Platinum-group minerals from the Jinbaoshan Pd–Pt deposit,SW China: evidence for magmatic origin and hydrothermal alteration

The Jinbaoshan Pt–Pd deposit in Yunnan, SW China, is hosted in a wehrlite body, which is a member of the Permian (∼260 Ma) Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP). The deposit is reported to contain one million tonnes of Pt–Pd ore grading 0.21% Ni and 0.16% Cu with 3.0 g/t (Pd + Pt). Platinum-group minerals (PGM) mostly are ∼10 μm in diameter, and are commonly Te-, Sn- and As-bearing, including moncheite (PtTe₂), atokite (Pd₃Sn), kotulskite (PdTe), sperrylite (PtAs₂), irarsite (IrAsS), cooperite (PtS), sudburyite (PdSb), and Pt–Fe alloy. Primary rock-forming minerals are olivine and clinopyroxene, with clinopyroxene forming anhedral poikilitic crystals surrounding olivine. Primary chromite occurs either as euhedral grains enclosed within olivine or as an interstitial phase to the olivine. However, the intrusion has undergone extensive hydrothermal alteration. Most olivine grains have been altered to serpentine, and interstitial clinopyroxene is often altered to actinolite/tremolite and locally biotite. Interstitial chromite grains are either partially or totally replaced by secondary magnetite. Base-metal sulfides (BMS), such as pentlandite and chalcopyrite, are usually interstitial to the altered olivine. PGM are located with the BMS and are therefore also interstitial to the serpentinized olivine grains, occurring within altered interstitial clinopyroxene and chromite, or along the edges of these minerals, which predominantly altered to actinolite/tremolite, serpentine and magnetite. Hydrothermal fluids were responsible for the release of the platinum-group elements (PGE) from the BMS to precipitate the PGM at low temperature during pervasive alteration. A sequence of alteration of the PGM has been recognized. Initially moncheite and atokite have been corroded and recrystallized during the formation of actinolite/tremolite, and then, cooperite and moncheite were altered to Pt–Fe alloy where they are in contact with serpentine. Sudburyite occurs in veins indicating late Pd mobility. However, textural evidence shows that the PGM are still in close proximity to the BMS. They occur in PGE-rich layers located at specific igneous horizons in the intrusion, suggesting that PGE were originally magmatic concentrations that, within a PGE-rich horizon, crystallized with BMS late in the olivine/clinopyroxene crystallization sequence and have not been significantly transported during serpentinization and alteration.     

Metamorphic fluid origins in the Osborne Fe oxide–Cu–Au deposit,Australia: evidence from noble gases and halogens

The Osborne iron oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposit is hosted by amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks and associated with pegmatite sheets formed by anatexis during peak metamorphism. Eleven samples of ore-related hydrothermal quartz and two pegmatitic quartz–feldspar samples contain similarly complex fluid inclusion assemblages that include variably saline (<12–65 wt% salts) aqueous and liquid carbon dioxide varieties that are typical of IOCG mineralisation. The diverse fluid inclusion types present in each of these different samples have been investigated by neutron-activated noble gas analysis using a combination of semi-selective thermal and mechanical decrepitation techniques. Ore-related quartz contains aqueous and carbonic fluid inclusions that have similar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values of between 300 and 2,200. The highest-salinity fluid inclusions (47–65 wt% salts) have calculated ³⁶Ar concentrations of approximately 1–5 ppb, which are more variable than air-saturated water (ASW = 1.3–2.7 ppb). These fluid inclusions have extremely variable Br/Cl values of between 3.8 × 10⁻³ and 0.3 × 10⁻³, and I/Cl values of between 27 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.4 × 10⁻⁶ (all ratios are molar). Fluid inclusions in the two pegmatite samples have similar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values of ≤1,700 and an overlapping range of Br/Cl and I/Cl values. High-salinity fluid inclusions in the pegmatite samples have 2.5–21 ppb ³⁶Ar, that overlap the range determined for ore-related samples in only one case. The fluid inclusions in both sample groups have ⁸⁴Kr/³⁶Ar and ¹²⁹Xe/³⁶Ar ratios that are mainly in the range of air and air-saturated water and are similar to mid-crustal rocks and fluids from other settings. The uniformly low ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values (<2,200) and extremely variable Br/Cl and I/Cl values do not favour a singular or dominant fluid origin from basement- or mantle-derived magmatic fluids related to A-type magmatism. Instead, the data are compatible with the involvement of metamorphic fluids that have interacted with anatectic melts to variable extents. The ‘metamorphic’ fluids probably represent a mixture of (1) inherited sedimentary pore fluids and (2) locally derived metamorphic volatilisation products. The lowest Br/Cl and I/Cl values and the ultra-high salinities are most easily explained by the dissolution of evaporites. The data demonstrate that externally derived magmatic fluids are not a ubiquitous component of IOCG ore-forming systems, but are compatible with models in which IOCG mineralisation is localised at sites of mixing between fluids of different origin. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.     

