Volatile halocarbons released from Arctic macroalgae

Twenty-two different species of Arctic brown, red and green macroalgae, collected in the Kongsfjord at Ny-Ålesund (Spitsbergen), were incubated under polar conditions and investigated for their release of volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOC). Bromoform, dibromomethane, dibromochloromethane, bromodichloromethane, 1,2-dibromoethane, diiodomethane and chloroiodomethane have been identified and their net releases during incubations were determined. Generally, brown and green macroalgae showed higher VHOC release, while red macroalage had only low release. Bromoform was released in relatively large quantities from all species studied, with the highest release observed from the brown algae Dictyosyphon foeniculaceus (0.3 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹) and Laminaria saccharina (0.15 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹), and from the green algae Monostroma arcticum (0.3 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹) and Blidingia minima (0.27 μg g⁻¹ wet algal weight day⁻¹). Dibromomethane, diiodomethane, dibromochloromethane and 1,2-dibromoethane showed lower net release during the incubations. The net release of chloroiodomethane and bromodichloromethane was very low for the most algae species investigated. Based on the distribution of these algae in the Arctic environment, Dictyosiphon foeniculaceus and Laminaria saccharina may be important sources for VHOC because of high release and high biomass. Release of VHOC could be detected from all parts of the thallus of the macroalga. This may provide some evidence for a possible role of VHOC production as a chemical protection mechanism in algae.     

An improved Ewing heat probe frame

The standard Ewing heat probe frame has been improved through the design of a new takedown model whose parts are held together by lynch pins. When a 600 lb (272 kg) unit of this type is taken apart, the heaviest single piece of the dismantled unit weighs only 75 lb (34 kg).This makes it feasible for one person to handle, transport, and assemble the new unit. A central, main support member of a heat probe using this frame can be suspended over the side of a research vessel while the heavier temperature recorder and ballast weights are attached by means of the quickaction lynch pins. This makes it possible to use this device on relatively small vessels which are not designed for coring work, having a minimum of free deck space and without launching platforms or hydraulic A-frame booms.     

History and sand budgets of the barrier island system in the Panama City,Florida, region

Shell Island and Crooked Island peninsulas comprise the Holocene barrier system in the Panama City, Florida, region. Both of these peninsulas have experienced a history of integration-fragmentation-integration superimposed on a net shoreward migration since 1779. Catastrophic events such as hurricanes are most probably responsible for the pass cutting which has fragmented these barriers. Both barrier peninsulas have very nearly segmented St. Andrew Sound into an eastern and western portion. This segmentation has been achieved through natural causes in the eastern or Crooked Island region, but an alternation in the tidal return pattern, effected by the cutting of a canal across Shell Island, is probably responsible for the ongoing segmentation of the western portion.Rates of erosion/deposition, determined by comparing bathymetries charted in 1877, 1930, and 1946, demand that these two peninsulas receive material by eastward transport. Furthermore, the long shore drift of both peninsulas is bidirectional, northwesterly and southeasterly. These two drift components are very nearly equal in magnitude immediately west of Shell Island; net easterly drift occurs on Shell Island peninsula. Crooked Island experiences net westerly and easterly drift; the easterly drift terminates in the Bell Shoal area and does not reach the adjacent St. Joe Spit.     

Presolar silicate and oxide abundances and compositions in the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Adelaide and the K chondrite Kakangari: The effects of secondary processing

Abstract– Although it has been suggested that the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrite Adelaide and the K chondrite Kakangari could be considered highly primitive, our study of their presolar grain abundances shows that both have experienced more secondary processing than other primitive chondrites with high presolar grain abundances. Presolar grains are rare in Kakangari and are present in reduced abundances in Adelaide (approximately 70 ppm for O‐anomalous grains). Thermal annealing has led to widespread crystallization of their fine‐grained matrices, and accounts for the partial to complete destruction of presolar grains. In addition, presolar silicates in Adelaide show elevated Fe abundances and Fe‐rich rims indicative of infiltration of Fe into the grains from the surrounding matrix. This process probably also took place during annealing, most likely in the solar nebula, in a region with an enhanced dust‐to‐gas ratio. The most primitive meteorites, with the highest presolar grain abundances, appear to be those whose matrices contain abundant amorphous material that has escaped any significant thermal or aqueous alteration.     

