Late Archean Cu-Au-Mo mineralization at Gameleira and Serra Verde, Carajàs Mineral Province, Brazil: constraints from Re-Os molybdenite ages

New Re-Os molybdenite ages provide constraints on the timing of Late Archean Cu-Au-Mo mineralization in the northern Carajás Mineral Province. Molybdenite from the Gameleira iron oxide Cu-Au-Mo deposit yielded an age of 2,614±14 Ma. This age overlaps within its analytical error with Re-Os ages of molybdenite from the Serra Verde Cu-Au-Mo vein deposit (2,609±13 Ma) and from the nearby small Garimpo Fernando gold mining operation (2,592±13 and 2,602±13 Ma), which is probably related to the latter. The geochronological data imply that the hydrothermal Cu-Au-Mo mineralization in these three deposits was epigenetic and coincides with a regional tectonic regime changing from dextral transtension and clastic sedimentation at 2.7–2.6 Ga to sinistral transpression and inversion at 2.6 Ga. Previously reported stable isotope and microthermometric data are compatible with a magmatic affiliation of the Cu-Au-Mo ores at Gameleira and Serra Verde. A genetic relationship of mineralization may therefore exist with 2.56–2.76 Ga Archean alkaline granitoids or with 2.6–2.7 calc-alkaline to tholeiitic volcanic-arc type magmatism.Editorial handling: F. Tornos     

Trace element and isotopic evidence for two types of crustal melting beneath a High Cascade volcanic center, Mt. Jefferson, Oregon

Mt. Jefferson is an andesite-dacite composite volcano in the Cascade Range, the locus of andesite and dacite-dominated volcanism for at least 1 million years. A large trace element data set for Mt. Jefferson and its surrounding mafic volcanic platform effectively rules out any fractionation based model (FC or AFC) for the generation of Mt. Jefferson andesites. Several incompatible element (Zr, Nb, Y) concentrations decrease in the range from basalt to andesite, and then increase in the range from andesite to rhyodacite. Others (Ba, Rb, La, Th) remain constant or show a slight increase in the basalt to andesite range, with modest increases from andesite to rhyodacite. Systematic variations in highly incompatible element ratios such as Ba/La and Rb/Th suggest magma mixing dominates the trace element signatures. Rhyodacites are isotopically uniform (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70325-0.70343; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.75-18.85; ‘¹⁸O=6.3ǂ.3), whereas andesite and dacite are more variable (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70291-0.70353; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.59-18.86; ‘¹⁸O=6.0ǂ.6). Typical basaltic andesite has ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70326-0.70358, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.78-18.85, and ‘¹⁸O=5.9ǂ.4. Sr-rich (>1,000 ppm) basaltic andesite is more variable (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70300-0.70360; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.70-18.89; ‘¹⁸O=5.9ǂ.4). The data define mixing arrays with one end member at ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7029; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.59, another at rhyodacite, and a third at ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7036; ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb=18.89. The first end member is defined by Sr-rich (800-1,200 ppm) andesite with high Al₂O₃, and low K₂O, Ba, and Rb/Th; the third one by K₂O- and very Sr-rich (>2,000 ppm) shoshonite. Isotopic data for basalts in northern Oregon preclude any fractionation relationship between basalt and either rhyodacite or Sr-rich andesite (e.g., the minimum ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratio in basalt is 18.83). Considered in light of geophysical models for the Cascades, these data suggest two types of crustal melting beneath the arc. Rhyodacite may be generated at 25-30 km depth by partial melting of arc basalt-like amphibolite at 850-900 °C. Sr-rich andesite may be formed by partial melting of depleted MORB-like mafic granulite at 35-45 km depth at 1,000-1,100 °C. Experimental and REE evidence supports these interpretations as does the restriction of Sr-rich andesite in the Cascades to the area south of the 100 mW/m² heat flow contour between Mt. Jefferson and Mt. Hood. Thick crust and high heat flow are necessary to produce such andesite.     

