The high-pressure stability of zoisite and phase relationships of zoisite-bearing assemblages

The fluid-absent reaction 12 zoisite = 3 lawsonite + 7 grossular + 8 kyanite + 1 coesite was experimentally reversed in the model system CaO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O (CASH) using a multi-anvil apparatus. The upper pressure stability limit for zoisite was found to extend to 5.0 GPa at 700 °C and to 6.6 GPa at 950 °C. Additional experiments both in the H₂O-SiO₂-saturated and in the H₂O-Al₂O₃-saturated portions of CASH provide further constraints on high pressure phase relationships of lawsonite, zoisite, grossular, kyanite, coesite, and an aqueous fluid. Consistency of the present experiments with the H₂O-saturated breakdown of lawsonite is demonstrated by thermodynamic analysis using linear programming techniques. Two sets of data consistent with databases of Berman (1988) and Holland and Powell (1990) were retrieved combining experimental phase relationships, calorimetric constraints, and recently measured elastic properties of solid phases. The best fits result in G _{f ,1,298} ^∘,zoisite=−6,499,400 J and S _1,298 ^∘,zoisite=302 J/K, and G _{f ,1,298} ^{∘,lawsonite}=−4,514,600 J and S _1,298 ^{∘,lawsonite}=220 J/K for the dataset of Holland and Powell, and G _{f ,1,298} ^∘,zoisite=−6,492,120 J and S _1,298 ^∘,zoisite=304 J/K, and G _{f ,1,298} ^{∘,lawsonite}=−4,513,000 J and S _1,298 ^{∘,lawsonite}= 218 J/K for the dataset of Berman. Examples of the usage of zoisite as a geohygrometer and as a geobarometer in rocks metamorphosed at eclogite facies conditions are worked, profiting from the thermodynamic properties retrieved here. Received: 23 December 1996 / Accepted: 29 August 1997     

Enhancement of magma mixing efficiency by chaotic dynamics: an experimental study

Magma mixing is common in the Earth. Understanding the dynamics of the mixing process is necessary for dealing with the likely consequences of mixing events in the petrogenesis of igneous rocks and the physics of volcanic eruptive triggers. Here, a new apparatus has been developed in order to perform chaotic mixing experiments in systems of melts with high viscosity contrast. The apparatus consists of an outer and an inner cylinder, which can be independently rotated at finite strains to generate chaotic streamlines. The two cylinder axes are offset. Experiments have been performed for ca. 2 h, at 1,400°C under laminar fluid dynamic conditions (Re ~ 10⁻⁷). Two end-member silicate melt compositions were synthesized: (1) a peralkaline haplogranite and (2) a haplobasalt. The viscosity ratio between these two melts was of the order of 10³. Optical analysis of post-experimental samples reveals a complex pattern of mingled filaments forming a scale-invariant (i.e. fractal) distribution down to the μm-scale, as commonly observed in natural samples. This is due to the development in space and time of stretching and folding of the two melts. Chemical analysis shows strong non-linear correlations in inter-elemental plots. The original end-member compositions have nearly entirely disappeared from the filaments. The generation of thin layers of widely compositionally contrasting interfaces strongly enhances chemical diffusion producing a remarkable modulation of compositional fields over a short-length scale. Notably, diffusive fractionation generates highly heterogeneous pockets of melt, in which depletion or enrichment of chemical elements occur, depending on their potential to spread via chemical diffusion within the magma mixing system. Results presented in this work offer new insights into the complexity of processes expected to be operating during magma mixing and may have important petrological implications. In particular: (1) it is shown that, in contrast with current thinking, rheologically contrasting magmas can mix (i.e. with large proportions of felsic magmas and high viscosity ratios), thus extending significantly the spectrum of geological conditions under which magma mixing processes can occur efficiently; (2) the mixing process cannot be modeled using the classical linear two-end-member mixing model; and (3) the chemical compositions on short-length scales represent snapshots within the process of mixing and therefore may not reflect the final composition of the magmatic system. This study implies that microanalysis on short-length scales may provide misleading information on the parental composition of magmas.     

