<Superscript>87</Superscript>Sr/<Superscript>86</Superscript>Sr anomalies in Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary strata of the Cauvery basin,south India: Constraints on nature and rate of environmental changes across K-T boundary

The Ariyalur-Pondicherry sub-basin of the Cauvery basin comprises a near complete stratigraphic record of Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary periods. Earlier studies have documented variations of clay mineral assemblages, change in microtexture of siliciclasts and many geochemical and stable isotopic anomalies far below the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary (KTB) in these strata. This paper documents the occurrences of two positive ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr anomalies preceding K-T boundary in this basin and discusses plausible causes. Analysis of trace elemental and stable isotopic profiles, sedimentation history, petrography and mineralogy of the rocks reveal that while both the anomalies may be due to increased detrital influx caused by sea level and climatic changes, the second anomaly might have been influenced by Deccan volcanism which in turn predated KTB. Record of such anomalies preceding K-T boundary supports the view of multi-causal step-wise extinction of biota across KTB.     

Evidence of Quaternary active folding near Utique (Northeast Tunisia) from tectonic observations and a seismic profile

The present-day seismicity in northeastern Tunisia reported from permanent networks is of low to moderate magnitude. However, earthquakes are mentioned in the literature, specially a destructive one in the antique city of Utique. Geologic, seismic, and neotectonic investigations in this area show that the Utique fold is closely related to the recent tectonic activity in this region. Data show that the Utique fold is built on an east-west fault, and we found evidence of activity of this fault in the past 20 kyr. A seismic section and balanced cross-section show that the slip rate is of the order of 0.38 mm.yr⁻¹. Our data show definitively the Late Pleistocene–Holocene activity of the Utique Fault; and we can predict the earthquake recurrence interval which should be of ∼10³–10⁴ yr. This high seismic risk zone deserves to be taken into account during the establishment of important regional development programs and in the application of seismic building codes.     

Diffusion and partition coefficients of minor and trace elements in San Carlos olivine at 1,300°C with some geochemical implications

Lattice diffusion coefficients have been determined for 19 elements (Li, Be, Na, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Zn, Y, Zr, Eu, Gd, Lu and Hf) in a single crystal of San Carlos olivine as a function of crystallographic orientation, at 1,300°C, 1 bar and fO₂ = 10^−8.3 bars, by equilibration with a synthetic silicate melt. Results for Li, Na, V, Cr, Fe and Zn are from diffusion of these elements out of the olivine, starting from their indigenous concentrations; those for all other elements are from diffusion into the olivine, from the silicate melt reservoir. Our 25-day experiment produced diffusion profiles 50 to > 700 μm in length, which are sufficiently long that precise analyses could be achieved by scanning laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, even at concentration levels well below 1 μg g⁻¹. For the divalent cations Ca, Mn, Fe and Ni, profiles were also obtained by electron microprobe analysis. The results of the two methods agree well with each other, and are consistent with divalent cation diffusion coefficients previously determined using different experimental methodologies. Olivine/melt partition coefficients retrieved from the data are also consistent with other published partitioning data, indicating that element incorporation and transport in olivine in our experiment occurred via mechanisms appropriate to natural conditions. Most of the examined trace elements diffuse through olivine at similar rates to the major octahedral cations Fe and Mg, showing that cation charge and radius have little direct influence on diffusion rates. Aluminium and P remain low and constant in the olivine, implying negligible transport at our analytical scale, hence Al and P diffusion rates that are at least two orders of magnitude slower than the other cations studied here. All determined element diffusivities are anisotropic, with diffusion fastest along the [001] axis, except Y and the REEs, which diffuse isotropically. The results suggest that element diffusivity in olivine is largely controlled by cation site preference, charge balance mechanisms and point-defect concentrations. Elements that are present on multiple cation sites in olivine (e.g. Be and Ti) and trivalent elements that are charge-balanced by octahedral site vacancies tend to diffuse at relatively fast rates.     

