Climatic and lithologic controls on the temporal and spatial variability of CO2 consumption via chemical weathering: An example from the Australian Victorian Alps

A detailed geochemical study on river waters of the Australian Victorian Alps was carried out to determine: (i) the relative significance of silicate, carbonate, evaporite and sulfide weathering in controlling the major ion composition and; (ii) the factors regulating seasonal and spatial variations of CO₂ consumption via silicate weathering in the catchments. Major ion chemistry implies that solutes are largely derived from evaporation of precipitation and chemical weathering of carbonate and silicate lithologies. The input of solutes from rock weathering was determined by calculating the contribution of halite dissolution and atmospheric inputs using local rain and snow samples. Despite the lack of carbonate outcrops in the study area and waters being undersaturated with respect to calcite, the dissolution of vein calcite accounts for up to 67% of the total dissolved cations, generating up to 90% of dissolved Ca and 97% of Mg. Dissolved sulfate has δ³⁴S values of 16 to 20‰_CDT, indicating that it is derived predominantly from atmospheric deposition and minor gypsum weathering and not from bacterial reduction of FeS₂. This militates against sulphuric acid weathering in Victorian rivers. Ratios of Si vs. the atmospheric corrected Na and K concentrations range from ~ 1.1 to ~ 4.3, suggesting incongruent weathering from plagioclase to smectite, kaolinite and gibbsite.Estimated long-term average CO₂ fluxes from silicate weathering range from ~ 0.012 × 10⁶ to 0.039 × 10⁶ mol/km²/yr with the highest values in rivers draining the basement outcrops rather than sedimentary rocks. This is about one order of magnitude below the global average which is due to low relief, and the arid climate in that region. Time series measurements show that exposure to lithology, high physical erosion and long water–rock contact times dominate CO₂ consumption fluxes via silicate weathering, while variations in water temperature are not overriding parameters controlling chemical weathering. Because the atmospheric corrected concentrations of Na, K and Mg act non-conservative in Victorian rivers the parameterizations of weathering processes, and net CO₂ consumption rates in particular, based on major ion abundances, should be treated with skepticism.     

Implications of the carbonaceous chondrite Mn-Cr isochron for the formation of early refractory planetesimals and chondrules

An excellent ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr isochron for bulk CI, CM, CO, CV, CB, and ungrouped C3 chondrites seems to suggest that each carbonaceous chondrite group acquired its Mn/Cr ratio 4568 ± 1 Myr ago. This age is indistinguishable from the age of Ca-Al-rich inclusions (CAIs), which is considered to be the start of the solar system (t₀). However, carbonaceous chondrites were not assembled until at least 1.5-5 Myr after t₀, to judge by the ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb and ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg ages of the chondrules within them, and by the fact that they were not melted by heat from the decay of ²⁶Al. Presumably, therefore, these meteorites inherited their bulk Mn-Cr isochron from precursor materials which experienced Mn-Cr fractionation at t₀. As a possible physical mechanism for how the isochron was established initially, and later inherited by the carbonaceous chondrites, we propose the rapid formation at t₀ of planetesimals that were variably depleted in moderately volatile elements, and hence had variably low Mn/Cr. The planetesimals and the undepleted (high Mn/Cr) primitive dust from which they were made shared the same initial ε⁵³Cr, and therefore evolved on an isochron. We suggest that later impact-disruption of the planetesimals produced dusty debris, which became mixed, in various proportions, with unprocessed (high Mn/Cr) dust before accreting to the carbonaceous chondrite parent bodies. With mixing in a closed system, the isochron was unchanged. We infer that some debris-rich material was converted to chondrules prior to accretion. The chondrules could have been formed by flash melting of the mixed dust, or could instead have been made directly by the impact splashing of molten planetesimals, or by condensation from impact-generated vapor plumes.     

Dissolved organic phosphorus speciation in the waters of the Tamar estuary (SW England)

The speciation of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) in the temperate Tamar estuary of SW England is described. Eight stations from the riverine to marine end-members were sampled during four seasonal campaigns in 2007 and the DOP pool in the water column and sediment porewater was characterized and quantified using a flow injection manifold after sequential enzymatic hydrolysis. This enabled the enzymatically hydrolysable phosphorus (EHP) fraction and its component labile monoester phosphates, diester phosphates and a phytase-hydrolysable fraction that includes myo-inositol hexakisphosphate (phytic acid), to be determined and compared with the total DOP, dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) pools. The results showed that the DOP pool in the water column varied temporally and spatially within the estuary (1.1-22 μg L⁻¹) and constituted 6-40% of TDP. The EHP fraction of DOP ranged from 1.1-15 μg L⁻¹ and represented a significant and potentially bioavailable phosphorus fraction. Furthermore the spatial profiles of the three components of the EHP pool generally showed non-conservative behavior along the salinity gradient, with apparent internal estuarine sources. Porewater profiles followed broadly similar trends but were notably higher at the marine station throughout the year. In contrast to soil organic phosphorus profiles, the labile monoester phosphate fraction was the largest component, with diester phosphates also prevalent. Phytic acid concentrations were higher in the lower estuary, possibly due to salinity induced desorption processes. The EHP fraction is not commonly determined in aquatic systems due to the lack of a suitable measurement technique and the Tamar results reported here have important implications for phosphorus biogeochemistry, estuarine ecology and the development of efficient strategies for limiting the effects of phosphorus on water quality.     