Subglacial emplacement of tills and meltwater deposits at the base of overdeepened bedrock troughs

The sedimentary infills of subglacially eroded bedrock troughs in the Alps are underexplored archives for the timing, extent and character of Pleistocene glaciations but may contain excellent records of the Quaternary landscape evolution over several glacial–interglacial cycles. The onset of sedimentation in these bedrock troughs is often reflected by diamicts and gravels directly overlying bedrock in the deepest basin segments. Subglacial or proglacial depositional environments have been proposed for these coarse‐grained basal units but their characteristics and origin remain controversial. This article presents results from drill cores that recovered a coarse‐grained basal unit in a major buried bedrock‐trough system in the Lower Glatt Valley, northern Switzerland. The excellent core recovery allowed a detailed study combining macroscopic, microscopic and geochemical methods and gives unprecedented insights into the transition from erosion to deposition in overdeepened bedrock troughs. These results show that the basal infill comprises diamicts, interpreted as subglacial tills, separated by thin sorted interbeds, originating from subglacial cavity deposition. The stacking of these units is interpreted to represent repeated switching between a coupled and decoupled ice–bed‐interface indicating an ever‐transforming mosaic of subglacial bed conditions. Decoupling in response to high basal water pressures is probably promoted by the confined subglacial hydraulic conditions resulting from the bedrock acting as aquitards, the narrow reverse sloping outlet and a large catchment area. While stratigraphic and lithological evidence suggests that erosion and the onset of basal sedimentation occurred during the same glaciation, different scenarios for the relative timing of infilling in relation to formation and glaciation of the bedrock trough are discussed. Overlying deltaic and glaciolacustrine sediments suggest deposition during subsequent deglaciation of the bedrock trough. The basal sediment characteristics are in agreement with previous reports in hydrogeological and seismic exploration and suggest the occurrence of similar basal successions in other subglacially overdeepened basins in the Alps and elsewhere.     

Origin of SiO2-rich components in ordinary chondrites

Silica-rich objects are common minor components in ordinary chondrites (OC), occurring as fragments and as chondrules. Their typical paragenesis is orthopyroxene + SiO₂ (with bulk SiO₂ >65 wt%) and occasionally with additional olivine and/or spinel. Individual silica-rich components (SRC) have previously been studied in various types of OCs, although there is only one comprehensive study of these objects by Brigham et al. [Brigham, C.A., Murrell, M.T., Yabuki, H., Ouyang, Z., El Goresy, A., 1986. Silica-bearing chondrules and clasts in ordinary chondrites. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 50, 1655-1666]. Several different explanations of how SRCs formed have been published. The main question is how silica-enrichment was achieved, because CI-chondritic atomic Mg/Si-ratio is 1.07 and as a consequence only olivine and pyroxene, but no free silica should be stable. There are two basic possibilities for the SiO₂-enrichment: (1) a RedOx-mechanism or magmatic fractionation on the parent body and (2) fractional condensation or recycling of chondrule mesostasis in the solar nebula. To better constrain the origin of these objects, we measured major and rare earth elements in SRCs of various types of ordinary chondrites, and in addition, we studied silica polymorphism in these objects using an in situ micro-Raman technique. Bulk chondrule compositions define mixing lines between the compositions of olivine and pyroxene. The SRCs extend these lines to an SiO₂ end member. In contrast, magmatic trends grossly deviate from these mixing lines. Concentrations of CaO, Al₂O₃, and REE in the pyroxenes of the SRCs are low (0.01 to 1× CI) and the CI-normalized REE-patterns are virtually flat, typical of bulk chondrules, but untypical of magmatic trends. We therefore conclude that SiO₂-rich objects are not of magmatic origin. They are the result of fractional condensation in the solar nebula. The silica in SRCs occurs mainly as tridymite and sometimes as cristobalite or—in very rare cases—as quartz. Some SiO₂-phases yielded a yet unknown micro-Raman spectrum, which we were unable to identify. The often chondrule-like shape of SRCs as well as the presence of high-temperature SiO₂-polymorphs lead to the following model for the origin of SRCs: formation of SiO₂-rich precursors in the solar nebula by fractional condensation, reheating to temperatures between 1140 and >1968 K, thereby forming the SRCs,—probably during the chondrule-forming process—followed by rapid cooling.     