Geochronology and Nd isotopic data of Grenville-age rocks in the Colombian Andes: new constraints for Late Proterozoic-Early Paleozoic paleocontinental reconstructions of the Americas

New UPb zircon crystallization ages and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar cooling ages from the Colombian Andes confirm the existence of rocks metamorphosed during the Orinoquian Orogenic Event (ca. 1.0 Ga) of northern South America. ε_Nd (t = 1.1 Ga) for these rocks range from −3.9 to +0.91, which is interpreted as a mixture of Late Archean-Early Proterozoic crust with juvenile material produced during the 1.1 Ga orogenic event. The Colombian Grenville age rocks are part of a much longer metamorphic pericratonal belt, sporadically exposed along the Andes, in western-central Peru, southern Bolivia and northern Argentina. In addition, Nd model (T_DM) ages for the Colombian rocks range from 1.9 to 1.45 Ga, similar to those obtained in the Grenville Province of the eastern U.S. and in the Mexican basement, placing constraints on Late Proterozoic-Early Paleozoic paleocontinental reconstructions.     

Nd isotopic ages of crust formation and metamorphism in the Precambrian of eastern and southern Mexico

Sm-Nd ages for garnets in the three Precambrian exposures of eastern and southern Mexico demonstrate that they belong to the Grenville tectonothermal event. The Sm-Nd garnet ages of 0.95 Ga for the Oaxacan Complex and 0.90 Ga for the Huiznopala Gneiss, Molango and the Novillo Gneiss, Ciudad Victoria, are postdated 75 Ma by Rb-Sr ages on biotites. Both sets of data document a cooling history following Grenville metamorphism at or before 1.0 Ga ago. Our garnet data are consistent with a blocking temperature for Sm-Nd in that mineral around 600° C suggested by Humphries and Cliff (1982).The three Precambrian occurrences have Nd chemical ages of separation from depleted mantle (T_DM) grouped in the range 1.40–1.60 Ga. This may result from derivation of the rocks from actual crustal protoliths which had been separated from the mantle 0.5 Ga before the Grenville Orogeny. It is much more likely, however, that crustal materials of 1.7 Ga or older age were mixed with mantle-derived products during Grenville events to produce intermediate T_DM ages and _Nd values around zero 1.0 Ga ago.     

Emergent littoral deposits in the eastern Canary Islands

K-Ar ages (A. Abdel-Monem, P. D. Watkins, and P. W. Gast, 1971, American Journal of Science271, 490–521; this paper) and revised paleontological determinations (J. Meco, 1977, “Los Strombus neogenos y cuatenarios del Atlantico euroafricano”, Las Palmas, Ediciones del Excmo. Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria) show that “Quaternary” (R. Crofts, 1967, Quaternaria 9, 247–260; G. Lecointre, K. J. Tinkler, and G. Richards, 1967, Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia Proceedings119, 325–344) littoral deposits on Lanzarote and Fuerteventura are early Pliocene and late Pleistocene. Early and middle Pleistocene strand lines are not represented. Early Pliocene littoral and marine deposits contain a characteristic fossil assemblage: Strombus coronatus, Nerità emiliana, Gryphaea virleti, Patella cf. intermedia, and Rothpletzia rudista. Differences in elevation record differential post-Pliocene uplift of the coastal platforms on which they lie. Late Pleistocene beach deposits at low elevations belong to two groups, an older with Strombus bubonius and a younger without. Differences in elevation of early Pliocene littoral deposits are reflected by differences in elevation of late Pleistocene beach deposits nearby.     

Compositional gradients in large reservoirs of silicic magma as evidenced by ignimbrites versus Taylor Creek Rhyolite lava domes

