ELECTROLYTIC CORROSION OF IRON METEORITES

Six iron meteorites were electrolyzed and the resulting corrosion was studied by a potentiostatic technique. It was found that both iron and nickel in the kamacite phase dissolve, and that neither iron nor nickel dissolve from taenite. The rate of corrosion was shown to be inversely proportional to the nickel content. However, structure, as well as nickel content, plays an important part in the electrolytic process. The Coya Norte, Chile meteorite dissolved more rapidly and more easily (at a lower potential) than did pure iron even though the Coya Norte meteorite contains 5.5% nickel.     

Tholeiitic and alkalic basalts of the oldest Pacific Ocean crust

Approximately 160 Ma old basaltic lavas obtained from ODP Site 801 in the Pigafetta Basin represent the first Jurassic oceanic crust recovered in the Pacific Ocean and the oldest in situ oceanic crust discovered anywhere. The basement consists of an upper alkali olivine basalt sequence and a lower tholeiitic sequence separated by a yellow Fe-rich hydrothermal sedimentary deposit. The aphyric and sparsely plagiodase-olivine±spinel phyric tholeiites exhibit depleted, open–system fractionated characteristics with trace element abundances and Pb–Nd isotopic compositions similar to normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (N-MORB). The aphyric alkali basalts, although showing some overlap in isotopic composition with MORB, exhibit strong similarities in terms of incompatible element abundances to ocean island basalts (OIB). They could represent either OIB-type off-axis volcanism or an alkalic event possibly associated with the waning stages of spreading axis volcanism in the Pigafetta Basin. All lavas have undergone low-grade anoxic smectite–carbonate alteration, although flows underlying the Fe-rich sediments have suffered hydrothermal alteration and fracturing.     

Geochemistry of early Palaeozoic amphibolites from the Orlica-Śnieżnik dome,Bohemian massif: petrogenesis and palaeotectonic aspects

Orthoamphibolites within and marginal to the Orlica-Śnieżnik dome in the eastern Bohemian massif are associated with a series of Proterozoic-Lower Palaeozoic supracrustal meta-sediments of the Stronie, Nové Město and Staré Město formations. Massive and variably foliated amphibolites range from common epidote-plagioclase-blue-green/green hornblende varieties to assemblages with diopside, garnet and brown amphibole. All the amphibolites have a basaltic composition and are divided into three main chemical groups which are intimately associated in the field: main series tholeiites, low-Ti tholeiites and alkali basalts. All groups exhibit a common enrichment in LIL elements+Nb+Ta (relative to high-field-strength elements) which reflects contamination by upper continental crust and/or pelagic sediment compositions. The gross chemistry of the tholeiitesapproaches that for MORB, although the geological environment and nature of crustal contamination suggests that the basaltic precursors were probably emplaced in a rifted ensialic basinal environment. If the amphibolites are representative of an early phase of the Lower Palaeozoic fragmentation of Gondwanaland, then rifting did not fully develop ocean crust. The wider significance of the chemical interpretation implies that some of the variation from Variscan Proterozoic-Palaeozoic metabasite suites that is ascribed to a complex of different eruptive settings could be accounted for by variable contamination and/or source composition.     

Physiography and structure of Bacino Bannock (eastern mediterranean)

Detailed analysis of the morphology of Bacino Bannock, a deep-sea basin filled by a hypersaline brine, shows with unusual detail the effect on the ocean floor topography of the deformation and dissolution of a salt body under tectonic stress. Although salt diapirism occurs in the central part of the investigated area, the major cause of basin formation is dissolution of subsurface evaporites which creates negative relief that exceeds by about one order of magnitude the positive relief. The true shape of the deformed salt deposit is preserved as a result of the absence of a thick post-evaporites sedimentary cover.     

Geochemical magma type discrimination: application to altered and metamorphosed basic igneous rocks

Five minor and trace elements, known to be chemically stable during alteration and metamorphism, have been combined in a set of binary diagrams that distinguish fresh tholeiites from alkali basalts. Of the five elements: Ti, P, Zr, Y, Nb, only P shows slight mobility during metamorphism, which is not sufficient to alter greatly the point distribution on the binary diagrams. Using these stable elements altered basaltic rocks: greenstones, spilites and amphibolites may be distinguished in the same way as fresh basalts, and their original magma may be identified as tholeiitic or alkaline basalt. All five elements are readily and rapidly determined, using XRF, thus this method may be applied as a rapid, easy way of discriminating the magma types of altered basaltic rocks. Using this method it can be demonstrated that alkali basalt magma was produced in minor quantities in the Precambrian.     

Primordial metamorphism of asteroids via electrical induction in A T Tauri-like solar wind

Simple evolutionary models of asteroids of various sizes and solar distances have been constructed assuming unipolar electrical induction heating due to passage of the Sun through a T Tauri phase with an increased magnetic field. Typical T Tauri conditions and an elementary solar wind model were used to calculate induced currents in modlels assuming electrical conductivities appropriate for carbonaceous material. Two restrictions with opposite dependence upon radius dominate the results. The electrical insulating tendency of a cold surface favors heating of larger bodies. The current-limiting backpressure of the induced magnetic field favors heating of smaller bodies. Thus it is found that maximum heating, in some cases sufficient for melting, occurs for model asteroids at the inner edge of the belt and with (model-dependent) radii from 25 to 250 km. This effect, if operant, would have produced a primordial distribution of metamorphosed asteroids primarily occurring at small solar distance and intermediate size. The observational evidence for such a distribution is unclear because the primordial distribution has likely been considerably modified by collisions, particularly at smaller sizes. There does seem to be some consistency with the model in the distribution of the largest asteroids, though data are sparse. In particular, this model seems relevant to the well-known dichotomy between Ceres and Vesta.Paper dedicated to Professor Hannes Alfvén on the occasion of his 70th birthday, 30 May, 1978Also Dept of Planetary Sciences     

Coalification of organic matter in coal balls of the Pennsylvanian (upper Carboniferous) of the Illinois Basin, United States

An evaluation was made of the degree of coalification of two coal balls from the Illinois Basin of the Pennsylvanian (upper Carboniferous) of the United States. Previous interpretations are mainly misleading and contradictory, primarily because of the assumption that the brown color and exceptional cellular and subcellular preservation typical of American coal balls imply chemical preservation of cellulose and lignin, the primary components of peat. Xylem tissue from a medullosan seed fern contained in a coal ball and the coal attached to the coal ball from the Calhoun coal bed, Mattoon Formation, Illinois, was analyzed by elemental, petrographic, and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to determine the degree of coalification. The NMR and elemental data indicate the lack of cellulose and lignin and a probable rank of high-volatile C bituminous coal. These data corroborate data for a coal ball from the Herrin (No. 6) coal bed (Carbondale Formation, Middle Pennsylvanian) and support our hypothesis that the organic matter in coal balls of the Pennsylvanian strata of the United States is coalified to about the same degree as the surrounding coal. Data presented show a range of lower reflectances for xylem tissue and vitrinite in the analyzed coal balls compared with vitrinite in the attached coal.The data reported indicate that physical preservation of organic matter in coal balls does not imply chemical preservation. Also our study supports the hypothesis that compactional (static load) pressure is not a prerequisite for coalification up to a rank of high-volatile C bituminous coal.A whole-rock analysis of the Calhoun coal ball indicates a similarity to other carbonate coal balls from the United States. It consists primarily of calcium carbonate and 1–2% organic matter; silica and alumina together make up less than 0.5%, indicating the lack of minerals such as quartz and clays.