Two-pyroxene thermobarometry with new experimental data in the system CaO-MgO-Al2O3-SiO2

In the system CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (CMAS), equilibrium alumina contents of orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene, both coexisting with spinel + forsterite or spinel + anorthite, have been reversed in 16 runs at 1,300–1,400°C and 10.2–20.8 kbar, using PbO flux. The present data and the data of Perkins and Newton (1980) have been modeled using the Redlich-Kister equation. The resulting model satisfies most of the reversed data in the CMAS system, agrees very well with thermochemical measurements, and is consistent with the model for the enstatite-diopside join of Lindsley et al. (1981) and with the system MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ of Gasparik and Newton (1984). The present data, however, do not confirm the negative slopes of Al-isopleths in the spinel lherzolite field suggested by Dixon and Presnall (1980). The new model has been used to calculate a graphical two-pyroxene thermobarometer applicable to natural two-pyroxene assemblages closely approaching in composition the CMAS system.     

Evaluating Uncertainties in Coronal Electron Temperature and Radial Speed Measurements Using a Simulation of the Bastille Day Eruption

Obtaining reliable measurements of plasma parameters in the Sun’s corona remains an important challenge for solar physics. We previously presented a method for producing maps of electron temperature and speed of the solar corona using K-corona brightness measurements made through four color filters in visible light, which were tested for their accuracies using models of a structured, yet steady corona. In this article we test the same technique using a coronal model of the Bastille Day (14 July 2000) coronal mass ejection, which also contains quiet areas and streamers. We use the coronal electron density, temperature, and flow speed contained in the model to determine two K-coronal brightness ratios at (410.3, 390.0 nm) and (423.3, 398.7 nm) along more than 4000 lines of sight. Now assuming that for real observations, the only information we have for each line of sight are these two K-coronal brightness ratios, we use a spherically symmetric model of the corona that contains no structures to interpret these two ratios for electron temperature and speed. We then compare the interpreted (or measured) values for each line of sight with the true values from the model at the plane of the sky for that same line of sight to determine the magnitude of the errors. We show that the measured values closely match the true values in quiet areas. However, in locations of coronal structures, the measured values are predictably underestimated or overestimated compared to the true values, but can nevertheless be used to determine the positions of the structures with respect to the plane of the sky, in front or behind. Based on our results, we propose that future white-light coronagraphs be equipped to image the corona using four color filters in order to routinely create coronal maps of electron density, temperature, and flow speed.     

A model for the layered upper mantle

Numerical modeling of mantle convection by Liu (1994, Science, 264: 1904–1907) favors a two-layer convection, if the results are reinterpreted for the correct phase relations in (Mg,Fe)₂SiO₄. The resulting chemical isolation of the upper and lower mantle suggests a highly differentiated and layered upper mantle to account for the discrepancy between the observed compositions of mantle xenoliths and the cosmic abundances of elements. It is shown that a layered upper mantle with a hidden reservoir can have a structure consistent with the observed seismic velocity profiles and an average bulk composition corresponding to the cosmic abundances. The evolution of the upper mantle and the origin of komatiites are discussed in the context of the proposed model.     

Potential nitrogen fixation changes under different land uses as influenced by seasons and biochar amendments

Soil nutrient dynamics, potential biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) changes, and their relations were studied using four land use types. Further, we investigated BNF changes in the presence of biochar in soils. Soil samples were collected from arable, vineyard, grassland, and forest soils during four seasons, and analyzed for abiotic contents of total nitrogen, NH₄⁺-N, NO₃^?-N, ammonium lactate (AL)-soluble K₂O, P₂O₅, and soil organic carbon (SOC) concentrations. Potential N₂ fixation was measured as ethylene (C₂H₄) production from acetylene (C₂H₂) reduction (ARA). The study focused on the changes in ARA when different types of biochars (T600, T650, and T700) were applied to soil samples in different amounts (0, 0.5, 2.5, and 5.0% wt wt^?1) under laboratory conditions. We found strong correlations between soil chemical parameters and ARA values, especially in the case of soil pH, total N, SOC, and P₂O₅ contents. In the case of arable soil, the ARA measurements were up to 227 times higher compared to grassland and forest samples. Biochar application affected N₂-fixing microbial responses among land use types, most notably decreases in arable lands and forest soils. We found that a high amount of biochar added to the soils can greatly suppress N₂-fixing activities. Our results highlight the strong relationship between soil nutrient changes and the intensity of anthropogenic influence.     

