Mechanical twinning of jadeite – an indication of synseismic loading beneath the brittle–plastic transition

The orientation distribution of mechanically twinned jadeite crystals in a metagranite from the Sesia Zone, Western Alps, is evaluated to derive the orientation of the principal stress directions for a prominent stage of ductile deformation at ca. 300 to 350 °C that has been interpreted to reflect synseismic loading and postseismic creep by Küster and Stöckhert (1999). It is tested whether the orientation distribution can be used to obtain information on the magnitude of differential stress if the critical shear stress for twinning is known. Assuming that the critical shear stress of 140 MPa determined by Kollé and Blacic (1982) for mechanical twinning of clinopyroxene in the (100) [001] system holds true for jadeite, and assuming a homogeneous stress field as a first approximation, differential stresses of the order of 1-2 GPa are inferred for metagranites with ca. 15% jadeite, and of 0.5 GPa for jadeitite with 80% of jadeite. Notwithstanding the uncertainty for the critical resolved shear stress for jadeite, these unexpectedly high values are suspected to be due to a combination of the following effects: (1) an inhomogeneous stress field in the polyphase material with curved stress trajectories, (2) stress concentration in jadeite due to load transfer from the quartz matrix, and (3) minor reorientation of the jadeite crystals in the flowing quartz matrix. Hence, absolute values of differential stress cannot be derived from the orientation distribution of twinned jadeite in polyphase rocks. Notwithstanding the failure in deriving reliable absolute values, a short period with exceptionally high stress must have occurred, and is fully consistent with the microstructural record of other minerals. It is proposed that the mechanical twinning of jadeite was caused by a short-lived stress peak and flow at laboratory strain rates related to quasi-instantaneous loading of the uppermost level of the ductile lower crust during brittle failure of the brittle upper crust in a major seismic event.     

Chemical Characterisation of NIST Silicate Glass Certified Reference Material SRM 610 by ICP-MS, TIMS, LIMS, SSMS, INAA, AAS and PIXE

National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) silicate glass SRM 610 is widely used as a certified reference material for various micro-analytical techniques such as SIMS or laser ablation ICP-MS. SRM 610 has been nominally doped with sixty one trace elements at the 500 μg g⁻¹ level, but certified concentration data exist for only a few of these elements. This study reports concentration data for fifty nine trace elements obtained by ICP-MS, SSMS, LIMS, TIMS, INAA, AAS, and PIXE analyses of two different SRM 610 wafers. Most elements fall within a 10% band around a median value of about 440 μg g⁻¹. The REE concentrations are shown to be constant to 3% (1 σ), thus emphasizing the value of SRM 610 as a reference material for REE analyses.
Comparison of our values with published data suggests that different SRM 610 wafers are, within errors, chemically identical for most elements. Exceptions to this general rule appear to be restricted to elements which were partly lost during the production of the glass, e.g. Ag and Br. On the basis of six independent determinations of Rb concentrations, which are systematically lower by a few percent than the reported NIST value, we argue that the certified Rb concentration may not be representative for all distributed SRM 610 wafers.     

Deep versus shallow origin of gravity anomalies, topography and volcanism on Earth, Venus and Mars

