Geothermal springs of the West Florida continental shelf: Evidence for dolomitization and radionuclide enrichment

On the sea bed of the West Florida continental shelf about 45 km SSW of Ft. Myers, Florida, an 85-km² area has been discovered in which six thermal springs discharge warm, chemically altered seawater from vents and seepage zones. The spring water apparently originates in the subsurface ocean around the Florida Platform and penetrates the highly porous strata of the platform about 500–1000 meters below sea level. It percolates toward the interior of the platform and is geothermally heated to about 40°C en route. Then it rises along more vertical flow channels and is discharged in warm submarine springs.Beneath the platform, several chemical processes alter the percolating seawater. One process seems to be a secondary dolomitization of the limestone of the platform because, in the discharging seawater, magnesium is lower by 2.7 mmole/kg and calcium higher by 3.6 mmole/kg than in normal seawater with the same chlorinity. Other reactions within the sediments of the platform enrich the spring effluents 1000-fold in²²⁶Ra, 10,000-fold in²²²Rn, and 90-fold in²²⁸Ra compared to the seawater surrounding the platform. Thus, the springs may be important sources of radionuclides for the Gulf of Mexico. The percolating seawater also loses all of its oxygen and nitrate to reduction processes, loses most of its phosphate and 40% of its²³⁸U, and roughly quadruples its silica content.Coastal carbonate platforms are fairly common geological features. Thus, processes like those beneath the West Florida Shelf may function on a world-wide basis to play an important role in the diagenesis of carbonate sediments.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology of the Strzelin gneiss,SW Poland: evidence for a Neoproterozoic thermal event in the Fore-Sudetic Block,Central European Variscides

Zircon ages recorded in gneissic rocks have recently been used as criteria to define and correlate various tectonic units and crustal blocks in the central European Variscides. A SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronological study of the Strzelin gneiss in the Fore-Sudetic Block (SW Poland) indicates the presence of: (1) inherited zircon cores of Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic ²⁰⁶Pb-²³⁸U ages (between ca. 2,000 and 1,240 Ma), and (2) zoned rims of Neoproterozoic age with two distinct means of 600±7 and 568±7 Ma. The Proterozoic age range of the cores suggests that different Precambrian crustal elements were the source for the protolith of the gneiss. A likely scenario is the erosion of various Proterozoic granites and gneisses, sedimentation (after 1,240 Ma), and partial resistance of the original components to subsequent metamorphic dissolution and/or anatectic resorption (in Neoproterozoic times). The zoned zircon rims of both of the younger Neoproterozoic ages are indistinguishable in the cathodoluminescence images. The data are interpreted in terms of two different thermal events inducing zoned zircon overgrowth at ca. 600 and 568 Ma. In general, the new results confirm earlier assumptions of the Proterozoic age of the gneiss protoliths, and indicate their similarity to orthogneisses in the East Sudetes tectonic domain (e.g. the Velké Vrbno and Desná gneisses). The Neoproterozoic dates are different from the age of 504±3 reported earlier for the Gocicice gneiss from a neighbouring locality in the Strzelin Massif. The new data strongly indicate a Moravo-Silesian (Bruno-Vistulian) affinity for the Strzelin gneiss and support the hypothesis that the Strzelin Massif lies within the tectonic boundary zone between the West- and East Sudetes domains, which represents the northern continuation of the Moldanubian Thrust.     

U–Pb SHRIMP zircon dating of Grenvillian metamorphism in Western Sierras Pampeanas (Argentina): Correlation with the Arequipa-Antofalla craton and constraints on the extent of the Precordillera Terrane

Metamorphism of Grenvillian age (ca. 1.2 Ga; U–Pb zircon dating) is recognized for the first time in the Western Sierras Pampeanas (Sierra de Maz). Conditions reached granulite facies (ca. 780 °C and ca. 780 MPa). Comparing geochronological and petrological characteristics with other outcrops of Mesoproterozoic basement, particularly in the northern and central Arequipa-Antofalla craton, we suggest that these regions were part of a single continental crustal block from Mesoproterozoic times, and thus autochthonous or parautochthonous to Gondwana.     

