In situ LA-ICPMS Isotopic and Geochronological Studies on Carbonatites and Phoscorites from the Guli Massif,Maymecha-Kotuy,Polar Siberia

In this study we present a fresh isotopic data, as well as U–Pb ages from different REE-minerals in carbonatites and phoscorites of Guli massif using in situ LA-ICPMS technique. The analyses were conducted on apatites and perovskites from calcio-carbonatite and phoscorite units, as well as on pyrochlores and baddeleyites from the carbonatites. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios obtained from apatites and perovskites from the phoscorites are 0.70308–0.70314 and 0.70306–0.70313, respectively; and 0.70310–0.70325 and 0.70314–0.70327, for the pyrochlores and apatites from the carbonatites, respectively.Furthermore, the in situ laser ablation analyses of apatites and perovskites from the phoscorite yield εNd from 3.6 (±1) to 5.1 (±0.5) and from 3.8 (±0.5) to 4.9 (±0.5), respectively; εNd of apatites, perovskites and pyrochlores from carbonatite ranges from 3.2 (±0.7) to 4.9 (±0.9), 3.9 (±0.6) to 4.5 (±0.8) and 3.2 (±0.4) to 4.4 (±0.8), respectively. Laser ablation analyses of baddeleyites yielded an eHf(t)d of +8.5 (± 0.18); prior to this study Hf isotopic characteristic of Guli massif was not known. Our new in situ εNd, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and eHf data on minerals in the Guli carbonatites imply a depleted source with a long time integrated high Lu/Hf, Sm/Nd, Sr/Rb ratios.In situ U–Pb age determination was performed on perovskites from the carbonatites and phoscorites and also on pyrochlores and baddeleyites from carbonatites. The co-existing pyrochlores, perovskites and baddeleyites in carbonatites yielded ages of 252.3 ± 1.9, 252.5 ± 1.5 and 250.8 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. The perovskites from the phoscorites yielded an age of 253.8 ± 1.9 Ma. The obtained age for Guli carbonatites and phoscorites lies within the range of ages previously reported for the Siberian Flood Basalts and suggest essentially synchronous emplacement with the Permian-Triassic boundary.     

Impact of climate and CO2 on a millennium-long tree-ring carbon isotope record

We present one millennium-long (1171-year), and three 100 year long annually resolved δ¹³C tree-ring chronologies from ecologically varying Juniperus stands in the Karakorum Mountains (northern Pakistan), and evaluate their response to climatic and atmospheric CO₂ changes. All δ¹³C records show a gradual decrease since the beginning of the 19th century, which is commonly associated with a depletion of atmospheric δ¹³C due to fossil fuel burning. Climate calibration of high-frequency δ¹³C variations indicates a pronounced summer temperature signal for all sites. The low-frequency component of the same records, however, deviates from long-term temperature trends, even after correction for changes in anthropogenic CO₂. We hypothesize that these high-elevation trees show a response to both climate and elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration and the latter might explain the offset with target temperature data. We applied several corrections to tree-ring δ¹³C records, considering a range of potential CO₂ discrimination changes over the past 150 years and calculated the goodness of fit with the target via calibration/verification tests (R², residual trend, and Durbin-Watson statistics). These tests revealed that at our sites, carbon isotope fixation on longer timescales is affected by increasing atmospheric CO₂ concentrations at a discrimination rate of about 0.012‰/ppmv. Although this statistically derived value may be site related, our findings have implications for the interpretation of any long-term trends in climate reconstructions using tree-ring δ¹³C, as we demonstrate with our millennium-long δ¹³C Karakorum record. While we find indications for warmth during the Medieval Warm Period (higher than today’s mean summer temperature), we also show that the low-frequency temperature pattern critically depends on the correction applied. Patterns of long-term climate variation, including the Medieval Warm Period, the Little Ice Age, and 20th century warmth are most similar to existing evidence when a strong influence of increased atmospheric CO₂ on plant physiology is assumed.     

