Some critical remarks on the analysis of phengite and paragonite components in muscovite by X-ray diffractometry

In the past lattice parameters b and c of muscovite s.1. from pelitic schists have been used to determine its phengite and paragonite component. A critical review of the literature and of some new data shows, however,

that a convincing statistical correlation between these physical and chemical properties does not exist

that an eventual trend-like correlation cannot be used for a quantitative analysis of phengite and/or paragonite components in muscovite.

Obviously further factors influence the lattice parameters of muscovite s.1., besides octahedral and interlayer chemistry.     

The Pan-African continental margin in northeastern Africa: evidence from a geochronological study of granulites at Sabaloka, Sudan

Ion microprobe zircon ages, a Nd model age and RbSr whole-rock dates are reported from the high-grade gneiss terrain at Sabaloka on the River Nile north of Khartoum, formally considered to be part of the Archaean/early Proterozoic Nile craton. The granulites, which are of both sedimentary and igneous derivation, occur as remnants in migmatites. Detrital zircon ages range from ≈ 1000 to ≈ 2650 Ma and prove the existence of Archaean to late Proterozoic continental crust in the sedimentary source region. The Nd model age for one sedimentary granulite is between 1.26 (T_CHUR) and 1.70 (T_DM) Ga and provides a mean crustal residence age for the sedimentary precursor. Igneous zircons in enderbitic gneiss crystallized at 719 ± 81 Ma ago, an age that also corresponds to severe Pb loss in the detrital zircons and which probably reflects the granulite event at Sabaloka. The RbSr data indicate isotopic homogenization at about 700 Ma ago in the granulites and severe post-granulite disturbance at ≈ 570 Ma in the migmatites. We associate this disturbance with hydration, retrograde metamorphism and anatexis that produced undeformed granites ≈ 540 Ma ago. The ≈ 700 Ma granulite event at Sabaloka suggests that this part of the Sudan belongs to the Pan-African Mozambique belt while the ancient Nile craton lay farther west. The gneisses studied here may represent the infrastructure of the ancient African continental margin onto which the juvenile arc assemblage of the Arabian-Nubian shield was accreted during intense horizontal shortening and crustal interstacking of a major collision event.     

Crustal and upper mantle structure of the northwestern North Island, New Zealand, from seismic refraction data

The crustal and upper mantle structure of the northwestern North Island of New Zealand is derived from the results of a seismic refraction experiment; shots were fired at the ends and middle of a 575 km-long line extending from Lake Taupo to Cape Reinga. The principal finding from the experiment is that the crust is 25 ± 2 km thick, and is underlain by what is interpreted to be an upper mantle of seismic velocity 7.6 ± 0.1 km s⁻¹, that increases to 7.9 km s⁻¹ at a depth of about 45 km. Crustal seismic velocities vary between 5.3 and 6.36 km s⁻¹ with an average value of 6.04 km s⁻¹. There are close geophysical and geological similarities between the north-western North Island of New Zealand and the Basin and Range province of the western United States. In particular, the conditions of low upper-mantle seismic velocities, thin crust with respect to surface elevation, and high heat-flow (70–100 mW m⁻²) observed in these two areas can be ascribed to their respective positions behind an active convergent margin for about the past 20 Myr.     

A COGNITIVE SCALAR FOR THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT CONNECTION MATRIX

The degree to which people judge the change in transit service level as service connectivity changes is assumed to vary with total transfer waiting time. An experiment was devised to collect measures of cognized connectivity of intercity transit services in relation to transfer time, and cognitive scalar values were consequently derived. An inverse relationship was found between cognized service level and connectivity; cognized transit level decreased at a decreasing rate. An analysis of the bus-service network in the Israeli Galilee region suggests the appropriateness of cognitive scalars for measuring the internodal accessibility of public transport services.     

