Open-System Magma Chamber Evolution: an Energy-constrained Geochemical Model Incorporating the Effects of Concurrent Eruption, Recharge, Variable Assimilation and Fractional Crystallization (EC-E'RA{chi}FC)

Significant petrogenetic processes governing the geochemicalevolution of magma bodies include magma Recharge (includingformation of ‘quenched inclusions’ or enclaves),heating and concomitant partial melting of country rock withpossible ‘contamination’ of the evolving magma body(Assimilation), and formation and separation of cumulates byFractional Crystallization (RAFC). Although the importance ofmodeling such open-system magma chambers subject to energy conservationhas been demonstrated, the effects of concurrent removal ofmagma by eruption and/or variable assimilation (involving imperfectextraction of anatectic melt from wall rock) have not been considered.In this study, we extend the EC-RAFC model to include the effectsof Eruption and variable amounts of assimilation, A. This model,called EC-E'RAFC, tracks the compositions (trace elements andisotopes), temperatures, and masses of magma body liquid (melt),eruptive magma, cumulates and enclaves within a composite magmaticsystem undergoing simultaneous eruption, recharge, assimilationand fractional crystallization. The model is formulated as aset of 4 + t + i + s coupled nonlinear differential equations,where the number of trace elements, radiogenic and stable isotoperatios modeled are t, i and s, respectively. Solution of theEC-E'RAFC equations provides values for the average temperatureof wall rock (T_a), mass of melt within the magma body (M_m),masses of cumulates (M_ct), enclaves (M_en) and wall rock () and the masses of anatectic melt generated () and assimilated (). In addition, t trace element concentrations and i + s isotopic ratios inmelt and eruptive magma (C_m, _m, _m), cumulates (C_ct, _m, _m), enclaves(C_en, , ) and anatectic melt (C_a, , ) as a function of magma temperature (T_m) are also computed. Input parametersinclude the (user-defined) equilibration temperature (T_eq),a factor describing the efficiency of addition of anatecticmelt () from country rock to host magma, the initial temperatureand composition of pristine host melt (, , , ), recharge melt (, , , ) and wall rock (, , , ), distribution coefficients (D_m, D_r, D_a) and their temperaturedependences (H_m, H_r, H_a), latent heats of transition (meltingor crystallization) for wall rock (h_a), pristine magma (h_m)and recharge magma (h_r) as well as the isobaric specific heatcapacity of assimilant (C_p,a), pristine (C_p,m) and recharge(C_p,r) melts. The magma recharge mass and eruptive magma massfunctions, M_r(T_m) and M_e(T_m), respectively, are specified apriori. M_r(T_m) and M_e(T_m) are modeled as either continuous orepisodic (step-like) processes. Melt productivity functions,which prescribe the relationship between melt mass fractionand temperature, are defined for end-member bulk compositionscharacterizing the local geologic site. EC-E'RAFC has potentialfor addressing fundamental questions in igneous petrology suchas: What are intrusive to extrusive ratios (I/E) for particularmagmatic systems, and how does this factor relate to rates ofcrustal growth? How does I/E vary temporally at single, long-livedmagmatic centers? What system characteristics are most profoundlyinfluenced by eruption? What is the quantitative relationshipbetween recharge and assimilation? In cases where the extractionefficiency can be shown to be less than unity, what geologiccriteria are important and can these criteria be linked to fieldobservations? A critical aspect of the energy-constrained approachis that it requires integration of field, geochronological,petrologic, and geochemical data, and, thus, the EC-ERAFC ‘systems’approach provides a means for answering broad questions whileunifying observations from a number of disciplines relevantto the study of igneous rocks. KEY WORDS: assimilation; energy conservation; eruption; open system; recharge     

Magmatic Evolution of the Skye Igneous Centre, Western Scotland: Modelling of Assimilation, Recharge and Fractional Crystallization

The Skye igneous centre, forming part of the British Tertiarymagmatic province, developed over a 7 Myr period (61–54Ma) and is characterized by a complex suite of lavas, hypabyssaland intrusive rocks of picritic to granitic composition. Theintrusion of magma from mantle to crust at 2x10^–3km³/yr(6 Mt/yr) advected magmatic heat of roughly 0·2 GW averagedover the period of magmatism supporting an ‘excess’heat flux of about 130 mW/m², or about twice the present-dayaverage continental heat flow. The volume of new crust generatedat Skye (15000 km³) spread over the present-day area of Skyecorresponds to 9 km of new crust. The geochemical evolutionof the Skye magmatic system is constrained using the Energy-ConstrainedRecharge, Assimilation, and Fractional Crystallization (EC-RAFC)model to understand variations in the Sr- and Pb-isotopic andSr trace-element composition of the exposed magmatic rocks withtime. The character (composition and specific enthalpy) of bothassimilant and recharge magma appears to change systematicallyup-section, suggesting that the magma reservoirs migrated toprogressively shallower levels as the system matured. The modelof the magma transport system that emerges is one in which magmabatches are stored initially at lower-crustal levels, wherethey undergo RAFC evolution. Residual magma from this stagethen migrates to shallower levels, where mid-crustal wall rockis assimilated; the recharge magma at this level is characterizedby an increasingly crustal signature. For some of the stratigraphicallyyoungest rocks, the data suggest that the magma reservoirs ascendedinto, and interacted with, upper-crustal Torridonian metasediments. KEY WORDS: assimilation; EC-RAFC model; geochemical modelling; magma recharge; Skye magmatism     

