tg/Ma/m H₂O, 7.8–11.4 (9.3) Tg/Ma/m CO₂, 1.3–1.9 (1.6) Tg/Ma/m Cl, and 1.3–2.1 (1.6) Tg/Ma/m S (bracketed are mean values for entire trench length). Output by cold seeps on the forearc amounts to 0.625–1.25 Tg/Ma/m H₂O partly derived from the slab sediments as determined by geochemical analyses of fluids and carbonates. The major volatile output occurs at the Central American volcanic arc that is divided into ten arc segments by dextral strike-slip tectonics. Based on volcanic edifice and widespread tephra volumes as well as calculated parental magma masses needed to form observed evolved compositions, we determine long-term (10⁵ years) average magma and K₂O fluxes for each of the ten segments as 32–242 (106) Tg/Ma/m magma and 0.28–2.91 (1.38) Tg/Ma/m K₂O (bracketed are mean values for entire Central American volcanic arc length). Volatile/K₂O concentration ratios derived from melt inclusion analyses and petrologic modelling then allow to calculate volatile fluxes as 1.02–14.3 (6.2) Tg/Ma/m H₂O, 0.02–0.45 (0.17) Tg/Ma/m CO₂, and 0.07–0.34 (0.22) Tg/Ma/m Cl. The same approach yields long-term sulfur fluxes of 0.12–1.08 (0.54) Tg/Ma/m while present-day open-vent SO₂-flux monitoring yields 0.06–2.37 (0.83) Tg/Ma/m S. Input–output comparisons show that the arc water fluxes only account for up to 40 % of the input even if we include an “invisible” plutonic component constrained by crustal growth. With 20–30 % of the H₂O input transferred into the deeper mantle as suggested by petrologic modeling, there remains a deficiency of, say, 30–40 % in the water budget. At least some of this water is transferred into two upper-plate regions of low seismic velocity and electrical resistivity whose sizes vary along arc: one region widely envelopes the melt ascent paths from slab top to arc and the other extends obliquely from the slab below the forearc to below the arc. Whether these reservoirs are transient or steady remains unknown.     

Development of reaction models for ground-water systems

Methods are described for developing geochemical reaction models from the observed chemical compositions of ground water along a hydrologic flow path. The roles of thermodynamic speciation programs, mass balance calculations, and reaction-path simulations in developing and testing reaction models are contrasted. Electron transfer is included in the mass balance equations to properly account for redox reactions in ground water. The mass balance calculations determine net mass transfer models which must be checked against the thermodynamic calculations of speciation and reaction-path programs. Although reaction-path simulations of ground-water chemistry are thermodynamically valid, they must be checked against the net mass transfer defined by the mass balance calculations. An example is given testing multiple reaction hypotheses along a flow path in the Floridan aquifer where several reaction models are eliminated. Use of carbon and sulfur isotopic data with mass balance calculations indicates a net reaction of incongruent dissolution of dolomite (dolomite dissolution with calcite precipitation) driven irreversibly by gypsum dissolution, accompanied by minor sulfate reduction, ferric hydroxide dissolution, and pyrite precipitation in central Florida. Along the flow path, the aquifer appears to be open to CO₂ initially, and open to organic carbon at more distant points down gradient.     

From Cadomian arc to Ordovician passive margin: geochemical records preserved in metasedimentary successions of the Orlica-Śnieżnik Dome in SW Poland

The chemical composition of metamorphosed siliciclastic rocks in the Orlica-?nie?nik Dome (Bohemian Massif) identifies the main sources for the Neoproterozoic [the M?ynowiec Formation (MF)], Early Cambrian [the Stronie Formation (SF)] and Late Cambrian/Early Ordovician [the Goszów quartzites (GQ)] sediments. The MF developed from erosion of a Cadomian magmatic arc along the northern Gondwana margin. The variegated SF, with supra-subduction affinities, shows chemical characteristics pointing to erosion of the freshly exhumed Cadomian orogen and detritus deposition in the back-arc basin. The very different chemical features of the GQ indicate deposition in a basin sited on a passive continental margin. The explanation proposed for the observed changes in chemical composition involves three main stages: (1) The pre ~540 Ma evolution of an active continental margin and related back-arc basin ceased with the collision and accretion of the magmatic arc to the Gondwana margin; (2) Early Cambrian rift to drift transition (540–500 Ma) and development of a depositional basin filled with detritus derived from remnants of the magmatic arc; (3) Peri-Gondwana break-up leading to the formation of shallow-water passive margin depositional basins filled with quartz-rich detritus resembling Early Ordovician Armorican quartzites known from other parts of the Variscan Belt.     

