The influence of submarine weathering of basalts on their partial melting during subduction

Compositional changes beyond that of simple hydration are present in most of the analyzed examples of submarine weathering of basalt. Recalculations of 278 analyses from the literature of altered basalts to simplified basalt, amphibolite and eclogite mineral assemblages result in significant increases of the quartz contents of the rock relative to fresh basalt in most examples. The increased quartz contents result in mineral assemblages that have enhanced potentials to generate andesitic partial melts from the basalt or amphibolite forms of most altered basalts and trondhjemitic partial melts from the eclogite form of most altered basalts.     

Terrace stratigraphy in the Tunica Hills of Louisiana

The age and number of important fossil-producing late Pleistocene terraces in the Tunica Hills have recently become quite controversial. One hypothesis holds that only a single loess-mantled Farmdalian terrace flanks the streams in this area. The other maintains that there are two terraces. The youngest is considered essentially Holocene in age while the older is Sangamon in age. Radiometric and stratigraphic evidence collected for this study indicates that there are two terraces. The youngest is late Woodfordian to Holocene in age while the other is Farmdalian.     

Petrogenesis of the mafic feldspathoidal lavas of the Raton-Clayton volcanic field,New Mexico

Major and trace-element whole rock data, Nd and Sr isotopic data, and microprobe data have been collected from a suite of basanites, olivine nephelinites, and olivine melilite nephelinites from the Raton-Clayton volcanic field, New Mexico. Most of the lavas have geochemical characteristics that suggest they are primary upper mantle derived melts. The previously unreported occurrence of Type I and Type II ultramafic xenoliths in some of the lava flows supports this conclusion. All the lavas are strongly enriched in light REE, Sr, Ba, U, Th, and P₂O₅. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are 0.70394 to 0.70412 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios are equal to an epsilon value of +1.4; the data fall within the Nd-Sr correlation field. Trace-element modeling indicates that the lavas were last in equilibrium with a light-REE enriched mantle with a (La/Yb)_N of two to nine. However, the Nd isotopic data indicate a source with a time integrated, chondritic normalized, Sm/Nd ratio of 1.01. To account for this discrepancy a metasomatic enrichment of the source is proposed. The timing of the enrichment event can only be constrained to less than 1 AE ago, and the isotopic composition of the premetasomatized source and the metasomatizing agent cannot be specified. However, geochemical constraints suggest a CO₂-rich fluid enriched in incompatible elements as the likely metasomatizing agent     

Comparison of macrobenthos collected with cores and suction sampler in vegetated and unvegetated marine habitas

A comparison of shallow water benthic macrofauna collected with hand-held cores and a suction sampler shoed that the core method provided the best estimate of macrofaunal density and composition. In a bare sand habitat, suction methods collected 72.8% fewer individuals per unit surface area of sediment. The difference was 32.6% in a seagrass (Halodule wrightii) habitat. At each site the number of species collected with the two devices was similar; however, population densities of numerically important species were underestimated with the suction device resulting in effects on community statistics. In addition to high sampling efficiency and statistical advantages associated with the use of the multiple cores, ease of operation and low construction cost make simple core tubes the preferred gear for sampling small macrobenthos in soft sediments, with or without vegetation.     

Origins of the Geosynclinal Borderland theory

Charles Schuchert developed the geosynclinal concept ofHall andDana into a paleogeographic model of North America which included borderlands on the oceanic side of each geosyncline. These lands were the source of thick clastic sediments which accumulated in the geosynclines. As early as 1841 H. D.Rogers inferred a southeastern source for clastic sediments in the Appalachian Mountains.Hall (1859) proposed that folded mountains form only where sediments have accumulated to great thickness in narrow bands along the margin of continents. Dana named such belts geosynclinals. He advocated a theory of continental growth by accretion of rocks around a primitive nucleus. In 1890 he recognized Archaean protaxes east of the Appalachians, west of the Rocky Mountains, and probably in the Cascade-Sierra Nevada range. C. D. Walcott showed Dana's Archaean highlands on maps which related the thickness of Cambrian deposits to times of submergence. H. S.Williams named the eastern land Appalachia in 1897. Details for other periods were mapped by B. Willis and by A. W. Grabau in 1909, neither of whom showed any western borderland.A series of maps for short time intervals bySchuchert (1910) show numerous positive areas including a large Cascadia west of the Cordilleran trough. Faunal relationships implied that the Appalachain geosyncline was largely isolated from the Atlantic Ocean during the Paleozoic. In 1923Schuchert insisted that geosynclines were part of the continent, not ocean margins nor mediterraneans, and that the sediments implied borderlands that had repeatedly been elevated and eroded.