The relation between gravity anomalies, topography and volcanism can yield important insights about the internal dynamics of planets. From the power spectra of gravity and topography on Earth, Venus and Mars we infer that gravity anomalies have likely predominantly sources below the lithosphere up to about spherical harmonic degree l=30 for Earth, 40 for Venus and 5 for Mars. To interpret the low-degree part of the gravity spectrum in terms of possible sublithospheric density anomalies we derive radial mantle viscosity profiles consistent with mineral physics. For these viscosity profiles we then compute gravity and topography kernels, which indicate how much gravity anomaly and how much topography is caused by a density anomaly at a given depth. With these kernels, we firstly compute an expected gravity-topography ratio. Good agreement with the observed ratio indicates that for Venus, in contrast to Earth and Mars, long-wavelength topography is largely dynamically supported from the sublithospheric mantle. Secondly, we combine an empirical power spectrum of density anomalies inferred from seismic tomography in Earth’s mantle with gravity kernels to model the gravity power spectrum. We find a good match between modeled and observed gravity power spectrum for all three planets, except for 2?l?4 on Venus. Density anomalies in the Venusian mantle for these low degrees thus appear to be very small. We combine gravity kernels and the gravity field to derive radially averaged density anomaly models for the Martian and Venusian mantles. Gravity kernels for l?5 are very small on Venus below ≈800 km depth. Thus our inferences on Venusian mantle density are basically restricted to the upper 800 km. On Mars, gravity anomalies for 2?l?5 may originate from density anomalies anywhere within its mantle. For Mars as for Earth, inferred density anomalies are dominated by l=2 structure, but we cannot infer whether there are features in the lowermost mantle of Mars that correspond to Earth’s Large Low Shear Velocity Provinces (LLSVPs). We find that volcanism on Mars tends to occur primarily in regions above inferred low mantle density, but our model cannot distinguish whether or not there is a Martian analog for the finding that Earth’s Large Igneous Provinces mainly originate above the margins of LLSVPs.     

Magnetic,chemically peculiar (CP2) stars in the SuperWASP survey

The magnetic chemically peculiar (CP2) stars of the upper main sequence are well‐suited for investigating the impact of magnetic fields on the surface layers of stars, which leads to abundance inhomogeneities (spots) resulting in photometric variability. The light changes are explained in terms of the oblique rotator model; the derived photometric periods thus correlate with the rotational periods of the stars. CP2 stars exhibiting this kind of variability are classified as α² Canum Venaticorum (ACV) variables. We have analysed around 3850000 individual photometric WASP measurements of magnetic chemically peculiar (CP2) stars and candidates selected from the catalogue of Ap, HgMn, and Am stars, with the ultimate goal of detecting new ACV variables. In total, we found 80 variables, from which 74 are reported here for the first time. The data allowed us to establish variability for 23 stars which had been reported as probably constant in the literature before. Light curve parameters were obtained for all stars by a least‐squares fit with the fundamental sine wave and its first harmonic. Because of the scarcity of Strömgren uvbyβ measurements and the lack of parallax measurements with an accuracy better than 20%, we are not able to give reliable astro‐physical parameters for the investigated objects. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Can the EU emission trading scheme support CDM forestry?

Abstract

The European Commission is mandated to consider the inclusion of credits from land-use projects under the clean development mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation (JI), beginning with the second period of the European Union's emission trading scheme (ETS) in its report due in July 2006. Temporary credits from afforestation and reforestation under the CDM are seen by many as posing a technical problem for their use under the ETS. This article summarizes three feasible, efficient and environmentally sound alternatives for achieving the integration of such temporary credits in the European emissions trading market starting in 2008. The first proposal integrates tCERs and lCERs (temporary credits) into the EU ETS by allowing for their direct use for compliance purposes. The second proposal builds on the idea of swapping temporary credits for EU allowances (EUAs) by Member States. The third proposal would not require a political decision at the EU level. Instead supportive Member States or private carbon fund operators would agree to swap temporary credits for the CERs or ERUs they hold in their accounts. All three solutions would be linked to a risk-mitigation strategy based on levying a fee or fixing an exchange rate, which would allow governments to hedge the risk of losing temporary credits.     

Stock changes or fluxes? Resolving terminological confusion in the debate on land-use change and forestry

Abstract

This article collates definitions of some key terms commonly used in greenhouse gas reporting and accounting for the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector, and highlights areas of ambiguity and divergent interpretations of key concepts. It uses the example of harvested wood products to demonstrate the impact of different interpretations. The objective is to facilitate clear communication amongst negotiators and practitioners in relation to the terms emissions, removals, sources and sinks. Confusion and misunderstandings that have arisen in the past are rooted in diverging interpretations of the terms ‘emissions’ and ‘removals’ in the context of land use and wood products. One interpretation sees emissions and removals to be approximated by a change in carbon stocks in a number of selected carbon pools that may include or exclude harvested wood products. Another interpretation views emissions and removals as gross fluxes between the atmosphere and the land/wood products system. The various alternative approaches that have been proposed for reporting for harvested wood products are applicable to one or the other of these interpretations: the stock-change and production approaches, focused on stock changes, are applicable to the first interpretation; whereas the atmospheric flow and simple decay approaches focus on fluxes, as in the second interpretation. Whether emissions/removals are approximated by stock change or from gross fluxes, it is critical that a consistent approach is applied across the whole LULUCF/AFOLU sector. Approaches based on stock change are recommended over those based on fluxes.     

