Coupled trace element mobilisation and strain softening in quartz during retrograde fluid infiltration in dry granulite protoliths

This study focuses on the retrograde rheological and chemical evolution of quartz and the behaviour of quartzites during retrograde metamorphism following dry high grade metamorphism at 750°C, 7 kbar. SEM-CL and LA-HR-ICP-MS are applied to document quartz texture and chemistry, respectively. Four generations of quartz were distinguished by SEM-CL; Qz1, Qz2, Qz3 and Qz4. Qz1, brecciated and partly dissolved old grains, is enriched in B, Al and Ti when compared with the other types. Qz2, formed during brecciation and partial dissolution of Qz1, has low Al contents (<50 ppm) but, due to rutile inclusions, variable Ti contents when occurring in amphibolite (210–10 ppm) but more consistent values when occurring in quartzites (peak value 32 ppm). Qz3, dark grey luminescent quartz forming fluid migration channels (fluid pathways), has Ti < 5 ppm and Al contents below 10 ppm and B < 1 ppm. Qz4, comprises are group of quartz later than Qz3 filling micron thick cracks and pods with very low luminescent quartz, i.e. darker than Qz3. The textural and chemical evolution of quartz in our study is explained by two major influxes of aqueous fluids during regional uplift and retrogression. They facilitated rehydration and recrystallisation in the otherwise dry high grade quartzites. The first introduction of aqueous fluids was associated with brecciation of the high grade quartz (Qz1) and dissolution/precipitation of quartz (Qz2). Ti in quartz geothermometry (Wark and Watson, Contrib Mineral Petrol 152(6):637–652) gives 626°C in agreement with the retrograde PT-path deduced from phase diagrams. Later fluid influx associated with scapolitisation of amphibolite caused localised recrystallisation (Qz3) and alteration of biotite to muscovite along mm-wide fluid migration channels. During subsequent deformation, Qz3 deformed plastically and recovered by subgrain rotation recrystallisation (SGR), resulting in a reduction of grain size, whereas Qz1 quartz formed micro faults. Qz2 was plastic but did not experience SGR to the same degree as Qz3 quartz. Increased plasticity and recovery rates most likely relate to an increased H₂O fugacity and the depletion in trace elements of the quartz lattice by promoting strain softening processes dislocation climb and recovery. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Atmosphere–Surface Fluxes of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> using Spectral Techniques

Different flux estimation techniques are compared here in order to evaluate air–sea exchange measurement methods used on moving platforms. Techniques using power spectra and cospectra to estimate fluxes are presented and applied to measurements of wind speed and sensible heat, latent heat and CO₂ fluxes. Momentum and scalar fluxes are calculated from the dissipation technique utilizing the inertial subrange of the power spectra and from estimation of the cospectral amplitude, and both flux estimates are compared to covariance derived fluxes. It is shown how even data having a poor signal-to-noise ratio can be used for flux estimations.     

Weather radar observations of the Hekla 2000 eruption cloud,Iceland

The Hekla eruption cloud on 26–27 February 2000 was the first volcanic cloud to be continuously and completely monitored advecting above Iceland, using the C-band weather radar near the Keflavík international airport. Real-time radar observations of the onset, advection, and waning of the eruption cloud were studied using time series of PPI (plan-position indicator) radar images, including VMI normal, Echotop, and Cappi level 2 displays. The reflectivity of the entire volcanic cloud ranges from 0 to >60 dBz. The eruption column above the vent is essentially characterised by VMI normal and Cappi level 2 values, >30 dBz, due to the dominant influence of lapilli and ash (tephra) on the overall reflected signal. The cloud generated by the column was advected downwind to the north-northeast. It is characterised by values between 0 and 30 dBz, and the persistence of these reflections likely result from continuing water condensation and freezing on ash particles. Echotop radar images of the eruption onset document a rapid ascent of the plume head with a mean velocity of ~30 to 50 m s^–1, before it reached an altitude of ~11–12 km. The evolution of the reflected cloud was studied from the area change in pixels of its highly reflected portions, >30 dBz, and tied to recorded volcanic tremor amplitudes. The synchronous initial variation of both radar and seismic signals documents the abrupt increase in tephra emission and magma discharge rate from 18:20 to 19:00 UTC on 26 February. From 19:00 the >45 dBz and 30–45 dBz portions of the reflected cloud decrease and disappear at about 7 and 10.5 h, respectively, after the eruption began, indicating the end of the decaying explosive phase. The advection and extent of the reflected eruption cloud were compared with eyewitness accounts of tephra fall onset and the measured mass of tephra deposited on the ground during the first 12 h. Differences in the deposit map and volcanic cloud radar map are due to the fact that the greater part of the deposit originates by fallout off the column margins and from the base of the cloud followed by advection of falling particle in lower level winds.Editorial responsibility: P. Mouginis-Mark     

Chelation of divalent metal ions by brown algal polyphenols

High-molecular-weight, nondialyzable polyphloroglucinols from the marine brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus vesiculosus (Phaeophyceae, Fucales) chelate the divalent metal ions Sr²⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Be²⁺, Mn²⁺, Cd²⁺, Co²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Pb²⁺ and Cu²⁺ in weakly acidic aqueous solution. Values of the relative selectivity coefficients k have been calculated relative to Mn²⁺; the ionotropic series with the algal polyphenols are similar to those with catechol and pyrogallol. These studies may serve as a guide for the examination of metal chelation by brown algal polyphenols both in situ and after exudation into seawater.     

