Paleozoic amphibolite–granulite facies magmatic complexes in the hinterland of the Uralide Orogen

Received: 7 May 1999 / Accepted: 2 November 1999     

Field experiments on the role of epibenthic predators in determining prey densities in an estuarine mudflat

A series of caging experiments was performed on an estuarine mudflat at three seasons of the year, in which Carcinus maenas L. and Pomatoschistus microps (Kroyer) were either excluded from, or allowed to prey upon, the benthos in order to determine to what extent infaunal abundance and mortality was a result of predation by epibenthic predators.The difficulties of conducting and interpreting the results of such experiments are recognized. The benthic macrofauna of this mudflat is dominated numerically by small annelids and there is evidence that adult C. maenas can cause significant increases in the oligochaete component of this assemblage, probably as a result of disturbance caused by its burrowing activity. Juvenile C. maenas on the other hand significantly reduced the abundance of small annelids, particularly the dominant polychaete Manayunkia aestuarina (Bourne) and could be responsible for year-to-year variations in abundance of this species. The role of fish predators (in this case P. microps) is more problematical but it is suggested that in the densities at which they occur naturally on the mudflat they have little direct effect on the abundance of prey species. There is no evidence that seasonal mortality of small annelids is reduced in the absence of predation and this is taken to indicate that not all mortality is due to epibenthic predation. Certain changes in relative abundance of the component species of the harpacticoid copepod community were discerned but it is suggested that the plasticity of their reproductive potential is such that the effect of predation on the group as a whole is usually masked.     

Architecture and emplacement of the Nebo–Babel gabbronorite-hosted magmatic Ni–Cu–PGE sulphide deposit,West Musgrave,Western Australia

The Nebo–Babel Ni–Cu–platinum-group element (PGE) sulphide deposit in the West Musgrave Block, Western Australia, is the largest nickel sulphide discovery in the last 10 years. The deposit is hosted within a concentrically zoned, olivine-free, tube-like (chonolithic), gabbronorite intrusion associated with the, approximately, 1,078-Ma Giles Complex-layered intrusions in the Warakurna large igneous province. Emplaced into sulphide-free amphibolite facies orthogneiss, the fault-offset Nebo–Babel chonolith extends for 5 km and has a cross-section of 1 × 0.5 km. Igneous mineralogy, fabrics, and textures are well preserved. The lithostratigraphy includes variably textured leucogabbronorites (VLGN) that form an outer shell around mineralised gabbronorite (MGN), with barren gabbronorite (BGN) and oxide–apatite gabbronorite (OAGN) in the middle and lower parts of the chonolith. Mineral and whole-rock geochemistry indicate that the units become progressively evolved in the order: VLGN, MGN, BGN, and OAGN, and that incompatible trace-element concentrations increase downwards within the MGN and BGN. The mineralisation, which is confined to the early, more primitive units (VLGN and MGN), occurs as massive sulphide breccias and stringers and as disseminated gabbronorite-hosted sulphides. The massive sulphides were emplaced late in the intrusive sequence, have different PGE chemistry and Cu tenor to the disseminated sulphides, and have undergone sulphide fractionation. The distribution of disseminated sulphides, which are primary magmatic in origin, is related to chonolith geometry and magma flow regimes, rather than to gravitational settling. Sulfur-bearing country rocks are absent in the Nebo–Babel deposit area, and thus, local crustal S addition was unlikely to have been the major mechanism in achieving sulphide immiscibility. The Nebo–Babel intrusion is part of an originally continuous magma chonolith with multiple and related magma pulses. The parental magma was medium- to low-K tholeiite with 8–9 wt% MgO. The initial magma pulse (VLGN), the most primitive and sulphide saturated, was probably emplaced along a linear weakness in the country rock. After crystallisation of VLGN, marginally more fractionated, sulphide-saturated magma was injected through the thermally insulated core of the conduit, forming the MGN. Successive pulse(s) of more fractionated magma (BGN) were emplaced in the core of the intrusion. After magma flow ceased, closed system crystal fractionation produced consistent mineral and chemical fractionation trends within BGN and OAGN. After crystallisation, the intrusion was overturned and then offset by the Jameson Fault resulting in the apparent ‘reverse’ chemical and mineral trends in Nebo–Babel.     

