Incorporation of uranium in modern corals

Uranium occurs in corals at three sites: 1, in organic matter; 2, adsorbed on the surfaces of skeletal aragonite; and 3, in the aragonite lattice. Organic matter incorporates from sea water by chelation 40–70 ppm uranium; skeletal aragonite incorporates only 3 ppm. However, as the organic fraction is low (0·1%), its high concentration of uranium does not significantly affect the total concentration of uranium in the coral. A negligible concentration of uranium, 40–60 ppb, is adsorbed on skeletal aragonite from which it is readily leached or exchanged. This low concentration of adsorbed uranium (<2% of the total uranium in skeletal aragonite) is related to the very small specific surface area (1·5–1·8 m²/g of the corals.     

Oxidation During Magmatic Differentiation, Finnmarka Complex, Oslo Area, Norway: Part 2, The Mafic Silicates1

Electron-microprobe analyses are presented for pyroxene, amphibole,and biotite from monzonite, granodiorite, and granite at Finnmarka,Norway. Compositional trends measured in biotite, present inall three rock types, and in amphibole, present in the monzoniteand granodiorite, are markedly atypical and are interpretedas reflecting crystallization under progressively more oxidizingconditions. The average Fe/Fe + Mg for biotites from successivelymore silicic rock types changes from 0.64 0.35 0.28, and foramphiboles changes from 0.58 in the monzonite to 0.29 in thegranodiorite. Analyses of selected areas within amphibole grains in the granodioriteshow marked chemical variations, although single-crystal X-rayphotographs are sharp and do not reveal multiple phases. Onthe basis of 33 such analyses, four coupled substitutions areidentified as operative; the most unusual finding is the relationof 1 Ti cation to 4 Al^IV cations in the unit cell. Variationswithin individual amphibole grains of the granodiorite resemblechanges noted in evolution of amphibole composition from monzoniteto granodiorite and are interpreted as reflecting progressiveoxidation. Consideration of these data for the mafic silicates, data forthe opaque oxides, and the extensive formation of sphene inthe granodiorite, has allowed development of schematic reactionsand an overall picture of magmatic environment and evolutionat Finnmarka. Crystallization apparently took place at PH₂oof 1000 bars or less and a temperature of about 700 °C.The trend of oxidation during differentiation is more extremethan any heretofore reported. Amphiboles, as well as biotites,may participate in oxidation reactions and may reflect the oxidation-reductionprocesses that occurred during magmatic evolution.     

Some Pleistocene periglacial problems in southern Africa

Amplification is made to some of Butzer's comments on various Pleistocene 'periglacial' phenomena in southern Africa. In particular, the 'nivation' cirques occurring above 2,000 m in the Drakensberg-Lesotho upland are now thought to have been formed by a combination of frost-shattering and solifluction wasting. Because of a gradational sequence from purely frost-shattered forms in central Lesotho to pronounced cirques in the Drankensberg, a lateral palaeoclimatic variation is suggested with a somewhat higher precipitation in the latter area. This contention is supported by palaeosol evidence.     

Atmospheric Effects of the Emerging Mainland Chinese Transportation System at and Beyond the Regional Scale

Local surface travel needs in the Peoples Republic of China (mainlandChina) have traditionally been met largely by nonpolluting bicycles. A majorautomobile manufacturing/importing effort has begun in the country over thelast decade, and planning documents indicate that the Chinese may strive toacquire more than 100 million vehicles early in the next century. By analogywith large automotive fleets already existing in the western world, bothregional and global scale pollution effects are to be expected from theincrease. The present work adopts the latest projections of Chinese automobilemanufacture and performs some quantitative assessments of the extent ofpollution generation.Focus for the investigation is placed upon the oxidant ozone. Emissions of theprecursor species nitrogen oxides and volatile organics are constructed basedon data for the current automotive sector in the eastern portion of the UnitedStates. Ozone production is first estimated from measured values forcontinental/oceanic scale yields relative to precursor oxidation. Theestimates are then corroborated through idealized two dimensional modeling ofthe photochemistry taking place in springtime air flow off the Asian land massand toward the Pacific Ocean. The projected fleet sizes could increase coastaland remote oceanic ozone concentrations by tens of parts per billion (ppb)in the lower troposphere. Influences on the tropospheric aerosol system andon the major greenhouse gas carbon dioxide are treated peripherally. Nitrogenoxides created during the vehicular internal combustion process willcontribute to nitrate pollution levels measured in the open Pacific. Thepotential for soot and fugitive dust increases should be considered as theautomotive infrastructure develops. Since the emerging Chinese automotivetransportation system will represent a substantial addition to the globalfleet and all the carbon in gasoline is eventually oxidized completely, asignificant rise in global carbon dioxide inputs will ensue as well.Some policy issues are treated preliminary. The assumption is made thatalterations to regional oxidant/aerosol systems and to terrestrial climate areconceivable. The likelihood that the Chinese can achieve the latest vehiclefleet goals is discussed, from the points of view of new production, positivepollution feedbacks from a growing automobile industry, and known petroleumreserves. Vehicular fuel and maintenance options lying before the Chinese areoutlines and compared. To provide some perspective on the magnitude of theenvironmental changes associated with an Asian automotive buildup, recentestimates of the effects of future air traffic over the Pacific Rim aredescribed.     