19th century eutrophication of a remote boreal lake: a consequence of climate warming?

To investigate the response of a remote boreal lake to recent climate warming, a 200-year varved sediment record from Rainbow Lake A (RLA), located in the northern boreal forest of Wood Buffalo National Park, straddling northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories (Canada), was investigated using diatom assemblages and biogenic silica concentrations. Diatom community composition, trends in diatom-inferred total phosphorus (TP) and biogenic silica levels all showed significant changes beginning between circa 1830 and 1840, coincident with the onset of increasingly warm June/July temperatures in northern Canada. We evaluated several hypotheses which may have caused these nutrient changes, including local anthropogenic disturbances, forest fires, increased atmospheric deposition of nutrients or pollen, and internal sources of nutrient regeneration. We concluded that TP is likely increasing as a result of enhanced internal cycling of phosphorus due to either increased thermal stratification in response to warmer summer temperatures and/or decreased meromictic stability. The results presented here, in combination with other recent paleolimnological research in northern latitude regions, suggest widespread aquatic response to increasing temperatures beginning in the 19th century.     

Experimental constraints on syneruptive magma ascent related to the phreatomagmatic phase of the 2000<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">AD</Emphasis> eruption of Usu volcano,Japan

We experimentally studied the dacitic magma ejected during the first event in the Usu 2000 eruption to investigate the conditions of syneruptive magmatic ascent. Geophysical data revealed that the magma reached under West Nishiyama, the location of the event’s craters, after rising beneath the summit. Prior study of bubble-size distributions of ejecta shows two stages (stage 1 and stage 2) with different magma ascent rates, as the magma accelerated beneath West Nishiyama with the start of the second stage. To simulate ascent of stage 1 from the main reservoir, which was located at a depth of 4–6 km (125 MPa) to 2 km (50 MPa) beneath West Nishiyama, decompression experiments were conducted isothermally at 900°C following two paths. Single step decompression (SSD) samples were decompressed rapidly (0.67 MPa/s) to their final pressure and held for 12 to 144 hours. Multiple step decompression (MSD) samples were decompressed stepwise to their final pressure and quenched instantly. In MSD, the average decompression rates and total experimental durations varied between 0.01389 to 0.00015 MPa/s and 1.5 to 144 hours, respectively. Syneruptive crystallization was confined to stage 1, and the conditions of ascent were determined by documenting similarities in decompression-induced crystallization between ejecta and experiments. Core compositions, number densities, and shapes of experimental microlites indicate that ascent to 2 km depth occurred in less than 1.5 h. Volumes and number densities of experimental microlites from the SSD experiments that best replicate the decompression rate to 2 km indicate that the magma remained at 2 km for approximately 24 h before the eruption. Stagnation at a depth of 2 km corresponds with horizontal transport through a dike from beneath the summit to West Nishiyama, according to geodetic results. The total magma transport timescale including stage 2 is tens of hours and is shorter than the timescale of precursory seismicity (3.5 days), indicating that the erupted magma did not move out of the reservoir for the first 2 days. This is consistent with the temporal change in numbers of earthquakes, which reached a peak after 2 days.     

Holocene environmental history and climate of Råtåsjøen,a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway

The Holocene environmental history and climate are reconstructed for Råtåsjøen, a low-alpine lake in south-central Norway. The reconstructions are based on chironomids, diatoms, pollen, plant macrofossils, and sediment characteristics. From plant macrofossil evidence, birch trees (Betula pubescens) immigrated ca. 10,000 cal BP. The chironomid-inferred mean July air temperature was high, but may be unreliable during the early stages of the lakes history due to the high abundance of Chironomus anthracinus type, a taxon that may include several species. From ca. 9000 cal BP the inferred mean July temperature was lower (ca. 9 °C). Temperatures increased towards 8000 cal BP and pine (Pinus sylvestris) reached its upper limit near the lake. July temperature may have become a significant factor controlling long-term pH in the lake, starting shortly after 8000 cal BP. High pH values were associated with periods of warm summers and lower pH values occurred during periods of colder summers. Alkalinity processes within the lake and/or the catchment are possible factors controlling this relationship. A temperature decline at ca. 5400 cal BP separated two 10.6 °C temperature maxima around 6400 and 4500 cal BP. The 1.5 °C decline in July air temperatures from ca. 4400 cal BP was paralleled by a decrease of pH from 7.2 to 6.8. Following the temperature drop, first pine and then birch trees declined and disappeared from the catchment and organic accumulation in the lake increased. The increased organic accumulation rate had a positive effect on diatom production. At ca. 2700 cal BP the temperature reached a minimum (ca. 9.2 °C) and correspondingly a second pH minimum was reached. Temperature decreased again slightly at ca. 400 cal BP during the Little Ice Age, before increasing by about 0.5 °C towards the present. Percentage organic carbon as estimated by loss-on-ignition appears to be better correlated with chironomid-inferred July temperatures than organic accumulation rates, at least for the last 9000 years. Accumulation rates of organic sediments are more coupled with catchment-related processes, such as erosion and major changes in vegetation, than is percentage organic carbon.     

Open boundaries in short wave simulations — A new approach

A new way of implementing radiation boundary conditions in finite difference schemes is reported. Instead of prescribing the incident field at the model boundary, waves are generated inside the model boundary. All outgoing waves are absorbed at open boundaries using so-called “sponge” layers.