Chemical and textural equilibration of garnet during amphibolite facies metamorphism: The influence of coupled dissolution–reprecipitation

Metamorphic equilibration requires chemical communication between minerals and may be inhibited through sluggish volume diffusion and or slow rates of dissolution in a fluid phase. Relatively slow diffusion and the perceived robust nature of chemical growth zoning may preclude garnet porphyroblasts from readily participating in low‐temperature amphibolite facies metamorphic reactions. Garnet is widely assumed to be a reactant in staurolite‐isograd reactions, and the evidence for this has been assessed in the Late Proterozoic Dalradian pelitic schists of the Scottish Highlands. The 3D imaging of garnet porphyroblasts in staurolite‐bearing schists reveals a good crystal shape and little evidence of marginal dissolution; however, there is also lack of evidence for the involvement of either chlorite or chloritoid in the reaction. Staurolite forms directly adjacent to the garnet, and its nucleation is strongly associated with deformation of the muscovite‐rich fabrics around the porphyroblasts. “Cloudy” fluid inclusion‐rich garnet forms in both marginal and internal parts of the garnet porphyroblast and is linked both to the production of staurolite and to the introduction of abundant quartz inclusions within the garnet. Such cloudy garnet typically has a Mg‐rich, Mn‐poor composition and is interpreted to have formed during a coupled dissolution–reprecipitation process, triggered by a local influx of fluid. All garnet in the muscovite‐bearing schists present in this area is potentially reactive, irrespective of the garnet composition, but very few of the schists contain staurolite. The staurolite‐producing reaction appears to be substantially overstepped during the relatively high‐pressure Barrovian regional metamorphism reflecting the limited permeability of the schists in peak metamorphic conditions. Fluid influx and hence reaction progress appear to be strongly controlled by subtle differences in deformation history. The remaining garnet fails to achieve chemical equilibrium during the reaction creating distinctive patchy compositional zoning. Such zoning in metamorphic garnet created during coupled dissolution–reprecipitation reactions may be difficult to recognize in higher grade pelites due to subsequent diffusive re‐equilibration. Fundamental assumptions about metamorphic processes are questioned by the lack of chemical equilibrium during this reaction and the restricted permeability of the regional metamorphic pelitic schists. In addition, the partial loss of prograde chemical and textural information from the garnet porphyroblasts cautions against their routine use as a reliable monitor of metamorphic history. However, the partial re‐equilibration of the porphyroblasts during coupled dissolution–reprecipitation opens possibilities of mapping reaction progress in garnet as a means of assessing fluid access during peak metamorphic conditions.     

Spatial and temporal variability of ground water recharge in central Australia: a tracer approach

Two environmental tracer methods are applied to the Ti-Tree Basin in central Australia to shed light on the importance of recharge from floodouts of ephemeral rivers in this arid environment. Ground water carbon-14 concentrations from boreholes are used to estimate the average recharge rate over the interval between where the ground water sample first entered the saturated zone and the bore. Environmental chloride concentrations in ground water samples provide estimates of the recharge rate at the exact point in the landscape where the sample entered the saturated zone. The results of the two tracer approaches indicate that recharge rates around one of the rivers and an extensive floodplain are generally higher than rates of diffuse recharge that occurs in areas of lower topographic relief. Ground water 2H/1H and 18O/16O compositions are all depleted in the heavier isotopes (delta2H = -67 per thousand to -50 per thousand; delta18O = -9.2 per thousand to -5.7%o) compared with the long-term, amount-weighted mean isotopic composition of rainfall in the area (delta2H = -33.8 per thousand; delta18O = -6.3 per thousand). This indicates that recharge throughout the basin occurs only after intense rainfall events of at least 150 to 200 mm/month. Finally, a recharge map is developed to highlight the spatial extent of the two recharge mechanisms. Floodout recharge to the freshest ground water (TDS <1,000 mg/L) is approximately 1.9 mm/year compared with a mean recharge rate of approximately 0.2 mm/year to the remainder of the basin. These findings have important implications for management of the ground water resource.     