Chronology of Murrumbidgee River palaeochannels on the Riverine Plain,southeastern Australia

Four major periods of palaeochannel activity have been identified on the Murrumbidgee sector of the Riverine Plain of southeastern Australia. On the basis of stratigraphic information the channels reveal a picture of changing flow conditions during the last full glacial cycle. The ages of the periods were determined from nearly 40 thermoluminescence dates on surficial fluvial and aeolian sediments. These are named the Coleambally phase, which occurred from 105 to 80 ka (the mid- to latter part of Oxygen Isotope Stage 5), the Kerarbury phase from 55 to 35 ka (Stage 3), the Gum Creek phase from 35 to 25 ka (late Stage 3 to early Stage 2) and the Yanco phase from 20 to 13 ka (late Stage 2). The present flow regime was established by about 12 ka (Stage 1). The first two phases correlate with episodes of enhanced fluvial activity in northern and central Australia and with reduced dust activity globally. The phases in Stage 2 appear to be associated with seasonal snow melt and increased peak flows in periods flanking the Last Glacial Maximum. Source-bordering aeolian dunes associated with the Coleambally, Kerarbury and Yanco phases were found, however, the TL dates show that some have undergone aeolian reworking. Thermoluminescence dating and fluvial stratigraphy have revealed a detailed picture of Late Quaternary climate and flow regime changes that has the potential to extend to identified deposits stratigraphically older than those described here.     

Rare Earth Element Evidence for the Petrogenesis of the Banded Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, and its Anorthosites

A rare earth element (REE) study was made by isotope-dilutionmass spectrometry of plagioclase separates from a variety ofcumulates stratigraphically spanning the Banded series of theStillwater Complex, Montana. Evaluation of parent liquid REEpatterns, calculated on the basis of published plagioclase-liquidpartition coefficients, shows that the range of REE ratios istoo large to be attributable to fractionation of a single magmatype. At least two different parental melts were present throughoutthe Banded series. This finding supports hypotheses of previousworkers that the Stillwater Complex formed from two differentparent magma types, designated the anorthositic- or A-type liquidand the ultramafic- or U-type liquid. On the basis of our data,one melt has a REE pattern with a distinctive shallow slopeand is represented by samples from the thick, massive Anorthositezones I and II (AN I and AN II) of the Middle Banded series.Although samples from AN I and AN II are separated by as muchas 1400 m stratigraphically, they have remarkably similar calculatedparent liquid characteristics, with (Ce/Sm)n = 1.7–1.9,(Nd/Sm)n = 1.3–1.4 and (Ce/Yb)n = 2.9–4.6 (wheren denotes chondrite-normalized). These calculated liquids areprobably close to representing A-type magma. In addition, plagioclase-bronzitecumulates from Norite zones I and II (N I and N II), althoughthought to be U-type cumulates, contain plagioclase that hasA-type REE characteristics, implying that A-type magmas wereinjected into the magma chamber during formation of those zones.In contrast, calculated parent liquids of cumulus augite-bearingrocks have REE patterns that display distinctly steeper slopesthan the A-type REE pattern. The extreme is the calculated parentliquid of a plagioclase-bronzite-augite cumulated with (Ce/Sm)n= 2.9, (Nd/Sm)n = 1.7, and (Ce/Yb)n = 10.1. Analysis of published REE and Nd isotopic data for Stillwatercumulates reveals similarities between AN I, AN II, and otherthin plagioclase cumulate layers in the Lower and Upper Bandedseries, which supports the notion that they were all derivedfrom similar (A-type) parent melts. In contrast, plagioclaseseparates from cumulus augite-bearing rocks display light REEand Nd isotopic characteristics that are similar to U-type cumulatesfrom the Ultramafic series as described by previous studies.Thus far, the only cumulates from the Banded series that displayU-type REE and Nd isotopic characteristics are those that containcumulus augite. Therefore, cumulus augite appears to be an importantindicator of magmatic parentage. The REE and Nd isotopic ratios show erratic variation with stratigraphicposition, indicating that the magmas from which the Banded seriescrystallized were injected at various levels into the magmachamber. Different cumulate types crystallized from discreteliquids, as indicated by the correlation between REE signatureand cumulate type. Samples from Olivine-bearing zones III andIV (stratigraphically between AN I and AN II) display a rangein REE ratios; e.g., (Ce/Sm)n = 1.8–2.8 and (Ce/Yb)n =3.9–6.1, results that rule out the crystallization ofthe Middle Banded series from a single magma type. Furthermore,the possibility that AN I and AN II are directly related tothe underlying Ultramafic series, either as flotation cumulatesor as crystallization products of expelled liquids, is not substantiatedby the REE data because the calculated parent magma of AN Iand AN II was different from that of the Ultramafic series asdefined by previous studies. The REE data of this study further constrain interpretationsof published Pb isotopic data (Wooden et al., 1991) and indicatethat the magmas from which the Stillwater Complex formed werederived from two sources that had only small differences inPb isotopic composition. The REE and isotopic data, as wellas crystallization sequences of the two main parental magmas,indicate that the magmas were probably derived from two closelyrelated upper-mantle sources, one harzburgitic and the otherlherzolitic in composition, resulting in the U-type and A-typemagmas, from which orthopyroxene crystallized before and afterclinopyroxene, respectively. Both sources had been enrichedin large-ion lithophile elements, probably owing to mantle metasomatism.     