Jurassic strike slip versus subduction in the Eastern Alps

Late Jurassic formations of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) contain ample evidence of synsedimentary tectonics in the form of elongate basins filled with turbidites, debris flows and slumps. Clasts are derived from the Mesozoic of the NCA; they commonly measure tens of metres in diameter and occasionally form kilometre-size bodies. These sedimentologic observations and the presumed evidence of Late Jurassic high-pressure metamorphism recently led to the hypothesis of a south-dipping Jurassic subduction zone with accretionary wedge in the southern parts of the NCA. We present new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dates from the location of the postulated high-pressure metamorphism that bracket the age of this crystallization not earlier than 114–120 Ma. The event is therefore part of the well-documented mid-Cretaceous metamorphism of the Austro-alpine domain. Thus, there is currently no evidence of Late Jurassic high-pressure metamorphism to support the subduction hypothesis. The sediment record of the Late Jurassic deformation in the NCA, including the formation of local thrust sheets, is no conclusive evidence for subduction. All these phenomena are perfectly compatible with synsedimentary strike-slip tectonics. Large strike-slip fault zones with restraining and releasing bends and associated flower structures and pull-apart basins are a perfectly viable alternative to the subduction model for the Late Jurassic history of the NCA. However, in contrast to the Eastern Alps transect, where arguments for a Jurassic subduction are missing, a glaucophane bearing Jurassic high-pressure metamorphism in the Meliatic realm of the West Carpathians is well documented. There, the high-pressure/low-temperature slices occur between the Gemeric unit and the Silica nappe system (including the Aggtelek-Rudabanya units), which corresponds in facies with the Juvavic units in the southern part of the NCA. To solve the contrasting palaeogeographic reconstructions we propose that the upper Jurassic left lateral strike-slip system proposed here for the Eastern Alps continued eastwards and caused the eastward displacement of the Silica units into the Meliatic accretionary wedge.     

Early Cretaceous U–Pb zircon ages for the Copiapó plutonic complex and implications for the IOCG mineralization at Candelaria, Atacama Region, Chile

Four of the major plutons in the vicinity of the Candelaria mine (470 Mt at 0.95% Cu, 0.22 g/t Au, 3.1 g/t Ag) and a dike–sill system exposed in the Candelaria open pit have been dated with the U–Pb zircon method. The new geochronological data indicate that dacite magmatism around 123 Ma preceded the crystallization of hornblende diorite (Khd) at 118 ± 1 Ma, quartz–monzonite porphyry (Kqm) at 116.3 ± 0.4 Ma, monzodiorite (Kmd) at 115.5 ± 0.4 Ma, and tonalite (Kt) at 110.7 ± 0.4 Ma. The new ages of the plutons are consistent with field relationships regarding the relative timing of emplacement. Plutonism temporally overlaps with the iron oxide Cu–Au mineralization (Re–Os molybdenite ages at ∼115 Ma) and silicate alteration (ages mainly from 114 to 116 and 110 to 112 Ma) in the Candelaria–Punta del Cobre district. The dated dacite porphyry and hornblende diorite intrusions preceded the ore formation. A genetic link of the metallic mineralization with the quartz–monzonite porphyry and/or the monzodiorite is likely. Both of these metaluminous, shoshonitic (high-K) intrusions could have provided energy and contributed fluids, metals, and sulfur to the hydrothermal system that caused the iron oxide Cu–Au mineralization. The age of the tonalite at 110.7 Ma falls in the same range as the late alteration at 110 to 112 Ma. Tonalite emplacement may have sustained existing or driven newly developed hydrothermal cells that caused this late alteration or modified ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and K/Ar systematic in some areas.     

