Highly siderophile element behaviour accompanying subduction of oceanic crust: Whole rock and mineral-scale insights from a high-pressure terrain

Highly siderophile element concentrations (HSE: Re and platinum-group elements (PGE)) are presented for gabbros, gabbroic eclogites and basaltic eclogites from the high-pressure Zermatt-Saas ophiolite terrain, Switzerland. Rhenium and PGE (Os, Ir, Ru, Rh, Pt, Pd) abundances in gabbro- and eclogite-hosted sulphides, and Re-Os isotopes and elemental concentrations in silicate phases are also reported. This work, therefore, provides whole rock and mineral-scale insights into the PGE budget of gabbroic oceanic crust and the effects of subduction metamorphism on gabbroic and basaltic crust.Chondrite-normalised PGE patterns for the gabbros are similar to published mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB), but show less inter-element fractionation. Mean Pt and Pd contents of 360 and 530 pg/g, respectively, are broadly comparable to MORB, but gabbros have somewhat higher abundances of Os, Ir and Ru (mean: 64, 57 and 108 pg/g). Transformation to eclogite has not significantly changed the concentrations of the PGE, except Pd which is severely depleted in gabbroic eclogites relative to gabbros (∼75% loss). In contrast, basaltic eclogites display significant depletion of Pt (?60%), Pd (>85%) and Re (50-60%) compared with published MORB, while Os, Ir and Ru abundances are broadly comparable. Thus, these data suggest that only Pt, Pd and Re, and not Os, Ir and Ru, may be significantly fluxed into the mantle wedge from mafic oceanic crust. Re-Os model ages for gabbroic and gabbroic eclogite minerals are close to age estimates for igneous crystallisation and high-pressure metamorphism, respectively, hence the HSE budgets can be related to both igneous and metamorphic behaviour. The gabbroic budget of Os, Ir, Ru and Pd (but not Pt) is dominated by sulphide, which typically hosts >90% of the Os, whereas silicates account for most of the Re (with up to 75% in plagioclase alone). Sulphides in gabbroic eclogites tend to host a smaller proportion of the total Os (10-90%) while silicates are important hosts, probably reflecting Os inheritance from precursor phases. Garnet contains very high Re concentrations and may account for >50% of Re in some samples. The depletion of Pd in gabbroic eclogites appears linked, at least in part, to the loss of Ni-rich sulphide.Both basaltic and gabbroic oceanic crust have elevated Pt/Os ratios, but Pt/Re ratios are not sufficiently high to generate the coupled ¹⁸⁶Os-¹⁸⁷Os enrichments observed in some mantle melts, even without Pt loss from basaltic crust. However, the apparent mobility of Pt and Re in slab fluids provides an alternative mechanism for the generation of Pt- and Re-rich mantle material, recently proposed as a potential source of ¹⁸⁷Os-¹⁸⁶Os enrichment.     

Trace element partitioning during high-P partial melting and melt-rock interaction; an example from northern Fiordland, New Zealand

Pods of granulite facies dioritic gneiss in the Pembroke Valley, Milford Sound, New Zealand, preserve peritectic garnet surrounded by trondhjemitic leucosome and vein networks, that are evidence of high‐P partial melting. Garnet‐bearing trondhjemitic veins extend into host gabbroic gneiss, where they are spatially linked with the recrystallization of comparatively low‐P two‐pyroxene‐hornblende granulite to fine‐grained high‐P garnet granulite assemblages in garnet reaction zones. New data acquired using a Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA‐ICPMS) for minerals in various textural settings indicate differences in the partitioning of trace elements in the transition of the two rock types to garnet granulite, mostly due to the presence or absence of clinozoisite. Garnet in the garnet reaction zone (gabbroic gneiss) has a distinct trace element pattern, inherited from reactant gabbroic gneiss hornblende. Peritectic garnet in the dioritic gneiss and garnet in trondhjemitic veins from the Pembroke Granulite have trace element patterns inherited from the melt‐producing reaction in the dioritic gneiss. The distinct trace element patterns of garnet link the trondhjemitic veins geochemically to sites of partial melting in the dioritic gneiss.     

