Cambrian–early Ordovician volcanism across the South Armorican and Occitan domains of the Variscan Belt in France: Continental break-up and rifting of the northern Gondwana margin

The Cambrian–lower Ordovician volcanic units of the South Armorican and Occitan domains are analysed in a tectonostratigraphic survey of the French Variscan Belt. The South Armorican lavas consist of continental tholeiites in middle Cambrian–Furongian sequences related to continental break-up. A significant volcanic activity occurred in the Tremadocian, dominated by crustal melted rhyolitic lavas and initial rifting tholeiites. The Occitan lavas are distributed into five volcanic phases: (1) basal Cambrian rhyolites, (2) upper lower Cambrian Mg-rich tholeiites close to N-MORBs but crustal contaminated, (3) upper lower–middle Cambrian continental tholeiites, (4) Tremadocian rhyolites, and (5) upper lower Ordovician initial rift tholeiites. A rifting event linked to asthenosphere upwelling took place in the late early Cambrian but did not evolve. It renewed in the Tremadocian with abundant crustal melting due to underplating of mixed asthenospheric and lithospheric magmas. This main tectono-magmatic continental rift is termed the “Tremadocian Tectonic Belt” underlined by a chain of rhyolitic volcanoes from Occitan and South Armorican domains to Central Iberia. It evolved with the setting of syn-rift coarse siliciclastic deposits overlain by post-rift deep water shales in a suite of sedimentary basins that forecasted the South Armorican–Medio-European Ocean as a part of the Palaeotethys Ocean.     

Tectonic Control of the Triassic Santa Maria Supersequence of the Paraná Basin, Southernmost Brazil, and its Correlation to the Waterberg Basin, Namibia

The Middle and Late Triassic Santa Maria Basin, exposed in southernmost Brazil, and Waterberg Basin, in Namibia, are herein interpreted as part of en échelon small basins in southern West Gondwana. The main structures are the Waterberg-Omaruru Fault which can be connected to a NW-strike anastomosed fault zone in Brazil. Based on field structural and stratigraphic analysis two populations of NW-strike fractures, named A-type and B-type, are recognized. A-type fractures (Az = 280°-290°) occur in the Sanga do Cabral Supersequence, underlying units of Santa Maria Basin, as extension of the Waterberg-Omaruru Fault during the Early Triassic. B-type fractures (Az = 295°-345°) are observed in all studied stratigraphic units, from the Triassic Sanga do Cabral Supersequence to the Early Cretaceous Botucatu/Serra Geral formations. Based on the structural analysis we propose that NNE-SSW extension reactivated structures of the Damara Belt, Namibia, with a propagation towards Rio Grande do Sul State forming an anastomosing normal fault system and related-rift basin by Early-Middle Triassic time. The A-type fractures were preferentially active by this phase and the B-type ones are interpreted as secondary link segments within the anastomosing system. During the Gondwana break-up and South Atlantic opening (rift to proto-oceanic phase, Aptian) the B-type fractures were reactivated as normal faults by N50°E-S50°W extension.     

Copper isotope fractionation in the Meiduk porphyry copper deposit,Northwest of Kerman Cenozoic magmatic arc,Iran

The Meiduk deposit possesses three different Cu reservoirs each with a unique Cu isotope signature. δ⁶⁵Cu for the leached cap minerals ranges from ?2.5 to +0.49‰ to ?0.45 to +0.3‰ for hypogene minerals and from +1.3 to +4.4‰ for supergene enrichment minerals. Oxidation of hypogene sulphides and effective trapping of copper (from solutions derived from the leached cap) in the supergene enrichment zone caused this relationship. A systematic pattern of low Cu isotope values close to the surface and higher isotope values with depth reveals a palaeo‐fluid pathway in the northwest–southeast direction over the deposit. Thus, the copper isotope data from leached cap and enrichment minerals can be used to monitor copper migration during supergene weathering at the Meiduk deposit.     

Along-strike variations of P–T conditions in accretionary wedges and syn-orogenic extension,the HP–LT Phyllite–Quartzite Nappe in Crete and the Peloponnese

Syn-orogenic detachments in accretionary wedges make the exhumation of high-pressure and low-temperature metamorphic rocks possible with little erosion. The velocity of exhumation within the subduction channel or the accretionary complex, and thus the shape of P–T paths, depend upon the kinematic boundary conditions. A component of slab retreat tends to open the channel and facilitates the exhumation. We document the effect of slab retreat on the shape of P–T paths using the example of the Phyllite–Quartzite Nappe that has been exhumed below the Cretan syn-orogenic detachment during the Miocene in Crete and the Peloponnese. Data show a clear tendency toward colder conditions at peak pressure and during exhumation where the intensity of slab retreat is larger. This spatial evolution of P–T gradient is accompanied with an evolution from a partly coaxial regime below the Peloponnese section of the detachment toward a clearly non-coaxial regime in Crete.     

