81Kr‐Kr age and multiple cosmic‐ray exposure history of the Vaca Muerta mesosiderite

Abstract– Noble gas isotopic compositions were measured for a eucritic pebble and bulk material of a silicate–metal mixture from the Vaca Muerta mesosiderite as well as pyroxene and plagioclase separated from the eucritic pebble by total melting and stepwise heating methods. Trapped noble gases were degassed completely by a high‐temperature thermal event, probably at the formation of the Vaca Muerta parent body (VMPB). The presence of fissiogenic Xe isotopes from extinct ²⁴⁴Pu in the bulk samples might be a result of rapid cooling from an early high‐temperature metamorphism. High concentrations of cosmogenic noble gases enabled us to determine precise isotopic ratios of cosmogenic Kr and Xe. Spallogenic Ne from Na and unique Ar isotopic compositions were observed. The ⁸¹Kr‐Kr exposure age of 168 ± 8 Myr for the silicate pebble is distinctly longer than the age of 139 ± 8 Myr for the bulk samples. The precursor of the pebble had been irradiated on the surface of the VMPB for more than 60 Myr (first stage irradiation), with subsequent incorporation into bulk materials approximately 4 Gyr ago. The Vaca Muerta meteorite was excavated from the VMPB 140 Myr ago (second stage irradiation). Relative diffusion rates among the cosmogenic Ar, Kr, and Xe based on data obtained by stepwise heating indicate that Kr and Xe can be partially retained in pyroxene and plagioclase under the condition that resets the K‐Ar system. This result supports the presence of fission Xe and of excess concentration of cosmogenic Kr, which could have survived the thermal event approximately 3.8 Gyr ago.     

The stability and equation of state for the cotunnite phase of TiO2 up to 70 GPa

The stability and equation of state for the cotunnite phase in TiO₂ were investigated up to a pressure of about 70 GPa by high-pressure in situ X-ray diffraction measurements using a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. The transition sequence under high pressure was rutile → α-PbO₂ phase → baddeleyite phase → OI phase → cotunnite phase with increasing pressure. The cotunnite phase was the most stable phase at pressures from 40 GPa to at least 70 GPa. The equation of state parameters for the cotunnite phase were established on the platinum scale using the volume data at pressures of 37–68 GPa after laser annealing, in which the St value, an indicator of the magnitude of the uniaxial stress component in the samples, indicates that these measurements were performed under quasi-hydrostatic conditions. The third-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state at K ₀′ = 4.25 yields V ₀ = 15.14(5) cm³/mol and K ₀ = 294(9), and the second-order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state yields V ₀ = 15.11(5) cm³/mol and K ₀ = 306(9). Therefore, we conclude that the bulk modulus for the cotunnite phase is not comparable to that of diamond.     

Structural and stratigraphic evolution of Abu Dhabi in the context of Arabia

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is famed for its coastal carbonate, sabkhas and sand dunes; it is located in the NE part of the Arabian Plate, which formed during the Late Neoproterozoic (~820–750 Ma) by the accretion of island arcs and microcontinents to early Gondwana. Most of Arabia seems to have spent its existence within the Southern Hemisphere until it crossed the Equator during the Mesozoic; parts were involved in four glaciations, two in the Proterozoic (~750–630 Ma—Iceball or Slushball Earth?), and two more in the Palaeozoic (Late Ordovician and Permo-Carboniferous transition). In the early Palaeozoic the Arabian Plate was oriented about 90° counter clockwise relative to today’s poles. Gondwana later skirted the South Pole, migrating to the other side of the planet, eventually emerging the ‘right-way up’ with the Arabian Plate oriented to the poles more or less as seen today. Cold and temperate climate conditions ensured that for much of its early existence, Arabia was the site of mainly quartz-rich deposits. Later in the Neoproterozoic, however, extensive stromatolitic carbonate deposition took the lead, culminating around the Cambro-Precambrian boundary with deposition of the extensive Ara and Hormuz evaporites. Since south Arabia’s Permo-Carboniferous glaciation, the Arabian plate has been drifting northward, crossing temperate climatic zones conducive to fluvial and aeolian sandstone deposition and, from the later Permian, to tropical shallow-marine carbonates and evaporites In parallel with the above, the rifting of Gondwana opened an oceanic trough in the Late Permian off the NE flank of Arabia. Slope carbonates and deepwater Hawasina turbidites with a clear flow to the NE were deposited until they were obducted (together with associated ophiolites) in the Late Cretaceous on the edge of the Arabian plate in Oman and Iran. The deposition of widespread Early Silurian hydrocarbon source rocks in east-central Arabia was followed in the later Permian by extensive reservoir rocks with more during the mid-Late Mesozoic, giving rise to major oilfields both on- and off-shore, including Abu Dhabi. Arabia and Africa began to separate late in the Miocene with the opening of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. SSW–NNE compressive stresses caused uplift and volcanic activity in west Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Some products of erosion flowed eastward into Abu Dhabi. At the NE margin of Arabia, the Tethys Ocean narrowed, the NE flank of the newly forming Zagros Mountains of Iran is being subducted beneath southern Asia. To the SE, roughly coeval crustal compression adjacent to the Gulf of Oman led to uplift of the Oman Mountains and deposition of erosional products flanking the mountains mainly to the W and SW. The Oman Mountains are currently rising at about 2 mm/a, while northern Musandam is subsiding into the Strait of Hormuz at some 6 mm/a in association with subduction of the Arabian plate margin below the Eurasian plate. Alternations between polar glaciations and interglacials over the past few 100 ka resulted in considerable climatic changes over Arabia; slow glacial build-ups lasting some 80 to 120 ka led, somewhat erratically, to a fall in sea level of up to 130 m, to strong winds and the building of systems of extensive sand dunes such as the Rub’ al Khali. The joint Tigris–Euphrates river system flowed through a desert landscape, reaching the ocean only SE of the Strait of Hormuz. The peak of the last glaciation about 21 ka was followed by its rapid collapse and flooding of the Arabian Gulf to its present level between about 12 or 10 and 6 ka, a horizontal marine advance of some 200–300 m/a. Abu Dhabi is now the site of shallow-marine carbonates offshore and classical sabkhas and carbonate-rich sand dunes onshore.     