Composition of the Siberian cratonic mantle: evidence from Udachnaya peridotite xenoliths

Bulk compositions and mineral analyses for forty-one, large, garnet- and spinel-facies peridotite xenoliths from the Udachnaya kimberlite in the central Siberian platform have many similarities to those of well-studied peridotites from the Kaapvaal craton in southern Africa. Coarse Mg-rich lherzolites and harzburgites with equilibration temperatures below 1000 °C are abundant and are believed to form the principal rock type in the Siberian lithosphere. The low-temperature Udachnaya peridotites have an average mg number [Mg/(Mg+Fe)] of 92.6 with a wide dispersion in modal enstatite, ranging to over 40 wt%. High-temperature peridotites are relatively richer in Fe and Ti and are commonly deformed, with porphyroclastic or mosaic-porphyroclastic textures, some of the latter having fluidized enstatite. The Udachnaya peridotites have experienced late-stage metasomatism before, during and after eruption. Garnets and pyroxenes in many of the high-temperature rocks are zoned, probably by reaction with melt prior to eruption. Virtually all the peridotites contain secondary diopside, inhomogeneous on a micron scale, that mantles primary orthopyroxene. It is believed to have crystallized along with lesser amounts of intergranular calcite and monticellite during eruption. Bulk analyses for total Fe in many specimens are higher than whole-rock Fe calculated from the electron probe analyses and the modes. The magnitude of the difference between the two measurements of total Fe correlates with loss-on-ignition, suggesting that Fe has been introduced during serpentinization following eruption. These late metasomatic processes have thus affected some major as well minor and trace element compositions. The similarities in bulk composition of peridotites from Udachnaya and the Kaapvaal are evidence of a common origin. Low-temperature cratonic peridotites differ from oceanic peridotites in having higher mg numbers (>92) and in having relatively high but wide-ranging modal enstatite (Mg/Si = 1.06–1.49 weight fraction). The Udachnaya low-temperature peridotites have an inverse correlation between FeO (calculated from the probe analyses and modes) and SiO₂. This correlation is also present in the Kaapvaal data but is complicated by a greater range in fertility that produces a positive variation of Fe with Si. A negative trend for Fe/Si can be seen within a portion of the Kaapvaal data, that for low-Ca harzburgites, in which the variation in fertility is restricted. The negative trends for Fe/Si can be interpreted as a consequence of either segregation of olivine and orthopyroxene by metamorphic differentiation or partial sorting during cumulate formation. Received: 18 June 1996  / Accepted: 11 February 1997     

Holocene sedimentation on the North Norfolk barrier coast in relation to relative sea-level change

Fourteen distinct sedimentary environments have been recognised in the surface sediments of the intertidal zone of the North Norfolk coast. Nine of these can be distinguished in borehole samples on the basis of sedimentological and micro-palaeontological characteristics. They comprise: gravel; channel sand; intertidal sand; intertidal silty sand; intertidal mud and marsh creek; lower salt marsh; upper salt marsh; dune sand; and peat. Sediment accumulations have been penetrated to a depth of ?8 m OD and basal peats dated by ¹⁴C back to 8410 ± 50 years BP. An overall rate of sediment accumulation (and subsidence) of about 1 m per thousand years is indicated. There is considerable persistence of sedimentary environments in the same areas during up-building, but some erosion and roll-over of the coastal barrier system has occurred. Evidence of positive and negative sea-level tendencies are present in the record, but the main development of the tract is determined by sediment supply to the beach and marshes; positive sea-level tendencies occur at c. 6610, 5970, 4630 and 2790 BP, negative sea-level tendencies occur at 4520 to 4450 and (possibly) 3470 BP.     

