The magmatic to hydrothermal transition and its bearing on ore-forming systems

The exsolution of volatile phases from silicate magmas controls physical and chemical magma properties and influences large-scale geologic phenomena and processes having major societal and economic implications including the release of climate-altering gases to the atmosphere, the explosivity of volcanic eruptions, hydrothermal alteration, and the generation of magmatic–hydrothermal mineralization. These volatile phases exsolve from a wide variety of magmas and cover a very broad spectrum of compositions.

The transition from the orthomagmatic to the hydrothermal stages has important bearing on these fundamentally important geologic phenomena, and this report summarizes the published results of a dozen scientific investigations on the magmatic–hydrothermal transition as applied to volcanic eruption and magmatic–hydrothermal mineralization. These studies involve a variety of analytical and experimental methodologies, and many focus on fluid and melt inclusions from mineralized magmatic systems. A primary goal of each study is to better understand the role of magmatic volatiles and the importance of the magmatic–hydrothermal transition on these geologic processes.     

From regolith to rock by shock

A model for shock-lithification of terrestrial and lunar regolith is proposed that accounts for: (1) observed petrographic properties and densities of shock-lithified material from missile impact craters at White Sands, New Mexico and from Meteor Crater, Arizona; (2) observed petrographic textures of lunar soil and lunar soil analogues experimentally shocked to known pressures in laboratory experiments; (3) theoretical calculations of the behavior of air and water under shock compression; and (4) measured Hugoniot and release adiabat data on dry and wet terrestrial soils and lunar regolith. In this model it is proposed that air or an air-water mixture initially in the pores of terrestrial soil affects the behavior of the soil-air-water system under shock-loading. Shock-lithified rocks found at Meteor Crater are classified as ‘strongly lithified’ and ‘weakly lithified’ on the basis of their strength in hand specimen; only weakly lithified rocks are found at the missile impact craters. These qualitative strength properties are related to the mechanisms of bonding in the rocks. The densities of weakly lithified samples are directly related to the pressures to which they were shock-loaded. A comparison of the petrographic textures and densities of weakly lithified samples with textures and densities of ‘regolith’ shock-loaded to known pressures suggests that weakly lithified terrestrial samples formed at pressures well under 100 kb, probably under 50 kb. If terrestrial soils are shock-loaded to pressures between 100 and 200 kb by impact events of short duration, the pore pressure due to hot air or air-water mixtures exceeds the strength of the weak lithification mechanisms and fragmentation, rather than lithification, occurs. At pressures above 200 kb, lithification can occur because the formation of glass provides a lithification mechanism which has sufficient strength to withstand the pore pressure. During shock-lithification of lunar regolith at pressures below 50 kb, the material is compressed to intrinsic crystal density and remains at approximately that density upon release from the shocked state. It is proposed, however, that at pressures in excess of 50 kb, the release of trapped volatiles from lunar soil grains into fractures causes an expansion of the regolith during unloading from the shocked state.     

Scientific problems addressed by the Spektr-UV space project (world space Observatory—Ultraviolet)

The article presents a review of scientific problems and methods of ultraviolet astronomy, focusing on perspective scientific problems (directions) whose solution requires UV space observatories. These include reionization and the history of star formation in the Universe, searches for dark baryonic matter, physical and chemical processes in the interstellar medium and protoplanetary disks, the physics of accretion and outflows in astrophysical objects, from Active Galactic Nuclei to close binary stars, stellar activity (for both low-mass and high-mass stars), and processes occurring in the atmospheres of both planets in the solar system and exoplanets. Technological progress in UV astronomy achieved in recent years is also considered. The well advanced, international, Russian-led Spektr-UV (World Space Observatory—Ultraviolet) project is described in more detail. This project is directed at creating a major space observatory operational in the ultraviolet (115–310 nm). This observatory will provide an effective, and possibly the only, powerful means of observing in this spectral range over the next ten years, and will be an powerful tool for resolving many topical scientific problems.     

Petrology and Geochemistry of the Volcanic Rocks Dredged from the Geophysicist Seamount in the Kurile Basin: Evidence for the Existence of Thinned Continental Crust

Dredged samples from the Geophysicist seamount volcano in the northeastern part of the Kurile Basin include volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks ranging from basalt to andesite. The rocks have geochemical features typical of high-K island-arc calc-alkaline volcanism. They are enriched in LILE and depleted in Zr, Ti, Nb, Ta and Y. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns are characterized by enrichment of LREE similar to those of island-arc lava from the submarine volcanoes of rear-arc zone of the Kurile Island Arc. The volcanic rocks have a wide range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70287-0.70652), varying ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd and Pb isotopic ratios. Their trace-element compositions and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope signatures may be explained by a small addition of crustal continental component to mantle-derived magmas that suggest the existence of thinned continental basement under the eastern part of the Kurile Basin.     

