A volcanological and geochemical investigation of Boa Vista,Cape Verde Islands; 40Ar/39Ar geochronology and field constraints

Boa Vista, the easternmost island in the Cape Verde archipelago, consists of volcanic products, minor intrusions and a thin partial sedimentary cover. The first 15 age results from ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar incremental heating analysis of groundmass separates from volcanic and plutonic rocks from Boa Vista are presented. The combination of age results and field observations demonstrates that the volcanic activity that formed the island occurred in three main stages: (1) > 16 Ma, (2) 15–12.5 Ma and (3) 9.5–4.5 Ma. The first stage, restricted to the north eastern part of the island, is dominated by ankaramitic lavas. The second stage, consisting of evolved lavas of phonolitic–trachytic compositions and nepheline syenites, makes up large central parts of the island. The large volume of evolved rocks and the extended eruption period of several Ma make stage 2 in Boa Vista unique to Cape Verde. Mainly basanites and nephelinites were erupted during the third stage, initially dominated by eruption of subaerial mafic lavas around 9 Ma. Pillow lavas are erupted around 7 Ma whereupon dominantly subaerial mafic lavas were erupted. Stage 3 saw volcanism in many centres distributed mainly along the present coastline and with activity partly overlapping in time. The volcanic evolution of Boa Vista constrains the initiation of volcanic activity in the Cape Verde archipelago to the eastern islands. Major and trace element geochemistry of 160 volcanic and plutonic rocks representing the entire exposed chronological sequence on Boa Vista is presented, revealing an extremely well developed Daly Gap. Only a little was modified from the mafic magmas that rose in small batches from the mantle. Compositional variation distinguishes each volcanic complex and was to a large extent present in the mantle melts. The highly evolved stage 2 phonolites and trachytes are related through the fractional crystallization of three compositionally distinct magmas. Two of these may have been derived by crystal fractionation of primitive Boa Vista melts, whereas the third was not.     

Chemical characterization and multivariate analysis of atmospheric PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> particles

The new European Council Directive (PE-CONS 3696/07) frames the inhalable (PM₁₀) and fine particles (PM_2.5) on priority to chemically characterize these fractions in order to understand their possible relation with health effects. Considering this, PM_2.5 was collected during four different seasons to evaluate the relative abundance of bulk elements (Cl, S, Si, Al, Br, Cu, Fe, Ti, Ca, K, Pb, Zn, Ni, Mn, Cr and V) and water soluble ions (F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₂ ⁻, NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, Na⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺) over Menen, a Belgian city near the French border. The air quality over Menen is influenced by industrialized regions on both sides of the border. The most abundant ionic species were NO₃ ⁻, SO₄ ²⁻ and NH₄ ⁺, and they showed distinct seasonal variation. The elevated levels of NO₃ ⁻ during spring and summer were found to be related to the larger availability of the NO_x precursor. The various elemental species analyzed were distinguished into crustal and anthropogenic source categories. The dominating elements were S and Cl in the PM_2.5 particles. The anthropogenic fraction (e.g. Zn, Pb, and Cu) shows a more scattered abundance. Furthermore, the ions and elemental data were also processed using principal component analysis and cluster analysis to identify their sources and chemistry. These approach identifies anthropogenic (traffic and industrial) emissions as a major source for fine particles. The variations in the natural/anthropogenic fractions of PM_2.5 were also found to be a function of meteorological conditions as well as of long-range transport of air masses from the industrialized regions of the continent. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

South-to-north pyroxenite–peridotite source variation correlated with an OIB-type to arc-type enrichment of magmas from the Payenia backarc of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ)

New high-precision minor element analysis of the most magnesian olivine cores (Fo_85–88) in fifteen high-MgO (Mg#_66–74) alkali basalts or trachybasalts from the Quaternary backarc volcanic province, Payenia, of the Andean Southern Volcanic Zone in Argentina displays a clear north-to-south decrease in Mn/Fe_ol. This is interpreted as the transition from mainly peridotite-derived melts in the north to mainly pyroxenite-derived melts in the south. The peridotite–pyroxenite source variation correlates with a transition of rock compositions from arc-type to OIB-type trace element signatures, where samples from the central part of the province are intermediate. The southernmost rocks have, e.g., relatively low La/Nb, Th/Nb and Th/La ratios as well as high Nb/U, Ce/Pb, Ba/Th and Eu/Eu* = 1.08. The northern samples are characterized by the opposite and have Eu/Eu* down to 0.86. Several incompatible trace element ratios in the rocks correlate with Mn/Fe_ol and also reflect mixing of two geochemically distinct mantle sources. The peridotite melt end-member carries an arc signature that cannot solely be explained by fluid enrichment since these melts have relatively low Eu/Eu*, Ba/Th and high Th/La ratios, which suggest a component of upper continental crust (UCC) in the metasomatizing agent of the northern mantle. However, the addition to the mantle source of crustal materials or varying oxidation state cannot explain the variation in Mn and Mn/Fe of the melts and olivines along Payenia. Instead, the correlation between Mn/Fe_ol and whole-rock (wr) trace element compositions is evidence of two-component mixing of melts derived from peridotite mantle source enriched by slab fluids and UCC melts and a pyroxenite mantle source with an EM1-type trace element signature. Very low Ca/Fe ratios (~1.1) in the olivines of the peridotite melt component and lower calculated partition coefficients for Ca in olivine for these samples are suggested to be caused by higher H₂O contents in the magmas derived from subduction zone enriched mantle. Well-correlated Mn/Fe ratios in the wr and primitive olivines demonstrate that the Mn/Fe_wr of these basalts that only fractionated olivine and chromite reflects the Mn/Fe of the primitive melts and can be used as a proxy for the amount of pyroxenite melt in the magmas. Using Mn/Fe_wr for a large dataset of primitive Payenia rocks, we show that decreasing Mn/Fe_wr is correlated with decreasing Mn and increasing Zn/Mn as expected for pyroxenite melts.     

