Genesis and solvus relations of submicroscopically intergrown paragonite and phengite in a blueschist from northern California

Electron microbeam techniques have been used to examine submicroscopically intergrown paragonite, phengite and chlorite from the South Fork Mountain Schist of the Franciscan Terrane of northern California, which was subjected to blueschist facies metamorphism. The sample also contains quartz, albite, lawsonite, and rutile. The subassemblage albite-lawsonite-rutile requires metamorphic conditions on the low-temperature side of the equilibrium albite+lawsonite+rutile=paragonite+sphene+quartz+H₂O (T<200° C and P<7.4 kbars based on thermodynamic data of Holland and Powell 1990). The white micas appear to be optically homogeneous, but back-scattered electron images can distinguish two different micas by their slight difference in contrast. Electron microprobe analyses (EMPA) of micas show Na/(Na+K) ranging from 0.2 to 0.8. The two micas are resolved by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as packets of phengite and paragonite that range from 20 to several hundred nm in thickness. The compositions, determined by analytical electron microscopy (AEM), constrain the limbs of the phengite-paragonite solvus to values of Na/(Na+K)=<0.02 and 0.97, representing less mutual solid solution than ever reported by EMPA. The textural relations imply that the sheet silicates were derived from reactions between fluids and detrital clays and that they are in an intermediate stage of textural development. We caution that microprobe analyses of apparently homogeneous sheet silicates may yield erroneous data and lead to faulty conclusions using phengite barometry and paragonite-muscovite thermometry, especially in fine-grained rocks that formed at relatively low temperatures. Contribution no. 473 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA     

Upper mantle structure of the South American continent and neighboring oceans from surface wave tomography

We present a new three-dimensional SV-wave velocity model for the upper mantle beneath South America and the surrounding oceans, built from the waveform inversion of 5850 Rayleigh wave seismograms. The dense path coverage and the use of higher modes to supplement the fundamental mode of surface waves allow us to constrain seismic heterogeneities with horizontal wavelengths of a few hundred kilometres in the uppermost 400 km of the mantle.The large scale features of our tomographic model confirm previous results from global and regional tomographic studies (e.g. the depth extent of the high velocity cratonic roots down to about 200–250 km).Several new features are highlighted in our model. Down to 100 km depth, the high velocity lid beneath the Amazonian craton is separated in two parts associated with the Guyana and Guapore shields, suggesting that the rifting episode responsible for the formation of the Amazon basin has involved a significant part of the lithosphere. Along the Andean subduction belt, the structure of the high velocity anomaly associated with the sudbduction of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate reflects the along-strike variation in dip of the subducting plate. Slow velocities are observed down to about 100 km and 150 km at the intersection of the Carnegie and Chile ridges with the continent and are likely to represent the thermal anomalies associated with the subducted ridges. These lowered velocities might correspond to zones of weakness in the subducted plate and may have led to the formation of “slab windows” developed through unzipping of the subducted ridges; these windows might accommodate a transfer of asthenospheric mantle from the Pacific to the Atlantic ocean. From 150 to 250 km depth, the subducting Nazca plate is associated with high seismic velocities between 5°S and 37°S. We find high seismic velocities beneath the Paraná basin down to about 200 km depth, underlain by a low velocity anomaly in the depth range 200–400 km located beneath the Ponta Grossa arc at the southern tip of the basin. This high velocity anomaly is located southward of a narrow S-wave low velocity structure observed between 200 and 500–600 km depth in body wave studies, but irresolvable with our long period datasets. Both anomalies point to a model in which several, possibly diachronous, plumes have risen to the surface to generate the Paraná large igneous province (LIP).     

Coupled discrete element and finite volume solution of two classical soil mechanics problems

One dimensional solutions for the classic critical upward seepage gradient/quick condition and the time rate of consolidation problems are obtained using coupled routines for the finite volume method (FVM) and discrete element method (DEM), and the results compared with the analytical solutions. The two phase flow in a system composed of fluid and solid is simulated with the fluid phase modeled by solving the averaged Navier–Stokes equation using the FVM and the solid phase is modeled using the DEM. A framework is described for the coupling of two open source computer codes: YADE-OpenDEM for the discrete element method and OpenFOAM for the computational fluid dynamics. The particle–fluid interaction is quantified using a semi-empirical relationship proposed by Ergun [12]. The two classical verification problems are used to explore issues encountered when using coupled flow DEM codes, namely, the appropriate time step size for both the fluid and mechanical solution processes, the choice of the viscous damping coefficient, and the number of solid particles per finite fluid volume.     

