Experimental duplication of a high-pressure megacryst/cumulate assemblage in a near-saturated hawaiite

The occurrence of corroded megacrysts and cumulates of olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, plagioclase, ilmenite and apatite in near-saturated hawaiites from the mid-north coast of New South Wales point to the derivation of these hawaiites at elevated pressures. In an experimental study on one of these hawaiites under conditions ranging from 5–15 kb and 0–5% H₂O, orthopyroxene was identified in only one run with 2% H₂O at 1040° C and 6.5 kb. In this run it was associated with olivine, clinopyroxene and Fe-Ti oxide. The early appearance of plagioclase in the “dry” experimental runs and amphibole in runs with 5% H₂O, indicates that the water content in the natural hawaiite was intermediate to these values. The near-duplication of the natural megacryst-cumulate assemblage suggests that the hawaiite host precipitated these phases at a depth of approximately 20–24 km, prior to rapid eruption to higher crustal levels.     

Larval life span of the echinoid evechinus chloroticus (val.)

Newly metamorphosed Evechinus chloroticus (Val.) were observed in three larval cultures 36, 30, and 28 days after fertilisation, indicating that the free swimming larval life may last about 1 month.     

Trace Element Partitioning and Accessory Phase Saturation during H2O-Saturated Melting of Basalt with Implications for Subduction Zone Chemical Fluxes

Experimental phase equilibrium and trace element partitioningdata are reported for H₂O-saturated mid-ocean ridge basalt at2·5 GPa, 750–900°C and oxygen fugacities atthe nickel–nickel oxide buffer. Garnet, omphacite andrutile are present at all temperatures. Amphibole and epidotedisappear as residual phases above 800°C; allanite appearsabove 750°C. The Na–Al-rich silicate glass presentin all run products is likely to have quenched from a supercriticalliquid. Trace element analyses of glasses demonstrate the importantcontrol exerted by residual minerals on liquid chemistry. Inaddition to garnet, which controls heavy rare earth elements(HREE) and Sc, and rutile, which controls Ti, Nb and Ta, allanitebuffers the light REE (LREE; La–Sm) contents of liquidsto relatively low levels and preferentially holds back Th relativeto U. In agreement with previous experimental and metamorphicstudies we propose that residual allanite plays a key role inselectively retaining trace elements in the slab during subduction.Experimental data and analyses of allanite-bearing volcanicrocks are used to derive a model for allanite solubility inliquids as a function of pressure, temperature, anhydrous liquidcomposition and LREE content. The large temperature dependenceof allanite solubility is very similar to that previously determinedfor monazite. Our model, fitted to 48 datapoints, retrievesLREE solubility (in ppm) to within a factor of 1· 40over a pressure range of 0–4 GPa, temperature range of700–1200°C and for liquids with anhydrous SiO₂ contentsof 50–84 wt %. This uncertainty in LREE content is equivalentto a temperature uncertainty of only ± 27°C at 1000K, indicating the potential of allanite as a geothermometer.Silicic liquids from either basaltic or sedimentary protolithswill be saturated in allanite except for Ca-poor protolithsor at very high temperatures. For conventional subduction geothermsthe low solubility of LREE (+ Th) in liquids raises questionsabout the mechanism of LREE + Th transport from slab to wedge.It is suggested either that, locally, temperatures experiencedby the slab are high enough to eliminate allanite in the residueor that substantial volumes of H₂O-rich fluids must pass throughthe mantle wedge prior to melting. The solubility of accessoryphases in fluids derived from subducted rocks can provide importantconstraints on subduction zone thermal structure. KEY WORDS: subduction; experimental petrology; allanite; solubility; supercritical liquid; eclogite     