Isotope hydrological study of mean transit times in an alpine basin (Wimbachtal, Germany)

Measurements of tritium and ¹⁸O concentrations in precipitation and runoff were used to provide further insight into the groundwater storage properties of the Wimbachtal Valley, a catchment area of 33.4 km², extending between 636 and 2713 m a.s.l. in the Berchtesgaden Alps. The catchment includes three aquifer types: a dominant porous aquifer; a fractured dolomite; a karstic limestone aquifer. Employing a simple hydrological model, information about mean transit times of environmental tracers is derived for the groundwater runoff component and several karst springs from the application of the exponential and dispersion flow models to the isotopic input and output data. The mean transit times calculated from a dispersion model with transit times of 4.1 years for ¹⁸O and 4.2 years for tritium, which agree well, allow calculation of total (mobile + stagnant) groundwater storage volume, which is equivalent to 6.6 m of water depth. Direct runoff appears negligible as in many other cases.     

Shark interactions in pelagic longline fisheries

Substantial ecological, economic and social problems result from shark interactions in pelagic longline fisheries. Improved understanding of industry attitudes and practices towards shark interactions assists with managing these problems. Information on fisher knowledge and new strategies for shark avoidance may benefit sharks and fishers. A study of 12 pelagic longline fisheries from eight countries shows that incentives to avoid sharks vary along a continuum, based on whether sharks represent an economic disadvantage or advantage. Shark avoidance practices are limited, including avoiding certain areas, moving when shark interaction rates are high, using fish instead of squid for bait and deeper setting. Some conventionally employed fishing gear and methods used to target non-shark species contribute to shark avoidance. Shark repellents hold promise; more research and development is needed. Development of specifically designed equipment to discard sharks could improve shark post release survival prospects, reduce gear loss and improve crew safety. With expanding exploitation of sharks for fins and meat, improved data collection, monitoring and precautionary shark management measures are needed to ensure that shark fishing mortality levels are sustainable.     

4He diffusion in specular hematite

In order to test the chronometer qualities of speculante for the (U + Th)/He dating method, ⁴He release experiments by stepwise heating of two specularites from the Rimbach mineralization locality in the southern Vosgues (France) have been carried out. The diffusion coefficients define linear Arrhenius plots within a temperature interval of 250 to 830 °C, which is suggestive of volume diffusion. Extrapolation of the diffusion behavior to 20° C yields diffusion coefficients (D₂₀ values) smaller than 10^?26 [cm² s^?1] for both hematites with activation energies at 116 [kJ/mole]. The results of our study suggest that specularite is a very helium retentive hematite variety which is capable of quantitatively retaining radiogenic helium over geologic periods of time.     

Evidence for a new MeV source observed by the COMPTEL experiment aboard CGRO

We report first evidence for a new unidentified and variable MeV source, located near the galactic plane at (l,b)∼(284.5°, 2.5°). The source, GRO J1036-55, is found at a significance level of ∼5.6σ by COMPTEL in its 3–10 MeV band. The energy spectrum indicates a spectral maximum at 3–4.3 MeV with a steep slope at higher energies. Since the COMPTEL 3–4.3 MeV data contain contamination by an instrumental background line, we performed several consistency checks, which all are consistent with an astrophysical nature of this emission feature.     

Mutual Potential of Homogeneous Polyhedra

The mutual gravitational potential between a pair of homogeneous polyhedra is expressed using an infinite series. The nested volume integrals are evaluated analytically and result in simple tensor expressions containing no special functions. However, complexity increases as O(6 ⁿ ), where n is the term degree. An alternate formulation due to Liebenthal is also presented.     

Maximizing Net Extraction Using an Injection‐Extraction Well Pair in a Coastal Aquifer

In this study, we examine the maximum net extraction rate from the novel arrangement of an injection‐extraction well pair in a coastal aquifer, where fresh groundwater is reinjected through the injection well located between the interface toe and extraction well. Complex potential theory is employed to derive a new analytical solution for the maximum net extraction rate and corresponding stagnation‐point locations and recirculation ratio, assuming steady‐state, sharp‐interface conditions. The injection‐extraction well‐pair system outperforms a traditional single extraction well in terms of net extraction rate for a broad range of well placement and pumping rates, which is up to 50% higher for an aquifer with a thickness of 20 m, hydraulic conductivity of 10 m/d, and fresh water influx of 0.24 m²/d. Sensitivity analyses show that for a given fresh water discharge from an inland aquifer, a larger maximum net extraction is expected in cases with a smaller hydraulic conductivity or a smaller aquifer thickness, notwithstanding physical limits to drawdown at the pumping well that are not considered here. For an extraction well with a fixed location, the optimal net extraction rate linearly increases with the distance between the injection well and the sea, and the corresponding injection rate and recirculation ratio also increase. The analytical analysis in this study provides initial guidance for the design of well‐pair systems in coastal aquifers, and is therefore an extension beyond previous applications of analytical solutions of coastal pumping that apply only to extraction or injection wells.