The lamprophyre facies

Summary Lamprophyres are a polygenetic group of rocks that have formed by the crystallization of common magma types, including lamproites and kimberlites, under volatile-rich conditions. The term lamprophyre is considered to have no genetic significance and the recognition of a lamprophyre facies is proposed as a means of conveying the concept that some members of a petrological clan crystallized under different conditions e.g. volatile-rich, to other members of that clan. A petrological clan is defined as suite of comagmatic rocks that have been derived from a particular parental magma which has been produced repeatedly in time and space. Lamprophyres are redefined as rocks which are characterized by the presence of euhedral-to-subhedral phenocrysts of mica and/or amphibole together with lesser clinopyroxene and/or melilite set in a groundmass which may consist (either singly or in various combinations) of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, feldspathoid, carbonate, monticellite, mica, amphibole, pyroxene, perovskite, Fe-Ti oxides and glass. The concept of a lamprophyre clan is considered to be unnecessary as it has no petrogenetic significance.

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Die Lamprophyr-Fazies

Zusammenfassung Lamprophyre sind eine Gruppe polygenetischer Gesteine, die, einschließlich der Lamproite und Kimberlite, durch Kristallisation gewöhnlicher Magmentypen unter volatil-reichen Bedingungen entstehen. Der Begriff Lamprophyr wird in einem nicht genetischen Sinne verstanden. Das Erkennen einer Lamprophyr-Fazies wird als eine Möglichkeit betrachtet, dieses Konzept auf eine Kristallisation unter unterschiedlichen Bedingungen, z.B. volatil-reiche Kristallisationsbedingungen im Vergleich zu anderen Gesteinen desselben Clans, zu übertragen. Ein petrologischer Clan wird als eine komagmatische Suite, die aus einem bestimmten Ursprungsmagma, das zeitlich und räumlich wiederholt produziert wurde, definiert. Lamprophyre werden als Gesteine redefiniert, die durch eu- bis subhedrale Phänokristalle von Glimmern und/oder Amphibolen und untergeordnet Klinopyroxen und/oder Melilith in einer Grundmasse bestehend aus einem oder mehreren der Minerale Plagioklas, Alkalifeldspat, Foiden, Karbonat, Monticellit, Glimmer, Amphibol, Pyroxen, Perovskit, Fe-Ti-Oxiden und Glas charakterisiert sind. Das Konzept eines Lamprophyr-Clans wird für unnotwendig erachtet, da ihm keine petrogenetische Bedeutung zukommt.

     

The natural resources development debate in Canada

The current debate concerning natural resources developed in Canadais examined against the background of population distribution, electoral distribution, variations in regional economies, foreign investment, federal versus provincial jurisdiction over resources, and the demands for constitutional reform. These have resulted in an essential division between the resource producing regions of the west and, to a lesser extent the extreme east, and the resource consuming region in the centre. After establishing the context for resource development, the paper goes on to assess the debate as it has evolved with respect to offshore fishery resources on the Atlantic Coast, potash in Saskatchewan and petroleum and natural gas in the western provinces.     

Regional variation of Rayleigh wave attenuation coefficients in the Eastern Pacific

Seismograms recorded for five earthquakes on the east Pacific rise have been analyzed to obtain the attenuation coefficients of the fundamental Rayleigh mode for the eastern Pacific in the 15–110 second period range. The attenuation coefficients have been obtained using two new methods, a reference-station method, and an iterative method by which the seismic moment and regionalized attenuation coefficient values are obtained simultaneously after considering the effect of the source directivity and time-function. The reference-station method was applied to the entire eastern Pacific, excluding paths along the east Pacific rise. When using the iterative method we divided the eastern Pacific into three sub-regions, designated as the north-eastern Pacific, the Nazca plate and the east Pacific rise. Although much scatter is present, the data suggest that attenuation coefficients for the Nazca plate are higher than those for the northeastern Pacific, and both are substantially higher than average values obtained for the entire Pacific Ocean. Two paths that lie along or near the east Pacific rise are characterized by especially high attenuation coefficients. These values suggest that a low-Q zone exists beneath that narrow feature.     

Current interruption in a collisionless plasma by non-linear electrostatic waves

The existence of current-interrupting non-linear electrostatic waves in the form of negative solitons is demonstrated. Self-consistent, non-linear electrostatic potentials are constructed assuming that a current may be interrupted by trapping current-carrying electrons in such a potential. A significant fraction of the current-carrying electrons is trapped by the potential if the electron thermal velocity is much less than the electron streaming velocity. In one class of solutions, the negative solitons, the current may be reduced to a fourth of its initial value in the limit of high ion-electron temperature ratio.     