Datation UPb sur zircons des dolérites tholéiitiques pyrénéennes (ophites) à la limite Trias–Jurassique et relations avec les tufs volcaniques dits « infra-liasiques » nord-pyrénéens

The tholeiitic doleritic magmatism (ophites) in the Aspe valley of the Pyrenees has been dated on the Triassic–Jurassic boundary (199±2 Ma) by the UPb method on zircon (SHRIMP). Emplacement of the ophites was probably synchronous with that of the earliest ‘Infraliassic’ Ségalas tuffs. The ophites are thus related to the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) whose emplacement linked with the fracturing of Pangea, preceded the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. To cite this article: P. Rossi et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

The South Patagonian batholith: 150 my of granite magmatism on a plate margin

A new database of 70 U–Pb zircon ages (mostly determined by SHRIMP) indicates that the South Patagonian batholith resulted from the amalgamation of subduction-related plutons from the Late Jurassic to the Neogene. Construction of the batholith began with a voluminous, previously undetected, Late Jurassic bimodal body mainly composed of leucogranite with some gabbro, emplaced along its present eastern margin within a restricted time span (157 to 145 Ma). This episode is, at least in part, coeval with voluminous rhyolitic ignimbrites of the Tobífera Formation, deposited in the deep Rocas Verdes Basin east of the batholith; this was the last of several southwestward-migrating silicic volcanic episodes in Patagonia that commenced in an Early Jurassic extensional tectonic regime. The quasi-oceanic mafic floor of the basin was also contemporaneous with this Late Jurassic batholithic event, as indicated by mutually cross-cutting field relationships. Changes in subduction parameters then triggered the generation of earliest Cretaceous plutons (Cretaceous 1: 144–137 Ma) west of the Late Jurassic ones, a westward shift that culminated at 136–127 Ma (Cretaceous 2) along the present western margin of the batholith. Most mid- to Late Cretaceous (Cretaceous 3: 126–75 Ma) and Paleogene (67–40 Ma) granitoids are represented by geographically restricted plutons, mainly emplaced between the previously established margins of the batholith, and mostly in the far south; no associated volcanic rocks of similar age are known at present in this area. During the final Neogene stage of plutonism (25–15 Ma) a recurrence of coeval volcanism is recognized within and east of the batholith. Typical εNdt values for the granitoids vary from strongly negative (− 5) in the Late Jurassic, to progressively higher values for Cretaceous 1 (− 4), Cretaceous 2 (− 0.7), Cretaceous 3 (+ 2) and the Paleogene (+ 5), followed by lower and more variable ones in the Neogene (− 1 to + 5). These variations may reflect different modes of pluton emplacement: large crustal magma chambers developed in the early stages (Late Jurassic to Cretaceous 1), leading to widespread emplacement of plutons with a crustal signature, whereas the Cretaceous 2, Cretaceous 3 and Palaeogene parts of the batholith resulted from incremental assembly of small plutons generated at greater depths and with higher εNdt. This does not in itself justify the idea of a reduction in crustal character due to progressive exhaustion of fusible material in the crust through which the magmas passed.     

Characterization of wrench tectonics from dating of syn- to post-magmatism in the north-western French Massif Central

