A 3D gravity data interpretation of the Matagami mining camp, Abitibi Subprovince, Superior Province, Québec, Canada: Application to VMS deposit exploration

Two inversions, unconstrained and constrained, of a gravity survey of the Matagami mining camp (Abitibi Archaean Subprovince, Canada) have been performed in order to identify the downward extension of a rhyolitic horizon hosting VMS-type base metals deposit and the morphologies of the major felsic plutons. A comparative study exhibits the similarities between measured and calculated densities from chemical compositions of the Matagami lithologies. This allows building an initial 3D geodensity model which integrates densities and available structural and geological surface mapping data. This model is integrated during the iteration process of the constrained inversion in the objective function. The resulting true density model and two derived cross-sections upgrade the 3D imaging of this area. Also, the model gives new insight for regional geological interpretation exposing possible shapes of the main geological units at depth and suggests the potential existence of deep fertile geological bodies.     

The presolar grain inventory of fine‐grained chondrule rims in the Mighei‐type (CM) chondrites

We investigated the inventory of presolar silicate, oxide, and silicon carbide (SiC) grains of fine‐grained chondrule rims in six Mighei‐type (CM) carbonaceous chondrites (Banten, Jbilet Winselwan, Maribo, Murchison, Murray and Yamato 791198), and the CM‐related carbonaceous chondrite Sutter's Mill. Sixteen O‐anomalous grains (nine silicates, six oxides) were detected, corresponding to a combined matrix‐normalized abundance of ~18 ppm, together with 21 presolar SiC grains (~42 ppm). Twelve of the O‐rich grains are enriched in ¹⁷O, and could originate from low‐mass asymptotic giant branch stars. One grain is enriched in ¹⁷O and significantly depleted in ¹⁸O, indicative of additional cool bottom processing or hot bottom burning in its stellar parent, and three grains are of likely core‐collapse supernova origin showing enhanced ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratios relative to the solar system ratio. We find a presolar silicate/oxide ratio of 1.5, significantly lower than the ratios typically observed for chondritic meteorites. This may indicate a higher degree of aqueous alteration in the studied meteorites, or hint at a heterogeneous distribution of presolar silicates and oxides in the solar nebula. Nevertheless, the low O‐anomalous grain abundance is consistent with aqueous alteration occurring in the protosolar nebula and/or on the respective parent bodies. Six O‐rich presolar grains were studied by Auger Electron Spectroscopy, revealing two Fe‐rich silicates, one forsterite‐like Mg‐rich silicate, two Al‐oxides with spinel‐like compositions, and one Fe‐(Mg‐)oxide. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopic investigation of a relatively large silicate grain (490 nm × 735 nm) revealed that it was crystalline åkermanite (Ca₂Mg[Si₂O₇]) or a an åkermanite‐diopside (MgCaSi₂O₆) intergrowth.     

Structure,diversity and stability of two oligochaete communities according to sedimentary inputs in Lake Geneva (Switzerland)

Two oligochaete communities were sampled monthly during one year in two 35 m deep locations of Lake Geneva (Switzerland). Organic sedimentation was lower and less variable in station 1 than in station 2 (157 versus 214 g C m⁻²yr⁻¹). The oligochaete community in station 1 was more diverse and more stable (persistent over time) than in station 2, as long as the organic sedimentation was low. Diversity and stability decreased in station 1 when the organic sedimentation increased, and during anOscillatoria bloom. The less diverse community in station 2 was more resistent to these changes. Diversity was associated with environmental stability, but resistance to perturbation was greater in the simpler community which is adapted to changing environmental conditions. The value of oligochaete communities as an indicator of the level of eutrophication was reassessed according to our present data. Changes in the structure of oligochaete communities were related to changes in sedimentation processes.     

Role of Fracturing in the Organization of the Karst Features of Azrou Plateau (Middle Atlas,Morroco) Studied by Remote Sensing Imagery

Karst formation geometry can be controlled by fractures and faults, and by other lithologies. Here we show the organization of kastic collapse features related to structures and to extensive basaltic lava flows in the Middle Atlas of Morocco. A lineament map of major faults and fractures has been created for the Middle Atlas using Landsat 7 ETM⁺ satellite images. This shows a dominant NE–SW regional direction and less prominent NNW–SSE and ENE–WSE directions. All these directions coincide with the alignments of karstic depressions that have formed in the Liassic limestones. The basaltic flows covering these formations on the Middle Atlas limestone plateau, have allowed the generation of cryptokarst, geometrically organized a long these major lineament directions. Karst landforms probabaly existed before the eruption of the lavas, but there were partly invaded by intrusions and volcanism. The extensive basaltic flows allowed for increased infiltration, and subsurface water flow, increasing the rate of kast formation after eruptions. Some basins show evidence of increased subsidence after lava emplacement (Aguelmam Sidi Ali Lake) and some maar-like craters also have subsided after eruption, by karts formation. We lay out the structural and lithological controls on Karstic formation in an intraplate volcanic field based on limestones and evaporites.     