Heavy metal toxicity of kidney and bone tissues in South Australian adult bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus)

Metallothioneins (MT) concentration, renal damage, and bone malformations were investigated in 38 adult Tursiops aduncus carcasses to determine any associations with cadmium, copper, zinc, mercury, lead and selenium. Significantly higher concentrations of cadmium, copper, and zinc in the liver were observed in dolphins showing evidence of more advanced renal damage. No significant differences in metal or selenium concentrations in the liver were observed between groups differing in level of bone malformations. Some dolphins displayed evidence of toxicity and knowledge of metal toxicity pathways were used to elucidate the cause of these abnormalities. Two dolphins had high metal burdens, high MT concentrations, renal damage, and evidence of bone malformations, indicating possible severe and prolonged metal toxicity. One dolphin showed evidence of renal damage, but the lack of any other symptoms suggests that this was unlikely to be caused by metal toxicity. We recommend examining a range of metal toxicity symptoms simultaneously to aid in distinguishing metal toxicity from unrelated aetiologies.     

Reconstruction and Regional Significance of the Coire Breac Palaeoglacier,Glen Esk,Eastern Grampian Highlands,Scotland

We present a glaciological and climatic reconstruction of a former glacier in Coire Breac, an isolated cirque within the Eastern Grampian plateau of Scotland, 5 km from the Highland edge. Published glacier reconstructions of presumed Younger Dryas‐age glaciers in this area show that equilibrium line altitudes decreased steeply towards the east coast, implying a arctic maritime glacial environment. Extrapolation of the ELA trend surface implies that glaciers should have existed in suitable locations on the plateau, a landscape little modified by glaciation. In Coire Breac, a 0.35 km² cirque glacier existed with an equilibrium line altitude of 487 ± 15 m above present sea level. The equilibrium line altitude matches closely the extrapolated regional equilibrium line altitude trend surface for Younger Dryas Stadial glaciers. The mean glacier thickness of 24 m gives an ice volume of 7.8 × 10⁶ m³, and a maximum basal shear stress of c. 100 kPa^?1. Ablation gradient was c. –0.0055 m m^?1, with a mean July temperature at the equilibrium line altitude of c. 5.1°C. The reconstruction implies an arctic maritime climate of low precipitation with local accumulation enhanced by blown snow, which may explain the absence of other contemporary glaciers nearby. Reconstructed ice flow lines show zones of flow concentration around the lower ice margin which help to explain the distribution of depositional facies associated with a former debris cover which may have delayed eventual glacier retreat. No moraines in the area have been dated, so palaeoclimatic interpretations remain provisional, and a pre‐Lateglacial Interstadial age cannot be ruled out.     

The Winchcombe meteorite—A regolith breccia from a rubble pile CM chondrite asteroid

The Winchcombe meteorite is a CM chondrite breccia composed of eight distinct lithological units plus a cataclastic matrix. The degree of aqueous alteration varies between intensely altered CM2.0 and moderately altered CM2.6. Although no lithology dominates, three heavily altered rock types (CM2.1–2.3) represent >70 area%. Tochilinite–cronstedtite intergrowths (TCIs) are common in several lithologies. Their compositions can vary significantly, even within a single lithology, which can prevent a clear assessment of alteration extent if only TCI composition is considered. We suggest that this is due to early alteration under localized geochemical microenvironments creating a diversity of compositions and because later reprocessing was incomplete, leaving a record of the parent body's fluid history. In Winchcombe, the fragments of primary accretionary rock are held within a cataclastic matrix (~15 area%). This material is impact-derived fallback debris. Its grain size and texture suggest that the disruption of the original parent asteroid responded by intergranular fracture at grain sizes <100 μm, while larger phases, such as whole chondrules, splintered apart. Re-accretion formed a poorly lithified body. During atmospheric entry, the Winchcombe meteoroid broke apart with new fractures preferentially cutting through the weaker cataclastic matrix and separating the breccia into its component clasts. The strength of the cataclastic matrix imparts a control on the survival of CM chondrite meteoroids. Winchcombe's unweathered state and diversity of lithologies make it an ideal sample for exploring the geological history of the CM chondrite group.