The null hypothesis: globally steady rates of erosion,weathering fluxes and shelf sediment accumulation during Late Cenozoic mountain uplift and glaciation

At the largest time and space scales, the pace of erosion and chemical weathering is determined by tectonic uplift rates. Deviations from equilibrium arise from the transient response of landscape denudation to climatic and tectonic perturbations. We posit that the constraint of mass balance, however, makes it unlikely that such disequilibrium persists at the global scale over millions of years, as has been proposed for late Cenozoic erosion. We synthesize weathering fluxes, global sedimentation rates, sediment yields and tectonic motions to show a remarkable constancy in the pace of Earth‐surface evolution over the last 10 Ma and support the null hypothesis – that global rates of landscape change have remained constant over this time period, despite global climate change and mountain building events. This work undermines the hypothesis that increased weathering due to mountain building or climate change was the primary agent for a decrease in global temperatures.     

富锦隆起泥盆系与变质基底角度不整合关系的发现及构造意义

为了解富锦隆起的构造演化,研究了佳木斯地块东北部富锦隆起地区一套含砾粗砂岩-石英砂与花岗片麻岩不整合面。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年代学结果表明,花岗片麻岩的加权平均年龄为495±5 Ma,石英砂岩中的碎屑锆石年龄均480 Ma,其中以480~520 Ma的年龄组为主体,并含有少量年龄800 Ma的锆石。角度不整合及年代学证据充分表明,富锦隆起是佳木斯地块的组成部分。鉴于佳木斯地块缺失奥陶纪—志留纪沉积,推测这套含砾粗砂岩-石英砂岩的形成时代为泥盆纪。结合区域资料,认为佳木斯地块的变质结晶基底形成后,经历了长期的隆升剥蚀,到早泥盆世,其东部整体转为被动大陆边缘。     

Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian history of an active plate margin in the Teplá–Barrandian unit—a correlation of U–Pb isotopic-dilution-TIMS ages (Bohemia, Czech Republic)

The Teplá–Barrandian unit (TBU) of the Bohemian Massif shared a common geological history throughout the Neoproterozoic and Cambrian with the Avalonian–Cadomian terranes. The Neoproterozoic evolution of an active plate margin in the Teplá–Barrandian is similar to Avalonian rocks in Newfoundland, whereas the Cambrian transtension and related calc-alkaline plutons are reminiscent of the Cadomian Ossa–Morena Zone and the Armorican Massif in western Europe. The Neoproterozoic evolution of the Teplá–Barrandian unit fits well with that of the Lausitz area (Saxothuringian unit), but is significantly distinct from the history of the Moravo–Silesian unit.The oldest volcanic activity in the Bohemian Massif is dated at 609+17/−19 Ma (U–Pb upper intercept). Subduction-related volcanic rocks have been dated from 585±7 to 568±3 Ma (lower intercept, rhyolite boulders), which pre-dates the age of sedimentation of the Cadomian flysch ( t chovice Group). Accretion, uplift and erosion of the volcanic arc is documented by the Neoproterozoic Dob í conglomerate of the upper part of the flysch. The intrusion age of 541+7/−8 Ma from the Zgorzelec granodiorite is interpreted as a minimum age of the Neoproterozoic sequence. The Neoproterozoic crust was tilted and subsequently early Cambrian intrusions dated at 522±2 Ma (T ovice granite), 524±3 Ma (V epadly granodiorite), 523±3 Ma (Smr ovice tonalite), 523±1 Ma (Smr ovice gabbro) and 524±0.8 Ma (Orlovice gabbro) were emplaced into transtensive shear zones.     

Thermochronological evidence for a late Pliocene climate-induced erosion rate increase in the Alps

(U–Th)/He and fission-track analyses of apatite along deep-seated tunnels crossing high-relief mountain ranges offer the opportunity to investigate climate-tectonic forcing on topographic evolution. In this study, the thermochronologic analysis along the Simplon tunnel (western-central Alps; Italy and Switzerland) constrains in detail the mechanisms controlling the topographic evolution of the Simplon Massif. Cooling rates vary from about 10°C/Ma at about 10 Ma to about 35°C/Ma in the last 3 Ma. Such increase in cooling rates corresponds to the inception of glacial cycles in the northern hemisphere. Age patterns show correlation with faults distribution until 2 Ma, suggesting that tectonics-controlled rocks exhumed up to that age. After 2 Ma thermo-chronometric data show that the Simplon area has experienced primarily erosional exhumation. All age patterns provided are not affected by topographic effects, thus indicating that present-day topography has been carved in the last 2 Ma, most likely controlled by glacial erosion.     