Biomediation of calcrete at the gold anomaly of the Barns prospect,Gawler Craton,South Australia

Anomalously high Au concentrations (2.5 to 50 ppb) in regolith carbonate accumulations, such as calcrete and calcareous sands in aeolian sand dunes overlying Au mineralisation of the Gawler Craton, South Australia, show a marked covariance of Au with K, Mg and most notably Ca. This relationship appears to be linked to the authigenic formation of smectites and carbonates within the aeolian dunes in the region. However, little is known about the processes involved in the formation of carbonates under semi-arid and arid conditions. In this study the geochemical properties of aeolian dunes along several depth profiles of 2 to 4 m are investigated in order to assess the relationship between Au mobility and calcrete formation. In the profiles a strongly systematic relationship between Au and the increasing Ca–Mg contents at depth highlights the close association between the enrichment of Au in the calcrete and the underlying hydrothermal mineralisation. Intense calcrete formation and concurrent Au enrichment also occurs in the vicinity of roots penetrating the dune. Thin section petrography and cathodoluminescence show that most of the calcrete in the regolith profiles is micritic; some sparic crystallites have also been identified. To demonstrate the presence of microbial processes that may mediate the formation of calcrete, samples from a depth profile in the dune were taken under sterile conditions. After amendment with urea and incubation of up to 24 h, up to 18 mg/l of NH₄⁺ were detected in near surface samples. At depth of 2.3 m 1 mg/l NH₄⁺ were detected compared to a control that contained below 0.05 mg/l NH₄⁺. These results suggest that the genesis of calcrete and pedogenic carbonate in the area may be partly biologically mediated via processes such as the metabolic breakdown of urea by resident microbiota which generates a pH and pCO₂ environment conducive to the precipitation of carbonate. In the process of urea breakdown organic Au complexes such as Au-amino acid complexes may become destabilised in solution and Au may be co-precipitated, resulting in the fine, non-particulate distribution of Au throughout the micritic calcrete carbonate. In conclusion, this study suggests a coupled mechanism of biologically mediated and inorganic mechanisms that lead to the formation of Au-in-calcrete anomalies.     

Unravelling the evolution of an Alpine to post-glacially active fault in the Swiss Alps

The Gemmi fault is a prominent NW–SE striking lineament that crosses the Gemmi Pass in the central Swiss Alps. A multidisciplinary investigation of this structure that included geological mapping, joint profiling, cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy, stable isotope measurements, luminescence- and U-TH-dating, 3D ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying and trenching reveals a history of fault movements from the Miocene to the Holocene. The main fault zone comprises a 0.5–3 m thick calcite cataclasite formed during several cycles of veining and brittle deformation. Displaced Cretaceous rock layers show an apparent dextral slip of 10 m along the fault.A detailed study of a small sediment-filled depression that crosses the fault provides evidence for a post-glacial reactivation of the fault. A trench excavated across the fault exposed a Late-Glacial-age loess layer and late Holocene colluvial-like slope-wash deposits that showed evidence for fault displacement of a few centimeters, indicating a recent strike-slip reactivation of the fault. Focal mechanisms of recent instrumentally recorded earthquakes are consistent with our findings that show that the fault at the Gemmi Pass, together with other parallel faults in this area, may be reactivated in today's stress field. Taking together all the observations of its ancient and recent activity, the Gemmi fault can be viewed as a window through geological space and time.