The Ruiga intrusion: A typical example of a shallow-facies paleoproterozoic peridotite-gabbro-komatiite-basaltic association of the Vetreny Belt,Southeastern Fennoscandia

The Ruiga differentiated mafic-ultramafic intrusion in the northwestern part of the Vetreny Belt paleorift was described for the first time based on geological, petrological, geochronological, and geochemical data. The massif (20 km² in exposed area) is a typical example of shallow-facies peridotite-gabbro-komatiite-basalt associations and consists of three zones up to 810 m in total thickness (from bottom to top): melanogab-bronorite, peridotite, and gabbro. In spite of pervasive greenschist metamorphism, the rocks contain locally preserved primary minerals: olivine (Fo _75–86), bronzite, augite of variable composition, labradorite, and Cr-spinels. A mineral Sm-Nd isochron on olivine melanogabbronorite from the Ruiga Massif defines an age of 2.39 ± 0.05 Ga, while komatiitic basalts of the Vetreny Belt Formation were dated at 2.40–2.41 Ga (Puchtel et al., 1997). The rocks of the Ruiga intrusion and lava flows of Mt. Golets have similar major, rare-earth, and trace element composition, which suggests their derivation from a single deep-seated source. Their parent magma was presumably a high-Mg komatiitic basalt. In transitional crustal chambers, its composition was modified by olivine-controlled fractionation and crustal contamination, with the most contaminated first portions of the ejected melt. In terms of geology and geochemistry, the considered magmatic rocks of the Vetreny Belt are comparable with the Raglan Ni-PGE komatiite gabbro-peridotite complex in Canada (Naldrett, 2003).     

Neoproterozoic Volhynia-Brest magmatic province in the western East European craton: Within-plate magmatism in an ancient suture zone

The reasons for the isotopic and geochemical heterogeneity of magmatism of the Neoproterozoic large Volhynia-Brest igneous province (VBP) are considered. The province was formed at 550 Ma in response to the break up of the Rodinia supercontinent and extends along the western margin of the East European craton, being discordant to the Paleoproterozoic mobile zone that separates Sarmatia and Fennoscandia and the Mesoproterozoic Volhynia-Orsha aulacogen. The basalts of VBP show prominent spatiotemporal geochemical zoning. Based on petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic data, the following types of basalts can be distinguished: olivine-normative subalkaline basalts consisting of low-Ti (sLT, < 1.10–2.0 wt % TiO₂; ε_Nd(550) from ?6.6 to ?2.7) and medium-Ti (sMT, 2.0–3.0 wt % TiO₂, occasionally up to 3.6 wt % TiO₂; ε_Nd(550) from ?3.55 to + 0.6) varieties; normal quartz-normative basalts (tholeiites) including low-Ti (tLT, < 1.75–2.0 wt % TiO₂) and medium-to-high-Ti (tHT1, 2.0–3.6 wt % TiO₂, ε_Nd(550) from ?1.3 to + 1.0) varieties. The hypabyssal bodies are made up of subalkaline low-Ti olivine dolerites (LT, 1.2–1.5 wt % TiO₂; ε_Nd(550) = ?5.8) and subalkaline high-Ti olivine gabbrodolerites (HT2, 3.0–4.5 wt % TiO₂; ε_Nd(550) = ?2.5). Felsic rocks of VBP are classed as volcanic rocks of normal (andesidacites, dacites, and rhyodacites) and subalkaline (trachyrhyodacites) series with TiO₂ 0.72–0.77 wt% and ε_Nd(550) of ?12. The central part of VBP is underlain by a Paleoproterozoic domain formed by continent-arc accretion and contains widespread sills of HT2 dolerites and lavas of LT basalts; the northern part of the province is underlain by the juvenile Paleoproterozoic crust dominated by MT and HT1 basalts. MT and LT basalts underwent significant AFC-style upper crustal contamination. During their long residence in the upper crustal magmatic chambers, the basaltic melts fractionated and caused notable heating of the wall rocks and, correspondingly, nonmodal melting of the upper crustal protolith containing high-Rb phase (biotite), thus producing the most felsic rocks of the province. The basalts of VBP were derived from geochemically different sources: probably, the lithosphere and a deep-seated plume (PREMA type). The HT2 dolerites were generated mainly from a lithospheric source: by 3–4% melting of the geochemically enriched garnet lherzolite mantle. LT dolerites were obtained by partial melting of the modally metasomatized mantle containing volatile-bearing phases. The concepts of VBP formation were summarized in the model of three-stage plume-lithosphere interaction.     

