Cation ordering of orthopyroxenes from the Skaergaard Intrusion: implications for the subsolidus cooling rates and permeabilities

 We have determined the quenched cation ordering states of five orthopyroxene crystals collected from the marginal border group and the lower zone a and b of the Skaergaard intrusion, and modeled these data to retrieve their closure temperatures (T _c) of Fe–Mg ordering and cooling rates. According to existing thermal models for the Skaergaard pluton, conductive cooling dominated the high and low temperature regimes, which were separated by an intermediate temperature regime in which the cooling was controlled primarily by convective fluid circulation. The cooling rates retrieved from the quenched cation ordering states of the orthopyroxene crystals strictly apply to temperatures around the closure temperatures of the ordering states, ∼340–400^° C, which fall at the transition from convective to the lower temperature conductive cooling. The cooling rates obtained from the cation ordering states of orthopyroxene vary from ∼1 to 270 K/ka. These results agree well with a thermal model calculated using an assumed average permeability of 10^-12 cm² for the pluton, but not completely with a model calculated on the basis of an average permeability of 10^-13 cm², although both values produced shifts of δ¹⁸O that are comparable to those observed in the pluton. Received: 27 February 1995/Accepted: 20 July 1995     

Late Cretaceous rift-related upwelling and melting of the Trindade starting mantle plume head beneath western Brazil

High mantle potential temperatures and local extension, associated with the Late-Cretaceous impact of the Trindade mantle plume, produced substantial widespread and voluminous magmatism around the northern half of the Paraná sedimentary basin. Our previous studies have shown that, above the central and eastern portions of the postulated impact zone where lithosphere extension is minimal, heat conducted by the plume caused large-scale melting of the more fusible parts of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the margin of the São Francisco craton and the surrounding Brasilía mobile belt. Here we combine geochemical data and field evidence from the Poxoreu Igneous Province, western Brazil to show how more intense lithospheric extension above the western margin of the postulated impact zone permitted greater upwelling and melting of the Trindade plume than further east. Laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations indicate that rift-related basaltic magmas of the Poxoreu Igneous Province were emplaced at ? 84 Ma. Our detailed geochemical study of the mafic magmas shows that the parental melts underwent polybaric crystal fractionation within the crust prior to final emplacement. Furthermore, some magmas (quartz-normative) appear to have assimilated upper crust whereas others (nepheline- and hypersthene-normative) appear to have been unaffected by open-system crustal magma chamber processes. Incompatible trace element ratios (e.g. chondrite-normalised La/Nb?=?1) and isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.704 and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd?=?0.51274) of the Hy-normative basalts resemble those of oceanic islands (OIB). We therefore propose that these “OIB-like” magmas were predominantly derived from convecting-mantle-source melts (i.e. Trindade mantle plume). Inverse modelling of rare-earth element (REE) abundances suggests that the initial melts were predominantly generated within the depth range of ?80–100 km, in mantle with a potential temperature of ?1500 °C.     

Velocity field in the spiral-wave pattern observed in rotating shallow-water experiments

The paper presents the first quantitative results of a laboratory study of the velocity field in a two-arm spiral-wave pattern generated in a steady-state fashion by a hydrodynamical instability in a differentially rotating, thin layer of liquid. The liquid layer has a free surface, and the rotational profile includes an interval where the velocity drops abruptly, as in the gaseous disks of spiral galaxies. The properties of anticyclonic vortices observed between the arms of this pattern at the corotation radius are considered.     

Rainfall thresholds for landsliding in the Himalayas of Nepal

Landsliding of the hillslope regolith is an important source of sediment to the fluvial network in the unglaciated portions of the Himalayas of Nepal. These landslides can produce abrupt increases of up to three orders of magnitude in the fluvial sediment load in less than a day. An analysis of 3 years of daily sediment load and daily rainfall data defines a relationship between monsoonal rainfall and the triggering of landslides in the Annapurna region of Nepal. Two distinct rainfall thresholds, a seasonal accumulation and a daily total, must be overcome before landslides are initiated. To explore the geomorphological controls on these thresholds, we develop a slope stability model, driven by daily rainfall data, which accounts for changes in regolith moisture. The pattern of rainfall thresholds predicted by the model is similar to the field data, including the decrease in the daily rainfall threshold as the seasonal rainfall accumulation increases. Results from the model suggest that, for a given hillslope, regolith thickness determines the seasonal rainfall necessary for failure, whereas slope angle controls the daily rainfall required for failure.     

Apparent and real bias in numerical transfer functions in palaeolimnology

We present an evaluation of the procedure by which model prediction bias is examined in palaeolimnological transfer function inference models. We argue that most of the prediction biases commonly reported in the literature are, in fact, fallacious, and are the artificial consequence of the inappropriate manner in which residuals are traditionally examined. We show that the extent of the specious model bias is entirely predictable from first principles and is essentially determined by the strength of the predictive model. We suggest that the analysis of residuals should always be examined as a function of the model's predictions and we discuss the implications of the old and new approaches.