Rifts,evaporites and the origin of certain alkaline rocks

The assimilation of evaporites and brines by basaltic magma in continental rifts may be responsible for alkaline magmatism and metasomatism. Spilites may be the oceanic counterpart of alkaline syenites. Remobilisation of alkaline material from evaporites and brines may also lead to feldspathisation and, moreover, it may be an essential factor in the production of glaucophane-bearing rocks. It is particularly significant that the oldest known occurrences of evaporites, nepheline syenites, and glaucophane schists are all of late Precambrian (-Eocambrian) age. These rocks appear to have become increasingly abundant with decreasing age, and this may reflect an evolution in the alkali (especially sodium) content of sea water, which in turn may correspond to progressive alkalinisation of the Earth's crust.

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Zusammenfassung Die Assimilation von Evaporiten und Solen durch basaltisches Magma in Zonen von kontinentalen Rifts dürfte für alkalischen Magmatismus und Metasomatismus verantwortlich sein. Die Spilite könnten das ozeanische Äquivalent der Alkalisyenite darstellen. Die Remobilisierung von alkalischem Material, ausgehend von Evaporiten und Solen, wäre auch für die Feldspatisation (z. B. die alpine Albitisierung) verantwortlich. Außerdem könnte dieser Vorgang eine wichtige Rolle bei der Bildung von Glaukophangesteinen spielen. Es ist von besonderer Bedeutung, daß die ältesten heute bekannten Lagerstätten von Evaporiten, Nephelinsyeniten und Glaukophanschiefern dem oberen Präkambrium (bzw. dem Eokambrium) angehören. Diese Gesteine scheinen mit abnehmendem Alter in ihrer Häufigkeit zuzunehmen. Dies könnte eine Evolution im Alkaligehalt des Meerwassers widerspiegeln, eine Erscheinung, welche ihrerseits einer zunehmenden Alkalisierung der Erdkruste entsprechen könnte.

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Résumé L'assimilation d'évaporites et de saumures par le magma basaltique montant dans des zones à rifts continentaux conduirait à des phénomènes de magmatisme et métasomatisme alcalins. Les spilites représenteraient le pendant océanique des syénites alcalines. La remobilisation de matériel alcalin à partir d'évaporites et de saumures serait également responsable de la feldspathisation (l'albitisation alpine, par exemple). De plus, elle pourrait jouer un rôle important dans la production de roches à glaucophane. Il est particulièrement significatif que les gisements les plus anciens, connus à ce jour, d'évaporites, de syénites néphéliniques, et de « schistes » à glaucophane, datent tous du Précambrien supérieur (ou de l'Eocambrien). Ces roches semblent augmenter de fréquence avec la diminution d'âge, ce qui pourrait refléter une évolution dans la teneur en alcalis (sodium surtout) de l'eau de mer, correspondant, à son tour, à l'alcalinisation croissante de la croûte terrestre.

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Buried trees,water table fluctuations,and 3000 years of changing climate in west-central Oklahoma

A sequence of radiocarbon-dated buried trees, buried soils, a carbonate zone, and a molluscan fauna from Carnegie Canyon indicate that between 3200 and 2600 yr B.P. the climate of west-central Oklahoma was drier than today. A high water table accompanied a period of moister climate 2000 to 1000 yr B.P. The water table dropped after 1000 yr B.P. due to a change toward dry conditions.     

Mechanical twinning in diopside Ca(Mg,Fe)Si2O6: Structural mechanism and associated crystal defects

Diopside twins mechanically on two planes, (100) and (001), and the associated macroscopic twinning strains are identical (Raleigh and Talbot, 1967). An analysis based on crystal structural arguments predicts that both twin mechanisms involve shearing of the (100) octahedral layers (containing Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺ ions) by a magnitude of c/2. Small adjustments or shuffles occur in the adjacent layers containing the [SiO₄]^4? tetrahedral chains. While the (100) twins are conventional with shear parallel to the composition plane, this analysis predicts that (001) twins form by a mechanism closely related to kinking. A polycrystalline diopside specimen was compressed 8% at a temperature of 400° C, a pressure of 16 kilobars, and a compressive strain rate of about 10^?4/s. Transmission electron microscopy on this specimen has revealed four basic lamellar features:

1. (100) mechanical twin lamellae;
2. (100) glide bands containing unit dislocations;
3. (001) twin lamellae;
4. (101) lamellar features, not as yet identified.

The (001) twins often contain remnant (100) lamellae of untwinned host. Twinning dislocations occur in these (100) lamellae and in the (001) twin boundaries with very high densities. Diffraction contrast experiments indicate that the twinning dislocations associated with both twin laws glide on (100) with Burgers vector b=X [001] where X is probably equal to 1/2 on the basis of the structural analysis. Parallels are drawn between mechanical twinning in clinopyroxenes and clinoamphiboles. The exclusive natural occurrence of basal twins in shock-loaded clinopyroxenes and of analogous ( \(\bar 1\) 01) twins in clinoamphiboles is given a simple explanation in terms of the relative difficulty of the “kinking” mechanism as compared to direct glide parallel to the composition plane.     