3D modeling of large urban areas with stereo VHR satellite imagery: lessons learned

This paper discusses the potentials of very high-resolution (VHR) stereo imagery for automatic generation of digital surface models (DSM) and 3D information extraction on large metropolitan cities. Stereo images acquired by GeoEye-1 on Dakar (Senegal) and Guatemala City (Guatemala) and by WorldView-2 on Panama City (Panama), Constitucion (Chile), Kabul (Afghanistan), Teheran (Iran), Kathmandu (Nepal), and San Salvador (El Salvador) were processed following a rigorous photogrammetric approach. The work focuses on evaluating the quality of the DSMs in relation to the image and terrain characteristics. The size of the datasets, the variety of case studies, and the complexity of the scenarios allow to critically analyze the potentials of VHR stereo imagery for 3D landscape modeling for natural hazards assessment.     

Einstein Gravity Explorer–a medium-class fundamental physics mission

The Einstein Gravity Explorer mission (EGE) is devoted to a precise measurement of the properties of space-time using atomic clocks. It tests one of the most fundamental predictions of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, the gravitational redshift, and thereby searches for hints of quantum effects in gravity, exploring one of the most important and challenging frontiers in fundamental physics. The primary mission goal is the measurement of the gravitational redshift with an accuracy up to a factor 10⁴ higher than the best current result. The mission is based on a satellite carrying cold atom-based clocks. The payload includes a cesium microwave clock (PHARAO), an optical clock, a femtosecond frequency comb, as well as precise microwave time transfer systems between space and ground. The tick rates of the clocks are continuously compared with each other, and nearly continuously with clocks on earth, during the course of the 3-year mission. The highly elliptic orbit of the satellite is optimized for the scientific goals, providing a large variation in the gravitational potential between perigee and apogee. Besides the fundamental physics results, as secondary goals EGE will establish a global reference frame for the Earth’s gravitational potential and will allow a new approach to mapping Earth’s gravity field with very high spatial resolution. The mission was proposed as a class-M mission to ESA’s Cosmic Vision Program 2015–2025.

Geochemical characteristics of potassic volcanics from Mts. Ernici (Southern Latium,Italy)

Major elements, trace elements and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data are reported for the Quaternary potassic alkaline rocks from the Mts. Ernici volcanic area (Southern Latium — Italy). These rocks are represented by primitive types which display high Mg_v, low D.I., variable degrees of silica undersaturation and different K₂O contents which allowed the distinction of a potassium series (KS) and a high potassium series (HKS). All the analyzed samples have high LIL element contents and high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr which ranges between 0.707–0.711. They also have fractionated REE patterns. The KS rocks have lower LIL element concentrations and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios than the HKS rocks with a large compositional gap between the two series. Minor but still significant isotopic and trace element variations are also observed within both KS and HKS. The genesis cannot be completly explained either by crystal liquid fractionation, mixing or assimilation processes or by different degrees of equilibrium partial melting from a homogeneous source, thus indicating that both the KS and HKS consist of several geochemically and isotopically distinct magma types. The data suggest that the KS and HKS magmas originated by low degrees of melting of a garnet peridotite mantle heterogeneously enriched in LIL elements and radiogenic strontium, possibly accompanied by disquilibrium melting of some accessory phases. The occurrence of a geochemical anomaly within the mantle is believed to be due to fluid metasomatism probably generated by dehydration of a lithospheric slab subducted during the Late Tertiary development of the Apennine Chain.     

The Vedrette di Ries (rieserferner) plutonic complex: Petrological and geochemical data bearing on its genesis