A 5 million year record of compositional variations in mantle sources to magmatism on Santiago, southern Cape Verde archipelago

High-precision Pb isotope data and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope data are presented together with major and trace element data for samples spanning the 4.6 Ma history of volcanism at Santiago, in the southern Cape Verde islands. Pb isotope data confirm the positive Δ8/4 signature of the southern islands indicating that the north–south compositional heterogeneity in the Cape Verde archipelago has persisted for at least 4.6 Ma. The Santiago volcanics show distinct compositional differences between the old, intermediate and young volcanics, and suggest greater involvement of an enriched mantle (EM1)-like source over time. Isotopic variations in the Santiago volcanics indicate convergence towards a homogeneous EM1-like end-member and distinct temporal variations in the FOZO-like end-member. Santiago and Santo Antão (a northern island, Holm et al. 2006), show a simultaneous decrease in ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of the high ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb FOZO-like source with time. Such systematic archipelago-wide variations in the FOZO-like component suggest that this component is more likely to be present as a coherent package of recycled ocean crust rather than as multiple small heterogeneities dispersed in the upwelling mantle. The temporal variations in ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb reflect minor lateral variations in Th/U of this recycled ocean crust package entering the melting zone beneath the islands. The location of the EM1-like component is more equivocal. A shallow lithospheric location is possible, but this would require a coincidence between spatial compositional variations in the lithosphere (EM1 is spatially restricted to the southern islands) and flow lines in the upwelling mantle revealed by seismic anisotropy. Therefore, we favour a deeper asthenospheric mantle source for the EM1-like source.     

Groundwater-dependent ecology of the shoreline of the subtropical Lake St Lucia estuary

The ecology of the St Lucia estuary in South Africa is of unique international importance. During droughts the estuary experiences high salinities, with values above that of seawater. Ion-poor groundwater flowing into the estuary from prominent sand aquifers along its eastern shoreline forms low-salinity habitats for salt-sensitive biota. During droughts, plants and animals can take refuge in the groundwater discharge zone until the condition in the estuary regains tolerable salinity. Simulations of the groundwater discharge indicate that the flow can persist during droughts over at least a decade, and be of great important for the resilience of the estuary. Anthropogenic activities have reduced the river inflow and made the St Lucia estuary more sensitive to droughts. The groundwater has thereby become increasingly important for the estuary’s ecology. Protection of the groundwater discharge along the shoreline itself and actions to increase the groundwater recharge are therefore important management tasks.     

Hydrometeorological thresholds for landslide initiation and forest operation shutdowns on the north coast of British Columbia

Debris flows and debris avalanches are the most widespread and hazardous types of landslides on the British Columbia north coast. Triggered by heavy rain, they pose risks to forestry workers in sparsely developed regions. The scarcity of long-term quality rain gauges and the lack of weather radar information create significant challenge in predicting the timing of landslides, which could be used to warn and, when necessary, evacuate forestry personnel. Traditional methods to relate rainfall antecedents and rainfall intensity to known landslide dates have proven to be unsatisfactory in this study due to extreme spatial variability of rainfall, enhanced by the orographic effect and the scarcity of rain gauges in a very large area. This has led to an integration of meteorological variables in a landslide advisory system that classifies three types of approaching storms by the 850-mbar wind speed and direction, the occurrence of subtropical moisture flow, and the existence of a warm layer characterized by high thickness values of the 500- to 1,000-mbar pressure levels. The storm classification was combined with a 4-week antecedent rainfall and the 24-h rainfall measured near or in the watershed where logging operations are taking place. This system, once implemented, is thought to reduce loss of life, injury, and economic losses associated with forestry works in the study area.     

