Investigation of faulting and abyssal hill formation on the flanks of the East Pacific Rise (21°N) using ALVIN

A wealth of geologic information has been collected during studies of the Matuyama/Brunhes magnetic reversal boundary on the East Pacific Rise at 21°N. Five ALVIN and two CYANA dives, and a series of deep-tow traverses show that abyssal hills in this region of the Pacific are created near the spreading axis by inward dipping normal faulting and by back-tilting of these fault blocks. Outward dipping faults occur but are of less importance in the creation of relief. Tectonic disruption of the crust, particularly through tilting, is less pronounced than in the Atlantic. Small volcanoes approximately 50 m high and 400 m wide are common on the abyssal hills. A significant number of the volcanoes may have split apart at the spreading axis attesting to the narrowness of the crustal accretion zone on the East Pacific Rise. Active faulting is restricted to less than 10 to 12 km off-axis, although minor recent faulting may have been detected 23 km off-axis. Crustal sections exposed by faulting reveal that massive lava flows and sheet flows are common in the upper portion of oceanic layer two, but are less abundant than pillow lavas.     

A 1998–1992 comparison of inorganic carbon and its transport across 24.5°N in the Atlantic

In January and February 1998, when an unprecedented fourth repetition of the zonal hydrographic transect at 24.5°N in the Atlantic was undertaken, carbon measurements were obtained for the second time in less than a decade. The field of total carbon along this section is compared to that provided by 1992 cruise which followed a similar path (albeit in a different season). Consistent with the increase in atmospheric carbon levels, an increase in anthropogenic carbon concentrations of 8±3 μmolkg⁻¹ was found in the surface layers. Using an inverse analysis to determine estimates of absolute velocity, the flux of inorganic carbon across 24.5° is estimated to be −0.74±0.91 and −1.31±0.99 PgCyr⁻¹ southward in 1998 and 1992, respectively. Estimates of total inorganic carbon flux depend strongly upon the estimated mass transport, particularly of the Deep Western Boundary Current. The 1998 estimate reduces the large regional divergence in the meridional carbon transport suggested by previous studies and brings into question the idea that the tropical Atlantic constantly outgasses carbon, while the subpolar Atlantic sequesters it. Uncertainty in the carbon transports themselves, dominated by the uncertainty in the total mass transport estimates, are a hindrance to determining the “true” picture.The flux of anthropogenic carbon (C_ANTH) across the two transects is estimated as northward at 0.20±0.08 and 0.17±0.06 PgCyr⁻¹ for the 1998 and 1992 sections, respectively. The net transport of C_ANTH across 24.5°N is strongly affected by the difference in concentrations between the northward flowing shallow Florida Current and the mass balancing, interior return flow. The net northward transport of C_ANTH is opposite the net flow of total carbon and suggests, as has been found by others, that the pre-industrial southward transport of carbon within the Atlantic was stronger than it is today. Combining these flux results with estimates of atmospheric and riverine inorganic carbon input, it is determined that today's oceanic carbon system differs from the pre-industrial system in that today there is an uptake of anthropogenic carbon to the south that is advected northward and stored within the North Atlantic basin.     

Peralkaline syenite autoliths from Kilombe volcano, Kenya Rift Valley: Evidence for subvolcanic interaction with carbonatitic fluids

Mineral chemistry, textures and geochemistry of syenite autoliths from Kilombe volcano indicate that they crystallized in the upper parts of a magma chamber from peralkaline trachytic magmas that compositionally straddle the alkali feldspar join in the “residuum system” (ne = 0–1.03; qz = 0–0.77). Mineral reaction and/or overgrowth processes were responsible for the replacement of (i) Mg–hedenbergite by aegirine–augite, Ca–aegirine and/or aegirine, (ii) fayalite by amphiboles, and (iii) magnetite by aenigmatite. Ti–magnetite in silica-saturated syenites generally shows ilmenite exsolution, partly promoted by circulating fluids.

By contrast, the Fe–Ti oxides in the silica-undersaturated (sodalite-bearing) syenites show no signs of deuteric alteration. These syenites were ejected shortly after completion of crystallization. Ilmenite–magnetite equilibria indicate fO₂ between − 19.5 and − 23.1 log units (T 679–578 °C), slightly below the FMQ buffer. The subsequent crystallization of aenigmatite and Na-rich pyroxenes suggests an increase in the oxidation state of the late-magmatic liquids and implies the influence of post-magmatic fluids.

Irrespective of silica saturation, the syenites can be divided into (1) “normal” syenites, characterized by Ce/Ce ratios between 0.83 and 0.99 and (2) Ce-anomalous syenites, showing distinct negative Ce-anomalies (Ce/Ce 0.77–0.24). “Normal” silica-saturated syenites evolved towards pantelleritic trachyte. The Ce-anomalous syenites are relatively depleted in Zr, Hf, Th, Nb and Ta but, with the exception of Ce, are significantly enriched in REE.

The silica-saturated syenites contain REE–fluorcarbonates (synchysite-bastnaesite series) with negative Ce-anomalies (Ce/Ce 0.4–0.8, mean 0.6), corroded monazite group minerals with LREE-rich patches, and hydrated, Fe- and P-rich phyllosilicates. Each of these is inferred to be of non-magmatic origin. Fractures in feldspars and pyroxenes contain Pb-, REE- and Mn-rich cryptocrystalline or amorphous material. The monazite minerals are characterized by the most prominent negative Ce-anomalies (Ce/Ce_mean = 0.5), and in the most altered and Ca-rich areas (depleted in REE), Ce/Ce is less than 0.2.