The Relative Impact of Regional Scale Land Cover Change and Increasing CO2 over China

A series of 17-yr equilibrium simulations using the NCAR CCM3 (T42 resolution) were performed to investigate the regional scale impacts of land cover change and increasing CO2 over China. Simulations with natural and current land cover at CO2 levels of 280,355, 430, and 505 ppmv were conducted. Results show statistically significant changes in major climate fields (e.g. temperature and surface wind speed) on a 15-yr average following land cover change. We also found increases in the maximum temperature and in the diurnal temperature range due to land cover change. Increases in CO2 affect both the maximum and minimum temperature so that changes in the diurnal range are small. Both land cover change and CO2 change also impact the frequency distribution of precipitation with increasing CO2 tending to lead to more intense precipitation and land cover change leading to less intense precipitation-indeed, the impact of land cover change typically had the opposite effect versus the impacts of CO2. Our results provide support for the inclusion of future land cover change scenarios in long-term transitory climate inodelling experiments of the 21st Century. Our results also support the inclusion of land surface models that can represent future land cover changes resulting from an ecological response to natural climate variability or increasing CO2. Overall, we show that land cover change can have a significant impact on the regional scale climate of China, and that regionally, this impact is of a similar magnitude to increases in CO2 of up to about 430 ppmv. This means that that the impact of land cover change must be accounted for in detection and attribution studies over China.     

An investigation of upper mantle heterogeneity beneath the Archaean and Proterozoic crust of western Canada from Lithoprobe controlled-source seismic experiments

Observations of upper mantle reflectivity at numerous locations around the world have been linked to the presence of a heterogeneous distribution of rock types within a broad layer of the upper mantle. This phenomenon is observed in wide-angle reflection data from Lithoprobe's Alberta Basement Transect [the SAREX and Deep Probe experiments of 1995] and Trans-Hudson Orogen Transect [the THoRE experiment of 1993]. SAREX and Deep Probe image the Archaean lithosphere of the Hearne and Wyoming Provinces, whereas THoRE images the Archaean and Proterozoic lithosphere of the Trans-Hudson Orogen and neighbouring areas.Finite-difference synthetic seismograms are used to constrain the position and physical properties of the reflective layer. SAREX/Deep Probe modelling uses a 2-D visco-elastic finite-difference routine; THoRE modelling uses a pseudospectral algorithm. In both cases, the upper mantle is parameterized in terms of two media. One medium is the background matrix; the other is statistically distributed within the first as a series of elliptical bodies. Such a scheme is suitable for modelling: (1) variations in lithology (e.g., a peridotite matrix with eclogite lenses) or (2) variations in rheology (e.g., lenses of increased strain within a less strained background).The synthetic seismograms show that the properties of heterogeneities in the upper mantle do not change significantly between the two Lithoprobe transects. Beneath the Trans-Hudson Orogen in Saskatchewan, the layer is best modelled to lie at depths between 80 and 150 km. Based on observations from perpendicular profiles, anisotropy of the heterogeneities is inferred. Beneath the Precambrian domains of Alberta, 400 km to the west, upper mantle heterogeneities are modelled to occur between depths of 90 and 140 km. In both cases the heterogeneous bodies within the model have cross-sectional lengths of tens of kilometers, vertical thicknesses less than 1 km, and velocity contrasts from the background of − 0.3 to − 0.4 km/s. Based on consistency with complementary data and other results, the heterogeneous layer is inferred to be part of the continental lithosphere and may have formed through lateral flow or deformation within the upper mantle.     

Setting new thermal standards for transitional and coastal (TraC) waters

The construction of a new generation of coastal power stations in the UK and other western European countries has highlighted the absence of robust standards for thermal discharges to transitional and coastal waters. The proposed discharge volumes are greater than hitherto, yet there has been little independent critical examination of their potential impact, whilst much of the existing guidance has been adapted from freshwater practice. This review considers the available knowledge on the tolerance and behaviour of fish and other marine biota to heated effluents. Appropriate ways are suggested of grouping fish species to reflect their sensitivity to thermal effects. The plethora of existing standards are considered and their validity assessed in a framework of predicted seawater temperature rise. Those species or groups of organisms most likely to be affected are identified and finally specific recommendations for thermal standards consistent with long term sustainability are proposed.     