Composition and diagenesis of neutral carbohydrates in sediments of the Baltic-North Sea transition

The distribution and composition of neutral carbohydrates in the solid phase and porewater, and their role in carbon cycling were investigated in contrasting marine sediments of the Baltic-North Sea region. Depth-invariant profiles of particulate carbohydrates (PCHO) and low PCHO yields (PCHO/organic carbon) indicated that a small inert carbohydrate fraction deposits on the sediment at the deeper stations in the northern Kattegat and Skagerrak compared to the shallower stations further South. This was supported by long-term sediment incubations, in which the PCHO concentrations remained unchanged during 480 days, revealing that neutral carbohydrates play a minor role in carbon mineralization at the deeper sites. In contrast, the reactivity of PCHO was high (first-order rate constant of 3.2 yr⁻¹) at one shallow site in the Belt Sea. Monosaccharide spectra were uniform with sediment depth and between sites with the exception of the shallowest site in the middle of Kattegat, where glucose dominated the polymers at the surface. This was likely due to benthic diatoms. Addition of fresh algae to surface sediment from the deeper sites resulted in a preferential mineralization of particulate glucose polymers. The addition of algae also resulted in an initial pulse of glucose in the porewater pools of total hydrolyzable carbohydrates (THCHO), indicating a faster hydrolysis of glucose polymers in the particulate phase than the subsequent hydrolysis and bacterial consumption of oligo- and polymers of glucose in the porewater. This study shows that some carbohydrates such as glucose polymers are selectively utilized by heterotrophic bacteria during the settling of organic particles through the water column, and a relatively inert fraction arrives to the sediments where much of it escapes mineralization and becomes permanently buried. In shallow coastal environments, where the degradation in the water column is less extensive and where benthic algae may represent a local carbohydrate source, neutral carbohydrates appear to be more important in organic matter mineralization.     

Arsenic in glacial aquifers: sources and geochemical controls

A total of 176 wells in sand-and-gravel glacial aquifers in central Illinois were sampled for arsenic (As) and other chemical parameters. The results were combined with archived and published data from several hundred well samples to determine potential sources of As and the potential geochemical controls on its solubility and mobility. There was considerable spatial variability in the As concentrations. High concentrations were confined to areas smaller than 1 km in diameter. Arsenic and well depth were uncorrelated. Arsenic solubility appeared to be controlled by oxidation-reduction (redox) conditions, especially the presence of organic matter. Geochemical conditions in the aquifers are typically reducing, but only in the most reducing water does As accumulate in solution. In wells in which total organic carbon (TOC) was below 2 mg/L and sulfate (SO4(2-)) was present, As concentrations were low or below the detection limit (0.5 microg/L). Arsenic concentrations >10 microg/L were almost always found in wells where TOC was >2 mg/L and SO4(2-) was absent or at low concentrations, indicating post-SO4 (2-)reducing conditions. Iron (Fe) is common in the aquifer sediments, and Fe oxide reduction appears to be occurring throughout the aquifers. Arsenic is likely released from the solid phase as Fe oxide is reduced.     

Sub-volcanic infiltration and syn-eruptive quenching of liquids in cumulate wall-rocks: the example of the gabbroic nodules of Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

Summary ¶Fine- to coarse-grained plutonic nodules within the Petrazza pyroclastics (Paleo-Stromboli I period) consist of gabbroic rocks with variable amounts of interstitial material. They are characterised by cumulate textures and low pressure modal mineralogy formed by plagioclase (An_96–87)+clinopyroxene (Mg-v 82–94)+olivine (Fo_83–74)±amphibole±opaque minerals; the interstitial material consists of newly crystallised microlites (quenching) of plagioclase (An_73–55)+amphibole+clinopyroxene±olivine±biotite±opaques and highly variable amounts of residual glasses that range in composition from shoshonite and high-K basaltic andesite to high-K andesite and latite. The interstitial material has a relatively high but variable degree of vesicularity. The whole rock incompatible element abundances are lower than – but the patterns are typical of – in subduction related magmas and the incompatible trace-elements are well correlated with the amount of the interstitial material. The Sr, Pb and Nd isotopic ratios resemble those of the extrusive rocks of Stromboli older series and the mineral chemistry of the gabbros is similar to that of the HKCA Paleo-Stromboli lavas. Modal mineralogy, mineral chemistry and chemical-isotopic whole rock compositions suggest that the cumulus portions of the gabbroic nodules crystallised from basaltic magmas compositionally compatible with those erupted by Stromboli volcano. The interstitial material does not represent the residual liquid after in situ crystallisation of the gabbros; it is also distinct from the juvenile host andesite magma. Textural evidence, Fe–Mg mineral/liquid partioning and mass balance calculations indicate that the interstitial material (quench crystals and vesicular glass) derived from infiltrated hydrous basaltic liquid undercooling and vesiculation of which occurred during the eruption of the Petrazza pyroclastics.Received April 17, 2002; revised version accepted November 14, 2002 Published online June 2, 2003