Age and geochemistry of the Newania dolomite carbonatites, India: implications for the source of primary carbonatite magma

The Newania carbonatite complex of India is one of the few dolomite-dominated carbonatites of the world. Intruding into Archean basement gneisses, the rocks of the complex have undergone limited diversification and are not associated with any alkaline silicate rock. Although the magmatic nature of the complex was generally accepted, its age of emplacement had remained equivocal because of the disturbed nature of radioisotope systems. Many questions about the nature of its mantle source and mode of origin had remained unanswered because of lack of geochemical and isotopic data. Here, we present results of our effort to date the complex using ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd, ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb and ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating techniques. We also present mineral chemistry, major and trace element geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopic ratio data for these carbonatites. Our age data reveal that the complex was emplaced at ~1,473 Ma and parts of it were affected by a thermal event at ~904 Ma. The older ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb ages reported here (~2.4 Ga) and by one earlier study (~2.3 Ga; Schleicher et al. Chem Geol 140:261–273, 1997) are deemed to be a result of heterogeneous incorporation of crustal Pb during the post-emplacement thermal event. The thermal event had little effect on many magmatic signatures of these rocks, such as its dolomite–magnesite–ankerite–Cr-rich magnetite–magnesio-arfvedsonite–pyrochlore assemblage, mantle like δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O and typical carbonatitic trace element patterns. Newania carbonatites show fractional crystallization trend from high-Mg to high-Fe through high-Ca compositions. The least fractionated dolomite carbonatites of the complex possess very high Mg# (≥80) and have similar major element oxide contents as that of primary carbonatite melts experimentally produced from peridotitic sources. In addition, lower rare earth element (and higher Sr) contents than a typical calcio-carbonatite and mantle like Nb/Ta ratios indicate that the primary magma for the complex was a magnesio-carbonatite melt and that it was derived from a carbonate bearing mantle. The Sr–Nd isotopic data suggest that the primary magma originated from a metasomatized lithospheric mantle. Trace element modelling confirms such an inference and suggests that the source was a phlogopite bearing mantle, located within the garnet stability zone.     

Primary volcanic structures from a type section of Deccan Trap flows around Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara, central India: Implications for cooling history

Field investigations of the Deccan Trap lava sequence along a 70 km traverse in the Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara area of central India indicate twenty lava flows comprising a total thickness of around 480 m. Primary volcanic structures like vesicles and cooling joints are conspicuous in this volcanic succession and are used to divide individual flows into three well-defined zones namely the lower colonnade zone, entablature zone, and the upper colonnade zone. The variable nature of these structural zones is used for identification and correlation of lava flows in the field. For twenty lava flows, the thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of eight flows are ∼5 m while those of eight other flows are ∼8 m each. The thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of remaining four flows could not be measured in the field. Using the thicknesses of these upper colonnade zones and standard temperature-flow thickness-cooling time profiles for lava pile, the total cooling time of these sixteen Deccan Trap lava flows has been estimated at 12 to 15 years.     

Probing outflow activity in very low mass stars and brown dwarfs

The discovery that newborn very low mass stars and brown dwarfs have optical forbidden line spectra similar to low mass young stars was a strong indication that these objects can also launch outflows. Forbidden lines are the traditional tracers of outflow activity in young stars and observations at these wavelengths have contributed much to the understanding of outflows. However in the case of brown dwarfs, the forbidden emission line regions observed are not well resolved spatially. Thus, their origin in an outflow could not be confirmed. Here, the technique of spectro-astrometry as a means of spatially probing the forbidden emission line regions of very low mass stars and brown dwarfs is introduced. Indeed spectro-astrometric data presented here demonstrates, for the first time, that young brown dwarfs that are actively accreting can drive outflows. Also discussed is the important role adaptive optics will play when it comes to spatially resolving the forbidden emission line regions of sub-stellar objects and the potential for developing spectro-astrometry to a 2D form through integral field spectroscopy.     

GMOS spectroscopy of the S0 galaxy NGC 3115

We present Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph longslit spectroscopy of the isolated S0 galaxy NGC 3115. We have determined kinematical data and Lick/IDS absorption line-strength indices for the major axis out to around 9 kpc and for the minor axis out to around 5 kpc (around 2R _e ). Using stellar population models which include the effects of variable [α/Fe] ratios, we derive metallicities, abundance ratios and ages for the stellar population of NGC 3115. We find that [α/Fe] remains fairly constant with increasing radius at around  [α/Fe]= 0.17  for the major axis but increases rapidly for the minor axis to around  [α/Fe]= 0.3  . We also find that to first order, this behaviour can be explained by a simple spheroid + disc model, where the spheroid has  [α/Fe]= 0.3  and the disc shows close to solar abundance ratios. The disc also appears considerably younger than the spheroid, having an age of around 6 Gyr compared to 12 Gyr for the spheroid. We compare these results to those previously presented for the globular cluster system of NGC 3115.     

On the thermal evolution of the terrestrial planets

Physical and chemical constraints for such different planetary objects as the Earth, the Moon and meteorite parent bodies can best be satisfied by thermal history models having high initial temperatures. On the basis of thermal calculations it is suggested that the evolution of the other terrestrial planets (Mars, Venus and Mercury) was also characterized by high initial temperatures. Under these conditions, melting and, consequently, fractionation would set in at an early stage. Because of the resulting redistribution of the long-lived radioactive heat sources and the concentration of these elements in the surface layers, large-scale differentiation could be achieved by partial melting.Paper presented at the Lunar Science Institute Conference on Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Moon and Planets, January 10–12, 1973.     

On a type of solutions for dynamical rupture of the equilibrium of stars

Solutions for dynamical behaviour of unstable stellar models are obtained, in the special case where the velocity of a gaseous element varies asr/t. It is found that the only possible value for the constant of proportionality is 2/3 and that there are only two such stellar configurations.     

Spectrophotometry of Saturn and its rings from 60 to 180 microns

We observed Saturn at far-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths during the Earth's March 1980 passage through the plane of Saturn's rings. Comparison with earlier spectroscopic observations by D. B. Ward [Icarus32, 437–442 (1977)], obtained at a time when the tilt angle of the rings was 21.8°, permits separation of the disk and ring contributions to the flux observed in this wavelength range. We present two main results: (1) The observed emission of the disk between 60 and 180 μm corresponds to a brightness temperature of 104 ± 2°K; (2) the brightness temperature of the rings drops approximately 20°K between 60 and 80 μm. Our data, in conjunction with the data obtained by other observers between 1 μm and 1 mm, permit us to derive an improved estimate for the total Saturnian surface brightness of (4.84 ± 0.32) × 10^?4W cm^?2 corresponding to an effective temperature of 96.1 ± 1.6°K. The ratio of radiated to incident power, P_R/P_I, is (1.46 ± 0.08)/(1 - A), where A is the Bond albedo. For A = 0.337 ± 0.029, P_R/P_I = 2.20 ± 0.15 and Saturn's intrinsic luminosity is L_S = (2.9 ± 0.5) × 10^?10L_⊙.