Paleogeographical restoration and ramp tectonic evidence in Tunisian Tellian domain: Ain El Bey-Bou Awen area

The imbrication’s area in northern Tunisia is the most external segment of Alpine range, where several associated folds types with thrust ramps are recognized within imbricate units beneath Numidian front slope. Their presence help to understand thrusting mechanisms installation through studied area. In fact, this zone was considered as a result of Paleogene gravitary slop (Kujawski (Ann Miner Géol Tunis (24):281, 1969); Caire (Ann Min Géol Tunis 26:87–110, 1973); Rouvier 1977), which is proved to be affected by major deep decollement, given rise to various structures, some are propagation folds, specific of foreland front, limited to this area, and those in more external position: Tunisian Atlas (Creusot et al. (C R Acad Sci Paris 314(Sér II):961–965, 1992); Ouali and Mercier (PII: S0191-8141(97):00048-5, 1997); Ouali 1984; Ahmadi et al. (J Struct Geol 28:721–728, 2006)). Various categories of fold ramps could be identified: frontal folds ramp NE–SW and others as lateral or oblique ramp with NW–SE trend (Aridhi et al. (C R Geosci 343:360–369, 2011)). The relation between various structures has been used as recognition tools of thrusting sequences and to propose a new deformation chronology. Delimited outcropping of these structures between two both parallel faults strikes with regional displacement, leads to interpret these faults as cogenetic tear faults of propagation thrusts; this fault separates two domains with different deformation styles from each other side.     

Experimental investigation and application of the equilibrium rutile + orthopyroxene = quartz + ilmenite

Equilibria in the Sirf (Silica-Ilmenite-Rutile-Ferrosilite) system: $${\text{SiO}}_{\text{2}} + ({\text{Mg,Fe}}){\text{TiO}}_{\text{3}} {\text{ + (Mg,Fe)SiO}}_{\text{3}} $$ have been calibrated in the range 800–1100° C and 12–26 kbar using a piston-cylinder apparatus to assess the potential of the equilibria for geobarometry in granulite facies assemblages that lack garnet. Thermodynamic calculations indicate that the two end-member equilibria involving quartz + geikielite = rutile + enstatite, and quartz + ilmenite = rutile + ferrosilite, are metastable. We therefore reversed equilibria over the compositional range Fs_40–70, using Ag₈₀Pd₂₀ capsules with \(f_{{\text{O}}_{\text{2}} } \) buffered at or near iron-wüstite. Ilmenite compositions coexisting with orthopyroxene are \(X_{{\text{MgTiO}}_{\text{3}} }^{{\text{Ilm}}} \) of 0.06 to 0.15 and \(X_{{\text{Fe}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}} }^{{\text{Ilm}}} \) of 0.00 to 0.01, corresponding toK _D values of 13.3, 10.2, 9.0 and 8.0 (±0.5) at 800, 900, 1000 and 1100° C, respectively, whereK _D =(XMg/XFe)^Opx/(XMg/XFe)^Ilm. Pressures have been calculated using equilibria in the Sirf system for granulites from the Grenville Province of Ontario and for granulite facies xenoliths from central Mexico. Pressures are consistent with other well-calibrated geobarometers for orthopyroxeneilmenite pairs from two Mexican samples in which oxide textures appear to represent equilibrium. Geologically unreasonable pressures are obtained, however, where oxide textures are complex. Application of data from this study on the equilibrium distribution of iron and magnesium between ilmenite and orthopyroxene suggests that some ilmenite in deep crustal xenoliths is not equilibrated with coexisting pyroxene, while assemblages from exposed granulite terranes have reequilibrated during retrogression. The Sirf equilibria are sensitive to small changes in composition and may be used for determination of activity/composition (a/X) relations of orthopyroxene if an ilmenite model is specified. A symmetric regular solution model has been used for orthopyroxene in conjunction with activity models for ilmenite available from the literature to calculatea/X relations in orthopyroxene of intermediate composition. Data from this study indicate that FeSiO₃?MgSiO₃ orthopyroxene exhibits small, positive deviations from ideality over the range 800–1100°C.     

Variability of dissolved organic carbon in sediments of a seagrass bed and an unvegetated area within an estuary in Southern Texas

Pore-water dissolved organic carbon (PWDOC) concentrations were examined in vegetated and bare sediments of aHalodule wrightii seagrass bed, and in a mud bottom sediment of a southern Texas estuary. Temporal variability was examined at diel (dawn and noon) and bimonthly time scales. Distribution patterns of PWDOC were compared with physical, chemical, and biological factors thought to exert control on PWDOC. Concentration of PWDOC, bacterial production, and resultant PWDOC turnover times displayed statistically significant spatial and temporal variability. Concentration of PWDOC ranged from 14 mg C 1^?1 to 107 mg C 1^?1 of pore water, or 9–71 μg C cm^?3 wet sediment. PWDOC was more variable and was approximately 5 times higher than DOC concentrations in the water column. Low PWDOC concentrations (mean = 14.6 μg C cm^?3) and high bacterial production rates (mean = 1.92 μg C cm^?3 h^?1) were observed at the mud station, whereas PWDOC concentrations were high (mean = 24.6 μg C cm^?3) and bacterial production rates were low (mean = 0.43 μg C cm^?3 h^?1) at the bare station. PWDOC turnover times (T_t), assuming 50% bacterial growth efficiency (1–840 h) were shortest at the mud station (mean=13 h) and longest at the bare station (mean=180 h). In the overlying water column, T_t values were longer, ranging from 1,000–10,000 h. PWDOC concentrations were 25% higher in vegetated sediments than in neighboring bare sediments. This difference was probably due to inputs of labile photosynthetic excretia, since bacterial production rates in vegetated sediments displayed significant diel variability and were 4 times greater than that of bare sediments. Based upon the entire data set, PWDOC was significantly related to macrofaunal biomass, sediment POC, sediment C:N ratios, and oxygen metabolism, but was significantly correlated only to the latter two variables in stepwise multiple regression. Our findings suggest that organism activities and detrital quality are the major determinants controlling variability in PWDOC.     