Cost/benefit analysis of a benthic monitoring programme of organic benthic enrichment using different sampling and analysis methods

To investigate the combined effects of decreasing taxonomic resolution (i.e. species, family, phylum), the use of different mesh-size (1.0 mm and 0.5 mm) and the type of samplers used (van Veen vs. corers taken by divers) on the quality of data obtained, a comparative study was undertaken with the overall aim of identifying cost efficient methods for routinely monitoring the ecological change caused by Mediterranean fish farming. The results clearly showed that information loss was relatively low as data were aggregated at higher taxonomic levels, particularly up to the level of family or even order. It was also found that the extra information gained by sieving samples through a 0.5 mm sieve did not improve the ability to distinguish the potentially impacted sites from the control stations. Finally, it was found that a relatively large proportion of the available information concerning the community structure such as abundance, biomass or diversity is lost when sampling is carried out with corers. A cost/benefit ratio analysis for the two sampling and the two sieving methods showed minimal values for the van Veen samples (for both sieve fractions) at the family level, indicating that analysis at this level gives the best balance between precision of the results and decrease in taxonomic effort. However, if the time needed to sort the samples is included in the analysis, then samples taken with corers using a 0.5 mm sieve and identified to families seems like a good compromise between precision and cost.     

Role of lipid/water partitioning and membrane composition in the uptake of organochlorine pesticides into a freshwater mussel

The aim of this investigation is to understand the factors influencing uptake of persistent organochlorine pesticides into a freshwater mussel (Sphaerium corneum). Previous work has shown that although a substantial proportion of dieldrin is bound to particulates in the river system, uptake is from the dieldrin in solution. This suggests partitioning of the hydrophobic xenobiotics into membranes as the major route of entry. Membrane composition was established using lipid fractionation into neutral lipids and phospholipids followed by derivatisation to fatty acid methyl esters and estimation using GC/FID. Membrane composition varied with acclimation temperature over the range 5–20°C. Dieldrin concentrations in the mussel at equilibrium with 2000 ng dieldrin/litre water burden were studied at one temperature under laboratory conditions using animals acclimated to different temperatures. Any differences may be explicable in terms of effects of membrane composition on partitioning or other physiological adaptations. To establish which of these factors is most significant a membrane fragment partition system has been analysed in vitro. Preliminary results indicate that although water/lipid partitioning may be important in entry (and exit) of non-polar xenobiotics, significant differences could not be found using current methods. The role of membrane composition and therefore temperature history of the organism may still be significant. The implications of this for attempted correlations between bioaccumulation factors and simple octanol/water partition coefficients are discussed.     

The benthic communities of the Snorre field in the Northern North Sea (61°30′ N 2°10′ E): 1. The distribution and structure of communities in undisturbed sediments

The fauna of the Snorre oil field is diverse and varies along a 40 m depth gradient across the area. Abundance and species richness increase with increasing depth but diversity is highest in the centre of the gradient. The communities present differ widely from those of the adjacent but shallower Statfjord, Gullfaks and Tordis Fields and from the major communities found throughout much of the northern North Sea, a fact attributable to the greater depth, finer sediments, higher sediment organic levels and position on the western slope of the Norwegian Trench. They have greater affinities with the communities in the Troll Field, 85 km SE on silt/clay sediments in the floor of the trench and the Heidrun Field, situated approximately 390 km N at similar depths and in an area of similar sedimentary composition. However the Snorre communities have a much higher number of suspension feeding and surface deposit feeding organisms than either of these other areas. This might be caused by higher current speeds in the Snorre area which could create favourable conditions for suspensivores. Such water movements might bring occasional incursions of intermediate Norwegian Sea water into the area. Indeed the Snorre fauna appears to bear some relationships to the intermediate depth faunas of the Norwegian Sea, and is clearly different from most of the better described northern North Sea faunas.     

Mapping urban Māori: A population‐based study of Māori heterogeneity

Urban Māori is a term that describes indigenous people in Aotearoa New Zealand living in urban environments. It includes Māori who hold traditional authority over land (mana whenua) and Māori who have moved away from their traditional homes (mātāwaka). This article describes the heterogeneity of the urban Māori population through the spatial analysis of iwi (tribal) census data for four urban centres. The results show complex variation in the distribution of mana whenua and mātāwaka populations and help to inform a discussion about the rights and interests of all urban Māori in the development and planning of cities, and subsequent policy responses.