Characterization of beryl (aquamarine variety) from pegmatites of Minas Gerais,Brazil

Eight samples of the beryl variety aquamarine were selected from four pegmatites in the Governador Valadares and Araçuaí regions in northeastern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. These samples were fully characterized by chemical analysis, infrared and UV-visible spectroscopy, thermal analyses, and high-temperature X-ray diffraction (from room temperature up to 800 °C). Several physical and chemical properties of beryl were found to depend on the amount of water and ions residing in the structural channels. The thermal expansion coefficients from room temperature to about 800 °C are temperature-independent, with αa ? ?3.2 × 10^?6 ° C^?1 and αc ? ?8.7 × 10^?6 ° C^?1. The contraction of both a and c unit-cell parameters with increasing temperature and the shift of the infrared band centered at about 1200 cm^?1 were tentatively ascribed to interactions between channel water and the silicate rings.The color of beryl seems to be dictated by the relative proportions of Fe³⁺ in the octahedralsites and of fe²⁺ in the channels. Thus, deep-blue samples have little Fe³⁺, whereas greener samples have more Fe³⁺ or less channel Fe²⁺.     

Determination of mercury biogeochemical fluxes in the remote Mackenzie River Basin,northwest Canada,using speciation of sulfur and organic carbon

The Mackenzie River Basin (MRB) in NW Canada is one of the least human-impacted large watersheds in the world. The western and eastern sub-basins of the MRB are also marked by contrasting geology, geomorphology, hydrology, and biology. These remarkable differences in a remote river basin provide a unique opportunity to probe the biogeochemical processes governing the sources, transport, and bioavailability of Hg at the terrestrial-marine interface and ultimately in the Arctic Ocean. Based on a large dataset of the concentration and speciation of Hg, S and organic matter in surface sediments across the MRB, a source-apportioned budget was constructed for Hg in the MRB. The results indicate that the Hg flux in the basin originates primarily from the weathering of sulfide minerals in the western mountainous sub-basin (∼78% of the total), followed by the erosion of coal deposits along the mainstream of the Mackenzie River (∼10%), with the remainder split between atmospheric inputs and organic matter-bound Hg (6% and 5%, respectively). Although the Hg flux from the eastern peatland sub-basin only accounts for ∼10% of the total riverine Hg flux, Hg in this region correlates strongly with labile organic matter, and will likely have a much stronger influence on local biota.     

Crustal and upper mantle seismic structure of the Australian Plate, South Island, New Zealand

Seismic reflection and refraction data were collected west of New Zealand's South Island parallel to the Pacific–Australian Plate boundary. The obliquely convergent plate boundary is marked at the surface by the Alpine Fault, which juxtaposes continental crust of each plate. The data are used to study the crustal and uppermost mantle structure and provide a link between other seismic transects which cross the plate boundary. Arrival times of wide-angle reflected and refracted events from 13 recording stations are used to construct a 380-km long crustal velocity model. The model shows that, beneath a 2–4-km thick sedimentary veneer, the crust consists of two layers. The upper layer velocities increase from 5.4–5.9 km/s at the top of the layer to 6.3 km/s at the base of the layer. The base of the layer is mainly about 20 km deep but deepens to 25 km at its southern end. The lower layer velocities range from 6.3 to 7.1 km/s, and are commonly around 6.5 km/s at the top of the layer and 6.7 km/s at the base. Beneath the lower layer, the model has velocities of 8.2–8.5 km/s, typical of mantle material. The Mohorovicic discontinuity (Moho) therefore lies at the base of the second layer. It is at a depth of around 30 km but shallows over the south–central third of the profile to about 26 km, possibly associated with a southwest dipping detachment fault. The high, variable sub-Moho velocities of 8.2 km/s to 8.5 km/s are inferred to result from strong upper mantle anisotropy. Multichannel seismic reflection data cover about 220 km of the southern part of the modelled section. Beneath the well-layered Oligocene to recent sedimentary section, the crustal section is broadly divided into two zones, which correspond to the two layers of the velocity model. The upper layer (down to about 7–9 s two-way travel time) has few reflections. The lower layer (down to about 11 s two-way time) contains many strong, subparallel reflections. The base of this reflective zone is the Moho. Bi-vergent dipping reflective zones within this lower crustal layer are interpreted as interwedging structures common in areas of crustal shortening. These structures and the strong northeast dipping reflections beneath the Moho towards the north end of the (MCS) line are interpreted to be caused by Paleozoic north-dipping subduction and terrane collision at the margin of Gondwana. Deeper mantle reflections with variable dip are observed on the wide-angle gathers. Travel-time modelling of these events by ray-tracing through the established velocity model indicates depths of 50–110 km for these events. They show little coherence in dip and may be caused side-swipe from the adjacent crustal root under the Southern Alps or from the upper mantle density anomalies inferred from teleseismic data under the crustal root.     

