Blue amphibole-albite-chlorite assemblages from Fuscaldo (S Italy) and the role of glaucophane in metamorphism

The Fuscaldo assemblages show that in metabasites suitable for the production of glaucophane at higher pressures, amphibole poor(er) in Gl-molecule + albite + Al-rich chlorite is formed at lower pressure. Blue amphibole formed together with albite, chlorite and a Ca-silicate appears to have a fixed content of the Gl-molecule and of Ca²⁺, apart from the Fe²⁺/ R²⁺ ratio, which varies with host rock chemistry. The constant Gl-content indicates attainment of equilibrium, and is a function of T and especially P, so it may be used as a geobarometer. Glaucophane generally forms at the cost of albite+chlorite. In a P-T diagram the reaction is probably situated somewhat below the reaction albitejadeite+quartz, and has a smaller slope than the latter. The concomitant high-pressure character of glaucophane justifies reintroduction of Eskola's glaucophane-schist facies, of which glaucophane is critical.     

Mineral variation in anorthositic, troctolitic, and adamellitic rocks of the Barth Island layered structure in the Nain anorthosite complex, Labrador

The Barth Island layered structure is an oval, 6 by 9 km body, consisting of rhythmically layered adamellitic rock in the center which grades outward through jotunite into troctolite. Farther outward the sequence repeats itself in reversed order, strongly reduced in magnitude and finer grained; the adamellitic zone is followed by jotunite which grades into coarse-grained leuconorite and into anorthosite of the Nain complex. The Barth Island structure, having an inverted conical base topped by a hemispherical depression, seems to represent a distorted sequence of rock layers with troctolite at the bottom, grading upward into adamellitic rocks which grade into anorthosite at the top. Trend-surface analysis demonstrates the regional variation of plagioclase and orthopyroxene compositions in the troctolite—adamellite sequence of the central part of the structure. The fits for the second- and third-degree surfaces are good and significant at the 99 percent level. The regression line for compositional variation in coexisting plagioclase and orthopyroxene in all analyzed rocks has a correlation coefficient of r² = 0.78. The difference between the trends in the troctolite—adamellite sequence and the anorthosite—adamellite sequence is insignificant. The regression curve for compositional variation in coexisting orthopyroxene and olivine has a correlation coefficient of r² = 0.98. The curve shows good correlation with the experimentally established partitioning curve of Medaris, which indicates that equilibrium conditions prevailed during formation of the olivine—ortho-pyroxene pairs. The results suggest that the troctolite—adamellite sequence and the anorthosite—adamellite sequence are products of fractional crystallization, possibly from the same parental magma.     

Changes in interstitial water salinity of a Mississippi tidal marsh

The salinity of interstitial water (i.e., the salinity of the free soil water) was examined at 11 equidistant stations along a transect on a Mississippi tidal marsh dominated byJuncus roemerianus andSpartina cynosuroides. Changes in the nearby surface water (e.g., bay water) were reflected in the changes in interstitial water salinity. The salinity of interstitial water was usually higher, varying between 2.5 and 15.8‰ from February 1975 through January 1976, than the salinity of the nearby surface water which ranged from 0.0 to 11.5‰. Following a long period of high salinity in the bay and sound (exceeding 14‰), the salinity of the interstitial water increased to a maximum of 16.8‰ in October. The salinity increased as the distance of the sampling station from the source of the flood water increased. Mean interstitial wate salinity across the marsh studied was within 10‰ which did not seem to influence the marsh plant zonation occurring on the marsh.     

Calc-alkaline volcanic rocks from NW Sardinia: Evaluation of a fractional crystallization model

The volcanic centre of Monte Seda Oro, N. W. Sardinia, representative of a Cenozoic calc-alkaline andesitic suite of rocks is composed of a variety of rocks ranging from high alumina basalts to dacites. The minerals of basaltic, andesitic and dacitic rocks show only limited variation in chemical composition. The geochemical data suggest that the various rock-types are related by a crystal-liquid fractionation. Least-squate numerical calculations, using major element data, support the derivation of andesites with SiO₃ content ranging from 53.8 to 59.0% from basalts having about 48.7% of SiO₂ by low pressure crystal fractionation of the phenocryst phases present in these rocks. However, the origin of dacites cannot be readily explained by this mechanism.     

The fit of the continents around the North Atlantic Ocean

A new reassembly of the continents around the North Atlantic Ocean is presented. The first criterion used for this reassembly is the identification of the structural framework related to the opening which consists of marginal fracture zones generated by offsets of the Rift. The Africa—North America, Eurasia—Greenland, Greenland—North America and Eurasia—North America adjustments are successively discussed. It is argued that the adjustments are best made at the 3000-meters isobath between Africa and North America and at the 2000-meters isobath for the younger rifts. The difference is attributed to subsidence and modification of continental margins with time. The importance of the Late Paleozoic tectonic phase in determining the subsequent pattern of Mesozoic rifting is emphasized.     

Stability of Mg-Ca carbonates

In this article a diagram is constructed in which the stability of Mg-Ca-carbonates can be represented as a function of only two parameters. By means of this diagram the relative stability of the various carbonates can be easily compared.     

Rapid evaluation of multifrequency EMI data to characterize buried structures at a historical Jesuit Mission in Argentina

We present results from a geophysical prospection at a historical Jesuit Mission, located in San Ignacio (Misiones-Argentina), declared World Monument some years ago. We studied different sectors looking for buried structures; the total area under study covered 36 ha. In this work we will show the results obtained in a sector that at the time of the prospection was at imminent risk of being damaged by a wrong management of the historical resource. To optimize the data acquisition and the preliminary in-situ analysis of the results, we performed an electromagnetic survey using a multifrequency electromagnetic induction device (GEM-2) to have a first insight of the near surface electrical distribution. From 2D and 3D visualization of data, different targets were identified as possible historical structures. Around these anomalous zones, we performed different dipole–dipole profiles, forming high resolution grids for later 3D inversions. Further inversions of the electric and electromagnetic data completed the characterization of the anomalies. One of the main results of this work is that the 3D electric image obtained from 1D inversion of electromagnetic data coincides with the 3D images obtained from resistivity inversion, but at a much less time consuming cost.