The Reporoa Caldera,Taupo Volcanic Zone: source of the Kaingaroa Ignimbrites

The Reporoa Caldera occupies the northern end of the Reporoa Depression, previously described as a tectonic fault-angle depression. Earlier confirmation of the topographic basin as a caldera had been hindered by the lack of an associated young pyroclastic flow deposit of large enough volume to have caused caldera collapse. New exposures on the eastern margin of the Reporoa basin reveal thick lithic lag breccias (>30 m) interbedded within the 0.24 Ma Kaingaroa Ignimbrites. These ignimbrites were previously attributed to the adjacent Okataina Volcanic Centre. Lag breccia thicknesses and maximum clast sizes decrease rapidly outward from the caldera rim, and discrete breccias are absent from ignimbrite sections more than 3 km from the rim. The lithic lag breccias, together with structural and geophysical evidence, confirm Reporoa Caldera as the source of the c. 100 km³ Kaingaroa Ignimbrites, adding another major rhyolitic volcanic centre to the seven previously recognized in the Taupo Volcanic Zone. Other, older, calderas may also be present in the Reporoa Depression.     

Petrogenesis of the highly potassic 1.42 Ga Barrel Spring pluton,southeastern California,with implications for mid-Proterozoic magma genesis in the southwestern USA

Syenites from the Barrel Spring pluton were emplaced in the Early Proterozoic Mojave crustal provine of southeastern California at 1.42 Ga. All rocks, even the most mafic, are highly enriched in incompatible elements (e.g. K₂O 4–12 wt%, Rb 170–370 ppm, Th 12–120 ppm, La 350–1500xchondrite, La/Yb_n 35–100). Elemental compositions require an incompatible element-rich but mafic (or ultramafic) source. Trace element models establish two plausible sources for Barrel Spring magmas: (1) LREE enriched garnet websterite with accessory apatite±rutile (enriched lithospheric mantle), and (2) garnet amphibolite or garnet-hornblende granulite with enriched alkali basalt composition, also with accessory apatite±rutile (mafic lower crust). Nd and Pb isotopic ratios do not distinguish a crust vs mantle source, but eliminate local Mojave province crust as the principal one, and indicate that generation of the enriched source occurred several hundred million years before emplacement of the Barrel Spring pluton. 1.40–1.44 Ga potassic granites are common in southeastern California, suggesting a genetic link between the Barrel Spring pluton and the granites; however, although the same thermal regime was probably responsible for producing both the granitic and syentic magmas, elemental and isotopic compositions preclude a close relationship. Isotopic similarity of the Barrel Spring pluton to 1.40–1.44 Ga granites emplaced in the Central Arizona crustal province to the east may imply that a common component was present in the lithosphere of these generally distinct regions.     

A paleomagnetic study of certain Mesozoic formations in northern Mexico

Rocks of Late Cretaceous, Early Jurassic and Late Triassic age, collected in northern Mexico yield the following pole positions: 169.3°E57.9°N (Cretaceous), 70.7°E76.0°N (?Jurassic) and 119.2°E76.4°N (?Late Triassic). The Triassic and Cretaceous poles are not significantly different from those class-A poles (Hicken et al., 1972) of the North American craton. It is therefore suggested that the North American craton may be traced south as far as 23°N and inferentially a further four degrees (to the Mexican volcanic belt).The results from the La Boca Formation are interpreted as indicating a much greater age (Late Precambrian-Early (Paleozoic) than is currently assigned to that formation.     

Paleomagnetism and the alpine tectonics of Eurasia V: The paleomagnetism of some mesozoic and cenozoic volcanic rocks from the lebanon

A sampling of Mesozoic and Tertiary basalts in Lebanon yielded the following information:

Age	D	I	α95	Pole position	dp	dm
Upper Jurassic	95	+21	10.6	114E 2N	5.9	11.2
				66W 2S
Lower Cretaceous	122	+2	9.0	105E 25S	4.5	9.0
				75W 25N
Upper Pliocene	2	+46	7.7	169E 88N	6.3	9.8
				11W 88S

Full-size table

These results confirm and amplify earlier work by Van Dongen et al., and can be interpreted as indicating a net anticlockwise rotation of Lebanon relative to the African tectonic plate amounting to about 70° during the Late Jurassic-Pliocene interval. This could have resulted from differential movement between the African and European plates as they made way for the growing Atlantic Ocean.     