Mitteilungen der Österreichischen Mineralogischen Gesellschaft

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Paleoenvironmental evolution of the Paratethys in the Slovenian Basin during the Late Paleogene

Several sections from the uppermost Eocene and Oligocene of northern Slovenia have been investigated with respect to sedimentary facies, foraminiferal assemblages, stable isotopes, carbonate microfacies, and palynology. The main objective was to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental history of the Paleogene Paratethys in this region of the eastern Alpine realm. The sediments exhibit a transgressive succession beginning with conglomerates, sandstones, and mudstones of fluvial and lacustrine origin followed by carbonates and muddy marls indicating marine conditions. The foraminiferal faunal changes from brackish to shallow marine to deeper marine assemblages and the distribution of the palynofloras corroborate the sedimentological results. Microfacies analysis of the limestones shows a wide variation of shallow water, generally mud-rich facies dominated by coralline algae, foraminifera, and corals. Microfaunas adapted to low-oxygen conditions indicate temporal sluggish bottom-water circulation which can be associated with high fresh-water fluxes. These results are discussed as reflecting both the global sea-level rise during the Early Oligocene and the regional tectonic and climatic evolution.     

Die Darstellung des geomagnetischen Potentials zur Epoche 1945,0 durch eine Entwicklung nach Kugelfunktionen bis zur 15. Ordnung

Zusammenfassung Es werden die Ergebnisse einer Berechnung des geomagnetischen Potentials in Form einer Reihenentwicklung nach Kugelfunktionen bis zur 15. Ordnung auf Grund der magnetischen Weltkarten für die Epoche 1945,0 vonE. H. Vestine und andern vorgelegt. Bei der Ableitung des Potentialausdrucks nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate wurden die Orthogonalitätseigenschaften der Kugelflächenfunktionen vollständig ausgenutzt.

---

Summary The results of the analysis of the main geomagnetic field for the epoch 1945.0 in a series of spherical harmonics to the 15th degree are presented. The analysis is based on the world magnetic charts derived byVestine et al. The coefficients of the potential are calculated by least-squares approximation taking advantage of the orthogonality of the spherical harmonics over discrete ranges.

     

Zur geomagnetischen Tiefensondierung

Zusammenfassung Eine Kurvenvergleichsmethode zur Interpretation räumlicher Induktions-pfeilprofile wird unter der Voraussetzung entwickelt, dass die Verteilung der von den geomagnetischen Variationen im Erdinnern induzierten Ströme linear ist. Sie gründet sich auf die lineare Abhängigkeit der Länge des Induktionspfeils von der vertikalen Komponente des Biot-Savartschen Gesetzes. Die Frequenzabhängigkeit des Induktionspfeiles ermöglicht die Angabe eines für die Leitfähigkeitsstruktur charakteristischen Widerstandes und einer Induktivität. Wird zur Bestimmung von Induktionspfeilen das gesamte Horizontalfeld benutzt, so geht die Linearität der Beziehung zwischen Pfeillänge und Ortsfunktion verloren. Für eine Reihe von Strommodellen werden derartige Ortsfunktionenp _z berechnet und diskutiert. Sie dienen als Beispiele von Musterkurven für die entwickelte Interpretationsmethode.

---

Summary One curve-matching method is developed in order to interprete the geomagnetic induction arrow profiles when the distribution of telluric currents in the underground is assumed to be linear. It bases on the linear dependence of the lengths of the induction arrows from the vertical component of the Biot-Savarts Law, which is a function of the radius vector. This is valid when the inducing field has only a horizontal component and the induced horizontal field is zero. In case that the model approximates the current distribution one gets a resistivity and an inductivity from the dependence of frequency of the induction arrows. Some model curves concerning several current distributions are drawn and discussed.

---

---

Mitteilung aus dem Geomagnetischen Institut der DAW, Potsdam, Nr. 212.     

Complete recycling of a magmatic arc: evidence from chemical and isotopic composition of Quaternary trench sediments in Chile (36°–40°S)

Marine Quaternary trench and slope sediments were sampled along the margin of the Southern Andes, Chile between 36° and 40°S. Major and trace element contents indicate only minor influence of weathering and transport fractionation. The whole rock composition of the sediments is similar to the average rock of the Cretaceous to Holocene magmatic arc of this section of the southern volcanic zone. Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope composition of the sediments also resembles closely the average composition of the magmatic arc. The contribution of compositionally distinct Palaeozoic crust, which makes up most of the volume of the forearc, is ~0–20% crustal Sr, Nd, and Pb according to the isotope record of the trench and slope sediments. Input of sediments from the continent into the subduction system was dominated by detritus from the magmatic arc at least for the last 20 My on the basis of the Oligocene to Holocene exhumation history of the margin.     