Influence of variable uncertainties in seismic tomography models on constraining mantle viscosity from geoid observations

The radial viscosity structure of the Earth is explored on the basis of the geoid observations. The variations of uncertainty in seismic tomography models are accounted for when finding the radial viscosity structure. The new methodology we propose attempts to fit more closely those features of the geoid that are better constrained by tomography models and avoids to fit those features that are poorly constrained. This approach is particularly important because the error of geoid predictions caused by uncertainties in seismic tomography models is overwhelmingly larger than the noise in the geoid measurements. The synthetic tests indicate that the viscosity structures obtained by disregarding the uncertainty variations in seismic tomography models can be biased depending on the geoid spectral band and on the ‘input’ seismic tomography model. When the uncertainty variations in seismic models are considered in the inversion process, results do not indicate a viscosity in the transition zone lower than in the upper mantle. A robust feature found with the new method is a viscosity in the upper mantle two orders of magnitude smaller than in the lower mantle. The error covariance of seismic tomography models is critical for the method we suggest. A covariance matrix rigorously derived by seismologists should help to even more reliably infer the viscosity structure and relation between anomalies in density and seismic velocities from surface observations such as the geoid, and thus lead to a better knowledge of the Earth interior.     

A Brovar-type solution of the fixed geodetic boundary-value problem

For more than 150 years gravity anomalies have been used for the determination of geoidal heights, height anomalies and the external gravity field. Due to the fact that precise ellipsoidal heights could not be observed directly, traditionally a free geodetic boundary-value problem (GBVP) had to be formulated which after linearisation is related to gravity anomalies. Since nowadays the three-dimensional positions of gravity points can be determined by global navigation satellite systems very precisely, the modern formulation of the GBVP can be based on gravity disturbances which are related to a fixed GBVP using the known topographical surface of the Earth as boundary surface. The paper discusses various approaches into the solution of the fixed GBVP which after linearization corresponds to an oblique-derivative boundary-value problem for the Laplace equation. Among the analytical solution approaches a Brovar-type solution is worked out in detail, showing many similarities with respect to the classical solution of the scalar free GBVP.     

Geology,petrology and geochemistry of the “Americano do Brasil” layered intrusion,central Brazil,and its Ni–Cu sulfide deposits