The Qijurittuq site (IbGk-3), Eastern Hudson Bay: An IPY Interdisciplinary Study

Geografisk Tidsskrift—Danish Journal of Geography 110(2):227–243, 2010

An interdisciplinary study was conducted at Qijurittuq (IbGk-3), an archaeological site located on Drayton Island along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay, Nunavik. Local Inuit made important contributions to the research. High school students participated in the field school, and elders shared their traditional knowledge. The elders expressed an interest in the source of the wood used to construct Qijurittuq's semi-subterranean dwellings, and this inspired us to expand our research in that direction. This interdisciplinary study included a reconstruction of the geomorphological and environmental history of Drayton Island, wood provenance and dendrochronology studies, research on house architecture and settlement patterns, and a zooarchaeological analysis. This paper synthesizes the preliminary results of this interdisciplinary investigation within the context of climate change. We discuss the persistence of semi-subterranean dwellings in eastern Hudson Bay long after they had been abandoned elsewhere. At Qijurittuq, their abandonment corresponds with the end of Little Ice Age. However, at the same time, the development of more permanent contact with Euro-Canadians was having a strong impact upon Inuit culture.     

Microtextural investigation (SEM and TEM study) of phyllosilicates in a major thrust fault zone (Monte Perdido, southern Pyrenees): impact on fault reactivation

Thrusting fault zone in foreland basins are characterized by highly foliated zones generally enriched in phyllosilicates which can play a major role on the mechanical behaviour of the fault. In this context, investigations of synkinematic clay minerals permit to determine the origin of the fluid from which they precipitated as well as the mechanisms of deformation. Our study is focused on clay mineral assemblages (illite and chlorite) in a major thrust fault located in the Monte Perdido massif (southern Pyrenees), a shallow thrust that affects upper cretaceous-paleocene platform carbonates and lower Eocene marls and turbidites. It implied 3?km of displacement of the Monte Perdido thrust unit with respect to the underlying Gavarnie unit. In this area the cleavage development by pressure-solution is linked to the Monte Perdido and Gavarnie thrust activity. The core zone of the fault, about 6?m thick, consists of an interval of intensely deformed clay-bearing rocks bounded by major shear surfaces. The deformed sediment is markedly darker than the protolith. Calcite-quartz shear veins along the shear planes are abundant. Detailed SEM and TEM observations of highly deformed fault zone samples indicate that clay mineral enrichment in the core zone of the fault is not only related to passive increase by pressure-solution mechanism but that dissolution?Crecrystallization of phyllosilicates occurs during deformation. A mineral segregation is observed in the highly deformed zone. Newly formed 2M ₁ muscovite is present along the cleavage whereas IIb chlorite crystals fill S_V2 shear veins suggesting syntectonic growth of phyllosilicates in the presence of fluids in low-grade metamorphic conditions. These mineralogical reactions act as weakening processes and would favour Monte Perdido fault creeping.     

Multi-stage mixing in subduction zones: Application to Merapi volcano (Java island, Sunda arc)

Many studies have argued for the contribution of at least three components, namely the mantle wedge, the subducted oceanic crust, and its sediment cover, to describe the geochemistry of island arc volcanics. However, isotope correlations reflecting a simple binary mixing can be observed at the scale of a single arc island or volcano. Here we investigate the possibility that these trends reflect pseudo-binary mixing relationships in a three-component system. We present a simplified, two-stage model for the systematic isotope modelling of a cogenetic suite of arc lavas. This includes metasomatism of portions of the mantle wedge by hydrous phases released from the down-going oceanic crust, and sediments, followed by progressive mixing and melting. A consequence of this model is that it leads to a two end-member mixing process from the mantle wedge, oceanic crust, and sediment components. To solve the model we reduce it to a step-by-step procedure combined with a Monte-Carlo simulation. The procedure consists of: (i) producing a large number of random values on each variable of the model; (ii) using the computed values to calculate the isotopic compositions of lavas; and (iii) comparing the obtained isotopic compositions with measured data. Applied to a new set of Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope data for volcanics (basalts, basaltic andesites, trachybasalts, and basaltic trachyandesites) from Merapi volcano (Java island, Sunda arc), the model successfully reproduces the binary mixing relationships previously documented for the medium-K and high-K lava series from this volcano, thus giving further support to the hypothesis that this distinction is inherited from the primary magmas and primarily reflects a property of the mantle source. The results allow identification of a set of numerical values for bulk partition coefficients (solid/hydrous fluid, and solid/H₂O-rich melt) and variables (e.g., the mass ratio between the metasomatizing phase and the mantle wedge), which can be used for quantitative arc-lava petrogenetic calculations. They also require a direct relationship between dehydration of the slab and melting of the metasomatized mantle wedge. Finally, our evaluation shows that for isotope modelling of the Merapi lavas, the two-stage procedure is controlled more by the considered source components (mantle wedge, oceanic crust, sediments, and their derivatives) than by the various processes involved (dehydration, melting, and mixing).