Crystallization trends of pyroxenes from alkaline subvolcanites of Punta delle Pietre Nere (Gargano,Southern Italy)

Summary The results of microprobe analyses of clinopyroxenes from alkaline melasyenites and layered melagabbros, produced by intra-plate magmatism of Paleocene age at Punta delle Pietre Nere, are here given and discussed.The analysed pyroxenes range from diopsidic to acmite-rich compositions.The first crystallized pyroxenes (diopside) show Al^VI contents suggesting shallow depths of crystallization. In addition pyroxenes from melasyenite and those from melagabbro display different Cr contents, Al/Ti and Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺) ratios confirming their crystallization from melts produced by different parental liquids.Diopsides and salites show an overall trend towards high Al, Ti and Fe³⁺, suggesting that the crystallization occurred under decreasing SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratios and under relatively highpH₂O–pO₂ conditions.Pyroxenes from the Pietre Nere melasyenite show a progressive variation towards acmite rich compositions at Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺) lower than 0.5; those from the layered melagabbro, instead, show a continuous enrichment in Ca Fe³⁺ AlSiO₆. This different behaviour is due to the co-crystallization, with the latest pyroxenes, of phases with different K/Na and Si/Al ratios.

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Kristallisations-Tendenzen der Pyroxene aus Alkali-Subvulkaniten auf Punta delle Pietre Nere (Gargano, Süditalien)

Zusammenfassung Es werden die Ergebnisse der Mikrosonden-Untersuchungen von Klinopyroxenen aus Alkali-Melasyeniten und schichtigen Alkali-Melagabbros, die durch Intra-plate-Magmatismus paläozenen Alters auf Punta delle Pietre Nere entstanden sind, beschrieben und erörtert.Die untersuchten Pyroxene reichen von diopsidischen bis zu Akmit-reichen Zusammensetzungen.Die zuerst kristallisierten Pyroxene (Diopsid) zeigen Al^VI-Gehalte, die auf geringe Tiefe des Kristallisationsvorganges hinweisen. Dazu zeigen die Pyroxene aus dem Melasyenit und aus dem Melagabbro unterschiedliche Cr-Gehalte; die Al/Ti- und Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺)-Verhältnisse bestätigen deren Kristallisation aus Schmelzen, die aus unterschiedlichen Ursprungsmagmen stammen.Die Diopside und Salite zeigen eine einheitliche Tendenz zu hohem Al-, Ti- und Fe³⁺-Gehalt; dies deutet darauf hin, daß die Kristallisation unter abnehmenden SiO₂/Al₂O₃-Verhältnissen und unter relativ hohenpH₂O–pO₂-Bedingungen stattfand.Die Pyroxene aus dem Punta delle Pietre Nere-Melasyenit zeigen eine zunehmende Änderung zu Akmit-reichen Zusammensetzungen bei weniger als 0,5 Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺+Fe³⁺); die Pyroxene aus dem schichtig differenzierten Melagabbro zeigen dagegen eine allmähliche Zunahme von CaFe³⁺AlSiO₆. Dieses unterschiedliche Verhalten rührt daher, daß Mineralphasen mit unterschiedlichen K/Na- und Si/Al-Verhältnissen zugleich mit den zuletzt gebildeten Pyroxenen kristallisierten.

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With 6 Figures     

Polychlorinated biphenyl and organochlorine pesticide residues in Lophius budegassa from the Mediterranean Sea (Italy)

Persistent organochlorines, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, including coplanar congeners and DDT compounds, were measured in the liver of a teleost species: namely, Lophius budegassa. The mean concentrations of PCBs (1249 ng/g wet wt) were comparable with DDTs mean levels (1459 ng/g wet wt). Among DDTs the compound found at the highest concentration was p,p'-DDE representing 76% of the total DDT burden. The PCB profiles were dominated by congeners 153, 180, and 138 accounting for 49.8%, 16.0% and 13.7% of the total PCBs. The total 2,3,7,8-TCDD toxic equivalent (TEQs) of six coplanar PCBs, including mono- and non-ortho congeners, was 0.98 pg/g wet wt. The congeners with highest TEQs values were non-ortho-congeners followed by mono-ortho ones.     

