The role of granites in volcanic-hosted massive sulphide ore-forming systems: an assessment of magmatic�Chydrothermal contributions

Assessment of geological, geochemical and isotopic data indicates that a significant subgroup of volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits has a major or dominant magmatic?Chydrothermal source of ore fluids and metals. This group, which is typically characterised by high Cu and Au grades, includes deposits such as those in the Neoarchean Doyon-Bousquet-LaRonde and Cambrian Mount Lyell districts. These deposits are distinguished by aluminous advanced argillic alteration assemblages or metamorphosed equivalents intimately associated with ore zones. In many of these deposits, ??³⁴S_sulphide is low, with a major population below ?3??; ??³⁴S_sulphate differs from coexisting seawater and ??³⁴S_{sulphate?Csulphide}????20?C30??. These characteristics are interpreted as the consequence of disproportionation of magmatic SO₂ as magmatic?Chydrothermal fluids ascended and cooled and as a definitive evidence for a significant magmatic?Chydrothermal contribution. Other characteristics that we consider diagnostic of significant magmatic?Chydrothermal input into VHMS ore fluids include uniformly high (>3 times modern seawater values) salinities or very ¹⁸O-enriched (??¹⁸O?>?5??) ore fluids. We do not consider other criteria [e.g. variable salinity, moderately high ??¹⁸O_fluid (2?C5??), ??³⁴S_sulphide near 0??, metal assemblages or a spatial association with porphyry Cu or other clearly magmatic-hydrothermal deposits] that have been used previously to advocate significant magmatic?Chydrothermal contributions to be diagnostic as they can be produced by non-magmatic processes known to occur in VHMS mineral systems. However, in general, a small magmatic?Chydrothermal contribution cannot be excluded in most VHMS systems considered. Conclusive data that imply minimal magmatic?Chydrothermal contributions are only available in the Paleoarchean Panorama district where coeval seawater-dominated and magmatic?Chydrothermal systems appear to have been physically separated. This district, which is characterised by chloritic and sericitic alteration assemblages and lacks aluminous advanced argillic alteration assemblages, is typical of many VHMS deposits around the world, suggesting that for ??garden variety?? VHMS deposits, a significant magmatic?Chydrothermal contribution is not required. Other than deposits associated with advanced argillic alteration assemblages, the only deposit for which we ascribe a major magmatic?Chydrothermal contribution is the Devonian Neves Corvo deposit. This deposit differs from other deposits in the Iberian Pyrite Belt and around the world in being extremely Sn-rich, with the Sn closely associated with Cu and in having formed from high ¹⁸O-rich fluids (??¹⁸O_fluid ??8.5??). We consider these characteristics, particularly the last, as diagnostic of a significant magmatic hydrothermal contribution. Our analysis indicates that two subgroups of VHMS deposits have a major magmatic?Chydrothermal contribution: Cu/Au-rich deposits with aluminous alteration assemblages and reduced, very Sn-rich deposits in which Sn was introduced in a high-temperature ore assemblage. Comparison with ??normal?? VHMS deposits suggests that these subgroups of VHMS deposits may form in specialised tectonic environments. The Cu/Au-rich deposits appear to form adjacent to magmatic arcs, an environment conducive to the generation of hydrous, oxidised melts by melting metasomatised mantle in the wedge above the subducting slab. This contrasts with the back-arc setting of ??normal?? VHMS deposits in which relatively dry granites (In this contribution, we use the term granite sensu latto) formed by decompression melting drive seawater-dominated hydrothermal circulation. The tectonic setting of highly Sn-rich VHMS deposits such as Neves Corvo is less clear; however, thick continental crust below the ore-hosting basin may be critical, as it is in other Sn deposits.     

Nuclear and incommensurate magnetic structure of NaFeGe2O6 between 5?K and 298?K and new data on multiferroic NaFeSi2O6

The compound NaFeGe₂O₆ was grown synthetically as polycrystalline powder and as large single crystals suitable for X-ray and neutron-diffraction experiments to clarify the low temperature evolution of secondary structural parameters and to determine the low temperature magnetic spins structure. NaFeGe₂O₆ is isotypic to the clinopyroxene-type compound aegirine and adopts the typical HT-C2/c clinopyroxene structure down to 2.5?K. The Na-bearing M2 polyhedra were identified to show the largest volume expansion between 2.5?K and room temperature, while the GeO₄ tetrahedra behave as stiff units. Magnetic susceptibility measurements show a broad maximum around 33?K, which marks the onset of low-dimensional magnetic ordering. Below 12?K NaFeGe₂O₆ transforms to an incommensurately modulated magnetic spin state, with k?=?[0.323, 1.0, 0.080] and a helical order of spins within the M1-chains of FeO₆ octahedra. This is determined by neutron-diffraction experiments on a single crystal. Comparison of NaFeGe₂O₆ with NaFeSi₂O₆ is given and it is shown that the magnetic ordering in the latter compound, aegirine, also is complex and is best described by two different spin states, a commensurate one with C2??/c?? symmetry and an incommensurate one, best being described by a spin density wave, oriented within the (1 0 1) plane.     

