Significance of orthopyroxene and major element constraints on the petrogenesis of Ferrar tholeiites from southern Prince Albert Mountains, Victoria Land, Antarctica

The least evolved Jurassic Ferrar tholeiites from southern Prince Albert Mountains (Antarctica) are characterized by the occurrence of orthopyroxene (opx), a mineralogical feature virtually absent in the tholeiites from the large igneous provinces of Karoo (South Africa) and Paraná (Brazil). Petrography suggests that opx is the early phase in the sequence of crystallization and mineral chemistry indicates that it is in equilibrium with the host rock. In general, MELTS modeling predicts that opx is the liquidus phase in the Ferrar tholeiites with MgO higher than ~7 wt% at P=1.5-5 kbar, H₂O=0-1 wt% and % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+- % feaaeaart1ev0aaatCvAUfKttLearuavTnhis1MBaeXatLxBI9gBae % bbnrfifHhDYfgasaacH8YjY-vipgYlH8Gipec8Eeeu0xXdbba9frFj % 0-OqFfea0dXdd9vqaq-JfrVkFHe9pgea0dXdar-Jb9hs0dXdbPYxe9 % vr0-vr0-vqpWqaaeaabiGaaiaacaqabeaabaqaamaaaOqaaiabdAga % MTWaaSbaaeaacqqGpbWtaeqaaWWaaSbaaeaadaWgaaqaaiabikdaYa % qabaaabeaakiabg2da9iabbgfarjabbAeagjabb2eanjabgkHiTiab % igdaXiaaysW7cyGGSbaBcqGGVbWBcqGGNbWzaaa!381A! = QFM - 1 f_{\rm O} _{_2 } = {\rm QFM} - 1\;\log unit conditions. MELTS results also show that the early crystallization of opx is primarily controlled by high SiO₂ and high SiO₂/CaO, chemical characteristics typical of the Ferrar tholeiites, but not shown by the Karoo and Paraná analogs with similar MgO content. Major element geochemistry of the least evolved Ferrar tholeiite has been modeled through fractional crystallization and fractional crystallization coupled with crustal assimilation processes, starting from natural peridotite-derived experimental melts. Mass balance and MELTS modeling support the argument that theoretical magma compositions suitable to be primary to the least evolved Ferrar tholeiites are compatible with hydrous (H₂O=0.3-0.5 wt%) and anhydrous melts obtained at 10-15 kbar by high melting degrees (>25%) of fertile and depleted spinel lherzolites, respectively, and later contaminated by the high-grade metamorphic rocks from the Victoria Land crystalline basement. The genesis of primary Ferrar tholeiites does not necessarily reflect the generally assumed depleted source mantle being also compatible with a fertile one.     

Mantle source heterogeneity in the Campanian Region (South Italy) as inferred from geochemical and isotopic features of mafic volcanic rocks with shoshonitic affinity

Summary Major, trace element and Sr-Nd-isotopic data on mafic volcanic rocks with shoshonitic affinity from the islands of Procida and Ventotene (Campanian Region, South Italy) are reported. Within-suite chemical and isotopic variations are interpreted in terms of open system differentiation processes held responsible for enrichment in a number of trace elements and for radiogenic Sr observed in both Procida and Ventotene volcanic sequences. Conversely, trace element contents and Sr-Nd-isotopic compositions of the least-evolved among the investigated samples are thought to reflect source region characteristics with only negligible crustal contamination of the primary magmas.The data support an origin from distinct source regions for the primary magmas. In the case of Ventotene, the source would have been asthenospheric and/or lithospheric mantle with features similar to transitional mid-ocean ridge basalts (T-MORB), modified by enriching agents made up mainly of subducted slab-released components coming from marly sediments (about 7%) similar to cherts from Tuscan Apennines plus a limestone contribution. In the case of Procida, the source would have been asthenospheric and/or lithospheric mantle with a slightly more enriched T-MORB-like feature with respect to Ventotene, modified by slab-derived enriching agents, likely represented by a small amount of sediments (about 2.5%) of oceanic nature (mostly terrigenous/pelagic). These differences are constrained by lower Zr/Nb, Y/Nb, Sc/Nb, V/Nb, LILE/HFSE, LREE/HFSE and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, higher Ba/La and¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios, as well as by the lack of a detectable negative Eu anomaly, in the least-evolved volcanic rocks of Procida, with respect to those of Ventotene, which show conversely a significant negative Eu anomaly. Thus, a sharp heterogeneity exists in the mantle beneath the Campanian Region. It is thought to be the consequence of two different slabs which are in contact along the Volturno River Plain tectonic line: a continental slab, seismically inactive, descending beneath the Latium Region, and an oceanic slab, seismically active, descending beneath the Calabria, up to the Campanian Region.