Opacitization conditions of hornblende in Bezymyannyi volcano andesites (March 30, 1956 eruption)

The paper is devoted to the conditions under which opacite rims developed around hornblende grains in andesite of the catastrophic eruption (March 30, 1956) of Bezymyannyi volcano, Kamchatka. The opacite rims were produced by a bimetasomatic reaction between hornblende and melt with the development of the following zoning: hornblende → Px + Pl + Ti-Mag → Px + Pl → Px → melt. Biometasomatic reaction was accompanied by the active removal of CaO from the rim, addition of SiO₂, and more complicated behavior of other components. The hornblende also shows reactions of its volumetric decomposition under near-isochemical conditions. The opacite rims developed under isobaric conditions, at a pressure of approximately 6 kbar. The main reason for the instability of the hornblende was the heating of the magma chamber from 890 to 1005°C due to new hot magma portion injection. The time interval between the injection and the start of eruption was estimated from the thickness of the opacite rims and did not exceed 37 days. Hence, the March 30, 1956, eruption was not related to the volcanic activity in November of 1955 but to the injection of a fresh magma portion in February–March of 1956.     

Weibull statistical analysis of granite bending strength

Summary  This paper describes and discusses the adequacy of Weibull statistical analysis to analyse the bending strength of granite. The experimental results show that strength variability is related with a specific origin of failure. This conclusion is based on analysing the influence of the surface condition (extrinsic defects) on the bending strength results treated by the Weibull statistics. The conclusions drawn from this study have been validated by analysing the results of the critical flaw dimension estimated by applying the linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM) formulae. Results obtained from fractographic examination also have been used to describe the location of the origin of the fracture and understand the distribution of defects; i.e., there is a unimodal distribution of defects (intrinsic defects), despite the fact that some outlier values are normally observed in the fractured surfaces. Correspndence: P. M. Amaral, Department of Materials Engineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal     

Chemical composition,volatile components,and trace elements in melts of the Karymskii volcanic center,Kamchatka, and Golovnina volcano,Kunashir Island: Evidence from inclusions in minerals

Melt inclusions were examined in phenocrysts in basalt, andesite, dacite, and rhyodacite from the Karymskii volcanic center in Kamchatka and dacite form Golovnina volcano in Kunashir Island, Kuriles. The inclusions were examined by homogenization and by analyzing glasses in more than 80 inclusions on an electron microscope and ion microprobe. The SiO₂ concentrations in the melt inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts from basalts from the Karymskii volcanic center vary from 47.4 to 57.1 wt %, these values for inclusions in plagioclase phenocrysts from andesites are 55.7–67.1 wt %, in plagioclase phenocrysts from the dacites and rhyodacites are 65.9–73.1 wt %, and those in quartz in the rhyodacites are 72.2–75.7 wt %. The SiO₂ concentrations in melt inclusions in quartz from dacites from Golovnina volcano range from 70.2 to 77.0 wt %. The basaltic melts are characterized by usual concentrations of major components (wt %): TiO₂ = 0.7–1.3, FeO = 6.8–11.4, MgO = 2.3–6.1, CaO = 6.7–10.8, and K₂O = 0.4–1.7; but these rocks are notably enriched in Na₂O (2.9–7.4 wt % at an average of 5.1 wt %, with the highest Na₂O concentration detected in the most basic melts: SiO₂ = 47.4–52.0 wt %. The concentrations of volatiles in the basic melts are 1.6 wt % for H₂O, 0.14 wt % for S, 0.09 wt % for Cl, and 50 ppm for F. The andesite melts are characterized by high concentrations (wt %) of FeO (6.5 on average), CaO (5.2), and Cl (0.26) at usual concentrations of Na₂O (4.5), K₂O (2.1), and S (0.07). High water concentrations were determined in the dacite and rhyodacite melts: from 0.9 to 7.3 wt % (average of 15 analyses equals 4.5 wt %). The Cl concentration in these melts is 0.15 wt %, and those of F and S are 0.06 and 0.01 wt %, respectively. Melt inclusions in quartz from the dacites of Golovnina volcano are also rich in water: they contain from 5.0 to 6.7 wt % (average 5.6 wt %). The comparison of melt compositions from the Karymskii volcanic center and previously studied melts from Bezymyannyi and Shiveluch volcanoes revealed their significant differences. The former are more basic, are enriched in Ti, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, and P but significantly depleted in K. The melts of the Karymskii volcanic center are most probably less differentiated than the melts of Bezymyannyi and Shiveluch volcanoes. The concentrations of water and 20 trace elements were measured in the glasses of 22 melt inclusions in plagioclase and quartz from our samples. Unusually high values were obtained for Li concentrations (along with high Na concentrations) in the basaltic melts from the Karymskii volcanic center: from 118 to 1750 ppm, whereas the dacite and rhyolite melts contain 25 ppm Li on average. The rhyolite melts of Golovnina volcano are much poorer in Li: 1.4 ppm on average. The melts of the Karymskii volcanic center are characterized by relative minima at Nb and Ti and maxima at B and K, as is typical of arc magmas.     