Quality assessment of replacement stones for the Cologne Cathedral: mineralogical and petrophysical requirements

Owing to its long building history, different types of building stones comprised the construction of the Cologne Cathedral. Severe damage is observed on the different stones, e.g., sandstones, carbonate, and volcanic rocks, especially when the different stone materials neighbor the medieval “Drachenfels trachyte” from the “Siebengebirge”. The question arises, “Is the insufficient compatibility of the implemented building materials causatively related to the strong decay of the Drachenfels trachyte?” The present investigations focus on the petrography and mineralogical composition of eight different stones from the Cologne Cathedral. Petrophysical data, i.e., phase content, moisture and thermal characteristics as well as strength properties are determined and discussed in correlation to each other, showing that not only in terms of lithology great differences exist, but also the petrophysical properties strongly diverge. The ascertained parameters are discussed in view of the deterioration behavior and decay mechanisms of the different stones. To evaluate the compatibility of original, replacement and modern building materials, the properties of the investigated stones are compared to those of Drachenfels trachyte by means of constraints given in the literature. Besides optical properties, petrophysical criteria are also defined as well as strength values. It could be shown that primarily moisture properties, i.e., capillary and sorptive water uptake, water saturation, drying processes and moisture dilatation can be addressed to the deterioration processes.     

Marine Macrophyte Wrack Inputs and Dissolved Nutrients in Beach Sands

We investigated the role of sandy beaches in nearshore nutrient cycling by quantifying macrophyte wrack inputs and examining relationships between wrack accumulation and pore water nutrients during the summer dry season. Macrophyte inputs, primarily giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera, exceeded 2.3 kg m⁻¹ day⁻¹. Mean wrack biomass varied 100-fold among beaches (range = 0.41 to 46.43 kg m⁻¹). Mean concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), primarily NO_x⁻-N, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in intertidal pore water varied significantly among beaches (ranges = 1 to 6,553 μM and 7 to 2,006 μM, respectively). Intertidal DIN and DON concentrations were significantly correlated with wrack biomass. Surf zone concentrations of DIN were also strongly correlated with wrack biomass and with intertidal DIN, suggesting export of nutrients from re-mineralized wrack. Our results suggest beach ecosystems can process and re-mineralize substantial organic inputs and accumulate dissolved nutrients, which are subsequently available to nearshore waters and primary producers.     

An Equation of State for Hypersaline Water in Great Salt Lake,Utah, USA

Great Salt Lake (GSL) is one of the largest and most saline lakes in the world. In order to accurately model limnological processes in GSL, hydrodynamic calculations require the precise estimation of water density (ρ) under a variety of environmental conditions. An equation of state was developed with water samples collected from GSL to estimate density as a function of salinity and water temperature. The ρ of water samples from the south arm of GSL was measured as a function of temperature ranging from 278 to 323 degrees Kelvin (^oK) and conductivity salinities ranging from 23 to 182 g L⁻¹ using an Anton Paar density meter. These results have been used to develop the following equation of state for GSL (σ = ± 0.32 kg m⁻³):

Petrochemistry of the Paleoproterozoic Udokan copper-bearing sedimentary complex

The maturity of terrigenous material of the Paleoproterozoic Udokan copper-bearing sedimentary complex is considered. The average values of hydrolyzate module (HM), alumina-silica module (AM), and Pettijohn’s coefficient of maturity appreciably vary throughout the Udokan Complex. Among cupriferous sandstones, rocks of the Aleksandrovka Formation are characterized by the highest maturity, whereas rocks of the Chitkanda Formation are distinguished by the lowest maturity. The maturity of cupriferous sandstones of the Sakukan Formation corresponds to that of host rocks. The maturity of cupriferous sandstones from the Aleksandrovka Formation is much higher than that of host rocks. In the Chitkanda Formation, the cupriferous sandstones are much less mature than host rocks. Climatic conditions in provenances estimated from the Nesbitt index of chemical weathering or chemical index of alteration (CIA) may be characterized as temperate ones without prominent climatic features. Most CIA values range from 46 to 66. The formation of copper-bearing sediments was closely related to the periods of volcanic activity.     