Evolution of hillslope soils: The geomorphic theater and the geochemical play

How and how fast do hillslope soils form as the landscape’s morphology changes over time? Here results are shown from an ongoing study that simultaneously examines the morphologic and geochemical evolution of soil mantled hillslopes that have been exposed to distinctively different denudation history. In Northern Sierra Nevada, California, the authors are investigating a tributary basin to the Middle Fork Feather River. A major incision signal from the river is well marked in a knickpoint within the tributary basin which stretches from its mouth to the Feather River at an elevation of ～700 m to the plateau at an elevation of ～1500 m. Hillslopes are significantly steeper below the knickpoint. The area’s total denudation rates are currently being constrained using cosmogenic radio nuclides, but a previous study suggested an order of magnitude difference in total denudation rates below and above the knickpoint. When compared with topographic attributes calculated from LIDAR data, physical erosion rates can be modeled as a linear function of ridge top curvature. Surprisingly, over the wide range of total denudation rates, soil thicknesses do not vary significantly until a threshold point where soil mantled landscapes abruptly shift to bedrock dominated landscapes. Bioturbation by tree falls appear to buffer soil thickness over the wide range of physical soil erosion rates. From three hillslopes with different physical erosion rates, the concentrations of Zr, which were considered conserved during dissolution and leaching, were determined and used as a proxy for the degree of mass losses via chemical denudation. There is a general trend that colluvial soils along the hillslopes with lower physical erosion rates are enriched in fine size fractions, Zr, and pedogenic crystalline Fe oxides. Likewise, the saprolites show greater degrees of chemical denudation at the sites above the knickpoint, presumably because of the saprolites’ longer turnover time in the slowly eroding landscapes. In the two steep hillslopes below the knickpoint, no significant or systematic topgraphic trends were found for soil geochemistry. However, soils show increasing Zr enrichment in the downslope direction in the hillslope above the knickpoint, which suggests a critical denudation rate beyond which soils’ turnover time is too short to develop a geochemical catena. As detailed CRN-based soil production rates and catchment scale denudation rates are acquired, the data will be combined with a mass balance model to calculate the rates of chemical denudation and weathering in soils and saprolites along the denudation gradient.     

Multi-proxy isotopic tracing of magmatic sources and crustal recycling in the Palaeozoic to Early Jurassic active margin of North-Western Gondwana

We trace source variations of active margin granitoids which crystallised intermittently over ~300 Ma in varying kinematic regimes, by combining zircon Lu-Hf isotopic data from Early Palaeozoic to Early Jurassic igneous and metaigneous rocks in the Mérida Andes, Venezuela and the Santander Massif, Colombia, with new whole rock Rb/Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic data, and quartz O isotopic data. These new data are unique in South America because they were obtained from discrete magmatic and metamorphic zircon populations, providing a high temporal resolution dataset, and compare several isotopic systems on the same samples. Collectively, these data provide valuable insight into the evolution of the isotopic structure of the continental crust in long-lived active margins.Phanerozoic active margin-related granitoids in the Mérida Andes and the Santander Massif yield zircon Lu-Hf model ages ranging between 0.77 Ga and 1.57 Ga which clearly define temporal trends that can be correlated with changes in tectonic regimes. The oldest Lu-Hf model ages of >1.3 Ga are restricted to granitoids which formed during Barrovian metamorphism and crustal thickening between ~499 Ma and ~473 Ma. These granitoids yield high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, suggesting that evolved, Rb-rich middle to upper crust was the major source of melt. Granitoids and rhyolites which crystallised during subsequent extension between ~472 Ma and ~452 Ma yield younger Lu-Hf model ages of 0.80 Ga–1.3 Ga and low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, suggesting that they were derived from much more juvenile, Rb-poor sources such as mafic lower crust and mantle-derived melts. The rapid change in magmatic sources at ~472 Ma can be attributed either to reduced crustal assimilation during extension, or a short pulse of crustal growth by addition of juvenile material to the continental crust. Between ~472 Ma and ~196 Ma Lu-Hf model ages remain mostly constant between ~1.0 and ~1.2 Ga. The large scatter and the absence of definite trends in initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios suggest that both mafic, Rb-poor, and evolved Rb-rich sources were important precursors of active margin magmas in Colombia and Venezuela throughout the Palaeozoic to the Early Jurassic.Previous studies have shown that the genesis of arc magmas may be stimulated by heat advection to the crust during the underplating of mantle derived melt, but the absence of permanent younging trends in Lu-Hf model ages from ~472 Ma to ~196 Ma suggests that very little new crust was generated during this period in the studied region. An overwhelming majority of the analysed igneous rocks yield zircon Lu-Hf model ages of >1 Ga which may be accounted for by documented local crustal end members of 1 Ga–1.6 Ga, and do not require contributions from the depleted mantle. Therefore, recycling of ~1 Ga and older crust was a dominant process in the north-western corner of Gondwana between ~472 Ma and ~196 Ma.This study shows that whole rock Sm-Nd and zircon Lu-Hf data can be interpreted similarly regarding the age of the source regions, whereas Rb-Sr and O isotope data from the same rocks yield valuable information regarding the geochemical nature of the source.     