This work establishes the relative timing of pluton emplacement and regional deformation from new dating and structural data. (1) Monazite and (2) zircon dating show Tournaisian ages for the Guéret granites [Aulon granite 352 ± 5 Ma (1), 351 ± 5 Ma (2) and Villatange tonalite 353 ± 6 Ma (1)] and Viseo-Namurian ages for the north Millevaches granites [Chavanat granite 336 ± 4 Ma (1), Goutelle granite 336 ± 3 Ma (1), Royère granite 323 ± 2 Ma (1) and 328 ± 6 Ma (2), Courcelles granite 318 ± 3 Ma (1)]. The Guéret and Millevaches granites are separated by the N110 Arrènes–la Courtine Shear Zone (ACSZ), composed from West to East by the Arrènes Fault (AF), the North Millevaches Shear Zone (NMSZ) and the la Courtine Shear Zone (CSZ), respectively. Tournaisian Guéret granites experienced a non-coaxial dextral shearing (NMSZ) recorded by the Villatange granite while the Aulon granite (Guéret granite) cuts across this dextral shear zone which thus stopped shearing during Tournaisian time. Visean to Namurian Millevaches granites experienced a coaxial deformation. Therefore, low displacements along the NMSZ and the CSZ occurred at the emplacement time of Chavanat and Pontarion-Royère granites (336–323 Ma). The structural analyses of Goutelle granite emphasizes a deformation related to the dextral Creuse Fault System (CFS) oriented N150–N160. From 360 to 300 Ma, the Z strain axis is always horizontal inferring a wrench setting for these granite emplacements. During this tectonic evolution, the Argentat zone acted as a minor normal fault and is related with a local Middle Visean (340–335 Ma) syn-orogenic extension on the western border of the Millevaches massif.     

A sensor package for the simultaneous determination of nanomolar concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia in seawater by fluorescence detection

A fluorescence-based chemistry has been developed for the detection of nitrite and nitrate (as excess nitrite following reduction of nitrate to nitrite). Detection limits are 4.6 and 6.9 nM, respectively. The technique capitalizes on the triple bond between the two nitrogen atoms within the diazonium ion formed via the well-known reaction between an acidified nitrite sample and an aromatic primary amine. Fluorescence of π-electrons within this bond allows this reaction to be probed with standard fluorescence spectroscopy. Reverse Flow Injection Analysis (rFIA) is used to correct for background fluorescence from leachates and naturally occurring dissolved organic matter (DOM). Comparisons of samples analyzed for nitrite with this technique and with a highly-sensitive chemiluminescent method [Braman, R.S., Hendrix, S.A., 1989. Nanogram nitrite and nitrate determination in environmental and biological materials by vanadium (III) reduction with chemiluminescence detection. Analytical Chemistry, 61 (24) 2716–2718] showed excellent agreement between the two methods (slope=0.9996 and r²=0.9956). These fluorescent nitrite and nitrate + nitrite chemistries were coupled in a sensor package with a modified version of a fluorescent ammonia chemistry [Jones, R.D., 1991. An improved fluorescence method for the determination of nanomolar concentrations of ammonia in natural waters, Limnology and Oceanography. 36(4) 814–819], which also has a nanomolar detection limit. The throughput rate of the fully automated three-channel instrumentation is 18 samples per hour. A field experiment demonstrated the capability of the nutrient sensor package to determine horizontal gradients in nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia in oligotrophic surface waters.     

Origin of Carboniferous sandstones fringing the northern margin of the Wales‐Brabant Massif: insights from detrital zircon ages

