Non-ideal interactions in calcic amphiboles and their bearing on amphibole-plagioclase thermometry

Amphibole thermodynamics are approximated with the symmetric formalism (regular solution model for within-site non-ideality and a reciprocal solution model for cross-site-terms) in order to formulate improved thermometers for amphibole-plagioclase assemblages. This approximation provides a convenient framework with which to account for composition-dependence of the ideal (mixing-on-sites) equilibrium constants for the equilibria:

1. edenite+4quartz=tremolite+albite
2. edenite+albite=richterite+anorthite

For A and B all possible within-site and cross-site interactions among the species □?K?Na?Ca?Mg?Fe²⁺?Fe³⁺?Al?Si on the A, M4, M1, M3, M2 and T1 amphibole crystallographic sites were examined. Of the 36 possible interaction energy terms, application of the symmetric formalism results in a dramatic simplification to eight independent parameters. Plagioclase nonideality is modelled using Darken's quadratic formalism. We have supplemented an experimental data set of 92 amphibole-plagioclase pairs with 215 natural pairs from igneous and metamorphic rocks in which the pressure and temperature of equilibration are well constrained. Regression of the combined dataset yields values for the eight interaction parameters as well as for apparent enthalpy, entropy and volume changes for each reaction. These parameters are used to formulate two new thermometers, which perform well (±40°C) in the range 400–1000°C and 1–15 kbar over a broad range of bulk compositions, including tschermakitic amphiboles from garnet amphibolites which caused problems for the simple thermometer of Blundy and Holland (1990). For silica-saturated rocks both thermometers may be applied: in silica-undersaturated rocks or magmas thermometer B alone can be applied. An improved procedure for estimation of ferric iron in calcic amphiboles is presented in the appendix.     

Small-angle X-ray scattering measurement of the internal microstructure of natural zircon crystals

Zircon crystals change their physical properties significantly over time in response to the radiation damage (metamictization) induced in the lattice by the presence of radionuclides U and Th. Crystalline zircon has extremely low diffusion rates of the radiogenic daughter product, Pb. Lead diffusion is enhanced in metamict volumes, but the observed lack of correlation between Pb loss and metamictization in natural zircons requires that other mechanisms control the incidence of Pb migration. The proposition that self-induced stress and elasticity contrasts in zoned natural crystals create fast-track Pb migration pathways, in response to time-integrated radiation damage, requires a means of detecting the microstructures within zircons at the interatomic scale at which Pb migration takes place. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) is introduced as a means of detecting candidate microstructures including subgrain boundaries, defect networks and microfractures produced by differential metamictization. It is shown that a classical X-ray source yields measurable SAXS response from contrasting metamict and crystalline domains within a crystal, and these properties are quantified for a metamict zircon megacryst. Detection of the weaker SAXS response expected from microfractures and networked defects requires the more intense X-rays of synchrotron-source radiation.     

The zoned Kleivan granite — an end member of the anorthosite suite in southwest Norway

The intrusive Kleivan granite, Farsund area, SW Norway, shows a gradual unilateral zonation from charnockite through hornblende granite to biotite granite. Strong geochemical fractionation includes K/Rb variation from 478 to 121 and Rb/Sr from 0.13 to 26.4, and points towards a petrogenetic relationship with anorthosite suite rocks not apparent in the more homogeneous charnockites of the area. Close geochemical and petrographic similarity between the charnockitic part of the Kleivan granite and the Farsund charnockite suggest derivation of both plutons from a common source. Quantitative trace element modelling, based on crystal fractions derived from petrographic mixing calculations relating four main rock types, suggests that the Kleivan granite zonation may result from a fractional crystallization process, involving noritic and mangeritic cumulate-kindreds. The results therefore indicate strongly that simple relationships exist between charnockite and anorthosite rock-kindreds. A partial fusion model for the Farsund charnockite is favoured, since this explains the development of an anomalous Sr-87/Sr-86 ratio (0.7128 compared with 0.7053 for the Kleivan granite) and higher Rb/Sr ratios, other trace elements being similar for the two related charnockites. The recognition of substantial amounts of acid end members to the anorthosite suite of the Rogaland province supports an origin in common with andesine-type anorthosites for this igneous province.     

Scale-invariance of soil moisture variability and its implications for the frequency-size distribution of landslides

Power spectral analyses of soil moisture variability are carried out from scales of 100 m to 10 km on the microwave remotely-sensed data from the Washita experimental watershed during 1992. The power spectrum S(k) has an approximate power-law dependence on wave number k with the exponent −1.8. This behavior is consistent with the behavior of a stochastic differential equation for soil moisture at a point, and it has important consequences for the frequency-size distribution of landslides. We present the cumulative frequency-size distributions of landslides induced by precipitation in Japan and Bolivia as well as landslides triggered by the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake. Large landslides in these regions, despite being triggered by different mechanisms, have a cumulative frequency-size distribution with a power-law dependence on area with an exponent ranging from −1.5 to −2. We use a soil moisture field with the above statistics in conjunction with a slope stability analysis to model the frequency-size distribution of landslides. In our model, landslides occur when a threshold shear stress dependent on cohesion, pore pressure, internal friction and slope angle is exceeded. This implies a threshold dependence on soil moisture and slope angle since cohesion, pore pressure and internal friction are primarily dependent on soil moisture. The cumulative frequency-size distribution of domains of shear stress greater than a threshold value with soil moisture modeled as above and topography modeled as a Brownian walk is a power-law function of area with an exponent of −1.8 for large landslide areas. This distribution is similar to that observed for landslides. The effect of strong ground motion from earthquakes lowers the shear stress necessary for failure, but does not change the frequency-size distribution of failed areas. This is consistent with observations. This work suggests that remote sensing of soil moisture can be of great importance in monitoring landslide hazards and proposes a specific quantitative model for landslide hazard assessment.     