Data on Co, Sc, Rb, Sr, Th, Zr, Ta, Hf and REE contents are reported for tonalites, granodiorites, granites and one diorite from the Alpine plutonic complex of Vedrette di Ries in the Eastern Alps. Co and Sc range respectively between 19.6-1.2 ppm and 32-3.3 ppm showing a good negative correlation with the Differentiation Index (D.I.). Rb values range between 61–197 ppm displaying a positive correlation with D.I. All the samples have variably fractionated light and heavy REE with La_N/Sm_N=1.7–5.55 and Tb_N/Yb_N=0.58–1.65 and no important europium anomalies. On the basis of the HREE fractionation two groups of rocks can be distinguished: one showing higher Tb_N/Yb_N values which range between 1.27–1.65 and are positively correlated with the D.I. and a second group with Tb_N/Yb_N values less than unity which decrease with the differentiation. The rocks with high Tb_N/Yb_N ratio also display a positive Sr versus D.I. variation whereas the samples with flat or upward concave HREE patterns (i.e. with Tb_N/Yb_N<1) define negative Sr versus D.I. trends. Th, Ta, Hf, Zr and LREE show an overall tendecy to increase and then to decrease with the differentiation, with a large scattering of values.The data obtained fit the hypothesis that the entire rock series under study is the product of a two-stage crystal/liquid fractionation process starting from one parent magma of tonalitic or dioritic composition. During the first stage, which occurred at high pressure, the separation of hornblende+garnet produced the liquids displaying the positve Tb_N/Yb_N and Sr versus D.I. correlation. These liquids during their rise through the crust would have undergone a second stage fractionation with separation of hornblende and plagioclase evolving toward low-Tb_N/Yb_N and Sr-poor composition.     

Petrology,geochemistry and Sr-isotope characteristics of lavas from the area of Commenda (Mts. Vulsini,Italy)

Major, trace element and Sr-isotope compositions are reported for a suite of lavas coming from the area of Commenda in the SE Vulsinian district. The analyzed samples have all low silica contents and variable but generally high CaO, MgO and FeO_t. Based on K₂O% and K₂O/Na₂O ratio, the rocks from Commenda can be classified as belonging to the Potassic Series (KS) and the High-potassium Series (HKS). The HKS rocks appear to have derived by cristal/liquid fractionation from the most mafic types with separation of olivine and clinopyroxene and then of clinopyroxene + leucite. The most primitive HKS rocks have aphyric texture and high Mg-values, Cr and Ni contents which are close or within the range of values of magmas formed by partial melting of periodititic mantle sources. The KS rocks have lower incompatible element contents as the HKS rocks with similar degree of evolution.The variations of Sr-isotopic ratios of the analyzed rocks and of other Vulsinian lavas, indicate that the basic HKS Vulsinian rocks did not interact significantly with the continental crust. Instead, the KS appears to have evolved by combined crystal fractionation and assimilation processes, starting from parental magmas which had⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio not significantly lower than that found in the less evolved rocks of the suite.The most primitive HKS rocks from Commenda have hygromagmatophile element distribution pattern characterized by high ratio of LILE/HFSE with negative anomalies of Ta and Ti, resembling closely those of other Roman mafic volcanics. The primitive geochemical characteristics of the Commenda rocks exclude that these features are the products of interaction with the crust and provide a further support to the hypothesis of a genesis within a subduction-modified mantle source.     

Tourmaline nodules from Capo Bianco aplite (Elba Island,Italy): an example of diffusion limited aggregation growth in a magmatic system

The morphology of tourmaline nodules occurring in the Capo Bianco aplite (Elba Island, Italy) is studied. Outcrop features indicate that tourmaline nodules are the product of magmatic crystallization, as they are aligned along flow fields developed within the magmatic hosting mass. Mesoscopic observations indicate that nodule morphologies are very variable, from rounded to dendritic. Morphometric analyses show that tourmaline nodules are fractals and that fractal dimension quantifies their degree of irregularity. Numerical simulations of nodule growth are performed by using a Diffusion-Limited Aggregation process. The presence in natural samples of nodules with different morphologies is explained by considering a chaotic magmatic system characterized by a complex interplay between growth rate in different dynamical regions, latent heat of crystallization, and local convection dynamics. It is suggested that higher growth rates correspond to growth of tourmaline nodules in dynamical regions where the transfer of nutrients is very efficient. In such conditions, the latent heat released by the growing nodule is high, inducing strong local convection dynamics, destabilizing the nodule interface, and promoting the formation of dendritic morphologies. On the contrary, the growth of nodules in dynamical regions characterized by weak transfer of nutrients is inhibited leading to weak local convection dynamics and, consequently, to the formation of rounded morphologies.