Velocity predictions for shoaling and breaking waves with a Boussinesq-type model

In this paper, the performance of a 1-D Boussinesq model is evaluated against laboratory data for its ability to predict surf zone velocity moments. Wave evolution over a plane beach and a complex bathymetry both extending into the surf-zone is examined for six cases. For the plane beach, these comprise two cases, a spilling and a plunging cnoidal wave. For the complex bathymetry, these comprise four cases of longer and short wavelengths (spilling and plunging breakers), with regular and irregular periodicity. The model evaluation places emphasis on parameters of the wave field that could be used for the prediction of sediment transport; orbital velocity, undertow, velocity skewness, kurtosis and asymmetry. It is found that, despite an overestimation of the depth-averaged horizontal velocity in the regular waves cases, the predicted higher order velocity moments and undertow are in good agreement with the laboratory data. A bispectral analysis demonstrates that the nonlinear transfers of energy amongst the low order harmonics are well reproduced, but energy exchanges with the higher harmonics are less well predicted. As a result, the model handles velocity moments better in the shorter wave tests than in the long wave cases where triad interactions are stronger. Of the four parameters describing wave breaking, the model behaviour is most sensitive to the critical wave front slope φ_B, especially with regard to velocity skewness and kurtosis predictions. It is also found that increasing the thickness of the surface roller for the case of plunging breakers improves the model's performance.     

Three mechanisms of ore re-mobilisation during amphibolite facies metamorphism at the Montauban Zn–Pb–Au–Ag deposit

The relative importance of mechanical re-mobilisation, hydrothermal dissolution and re-precipitation, and sulphide melting in controlling redistribution of metals during concurrent metamorphism and deformation is evaluated at the middle amphibolite facies Montauban deposit in Canada. As at many other deposits, ductile deformation was important in driving mechanical re-mobilisation of massive sulphides from limb regions into hinge regions of large-scale folds and is thus the most important for controlling the economics of Pb and Zn distribution. Two possible stages of hydrothermally driven re-mobilisation are discussed, each of which produces characteristically different alteration assemblages. Prograde hydrothermal re-mobilisation is driven by pyrite de-sulphidation and concurrent chlorite dehydration and is thus an internally driven process. At Montauban, the H₂S-rich fluid generated through this process allowed re-mobilisation of gold into the wall rock, where it was deposited in response to sulphidation of Fe Mg silicates. Retrograde hydrothermal re-mobilisation is an externally driven process, whereby large volumes of fluids from outside the deposit may dissolve and re-precipitate metals, and cause hydration of silicate minerals. This second hydrothermally driven process is not recognised at Montauban. Sulphide melting occurred as temperatures neared the peak metamorphic conditions. Melting initiated in the massive sulphides through arsenopyrite breakdown, and a small volume of melt was subsequently re-mobilised into the wall rock. Trace element partitioning and fractional crystallisation of this melt generated a precious metal-rich fractionate, which remained mobile until well after peak metamorphism. Thus, prograde hydrothermal re-mobilisation and sulphide melting were the most important mechanisms for controlling the distribution of Au and Ag.     

Provenance and microprobe assays of phyllite‐tempered ceramics from the uplands of central Arizona

The ceramics in use across a broad upland zone of central Arizona during the early Classic period (ca. A.D. 1100–1300) were characterized by a lack of mineralogical variability; nearly all of the clay containers were tempered with one rock type, phyllite. Consequently, nearly all of the upland pottery is assigned to a single pottery type, Wingfield Plain. This compositional uniformity has frustrated ceramic provenance studies, and, as a result, little has been learned previously about the organization of ceramic production and exchange in the upland territory. There are, however, considerable and interpretable chemical differences in the phyllite‐tempered wares, as shown with microanalyses of the temper fragments and pottery clay fractions with an electron microprobe. The chemical patterning is useful for investigating issues pertaining to the upland zone, including the organization of ceramic manufacture, community arrangements, and pottery transactions during a time of prevalent hostilities in central Arizona. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.