Trace element geochemistry of K-rich impact spherules from howardites

The howardite–eucrite–diogenite (HED) achondrites are a group of meteorites that probably originate from the asteroid Vesta. Howardites are complex polymict breccias that sometimes contain, in addition to various rock debris, impact melt glasses which show an impressive range of compositions. In this paper we report on the geochemistry and O isotopes of a series of 6 Saharan polymict breccias (4 howardites and 2 polymict eucrites), and on the trace element abundances of high-K impact spherules found in two of them, Northwest Africa (NWA) 1664 and 1769, which are likely paired.The high-K impact spherules found in the howardites NWA 1664 and NWA 1769 display remarkable trace element patterns. Compared to eucrites or howardites, they all show prominent enrichments in Cs, Rb, K, Li and Ba, strong depletion in Na, while the REE and other refractory elements are unfractionated. These features could not have been generated during impact melting of their host howardites, nor other normal HED target materials. The involvement of Na-poor rocks, and possibly rocks of granitic composition, appears likely. Although these lithologies cannot be well constrained at present, our results demonstrate that the surface of Vesta is certainly more diverse than previously thought. Indeed, despite the large number of available HED meteorites (about 1000 different meteorites), the latter are probably not sufficient to describe the whole surface of their parent body.     

Rare Earth Elements and Yttrium (REY) Geochemistry of Reefal Limestones in the Ordovician,Tarim Basin,NW China and their Paleoenvironment Implications

This study examines the rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) concentrations of twenty-five samples from the reef outcrop exposed along the Lianglitage Mountain in the Ordovician, Tarim Basin in China. The concentration analysis provides constraints on the paleoenvironment during reef deposition. Based on the detailed sedimentology and petrographic work, we divide the reef facies into four sub-facies: the base facies, reef-core facies, reef-flank facies, and sealing facies. The geochemical data (such as major and trace elements, carbon and oxygen isotopes, and REYs) are further used to study the coeval seawater characteristics as well as potential diagenesis overprints. The result indicated that the diagenesis has little effect on the REY patterns of the reefal limestones. The REY concentrations of the reefal limestones are overall low (ranging from 3.69 to 19.60 ppm, arithmetic mean=10.22 ppm, SD=5.4). The PAAS-normalized REY patterns are consistently flat compared to the typical well-oxidized, shallow marine water patterns. However, the light REE (LREE) depletions, positive La anomalies, negative Ce anomalies and positive Y anomalies, suggest that these reefal limestones are likely an indicative of contemporaneous seawater REY signals. The seawater-like Y/Ho ratios (average at 37.51) further support that REY signals in these limestones are likely a reflection of seawater with little diagenetic modifications. The low Y/Ho ratios presented only in the reef-flank facies and sealing facies are likely a suggestion of detrital contamination. Hence, this study confirms that REY patterns of the limestones at the base facies and reef-core facies can record ancient seawater information, and reefs can be used as a potential geochemical proxy for paleoenvironment studies throughout the Earth’s history.     

Environmental controls on the development of Mississippian microbial carbonate mounds and platform limestones in southern Montagne Noire (France)

Late Mississippian carbonates in southern Montagne Noire are dominantly domical to laterally‐accreted microbial mounds in some formations, as well as stratiform microbial limestones occurring in hundreds of olistoliths within a flysch basin, constituting pieces of a giant puzzle that are used to help reconstruct a platform in a region that is no longer preserved. Petrographic data of limestone samples from 14 continuous long sections of olistoliths have been analyzed statistically, using multivariate clustering (Q‐mode) of the components/matrix/cement and canonical correspondence analysis that allow the reconstruction of the environmental parameters of carbonate microbial communities in space and time. Clustering analysis separated microbial and non‐microbial facies. The calculation of indices along the various axes from canonical correspondence analysis allows recognition of the controlling factors of the mounds and microbial growth as being turbidity, light penetration, bathymetry and storms. Turbidity and light penetration are the primary factors controlling the morphology of the microbial limestones. Representation of the light penetration and bathymetry indices on the stratigraphical sections defines two vertical environmental gradients. Light penetration can be subdivided into euphotic, euphotic–dysphotic and dysphotic‐aphotic conditions. The representation of the bathymetry allows the subdivision of samples into a deeper outer ramp, external mid‐ramp and internal mid‐ramp. The curve distance from the section base = f (index) suggests a cyclicity for the platform that cannot be compared with the onlap curve defined from other cratonic areas (Moscow Basin), and thus the cyclic succession of the Montagne Noire is interpreted to have been mostly tectonically‐controlled. Integration of the data allowed the reconstruction of the original Mississippian carbonate platform, where, up to the Mikhailovian, it appears to correspond to a platform morphology, with narrow shallow water facies and wide turbiditic systems, whereas the width of shallow‐water settings expanded during the Venevian to the Protvian, forming a ramp or distally‐steepened ramp with widespread microbial limestones.     

