Origin of Fe-Ti Oxide Ores in Mafic Intrusions: Evidence from the Panzhihua Intrusion, SW China

Economic concentrations of Fe–Ti oxides occur as massive,conformable lenses or layers in the lower part of the Panzhihuaintrusion, Emeishan Large Igneous Province, SW China. Mineralchemistry, textures and QUILF equilibria indicate that oxidesin rocks of the intrusion were subjected to extensive subsolidusre-equilibration and exsolution. The primary oxide, reconstructedfrom compositions of titanomagnetite in the ores and associatedintergrowths, is an aluminous titanomagnetite (Usp₄₀) with 40wt % FeO, 34 wt % Fe₂O₃, 16·5 wt % TiO₂, 5·3 wt% Al₂O₃, 3·5 wt % MgO and 0·5 wt % MnO. This compositionis similar to the bulk composition of the oxide ore, as inferredfrom whole-rock data. This similarity strongly suggests thatthe ores formed from accumulation of titanomagnetite crystals,not from immiscible oxide melt as proposed in earlier studies.The occurrence of oxide ores in the lower parts of the Panzhihuaintrusion is best explained by settling and sorting of densetitanomagnetite in the ferrogabbroic parental magma. This magmamust have crystallized Fe–Ti oxides relatively early andabundantly, and is likely to have been enriched in Fe and Tibut poor in SiO₂. These features are consistent with fractionationof mantle-derived melts under relatively high pressures (10kbar), followed by emplacement of the residual magma at 5 kbar.This study provides definitive field and geochemical evidencethat Fe–Ti oxide ores can form by accumulation in ferrogabbro.We suggest that many other massive Fe–Ti oxide depositsmay have formed in a similar fashion and that high concentrationsof phosphorus or carbon, or periodic fluctuation of fO₂ in themagma, are of secondary importance in ore formation. KEY WORDS: ELIP; Fe–Ti oxide ore; layered intrusion; Panzhihua; QUILF     

Oxygen Isotope Evidence for Chemical Interaction of Ki lauea Historical Magmas with Basement Rocks

Klauea historical summit lavas have a wide range in matrix ¹⁸O_VSMOWvalues (4·9–5·6) with lower values in rockserupted following a major summit collapse or eruptive hiatus.In contrast, ¹⁸O values for olivines in most of these lavasare nearly constant (5·1 ± 0·1). The disequilibriumbetween matrix and olivine ¹⁸O values in many samples indicatesthat the lower matrix values were acquired by the magma afterolivine growth, probably just before or during eruption. BothMauna Loa and Klauea basement rocks are the likely sources ofthe contamination, based on O, Pb and Sr isotope data. However,the extent of crustal contamination of Klauea historical magmasis probably minor (< 12%, depending on the assumed contaminant)and it is superimposed on a longer-term, cyclic geochemicalvariation that reflects source heterogeneity. Klauea's heterogeneoussource, which is well represented by the historical summit lavas,probably has magma ¹⁸O values within the normal mid-ocean ridgebasalt mantle range (5·4–5·8) based on thenew olivine ¹⁸O values. KEY WORDS: Hawaii; Klauea; basalt; oxygen isotopes; crustal contamination     

Baryt und ankerit aus Ammoniten des Berner Juras (Schweiz)

Barite has been found for the first time in the Swiss Jura (Hirni, Passwang). Small, white crystals of barite with yellow ankerite grow on calcite in different chambers of a Bajocian ammonite. Chemical data (by microprobe analysis) and lattice parameters (refined by leastsquares from powder patterns) are given for the two minerals. There is a distinct correlation between the cell dimensions and the chemical composition for both of them. The genesis is discussed.     

Mussels document loss of bioavailable polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the return to baseline conditions for oiled shorelines in Prince William Sound, Alaska

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were measured in mussels (Mytilus trossulus) collected between 1990 and 2002 from 11 sites on the shores of Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska, that were heavily oiled by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS). This study, utilizing the methods of the NOAA Status and Trends Mussel Watch Program, found that concentrations of PAH released from spill remnants have decreased dramatically with time and by 2002 were at or near the range of total PAH (TPAH) of 3-355 ng/g dry weight obtained for mussels from unoiled reference sites in PWS. Time-series TPAH data indicate a mean TPAH half-life in mussel tissues of 2.4 years with a range from 1.4 to 5.3, yielding an annual mean loss of bioaccumulated TPAH of 25%. The petroleum-derived TPAH fraction in mussel tissues has decreased with time, reflecting the decreasing release of EVOS residues in shoreline sediments. These results show that PAH from EVOS residues that remain buried in shoreline sediments after the early 1990s are in a form and at locations that have a low accessibility to mussels living in the intertidal zone.