Sedimentation rates, basin analysis and regional correlations of three Neoarchaean and Palaeoproterozoic sub-basins of the Kaapvaal craton as inferred from precise U–Pb zircon ages from volcaniclastic sediments

Calculation of sedimentation rates of Neoarchaean and Palaeoproterozoic siliciclastic and chemical sediments covering the Kaapvaal craton imply sedimentation rates comparable to their modern facies equivalents. Zircons from tuff beds in carbonate facies of the Campbellrand Subgroup in the Ghaap Plateau region of the Griqualand West basin, Transvaal Supergroup, South Africa were dated using the Perth Consortium Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe II (SHRIMP II). Dates of Ma and Ma for the middle and the upper part of the Nauga Formation indicate that the decompacted sedimentation rate for the peritidal flat to subtidal below-wave-base Stratifera and clastic carbonate facies, southwest of the Ghaap Plateau at Prieska, was of up to 10 m/Ma, when not corrected for times of erosion and non-deposition. Dates of Ma for the upper Gamohaan Formation and for the upper Monteville Formation, indicate that some 2000 m of carbonate and subordinate shale sedimentation occurred during 16 Ma to 62 Ma on the Ghaap Plateau. For these predominantly peritidal stromatolitic carbonates, decompacted sedimentation rates were of 40 m/Ma to over 150 m/Ma (Bubnoff units). The mixed siliciclastic and carbonate shelf facies of the Schmidtsdrif Subgroup and Monteville Formation accumulated with decompacted sedimentation rates of around 20 B. For the Kuruman Banded Iron Formation a decompacted sedimentation rate of up to 60 B can be calculated. Thus, for the entire examined deep shelf to tidal facies range, Archaean and Phanerozoic chemical and clastic sedimentation rates are comparable. Four major transgressive phases over the Kaapvaal craton, followed by shallowing-upward sedimentation, can be recognized in the Prieska and Ghaap Plateau sub-basins, in Griqualand West, and partly also in the Transvaal basin, and are attributed to second-order cycles of crustal evolution. First-order cycles of duration longer than 50 Ma can also be identified. The calculated sedimentation rates reflect the rate of subsidence of a rift-related basin and can be ascribed to tectonic and thermal subsidence. Comparison of the calculated sedimentation rates to published data from other Archaean and Proterozoic basins allows discussion of general Precambrian basin development. Siliciclastic and carbonate sedimentation rates of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic basins equivalent to those of younger systems suggest that similar mechanical, chemical and biological processes were active in the Precambrian as found for the Phanerozoic. Particularly for stromatolitic carbonates, matching modern and Neoarchaean sedimentation rates are interpreted as a strong hint of a similar evolutionary stage of stromatolite-building microbiota. The new data also allow for improved regional correlations across the Griqualand West basin and with the Malmani Subgroup carbonates in the Transvaal basin. The Nauga Formation carbonates in the southwest of the Griqualand West basin are significantly older than the Gamohaan Formation in the Ghaap Plateau region of this basin, but are in part, correlatives of the Oaktree Formation in the Transvaal and of parts of the Monteville Formation on the Ghaap Plateau.     

A mass transfer model of bauxite formation

The formation of bauxite due to weathering of a granitic protolith has been simulated by means of a one-dimensional flow and reaction model based on the mass transfer principle. The model couples mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions, speciation in solution, and advective solute transport in a porous medium. A very important aspect of the modeling study is the use of mineral reaction rates determined experimentally in the laboratory. The important effects of solution saturation state and pH have been incorporated into the kinetic rate laws governing the heterogeneous reactions. The values of these parameters have been obtained from the scientific literature to guarantee that realistic reaction rates are used in the simulations. Albite and quartz are the minerals that make up the parent rock in the model. Gibbsite, kaolinite, and a Na-mica (as a surrogate for smectite) are the secondary minerals that have been taken into account. Long-term simulations (>1 Ma) have been run, and the formation of a bauxitic profile, with an upper gibbsite-rich and a lower kaolinite-rich zone, is predicted. In early stages of the process (up to a few hundreds of thousands of years), both gibbsite and kaolinite precipitate directly from solution as a consequence of albite dissolution. In later stages, the bulk of gibbsite precipitation derives from the incongruent dissolution of kaolinite, while kaolinite precipitation is still caused by the dissolution of albite. This is also reflected by the formation of two reaction fronts in the profile. These results are compared with weathering sequences from the Los Pijiguaos bauxite deposit, Venezuela. The overlap between the gibbsite and kaolinite zones and the replacement of kaolinite by gibbsite are consistent with model calculations. Mechanical denudation has to be called upon to explain the limited thicknesses of the weathering profiles in the field. The role of mechanical erosion is supported by the presence of microsedimentary structures in the bauxite and the balance between dissolved and suspended loads in the streams draining the area.     