A study of detrital zircon age populations in Namurian–Westphalian (Carboniferous) sandstones in the southern Central Pennine Basin of the UK has revealed considerable complexity in their provenance history. The Pendleian–Marsdenian Morridge Formation, which is known to have been derived from the Wales‐Brabant Massif to the south on the basis of palaeocurrent and petrographic information, is dominated by zircons ultimately derived from the Caledonian belt to the north. These zircons were recycled from sandstones of northern origin that had been previously deposited over the massif during Middle to Late Devonian times. The Morridge Formation also includes Late Neoproterozoic zircons of local Wales‐Brabant Massif origin. The south lobe of the Yeadonian Rough Rock has been previously interpreted as having a complex provenance including sediment of northern origin interbedded with sediment ascribed to a Wales‐Brabant Massif source. However, the zircon spectrum lacks a Late Neoproterozoic component that would have been diagnostic of input from the Wales‐Brabant Massif, and the provenance history of the Rough Rock south lobe therefore remains enigmatic. The Langsettian Ludgbridge Conglomerate is dominated by Late Neoproterozoic zircons of Wales‐Brabant Massif origin, but even in this evidently proximal deposit, the provenance is complex since the main zircon group (ca. 640 Ma) cannot be matched with known local Neoproterozoic basement sources. The data either indicate the presence of hitherto‐unknown magmatic rocks of this age adjacent to the South Staffordshire coalfield or indicate that the zircons were recycled from sediment with a more distal origin. Finally, the Duckmantian Top Hard Rock contains zircons that can be reconciled with a source in the Irish Caledonides, consistent with the palaeocurrent evidence, supplemented by zircons derived from the Wales‐Brabant Massif, possibly including the Monian Composite Terrane of Anglesey. The study reinforces the important message that failure to recognize the presence of recycled zircon could lead to erroneous reconstructions of sediment provenance and transport history. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Rio de la Plata craton and the adjoining Pan-African/brasiliano terranes: Their origins and incorporation into south-west Gondwana

The Neoproterozoic to Early Cambrian amalgamation of SW Gondwana through the Brasiliano/Pan-African orogeny is reviewed with emphasis on the role of the Río de la Plata craton of South America in the light of new evidence from a borehole at the eastern end of the Tandilia belt (38°S). U–Pb, Hf and O isotope data on zircon indicate that this un-reworked Palaeoproterozoic craton abuts against a distinct continental terrane to the east (Mar del Plata terrane). The craton is bounded everywhere by transcurrent faults and there is no evidence to relate it to the Neoproterozoic mobile belts now seen on either side. The Punta Mogotes Formation at the bottom of the borehole contains 740–840 Ma detrital zircons that are assigned to a widespread Neoproterozoic rifting event. The data suggest that the Mar del Plata terrane rifted away from the southwestern corner of the Angola block at c. 780 Ma. Negative εHf_t values and δ¹⁸O > 6.5‰ suggest derivation by melting of old crust during a protracted extensional episode. Other continental terranes may have formed in a similar way in Uruguay (Nico Pérez) and southeastern Brazil, where the Schist Belt of the Dom Feliciano orogenic belt is probably a correlative of the Punta Mogotes sequence, implying that the Dom Feliciano belt must extend at least as far as 38°S. A new geodynamic scenario for West Gondwana assembly includes at least two major oblique collisional orogenies: Kaoko–Dom Feliciano (580–680 Ma) and Gariep–Saldania (480–580 Ma), the latter resulting from oblique impingement of the Rio de la Plata craton against the Kalahari craton. Assembly of this part of South-West Gondwana was accomplished before the Ordovician (to Silurian?) siliciclastic platform sediments of the Balcarce Formation in the Tandilia Belt covered the southern sector of Río de la Plata craton.     

50 Myr recovery from the largest negative δ13C excursion in the Ediacaran ocean

Sedimentary rocks deposited during the Ediacaran period (～630–542 Ma) contain carbonates whose carbon isotopic ratios show a marked negative excursion consisting of a precipitous drop from +5‰ to ?12‰, followed by a sub‐linear recovery to positive δ¹³C values. Isotopic ages (U/Pb) and thermal subsidence modelling are combined to constrain the excursion in time and indicate an onset at ～600 Ma, and duration of recovery of approximately 50 Myr. The excursion is widely recognized in Oman and has potential correlatives in Ediacaran strata elsewhere, and may thus represent a characteristic feature of the Ediacaran period. The amplitude of this carbon isotope excursion far exceeds those of other Neoproterozoic anomalies. The isotopic trend of negative excursion and long‐term recovery spanned at least one short‐lived glacial episode (at 580 Ma), but appears unrelated to glaciation, which indicates that negative anomalies in the Neoproterozoic marine carbon isotope record are not directly or uniquely linked to ice ages.