Mantle components in Iceland and adjacent ridges investigated using double-spike Pb isotope ratios

High precision Sr-Nd isotope ratios together with Pb isotope ratios corrected for mass fractionation using a double spike are reported for an extensive suite of late Quaternary to Recent lavas of Iceland, the Kolbeinsey and Reykjanes Ridges, and a small number of basalts from further south on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Compared with global MORB, the Icelandic region is distinguished by having low ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb for any given ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, expressed by negative Δ²⁰⁷Pb (−0.8 to −3.5) in all but four Icelandic samples. Most samples also have elevated ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (strongly positive Δ²⁰⁸Pb), which combined with their negative Δ²⁰⁷Pb is very unusual in MORB worldwide. The negative Δ²⁰⁷Pb is interpreted as a consequence of evolution in high-μ mantle sources for the last few hundred Ma. The region of negative Δ²⁰⁷Pb appears to correspond with the region of elevated ³He/⁴He, suggesting that both lithophile and volatile elements in melts from the whole region between 56 and 70°N are dominantly sourced in a plume that has incorporated recycled Palaeozoic ocean crust and unradiogenic He, probably from the deep mantle. At least four mantle components are recognized on Iceland, two with an enriched character, one depleted and one that shows some isotopic affinities to EM1 but is only sampled by highly incompatible-element-depleted lavas in this study. Within restricted areas of Iceland, these components contribute to local intermediate enriched and depleted components that display near binary mixing systematics. The major depleted Icelandic component is clearly distinct in Pb isotopes from worldwide MORB, but resembles the depleted mantle source supplying the bulk of the melt to the Kolbeinsey and southern Reykjanes Ridges. However, an additional depleted mantle source is tapped by the northern Reykjanes Ridge, which with very negative Δ²⁰⁷Pb and less positive Δ²⁰⁸Pb is distinct from all Icelandic compositions. These components must mostly mix at mantle depths because a uniform mixture of three Icelandic components is advected southward along the Reykjanes Ridge.Despite strong covariation with isotope ratios, incompatible trace element ratios of Icelandic magmas cannot be representative of old mantle sources. The observed parent-daughter ratios in depleted and enriched Icelandic lavas would yield homogeneous Sr, Nd, Hf and ²⁰⁶Pb isotope signatures ∼170 Ma ago if present in their sources. The heterogeneity in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb is not however significantly reduced at 170 Ma, and the negative present day Δ²⁰⁷Pb cannot be supported by the low μ observed in depleted lavas from Iceland or the adjacent ridges. Since μ is higher in melts than in their sources, it follows that all the depleted sources must be residues from <170 Ma partial melting events. These are thought to have strongly affected most incompatible trace element ratios.     

Ar/Ar ages and paleomagnetism of São Miguel lavas, Azores

We present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages and paleomagnetic data for São Miguel island, Azores. Paleomagnetic samples were obtained for 34 flows and one dike; successful mean paleomagnetic directions were obtained for 28 of these 35 sites. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations on 12 flows from the Nordeste complex were attempted successfully: ages obtained are between 0.78 Ma and 0.88 Ma, in contrast to published K–Ar ages of 1 Ma to 4 Ma. Our radiometric ages are consistent with the reverse polarity paleomagnetic field directions, and indicate that the entire exposed part of the Nordeste complex is of a late Matuyama age. The duration of volcanism across São Miguel is significantly less than previously believed, which has important implications for regional melt generation processes, and temporal sampling of the geomagnetic field. Observed stable isotope and trace element trends across the island can be explained, at least in part, by communication between different magma source regions at depth. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages indicate that our normal polarity paleomagnetic data sample at least 0.1 Myr (0–0.1 Ma) and up to 0.78 Myr (0–0.78 Ma) of paleosecular variation and our reverse polarity data sample approximately 0.1 Myr (0.78–0.88 Ma) of paleosecular variation. Our results demonstrate that precise radiometric dating of numerous flows sampled is essential to accurate inferences of long-term geomagnetic field behavior. Negative inclination anomalies are observed for both the normal and reverse polarity time-averaged field. Within the data uncertainties, normal and reverse polarity field directions are antipodal, but the reverse polarity field shows a significant deviation from a geocentric axial dipole direction.     

Earth System Science： Foundation for Sustainable Development

has been chosen to emphasize the importance of integrated interdisciplinary Earth Science in the service of society.     

Nordic Geoscience and the 33rd International Geological Congress： Introduction

Geology has been of profound importance for the Nordic countries since the Middle Ages. Strong economies were built on an understanding of the occurrence in bedrock of minerals containing metals, e.g., silver, copper, zinc and iron, and eventually led to the establishment of the first Geological Surveys in Norway and Sweden in the middle of the nineteenth century. The geology of Norden ranges from the oldest to youngest rocks on the planet. Based on the papers in this special issue, this introduction provides a brief summary of the geological evolution of Norden, from the Archean of Greenland and northern Fennoscandia to the on-going volcanicity in Iceland on the MidAtlantic Ridge. It also refers to aspects of Geoscience that are particularly important for society in Norden, including geo-resources （petroleum, geothermal energy, nuclear energy, metals, industrial minerals and groundwater） and environmental geology （including natural and anthropogenic processes, medical geology, geo-hazards and climate）. Information on the early history of geology in Norden and the geological surveys is also included and, finally, an outline of the 33rd International Geological Congress with its main theme “Earth System Science： Foundation for Sustainable Development”.