Age trends in garnet-hosted monazite inclusions from upper amphibolite facies schist in the northern Grouse Creek Mountains, Utah

We performed in situ Th-Pb dating of monazite in upper amphibolite facies pelitic schist from the Grouse Creek Mountains in northwest Utah. Sixty-six ages from inclusions in four garnet grains range from 37 to 72 Ma and decrease with radial distance from garnet cores. The age range of 30 matrix monazite grains overlaps and extends to younger ages than inclusions (25-58 Ma). The monazite grains are not intersected by cracks in the garnets, through which dissolution, reprecipitation or Pb loss might occur, and are generally too small (<20 μm) to allow for more than one age determination on any one grain. Processes that might explain inclusion ages that decrease with radial distance from garnet cores include: (1) Pb diffusion in monazite, (2) dissolution and reprecipitation of monazite, and (3) co-crystallization of monazite and garnet. After consideration of these possibilities, it is concluded that the co-crystallization of monazite and garnet is the most plausible, with monazite neoblasts deriving REEs from the breakdown of muscovite. Garnet ages derived by regression of the inclusion ages and assuming a constant rate of volume increase during garnet growth yield model ages with a maximum difference between core and rim of 22 m.y.     

Identification and quantification of carbonyl-containing α-pinene ozonolysis products using <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-<Emphasis Type="Italic">tert</Emphasis>-butylhydroxylamine hydrochloride

The yields of carbonyl-containing reaction products from the ozonolysis of α-pinene have been investigated using concentrations of ozone found in the indoor environment ([O₃] ≤ 100 ppb). An impinger was used to collect gas-phase oxidation products in water, where the derivatization agent O-tert-butylhydroxylamine hydrochloride (TBOX) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to identify carbonyl-containing species. Seven carbonyl-containing products were observed. The yield of the primary product, pinonaldehyde was measured to be 76 %. Using cyclohexane as a hydroxyl radical (?OH) scavenger, the yield of pinonaldehyde decreased to 46 %, indicating the influence secondary OH radicals have on α-pinene ozonolysis products. Furthermore, the use of TBOX, a small molecular weight derivatization agent, allowed for the acquisition of the first mass spectral data of oxopinonaldehyde, a tricarbonyl reaction product of α-pinene ozonolysis. The techniques described herein allow for an effective method for the collection and identification of terpene oxidation products in the indoor environment.     

The relationship between beam transmission and concentration of suspended particulate material in the Neuse River estuary,North Carolina

Monthly measurements made at 15 stations along the axis of the upper Neuse River estuary show a highly variable degree of correlation between concentration of suspended particulate material (SPM) and attenuation of light (c) as measured by transmissometer. Coefficients of determination along transect lines ranged from 0.12 to 0.93 and calibration slopes ranged from 0.50 to 5.63. When examined on a station-by-station basis, coefficients of determination ranged from 0.21 to 0.96 and calibration slopes ranged from 1.04 to 4.94. Surface calibrations made at individual stations over the full 13-month period were the most consistent of all observations and were considerably better than calibrations made using all of the stations on a given day. Organic content, which can dominate the suspended sediment load during some months, does not appear to explain the variations in reliability of the calibrations. However, an abundance of large aggregates with time-varying size and shape distributions may be partly responsible for variations in optical properties of the sediments, and thus may confound the relationship between SPM and c in the Neuse River estuary. Time-varying calibrations to account for non-negligible changes in optical properties may not suffice in complex estuarine environments where the in situ particle dynamics are poorly understood.     

