The exsolution of magmatic hydrosaline chloride liquids

Hydrosaline liquid represents the most Cl-enriched volatile phase that occurs in magmas, and the exsolution of this phase has important consequences for processes of hydrothermal mineralization and for volcanic emission of Cl to the atmosphere. To understand the exsolution of hydrosaline liquids in felsic to mafic magmas, the volatile abundances and (Cl/H₂O) ratios of more than 1000 silicate melt inclusions (MI) have been compared with predicted and experimentally determined solubilities of Cl and H₂O and associated (Cl/H₂O) ratios of silicate melts that were saturated in hydrosaline chloride liquid with or without aqueous vapor in hydrothermal experiments. This approach identifies the minimum volatile contents and the values of (Cl/H₂O) at which a hydrosaline chloride liquid exsolves from any CO₂- or SO₂-poor silicate melt. Chlorine solubility is a strong function of melt composition, so it follows that Cl solubility in magmas varies with melt evolution. Computations show that the (Cl/H₂O) ratio of residual melt in evolving silicate magmas either remains constant or increases to a small extent with fractional crystallization. Consequently, the initial (Cl/H₂O) in melt that is established early during partial melting has important consequences for the exsolution of vapor, vapor plus hydrosaline liquid, or hydrosaline liquid later during the final stages of melt ascent, emplacement, and crystallization or eruption. It is demonstrated that the melt (Cl/H₂O) controls the type of volatile phase that exsolves, whereas the volatile abundances in melt control the relative timing of volatile phase exsolution (i.e., the time of earliest volatile exsolution relative to the rate of magma ascent and crystallization history).

Comparing melt inclusion compositions with experimentally determined (Cl/H₂O) ratios and corresponding volatile solubilities of hydrosaline liquid-saturated silicate melts suggests that some fractions of the eruptive, calc-alkaline dacitic magmas of the Bonnin and Izu arcs should have saturated in and exsolved hydrosaline liquid at pressures of 2000 bars. Application of these same melt inclusion data to the predicted volatile solubilities of Cu-, Au-, and Mo-mineralized, calc-alkaline porphyritic magmas suggests that the chemical evolution of dioritic magmas to more-evolved quartz monzonite compositions involves a dramatic reduction in Cl solubility that increases the probability of hydrosaline liquid exsolution. The prediction that quartz monzonite magmas should exsolve a hydrosaline chloride liquid, that is potentially mineralizing, is consistent with the general observation of metal-enriched, hypersaline fluid inclusions in the more felsic plutons of numerous porphyry copper systems. Moreover, comparing the volatile contents of melt inclusions from the potassic, alkaline magmas of Mt. Somma-Vesuvius with the predicted (Cl/H₂O) ratios of hydrosaline liquid-saturated melts having compositions similar to those of the volatile-rich, alkaline magmas associated with the orthomagmatic gold–tellurium deposits of Cripple Creek, Colorado, suggests that hydrosaline chloride liquid should have exsolved at Cripple Creek as the magmas evolved to phonolite compositions. This prediction is consistent with the well-documented role of Cl-enriched, mineralizing hydrothermal fluids at this major gold-mining district.     

Holocene carbon storage and testate amoeba community structure in treed peatlands of the western Hudson Bay Lowlands margin,Canada

The Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) stores a significant proportion of the northern peatland carbon pool, and constraints on the factors controlling local-scale variation are needed to better predict soil carbon stocks. We investigated two treed peatland sites, a fen and a bog, to understand how local ecohydrological factors impacted long-term carbon storage. Ecohydrological conditions were reconstructed using quantitative water table depth reconstructions from testate amoebae (TA) and broad peat type classifications. We also linked these factors and carbon storage to changes in TA community structure through the investigation of morphological and functional traits. Both sites have high rates of peat vertical accretion during the warmer Middle Holocene. A shift to a drier, Sphagnum-dominated habitat after 7400 cal a bp at the bog site, however, led to lower apparent carbon accumulation rates (aCARs) than at the fen site. aCARs decreased with the transition to a cooler Late Holocene climate at both sites. Both sites have higher total carbon masses (kg m⁻²) than other more open and younger HBL localities, demonstrating the potential importance of treed peatlands in regional carbon storage. Shifts in the frequency of TA traits corresponded to changing ecohydrological conditions and provided insights into the role of TA in carbon storage.     

A late Ordovician (Hirnantian) karstic surface in a submarine channel,recording glacio‐eustatic sea‐level changes: Meifod,central Wales

The growth and decay of the end‐Ordovician Gondwanan glaciation is globally reflected by facies changes in sedimentary sequences, which record a major eustatic fall and subsequent rise in the Hirnantian Stage at the end of the Ordovician. However, there are different reported estimates of the magnitude and pattern of sea‐level change. Particularly good evidence for end‐Ordovician sea‐level change comes from a sequence at Meifod in central Wales, which has a karstified limestone unit within a channel incised into marine shelf sediments. Pre‐glacial (Rawtheyan) mudstones have a diverse fauna suggesting a mid‐to‐deep‐shelf water depth of c. 60 m. The channel, 20 m deep, was incised into these mudstones and partially filled with a mixture of fine sand and detrital carbonate. The taphonomy of bioclasts and intraclasts indicates that many had a long residence time on the sea floor or suffered diagenesis after shallow burial before being resedimented into the channel. The presence of carbonates on the Welsh shelf is atypical and they are interpreted as having accumulated as patches during a minor regression prior to the main glacio‐eustatic fall. Comparison of the carbon stable‐isotopic values of the bioclast material with the global isotopic record confirms that most of the material is of Rawtheyan age, but that some is Hirnantian. The resedimented carbonates lithified rapidly and formed a limestone, several metres thick, in the deepest parts of the channel. As sea‐level fell, this limestone was exposed and eroded into karstic domes and pillars with a relief of over 2 m. The overall, glacio‐eustatic, sea‐level fall is estimated to be in excess of 80 m. A succeeding sea‐level rise estimated to be 40–50 m is recorded in the laminated crust that mantles the karstic domes and pillars. The crust is formed of encrusting bryozoans, associated cystoids, crinoid holdfasts and clusters of the brachiopod Paromalomena, which is normally associated with mid‐shelf environments. Fine sands buried the karst topography and accumulated to fill the channel. In the sandstones at the base of the channel there is a Hirnantia fauna, while in the sandstones high in the channel‐sequence there is cross‐stratification characteristic of mid‐shoreface environments. This would indicate a fall of sea‐level of c. 30 m. The subsequent major transgression marking the end of the glaciation is not recorded at the Meifod locality, but nearby exposures of mudstones suggest a return to mid‐to‐deep‐shelf environments, similar to those that prevailed before the Hirnantian regression. The Meifod sequence provides strong evidence for the magnitude of the Hirnantian sea‐level changes and by implication confirm larger estimates for the size of the ice sheets. Smaller oscillations in relative sea‐level seen at Meifod may be local phenomena or may reflect eustatic changes that have not been widely reported elsewhere. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.