Isotope and trace element evidence for three component mixing in the genesis of the North Luzon arc lavas (Philippines)

Post-3Ma volcanics from the N Luzon arc exhibit systematic variations in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70327–0.70610), ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51302–0.51229) and ²⁰⁸Pb^*/²⁰⁶Pb^* (0.981–1.035) along the arc over a distance of about 500 km. Sediments from the South China Sea west of the Manila Trench also exhibit striking latitudinal variations in radiogenic isotope ratios, and much of the isotopic range in the volcanics is attributed to variations in the sediment added to the mantle wedge during subduction. However, Pb-Pb isotope plots reveal that prior to subduction, the mantle end-member had high 8/4, and to a lesser extent high 7/4, similar to that in MORB from the Indian Ocean and the Philippine Sea Plate. Th isotope data on selected Holocene lavas indicate a source with unusually high Th/U ratios (4.5–5.5). Combined trace element and isotope data require that three end-members were implicated in the genesis of the N Luzon lavas: (1) a mantle wedge end-member with a Dupal-type Pb isotope signature, (2) a high LIL/HFS subduction component interpreted to be a slab-derived hydrous fluid, and (3) an isotopically enriched end-member which reflects bulk addition (<5%) of subducted S China Sea terrigenous sediment. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the volcanics show a restricted range compared with that in the sediments, and this contrasts with ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and ²⁰⁸Pb^*/²⁰⁶Pb^*, both of which have similar ranges in the volcanics and sediments. Such differences imply that whereas the isotope ratios of Nd, Pb and Th are dominated by the component from subducted sediment, those of Sr reflect a larger relative contribution from the slab-derived fluid.     

Trace fossils of a cyclic chalk-marl succession; the upper Maastrichtian Rørdal Member, Denmark

Trace fossils from an upper Maastrichtian cyclic chalk-marl succession, the Rørdal Member, exposed in the Rørdal quarry, Denmark, are analysed in order to test whether the changes in substrate lithology exerted any control over the ichnodiversity, tiering complexity, and density of the infauna. The cyclicity is interpreted as caused by orbital changes within the Milankovitch frequency band. The carbonate content varies between 71 and 82 weight% in the marl and 82-92 weight% in the chalk beds. The material is based on 19 samples collected from six chalk and marl beds. The investigated bedding-normal sample surfaces vary in area between 29 and 155 cm². Eight ichnogenera and two undetermined ichnogenera are recognised. The member is characterised by three ichnofabrics (A, B and C). The ichnofabric analysis is based on texture and internal structure of the sediments resulting from bioturbation. Ichnofabric A is found only in chalk samples and shows a poor preservation of trace fossils, whereas ichnofabric C is found in a few chalk and all marl samples and comprises a very dense, diverse and well preserved ichnofauna representing a high tiering complexity. Ichnofabric B represents an intermediate situation between ichnofabrics A and C and occurs in chalk samples immediately adjacent to marl beds. The observed changes in ichnofabrics between chalk and marl are related to the amount of clay in the samples and the differences in the occurrence of trace fossils are interpreted as due to differences in the visibility of traces between chalk and marl and not due to differences in ecological stress upon the endobenthic community of the two lithologies. The study thus provides an excellent example of how the effect of taphonomic factors may give a misleading and biased impression of apparent differences in the endobenthic community between chalk and marl.     

A large excess of 210Po in the overlying water of the Zhubi Coral Reef flat, in the South China Sea

The temporal variability of ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb was examined in the overlying water of the Zhubi Coral Reef flat to detect nutrient-like behavior of ²¹⁰Po. Different mechanisms influencing their geochemical behaviors were observed. Excess ²¹⁰Po relative to ²¹⁰Pb revealed an additional input of ²¹⁰Po other than in situ production from ²¹⁰Pb. The ²¹⁰Po input comes from the reef flat sediment through diffusion. The diffusion contributes 62% of the total ²¹⁰Po. This diffusion of ²¹⁰Po directly highlights its nutrient-like behavior. No input, but the slight removal, of ²¹⁰Pb was observed. Fractionation factors indicate that particulate matter prefers to adsorb ²¹⁰Po rather than ²¹⁰Pb. In combination with particulate composition, ²¹⁰Po diffusion was closely related to organic matter. These results reveal that ²¹⁰Po might be a potential tracer for quantifying nutrient recycling in the Coral Reef system.     