Dependence of climate forcing and response on the altitude of black carbon aerosols

Black carbon aerosols absorb solar radiation and decrease planetary albedo, and thus can contribute to climate warming. In this paper, the dependence of equilibrium climate response on the altitude of black carbon is explored using an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to a mixed layer ocean model. The simulations model aerosol direct and semi-direct effects, but not indirect effects. Aerosol concentrations are prescribed and not interactive. It is shown that climate response of black carbon is highly dependent on the altitude of the aerosol. As the altitude of black carbon increases, surface temperatures decrease; black carbon near the surface causes surface warming, whereas black carbon near the tropopause and in the stratosphere causes surface cooling. This cooling occurs despite increasing planetary absorption of sunlight (i.e. decreasing planetary albedo). We find that the trend in surface air temperature response versus the altitude of black carbon is consistent with our calculations of radiative forcing after the troposphere, stratosphere, and land surface have undergone rapid adjustment, calculated as “regressed” radiative forcing. The variation in climate response from black carbon at different altitudes occurs largely from different fast climate responses; temperature dependent feedbacks are not statistically distinguishable. Impacts of black carbon at various altitudes on the hydrological cycle are also discussed; black carbon in the lowest atmospheric layer increases precipitation despite reductions in solar radiation reaching the surface, whereas black carbon at higher altitudes decreases precipitation.     

Non-ENSO interannual rainfall variability in central Chile during austral winter

The first principal component (PC1) of seasonal rainfall anomalies in central Chile during winter (June–August) is used to analyze the circulation anomalies related to wet and dry conditions, when near-normal or neutral SST anomalies are observed in the equatorial Pacific, i.e., during non-ENSO conditions. Eight wet and eight dry winter seasons were defined as the upper and lower terciles of PC1 for 24 non-ENSO winters in the period 1958–2000. Unlike the single process attributed to ENSO, during non-ENSO winter seasons, there are several sources triggering or modifying the propagation of the stationary waves that impact the rainfall regime in central Chile. Unfortunately, the multiple processes that seem to be involved in the modulation of the interannual rainfall variability in central Chile, as seen in this work, limit the predictability of rainfall during non-ENSO conditions.     

Geology,Mineralogy, Geochronology,and Sulfur Isotope Constraints on the Genesis of the Luanling Gold Telluride Deposit,Western Henan Province,Central China

The Luanling gold telluride deposit in the Xiong'ershan region is located in the southern margin of the North China Craton. The deposit formed in four stages, that is, an early pyrite‐quartz stage (I), a pyrite‐molybdenite stage (II), a sulfide‐telluride‐gold stage (III), and a late carbonate stage (IV). Six species of telluride in stage (III) are recognized, including hessite, altaite, petzite, unidentified Au‐Ag‐Te mineral, empressite, and unidentified Ag‐Te‐S mineral. Gold occurs mostly as native gold and electrum along the microfractures of sulfides or the contact between sulfide and telluride. The mineralization temperature of stage I and stage III ranges from 296 to 377°C and 241 to 324°C, respectively. Tellurides in stage III precipitate at the log?_S2 from ?14.3 to ?7.3 and log?_Te2 from ?17.4 to ?9.4. The ores were formed in an oxidizing environment. The Re‐Os model ages of molybdenite are 162–164 Ma, which indicate that the main ore formation stage was in the Late Jurassic. The Re contents of five molybdenite samples from the Luanling deposit have a range of 36.32–81.95 ppm, except for one large value of 220 ppm, which indicates that the ore‐forming materials are mainly derived from a crustal‐dominated source. The δ³⁴S values of sulfides range from ?17.6 to ?6.2‰, whereas those of sulfates are from 6.8 to 11.5‰. The δ³⁴S_∑S value of the ore‐forming system is 0.0–3.7‰, indicating that the sulfur of the Luanling deposit derived from a deep igneous source. Mineral association and isotope data of the Luanling deposit, together with its geodynamic setting, imply that this deposit belongs to a part of the metallogenic system of the Nannihu‐Sandaozhuang, Shangfangou porphyry molybdenum deposits, and the Late Jurassic granitic intrusions.     

D/H ratios of the coexisting phlogopite and richterite from mica nodules and a peridotite in South African kimberlites

The water content and D/H ratio of pairs of phlogopite and richterite in kimberlite samples were measured. The water contents of both minerals were lower than the formula content. On the basis of D/H ratios of the pair, phlogopite and richterite can not be regarded as a simple equilibrium product with respect to hydrogen isotope exchange. It seems impossible to estimate D/H ratio of the mantle water through D/H ratios of the hydrous silicate pairs.