Neuere Untersuchungsmethoden der Geophysik und das Problem der Bewegung der Kontinente

Zusammenfassung Die Arbeit gibt eine Übersicht über den gegenwärtigen Stand der geophysikalischen Vorstellungen zur Kontinentalverschiebung. Die grundlegende paläomagnetische Beweisführung für großräumige Kontinentalbewegungen wird als richtig angesehen, und die Daten, die auf laufende Bewegungen in dieser Größenordnung hinweisen, werden kurz besprochen. Die statische und die dynamische Ausdeutung der Gravitation, des Wärmeflusses und der seismologischen Ergebnisse weisen auf eine Abweichung der Erde von der Idealform und auf die Ungleichförmigkeit innerhalb der Erde hin. Als dynamische Deutung bietet die Konvektionshypothese die beste Erklärung für Kontinentalbewegungen, und es wird versucht, mit dieser Hypothese auch die neuesten ozeanographischen Ergebnisse zu interpretieren. Schließlich seien einige geologische Folgerungen aus der Konvektionshypothese, wie z. B. der Verschiebungsmechanismus, betrachtet. Eine mögliche zyklische Theorie für die ozeanische Kruste sowie die Beziehung zwischen abweichenden paläomagnetischen Ergebnissen und Fragen der Großtektonik in orogenen Gebieten werden diskutiert.

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The present state of geophysical ideas with respect to continental drift is reviewed. The basic palaeomagnetic argument for large scale continental displacement outlined is accepted as valid, and the data available indicating current movements of the same order of magnitude briefly discussed. Two interpretations, static and dynamic, of the gravity, heat flow, and seismic data which indicate the departure of the Earth from a hydrostatic state are described.Adopting the dynamic interpretation, the convection hypothesis offers the best available explanation for continental drift. An attempt is made to show how this can also be used to interpret modern oceanographic results. Finally some of the geological implications of the convection hypothesis as the drift mechanism are considered. Reference is made to a possible cycling of the oceanic crust, and to the possible relation of the anomalous palaeomagnetic results to the questions of megatectonics in orogenic areas.

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Résumé Les idées géophysicales modernes en ce qui concerne les déplacements des continents sont décrites. Acceptant les arguments paléomagnétiques comme base, les indications des mouvements actuels de même ordre de grandeur sont indiquées. Il se trouve deux interprétations importantes, statique et dynamique, des résultats gravimétriques, du flux de chaleur et de la séismologie qui indiquent une déviation de la Terre de la forme hydrostatique.Si l'on accepte l'interprétation dynamique, alors c'est la théorie des courants convectifs dans le manteau qui, jusqu'à présent, peut mieux expliquer les déplacements des continents. Cette étude essaye de montrer l'interprétation à l'aide de cette théorie des données océanographiques récentes. Enfin les implications géologiques de convection comme mécanisme de déplacements sont considérées, telle que l'idée d'un mouvement cyclique de la croûte océanique, et les relations possibles entre les résultats paléomagnétiques anomals et les questions mégatectoniques des zones orogéniques.

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Contribution no. 28 W. R. U. Geology Dept.

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For the German translation of this article my most sincere thanks must be recorded to Dipl. Geol. O.Stehn and K.Krumsieck, Geol. Inst. Bonn, and to the editorial staff of Geol. Rundschau.     

The mechanism of Re enrichment in arc magmas: evidence from Lau Basin basaltic glasses and primitive melt inclusions

Rhenium and other trace element data were obtained in situ by laser ablation ICP-MS analysis of submarine-erupted volcanic glasses and olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Valu Fa Ridge, the south tip of the Lau Basin, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The chemistry of the Lau Basin basaltic glasses changes systematically from compositions similar to MORB in the Lau Spreading Centers, to more arc-like compositions in the Valu Fa Ridge, providing geochemical profiles both along the Lau Spreading Centers (ridges) and across the Valu Fa Ridge. The east seamount samples of the Valu Fa Ridge have diagnostic trace element ratios (Ba/Nb, Nb/U, Ce/Pb) close to global arc averages, with high Ba/La, indicating addition of considerable amounts of subduction-released fluids. In contrast, samples from the west seamount and the Lau Spreading Centers show a smaller influence from subduction fluids. The variable degrees of subduction influences apparent in the chemistry of these suites provide an ideal means to explore the mechanisms of Re enrichment in undegassed arc magmas. All of the analyzed arc melts have significantly higher Re concentrations than previously published, largely subaerially erupted samples, confirming that high Re is a characteristic of undegassed arc magmas. The east seamount samples are characterized by higher Re and lower Yb/Re than the more MORB-like Lau Spreading Center lavas. The lack of correlation between Yb/Re and Fo of host olivine suggests that low Yb/Re is not due to magmatic differentiation. When the Lau Basin sample suite is plotted together with MORB data, Yb/Re is positively correlated with Ce/Pb and Nb/U, and negatively correlated with Ba/Nb, indicating that Re is much more mobile than Yb during dehydration of subducted slabs. Thus, Re enrichment in arc magmas is likely due to addition of Re via fluids released from subducted slabs; the recognition of high Re in arcs favors arguments for a slab origin of radiogenic ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os components in arc rocks.     

