Accretion and exhumation at a Variscan active margin, recorded in the Saxothuringian flysch

The Saxothuringian flysch basin, on the north flank of the Central European Variscides, was fed and eventually overthrust by the northwestern, active margin of the Tepla-Barrandian terrane. Clast spectra, mineral composition and isotopic ages of detrital mica and zircon have been analyzed in order to constrain accretion and exhumation of rocks in the orogenic wedge. The earliest clastic sediments preserved are of early Famennian age (ca. 370?Ma). They are exposed immediately to the NW of the suture, and belong to the par-autochthon of the foreland. Besides ultramafic (?ophiolite) material, these rocks contain clasts derived from Early Paleozoic continental slope sediments, originally deposited at the NW margin of the Saxothuringian basin. These findings, together with the paleogeographic position of the Famennian clastics debris on the northwestern passive margin, indicate that the Saxothuringian narrow ocean had been closed by that time. Microprobe analyses of detrital hornblendes suggest derivation from the “Randamphibolit” unit, now present in the middle part of the Saxothuringian allochthon (Münchberg nappes). Detrital zircons of metamorphic rocks formed a little earlier (ca. 380?Ma) indicate rapid recycling at the tectonic front. The middle part of the flysch sequence (ca. early to middle Viséan), both in the par-autochthon and in the allochthon, contains abundant clasts of Paleozoic rocks derived from the northwestern slope and rise, together with debris of Cadomian basement, 500-Ma granitoids and 380?Ma (early Variscan) crystalline rocks. All of these source rocks were still available in the youngest part of the flysch (c. middle to late Viséan), but some clasts record, in addition, accretion of the northwestern shelf. Our findings permit deduction of minimum rates of tectonic shortening well in excess of 10–30?mm per year, and rates of exhumation of ca. 3?mm/a, and possibly more.     

Petrographische und Kalium-Argon-Untersuchungen an basischen tertiären Vulkaniten zwischen Westerwald und Vogelsberg

Between the upper tertiary volcanic areas of Westerwald and Vogelsberg (central Western Germany) occur more than 40 isolated tertiary volcanic dikes, eroded necks, plugs and domes. Twelve of these volcanic rocks have been investigated petrographically and chemically and classified by means of their modal and chemical composition. Additional modal analyses have been performed on seven other volcanics. On seventeen volcanic occurences K-Ar-whole rock age determinations have been made. The K-Ar age determinations yield- with the exception of an olivine-nephelinite — values between 27 and 15 Ma. Regarding the known intervals of volcanic activities of the Westerwald- and Voge1sberg-areas, most of the examined volcanics can be related genetically with one of the adjacent volcanic areas. There seems to be no geographical overlapping of volcanics showing Westerwaldages and Vogelsberg-ages. A possible influence of excess-Ar-bearing phases (e. g. mantle xenoliths) and an Ar-loss of constituent matter of the groundmass have been estimated by additional age determinations of enriched samples. These influences — partially compensating each other — may shift the K-Ar whole rock age to a maximum of 5 % and thus do not exceed the dimension of the standard deviations. A distinct NNE-SSW-striking fault in the region between Marburg and Gießen is situated parallel with the eastern border of the “Rheinisches Schiefergebirge”. Volcanics showing Westerwald-age and Vogelsberg-age respectively reach this fault, but obviously do not overlap it. Relations between rock-type an rock age, as it has been observed for the volcanics of the northern Hessian Depression (Kreuzer et al. 1973;Wedepohl 1982) cannot be proved certainly. On the other hand, similar to the basaltic rocks of the northern Hessian Depression, the youngest volcanic product is an olivine-nephelinite (9 Ma).     

Element signatures of subduction-zone fluids. An experimental study of the element partitioning (Dfluid/rock) of natural partly altered igneous rocks from the ODP drilling site 1,256

The trace element signatures of fluids were investigated by leaching experiments on natural samples of partly altered mafic igneous rocks recovered from the drilling site 1,256 of ODP Leg 206 on the Cocos plate (Central America). Experiments with ultrapure water were performed at 400 °C/0.4 GPa and 500 °C/0.7 GPa. Both fluids and residual solids were examined to obtain the partition coefficients (D^fluid/rock) of various trace elements. Element partition coefficients (D^fluid/rock) obtained at 500 °C/0.7 GPa are significantly lower compared to results obtained at 400 °C/0.4 GPa, which is in contrast to observations at higher pressures (2.2–6 GPa) and temperatures between 700 and 1,400 °C (Kessel et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 237: 873–892, 2005a; Spandler et al. in Chem Geol 239: 228–249, 2007). This finding may indicate a considerable pressure effect on the leaching processes and strongly divergent fluid–rock interactions in the upper part of a subduction zone at 0.4–0.7 GPa compared to deeper subduction areas with higher pressures. Furthermore, this may be interpreted as one of the earliest fractionation processes during the subduction of crustal material.     

