Depositional environments and diagenesis in Lake Parakeelya: a Cambrian alkaline playa from the Officer Basin, South Australia

Laminated and desiccated siliceous dolostones, dolomitic mudstones and dolomitic sandstones in the Cambrian Parakeelya Alkali Member of the Observatory Hill Formation accumulated in an alkaline playa. Four facies are recognized (from lake centre to lake edge): lake, saline mudflat, dry mudflat and sandflat facies. The facies occur in cycles. Cycles of tens of metres thickness record the gradual expansion and contraction of the playa. Superimposed smaller cycles of tens of centimetres thickness record minor oscillations in the position of the strandline in a shallow lake. The dominance of saline mudflat, dry mudflat and sandflat facies indicates that the lake was rimmed by broad flat areas with negligible relief. The high δ¹⁸O values of primary and penecontemporaneous diagenetic carbonates of +24 to +28‰ (SMOW) indicate strong evaporation of ground and surface waters within the lake system. Calcite pseudomorphs of the sodium carbonate minerals trona and shortite have δ¹⁸O values between + 19 and + 22.5‰, and contain fluid inclusions with variable salinites and homogenization temperatures up to around 110°C. This suggests that the euhedral alkaline evaporites were dissolved by heated waters; calcite pseudomorphs then precipitated from a mixed solution formed by the interaction of these incoming fluids with the relatively saline interstitial brines. The sodium bicarbonate solutions formed by dissolution of the evaporites would have been dispersed by the basinal brines so that despite the closed drainage, further groundwater concentration did not take place.     

A Potential Global Standard Stratotype-Section and Point of the Moscovian Stage (Carboniferous)

Conodonts and fusulinids are the two most widely used biotic groups for subdividing and correlating Bashkirian and Moscovian strata. The definition of the base of the Global Moscovian Stage is undecided because there are many disagreements among existing boundary definition proposals, each of which has disadvantages. Declinognathodus donetzianus is easily recognized but somewhat limited in its paleogeographic distribution. Idiognathoides postsulcatus is slightly more widespread, but it is less easily identified and its occurrences may be diachronous from region to region. Diplognathodus ellesmerensis is easily recognized and even more widespread, but it is usually rare and its ancestry is not adequately known. The Naqing Section of South Guizhou, South China contains diverse conodont evolutionary lineages among different taxa, including Idiognathoides, Idiognathodus, Diplognathodus, Neognathodus, Gondolella and Mesogondolella. There are numerous transitional forms in almost every lineage of the Naqing section, which shows that the prospects for South China to play a critical role in determining the basal Moscovian Stage definition are good.     

Decoupling of the Sm-Nd and Re-Os Isotopic Systems in Sulphide-Saturated Magmas in the Halls Creek Orogen, Western Australia

We have observed apparent decoupling of the Re–Os andSm–Nd isotopic systems in sulphide-saturated magmas thatsuggests that bulk two-component or assimilation–fractionalcrystallization (AFC) mixing modelling, based on Re–Osisotopic data, is inappropriate for chalcophile isotopic systemsin turbulent sulphide-saturated magmas. This behaviour is observedin three Palaeoproterozic layered mafic–ultramafic intrusionsin the Halls Creek Orogen of Western Australia. All intrusionsclearly have a basaltic parental magma based on primitive olivineand spinel compositions. The intrusions are light rare earthelement enriched and define a narrow range of initial Nd-isotopicsignatures (     

Re--Os and Sm--Nd Isotope Geochemistry of the Stillwater Complex, Montana: Implications for the Petrogenesis of the J-M Reef

Re—Os and Sm—Nd isotopic data have been obtainedfor mafic and ultramafic cumulates from the 2700-Ma StillwaterComplex and associated fine-grained sills and dykes, so as tobetter constrain the geochemical characteristics of Stillwaterparental magmas and to trace the source(s) of the precious metalsthat have been concentrated in the J-M Reef, the major platinum-groupelement mineral deposit in the complex. Initial Os isotopiccompositions (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os) for chromitites from the Ultramaficseries range from a radiogenic isotopic composition of 0.1321(_Os = +21) for the platinum group element (PGE)-enriched B chromititeseam from the West Fork area to a near-chondritic isotopic compositionof 0.1069–0.1135 (_Os=–2 to +4.1) for the PGE-poorG and H chromitite seams, respectively, near the middle of theUltramafic series. Osmium isotopic data for the PGE-rich B chromititeseam are generally isochronous with whole-rock and mineral datafor the J-M Reef (_Os = + 12 to + 34). Re—Os isotopic datatherefore document a contrast between PGE-poor cumulates fromthe Ultramafic series and PGE-enriched cumulates from both theUltramafic series and the J-M Reef, suggesting that Os and probablythe other PGE were derived from at least two isotopically distinctsources. Moreover, these Re-Os isotopic characteristics correlatewith petrogenetic subdivisions of the Stillwater Complex basedon field mapping, petrology, REE geochemistry, and Sm—Ndisotope geochemistry. The data are best explained by mixingof two magma types, referred to as U-type and A-type magmas,with differing major element, trace element, and precious metalabundances and isotopic compositions. Although crustally contaminatedkomatiites can mimic the Os and Nd isotopic characteristicsof the U-type magma, the combination of low initial Os isotopicvalues (_Os0) with low initial Nd isotopic values (_Nd–1),high ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb for a given ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (Wooden et al., 1991),and high (Ce/Yb)_n ratios in U-type cumulates and fine-grainedsills and dykes is more consistent with the involvement of aRe-poor, but trace-element-enriched portion of the subcontinentallithospheric mantle in the petrogenesis of Stillwater U-typemagmas. However, the radiogenic initial Os isotopic compositionsof the J-M Reef and other portions of the intrusion with elevatedPGE concentrations suggest that A-type parental magmas incorporatedOs from radiogenic early Archaean crust. The relatively largerange in (Ce/Yb)_n, _Os, and _Nd values suggests that mixing ofgeochemically distinct magmas may have been an important processthroughout the history of the Stillwater magma chamber. Magmamixing may then explain not only the PGE-enriched J-M Reef butalso the anomalous enrichment of the PGE in the B chromititeseam from the West Fork area and the variable values observedin other chromitite seams of the Ultramafic series. The intimateassociation of these magma types, derived from or modified inthe Archaean continental lithosphere, may then be crucial tothe formation of magmatic PGE mineral deposits.