The 10 ka multiple vent pyroclastic eruption sequence at Tongariro Volcanic Centre, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand: Part 2. Petrological insights into magma storage and transport during regional extension

The six eruption episodes of the 10 ka Pahoka–Mangamate (PM) sequence (see companion paper) occurred over a ?200–400-year period from a 15-km-long zone of multiple vents within the Tongariro Volcanic Centre (TgVC), located at the southern end of the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). Most TgVC eruptives are plagioclase-dominant pyroxene andesites and dacites, with strongly porphyritic textures indicating their derivation from magmas that ascended slowly and stagnated at shallow depths. In contrast, the PM pyroclastic eruptives show petrographic features (presence of phenocrystic and groundmass hornblende, and the coexistence of olivine and augite without plagioclase during crystallisation of phenocrysts and microphenocrysts) which suggest that their crystallisation occurred at depth. Depths exceeding 8 km are indicated for the dacitic magmas, and >20 km for the andesitic and basaltic andesitic magmas. Other petrographic features (aphyric nature, lack of reaction rims around hornblende, and the common occurrence of skeletal microphenocrystic to groundmass olivine in the andesites and basaltic andesites) suggest the PM magmas ascended rapidly immediately prior to their eruption, without any significant stagnation at shallow depths in the crust. The PM eruptives show three distinct linear trends in many oxide–oxide diagrams, suggesting geochemical division of the six episodes into three chronologically-sequential groups, early, middle and late. Disequilibrium features on a variety of scales (banded pumice, heterogeneous glassy matrix and presence of reversely zoned phenocrysts) suggest that each group contains the mixing products of two end-member magmas. Both of these end-member magmas are clearly different in each of the three groups, showing that the PM magma system was completely renewed at least three times during the eruption sequence. Minor compositional diversity within the eruptives of each group also allows the PM magmas to be distinguished in terms of their source vents. Because petrography suggests that the PM magmas did not stagnate at shallow levels during their ascent, the minor diversity in magmas from different vents indicates that magmas ascended from depth through separate conduits/dikes to erupt at different vents either simultaneously or sequentially. These unique modes of magma transport and eruption support the inferred simultaneous or sequential tapping of small separate magma bodies by regional rifting in the southern Taupo Volcanic Zone during the PM eruption sequence (see companion paper).     

Development and erosion in the Brazilian Amazon: A geochronological case study

A ²¹⁰Pb chronology of sedimentation in a small floodplain lake in the Jamari river basin (Rondonia, Brazil) provided insight into the relationship between development and erosion in the Brazilian Amazon. Positive correlations between increased sedimentation in the lake and levels of deforestation and mining in the Jamari basin suggested a major increase in erosion associated with these activities. This increase in erosion could diminish agricultural yields in the basin and significantly reduce the useful life of a hydro-electric plant recently built on the river.     

Spatial and temporal variations in soil chemistry on the Amazon floodplain

Soil samples were collected on the floodplains of the Amazon River and its principal Brazilian tributaries during dry, early rising water, and early falling water periods. The concentrations of basic cations and pH in these alluvial soils were always higher than those in the more common terra firme soils while the concentrations of aluminum were generally lower. Among the alluvial soils, those from the main channel floodplain were generally higher in basic cations and pH, and lower in aluminum than those from the tribuary floodplains. The concentrations of basic cations in soils along the main channel floodplain decreased downstream. No significant difference was found in the levels of basic cations, pH, or aluminum between sampling periods.     

Book Review: Paleomagnetism: Continents and Oceans. By Michael W. McElhinny and Phillip L. McFadden. Academic Press,San Diego, 2000, 386 p., $69.95 (U.S.), paperback,ISBN 0-12-483355-1

Mathematical Geosciences -