Sedimentation settings of the Vendian Vanavara formation,the Siberian platform

A model of sedimentation settings is elaborated for siliciclastic deposits of the Vendian Vanavara Formation, the Katanga saddle, inner areas of the Siberian platform. Four lithologic complexes are distinguished in the formation. The lower complex is composed of proluvial continental deposits exemplifying a dejection cone of ephemeral streams. Its eroded surface is overlain by second complex largely represented by sandstones of coastal zone, which grade upward into siltstones and shales of deeper sedimentation settings (third complex). Sea transgression advanced in northeastern direction. The fourth complex resting with scouring on the third one was deposited in settings of a spacious shallow-water sea zone: in a tidal flat, sand shoals and islands. Sedimentological data are used to correlate more precisely the Vendian siliciclastic deposits of the Katanga saddle and northeastern Nepa-Botuoba anteclise, and to verify subdivision of the Vanavara Formation into subformations and character of its boundary with the overlying Oskoba Formation.     

Changing grading of soil: effect on critical states

Examples of situations are presented where the grading of a soil changes during its lifetime either by crushing of particles leading to an increase of fine material or by slow transport of fine particles with seepage leading to a decrease of fine material. Such grading changes influence the basic constitutive properties of the soil, in particular properties such as critical states which are dependent on the available range of densities of packing. Discrete element modelling is used to show the dependence of critical state conditions on grading and the way in which the particle assembly seeks out new critical state conditions as the grading changes.     

Conditions of Quaternary magmatism at Spitsbergen Island

Petrological and geochemical data obtained on the Quaternary lavas of volcanoes at Spitsbergen Island indicate that the rocks were produced via the deep-seated crystallization of parental alkaline magmas at 8–10 kbar. The character of clinopyroxene enrichment in incompatible elements indicates that the mineral crystallized from more enriched melts than those inferred from the composition of the host lavas. These melts were close to the parental melts previously found as veinlets in mantle hyperbasite xenoliths in the lavas. According to the character of their enrichment in Pb and Sr radiogenic isotopes and depletion in Nd, the basalts from Spitsbergen Island define a single trend with the weakly enriched tholeiites of the Knipovich Ridge, a fact suggesting the closeness of the enriched sources beneath the continental margin of Spitsbergen and beneath the spreading zone. Magmatic activity at Spitsbergen was related to the evolution of the Norwegian-Greenland basin, which evolved in pulses according to the shift of the spreading axes. The most significant of the latter events took place in the Neogene, when the Knipovich Ridge obtained its modern position near the western boundary of Spitsbergen. Early in the course of the evolution, the emplacement of alkaline melts generated at Spitsbergen into the oceanic mantle could form the enriched mantle, which was later involved in the melting process beneath the spreading zone.     

The role of the volatile phase for REE and Y fractionation in low-silica carbonate magmas: implications from natural carbonatites, Namibia

Summary Two bimodal carbonatite complexes in Namibia of Cretaceous age are explored as to the presence and composition of a coexisting carbonatitic fluid. The Kalkfeld and Ondurakorume complexes contain both Ca- and Mg/Fe-carbonatites, composed of calcite alone or calcite with ferroan dolomite, fluorapatite and strontianite. The major element evolution in the bulk rocks from s?vites to beforsites is due to crystallization of calcite and fluorapatite. All carbonatites show a negative Y anomaly in normalised REE plots. Fractionation is accompanied by successively lower HREE contents between Tb and Yb, expressed by the ratios Nd/Ho and Ho/Lu. The evolution of this downward-facing hump goes along with decreasing Y contents in bulk rocks and minerals. All this requires an additional phase coexisting with the carbonate liquid during fractionation. Comparison between the bulk rocks and the expelled fluid shows that the latter had preferentially accumulated the HREE and Y. Further evidence for this process are hydrothermal, HREE, Y-rich fluorites in other carbonatite complexes which reflect the composition of the expelled fluid. The high strength of fluoride complexes suggests that fluoride complexing in the carbonatitic fluid is the process responsible for extracting HREE and Y from the carbonatite magma, leaving fractionated carbonatite rocks depleted in these elements. The geochemical evolution of carbonatite magmas along fractionation has therefore to be considered in a melt-mineral-fluid system. Correspondence: B. Bühn, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de Brasilia, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasilia 70910-900, Brazil