Trace elements in sulfide inclusions from Yakutian diamonds

 Sulfide inclusions in diamonds may provide the only pristine samples of mantle sulfides, and they carry important information on the distribution and abundances of chalcophile elements in the deep lithosphere. Trace-element abundances were measured by proton microprobe in >50 sulfide inclusions (SDI) from Yakutian diamonds; about half of these were measured in situ in polished plates of diamonds, providing information on the spatial distribution of compositional variations. Many of the diamonds were identified as peridotitic or eclogitic from the nature of coexisting silicate or oxide inclusions. Known peridotitic diamonds contain SDIs with Ni contents of 22–36%, consistent with equilibration between olivine, monosulfide solid solution (MSS) and sulfide melt, whereas SDIs in eclogitic diamonds contain 0–12% Ni. A group of diamonds without silicate or oxide inclusions has SDIs with 11–18% Ni, and may be derived from pyroxenitic parageneses. Eclogitic SDIs have lower Ni, Cu and Te than peridotitic SDIs; the ranges of the two parageneses overlap for Se, As and Mo. The Mo and Se contents range up to 700 and 300 ppm, respectively; the highest levels are found in peridotitic diamonds. Among the in-situ SDIs, significant Zn and Pb levels are found in those connected by cracks to diamond surfaces, and these elements reflect interaction with kimberlitic melt. Significant levels of Ru (30–1300 ppm) and Rh (10–170 ppm) are found in many peridotitic SDIs; SDIs in one diamond with wustite and olivine inclusions and complex internal structures have high levels of other platinum-group elements (PGEs) as well, and high chondrite-normalized Ir/Pd. Comparison with experimental data on element partitioning between crystals of monosulfide solid solution (MSS) and sulfide melts suggests that most of the inclusions in both parageneses were trapped as MSS, while some high-Cu SDIs with high Pd±Rh may represent fractionated sulfide melts. Spatial variations of SDI composition within single diamonds are consistent with growth histories shown by cathodoluminescence images, in which several stages of growth and resorption have occurred within magmatic environments that evolved during diamond formation. Received: 5 July 1995 / Accepted: 21 February 1996     

Corundum from basaltic terrains: a mineral inclusion approach to the enigma

 This paper investigates the origin of corundum megacrysts that occur in many basaltic terrains, and which are considered to be eroded from basaltic rocks. Geochemical data for over 80 primary mineral inclusions within corundum megacrysts are used to gain a new insight into the petrogenetic history of the corundum megacrysts. A wide spectrum of minerals is present as inclusions in the corundum; the most common are Nb−Ta oxides (such as titaniferous columbite and uranpyrochlore), alkali feldspar, low-Ca plagioclase (albite-oligoclase) and zircon. Rare inclusions include Fe,Cu-sulphide (low in Ni), cobalt-rich spinel, Th,Ce-rich phosphate and uraninite. The similar chemistry of some inclusion minerals from corundum occurring in widely separated areas suggests that the corundum megacrysts in basalts have a similar petrogenesis. Geochemical characteristics of the inclusions indicate a bimodal grouping, which is best explained by a mixing-hybridisation process. This study indicates that the corundum megacrysts are not cogenetic with their basaltic hosts but are crustal fragments accidentally incorporated into the erupting magma. It is suggested that interactions between a silicic component and an intruding carbonatitic or similar Si-poor magma is responsible for Al-oversaturation, resulting in locally distributed lenses of corundum-bearing rock of mixed paragenesis (“hybrid rock hypothesis”). Feldspar exsolution textures provide strong evidence that this hybridisation occurred at mid-crustal levels. Subsequent volcanic eruptions brought the corundum-bearing rocks (later disintegrated in the magma) up to the Earth's surface. This petrogenetic model for corundum megacrysts is experimentally testable. Received: 15 March 1995 / Accepted: 30 June 1995     