Geodynamic evolution of a forearc rift in the southernmost Mariana Arc

The southernmost Mariana forearc stretched to accommodate opening of the Mariana Trough backarc basin in late Neogene time, erupting basalts at 3.7–2.7 Ma that are now exposed in the Southeast Mariana Forearc Rift (SEMFR). Today, SEMFR is a broad zone of extension that formed on hydrated, forearc lithosphere and overlies the shallow subducting slab (slab depth ≤ 30–50 km). It comprises NW–SE trending subparallel deeps, 3–16 km wide, that can be traced ≥ ∼30 km from the trench almost to the backarc spreading center, the Malaguana‐Gadao Ridge (MGR). While forearcs are usually underlain by serpentinized harzburgites too cold to melt, SEMFR crust is mostly composed of Pliocene, low‐K basaltic to basaltic andesite lavas that are compositionally similar to arc lavas and backarc basin (BAB) lavas, and thus defines a forearc region that recently witnessed abundant igneous activity in the form of seafloor spreading. SEMFR igneous rocks have low Na₈, Ti₈, and Fe₈, consistent with extensive melting, at ∼23 ± 6.6 km depth and 1239 ± 40°C, by adiabatic decompression of depleted asthenospheric mantle metasomatized by slab‐derived fluids. Stretching of pre‐existing forearc lithosphere allowed BAB‐like mantle to flow along the SEMFR and melt, forming new oceanic crust. Melts interacted with pre‐existing forearc lithosphere during ascent. The SEMFR is no longer magmatically active and post‐magmatic tectonic activity dominates the rift.     

The Late Precambrian Timna igneous complex, Southern Israel: Evidence for comagmatic-type sanukitoid monzodiorite and alkali granite magma

New data from a geochemical, geochronological and isotopic study of the Late Precambrian Timna igneous complex suggest the formation of alkali granites from a LIL-enriched, mantle derived, sanukitoid-type monzodiorite (a silica oversaturated rock with Mg# >60). These data also provide new insights into the petrology, timing and regional tectonic control of the transition from the calc-alkaline to the alkaline magmatic activity in the northern Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS) during the Late Precambrian.

The Timna alkali granite was formed by fractional crystallization from the monzodioritic magma in a quasi-stratified magmatic cell which formed 610 Ma ago in the 625 Ma old calc-alkaline, porphyritic granite crust. These monzodiorites are mantle-derived, as demonstrated by their high Mg# (63), Cr (230 ppm), and Ni (120 ppm). They are characterized by initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr of 0.7034, ε-Nd (610 Ma) = +3.4, and are enriched in K₂O (2.9%), Sr (840 ppm), Ba (1290 ppm) and LREE [(La/Lu)_n= 10–25]. The chemical characteristics and REE patterns of the monzodiorites and andesitic dykes of Timna are very similar to Dokhan andesites from northeastern Egypt and the Archean sanukitoids from Canada. The isotopic, geochemical and geochronologic data all indicate that Timna monzodiorites are comagmatic with the alkali granite. The alkali granite is a typical post-orogenic, borderline A-type granite. It is enriched in potassium (K₂O=4.68–6.64%), has a negative europium anomaly (Eu/Eu^*=0.058–0.38) and ε-Nd (610 Ma) of +3.9. The calc-alkaline granite is a typical I-type granite with a small positive europium anomaly (Eu/Eu^*=1.02–1.16). Its age and the Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic characteristics with ε-Nd (625 Ma) of +5.6 to +5.9 are significantly different from these of the alkali granite and monzodiorites, and indicate little interaction with the monzodiorite during the formation of the alkali granite.

The alkali granites are correlative with the post-collisional extensional granites in Jordan and Egypt while the porphyritic granites can be correlated with the late orogenic types. Crustal thickening associated with orogenic compression resulted in crustal anatexis to form the I-type granitic rocks, whereas crustal thinning associated with extension allowed LIL-enriched mantle melts to rise very near to the surface, where space was available for these to pond and fractionate to alkali granite.