Oxidation During Magmatic Differentiation, Finnmarka Complex, Oslo Area, Norway: Part 1, The Opaque Oxides

Microprobe analyses of the oxide mineral assemblages from monzonitic,granodioritic, and granitic units of the Finnmarka igneous complex,Oslo area, Norway, disclose a remarkable trend of Mn enrichmentin ilmenite with differentiation. Ilmenite-pyrophanite solidsolutions containing up to 63 mole per cent MnTiO₃ have developedunder apparently unusually oxidizing conditions, a conclusiondeduced in part from the fact that Fe²⁺ is more readily oxidizedthan Mn²⁺ and was thus preferentially extracted. Several differentmineral reactions may have been involved in this process. Geothermometricapplications of oxide Mn contents must be made with caution. Additional mineralogic complexities, e.g. ilmenite lamellaein magnetite, magnetite lamellae in ilmenite, and, in the granite,the breakdown of ilmenite to rutile+hematite, all provide insightinto the conditions of emplacement and cooling history of thecomplex.     

Anastomosing river sedimentation in the Channel Country of central Australia

Anastomosing river plains of the Channel Country, central Australia, have aggraded slowly over the past 100 ka. Channel sediments accumulate mainly as accretionary benches of mud and sand, sandy channel-base sheets and vegetation-shadow deposits. The channels are laterally stable and the sediments have aggraded locally against erosional banks of tough floodplain muds. Channel sediments are profoundly affected by desiccation during dry periods and by bioturbation caused by within-channel trees and burrowing invertebrates, especially crayfish. Excavations show that mud-dominated channel bodies of low width:thickness ratio are generated by a combination of vertical and lateral accretion. Levees and braided surfaces, composed mainly of mud aggregates, border the channels and are activated during valley-wide floods which lay down distal mud sheets. Floodplain muds are converted to vertisols with gilgai, deep desiccation cracks, and impregnations of carbonate and gypsum. A fixed-channel facies model is applicable to the Channel Country river deposits. Anastomosis apparently results from the need for the system to move large volumes of water and moderate sediment loads across low-gradient interior basins.
Channels distant from upland source areas receive an abundant supply of pedogenic, sand-sized mud aggregates generated on adjacent floodplains and reworked into braid bars during valley-wide floods. Some quartz sand is provided from excavation of subsurface Pleistocene sands in deep channels and waterholes and from aeolian dunes on the floodplains. Adjacent gibber plains supply some gravel to the system.