Carbonatites from Eastern Paraguay and genetic relationships with potassic magmatism: C, O, Sr and Nd Isotopes

Summary Geochemical characteristics were systematically determined for Early Cretaceous samples of carbonatitic rocks from Eastern Paraguay (Rio Apa, Amambay and Central Provinces). The data show that all the occurrences have an enriched isotopic signature and that the carbonatites have negligible or absent crustal signature. A petrogenetic model (parent liquids, fractional crystallization, hydrothermal interactions and weathering) is proposed as a function of incompatible trace element, stable (O-C) and radiogenic (Sr-Nd) isotope variations with the aim to test the significance of carbonatitic complexes as a marker of the metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The results indicate that the carbonatites and primary carbonates from eastern Paraguay, and those from the north eastern Paraná Basin (SE Brazil), were affected by metasomatic events distinct in time and composition.

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Karbonatite aus Ost-Paraguay und ihre genetische Beziehung zu Kalium-Magmatismus: C O, Sr und Nd isotope

Zusammenfassung Die geochemischen Charakteristika von frühkretazischen Karbonatitproben aus Ostparaguay (Rio Alpa, Amambay und Zentrale Provinzen) wurden untersucht. Die Daten belegen, daß alle Vorkommen eine isotopische Anreicherungssignatur zeigen und daß ihnen eine entsprechende Krustensignatur fehlt. Ein Petrologisches Modell (Ausgangsschmelze, fraktionierte Kristallisation, hydrothermale Interaktion und Verwitterung) wird auf Grund der Verteilung der inkompatiblen Spurenelemente, der stabilen (C-O) und radiogenen (Sr-Nd) Isotope vorgeschlagen. Es versucht die Bedeutung der Karbonatitkomplexe als Markerhorizonte des metasomatischen subkontinentalen Mantels zu überprüfen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, daß die Karbonatite und die primären Karbonate in Ostparaguay, und jene aus dem Paraná Becken SüdostBrasiliens durch zeitlich und zusammensetzungsmäßig unterschiedliche metasomatische Prozesse erfaßt wurden.

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With 10 Figures     

A Step Towards Evaluation of the Seismic Response Reduction Factor in Multistorey Reinforced Concrete Frames

A seismic nonlinear time-history analysis was made for four-, six-, and eight-storey reinforced concrete buildings. These buildings were made as three-dimensional space frame structures with shear walls in both orthogonal directions. They have five bays with 4.8 m spacing each in the horizontal direction, and three bays with 4.2 m spacing each in the transversal direction. The frames were designed according to the Jordanian Seismic Code of practice for Seismic Zones 4, 3, 2, and 1 as proposed for Jordan by several authors. Time-history analysis was made using the El Centro (N-S) earthquake record of May 1940 as an actual earthquake excitation. The response reduction factor (R) that primarily consists of two factors that are the ductility reduction (Rµ) and the overstrength (), is obtained. It has been seen that the seismic zoning has a slight effect on the ductility reduction factor for different buildings, since it ranges from Zone 4 to Zone 1 as 2.37 to 2.52, 1.72 to 1.78, and 1.14 to 1.18 for four-, six-, and eight-storey buildings, respectively. Moreover, it is observed that, for different buildings and different seismic zones, the ductility reduction factor (Rµ) is slightly different from the system ductility factor (µ) especially for higher values of µ (i.e., Rµ µ). The response reduction factor, called overstrength (), was evaluated. The overstrength factor was found to vary with seismic zones (Z) , number of stories, and design gravity loads. However, the dependency on seismic zones was the strongest. The average overstrength of these buildings in Zones 4 and 1 was 2.61 and 6.94, respectively. The overstrength increased as the number of storeys decreased: overstrength of a four-storey building was higher than an eight-storey building by 36% in Zone 4, and 39% in Zone 1. Furthermore, buildings of the three heights had an average overstrength 165.9% higher in Zone 1 than in Zone 4. These observations have a significant implications for the seismic design codes which currently do not take into account the variation of the response reduction factor, R (i.e., ductility reduction factor times overstrength).     