The “Americano do Brasil” Complex (ABC) is part of a cluster of coeval synorogenic mafic–ultramafic intrusions emplaced during the Brasiliano/Pan-African Orogenic Cycle in Brazil. The medium-sized ABC consists of interlayered dunite, peridotite, websterite, and gabbronorite. High Fo values of olivine (up to Fo₈₈) and the crystallization sequence of the ABC (Ol + Chr ≥ Ol + Opx + Chr ≥ Cpx + Opx ≥ Opx + Pl + Cpx ≥ Opx + Pl + Cpx + Ilm + Mag) suggest crystallization from tholeiitic high-MgO parental magmas. Light rare earth element (REE)-enriched mantle-normalized REE profiles and εNd(T) values of +2.4 for cumulate rocks from the ABC suggest a depleted mantle source for the parental magma. The ABC Ni–Cu sulfide deposit (3.1 Mt at 1.12 wt.% Ni and 1.02 wt.% Cu) consists of three distinctively different orebodies (S1, S2, and G2). The S2 orebody, an unusual occurrence of stratiform massive sulfide hosted by dunite and peridotite in the interior of a layered intrusion, results from sulfides accumulated at the transient base of the magma chamber following a new influx of parental magma. The G2 orebody has an irregular and roughly cylindrical shape, consisting mainly of net-textured sulfides. The G2 orebody is hosted by peridotite and pyroxenite and located stratigraphically below the S1 orebody. S2 and G2 orebodies are characterized by low Cu/Cu + Ni ratios (mainly below 0.4). The S1 orebody, hosted by websterite and gabbronorite in the more fractionated sequence of the ABC, is a cluster of several irregular discontinuous orebodies of Ni–Cu disseminated sulfides. The sulfides of the S1 orebody have high Cu/Cu + Ni ratios (mainly between 0.5 and 0.8) and are highly depleted in PGE. The S1 orebody is interpreted to result from a later event of sulfide segregation in the magma chamber, possibly following the event that originated the G2 orebody. The bulk of δ³⁴S values for sulfides of the ABC orebodies and their host rocks fall in the range of 0 ± 2‰. Higher δ³⁴S values (between 3‰ and 5‰) are restricted to pyrite from xenoliths of gneiss located close to the S1 orebody and sulfides from the S1 orebody. Crustal xenoliths and chemical data (lithogeochemistry and sulfur isotope composition) provide evidence of crustal contamination of the igneous rocks hosting the S1 orebody, suggesting that sulfur saturation was induced by contamination with sulfide-bearing crustal rocks. The ABC deposit is an example of Ni–Cu sulfide mineralization hosted by synorogenic mafic–ultramafic intrusions. The S2 orebody is the first documented example of an economic stratiform massive sulfide orebody located within layered intrusions, expanding the opportunities for exploration of Ni–Cu sulfides in orogenic regions worldwide.     

The La Unión Au ± Cu prospect,Camagüey District,Cuba: fluid inclusion and stable isotope evidence for ore-forming processes

The Camagüey district, Cuba, is known for its epithermal precious metal deposits in a Cretaceous volcanic arc setting. Recently, the La Unión prospect was discovered in the southern part of the district, containing gold and minor copper mineralization interpreted as porphyry type. Mineralization is hosted in a 73.0 ± 1.5 Ma calc–alkaline I-type oxidized porphyry quartz diorite intrusive within volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the early Cretaceous Guáimaro Formation. The porphyry is affected by propylitic alteration and crosscut by a network of quartz and carbonate veinlets and veins. Chlorite, epidote, sericite, quartz, and pyrite are the main minerals in the early veins which are cut by late carbonate and zeolite veins. Late barite pseudomorphously replaces pyrite. Gold is associated with pyrite as disseminations in the altered quartz diorite and in the veins, occurring as inclusions or filling fractures in pyrite with 4 g/t Au in bulk samples, and up to 900 ppm Au in in pyrite. Fluid inclusion and oxygen isotope data are consistent with a H₂O–NaCl–(KCl) mineralizing fluid, derived from the quartz diorite magma, and trapped at least at 425°C and 1.2 kbar. This primary fluid unmixed into two fluid phases, a hypersaline aqueous fluid and a low-salinity vapor-rich fluid. Boiling during cooling may have played an important role in metal precipitation. Pyrite δ³⁴S values for the La Unión prospect range between 0.71‰ and 1.31‰, consistent with a homogeneous magmatic sulfur source. The fluids in equilibrium with the mineralized rocks have estimated δ¹⁸O values from 8‰ to 11.8‰, calculated for a temperature range of 480–505°C. The tectonic environment of the La Unión prospect, its high gold and low copper contents, the physical–chemical characteristics of the mineralizing fluids and the isotopic signature of the alteration minerals and fluids indicate that the La Unión gold mineralization is similar to the porphyry gold type, even though the ore-related epidote–chlorite alteration can be classified as propylitic and not the classic potassic and/or phyllic alteration. The low copper contents in the prospect could be due to a mineralizing fluid previously saturated in copper, which is indicated by trapped chalcopyrite crystals in high-temperature fluid inclusions. The low-temperature paragenesis, represented by carbonate, zeolite and barite, indicates epithermal overprint. The study shows the potential for other gold porphyry-type deposits in the Cretaceous volcanoplutonic arc of Cuba.