西部华夏地区深部可能存在与华北和扬子大陆相似的太古代基底

华夏地区是否存在古陆是一个长期争论的问题。火山作用的天然超深钻取样,提供了探索大陆基底属性和形成演化过程的重要手段。西部华夏地区地表所出露的最古老岩石不老于中元古代,但对广西省东南部晚中生代—新生代火山岩中锆石捕虏晶的U-Pb年代学和Lu-Hf同位素研究则表明：与华北和扬子大陆相似,西部华夏地区有未暴露的太古代基底。该基底的主体年龄是2.9~2.5 Ga,也有3.85 Ga,3.55 Ga和3.3~3.2 Ga的年龄等。它们的亏损地幔模式年龄（t DM）为2.5 Ga至≥3.9 Ga。说明西部华夏地区的基底经历了复杂的改造过程,包括3.6~3.2 Ga,2.5 Ga,1.0 Ga和0.5 Ga时的地幔物质加入,以及2.0~1.8 Ga和1.6~1.5 Ga时的地壳再熔融事件等。对西部华夏地区强烈改造岩石圈的认识,将有助于从物质组分角度对华南成矿作用背景的思考。     

DIAS—a novel technique for measuring in situ shear modulus

DIAS (duomorph in situ acquisition system) is an alternate technology requiring a single duomorph probe for measuring shear modulus in situ. The duomorph probe is a bending plate device that is vibrated and the resulting deflections measured using strain gauges. The ratio between the unconstrained bending of the duomorph in air and the constrained bending in sediment is a function of the sediment dynamic modulus from which shear modulus is calculated. This paper describes the theory underlying the DIAS system, the design of the system, the data reduction methods, and results from the initial deployment of the prototype system in Eckernförde Bay.     

Ship hull characteristics from surface wake synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery

Improved data collection and processing technologies along with the use of high resolution spectral techniques soon will make it possible to obtain estimates of the Kelvin wave amplitude function A(θ), ship speed U, and ship heading α from synthetic aperture radar images of ship wakes. This paper presents a series of methods for deriving additional hull characteristics such as the length L, volume V, and offsets ζ(x,z) from this spectral and surface wave information. The first method estimates the ship length by taking the Fourier transform of the slope amplitude function |kA|. The remaining estimates make use of the hull inversion code developed at the University of Michigan by Wu in 1991. The accuracy of the hull offsets predicted by the code is first determined for various options for solving the linear inversion problem. In this case, both the magnitude and phase of A(θ) are known in addition to the hull draft H. Since the draft is not often known a priori, the accuracy of the code is determined next by predicting the volume of the ship for an approximate though plausible input value of H. Finally, the accuracy of the non-linear inversion problem of obtaining offsets along the entire hull is investigated when only the magnitude but not the phase of A(θ) is known.     

A rapid method for simulating three-dimensional fluvial terrain

A rapid, computer-based method of simulating ‘geomorphologically-sensible’ three-dimensional terrain data by modelling landform morphology is presented. For some engineering applications such an approach, even in a simple form, is preferable to the synthesis of terrain data by purely stochastic methods, and additionally can be useful where real data sets are difficult to obtain. The approach adopted utilizes a computer program which models landscape evolution by establishing a stream network on a tilted surface, with accompanying fluvial downcutting and slope adjustment. This is achieved by an iterative mechanism that combines deterministic and stochastic processes with geomorphological theory. The end-product is a matrix of high-resolution altitude data that has been used as the terrain model for a vehicle simulation exercise.     

Fluid inclusion studies of the Drammen Granite,Oslo Paleorift,Norway

The Drammen Granite is a subvolcanic complex, intruded during the Permian igneous activity in the Oslo Paleorift. Molybdenite deposits occur within the complex in large discrete quartz veins, accompanied by moderate alteration of the granite. Microchemical and Sr-isotopic studies of fluids trapped in quartz from miarolytic cavities allow characterization of fluids in the granite.The results compare well with compositions interpreted from microthermometry studies. The observed range in K/Na, Ca/Na and the calculated concentrations of metals in the original fluids suggest that different stages of development are represented. Some of the fluids probably represent early magmatic stages. K/Rb results and the average Sr-isotope composition indicate equilibrium between the fluids and the granite magma.     

On the dynamic response of a suspended cable

Linearized equations are derived to account for the additional tensions and deflections induced by dynamically exciting a suspended cable. Wave-type and modal solutions are presented to explore the influence of a fundamental geometric and elastic parameter, λ².