Vitreous state in nature—Origin and properties

Vitreous materials are quite routinely found in natural settings. Most of them are aluminosilicates, which often occur in large deposits. Considering the geological formations in which naturally occurring vitreous aluminosilicates are found, they have generally remained stable for more than 1 Ma on the earth's surface, even in different geological and climatic environments. These non-crystalline solids played a very important role in the development of ancient human civilizations, long before the introduction of metallic tools. Today, however, the properties of natural glasses are of interest to mankind for completely different reasons. For example, industrial glasses are used today for encapsulating toxic wastes, especially radioactive waste, which remains active for centuries or more, in order to prevent the unwanted transfer of harmful materials to the environment. The chemical compositions of industrially produced glasses are in large part different from the compositions of natural glasses. Little is quantitatively known about the stability of industrial glasses over very long periods of time (>10,000 years). However, the physical and chemical stability of natural aluminosilicate glasses is known to extend over very long periods of time.The advancement of technological design to prevent or at least minimize the melt down of toxic waste during the encapsulation process is currently a major challenge, using glasses of natural chemical composition. Brecciated glass, which is found frequently in natural settings, provides a special clue to the possibility of producing vitreous solids by sintering glass fragments without melting the cullets. It is essential to prevent melting of the cullets because the melt has the potential of chemically reacting with the toxic waste.This paper summarizes the geological, chemical, and physical facts concerning naturally produced glasses, and seeks to establish a recognized database for further research in the domain of understanding the glass-forming processes that occur in nature. Furthermore, the authors hope to stimulate research into the utilization of natural resources that to solve the problem of storing of toxic waste safely.Major and trace element data have been collected over the past 100 years. These data constitute a sufficient basis for the chemical characterization of natural glasses. More information about the major elements is not required, in order to understand the chemical properties of these materials. On the other hand, large gaps in compositional data exist where other related components are concerned: e.g., in the case of “water-species”, with its different forms of bonding in silicates or oxygen (oxygen fugacity), CO₂-, sulphur - or hydrocarbons (methane)-, hydrogen-, chlorine-and fluorine-species. All these components have a significant impact on the properties of glasses, even when present only in minor quantities. Glass textures and crystal morphologies reflect the processes of nucleation and crystal growth in a glass-forming matrix during the cooling and reheating cycles which are currently not thoroughly understood. In nature, the processes that led to the formation of vitreous materials are very different from those used in the production of industrial glasses. The different genetic conditions under which glass formation occurs permit differentiation between magmatic and metamorphic vitreous solids. Sedimentary and biogenetic processes also contribute to the formation of non-crystalline solids.     

Methane exchange between coal-bearing basins and the atmosphere: the Ruhr Basin and the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany

A precise knowledge of methane exchange processes is required to fully understand the recent rise of atmospheric methane concentration. Three of these processes take place at the lithosphere/atmosphere boundary: bacterial consumption of methane and emission of bacterial or thermogenic methane. This study was initiated to quantify these processes on a regional scale in the Ruhr Basin and the Lower Rhine Embayment. Since these areas are subject to bituminous coal and lignite mining, natural and anthropogenically-induced methane exchange processes could be studied. The methane emission and consumption rates and their carbon isotope signal were measured at the lithosphere/atmosphere boundary using flux chambers. On most of the soils studied, methane consumption by bacteria was identified. Thermogenic methane was released only at some of the natural faults examined. In active and abandoned bituminous coal mining areas methane emissions were restricted to small areas, where high emission rates were measured. The carbon isotope composition of methane at natural faults and in mining subsidence troughs was typical of thermogenic methane (−45 to −32 ‰ δ¹³C). Methane exchange balancing revealed that natural methane emissions from these two basins represent no source of atmospheric importance. However, methane release by upcast mining shafts dominates the methane exchange processes and is by about two orders of magnitude greater than methane consumption by bacterial oxidation in the soils.