Generalized Regularization Techniques with Constraints for the Analysis of Solar Bremsstrahlung X-ray Spectra

Hard X-ray spectra in solar flares provide knowledge of the electron spectrum that results from acceleration and propagation in the solar atmosphere. However, the inference of the electron spectra from solar X-ray spectra is an ill-posed inverse problem. Here, we develop and apply an enhanced regularization algorithm for this process making use of physical constraints on the form of the electron spectrum. The algorithm incorporates various features not heretofore employed in the solar flare context: Generalized Singular Value Decomposition (GSVD) to deal with different orders of constraints; rectangular form of the cross-section matrix to extend the solution energy range; regularization with various forms of the smoothing operator; and preconditioning of the problem. We show by simulations that this technique yields electron spectra with considerably more information and higher quality than previous algorithms.     

Phosphoric acid fractionation factors for smithsonite and cerussite between 25 and 72°C

The intramolecular kinetic oxygen isotope fractionation between CO₂ and CO₃²⁻ during reaction of phosphoric acid with natural smithsonite (ZnCO₃) and cerussite (PbCO₃) has been determined between 25 and 72°C. While cerussite decomposes in phosphoric acid within a few hours at 25°C, smithsonite reacts very slowly with the acid at 25°C providing yields of CO₂ < 25% after 2 weeks. The low yields result in a low precision for oxygen isotope measurements of the acid-liberated CO₂ (±1.65‰, 1σ, n = 9). The yield and reproducibility of oxygen isotope values of the acid-liberated CO₂ from smithsonite can be improved, the latter to ∼±0.15‰, by increasing the reaction temperature to 50°C for 12 h or to 72°C for 1 h. Our new phosphoric acid fractionation factor for natural cerussite at 25°C deviates significantly from a previously published value on synthetic material. The temperature dependence of the oxygen isotope factionation factor, α between acid-liberated CO₂ and carbonate at 25 to 72°C is given by the following equations

     

Geology and geochemistry of the Águas Claras and Pico Iron Mines, Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Águas Claras and Pico Mines are two world-class iron-ore mines hosted within the Lower- Proterozoic banded iron-formations (locally known as itabirites) of the Minas Supergroup located in the Quadrilátero Ferrífero district, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Águas Claras orebody consists of a 2,500-m-long roughly tabular-shaped lens hosted within the dolomitic itabirite of the Cauê Formation. Dolomitic itabirite is the protore of the soft high-grade iron ore, which is the main ore type of the Águas Claras orebody, representing about 85% of the 284 Mt mined since 1973, with the remaining 15% comprising hard high-grade ore. Hematite is the main constituent of the iron ores. It occurs as martite, granular hematite and locally as specularite. Magnetite appears subordinately as relicts within martite and hematite crystals. Gangue minerals are very rare. These consist of dolomite, chlorite, talc, and apatite, and are especially common in contact with the protore. This virtual absence of gangue minerals is reflected in the chemistry of ores that are characterized by very high Fe contents (an average of 68.2% Fe).The Pico orebody is a continuous ~3,000-m-long body of a lenticular shape hosted within siliceous itabirite, which is the protore of the soft high- and low-grade ores at the Pico Mine. The soft high-grade ores, together with the low-grade ores, called iron-rich itabirite, are the main types of ore, and respectively represent approximately 51 and 29% of the reserves. The remaining 20% consists of hard high-grade ore. The iron oxide mineralogy is the same as that of the Águas Claras Mine, but in different proportions. Gangue minerals are very rare in the high-grade ores, but are slightly more common in the iron-rich itabirite. Quartz is the dominant gangue mineral, and is found with minor quantities of chlorite. The chemistry of the high-grade ores is characterized by high Fe contents (an average of 67.0%) and low P, Al₂O₃, and SiO₂, which are concentrated in the fines. Iron-rich itabirites average 58.6% Fe and 13.5% SiO₂.The genesis of the soft high-grade ores and iron-rich itabirites is related to supergene processes. Leaching of the gangue minerals by groundwater promoted the residual iron enrichment of the itabirites. This process was favored by the tropical climate and topographic situation. The original composition of the itabirites and the presence of structures controlling the circulation of the groundwater have influenced the degree of iron enrichment. The hard high-grade ores are of a hypogene origin. Their genesis is attributed to hydrothermal solutions that leached the gangue minerals and filled the spaces with hematite. This process remains a source of debate and is not yet fully understood.Editorial handling: S.G. Hagemann     