Formation of Organic Aerosols from the Oxidation of Biogenic Hydrocarbons

Measurements of aerosol formation during thephotooxidation of -pinene, -pinene,d-3-carene, d-limonene, ocimene, linalool, terpinene-4-ol, andtrans-caryophyllene were conducted in anoutdoor smog chamber. Daylight experiments in thepresence of and dark experiments withelevated ozone concentrations were performed. Theevolution of the aerosol was simulated by theapplication of a gas/particle absorption model inconnection with a chemical reaction mechanism. Thefractional aerosol yield is shown to be a function ofthe organic aerosol mass concentration andtemperature. Ozone and, for selected hydrocarbons, theNO₃ reaction of the compounds were found torepresent efficient routes to the formation ofcondensable products. For initial hydrocarbon mixingratios of about 100 ppb, the fractional aerosol yieldsfrom daylight runs have been estimated to be 5%for open-chain hydrocarbons, such as ocimene andlinalool, 5–25% for monounsaturated cyclicmonoterpenes, such as -pinene, d-3-carene, orterpinene-4-ol, and 40% for a cyclic monoterpenewith two double bonds like d-limonene. For the onlysesquiterpene investigated, trans-caryophyllene, afractional aerosol yield of close to 100% wasobserved. The majority of the compounds studied showedan even higher aerosol yield during dark experimentsin the presence of ozone.     

A multi‐dating approach applied to proglacial sediments attributed to the Most Extensive Glaciation of the Swiss Alps

Dehnert, A., Preusser, F., Kramers, J. D., Akçar, N., Kubik, P. W., Reber, R. & Schlüchter, C. 2010: A multi‐dating approach applied to proglacial sediments attributed to the Most Extensive Glaciation of the Swiss Alps. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 620–632. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00146.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. The number and the timing of Quaternary glaciations of the Alps are poorly constrained and, in particular, the age of the Most Extensive Glaciation (MEG) in Switzerland remains controversial. This ice advance has previously been tentatively correlated with the Riss Glaciation of the classical alpine stratigraphy and with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 (186–127 ka). An alternative interpretation, based on pollen analysis and stratigraphic correlations, places the MEG further back in the Quaternary, with an age equivalent to MIS 12 (474–427 ka), or even older. To re‐evaluate this issue in the Swiss glaciation history, a multi‐dating approach was applied to proglacial deltaic ‘Höhenschotter’ deposits in locations outside the ice extent of the Last Glacial Maximum. Results of U/Th and luminescence dating suggest a correlation of the investigated deposits with MIS 6 and hence with the Riss Glaciation. Cosmogenic burial dating suffered from large measurement uncertainties and unusually high ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios and did not provide robust age estimates.     

Climate-driven changes in lake conditions during late MIS 3 and MIS 2: a high-resolution geochemical record from Les Echets, France

A new set of geochemical data obtained from a long sediment sequence from the Les Echets basin provides a new record of palaeoenvironmental change for western Europe. The sequence covers the late part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and MIS 2 ( c . 46.1–15.0 cal. kyr BP) and extends over 30 m of sediment, allowing for high sampling resolution. Distinct cyclic fluctuations in aquatic productivity proxies suggest a tempo of environmental change at Les Echets that resembles the one established for Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles and Heinrich events. Increases in organic carbon are paralleled by high hydrogenous contents and enriched δ¹³C_org and C_org/N_tot ratios, implying a mixture of aquatic and land-derived constituents. The stable isotope values are directly linked to primary aquatic productivity and the input of terrestrial organic matter, enriched during warm, productive, periods, and drastically depleted during cold periods, particularly Heinrich events. Phases of relatively high productivity correlate with Dansgaard-Oeschger interstadials 8–2, while Heinrich events 3 and 2 are also clearly delineated by distinct lithological horizons with very low organic contents, high dry densities and enhanced organic matter oxidation. A large hiatus occurring about the time of Heinrich event 4 suggests that the cold and dry climate reconstructed for this event in the North Atlantic region also greatly affected Les Echets and its catchment.     

Luminescence dating of Würmian (Weichselian) proglacial sediments from Switzerland: methodological aspects and stratigraphical conclusions

Proglacial deposits from three independently dated sites in the Swiss lowlands were investigated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to test the reliability of the applied dating approach. Using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose technique applied to small aliquots of quartz revealed that in all samples the OSL signal was differentially bleached prior to deposition. A statistical approach is introduced to extract the fraction of aliquots in which the OSL was apparently set to zero at deposition. The statistical treatment provided OSL ages in good consistency with independent age control. However, some uncertainties remain with this approach, since it is difficult to assess the natural scatter caused by dose-rate inhomogeneity exactly. The available data set implies that glaciers reached the Swiss lowlands prior to about 25 000 yr ago. Previously published data from other sites demonstrate that glaciers were present in lowland Switzerland up to about 20000 yr ago. Furthermore, one OSL date of about 70 000 yr for proglacial outwash sediments points to the presence of the Rhône Glacier in the Lake Neuchâtel area during the middle part of the Late Pleistocene.