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Résumé De nouvelles analyses géochimiques d'éléments majeurs et en traces ainsi que des rapports isotopiques du Sr et du Nd sont été obtenues sur des roches volcaniques mafiques à affinité shoshonitiques provenant des îles de Procida et Ventotene (Région Campanienne, Italie du Sud). Les variations géochimiques et isotopiques observées au sein des séries volcaniques de ces deux îles sont interprétées en terme de processus de différenciation en système ouvert, tenu pour responsable d'un enrichissement d'un certain nombre d'éléments en traces et de leur composition en Sr radiogénique. Cependant, les teneurs en éléments traces et les compositions isotopiques en Sr et Nd des échantillons les moins évolués parmi ceux étudiés reflètent les caractéristiques de leur source, avec une contamination crustale très négligeable des magmas primitifs.Ces données démontrent que des sources distinctes sont à l'origine des magmas primitifs. Pour Ventotene, cette source doit être un manteau asthénosphérique et/ou lithosphérique dont la signature est similaire à celle de basaltes transitionnels de dorsale océanique (T MORB), légèrement enrichie en éléments dérivants d'une croûte plongeant dans une subduction comme des sédiments mameux (pour environ 7%) analogues aux cherts des Appenins de Toscane et comportant un apport en calcaire. Dans le cas de Procida, cette source doit être un manteau asthénosphérique et/ou lithosphérique montrant une signature de type T-MORB légèrement plus enrichie qu' à Ventotene, également modifiée par un apport venant d'une croûte en subduction, probablement une faible quantité (environ 2.5%) de sédiments de nature océanique (principalement terrigène/pélagique). Ces différences sont attestées par des rapports Zr/Nb, Y/Nb, Sc/Nb, V/Nb, LILE/HFSE, LREE/HSFE and⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr plus bas et des rapports Ba/La et¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd plus harts, ainsi que par l'absence d'une anomalie en Eu dans les compositions des roches volcaniques les moins évoluées de Procida par rapport à celles de Ventotene, qui elles, au contraire, montrent une anomalie en Eu significative.Ainsi, une importante hétérogénéité du manteau existe sous la Campanie. Cette hétérogénéité doit être la conséquence de la nature différente des croûtes en subduction et qui sont en contact le long de la ligne tectonique de la plaine de la rivière Volturno: an Nord-Ouest, une croûte continentale, sismiquement inactive, plonge sous le Latium alors qu'au Sud-Est, une croûte océanique, sismiquement active, plonge sous la Calabre et jusque sous la Campanie.

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With 9 Figures     

Influence of earthquakes on the stability of slopes

Earthquakes are a major trigger for instability of natural and man-made slopes. Often the instability of slopes due to an earthquake causes more destruction and kills more people than the actual earthquake itself. A comparison is made between different methodologies to analyze the potential stability of slopes during earthquakes. Theoretically, it seems simple to calculate the stability of a slope during an earthquake. In reality, however, the stability is influenced by so many parameters that are either not known or which influence is so poorly known that a decent estimation of stability cannot be made. Offshore the situation is worse because proper data required for stability calculations are even less available than onshore. On- and offshore, erosion and weathering create continuously slopes that may become unstable during a future earthquake, offshore also sedimentation creates continuously new slopes. Another fundamental problem in stability analysis is the complicated and largely unknown behavior of seismic waves in three-dimensions in natural materials. The lack of accurate data and the unknown behavior of seismic waves in three-dimensions make estimations of slope stability during an earthquake unreliable.     

Magmatic History of Somma-Vesuvius on the Basis of New Geochemical and Isotopic Data from a Deep Borehole (Camaldoli della Torre)

A continuous-coring borehole recently drilled at Camaldoli dellaTorre on the southern slopes of Somma–Vesuvius providesconstraints on the volcanic and magmatic history of the Vesuvianvolcanic area since c. 126 ka BP. The cored sequence includesvolcanic units, defined on stratigraphical, sedimentological,petrological and geochemical grounds, emitted from both localand distal vents. Some of these units are of known age, suchas one Phlegraean pre-Campanian Ignimbrite, Campanian Ignimbrite(39 ka), Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (14· 9 ka) and VesuvianPlinian deposits, which helps to constrain the relative ageof the other units. The main rock types encountered are shoshonite,phonotephrite, latite, trachyte and phonolite. The sequenceincludes, from the base upwards: a thick succession of pyroclasticunits emplaced between 126 and 39 ka, most of them attributedto eruptions that occurred in the Phlegraean area; the CampanianIgnimbrite; the products of a local tuff cone formed between39 ka and the deposition of the products of the earliest activityof the Mt. Somma volcano; the products of the Somma–Vesuviusvolcano, which include from the base upwards a thick sequenceof lavas, pyroclastic rocks and the products of a local spattercone dated between 3· 7 ka and AD 79. The data obtainedfrom the study of the borehole show that, before the CampanianIgnimbrite eruption, low-energy explosive volcanism took placein the Vesuvian area, whereas mostly high-energy explosive eruptionscharacterized the Campi Flegrei activity. In the Vesuvian area,Campanian Ignimbrite deposition was followed by the eruptionof a local tuff cone and a long repose time, which predatedthe formation of the Mt. Somma edifice. Since 18· 3 ka(Pomici di Base eruption) the activity of Somma–Vesuviusbecame mostly explosive with rare lava effusions. The shallowestcored deposits belong to the Camaldoli della Torre cone, formedbetween the Pomici di Avellino and Pomici di Pompei eruptions(3· 7 ka–AD 79). New geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb–B-isotopicdata on samples from the drilled core, together with those availablefrom the literature, allow us to further distinguish the volcanicrocks as a function of both their provenance (i.e. Phlegraeanor Vesuvian areas) and age, and to identify different magmaticprocesses acting through time in the Vesuvian mantle source(s)and during magma ascent towards the surface. Isotopically distinctmagmas, rising from a mantle source variably contaminated byslab-derived components, stagnated at mid-crustal depths (8–10km below sea level) where magmas differentiated and were probablycontaminated. Contamination occurred either with Hercynian continentalcrust, mostly during the oldest stages of Vesuvian activity(from 39 to 16 ka), or with Mesozoic limestone, mostly duringrecent Vesuvian activity. Energy constrained assimilation andfractional crystallization (EC-AFC) modelling results show thatcontamination with Hercynian crust probably occurred duringdifferentiation from shoshonite to latite. Contamination withlimestone, which is not well constrained with the availabledata, might have occurred only during the transition from shoshoniteto tephrite. From the ‘deep’ reservoir, magmas rosetowards a series of shallow reservoirs, in which they differentiatedfurther, mixed, and fed volcanic activity. KEY WORDS: Somma–Vesuvius; crustal contamination; source heterogeneity; radiogenic and stable isotopes; magmatic system     