The Taylor Creek Rhyolite of southwest New Mexico consists of 20 lava domes and flows that were emplaced during a period of a few thousand years or less in late Oligocene time. Including genetically associated pyroclastic deposits, which are about as voluminous as the lava domes and flows, the Taylor Creek Rhyolite represents roughly 100 km³ of magma erupted from vents distributed throughout an area of several hundred square kilometers. Major-element composition is metaluminous to weakly peraluminous high-silica rhyolite and is nearly constant throughout the lava field. The magma reservoir for the Taylor Creek Rhyolite was vertically zoned in trace elements, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, and phenocryst abundance and size. Mean trace-element concentrations, ranges in concentrations, and element-pair correlations are similar to many subalkaline silicic ignimbrites. However, the polarity of the zonation was opposite that in reservoirs for ignimbrites, for most constituents. For example, compared to the Bishop Tuff, only ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Sc increased upward in both reservoirs. Quite likely, a dominant but nonerupted volume of the magma reservoir for the Taylor Creek Rhyolite was zoned like that for the Bishop Tuff, whereas an erupted, few-hundred-meter-thick cap on the magma body was variably contaminated by roof rocks whose contribution to this part of the magma system moderated relatively extreme trace-element concentrations of uncontaminated Taylor Creek Rhyolite but did not change the sense of correlation for most element pairs. The contaminant probably was a Precambrian rock of broadly granitic composition and with very high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. Although examples apparently are not yet reported in the literature, evidence for a similar thin contaminated cap on reservoirs for large-volume silicic ignimbrites may exist in the bottom few meters of ignimbrites or perhaps only in the pumice fallout that normally immediately precedes ignimbrite emplacement. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in sanidine phenocrysts of the Taylor Creek Rhyolite is higher than that of their host whole rocks. Covariation of this isotope ratio with sanidine abundance and size indicates positive correlations for all three features with decreasing distance to the roof of the magma reservoir. The sanidine probably is more radiogenic than host whole rock because growing phenocrysts partly incorporated Sr from the first partial melt of roof rocks, which contained the highly radiogenic Sr of Precambrian biotite ± hornblende, whereas diffusion was too slow for sanidine to incorporate much of the Sr from subsequently produced less radiogenic partial melt of roof rocks, before eruption quenched the magma system. Disequilibrium between feldspar phenocrysts and host groundmass is fairly common for ignimbrites, and a process of contamination similar to that for the Taylor Creek Rhyolite may help explain some of these situations.     

Species distribution modeling: a statistical review with focus in spatio-temporal issues

The use of complex statistical models has recently increased substantially in the context of species distribution behavior. This complexity has made the inferential and predictive processes challenging to perform. The Bayesian approach has become a good option to deal with these models due to the ease with which prior information can be incorporated along with the fact that it provides a more realistic and accurate estimation of uncertainty. In this paper, we first review the sources of information and different approaches (frequentist and Bayesian) to model the distribution of a species. We also discuss the Integrated Nested Laplace approximation as a tool with which to obtain marginal posterior distributions of the parameters involved in these models. We finally discuss some important statistical issues that arise when researchers use species data: the presence of a temporal effect (presenting different spatial and spatio-temporal structures), preferential sampling, spatial misalignment, non-stationarity, imperfect detection, and the excess of zeros.     

Use of Cu isotopes to distinguish primary and secondary Cu mineralization in the Ca?ariaco Norte porphyry copper deposit, Northern Peru

A significant proportion of the copper in the Ca?ariaco Norte porphyry copper deposit in northern Peru occurs in chalcocite and covellite-rich veins and disseminations that exist from the surface to depths greater than 1?km. The overall range of Cu isotopic ratios of 42 mineral separates from Ca?ariaco varies from ?8.42 to 0.61?‰, with near-surface chalcocite and Fe oxides having isotopically depleted values compared to chalcocite, covellite, and chalcopyrite from deeper levels. The majority (34 of 36) of measured Cu sulfides have a typical hypogene copper isotope composition of δ⁶⁵Cu?=?0.18?±?0.38?‰, with no enriched isotopic signature existing in the Ca?ariaco Norte sulfide data. Thus, the copper isotope data indicate that most of the chalcocite and covellite formed from high-temperature hypogene mineralization processes and that only a minor portion of the deposit is enriched by supergene processes. The nonexistence of an enriched δ⁶⁵Cu reservoir suggest the presence of an undiscovered lateral/exotic Cu occurrence that enriched ⁶⁵Cu that remained in solution during weathering. Regardless of the cause, the comparative analysis of the Cu isotope dataset reveals that little exploration potential for an extensive supergene enrichment blanket exists because the weathering history at Ca?ariaco Norte was not conducive to preservation of enriched Cu at depth beneath the leach cap.     

Exact seismic response of smooth rigid retaining walls resting on stiff soil

The assessment of forces exerted on walls by the backfill is a recurrent problem in geotechnical engineering, owing to its relevance for both retaining systems and underground structures. In particular, the work by Arias and colleagues, and later also the one by Veletsos and Younan, among others, becomes pertinent when considering pressure increments on underground structures triggered by seismic events. As a first step, they studied the response of a rigid retaining wall resting on rigid bedrock subjected to SV waves, introducing some simplifying assumptions. This paper presents the exact solution to this reference problem. The solution is given in horizontal wavenumber domain; hence, it comes in terms of inverse Fourier transforms, which can be approximated numerically in Mathematica, which in turn are verified against finite-element simulations. Specific features of this exact solution that were not captured by prior engineering approximations are highlighted and discussed.