Variation of seismic coupling with slab detachment and upper plate structure along the western Hellenic subduction zone

The western Hellenic subduction zone is characterized by a trenchward velocity of the upper plate. In the Ionian islands segment, complete seismic coupling is achieved, as is predicted by standard plate-tectonic models in which there is no slab pull force because the slab has broken off. The moderate local seismic moment rate relates to a shallow downdip limit for the seismogenic interface. This characteristic may be attributed to the ductility of the lower crust of the upper plate, which allows a décollement between the upper crust of the overriding plate and the subducting plate. Farther south, a deeper downdip limit of the seismogenic interface is indicated by thrust-faulting earthquakes, which persist much deeper in western Crete. A correspondingly larger downdip width of this seismogenic zone is consistent with the suggested larger maximum magnitude of earthquakes here. However, since the seismic moment release rate seems to be moderate in the Peloponnese and western Crete, like in in the Ionian islands, this seismically active interface cannot maintain complete seismic coupling across its larger downdip width. A cause may be the lateral addition of overweight to the part of the slab still attached in Crete, by the free fall of its part that has broken off from the surface further north. This increased slab pull reduces the compressive normal stress across the seismogenic interface and thus causes partial seismic coupling in its shallower part. However, the width of this part may provide an additional area contributing to slip in large earthquakes, which may nucleate deeper on stick-slip parts of the interface. Hints at anomalies in structure and seismicity, which need to be resolved, may relate to the present location of the edge of the tear in the slab.     

Diesel oil and PCB-degrading psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from Antarctic seawaters (Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea)

Fifty-seven Antarctic marine bacteria were examined for their ability to degrade commercial diesel oil as the sole organic substrate at both 4 °C and 20 °C. Based on the preliminary screening, two isolates (B11 and B15) with high capacity to degrade diesel oil were selected and their biodegradation efficiency was quantified by gas chromatographic analysis. As expected for psychrotrophs, diesel oil biodegradation was slower at 4 °C than at 20 °C. The two strains also mineralized the C₂₈ n-paraffin octacosane at 20 °C and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at 4 °C and 20 °C.     

Earthquake‐induced interaction between adjacent reinforced concrete structures with non‐equal heights

The influence of the structural pounding on the ductility requirements and the seismic behaviour of reinforced concrete structures designed to EC2 and EC8 with non‐equal heights is investigated. Special purpose elements of distributed plasticity are employed for the study of the columns. Two distinct types of the problem are identified: Type A, where collisions may occur only between storey masses; and Type B, where the slabs of the first structure hit the columns of the other (72 Type A and 36 Type B pounding cases are examined). Type A cases yielded critical ductility requirements for the columns in the pounding area mainly for the cases where the structures were in contact from the beginning of the excitation. In both pounding types the ductility requirements of the columns of the taller building are substantially increased for the floors above the highest contact storey level probably due to a whiplash behaviour. The most important issue in the pounding type B is the local response of the column of the tall structure that suffers the hit of the upper floor slab of the adjacent shorter structure. In all the examined cases this column was in a critical condition due to shear action and in the cases where the structures were in contact from the beginning of the excitation, this column was also critical due to high ductility demands. It can be summarized that in situations of potential pounding, neglecting its possible effects leads to non‐conservative building design or evaluation that may become critical in some cases. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.