Cycle anatomy and variability in the storm-dominated type cincinnatian (Upper Ordovician): coming to grips with cycle delineation and genesis

Although parasequence and sequence are scale-independent terms, they are frequently applied only to specific scales of cycles. For example, meter-scale cycles are commonly assumed to be parasequences or PACs. In the Upper Ordovician Kope and Fairview Formations of northern Kentucky, we examined a succession of 50 meter-scale cycles that have been variously interpreted as deepening-upward, shallowing-upward, or showing no relationship with water depth. Our analysis shows that these cycles, characterized by shifts in storm-bed proximality, are highly variable in their thickness and internal construction. Most cycles are best considered high-frequency sequences, because deepening-upward intervals are common, and many cycles contain evidence of abrupt basinward shifts in facies as expected at sequence boundaries. A minority fit the parasequence model of shallowing-upward cycles bounded by flooding surfaces. Larger, 20 m scale cycles are defined by systematic thickening and thinning trends of meter-scale cycles. However, meter-scale cycles do not display any systematic trends in cycle anatomy as a function of position within the 20 m cycles or position within the Kope and Fairview Formations. The high cycle variability and the lack of systematic stratigraphic organization with respect to longer-term cyclicity reflect either the irregularity of relative sea-level changes, the poor recording of sea-level changes in this deep-water setting, or the generation of these cycles by climate-induced cyclicity in storm intensity. These three mechanisms would generate similar patterns at the outcrop scale, so it is not possible at the present to distinguish between them.     

Compressibility and crystal structure of sillimanite, Al2SiO5, at high pressure

The unit-cell dimensions and crystal structure of sillimanite at various pressures up to 5.29 GPa have been refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. As pressure increases, a and b decrease linearly, whereas c decreases nonlinearly with a slightly positive curvature. The axial compression ratios at room pressure are β_a:β_b:β_c=1.22:1.63:1.00. Sillimanite exhibits the least compressibility along c, but the least thermal expansivity along a (Skinner et al. 1961; Winter and Ghose 1979). The bulk modulus of sillimanite is 171(1) GPa with K′=4 (3), larger than that of andalusite (151 GPa), but smaller than that of kyanite (193 GPa). The bulk moduli of the [Al1O₆], [Al2O₄], and [SiO₄] polyhedra are 162(8), 269(33), and 367(89) GPa, respectively. Comparison of high-pressure data for Al₂SiO₅ polymorphs reveals that the [SiO₄] tetrahedra are the most rigid units in all these polymorphic structures, whereas the [AlO₆] octahedra are most compressible. Furthermore, [AlO₆] octahedral compressibilities decrease from kyanite to sillimanite, to andalusite, the same order as their bulk moduli, suggesting that [AlO₆] octahedra control the compression of the Al₂SiO₅ polymorphs. The compression of the [Al1O₆] octahedron in sillimanite is anisotropic with the longest Al1-OD bond shortening by ～1.9% between room pressure and 5.29 GPa and the shortest Al1-OB bond by only 0.3%. The compression anisotropy of sillimanite is primarily a consequence of its topological anisotropy, coupled with the compression anisotropy of the Al-O bonds within the [Al1O₆] octahedron.     

Evidence of ancient life at 207 m depth in a granitic aquifer

The results of electron-microscopy investigations of calcite precipitated in a water-conducting fracture in a ca. 1800 Ma granitic rock from 207 m below sea level at the island of Aspo on the southeastern (Baltic) coast of Sweden are compared with measurements of carbon, oxygen, and sulfur isotope composition of the calcite and embedded pyrite. Parts of the calcite had extremely low delta 13C values, indicative of biological activity, and contained bacteria-like microfossils occurring in colonies and as typical biofllms. X-ray microanalysis demonstrated these fossils to be enriched in carbon. Our results provide evidence for ancient life in deep granitic rock aquifers and suggest that the modern microbial life found there is intrinsic. Modeling historical and present geochemical processes in deep granitic aquifers should, therefore, preferably include biologically catalyzed reactions. The results also suggest that the search for life on other planets, e.g., Mars, should include subsurface material.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Antarctic Martian meteorites, carbonaceous chondrites, and polar ice