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Zusammenfassung Charles Schuchert hat den Geosynklinal-Begriff J.Halls und J. D.Danas zu einem paläogeographischen Entwurf Nordamerikas entwickelt, in dem Borderlands (Grenzländer) zwischen Geosynklinale und Tiefsee lagen. Diese Länder waren die Quelle der mächtigen klastischen Sedimentgesteine der Geosynklinale. Schon im Jahre 1841 schloß H. D.Rogers auf eine Sediment-Quelle südöstlich der Appalachen. 1859 vertratHall die Ansicht, daß Faltengebirge sich nur dort bilden, wo mächtige Sedimentablagerungen sich in engen Streifen am Rande des Kontinents angehäuft haben. Dana hat solche Streifen Geosynklinalen genannt. Er unterstützte eine Theorie über Wachstum der Kontinente durch Zunahme von Gesteinen um einen Ur-Kern. Im Jahre 1890 hat er Archaische Protaxes östlich der Appalachen, westlich der Rocky-Mountain-Kette, und vermutlich in den Cascade- und Sierra Nevada-Gebirgen der westlichen Vereinigten Staaten anerkannt.C. D. Walcott hat diese Urgebirge von Dana auf einer Karte dargestellt, die die Mächtigkeit der kambrischen Sediment-Gesteine in Verbindung mit Überschwemmungen gebracht haben. H. S.Williams hat 1897 das östliche Land Appalachia genannt. Paläogeographischen Karten für andere Zeitabschnitte von B.Willis und von A.Grabau in 1909 zeigen östliche, aber keine westlichen Borderlands. Schuchert (1910) hat eine Reihe paläographischer Karten für kleine Abschnitte des Phanerozoischen Zeitalters veröffentlicht, welche zahlreiche hochstehende Gebiete zeigen, ein großes Cascadia westlich der kordillerischen Geosynklinale eingeschlossen. Die faunistischen Verwandtschaften zeigen, daß die Appalachen-Geosynklinalen größtenteils von dem Atlantischen Meer des Paläozoischen Zeitalters isoliert war. Im Jahre 1923 betontSchuchert, daß die Geosynklinalen Teile des Kontinents sind, weder Ränder der Meere, noch mittelländische Meere. Die Sediment-Ablagerungen der Geosynklinalen deuten auf Borderlands, die wiederholt gehoben und erodiert wurden.

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Résumé Charles Schuchert a développé la notion de géosynclinal, idée conçue par J.Hall et J. D.Dana, dans un modèle paléogéographique de l'Amérique du Nord incluant des »borderlands«sur le bord océanique de chaque géosynclinal. Ces régions ont été les sources de sédiments élastiques épais qui s'accumulèrent dans les géosynclinaux. Déjà en 1841 H. D.Rogers avait déduit la provenance sud-est des depôts clastiques des Appalaches.Hall (1859) a proposé que les montagnes plissées se forment seulement où une grande epaisseur de sédiments s'est accumulée en une bande étroite le long du bord continental. Dana a appelé ces bandes »géosynclinal«. Il a soutenu une théorie de l'accroissement des continents par l'addition de roches autour d'un noyau ancien, En 1890 il reconnaît la présence de protoaxes archéens à l'est des Appalaches, à l'ouest des Montagnes Rocheuses, et, probablement, dans la Sierra Nevada et les Cascades. C. D.Walcott a figuré ces hauts plateaux archéens sur des cartes qui rapportent l'épaisseur des dépots cambriens aux époques de la submersion. H. S.Williams a dénommé »Appalaches« le borderland oriental en 1897. D'autres cartes paléogéographiques par B.Willis et par A.Grabau (1909) ont été dressées sans qu'un borderland occidental y soit montré.Une série de cartes parSchuchert (1910), pour de courtes périodes, montre de nombreuses terres soulevées, y compris une grande Cascadia à l'ouest du géosynclinal de la Cordillère. Les relations fauniques indiquent que le géosynclinal appalachien fut largement isolé de l'Atlantique pendant le Paléozoique. En 1923Schuchert a maintenu que les géosynclinaux faisaient partie des continents, et n'étaient ni en bordure des océans, ni des mers méditerranéennes. Leurs sédiments indiquent des borderlands soulevés et érodés à pluseurs reprises.