Origins and evolution of rhyolitic magmas in the central Snake River Plain: insights from coupled high-precision geochronology,oxygen isotope,and hafnium isotope analyses of zircon

We present new high-precision CA-ID-TIMS and in situ U–Pb ages together with Hf and O isotopic analyses (analyses performed all on the same grains) from four tuffs from the 15?10 Ma Bruneau–Jarbidge center of the Snake River Plain and from three rhyolitic units from the Kimberly borehole in the neighboring 10?6 Ma Twin Falls volcanic center. We find significant intrasample diversity in zircon ages (ranges of up to 3 Myr) and in δ¹⁸O (ranges of up to 6‰) and ε_Hf (ranges of up to 24 ε units) values. Zircon rims are also more homogeneous than the associated cores, and we show that zircon rim growth occurs faster than the resolution of in situ dating techniques. CA-ID-TIMS dating of a subset of zircon grains from the Twin Falls samples reveals complex crystallization histories spanning 10⁴–10⁶ years prior to some eruptions, suggesting that magma genesis was characterized by the cyclic remelting of buried volcanic rocks and intrusions associated with previous magmatic episodes. Age-dependent trends in zircon isotopic compositions show that rhyolite production in the Yellowstone hotspot track is driven by the mixing of mantle-derived melts (normal δ¹⁸O and ε_Hf) and a combination of Precambrian basement rock (normal δ¹⁸O and ε_Hf down to ??60) and shallow Mesozoic and Cenozoic age rocks, some of which are hydrothermally altered (to low δ¹⁸O values) by earlier stages of Snake River Plain magmatism. These crustal melts hybridize with juvenile basalts and rhyolites to produce the erupted rhyolites. We also observe that the Precambrian basement rock is only an important component in the erupted magmas in the first eruption at each caldera center, suggesting that the accumulation of new intrusions quickly builds an upper crustal intrusive body which is isolated from the Precambrian basement and evolves towards more isotopically juvenile and lower-δ¹⁸O compositions over time.     

Environmental Monitoring and Peat Assessment Using Multivariate Analysis of Regional-Scale Geochemical Data

A compositional multivariate approach was used to analyse regional-scale soil geochemical data obtained as part of the Tellus Project generated by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. The multi-element total concentration data presented comprise X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyses of 6862 rural soil samples collected at 20-cm depth on a non-aligned grid at one site per \(2\,\hbox {km}^{2}\). Censored data were imputed using published detection limits. Each soil sample site was assigned to the regional geology map, resulting in spatial data for one categorical variable and 35 continuous variables comprised of individual and amalgamated elements. This paper examines the extent to which soil geochemistry reflects the underlying geology or superficial deposits. Since the soil geochemistry is compositional, log-ratios were computed to adequately evaluate the data using multivariate statistical methods. Principal component analysis (PCA) and minimum/maximum autocorrelation factors (MAF) were used to carry out linear discriminant analysis (LDA) as a means to discover and validate processes related to the geologic assemblages coded as age bracket. Peat cover was introduced as an additional category to measure the ability to predict and monitor fragile ecosystems. Overall prediction accuracies for the age bracket categories were 68.4 % using PCA and 74.7 % using MAF. With inclusion of peat, the accuracy for LDA classification decreased to 65.0 and 69.9 %, respectively. The increase in misclassification due to the presence of peat may reflect degradation of peat-covered areas since the creation of superficial deposit classification.     

Granite magma migration and emplacement along thrusts

This paper investigates the influence exerted by brittle tectonic structures in the emplacement of granite plutons in contractional settings. We address both cases where contractional tectonics and magma intrusion are (1) coeval, to study how active contractional tectonics controls the transport of magma, and (2) diachronous, to study the role of pre-existing structures on the transport of magma. In light of new experimental models, we show that magma can rise along thrusts ramps and flats. This phenomenon occurs for both low-viscosity magma (basalts to andesite) and high-viscosity magma (dry granite). The experimental results also allow the evaluation of the role played by magma viscosity in determining pluton geometries. In addition, a review of literature demonstrates a spatial and causal relationship between granites and thrusts and highlights the geometric control of magma pathways in the pluton final shape. The abundance of subhorizontal and tabular granitic intrusions indicates that the location of inflating granitic sills along thrust flats can be common. We argue that active and pre-existing flats-and-ramps thrusts provide a preferential continuous planar anisotropy susceptible to become a granitic magma migration pathway.