Retrograde alterations of phyllosilicates in low-grade metapelite: a case study from the Szendr? Paleozoic, NE-Hungary

Frequently, at temperatures lower than the metamorphic peak conditions, slates undergo mineral transformations, usually mediated by fluids. We have studied core material of an epizonal slate series (Szendr? Mountains, NE-Hungary) to reconstruct the post-metamorphic lower-T hydrothermal alterations using petrographic, X-ray diffraction, electron microprobe methods, and transmission electron microscopy. The borehole crosscuts an upper part of the ca. 600?C800?m Lower-Carboniferous flysch-like Szendr? Phyllite Formation. The samples were metamorphosed reaching epizonal conditions with a mineral assemblage characterized by quartz, muscovite, chlorite and albite. Even in the freshest samples, break-up and loosening of the regional metamorphic structure was observed, with cracks parallel to or crossing the cleavage. In the upper part, chlorite and albite are almost absent, while the presence of paragonite, mixed Na?CK mica, and mixed-layered minerals with smectitic component are characteristic. Goethite, halloysite, and subordinate kaolinite are present in the most altered sample (13.0?m in the profile) which may indicate the position of the fissures in which the circulation of the post-metamorphic fluids was the most intense. Muscovite is the only mica from the lower part of the profile and chlorite becomes a significant constituent, whereas paragonite, halloysite, and kaolinite are missing. Discrete smectite is present in all the samples in spite of being incompatible with the prograde evolution of the sequence. The interleaved smectite layers in chlorite and muscovite/chlorite mixed-layers show at the lattice level textural characteristics indicative of a later alteration process. After the metamorphic peak at epizonal conditions, the introduction of hot fluids through the fractures gave rise to the crystallization of Na?CK white micas and muscovite/chlorite under anchizonal conditions. In a final stage of the hydrothermal process, the cooling of the circulating fluids favored the formation of halloysite and kaolinite in the areas near to the fissures, smectites in the samples far away from the fractures, and locally, goethite. The Fe₂O₃ content increasing upwards indicates oxidizing conditions in the late stage of hydrothermal activity and/or eventually, an influence of a younger near-surface weathering.     

The morphology of a Messinian valley and its hinterland (Ventimiglia,NW Italy): a Miocene to Pliocene reconstruction

Along the Ligurian coast (NW Italy), Alpine‐folded and slightly metamorphosed rocks experienced fluvial to marine erosion prior to and during the base level fall associated with the Messinian salinity crisis. Following the subsequent sea‐level rise at the onset of the Pliocene, valleys incised along the coastal margins during the Messinian salinity crisis were partly filled with Pliocene marine and continental deposits. One such valley‐infill system is exposed near Ventimiglia (NW Italy). Using geological cross‐sections and geomorphological analysis we have constrained its shape and dimensions, as well as the morphology of its hinterland. The Messinian valley was very open, ∼10 km wide and probably 500 m deep. The basal unconformity between the Pliocene sediments and the underlying substratum is characterized by a smooth surface that has on either side of the palaeo‐valley a dip between 2 and 10°. The basal unconformity in the southernmost part of the palaeo‐valley roughly coincides with present‐day sea level. The hinterland of the middle Pliocene sea was characterized by kilometres‐wide valleys surrounded by mountains with a relief gentler than at present. The shapes and dimensions of the Messinian Ventimiglia valley and the relief during Pliocene times are different from those derived from comparable structures in SE France and NW Italy. We interpret this as being due to the exhumation history that the Ventimiglia region, different from the surrounding areas, experienced over the last few million years. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental study of subsolidus phase relations and mixing properties of pyroxene and plagioclase in the system Na2O-CaO-Al2O3-SiO2

In the system Na₂O-CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ (NCAS), the equilibrium compositions of pyroxene coexisting with grossular and corundum were experimentally determined at 40 different P-T conditions (1,100–1,400° C and 20.5–38 kbar). Mixing properties of the Ca-Tschermak — Jadeite pyroxene inferred from the data are (J, K): $$\begin{gathered} G_{Px}^{xs} = X_{{\text{CaTs}}} X_{{\text{Jd}}} [14,810 - 7.15T - 5,070(X_{{\text{CaTs}}} - X_{{\text{Jd}}} ) \hfill \\ {\text{ }} - 3,350(X_{{\text{CaTs}}} - X_{{\text{Jd}}} )^2 ] \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ The excess entropy is consistent with a complete disorder of cations in the M2 and the T site. Compositions of coexisting pyroxene and plagioclase were obtained in 11 experiments at 1,190–1,300° C/25 kbar. The data were used to infer an entropy difference between low and high anorthite at 1,200° C, corresponding to the enthalpy difference of 9.6 kJ/mol associated with the C \(\bar 1\) =I \(\bar 1\) transition in anorthite as given by Carpenter and McConnell (1984). The resulting entropy difference of 5.0 J/ mol · K places the transition at 1,647° C. Plagioclase is modeled as ideal solutions, C \(\bar 1\) and I \(\bar 1\) , with a non-first order transition between them approximated by an empirical expression (J, bar, K): $$\Delta G_T = \Delta G_{1,473} \left[ {1 - 3X_{Ab} \tfrac{{T^4 - 1,473^4 }}{{\left( {1,920 - 0.004P} \right)^4 - 1,473^4 }}} \right],$$ where $$\Delta G_{1,473} = 9,600 - 5.0T - 0.02P$$ The derived mixing properties of the pyroxene and plagioclase solutions, combined with the thermodynamic properties of other phases, were used to calculate phase relations in the NCAS system. Equilibria involving pyroxene+plagioclase +grossular+corundum and pyroxene+plagioclase +grossular+kyani te are suitable for thermobarometry. Albite is the most stable plagioclase.