Non-tidal variations in the deflection of the vertical at Beijing Observatory

At Beijing Observatory both astrometric and gravimetric observations are available to study the non-tidal variations in the deflections of the vertical (or non-tidal plumbline variations, PLVs). From repeated gravimetric observations performed in a network around the observatory, the PLVs at Beijing Observatory during the period 1987.0–1996.0 have been calculated. After comparison with the observational residuals (which also contain the PLV components) of the photoelectric astrolabe located at the observatory, the accuracy of the obtained PLV results has been examined. It is shown that, due to the asymmetry of the gravimetric network, the qualities of the two different PLV components are not equal. The longitude component of the PLV at Beijing has been determined successfully, to be of the order of 0.05, with a contribution of about 0.02 in the inter-annual time scale. The result for the latitude PLV component is not good enough to draw a conclusion. Although both techniques are able to measure the PLV, the result of the determination depends very much on the availability of observational data.     

Interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomalies near Naples,Italy, using computer techniques

Some aspects of the analytical procedure for an automatic fitting of gravity and magnetic anomalies are discussed. An example of application relative to the Campania volcanic district near Naples, Italy, is reported. Gravity anomalies in that area mainly reflect the depth to the carbonate basement rocks. A small gravity high over Vesuvius may indicate buried volcanic layers. Magnetic anomalies near L. Patria and Castel Volturno are interpreted to be caused by buried intrusive rocks of higher susceptibility. Computer models of subsurface rock units with appropriate densities and susceptibilities have been generated to match the observed anomalies.     

Magmatic evolution of Li–F, rare-metal granites: a case study of melt inclusions in the Khangilay complex, Eastern Transbaikalia (Russia)

We report compositions of homogenized quartz-hosted melt inclusions from a layered sequence of Li-, F-rich granites in the Khangilay complex that document the range of melt evolution from barren biotite granites to Ta-rich, lepidolite–amazonite–albite granites. The melt inclusions are crystalline at room temperature and were homogenized in a rapid-quench hydrothermal apparatus at 200 MPa before analysis. Homogenization runs determined solidus temperatures near 550 °C and full homogenization between 650 and 750 °C. The compositions of inclusions, determined by electron microprobe and Raman spectroscopy (for H₂O), show regular overall trends of increasing differentiation from the least-evolved Khangilay units to apical units in the Orlovka intrusion. Total volatile contents in the most-evolved melts reach over 11 wt.% (H₂O: 8.6 wt.%, F: 1.6 wt.%, B₂O₃: 1.5 wt.%). Concentrations of Rb range from about 1000 to 3600 ppm but other trace elements could not be measured reliably by electron microprobe. The resulting trends of melt evolution are similar to those described by the whole-rock samples, despite petrographic evidence for albite- and mica-rich segregations previously taken as evidence for post-magmatic metasomatism.

Melt variation trends in most samples are consistent with fractional crystallization as the main process of magma evolution and residual melt compositions plot at the granite minimum in the normative Qz–Ab–Or system. However, melts trapped in the highly evolved pegmatitic samples from Orlovka deviate from the minimum melt composition and show compositional variations in Al, Na and K that requires a different explanation. We suggest that unmixing of the late-stage residual melt into an aluminosilicate melt and a salt-rich dense aqueous fluid (hydrosaline melt) occurred. Experimental data show the effectiveness of this process to separate K (aluminosilicate melt) from Na (hydrosaline melt) and high mobility of the latter due to its low viscosity and relatively low density may explain local zones of albitization in the upper parts of the granite.     