Transform faults in Island

In Iceland the mid-Atlantic ridge rises above sea-level for a north-south-extension of 350 km. One or two east-west-directed transform faults may be expected on land in Iceland, since the mid-Atlantic ridge is offset by transform faults every 100–200 km.Two of these faults, the Reykjanes Fracture Zone in southern Iceland, and the Tjörnes Fracture Zone in northern Iceland, have been located by recent seismological activity (Ward, 1971).There are no strike-slip faults within the Tjömes Fracture Zone that support transform faulting on land. En echolon faults may indicate a status nascendi of lateral offset for the Reykjanes Fracture Zone. A third transform fault, the Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull Fracture Zone, however, was already active about 3 m.y. ago, when the rift system in southern Iceland began to spread faster than in northern Iceland. The features resulting from this process can be observed in (1) a change in strike from a northerly trend in northern Iceland to a north-easterly direction in southern Iceland; (2) the separation of the rift axis in southern Iceland into two branches; (3) right lateral strike-slip movements along the Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull Fracture Zone with an offset of about 100 km.Field mapping and observations from air photographs have enabled the construction of a detailed tectonic pattern for the latter zone. The Pleistocene to Postglacial volcanic activity, the offset of magnetic anomalies, and recent active seismicity support the mechanism of transform faulting.At least 3 m.y. ago the west-wandering Icelandic Rift System started with higher spreading rates, revealing a trend to connect directly the Reykjanes- and the Iceland-Jan Mayen Rift Systems. Since that time three crustal plates proceeded from the Vatnajökull Triple Junction with different drift velocities, inducing the activity of the Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull Transform Fault, which separates the north-western from the south-western Icelandic plate.

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Zusammenfassung In Island erhebt sich der zentrale Teil des Mittelatlantischen Rückens auf einer N-S-Erstreckung von 350 km über den Meeresspiegel. Das regelmäßige Auftreten E-W-gerichteter transform faults, die im Abstand von 100–200 km die Mittelatlantische Schwelle queren, läßt auf die Ausbildung einer oder mehrerer transform faults im Bereich der Insel schließen.Zwei in E-W-Richtung und damit rechtwinklig zur isländischen Riftzone verlaufende, seismologisch aktive Zonen wurden im S der Insel (Reykjanes Fracture Zone) und im N (Tjörnes Fracture Zone) als transform faults beschrieben (Ward, 1971). Jedoch keines der beiden Systeme gibt einen lateralen Versatz von geologischen Einheiten und magnetischen Anomalien zu erkennen. In gleicher E-W-Streichrichtung wie die beiden vermuteten transform faults erstreckt sich zwischen der Snaefellsnes-Halbinsel und dem Vatnajökull eine rechtsdrehende Blattverschiebung mit einem Horizontalversatz von etwa 100 km. Die Störung entstand vor etwa 3 Millionen Jahren, als das südisländische zentrale Riftsystem gegenüber dem nördlichen eine höhere Driftgeschwindigkeit entwickelte, und war aktiv bis in die jüngste Zeit.Der Richtungswechsel von durchweg N-S-streichenden geologischen und tektonischen Strukturen im N der Insel und NE-SW-gerichteten Einheiten, sowie die Aufspaltung der Riftzone in zwei getrennte Äste im S, können als Ergebnis dieses Vorganges angesehen werden.Die tektonisch interessantesten Abschnitte der Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull-Transform Fault wurden kartiert. Kartierung und vorliegende Luftaufnahmen ermöglichten eine detaillierte Darstellung des tektonischen Musters.Gleichzeitig mit der Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull-Transform Fault entstand der Vatnajökull-Tripel-Punkt, von dem sich drei Krustenplatten mit unterschiedlichen Driftgeschwindigkeiten entfernen. Seit dieser Zeit zeigt das W-wandemde isländische Rift-system den Trend, eine unmittelbare Verbindung zwischen Reykjanes- und Island-Jan-Mayen-Rücken herzustellen.

