Composition,age and origin of two proterozoic diorite—tonalite complexes in the Arabian shield

Large amounts of diorite—tonalite magma were intruded into the island-arc successions of the southern Arabian shield between ca. 900 and 700 Ma ago. Major oxide, trace element, rare earth (REE) and isotopic data are presented for two plutons exemplifying older and younger members of this plutonic phase. The Thurrat pluton, which was emplaced into virtually unmetamorphosed volcanics of sequence B, has yielded a 10-point Rb-Sr isochron indicating emplacement 744 ± 22 Ma ago and an initial ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of 0.70281. It consists of gabbros, diorites, quartz diorites, tonalites and low-Al₂O₃ trondhjemites which are compositionally primitive, with depleted lithophile element contents and flat REE patterns with a negative Eu anomaly in the trondhjemites. The magma was most probably mantle-derived, and analogies with other trondhjemitic plutons suggest that it was probably emplaced in an island-arc setting. The Bidah pluton, which was emplaced into a compositionally very immature succession of metamorphosed volcanics and volcaniclastics of sequence C, has yielded a nine-point near-isochron (MSWD = 2.86) indicating an age of 901 ± 37Ma and an initial ${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratio of 0.70246. This date is accepted as the age of emplacement. The rocks are compositionally primitive gabbros, diorites, quartz diorites, tonalites and granodiorites with depleted lithophile element contents, and flat REE patterns with a negative Eu anomaly in the more siliceous components. The country-rock volcanics were formed in an immature island-arc environment, and the composition of the Bidah pluton is suggestive of a mainly mantle-derived magma emplaced into that arc. The data for these two plutons therefore provide further evidence that most of the rock material added to the Arabian shield between 900 and 700 Ma ago was derived from the mantle.     

Eocene age of eclogite metamorphism in Pakistan Himalaya: implications for India-Eurasia collision

A geochronological investigation of two rocks with an eclogitic assemblage (omphacite-garnet-quartz-rutile) from the High Himalaya using the Sm/Nd, Rb/Sr, U/Pb and Ar/Ar methods is presented here. The first three methods outline a cooling history from the time of peak metamorphism at 49±6 Ma recorded by Sm/Nd in garnet-clinopyroxene to the closure of Rb/Sr in phengite at 43±1 Ma and U/Pb in rutile at 39–40 Ma. The Sm/Nd isotopic system was fully equilibrated during eclogitization and has not been disturbed since; its mineral ages may date the peak metamorphic conditions (650±50°C at 13–18 kbar: Pognante and Spencer, 1991). The Ar/Ar data reveal the presence of substantial amounts of excess ⁴⁰Ar in hornblende, and yield a statistically acceptable but geologically meaningless phengite plateau age of 81.4±0.2 Ma, inconsistent with Sm/Nd, Rb/Sr and U/Pb. This questions the use of such a chronometer for the dating of high-pressure assemblages. The results imply a Late Palaeocene or Early Eocene subduction of the northern Indian plate margin in NW Himalaya. The fact that eclogites are restricted to NW Himalaya may be the result of a peculiar p-T-t path associated with a high convergence rate during the first indentation, in contrast to the later and slow subduction in Central and Eastern Himalaya.     

Simultaneous optical polarimetry and X-ray observations of the magnetic CV CP Tuc (AX J2315−592)

CP Tuc (AX J2315–592) shows a dip in X-rays which lasts for approximately half the binary orbit and is deeper in soft X-rays compared with hard X-rays. It has been proposed that this dip is due to the accretion stream obscuring the accretion region from view. If CP Tuc were a polar, as has been suggested, then the length of such a dip would make it unique amongst polars since in those polars in which a dip is seen in hard X-rays the dip lasts for only 0.1 of the orbit. We present optical polarimetry and RXTE observations of CP Tuc which show circular polarization levels of ∼10 per cent and find evidence for only one photometric period. These data confirm CP Tuc as a polar. Our modelling of the polarization data implies that the X-ray dip is due to the bulk of the primary accretion region being self-eclipsed by the white dwarf. The energy dependence of the dip is due to a combination of this self-eclipse and also the presence of an X-ray temperature gradient over the primary accretion region.     

XMM–Newton observations of UW CrB: detection of X-ray bursts and evidence for accretion disc evolution

UW CrB (MS 1603+2600) is a peculiar short-period X-ray binary that exhibits extraordinary optical behaviour. The shape of the optical light curve of the system changes drastically from night to night, without any changes in overall brightness. Here we report X-ray observations of UW CrB obtained with XMM–Newton . We find evidence for several X-ray bursts, confirming a neutron star primary. This considerably strengthens the case that UW CrB is an accretion disc corona system located at a distance of at least 5–7 kpc (3–5 kpc above the Galactic plane). The X-ray and Optical Monitor (ultraviolet–optical) light curves show remarkable shape variation from one observing run to another, which we suggest are due to large-scale variations in the accretion disc shape resulting from a warp that periodically obscures the optical and soft X-ray emission. This is also supported by the changes in phase-resolved X-ray spectra.     

Spectroscopic observations of the eclipsing polar MN Hya (RX J0929–24)

We present low–medium resolution optical spectroscopy of the eclipsing AM Her system MN Hya (RX J0929–24). We determine the magnetic field strength at the primary accretion region of the white dwarf to be 42 MG from the spacing of cyclotron features visible during π ∼ 0.4–0.7. From spectra taken during the eclipse we find that the secondary has an M3–4 spectral type. Combined with the eclipse photometry of Sekiguchi, Nakada &38; Bassett and an estimate of the interstellar extinction we find a distance of ∼300–700 pc. We find unusual line variations at π ∼ 0.9: Hα is seen in absorption and emission. This is at the same point in the orbital phase at which a prominent absorption dip is seen in soft X-rays.     

The status of geological dredging techniques

Scientific sea-floor dredging is currently used in marine geology primarily by the hard-rock community interested in the recovery of basement rock samples from the unsedimented deep ocean floor. The technique has generally been eclipsed by ocean drilling for recovery of sedimentary rocks, because of perceived uncertainties in the location of sampling and in the representativeness of recovered material. This contribution reviews dredging equipment currently in use by marine geological institutions and refers to pinger attachments that allow precise information on the behaviour of the dredge to be telemetered back to the ship. We argue that improvements in ship navigation and transponder navigation at the seafloor, when used in conjunction with surface and/or deeply towed sidescan and swathemapping surveys, now allow for considerably less uncertainty on the location of dredge sampling. Refined sorting criteria for dredge hauls are now also available. Recent comparisons of regional sample recovery by ocean drilling and by dredge sampling indicate that the dredge hauls can usefully supplement the drilling data in the construction of sedimentary and tectonic histories of seafloor areas.