Modeling groundwater quality in an agriculturally used water catchment

The sulfate pollution in an agriculturally used watershed has been investigated with respect to the transport in the saturated zone and the development of sulfate in the unsaturated zone. Besides of other sources such as acid wet and dry deposition or sulfate input by agricultural activities, most of the sulfate originates from oxidation of pyrite by either NO₃ or O₂. High sulfate concentrations coincided with high nitrate leaching caused by plowing of former grassland or by vegetable crop residues and with former wet lands that have become dry. By using soil water concentration data and maps showing the extension of former wetlands and grassland as well as agricultural land use, it was possible to delineate regions of high sulfate input. The transport of sulfate in the aquifer was analyzed with a modified version of the USGS MOC model, which takes into account the nonlinearity of the underlying equation describing unconfined groundwater flow. The calibration of the transport model showed good agreement between the estimated and modeled sulfate input rates. A prediction of future sulfate concentrations in the aquifer was feasible by using worst-case parameters.     

Revised activity–composition models for clinopyroxene and amphibole

Recent activity–composition models for clinopyroxene and amphibole are revised to provide better consistency with observed phase relations in natural rocks. For clinopyroxene, the calibration in NCFMAS is retained, but the incorporation of acmite is revised to improve the partitioning of ferric iron between coexisting clinopyroxenes. For amphibole, the NCFMASH calibration is retained, but the addition of ferric iron is changed to provide consistency with the clinopyroxenes. The thermodynamics of orthoamphibole (gedrite) is also adjusted to resolve an unrelated inconsistency. The effects of these improvements are illustrated through comparison of calculated pseudosections produced with the existing and new models with natural data from lawsonite eclogites.     

Footwall dip of a core complex detachment fault: thermobarometric constraints from the northern Snake Range (Basin and Range,USA)

Low‐angle detachment faults are common features in areas of large‐scale continental extension and are typically associated with metamorphic core complexes, where they separate upper plate brittle extension from lower plate ductile stretching and metamorphism. In many core complexes, the footwall rocks have been exhumed from middle to lower crustal depths, leading to considerable debate about the relationship between hangingwall and footwall rocks, and the role that detachment faults play in footwall exhumation. Here, garnet–biotite thermometry and garnet–muscovite–biotite–plagioclase barometry results are presented, together with garnet and zircon geochronology data, from seven locations within metapelitic rocks in the footwall of the northern Snake Range décollement (NSRD). These locations lie both parallel and normal to the direction of footwall transport to constrain the pre‐exhumation geometry of the footwall. To determine P–T gradients precisely within the footwall, the ΔPT method of Worley & Powell (2000) has been employed, which minimizes the contribution of systematic uncertainties to thermobarometric calculations. The results show that footwall rocks reached pressures of 6–8 kbar and temperatures of 500–650 °C, equivalent to burial depths of 23–30 km. Burial depth remains constant in the WNW–ESE direction of footwall transport, but increases from south to north. The lack of a burial gradient in the direction of footwall transport implies that the footwall rocks, which today define a sub‐horizontal datum in the direction of fault transport, also defined a sub‐horizontal datum at depth in Late Cretaceous time. This suggests that the footwall was not tilted about the normal to the fault transport direction during exhumation, and hence that the NSRD did not form as a low‐angle normal fault cutting down through the lower crust. Instead, the following evolution for the northern Snake Range footwall is proposed. (i) Mesozoic contraction caused substantial crustal thickening by duplication and folding of the miogeoclinal sequence, accompanied by upper greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphism. (ii) About half of the total exhumation was accomplished by roughly coaxial stretching and thinning in Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary time, accompanied by retrogression and mylonitic deformation. (iii) The footwall rocks were then ‘captured’ from the middle crust along a moderately dipping NSRD that soled into the middle crust with a rolling‐hinge geometry at both upper and lower terminations.