It is inferred that carbonatitic fluids rich in F, Na and lanthanides but depleted in Ce by fractional crystallization of cerian pyrochlore, percolated into the subvolcanic system and interacted with the syenites at the thermal boundary layers of the magma chamber, during and shortly after their crystallization.

Chevkinite–(Ce), pyrochlore, monazite and synchysite-bastnaesite, occurring as accessory minerals, have been found for the first time at Kilombe together with eudialyte, nacareniobsite–(Ce) and thorite. These latter represent new mineral occurrences in Kenya.     

Organic carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of Arctic Amerasian Continental shelf sediments

Organic matter origins are inferred from carbon isotope ratios ('¹³C) in recent continental shelf sediments and major rivers from 465 locations from the north Bering-Chukchi-East Siberian-Beaufort Sea, Arctic Amerasia. Generally, there is a cross-shelf increase in '¹³C, which is due to progressive increased contribution seaward of marine-derived organic carbon to surface sediments. This conclusion is supported by the correlations between sediment '¹³C, OC/N, and '¹⁵N. The sources of total organic carbon (TOC) to the Amerasian margin sediments are primarily from marine water-column phytoplankton and terrigenous C₃ plants constituted of tundra taiga and angiosperms. In contrast to more temperate regions, the source of TOC from terrigenous C₄ and CAM plants to the study area is probably insignificant because these plants do not exist in the northern high latitudes. The input of carbon to the northern Alaskan shelf sediments from nearshore kelp community (Laminaria solidungula) is generally insignificant as indicated by the absence of high sediment '¹³C values (-16.5 to -13.6‰) which are typical of the macrophytes. Our study suggests that the isotopic composition of sediment TOC has potential application in reconstructing temporal changes in delivery and accumulation of organic matter resulting from glacial-interglacial changes in sea level and environments. Furthermore, recycling and advection of the extensive deposits of terrestrially derived organic matter from land, or the wide Amerasian margin, could be a mechanism for elevating total CO₂ and pCO₂ in the Arctic Basin halocline.     

Sea ice,hydrological, and biological processes in the Churchill River estuary region,Hudson Bay

A conceptual scheme for the transition from winter to spring is developed for a small Arctic estuary (Churchill River, Hudson Bay) using hydrological, meteorological and oceanographic data together with models of the landfast ice. Observations within the Churchill River estuary and away from the direct influence of the river plume (Button Bay), between March and May 2005, show that both sea ice (production and melt) and river water influence the region's freshwater budget. In Button Bay, ice production in the flaw lead or polynya of NW Hudson Bay result in salinization through winter until the end of March, followed by a gradual freshening of the water column through April–May. In the Churchill Estuary, conditions varied abruptly throughout winter–spring depending on the physical interaction among river discharge, the seasonal landfast ice, and the rubble zone along the seaward margin of the landfast ice. Until late May, the rubble zone partially impounded river discharge, influencing the surface salinity, stratification, flushing time, and distribution and abundance of nutrients in the estuary. The river discharge, in turn, advanced and enhanced sea ice ablation in the estuary by delivering sensible heat. Weak stratification, the supply of riverine nitrogen and silicate, and a relatively long flushing time (∼ 6 days) in the period preceding melt may have briefly favoured phytoplankton production in the estuary when conditions were still poor in the surrounding coastal environment. However, in late May, the peak flow and breakdown of the ice-rubble zone around the estuary brought abrupt changes, including increased stratification and turbidity, reduced marine and freshwater nutrient supply, a shorter flushing time, and the release of the freshwater pool into the interior ocean. These conditions suppressed phytoplankton productivity while enhancing the inventory of particulate organic matter delivered by the river. The physical and biological changes observed in this study highlight the variability and instability of small frozen estuaries during winter–spring transition, which implies sensitivity to climate change.     

Alkane and PAH biomarkers as tracers of terrigenous organic carbon in Arctic Ocean sediments

We present the first sedimentary biomarker study encompassing the entire Arctic Ocean. A large data set of organic markers for terrigenous, petroleum and combustion inputs [alkanes, hopanes and steranes, parent and alkyl polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)] is examined for patterns in space and time using principal components analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS). Biomarker patterns reveal the central Arctic Ocean basin sediments to be compositionally distinct from those of the Mackenzie River/Beaufort Sea and Barents Sea, but similar to those of the Laptev Sea. PAH distributions reflected in PAH ratios and PCA projections demonstrate that Arctic Ocean sediment is dominated by natural inputs to the extent that anthropogenic combustion PAHs are not significant. We find only modest changes between the glacial and post-glacial sediments for atmospherically transported hydrocarbon biomarkers, while particle associated biomarkers were captured strongly at basin edges during the glacial period, and much more evenly transported across basins during the post-glacial period. The orders of magnitude decreases in particle associated petrogenic alkanes and PAHs in central basins during glacial times, coupled with the uniformity of most petrogenic biomarker parameters for most basin and shelf locations, reflect a massive reduction in ice transport that makes the margins the most likely source of petrogenic material for the Pleistocene/Holocene central Arctic basins. The proximity of large coal deposits of various maturity levels along the Lena River, the overlap in PAH and biomarker composition of the Laptev Sea and surficial sediments from the central Arctic Ocean and the location of the Laptev Sea at the origin of the main Transpolar Drift all point to eroded coals from the Lena River/Laptev Sea as the likely source of petrogenic hydrocarbons to the central Arctic Ocean. The ubiquitous presence of allochthonous coal in Arctic Ocean surface sediments provides a major constraint on the use of petrogenic biomarkers to infer the presence of subsurface petroleum reserves.