An integrated zircon geochronological and geochemical investigation into the Miocene plutonic evolution of the Cyclades, Aegean Sea, Greece: part 2—geochemistry

Zircons from 14 compositionally variable granitic rocks were examined in detail using CL image-guided micro-analysis to unravel the complex magmatic history above the southward retreating Hellenic subduction zone system in the Aegean Sea. Previously published U–Pb ages document an episodic crystallisation history from 17 to 11?Ma, with peraluminous (S-type) granitic rocks systematically older than closely associated metaluminous (I-type) granitic rocks. Zircon O- and Hf isotopic data, combined with trace element compositions, are highly variable within and between individual samples, indicative of open-system behaviour involving mantle-derived melts and evolved supracrustal sources. Pronounced compositional and thermal fluctuations highlight the role of magma mixing and mingling, in accord with field observations, and incremental emplacement of distinct melt batches coupled with variable degrees of crustal assimilation. In the course of partial fusion, more fertile supracrustal sources dominated in the earlier stages of Aegean Miocene magmatism, consistent with systematically older crystallisation ages of peraluminous granitic rocks. Differences between zircon saturation and crystallisation temperatures (deduced from zircon Ti concentrations), along with multimodal crystallisation age spectra for individual plutons, highlight the complex and highly variable physico-compositional and thermal evolution of silicic magma systems. The transfer of heat and juvenile melts from the mantle varied probably in response to episodic rollback of the subducting lithospheric slab, as suggested by punctuated crystallisation age spectra within and among individual granitic plutons.     

Holocene lake salinity changes in the Wimmera,southeastern Australia,provide evidence for millennial-scale climate variability

Palaeosalinity records for groundwater-influenced lakes in the southwest Murray Basin were constructed from an ostracod-based, weighted-averaging transfer function, supplemented with evidence from Campylodiscus clypeus (diatom), charophyte oogonia, Coxiella striata (gastropod), Elphidium sp. (foraminifera), Daphniopsis sp. ephippia (Cladocera), and brine shrimp (Parartemia zietziana) faecal pellets, the δ¹⁸O of ostracods, and > 130 μm quartz sand counts. The chronology is based on optically stimulated luminescence and calibrated radiocarbon ages. Relatively wet conditions are marked by lower salinities between 9600 yr and 5700 yr ago, but mutually exclusive high- and low-salinity ostracod communities suggest substantial variability in effective precipitation in the early Holocene. A drier climate was firmly in place by 4500 yr and is marked at the groundwater-dominated NW Jacka Lake by an increase in aeolian quartz and, at Jacka Lake, by a switch from surface-water to groundwater dominance. Short-lived, low-salinity events at 8800, 7200, 5900, 4800, 2400, 1300 and 400 yr are similar in timing and number to those recorded on Australia's southern continental shelf, and globally, and provide evidence for the existence of the ~ 1500-yr cycle in mainland southern Australia. We surmise that these are cool events associated with periodic equatorward shifts in the westerly wind circulation.     

TEMPORAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PENNSYLVANIA SNOWFALL, 1950–1951 THROUGH 1989–1990

While speculation exists on global and regional climate change for temperature and precipitation, relatively little research is available on snowfall and its changes. Twenty-six sites were selected to describe and analyze various characteristics of snowfall in Pennsylvania from 1950–1951 through 1989–1990. Overall, the state experienced a significant stepwise change in seasonal snowfall total during this period. Abnormally high seasonal totals prevailed from 1957–1958 through 1971–1972. This rise in snowfall was accompanied by colder-than-normal temperatures and a dramatic increase in large daily snow events. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that the seasonal temporal patterns were not uniform across the state. The PCA revealed four distinct seasonal regions. These regions exhibited everything from nearly linear increases and decreases over time to cyclical formations. PCA performed on the months of November through April each unveiled between three and five separate temporal regions. PCA analyses generally identified an eastern region, a north-central region, and a western region across Pennsylvania. [Key words: regionalization, principal components, variability, snowfall, climate change, Pennsylvania.]     

Radar observations and a physical model of contact binary Asteroid 4486 Mithra

Arecibo (2380 MHz, 12.6 cm) and Goldstone (8560 MHz, 3.5 cm) delay-Doppler radar images obtained in July and August of 2000 reveal that 4486 Mithra is an irregular, significantly bifurcated object, with a central valley ∼380 m deep and a long axis potentially exceeding 2 km. With its bimodal appearance, Mithra is a strong candidate for a contact binary asteroid. Sequences of Goldstone images spanning up to 3 h per day show very little rotation and establish that Mithra is an unusually slow rotator. We used Goldstone and Arecibo data to estimate Mithra’s 3D shape and spin state. We obtain prograde (λ = 337°, β = 19°) and retrograde (λ = 154°, β = −19°) models that give comparable fits, have very similar shapes roughly resembling an hourglass, and have a rotation period of 67.5 ± 6.0 h. The dimensions of these two models are very similar; for the prograde solution the maximum dimensions are X = 2.35 ± 0.15 km, Y = 1.65 ± 0.10 km, Z = 1.44 ± 0.10 km. Dynamical analysis of our models suggests that in the past, Mithra most likely went through a period of even slower rotation with its obliquity close to 90°. The spin rate is predicted to be increasing due to thermal torque (YORP), while the obliquity, which is currently +68° and +106° for the prograde and retrograde models, respectively, is predicted to move away from 90°.