Controls on supergene enrichment of porphyry copper deposits in the Central Andes: A review and discussion

The Central Andes host some of the world’s largest porphyry copper deposits. The economic viability of these deposits is dependent on the size and quality of their supergene enrichment blanket. Published models that have strongly influenced exploration policy suggest that supergene enrichment ceased at 14 Ma due to an increase in aridity. Here we discuss these models using published geochronological, geomorphological and geological data. Geochronological data indicate that supergene oxidation and enrichment has been active between 17 and 27°S across the forearc of northern Chile and southern Peru from 44 to 6 Ma, and on the Bolivian Altiplano and Eastern Cordillera of Argentina from 11 Ma to present. There is evidence for cessation at 20, 14 and 6 Ma. However, a major problem is that as more geochronological data become available the age ranges and periods of enrichment increase. This suggests that the full spectrum of enrichment ages may not have been sampled. The relationship between supergene enrichment and the age of regional pediplain surface development is not well constrained. Only in two areas have surfaces related to enrichment been directly dated (southern Peru and south of 26°S in Chile) and suggest formation post 14 Ma. Sedimentological data indicate that a fluctuating arid/semi-arid climate prevailed across the Atacama Desert until between 4 and 3 Ma, climatic conditions that are thought to be favourable for supergene enrichment. The balance between uplift, erosion, burial and sufficient water supply to promote enrichment is complex. This suggests that a simple model for controlling supergene enrichment is unlikely to be widely applicable in northern Chile. General models that involve climatic desiccation at 14 Ma related to rainshadow development and/or the presence of an ancestral cold-upwelling Humboldt Current are not supported by the available geological evidence. The integration of disparate sedimentological, geomorphological and supergene age data will be required to fully understand the controls on and distribution of supergene oxidation and enrichment in the Central Andes.     

The role of supergene sulphuric acid during weathering in small river catchments in low mountain ranges of Central Europe: Implications for calculating the atmospheric CO2 budget

The geochemistry of dissolved and suspended loads in river catchments of two low mountain ranges in Central Europe allows comparison of pertinent chemical weathering rates. Distinct differences in lithology, i.e. granites prevailing in the Black Forest compared to Palaeozoic sediments in the Rhenish Massif, provide the possibility to examine the influence of lithology on weathering. Here we determine the origin of river water using the stable isotope ratio δ¹⁸O_H2O and we quantify the geogenic proportions of sulphate from stable isotope ratios δ³⁴S_SO4 and δ¹⁸O_SO4. Particularly in catchments with abundant pyrite, determination of the geogenic amount of sulphate is important, since oxidation of pyrite leads to acidity, which increases weathering. Our results show that spatially averaged silicate weathering rates are higher for the river catchments Acher and Gutach in the Black Forest (10–12 t/km²/yr) compared to the river catchments of the Möhne dam and the Aabach dam in the Rhenish Massif (2–6 t/km²/yr). Correspondingly, the CO₂ consumption by silicate weathering in the Black Forest (334–395 × 10³ mol/km²/yr) is more than twice as high as in the Rhenish Massif (28–151 × 10³ mol/km²/yr). These higher rates for watersheds of the Black Forest are likely due to steeper slopes leading to higher mechanical erosion with respective higher amounts of fresh unweathered rock particulates and due to the fact that the sediments in the Rhenish Massif have already passed through at least one erosion cycle. Carbonate weathering rates vary between 12 and 38 t/km²/yr in the catchments of the Rhenish Massif. The contribution of sulphuric acid to the silicate weathering is higher in the catchments of the Rhenish Massif (9–16%) than in the catchments of the Black Forest (5–7%) due to abundant pyrite in the sediments of the Rhenish Massif. Three times higher long-term erosion rates derived from cosmogenic nuclides compared to short-term erosion rates derived from river loads in Central Europe point to three times higher CO₂ consumption during the past 10³ to 10⁴ years.