A Common Reference Material for Cadmium Isotope Studies – NIST SRM 3108

Research into natural mass‐dependent stable isotope fractionation of cadmium has rapidly expanded in the past few years. Methodologies are diverse with MC‐ICP‐MS favoured by all but one laboratory, which uses thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). To quantify the isotope fractionation and correct for instrumental mass bias, double‐spike techniques, sample‐calibrator bracketing or element doping has been used. However, easy comparison between data sets has been hampered by the multitude of in‐house Cd solutions used as zero‐delta reference in different laboratories. The lack of a suitable isotopic reference material for Cd is detrimental for progress in the long term. We have conducted a comprehensive round‐robin assay of NIST SRM 3108 and the Cd isotope offsets to commonly used in‐house reference materials. Here, we advocate NIST SRM 3108 both as an isotope standard and the isotopic reference point for Cd and encourage its use as ‘zero‐delta’ in future studies. The purity of NIST SRM 3108 was evaluated regarding isobaric and polyatomic molecular interferences, and the levels of Zn, Pd and Sn found were not significant. The isotope ratio ¹¹⁴Cd/¹¹⁰Cd for NIST SRM 3108 lies within ～ 10 ppm Da^?1 of best estimates for the Bulk Silicate Earth and is validated for all measurement technologies currently in use.     

Some geological implications of average Quaternary glacial conditions

Analyses of Quaternary landscape evolution tend to focus on events associated with culminations of glacial and interglacial ages, but for most of Quaternary time, environments were intermediate in character. Average Quaternary glacial conditions, based on assessment of the marine isotope record, approximated those near the stage 2/stage 1 transition and during substages 5b and 5d; isotope stages 3 and 4 and substages 5a-d lie within one standard deviation of the mean value. Under average glacial conditions, ice sheets lying over northern North America and Europe were much more contracted than their full-glacial counterparts, and the distribution of mountain glaciers reflected a snowline depression of some 500 m. Geomorphic processes operating under average Quaternary conditions contributed importantly to landscape evolution. Examples of landscapes that may represent such average conditions include cirques and fluvial deposits of the Pacific Northwest, the fjords and strandflat of western Norway, and atolls of the tropical oceans. By examining the geologic record from the perspective of average conditions, rather than those of climatic extremes, added insight can be gained regarding the evolution of Quaternary landscapes.     

Hydrocarbons generated by hydropyrolysis of suspended marine particulate organic matter: Relationship to the oceanography of the Black Sea and the Rhodes Gyre

The suspended particulate organic matter, SPOM, in the autumnal Black Sea has been characterised using catalytic hydropyrolysis (HyPy) of the total (bound plus free) lipid material. The technique, which generates maximum yields of volatile products from sediments, kerogens and phytoplankton, was followed using gas chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The generated alkanes were dominated by n-C₁₈, hypothesised to arise predominantly from unsaturated C₁₈ fatty acids. Steranes were generated from reductive conversion of free and bound sterols. The generation of branched alkanes and especially of hopanes provided formal evidence for the participation of bacteria in the mineralisation of the SPOM. Whereas similar distributions of n-alkanes were generated from SPOM sampled from different depths of the comparatively well-stirred Rhodes Gyre (eastern Mediterranean), mineralisation of the SPOM at each depth of the central Black Sea produced characteristic changes in the composition and concentration of the HyPy products. Depth profiles of the n-alkanes generated from SPOM in the region of the Rim Current were affected by the local hydrography. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of anthropogenic origin were present in the surface waters of the central Black Sea. Some methyl benzenes, thiophenes and pyrroles were also generated.     

Quantifying microartifacts using a personal computer

Microartifact analysis is a worthwhile endeavor in archaeological research. A recurring problem, however, has been the time invested in sample quantification. In this paper we offer an interactive way to quantify microartifact samples using a computer program called MMCOUNT. When the technique is applied during the point counting process, the time required to acquire reliable proportions of material classes can be reduced to approximately 25 minutes per sample, significantly less than usual counting times reported in other studies.     

G-Probe-1 - An International Proficiency Test for Microprobe Laboratories - Report on Round 1 : February 2002 (TB-1 Basaltic Glass)

Results are presented for round one of a new international proficiency testing programme designed for microprobe laboratories involved in the routine analysis of silicate minerals. The sample used for this round was TB-1, a basaltic glass fused and prepared by the USGS. Thirty nine laboratories contributed data to this round, the majority of major element results being undertaken by EPMA and the majority of trace elements by LA-ICP-MS. Assigned values were derived from the median of results produced by nine selected laboratories that analysed powdered material by conventional ICP-MS, INAA and XRF techniques using bulk powders of the sample. Submitted microprobe results were evaluated using a target precision calculated using the Horwitz function, adopting the same criteria as those used for "applied" geochemistry laboratories in the companion GeoPT proficiency testing programme for laboratories involved in the routine bulk analysis of silicate rocks. An evaluation of results from participating microprobe laboratories indicated that overall, data were compatible with this precision function. A comparison between the performance of bulk and microprobe techniques used in the analysis of the basaltic glass showed remarkably good agreement, with significant bias only observed for the major oxide MgO.