Nitrogen and phosphorus species in the coastal and shelf waters of Southeastern North Carolina, Mid-Atlantic U.S. coast

The diversity of small-scale wetlands, high salinity tidal creeks, salt marshes, estuaries, and a wide and shallow shelf with the Gulf Stream close to the break makes the coastal zone of south-eastern North Carolina (U.S.) a natural laboratory for the study of the cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in coastal and shelf waters. We assessed the summer concentrations, forms, and ratios for each N (total dissolved N, nitrate + nitrite, ammonium and dissolved organic N) and P (total dissolved P, o-phosphate and dissolved organic P) pool as these nutrients travel from tidal creeks, salt marshes and two large estuaries to Long and Onslow Bays. Additionally, we measured ancillary physical (temperature, salinity and turbidity) and chemical (dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a and pH) water properties. Highest concentrations of all individual N and P compounds were found in the upper parts of each tributary and were attributed to loads from agricultural and urban sources to the coastal watersheds, continuing downstream to receiving estuaries. In all areas, dissolved organic N and P species were predominant constituents of the total dissolved N and P pools (64–97% and 56–93%, respectively). The lower parts of estuaries and surface shelf waters were characterized by oceanic surface values, indicating removal of N and P downstream in all tributaries. The different watershed and hydrological characteristics also determined the different speciation of N and P pools in each estuary. Despite a high level of anthropogenic pressure on the uppermost coastal waters, there is self-regulation in this coastal ecosystem with respect to human perturbations; i.e. significant amounts of the N and P load are retained within estuarine and nearshore waters without reaching the shelf.     

Attenuated basin‐margin sequence stratigraphy of the Palaeoproterozoic Calvert and Isa Superbasins: The Fickling Group,southern Murphy Inlier,Queensland

Sedimentary rocks of the Palaeoproterozoic Calvert and Isa Superbasins are exposed across a large area of northern Australia. Despite the extent of the exposures there is little to indicate the nature of the basin margins as most outcrop boundaries are structurally or erosionally defined, or the margins, where preserved, are concealed beneath younger basins. The Murphy Inlier, which forms the boundary between the Mt Isa and McArthur Basins, is unique in that on its southern flanks a basin‐margin succession is well‐preserved as the Fickling Group. A detailed sequence‐stratigraphic analysis of outcrop sections and well logs, supplemented by seismic reflection profiles and SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages, shows that all seven supersequences of the Isa Superbasin and one supersequence from the older Calvert Superbasin are represented in the Fickling Group. Through this high‐resolution sequence‐stratigraphic framework, it is possible to accurately correlate chronostratigraphically equivalent strata from the McNamara Group on the central Lawn Hill Platform to the Fickling Group on the southern Murphy Inlier. Each supersequence thins substantially from the McNamara Group (～11 km thick) to the Fickling Group (<1 km thick). The combined effects of truncation and onlap of sequences over the Murphy Inlier basement high are responsible for the thinning. Major time breaks of up to 25 million years occur between supersequences in the Fickling Group. Erosional hiatuses are often manifested at the base of supersequences as conglomerate beds composed of silicified detritus from older strata. Sequences in the Fickling Group were generally deposited in a proximal basin‐margin setting, while sequences in the McNamara Group were deposited in distal basin depocentres. The proximal depositional setting of Fickling Group sequences reduces the number of thick carbonaceous shale and siltstone intervals, which often host Zn–Pb–Ag and Cu deposits in the McNamara Group. Many host sequences from the McNamara Group are also absent in the Fickling Group due to truncation and onlap pinchout. Consequently, the economic potential of Palaeoproterozoic strata on the southern Murphy Inlier is less than equivalent strata from the central Lawn Hill Platform. Despite this, potential does exist for future discoveries of economic mineral deposits in the Mt Les Siltstone and Walford Dolomite units of the Fickling Group.     