From the green color of eskolaite to the red color of ruby: an X-ray absorption spectroscopy study

The best known cause for colors in insulating minerals is due to transition metal ions as impurities. As an example, Cr³⁺ is responsible for the red color of ruby (α-Al₂O₃:Cr³⁺) and the green color of eskolaite (α-Cr₂O₃). Using X-ray absorption measurements, we connect the colors of the Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ series with the structural and electronic local environment around Cr. UV–VIS electronic parameters, such as the crystal field and the Racah parameter B, are related to those deduced from the analysis of the isotropic and XMCD spectra at the Cr L_2,3-edges in Cr_0.07Al_1.93O₃ and eskolaite. The Cr–O bond lengths are extracted by EXAFS at the Cr K-edge in the whole Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ (0.07≤x< 2) solid solution series. The variation of the mean Cr–O distance between Cr_0.07Al_1.93O₃ and α-Cr₂O₃ is evaluated to be 0.01₅ Å (≈1%). The variation of the crystal field in the Cr _x Al_2−x O₃ series is discussed in relation with the variation of the averaged Cr–O distances.     

Theoretical study of the local charge compensation and spectroscopic properties of B-type carbonate defects in apatite

The structure and spectroscopic properties of selected models of B-type carbonate defects in apatite locally compensated by fluoride or hydroxyl ions are investigated using first-principles quantum mechanical calculations. Theoretical infrared absorption spectra and ¹³C, and ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts are determined. Among the investigated models, only the clumped (CO₃ ^2?, F^?) defect, with the carbonate group close to the sloping face of the tetrahedral site and the F^? ion at the remaining apex, corresponds to previous experimental observations performed on carbonate-fluorapatite samples. Although the substitution of hydroxyl by fluoride ions is commonly observed in minerals, the clumped (CO₃ ^2?, OH^?) defects are unlikely to occur in apatite, considering both their theoretical spectroscopic properties and relative stability. Anionic F^? for OH^? exchange between channel and B sites displays a preference of ~20 kJ/mol for the local charge compensation by fluoride ions at the B-site, pointing to a significantly different behavior of F^? and OH^? ions in the charge compensation mechanism. This difference is ascribed to the poor H-bond acceptor character of available oxygen atoms surrounding the apex of the tetrahedral site. The explicit calculation of the infrared absorption spectra of the defect models is also used to interpret the significant difference observed in the linewidth of the ν₂ and ν₃ CO₃ infrared powder absorption bands of carbonated apatite samples. It is shown that for a concentration of 4.4 wt% of CO₂, long-range electrostatic effects already significantly contribute to the broadening of the ν₃ CO₃ bands in apatite.     

A model for decoding the life cycle of granular avalanches in a rotating drum

Granular materials can behave as harmless sand dunes or as devastating landslides. A granular avalanche marks the transition between these distinct solid-like and fluid-like states. The solid-like state is typically described using plasticity models from critical state theory. In the fluid regime, granular flow is commonly captured using a visco-plastic model. However, due to our limited understanding of the mechanism governing the solid–fluid-like transition, characterizing the material behavior throughout the life cycle of an avalanche remains an open challenge. Here, we employ laboratory experiments of transient avalanches spontaneously generated by a rotating drum. We report measurements of dilatancy and grain kinematics before, during, and after each avalanche. Those measurements are directly incorporated into a rate-dependent plasticity model that quantitatively predicts the granular flow measured in experiments. Furthermore, we find that dilatancy in the solid-like state controls the triggering of granular avalanches and therefore plays a key role in the solid–fluid-like transition. With the proposed approach, we demonstrate that the life cycle of a laboratory avalanche, from triggering to run out, can be fully explained. Our results represent an important step toward a unified understanding of the physical phenomena associated with transitional behavior in granular media.     

Les camptonites du mont Cameroun,Cameroun, Afrique

Camptonites have been discovered at Mount Cameroon. They contain phenocrysts of olivine + clinopyroxene + plagioclase ± kaersutite ± bi and ocelli of nepheline or analcite and carbonates. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_i values are similar to those of the basalts of Mount Cameroon $(\approx 0.7033)$. The camptonites are interpreted as resulting from fractional crystallization of a basaltic magma generated by a low degree of melting of an infra-lithospheric metasomatized mantle tapped by huge lithospheric cracks. To cite this article: I. Ngounouno et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Andean orogenic signature in the Quaternary sandy barriers of Southernmost Brazilian Passive Margin-Paradigm as a source area

Multiple source provenance of sediments and submarine fan formation are herein investigated based on Quaternary sandy barriers of the Brazilian Southernmost Coastal Plain.LA-ICP-MS dating on 1625 detrital zircons from marine and aeolian facies sands of four successive lagoon-barrier systems are analyzed.The characterization of Archean to Pleistocene zircons into a younger Andean(22 ± 4 Ma to 1 ± 1 Ma,48 from 1625),Mesozoic to Paleozoic,and Mesoproterozoic(479 from 1622) populations suggest that the main feeding of sediments to the coastal plain occurred through the La Plata River drainage system.The significant contribution of sediments is transported from the mouth of La Plata River northward by longshore circulation(littoral drift).Minor contributions are also recognized as.a farther source associated with the Patagonia drainage and nearby source related to the Uruguay/Rio Grande do Sul Shield and the Paraná Basin,drained by the Camaqu? and Jacuí rivers.The latter one is recognized by the contribution from Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic,and some Paleoproterozoic and Archean zircon grains.The definition of the sources of clastic sediments allows inferences about the origination of Rio Grande Fan where both the cold Falkland and the warm Brazil currents played a major role.