Contact Metamorphosed Ultramafic Rocks in the Western Sierra Nevada Foothills, California

Within the western Sierra Nevada metamorphic belt, linear bodiesof alpine-type ultramafic rock, now composed largely of serpentineminerals, parallel the regional strike and commonly coincidewith major fault zones. Within this metamorphic belt, east ofSacramento, California, ultramafic rocks near a large maficintrusion, the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex, have been emplacedduring at least two separate episodes. Those ultramafic rocks,evidently unaffected by the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex andcomposed largely of serpentine minerals, were emplaced alonga major fault zone after emplacement of the Pine Hill IntrusiveComplex. Those ultramafic rocks, contact metamorphosed by thePine Hill Intrusive Complex, show a zonation of mineral assemblagesas the igneous contact is approached: olivine+antigorite+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Cr spinel olivine+talc+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Crspinel olivine+anthophyllite+chlorite+tremolite+Fe-Cr spinel olivine+orthopyroxene+aluminous spinel+hornblende+Fe-Cr spinel.Superimposed on these mineral assemblages are abundant secondaryminerals (serpentine minerals, talc, chlorite, magnetite) whichformed after contact metamorphism. Correlation of observed mineralassemblages with the experimental systems, MgO-SiO₂-H₂O andMgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-H₂O suggests an initial contact temperature of775±25 °C for the Pine Hill Intrusive Complex assumingPtotal P_fluid PH₂O. The pressure acting on the metamorphic rockduring emplacement of the intrusion is estimated to be a minimumof 1.5 kb.     

Chemical versus Temporal Controls on the Evolution of Tholeiitic and Calc-alkaline Magmas at Two Volcanoes in the Alaska-Aleutian Arc

The Alaska–Aleutian island arc is well known for eruptingboth tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magmas. To investigate therelative roles of chemical and temporal controls in generatingthese contrasting liquid lines of descent we have undertakena detailed study of tholeiitic lavas from Akutan volcano inthe oceanic Aleutian arc and calc-alkaline products from Aniakchakvolcano on the continental Alaskan Peninsula. The differencesdo not appear to be linked to parental magma composition. TheAkutan lavas can be explained by closed-system magmatic evolution,whereas curvilinear trace element trends and a large range in⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios in the Aniakchak data appear to requirethe combined effects of fractional crystallization, assimilationand magma mixing. Both magmatic suites preserve a similar rangein ²²⁶Ra–²³⁰Th disequilibria, which suggests that thetime scale of crustal residence of magmas beneath both thesevolcanoes was similar, and of the order of several thousandyears. This is consistent with numerical estimates of the timescales for crystallization caused by cooling in convecting crustalmagma chambers. During that time interval the tholeiitic Akutanmagmas underwent restricted, closed-system, compositional evolution.In contrast, the calc-alkaline magmas beneath Aniakchak volcanounderwent significant open-system compositional evolution. Combiningthese results with data from other studies we suggest that differentiationis faster in calc-alkaline and potassic magma series than intholeiitic series, owing to a combination of greater extentsof assimilation, magma mixing and cooling. KEY WORDS: uranium-series; Aleutian arc; magma differentiation; time scales     

The Pleasant Bay Layered Gabbro--Diorite, Coastal Maine: Ponding and Crystallization of Basaltic Injections into a Silicic Magma Chamber

The Pleasant Bay layered gabbro–diorite intrusion, locatedon the coast of Maine between Bar Harbor and Machias, is roughlyoval in plan, measuring 12 km by 20 km. Gravity data, contactrelations, and internal layering suggest that it is basinformin structure with a maximum thickness of {small tilde}3 km.Its roof and upper parts have been lost through erosion. Whereit is in contact with underlying granite, the base of the intrusiontypically consists of strongly chilled gabbro with convex-downwardlobate forms, suggesting that the granite was incompletely solidifiedwhen the gabbro was emplaced. Roughly 90% of the exposed rocksare weakly layered gabbro and mafic diorite, both of which varywidely in grain-size and texture. Layers and lenses of medium-grainedleucocratic diorite to granodiorite are widely intercalatedwith the chilled mafic rocks and commonly contain partly digestedmafic inclusions; they also commonly contain zones of pillow-likebodies of gabbro chilled on all margins. The dioritic rocksare consistently topped by gabbroic layers with chilled lobatebases and commonly appear to feed granitic pipes and diapirsinto overlying gabbro. Much of the intrusion can be subdividedinto hundreds of macrorhythmic units (from 1 to 100 m thick)consisting of basally chilled gabbro that grades upward to dioriteor highly evolved leucocratic silicic cumulates. Basaltic dikesare abundant both in the underlying granite and in the layeredgabbro–diorites; they have appropriate compositions tobe feeders for chilled gabbroic layers in the Pleasant Bay intrusion. The layered rocks of the Pleasant Bay intrusion record hundredsof basaltic injections into a chamber with resident silicicmagma. Small injections produced chilled gabbroic layers andpillows within silicic cumulates. Larger infusions of basalticmagma produced temporary compositional stratification and episodesof double-diffusive convection within the chamber. Althoughfractional crystallization produced compositional variationin much of the gabbro, units that grade from chilled gabbroat the base to highly silicic cumulates at the top provide cumulaterecords of magma stratification and hybridization along a double-diffusiveinterface between basaltic and silicic magmas. The intrusionprovides a superb plutonic record of events that have oftenbeen inferred for silicic eruptive centers. Mafic–siliciclayered intrusions comparable with the Pleasant Bay are morewidespread than has generally been appreciated.     

Observation of regional new particle formation in the urban atmosphere

Long-term measurements of fine particle number-size distributions were carried out over 9.5 yr (May 1997–December 2006), in the urban background atmosphere of Helsinki. The total number of days was 3528 with about 91.9% valid data. A new particle formation event (NPF) is defined if a distinct nucleation mode of aerosol particles is observed below 25 nm for several hours, and it shows a growth pattern. We observed 185 NPF events, 111 d were clear non-events and most of the days (around 83.5%) were undefined. The observed events were regional because they were observed at Hyytiälä (250 km north of Helsinki). The events occurred most frequently during spring and autumn. The observed formation rate was maximum during the spring and summer (monthly median 2.87 cm⁻³ s⁻¹) and the modal growth rate was maximum during late summer and Autumn (monthly median 6.55 nm h⁻¹). The events were observed around noon, and the growth pattern often continued on the following day. The observation of weak NPF events was hindered due to pre-existing particles from both local sources. It is clear that regional NPF events have a clear influence on the dynamic behaviour of aerosol particles in the urban atmosphere.