Auklet (Charadriiformes: Alcidae, Aethia spp.) chick meals from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, have a very low incidence of plastic marine debris

The ingestion of plastic marine debris is a chronic problem for some of the world’s seabird species, contributing to reduced chick survival, population declines, and deposition of contaminants via absorption in birds’ gastrointestinal tract. We analysed the frequency of ingested plastic in chick meals delivered by adults in four species of auklet - Crested (Aethia cristatella), Least (A. pusilla), Parakeet (A. psittacula), and Whiskered (A. pygmaea) - from three breeding colonies in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA over a 14-year period from 1993 to 2006. Among 2541 chick meals, we found plastic in only one - from a Whiskered Auklet on Buldir Island in 1993. While adult Parakeet Auklets have a high frequency of plastic ingestion (over 90%), no chick meals contained plastic. Unlike other seabirds, the planktivorous auklets do not appear to offload plastic to their chicks, and we conclude that auklet chicks are probably at a low risk of contamination from plastic debris.     

Cristobalite in the 2011–2012 Cordón Caulle eruption (Chile)

Cristobalite is a low-pressure high-temperature polymorph of SiO₂ found in many volcanic rocks. Its volcanogenic formation has received attention because (1) pure particulate cristobalite can be toxic when inhaled, and its dispersal in volcanic ash is therefore a potential hazard; and (2) its nominal stability field is at temperatures higher than those of magmatic systems, making it an interesting example of metastable crystallization. We present analyses (by XRD, SEM, EPMA, Laser Raman, and synchrotron μ-cT) of representative rhyolitic pyroclasts and of samples from different facies of the compound lava flow from the 2011–2012 eruption of Cordón Caulle (Chile). Cristobalite was not detected in pyroclasts, negating any concern for respiratory hazards, but it makes up 0–23 wt% of lava samples, occurring as prismatic vapour-deposited crystals in vesicles and/or as a groundmass phase in microcrystalline samples. Textures of lava collected near the vent, which best represent those generated in the conduit, indicate that pore isolation promotes vapour deposition of cristobalite. Mass balance shows that the SiO₂ deposited in isolated pore space can have originated from corrosion of the adjacent groundmass. Textures of lava collected down-flow were modified during transport in the insulated interior of the flow, where protracted cooling, additional vesiculation events, and shearing overprint original textures. In the most slowly cooled and intensely sheared samples from the core of the flow, nearly all original pore space is lost, and vapour-deposited cristobalite crystals are crushed and incorporated into the groundmass as the vesicles in which they formed collapse by strain and compaction of the surrounding matrix. Holocrystalline lava from the core of the flow achieves high mass concentrations of cristobalite as slow cooling allows extensive microlite crystallization and devitrification to form groundmass cristobalite. Vapour deposition and devitrification act concurrently but semi-independently. Both are promoted by slow cooling, and it is ultimately devitrification that most strongly contributes to total cristobalite content in a given flow facies. Our findings provide a new field context in which to address questions that have arisen from the study of cristobalite in dome eruptions, with insight afforded by the fundamentally different emplacement geometries of flows and domes.     

Sediment transport in ice-covered channels

The existence of ice cover has important effects on sediment transport and channel morphology for rivers in areas with an annual occurrence of an ice season. The interaction of sediment transport and s...     

Post-glacial climate change and its effect on a shallow dimictic lake in Nova Scotia,Canada

A high-resolution, multi-proxy lake sediment record was used to establish the timing of Holocene environmental change in Canoran Lake, southwest Nova Scotia, Canada. Proxies include %C, δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, HI, magnetic susceptibility, and pollen. Canoran Lake is a small, shallow (11 m) lake with two ephemeral inlets and an outlet. The site was deglaciated at ca. 15,300 cal (calibrated) year BP and elevated %C values indicate the establishment of a productive aquatic environment that is consistent with Allerød warming. The Allerød was interrupted by rapid air temperature cooling during the Younger Dryas (ca. 12,900–11,600 cal year BP). The Early Hypsithermal (ca. 11,600–8,500 cal year BP) was relatively warm and wet. A slight increase in clastic input occurred between 9,100 and 8,500 cal year BP but δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, and HI values imply that the lithostratigraphic response may not be indicative of climate-induced change. The strong proxy response between 8,500 and 8,000 cal year BP was likely due to cooling and drying coincident with the 8.2 k year event. The climate was relatively warm and dry during the Late Hypsithermal (ca. 8,000–3,500 cal year BP). None of the proxies’ exhibit notable change during the 5,500 cal year BP hemlock decline, indicating that ecological change was likely due to a pathogen attack. Post-Hypsithermal (modern) climate was characterized by an increase in precipitation and a decrease in air temperatures from ca. 3,500 to 700 cal year BP (top of core).