Evolution and Morphodynamics of a Prograded Beach‐Ridge Foreland,Northern Baffin Island,Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Landward retreat (marine transgression) is a common response of coastal systems to rising relative sea level. However, given sufficient sediment supply, the coast may advance seaward. The latter response of gravel barriers has been recorded in parts of southeastern and northwestern Canada, where seaward‐rising sets of beach ridges are observed in areas of Holocene RSL rise. Cape Charles Yorke, northern Baffin Island, is a 5 km long gravel foreland characterized by seaward‐rising beach‐ridge crest elevations. The prograded morphology of the Cape Charles Yorke foreland is a prime example of coastal response to a combination of rising RSL and abundant sediment supply, an unusual and little‐documented pattern in the Canadian Arctic. The main gravel supply to Cape Charles Yorke is likely from eroding bedrock and raised marine deposits southwest of the foreland. Although not the dominant sediment source, the Cape Charles Yorke delta contributed to the formation of the foreland by sheltering it from easterly storm waves and providing an anchor point for the prograding ridges. The truncation of relict ridges by the modern shoreline suggests a recent regime shift from continuous deposition to predominant erosion. The cause and timing of this shift are unknown but could result from a recent dwindling in sediment supply, increased accommodation space, increased wave energy, and/or an accelerated rise of relative sea level.     

Pressure effect on Ti- or P-rich accessory mineral saturation in evolved granitic melts with differing K2O/Na2O ratios

The solubility of Ti- and P-rich accessory minerals has been examined as a function of pressure and K₂O/Na₂O ratio in two series of highly evolved silicate systems. These systems correspond to (a) alkaline, varying from alkaline to peralkaline with increasing K₂O/Na₂O ratio; and (b) strongly metaluminous (essentially trondhjemitic at the lowest K₂O/Na₂O ratio) and remaining metaluminous with increasing K₂O/Na₂O ratio (to 3). The experiments were conducted at a fixed temperature of 1000 °C, with water contents varying from 5 wt.% at low pressure (0.5 GPa), increasing through 5–10 wt.% at 1.5–2.5 GPa to 10 wt.% at 3.5 GPa. Pressure was extended outside the normal crustal range, so that the results may also be applied to derivation of hydrous silicic melts from subducted oceanic crust.

For the alkaline composition series, the TiO₂ content of the melt at Ti-rich mineral saturation decreases with increasing pressure but is unchanged with increasing K content (at fixed pressure). The P₂O₅ content of the alkaline melts at apatite saturation increases with increased pressure at 3.5 GPa only, but decreases with increasing K content (and peralkalinity). For the metaluminous composition series (termed as “trondhjemite-based series” (T series)), the TiO₂ content of the melt at Ti-rich mineral saturation decreases with increasing pressure and with increasing K content (at fixed pressure). The P₂O₅ content of the T series melts at apatite saturation is unchanged with increasing pressure, but decreases with increasing K content. The contrasting results for P and Ti saturation levels, as a function of pressure in both compositions, point to contrasting behaviour of Ti and P in the structure of evolved silicate melts. Ti content at Ti-rich mineral saturation is lower in the alkaline compared with the T series at 0.5 GPa, but is similar at higher pressures, whereas P content at apatite saturation is lower in the T series at all pressures studied. The results have application to A-type granite suites that are alkaline to peralkaline, and to I-type metaluminous suites that frequently exhibit differing K₂O/Na₂O ratios from one suite to another.     

The heating of the solar corona

The heating of the solar corona has been a fundamental astrophysical issue for over sixty years. Over the last decade in particular, space-based solar observatories (Yohkoh, SOHO and TRACE) have revealed the complex and often subtle magnetic-field and plasma interactions throughout the solar atmosphere in unprecedented detail. It is now established that any energy release mechanism is magnetic in origin - the challenge posed is to determine what specific heat input is dominating in a given coronal feature throughout the solar cycle. This review outlines a range of possible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) coronal heating theories, including MHD wave dissipation and MHD reconnection as well as the accumulating observational evidence for quasi-periodic oscillations and small-scale energy bursts occurring in the corona. Also, we describe current attempts to interpret plasma temperature, density and velocity diagnostics in the light of specific localised energy release. The progress in these investigations expected from future solar missions (Solar-B, STEREO, SDO and Solar Orbiter) is also assessed.Received: 6 February 2003, Published online: 14 November 2003 Correspondence to: R. W. Walsh