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Résumé En Islande, la partie centrale de la dorsale Atlantique médiane est exondée sur une longueur de 350 km en direction N-S. La présence régulière de failles transformelles de direction E-W traversant le seuil médian de l'Atlantique à des distances de 100 à200 km, permet de conclure à la formation d'une ou de plusieurs failles transformelles sur l'étendue de l'île.Deux zones de direction E-W, et par conséquent d'allure perpendiculaire au rift islandais (la zone de fractures de Reykjanes au S de l'île et la zone de fractures de Tjörnes au N), ont été décrites comme failles transformelles à cause de leur activité séismique (Ward, 1971). Mais aucun de ces deux systèmes ne montre de décrochement des unités géologiques pas plus que des anomalies magnétiques. Avec la même direction E-W que celle des deux failles transformelles présumées, s'étend un autre décrochement dextrogyre entre la presqu'île du Snaefellsnes et le glacier Vatnajökull. Cette faille est apparue il y a trois millions d'années, lorsque le rift central de la partie S de l'Islande se développait avec une vitesse supérieure à celle du Nord de l'Islande; elle fut active jusque récemment.Le changement de direction des structures géologiques et tectoniques d'allure N-S dans le N de l'île et des unités dirigées NE-SW, comme aussi l'ouverture de la zone de rift en 2 branches séparées dans le S, peuvent être considérés comme le résultat de ce processus. La cartographie de ces sections tectoniquement très intéressantes liées à la faille transformelle de Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull a été levée.La cartographie et les vues aériennes présentées ont permis une figuration détaillée de cette manifestation te tonique.En même temps que la faille transformelle Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull, il se développait le triple point du Vatnajökull, à partir duquel trois plaques crustales divergent avec des vitesses différentes. Depuis cette époque le compartiment islandais possède l'allure d'une liaison immédiate entre la dorsale de Reykjanes et celle de l'Islande-Jan Mayen.

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, N-S , 350 . , E-W 100–200 - , , . , E-W . . : ( Reykjanes Fracture), ( Tjörnes Fracture). , (Ward, 1971). , . , Snaefellsnes Vatnajökull . 3 , - . N-S NE-SW , — , . Snaefellsnes Vatnajokull. . Snaefellsnes-Vatnajökull Vatnajökull-Tripel, , . , aW, Reykjanes-Island-Jan-Mayen.

     

Uranium–lead ages of apatite from iron oxide ores of the Bafq District,East-Central Iran

Iron oxide–apatite (IOA) deposits, often referred to as Kiruna-type iron ore deposits, are known to have formed from the Proterozoic to the Tertiary. They are commonly associated with calc–alkaline volcanic rocks and regional- to deposit-scale metasomatic alteration. In the Bafq District in east Central Iran, economic iron oxide–apatite deposits occur within felsic volcanic tuffs and volcanosedimentary sequences of Early Cambrian age. In order to constrain the age of formation of these ores and their relationship with the Early Cambrian magmatic event, we have determined the U–Pb apatite age for five occurrences in the Bafq District. In a ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U vs. ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U diagram, apatite free of or poor in inclusions of other minerals plots along the Concordia between 539 and 527 Ma with four out of five samples from one deposit clustering at the upper end of this range. For this deposit, we interpret this cluster to represent the age of apatite formation, whereas the spread towards younger ages may reflect either minor Pb loss or several events of IOA formation. Apatite with inclusions of monazite (±xenotime) yields disturbed systems with inclusions having developed after formation of the iron ore–apatite deposits, possibly as late as 130–140 Ma ago. Obtained apatite ages confirms that (IOA) and the apatite-rich rocks (apatites) of the Bafq district formed coevally with the Early Cambrian magmatic (-metasomatic) events.     

Ultra-Deep Optical Spectroscopy with PMAS. Using the Nod-and-Shuffle Technique

PMAS, the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrophotometer, is a new integral field spectrograph in the optical, which is optimized for good transmission and high image quality from 350 nm to 1 μm. We present our plan to implement a CCD charge-shuffle mode to allow for beam switching with a very high degree of sky subtraction accuracy for faint object 3-D spectroscopy. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Ozone production due to emissions from vegetation burning

Ozone has been observed in elevated concentrations by satellites over areas previously believed to be background. There is meteorological evidence, that these ozone plumes found over the Atlantic Ocean originate from vegetation fires on the African continent.In a previous study (DECAFE-88), we have investigated ozone and assumed precursor compounds over African tropical forest regions. Our measurements revealed large photosmog layers at altitudes from 1.5 to 4 km. Both chemical and meteorological evidence point to savanna fires up to several thousand km upwind as sources.Here we describe ozone mixing ratios observed over western Africa and compare ozone production ratios from different field measurement campaigns related to vegetation burning. We find that air masses containing photosmog ingredients require several days to develop their oxidation potential, similar to what is known from air polluted by emissions from fossil fuel burning. Finally, we estimate the global ozone production due to vegetation fires and conclude that this source is comparable in strength to the stratospheric input.     

Isoseismals of the strongest Friuli aftershocks of September 1976

Summary Isoseismal maps of the three strongest Friuli aftershocks of September 1976 were compiled using the contributions from European countries within the shaken area. The characteristic features of the macroseismic fields are discussed.