Recent analyses of the carbonate globules present in the Martian meteorite ALH84001 have detected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the ppm level (McKay et al., 1996). The distribution of PAHs observed in ALH84001 was interpreted as being inconsistent with a terrestrial origin and were claimed to be indigenous to the meteorite, perhaps derived from an ancient martian biota. We have examined PAHs in the Antarctic shergottite EETA79001, which is also considered to be from Mars, as well as several Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites. We have found that many of the same PAHs detected in the ALH84001 carbonate globules are present in Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites and in both the matrix and carbonate (druse) component of EETA79001. We also investigated PAHs in polar ice and found that carbonate is an effective scavenger of PAHs in ice meltwater. Moreover, the distribution of PAHs in the carbonate extract of Antarctic Allan Hills ice is remarkably similar to that found in both EETA79001 and ALH84001. The reported presence of L-amino acids of apparent terrestrial origin in the EETA79001 druse material (McDonald and Bada, 1995) suggests that this meteorite is contaminated with terrestrial organics probably derived from Antarctic ice meltwater that had percolated through the meteorite. Our data suggests that the PAHs observed in both ALH84001 and EETA79001 are derived from either the exogenous delivery of organics to Mars or extraterrestrial and terrestrial PAHs present in the ice meltwater or, more likely, from a mixture of these sources. It would appear that PAHs are not useful biomarkers in the search for extinct or extant life on Mars.     

Investigation by backscatter radar of artificial irregularities produced in ionospheric plasma heating experiments

The artificial ionospheric turbulence occurs in the ionosphere illuminated by high power HF radio waves. There are a lot of irregularities stretched along the geomagnetic field in this region. The investigation of the artificially disturbed ionospheric region is based on the reception of back scattered signals (BSS) which permits the basic parameters of this region to be estimated and its inhomogeneous structure to be described.Experiments were carried out using ‘Sura’ heating facility in the frequency range of ? = 4.7–9 MHz (ordinary mode) with the effective radiated power P_eff = 50–70 MW beamed vertically upwards. The most important dynamic and statistical BSS characteristics (the built-up time, the relaxation and autocorrelation times, the BSS amplitude spatial correlation function and power spectra) were measured using probe waves in the frequency range of that made it possible to obtain the basic parameters of the artificial irregularities. The model representation of a disturbed region in a form of a periodic structure gives a possibity to evaluate the scale of the structure, the whole size of the disturbance and its power and to calculate the main BSS characteristics.     

Biomass burning in the tropical savannas of Ivory Coast: An overview of the field experiment Fire of Savannas (FOS/DECAFE 91)

FOS/DECAFE 91 (Fire of Savannas/Dynamique et Chimie Atmosphérique en Forêt Equatoriale) was the first multidisciplinary experiment organized in Africa to determine gas and aerosol emissions by prescribed savanna fires. The humid savanna of Lamto in Ivory Coast was chosen for its ecological characteristics representative of savannas with a high biomass density (900 g m^–2 dry matter). Moreover the vegetation and the climate of Lamto have been studied for more than twenty years. The emission ratios (X/CO₂) of the carbon compounds (CO₂, CO, NMHC, CH₄, PAH, organic acids and aerosols), nitrogen compounds (NO_x, N₂O, NH₃ and soluble aerosols) and sulfur compounds (SO₂, COS and aerosols) were experimentally determined by ground and aircraft measurements. To perform this experiment, 4 small plots (100×100 m) and 2 large areas (10×10 km) were prepared and burnt in January 1991 during the period of maximum occurrence of fires in this type of savanna. The detailed ecological study shows that the carbon content of the vegetation is constant within 1% (42 g C for 100 g of vegetal dry matter), the nitrogen content (0.29 g N for 100 g of dry matter) may vary by 10% and the sulfur content (0.05 g S/100 d.m.) by 20%. These variations of the biomass chemical content do not constitute an important factor in the variation of the gas and particle emission levels. With the emission ratios characteristic of humid savanna and flaming conditions (CO/CO₂ of 6.1% at the ground and 8% for airborne measurements), we propose a set of new emission factors, taking into account the burning efficiency which is about 80%: 74.4% of the carbon content of the savanna biomass is released to the atmosphere in the form of CO₂, 4.6% as CO, 0.2% as CH₄, 0.5% as NMHC and 0.7% as aerosols. 17.2% of the nitrogen content of the biomass is released as NO_x, 3.5% as N₂O, 0.6% as NH₃ and 0.5% as soluble aerosols.