An Attempt to Predict the Failure Time of Abandoned Mine Pillars

Summary  Left in place pillars of abandoned mines are subject to weathering (e.g action of water, bacteria) that degrades their mechanical strength and eventually leads to collapse. A simple weathering model is proposed, that is governed by two parameters: the rate of progression of weathered front and the rate of degradation of the compressive strength with time. Both plane strain and axisymmetric analyses are performed and closed form solutions of the variation with time of the bearing capacity of the pillar are given. Experimental data of the tests conducted on gypsum and anhydrite specimens attacked by water are presented. It is shown that in order to fit the experimental data a third parameter must be introduced. New closed form solutions are given and the data are used for estimating the time to failure of abandoned gypsum mines in Northern Italy. Authors’ address: Dr. Riccardo Castellanza, Research Assistant, Department of Structural Engineering, Milan University of Technology (Politecnico), Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy     

Dissolved and labile concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the South Fork Coeur d’Alene River, Idaho: Comparisons among chemical equilibrium models and implications for biotic ligand models

In order to evaluate thermodynamic speciation calculations inherent in biotic ligand models, the speciation of dissolved Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in aquatic systems influenced by historical mining activities is examined using equilibrium computer models and the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique. Several metal/organic-matter complexation models, including WHAM VI, NICA-Donnan, and Stockholm Humic model (SHM), are used in combination with inorganic speciation models to calculate the thermodynamic speciation of dissolved metals and concentrations of metal associated with biotic ligands (e.g., fish gills). Maximum dynamic metal concentrations, determined from total dissolved metal concentrations and thermodynamic speciation calculations, are compared with labile metal concentrations measured by DGT to assess which metal/organic-matter complexation model best describes metal speciation and, thereby, biotic ligand speciation, in the studied systems. Results indicate that the choice of model that defines metal/organic-matter interactions does not affect calculated concentrations of Cd and Zn associated with biotic ligands for geochemical conditions in the study area, whereas concentrations of Cu and Pb associated with biotic ligands depend on whether the speciation calculations use WHAM VI, NICA-Donnan, or SHM. Agreement between labile metal concentrations and dynamic metal concentrations occurs when WHAM VI is used to calculate Cu speciation and SHM is used to calculate Pb speciation. Additional work in systems that contain wide ranges in concentrations of multiple metals should incorporate analytical speciation methods, such as DGT, to constrain the speciation component of biotic ligand models.     

Growing up green on serpentine soils: Biogeochemistry of serpentine vegetation in the Central Coast Range of California

Serpentine soils derived from the weathering of ultramafic rocks and their metamorphic derivatives (serpentinites) are chemically prohibitive for vegetative growth. Evaluating how serpentine vegetation is able to persist under these chemical conditions is difficult to ascertain due to the numerous factors (climate, relief, time, water availability, etc.) controlling and affecting plant growth. Here, the uptake, incorporation, and distribution of a wide variety of elements into the biomass of serpentine vegetation has been investigated relative to vegetation growing on an adjacent chert-derived soil. Soil pH, electrical conductivity, organic C, total N, soil extractable elements, total soil elemental compositions and plant digestions in conjunction with spider diagrams are utilized to determine the chemical relationships of these soil and plant systems. Plant available Mg and Ca in serpentine soils exceed values assessed in chert soils. Magnesium is nearly 3 times more abundant than Ca in the serpentine soils; however, the serpentine soils are not Ca deficient with Ca concentrations as high as 2235 mg kg⁻¹. Calcium to Mg ratios (Ca:Mg) in both serpentine and chert vegetation are greater than one in both below and above ground tissues. Soil and plant chemistry analyses support that Ca is not a limiting factor for plant growth and that serpentine vegetation is actively moderating Mg uptake as well as tolerating elevated concentrations of bioavailable Mg. Additionally, results demonstrate that serpentine vegetation suppresses the uptake of Fe, Cr, Ni, Mn and Co into its biomass. The suppressed uptake of these metals mainly occurs in the plants’ roots as evident by the comparatively lower metal concentrations present in above ground tissues (twigs, leaves and shoots). This research supports earlier studies that have suggested that ion uptake discrimination and ion suppression in the roots are major mechanisms for serpentine vegetation to tolerate the chemistry of serpentine soils.