Magmatic evolution of Hekla,Iceland

The extrusive rocks of Hekla are predominantly flows of basaltic andesite and andesite (icelandite) but each eruptive cycle is initiated by production of tephra of andesitic, dacitic, and even rhyolitic composition. The evolution of basaltic andesites to dacites and rhyolites can be explained by crystallization and (presumably gravitative) separation of olivine, titaniferous magnetite, plagioclase, and probably augite. No contamination by sialic crustal material is required.Although basalts are never erupted from Hekla the origin of the basaltic andesites is probably best explained by separation of magnesian olivine, augite, and calcic plagioclase from an olivine tholeiite parent, producing an initial differentiation trend toward a high Fe/Mg ratio. The increase in Fe/Mg ratio is limited by the appearance of magnetite as a liquidus phase.From the Fe/Mg ratios of the lavas and from compositions of the plagioclase phenocrysts the water pressure of the basaltic andesites is estimated to have been between 0.6 and 2.4 kb. Total pressure may have been significantly higher. A best estimate for the water content is approximately 2 1/2 to 6 weight percent. This high water content accounts for the explosive initiation of each eruptive cycle and is consistent with fractional crystallization in a shallow magma chamber.Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Contribution No. 2355.     

Mass balance of dissolved lithium in the oceans

A tentative mass balance of dissolved Li in the oceans suggests that basalt-seawater reactions play an important role in the Li cycle. However, removal of dissolved Li by basalt during reactions at low or moderate temperatures cannot compensate totally for inputs owing to basalt-seawater reactions at high temperatures and to continental run-off. We propose that the Li budget in the oceans is balanced by incorporation of Li into authigenic clay minerals. Li concentration profiles in the water column support this model. Basalt-seawater reactions at high temperatures seem to affect strongly the distribution of dissolved Li in interstitial waters of overlying sediments, suggesting that this element can be used as an indicator of hydrothermal reactions in the basaltic basement.     

Coastal Ocean Last Glacial Maximum to 2100 CO2-Carbonic Acid-Carbonate System: A Modeling Approach

Using coupled terrestrial and coastal zone models, we investigated the impacts of deglaciation and anthropogenic inputs on the CO₂–H₂O–CaCO₃ system in global coastal ocean waters from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM: 18,000 year BP) to the year 2100. With rising sea level and atmospheric CO₂, the carbonate system of coastal ocean water changed significantly. We find that 6 × 10¹² metric tons of carbon were emitted from the coastal ocean, growing due to the sea level rise, from the LGM to late preindustrial time (1700 AD) because of net heterotrophy and calcification processes. This carbon came to reside in the atmosphere and in the growing vegetation on land and in uptake of atmospheric CO₂ through the weathering of rocks on land. It appears that carbonate accumulation, mainly, but not exclusively, in coral reefs from the LGM to late preindustrial time could account for about 24 ppmv of the 100 ppmv rise in atmospheric CO₂, lending some support to the “coral reef hypothesis”. In addition, the global coastal ocean is now, or soon will be, a sink of atmospheric CO₂. The temperature rise of 4–5°C since the LGM led to increased weathering rates of inorganic and organic materials on land and enhanced riverine fluxes of total C, N, and P to the coastal ocean of 68%, 108%, and 97%, respectively, from the LGM to late preindustrial time. During the Anthropocene, these trends have been exacerbated owing to rising atmospheric CO₂, due to fossil fuel combustion and land-use practices, other human activities, and rising global temperatures. River fluxes of total reactive C, N, and P are projected to increase from late preindustrial time to the year 2100 by 150%, 380%, and 257%, respectively, modifying significantly the behavior of these element cycles in the coastal ocean, particularly in proximal environments. Despite the fact that the global shoal water carbonate mass has grown extensively since the LGM, the pH_T (pH values on the total proton scale) of global coastal waters has decreased from ~8.35 to ~8.18 and the carbonate ion concentration declined by ~19% from the LGM to late preindustrial time. The latter represents a rate of decline of about 0.028 μmol CO₃ ^2? per decade. In comparison, the decrease in coastal water pH_T from the year 1900 to 2000 was about 8.18–8.08 and is projected to decrease further from about 8.08 to 7.85 between 2000 and 2100, according to the IS92a business-as-usual scenario of CO₂ emissions. Over these 200 years, the carbonate ion concentration will fall by ~120 μmol kg^?1 or 6 μmol kg^?1 per decade. This decadal rate of decline of the carbonate ion concentration in the Anthropocene is 214 times the average rate of decline for the entire Holocene. Hence, when viewed against the millennial to several millennial timescale of geologic change in the coastal ocean marine carbon system, one can easily appreciate why ocean acidification is the “other CO₂ problem”.