Porphyry fertility in the Northparkes district: indicators from whole-rock geochemistry

Abstract

Four economic porphyry Cu–Au deposits and several prospects have been investigated in the Northparkes district, part of the Ordovician to early Silurian Junee–Narromine Belt of the Macquarie Arc, New whole-rock geochemical data from the Northparkes porphyry Cu–Au district, NSW, indicate that the mineralising intrusive complexes exhibit distinct arc signatures that are transitional from high-K calc-alkaline to silica-saturated alkalic. Based on ratios of Sr/Y vs Y (e.g. Sr/Y > ～20 and Y < ～17?ppm) the mineralising intrusions are interpreted to have crystallised from fractionated hydrous melts indicating the suppression of plagioclase crystallisation in favour of hydrous mineral phases. This interpretation is supported by listric-shaped rare earth element curves and the presence of primary hornblende phenocrysts indicating elevated magmatic water contents. There is an association of mineralising intrusions with a low Zr trend both in the mineralised Northparkes district intrusive rocks and in mineralised porphyry-related intrusive rocks globally. A newly developed fertility indicator ratio Zr/Y ～10% is more accurate at identifying the mineralised rocks at Northparkes than the conventional Sr/Y vs Y fertility indicator diagram, successfully identifying 92% of the mineralising intrusions, mainly owing to the fact that it is less affected by hydrothermal alteration. The insensitivity of Zr–Y to alteration makes this indicator a useful new tool that may lead to enhanced probabilities for future discoveries in the Northparkes district, broader Macquarie Arc and altered rocks globally.

1. KEY POINTS

2. Mineralising intrusions in the Northparkes district have distinct Zr vs Y concentrations.

3. The Zr vs Y indicator of magmatic fertility is less sensitive to alteration than Sr-based indicators.

4. The Zr vs Y magmatic fertility indicator identified at Northparkes is not unique and identifies mineralising intrusions in other porphyry fields.

     

Lessons learnt from a collaborative management programme in coastal Tanzania

The Tanga Coastal Zone Conservation and Development Programme, initiated in 1994, was among the first such projects to make livelihoods improvement a key objective, and to use a community-based approach. It developed an approach to coastal management planning that is broadly satisfactory to both communities and the government. Six fisheries management areas and two mangrove management areas were established. Institutional arrangements for the collaborative approach were strengthened and community leaders and local government officers were trained in a range of relevant skills. A coastal environmental education programme for primary schools involved several thousand schoolchildren, and a gender programme built the confidence of women. Implementation of the management measures was noticeably harder than planning, particularly elimination of destructive fishing methods. Fishers and coastal communities now however have a much greater involvement in, and understanding of, coastal management and consequently a greater sense of ownership.     

Field geology on the Moon: Some lessons learned from the exploration of the Haughton impact structure, Devon Island, Canadian High Arctic

With the prospect of humans returning to Moon by the end of the next decade, considerable attention is being paid to technologies required to transport astronauts to the lunar surface and then to be able to carry out surface science. Recent and ongoing initiatives have focused on scientific questions to be asked. In contrast, few studies have addressed how these scientific priorities will be achieved. In this contribution, we provide some of the lessons learned from the exploration of the Haughton impact structure, an ideal lunar analogue site in the Canadian Arctic. Essentially, by studying how geologists carry out field science, we can provide guidelines for lunar surface operations. Our goal in this contribution is to inform the engineers and managers involved in mission planning, rather than the field geology community. Our results show that the exploration of the Haughton impact structure can be broken down into 3 distinct phases: (1) reconnaissance; (2) systematic regional-scale mapping and sampling; and (3) detailed local-scale mapping and sampling. This break down is similar to the classic scientific method practiced by field geologists of regional exploratory mapping followed by directed mapping at a local scale, except that we distinguish between two different phases of exploratory mapping. Our data show that the number of stops versus the number of samples collected versus the amount of data collected varied depending on the mission phase, as does the total distance covered per EVA. Thus, operational scenarios could take these differences into account, depending on the goals and duration of the mission. Important lessons learned include the need for flexibility in mission planning in order to account for serendipitous discoveries, the highlighting of key “science supersites” that may require return visits, the need for a rugged but simple human-operated rover, laboratory space in the habitat, and adequate room for returned samples, both in the habitat and in the return vehicle. The proposed set of recommendations ideally should be tried and tested in future analogue missions at terrestrial impact sites prior to planetary missions.