Long-term modeling of alteration-transport coupling: Application to a fractured Roman glass

To improve confidence in glass alteration models, as used in nuclear and natural applications, their long-term predictive capacity has to be validated. For this purpose, we develop a new model that couples geochemical reactions with transport and use a fractured archaeological glass block that has been altered for 1800 years under well-constrained conditions in order to test the capacity of the model.The chemical model considers three steps in the alteration process: (1) formation of a hydrated glass by interdiffusion, whose kinetics are controlled by a pH and temperature dependent diffusion coefficient; (2) the dissolution of the hydrated glass, whose kinetics are based on an affinity law; (3) the precipitation of secondary phases if thermodynamic saturation is reached. All kinetic parameters were determined from experiments. The model was initially tested on alteration experiments in different solutions (pure water, Tris, seawater). It was then coupled with diffusive transport in solution to simulate alteration in cracks within the glass. Results of the simulations run over 1800 years are in good agreement with archaeological glass block observations concerning the nature of alteration products (hydrated glass, smectites, and carbonates) and crack alteration thicknesses. External cracks in direct contact with renewed seawater were altered at the forward dissolution rate and are filled with smectites (400−500 μm). Internal cracks are less altered (by 1 or 2 orders of magnitude) because of the strong coupling between alteration chemistry and transport. The initial crack aperture, the distance to the surface, and sealing by secondary phases account for these low alteration thicknesses. The agreement between simulations and observations thus validates the predictive capacity of this coupled geochemical model and increases more generally the robustness and confidence in glass alteration models to predict long-term behavior of nuclear waste in geological disposal or natural glass in the environment.     

Near-Sun Flux-Rope Structure of CMEs

We have used the Krall flux-rope model (Krall and St. Cyr, Astrophys. J. 2006, 657, 1740) (KFR) to fit 23 magnetic cloud (MC)-CMEs and 30 non-cloud ejecta (EJ)-CMEs in the Living With a Star (LWS) Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop (CDAW) 2011 list. The KFR-fit results shows that the CMEs associated with MCs (EJs) have been deflected closer to (away from) the solar disk center (DC), likely by both the intrinsic magnetic structures inside an active region (AR) and ambient magnetic structures (e.g. nearby ARs, coronal holes, and streamers, etc.). The mean absolute propagation latitudes and longitudes of the EJ-CMEs (18^°, 11^°) were larger than those of the MC-CMEs (11^°, 6^°) by 7^° and 5^°, respectively. Furthermore, the KFR-fit widths showed that the MC-CMEs are wider than the EJ-CMEs. The mean fitting face-on width and edge-on width of the MC-CMEs (EJ-CMEs) were 87 (85)^° and 70 (63)^°, respectively. The deflection away from DC and narrower angular widths of the EJ-CMEs have caused the observing spacecraft to pass over only their flanks and miss the central flux-rope structures. The results of this work support the idea that all CMEs have a flux-rope structure.     

The Corossol structure: A possible impact crater on the seafloor of the northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence,Eastern Canada

We report on a 4.1 (±0.2) km diameter and 185 m deep circular submarine structure exposed on the seabed in >40 m water depths in the northwestern Gulf of St. Lawrence (Eastern Canada) from the analysis of high‐resolution multibeam bathymetric and seismic data. The presence of a circular form characterized by a central uplift and concentric rings resembles the morphology and geometry of complex meteorite impact structures. Also, other origins, such as kimberlites, intrusions, karsts, or diapirs, can be eliminated on geological criteria. A single 4 cm long breccia fragment recovered from the central uplift has numerous glassy droplets of fluorapatite composition, assumed to be impact melts, and a single quartz grain with planar intersection features thought to be shock‐induced planar deformation features (PDFs). The absolute age of this possible impact structure is unknown, but its geological setting indicates that it was formed long after the Mid‐Ordovician and before regional pre‐Quaternary sea‐level lowstands. Present results outline the need for further examination to confirm an impact origin and to precisely date the formation of the structure.     

Circulation dynamics and its influence on European and Mediterranean January–April climate over the past half millennium: results and insights from instrumental data, documentary evidence and coupled climate models

We use long instrumental temperature series together with available field reconstructions of sea-level pressure (SLP) and three-dimensional climate model simulations to analyze relations between temperature anomalies and atmospheric circulation patterns over much of Europe and the Mediterranean for the late winter/early spring (January–April, JFMA) season. A Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) investigates interannual to interdecadal covariability between a new gridded SLP field reconstruction and seven long instrumental temperature series covering the past 250 years. We then present and discuss prominent atmospheric circulation patterns related to anomalous warm and cold JFMA conditions within different European areas spanning the period 1760–2007. Next, using a data assimilation technique, we link gridded SLP data with a climate model (EC-Bilt-Clio) for a better dynamical understanding of the relationship between large scale circulation and European climate. We thus present an alternative approach to reconstruct climate for the pre-instrumental period based on the assimilated model simulations. Furthermore, we present an independent method to extend the dynamic circulation analysis for anomalously cold European JFMA conditions back to the sixteenth century. To this end, we use documentary records that are spatially representative for the long instrumental records and derive, through modern analogs, large-scale SLP, surface temperature and precipitation fields. The skill of the analog method is tested in the virtual world of two three-dimensional climate simulations (ECHO-G and HadCM3). This endeavor offers new possibilities to both constrain climate model into a reconstruction mode (through the assimilation approach) and to better asses documentary data in a quantitative way.     