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J. Hall'a J. Dana, Charles Schuchert , (Borderlands) . . 1841 . 1859 Hall , , . . . 1890 , ( ) , , Cascade Sierra Nevada .. D. Walcott , . H. S. Williams . (Willis, Grabau, 1909). Schuchert (1910) , , Cascadia . , . 1923 Schuchert , , , . , .

     

Thermal evolution of the Northern Cordillera Volcanic Province: implication for heat flow in remnant back-arc regions

ABSTRACT

Active and remnant back-arc regions do not follow a typical conductive lithosphere cooling model, but instead have an apparent two-stage cooling, defined by a high heat flow back-arc region during subduction and a second post-subduction heating event that extends elevated heat flow for several 10s million years. Numerical one-stage cooling models have not reproduced observed heat flow anomalies in active subduction zones using physically realistic parameters and require a secondary post-subduction heating mechanism. Here, an extension driven-volcanism model is developed to examine extension driven heating and volcanism as a mechanism to produce a prolonged thermal anomaly within back-arc lithosphere. This model is tested using the recorded thermal evolution of the Northern Cordillera Volcanic Province (NCVP), a Neogene-Quaternary alkaline volcanic province located in the remnant back-arc region of the Pacific-North American subduction zone in British Columbia, Canada. A single steady-state lithosphere geotherm does not intersect all previously published temperature estimates, suggesting previous data record the thermal evolution of the NCVP. Calculated geotherms at equilibrium with the minimum and maximum MELTS temperatures predict an increase in reduced mantle heat flow (Q_m ) from 43 to 72 mW/m² and lithosphere thinning from a depth of 87 to 48 km. The newly developed extension-volcanism model reproduced the calculated pre- and post-volcanism thermal regimes for the NCVP and supports that extension within the remnant back-arc could produce the present heat flow anomaly and volcanism. The model most readily produces volcanism when Q_m is ~45–65 mW/m², a typical range for back-arcs. Back-arc regions are prime locations for limited volcanism because their warmer thermal regime minimizes tectonic stress requirements to produce volcanism. Additionally, two-stage cooling of back-arcs can be explained with a time-dependent extension-volcanism thermal feedback mechanism that is possible because of the subduction driven pre-heating of back-arc regions.     

Crustal structure of the Ribeira fold belt, SE Brazil, derived from receiver functions

Crustal thicknesses previously estimated by [J. Geophys. Res. 107 (2002) 2] in SE Brazil varied from 47 km in the middle of the Paraná basin to approximately 35 km in the Ribeira fold belt. We study the crustal structure of the Ribeira belt in more detail by identifying the Ps Moho converted phase and its multiple reflection PpPms, as well as using waveform modeling of receiver functions. We use phase-weighted slant stacking to identify the Ps and PpPms arrival times, which provides the v_P/v_S beneath each station. In inverting the receiver functions, we use average crustal velocities and initial models obtained from a deep seismic refraction line, as well as data from a timed quarry blast. The crustal thickness ranges 34–42 km with a thinning trend toward the coast. Crustal thickness correlates with elevation, indicating approximate regional Airy isostasy. Along the Serra do Mar coastal range, the average crustal Poisson ratio is about 0.25. The southern part of the Mantiqueira range has a higher Poisson ratio of 0.28. Stations near the São Francisco craton have a lower Poisson ratio of 0.23.     

GPS RTK positioning via Internet-based 3G CDMA2000/1X wireless technology

The latest evolution in digital wireless technology, third-generation (3G) Code Division Multiple Access/Single Carrier (CDMA2000/1X) wireless network, is applicable for transmitting real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS correction messages. Fast and reliable, publicly available wireless networks, combined with highly accessible Internet connectivity, allows the multicasting of messages to mobile users, who are no longer restricted to traditional private UHF wireless networks. Nationwide public wireless network systems continue to expand and can provide an inexpensive infrastructure for the emerging multi-reference network system. Transmission performance via the Internet-based CDMA2000/1X outperforms UHF technology in transmission throughput and latency, as well as in the RTK initialization time and positional accuracy.