Genetic implications of the isotope and trace element variations in the eastern Sicilian volcanics

Sr- and Pb-isotope compositions and Rb, Sr, Ce, Nd and K₂O contents have been determined for the Iblean Mountain and Mt. Etna volcanics in eastern Sicily. Isotope variations within each of these regions have been interpreted as reflecting the heterogeneous nature of the source regions in the upper mantle. The⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of all these volcanics are less than 0.705, which is taken to indicate that their source regions evolved with lower Rb/Sr ratios than the bulk earth.⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Ce/Nd ratios determined in the Mt. Etna tholeiites are positively correlated suggesting that fractionation(s) in Rb/Sr are accompanied by fractionation(s) in light REE in the source regions of these volcanics. Pb-isotope compositions form a linear array in the²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb-²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb plot which has a negative age slope. This array represents either a very recent U/Pb fractionation in the source regions, or a mantle mixing line. Imperfect correlation between the Sr- and Pb-isotope compositions of these volcanics suggests that U/Pb and Rb/Sr have not always increased or decreased in unison during the differentiation of these source regions.     

Human alteration of groundwater–surface water interactions (Sagittario River,Central Italy): implication for flow regime,contaminant fate and invertebrate response

Many rivers worldwide are undergoing severe man-induced alterations which are reflected also in changes of the degree of connectivity between surface waters and groundwater. Pollution, irrigation withdrawal, alteration of freshwater flows, road construction, surface water diversion, soil erosion in agriculture, deforestation and dam building have led to some irreversible species losses and severe changes in community composition of freshwater ecosystems. Taking into account the impact of damming and flow diversion on natural river discharge, the present study is aimed at (i) evaluating the effects of anthropogenic changes on groundwater/surface water interactions; (ii) analyzing the fate of nitrogenous pollutants at the floodplain scale; and (iii) describing the overall response of invertebrate assemblages to such changes. Hydrogeological, geochemical and isotopic data revealed short- and long-term changes in hydrology, allowing the assessment of the hydrogeological setting and the evaluation of potential contamination by nitrogen compounds. Water isotopes allowed distinguishing a shallow aquifer locally fed by zenithal recharge and river losses, and a deeper aquifer/aquitard system fed by surrounding carbonate aquifers. This system was found to retain ammonium and, through the shallow aquifer, release it in surface running waters via the hyporheic zone of the riverbed. All these factors influence river ecosystem health. As many environmental drivers entered in action offering a multiple-component artificial environment, a clear relationship between river flow alteration and benthic and hyporheic invertebrate diversity was not found, being species response driven by the combination of three main stressors: ammonium pollution, man-induced changes in river morphology and altered discharge regime.     

Rainfall trends in the Brazilian Amazon Basin in the past eight decades

Rainfall series at 18 stations along the major rivers of the Brazilian Amazon Basin, having data since 1920s or 1930s, are analyzed to verify if there are appreciable long-term trends. Annual, rainy-season, and dry-season rainfalls are individually analyzed for each station and for the region as a whole. Some stations showed positive trends and some negative trends. The trends in the annual rainfall are significant at only six stations, five of which reporting increasing trends (Barcelos, Belem, Manaus, Rio Branco, and Soure stations) and just one (Itaituba station) reporting decreasing trend. The climatological values of rainfall before and after 1970 show significant differences at six stations (Barcelos, Belem, Benjamin Constant, Iaurete, Itaituba, and Soure). The region as a whole shows an insignificant and weak downward trend; therefore, we cannot affirm that the rainfall in the Brazilian Amazon basin is experiencing a significant change, except at a few individual stations. Subregions with upward and downward trends are interspersed in space from the far eastern Amazon to western Amazon. Most of the seasonal trends follow the annual trends, thus, indicating a certain consistency in the datasets and analysis.