Heterogeneous distribution of phosphorus in olivine from otherwise well-equilibrated spinel peridotite xenoliths and its implications for the mantle geochemistry of lithium

The major- and trace-element abundances of the coexisting phases of four metasomatized spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Anakies locality (SE Australia) were determined by electron microprobe and laser-ablation ICP-MS. The compositions of all phases are remarkably homogeneous, with the exception of phosphorus (P), lithium (Li) and sodium (Na) in olivine. These three elements are enriched in large parts of most olivine crystals due to a second metasomatic episode. Apart from these elements, all phases are in mutual equilibrium with respect to both their major- and trace-element compositions. Li and Na show a strong correlation with P in olivine, although molar Li + Na are an order of magnitude less than molar P, indicating that the substitution mechanism of these elements is more complex than the simple charge-balanced coupled exchange ^IVSi⁴⁺ + ^VI(FeMg)²⁺ = ^IVP⁵⁺ + ^VI(LiNa)⁺. We suggest that Li and Na are decorating octahedral-site cation vacancies formed by the original incorporation of P. Elemental maps revealed that the P zoning patterns are concentric in a few large olivine porphyroblasts, but form irregular patches in most crystals. This distribution of P is proposed to be the result of a two-stage process, whereby the initial concentric zoning, caused by its exceptionally sluggish diffusion after metasomatic influx, is broken up by extensive sub-solidus deformation and recrystallization, attesting to large grain-scale strains even within the lithosphere. Such strains must be an efficient means of ensuring trace-element equilibrium during partial melting. The association of Li with P in olivine may help to explain the variability of Li abundances in mantle minerals and to interpret Li diffusion experiments and Li isotopic fractionation.     

The geochemistry of the volatile trace elements As, Cd, Ga, In and Sn in the Earth’s mantle: New evidence from in situ analyses of mantle xenoliths

The abundances of 30 trace elements, including the volatile chalcophile/siderophile elements As, Cd, Ga, In and Sn were determined by laser ablation ICP-MS in minerals of 19 anhydrous and 5 hydrous spinel peridotite xenoliths from three continents. The majority of samples were fertile lherzolites with more than 5% clinopyroxene; several samples have major element compositions close to estimates of the primitive mantle. All samples have been previously analysed for bulk-rock major, minor and lithophile trace elements. They cover a wide range of equilibration temperatures from about 850 to 1250 °C and a pressure range from 0.8 to 3.0 GPa. A comparison of results from bulk-rock analyses with concentrations obtained from combining silicate and oxide mineral data with modal mineralogy, gave excellent agreement, with the exception of As. Arsenic is the only element analysed that has high concentrations in sulphides. For all other elements sulphides can be neglected as host phases in these mantle rocks. The major host phase for Cd, In and Sn is clinopyroxene and if present, amphibole. Cadmium and In appear to behave moderately incompatibly during mantle melting similar to Yb.The data yield new and more reliable mantle abundances for Cd (35 ± 7 ppb), In (18 ± 3 ppb) and Sn (91 ± 28 ppb). The In value is similar to the Mg and CI-normalized Zn abundance of the mantle, although In is cosmochemically more volatile than Zn. The high In content suggests a high content of volatile elements in general in proto-Earth material. The lower relative abundances of volatile chalcophile elements such as Cd, S, Se and Te might be explained by sulphide segregation during core formation. The very low relative abundances of volatile and highly incompatible lithophile elements such as Br, Cl and I, and also C, N and rare gases, imply loss during Earth accretion, arguably by collisional erosion from differentiated planetesimals and protoplanets.     

Shear Modulus and Damping Ratio of Organic Soils

The paper presents results from a laboratory investigation into the dynamic properties of natural intact and model organic soils by means of resonant-column tests. The natural intact organic soils were sands, cohesive soils and peats with varying content of calcium carbonate. The model organic soils were formed in laboratory by mixing kaolinite and paper pulp. The influence of various soil parameters, such as strain level, confining stress, void ratio, plasticity index, organic content and secondary consolidation time on shear modulus, G, and damping ratio, DT, is presented and discussed. The test results on natural organic soils show that only high organic contents (OC ≥ 25%) have significant influence on G and DT at both small and high shear strains. For the model organic soils, however, a significant influence of even lower values of organic content (5% ≤ OC ≤ 20%) on G at small strains and DT at both small and high strains is observed.