Soil-Gas Surveying for Subsurface Gasoline Contamination Using Total Organic Vapor Detection Instruments Part I. Theory and Laboratory Experimentation

Factors influencing the response of total organic vapor detection instruments used in soil-gas surveying for subsurface gasoline leakage were investigated through performing theoretical assessments and laboratory experiments. Theoretical assessments indicate that total organic vapor measurements will depend on response conditions and the relative concentration of constituents in soil gas, in addition to absolute constituent levels. Laboratory tests conducted using flame ionization, photoionization and explosimeter devices indicated that conditions influencing their responses included instrument flow rate and soil-air permeability when performing direct-probe sampling; the linear range of the instrument; the multicomponent nature of gasoline vapors; and levels of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and relative humidity in soil air. If an instrument's response to these conditions is not taken into account, survey results may be misleading. To circumvent adverse instrument responses, a serial dilution technique is presented.     

Rapid,high-resolution detection of environmental change over continental scales from satellite data – the Earth Observation Data Cube

The effort and cost required to convert satellite Earth Observation (EO) data into meaningful geophysical variables has prevented the systematic analysis of all available observations. To overcome these problems, we utilise an integrated High Performance Computing and Data environment to rapidly process, restructure and analyse the Australian Landsat data archive. In this approach, the EO data are assigned to a common grid framework that spans the full geospatial and temporal extent of the observations – the EO Data Cube. This approach is pixel-based and incorporates geometric and spectral calibration and quality assurance of each Earth surface reflectance measurement. We demonstrate the utility of the approach with rapid time-series mapping of surface water across the entire Australian continent using 27 years of continuous, 25?m resolution observations. Our preliminary analysis of the Landsat archive shows how the EO Data Cube can effectively liberate high-resolution EO data from their complex sensor-specific data structures and revolutionise our ability to measure environmental change.     

The Physiography of the Southwest Indian Ridge

Marine Geophysical Research -     

Gravity-flow deposits from the St. Croix Ridge: Depositional history

Gravity-flow sediments from the South Virgin Islands Trough Escarpment (west of the island of St. Croix) contain Late Cretaceous through Late Miocene nannofossils that are well mixed even within individual samples. These sediments, reworked and redeposited in latest Miocene or Early Pliocene, apparently occur within a sequence of Late Miocene-to-recent fan deposits. Marine source beds representing all pre-Pliocene epochs of the Cenozoic and latest Cretaceous must have been exposed along the NW-facing West St. Croix Escarpment. Southward tilting of the St. Croix Ridge has subsequently altered the depositional pattern.     

Carbon and nitrogen primary productivity in three North Carolina estuaries

Uptake of inorganic carbon and ammonium by the plankton community of three North Carolina estuaries was measured using ¹⁴C and ¹⁵N isotope methods. At 0% light, C appeared to be lost via respiration, and at increasing light levels uptake of inorganic carbon increased linearly, saturated (mean I_k = 358±30 μEin m⁻² s⁻¹), and frequently showed inhibition at the highest light intensities. At 0% light NH₄⁺ uptake was significantly greater than zero and was frequently equivalent to uptake in the light (light independent); at increasing light levels NH₄⁺ uptake saturated (mean I_k = 172±44 μEin m⁻² s⁻¹) and frequently indicated strong inhibition. Light-saturated uptake rates of inorganic carbon and NH₄⁺ were a function of chlorophyll a (r² = 0·7−0·9); average assimilation numbers were 625 nmol CO₂ (μg chl. a)⁻¹ h⁻¹ and 12·9 nmol NH₄⁺ (μg chl. a)⁻¹ h⁻¹ and were positively correlated with temperature (r² = 0·3−0·7). The ratio of dark to light-saturated NH₄⁺ uptake tended to be near 1·0 for large algal populations at low NH₄⁺ concentrations, indicating near light independence of uptake; whereas the ratio was lower for the opposite conditions. These data are interpreted as indicative of nitrogen stress, and it is suggested that uptake of NH₄⁺ deep in the euphotic zone and at night are mechanisms for balancing the C:N of cellular pools. A 24-h study using summed short-term incubations confirmed this; the cumulative C:N of CO₂ and NH₄⁺ uptake during the daylight period was 10–20, whereas over the 24-h period the ratio was 6 due to dark NH₄⁺ uptake. Annual carbon and nitrogen primary productivity were respectively estimated as 24 and 4·0 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the South River estuary, 42 and 7·3 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the Neuse River estuary, and 9·6 and 1·6 mol m⁻² year⁻¹ for the Newport River estuary.