Crystal Accumulation and Magma Mixing in the Petrogenesis of Tholeiitic Andesites from Fukujin Seamount, Northern Mariana Island Arc

Fukujin Seamount is a large, active, submarine volcano on thevolcanic front in the northernseamount province (NSP) of theMariana island arc (MIA). Five dredge hauls from the summitand upper flanks of Fukujin recovered mainly highly porphyriticbasaltic andesites. A few nearly aphyric samples are medium-Ksiliceous andesites (SiO₂ = 62%, K₂O = 1•5%). Fukujin andmost other large arc-front volcanoes of the northern MIA havetholeiitic (iron-enrichment) fractionation trends. This contrastswith the calc-alkaline trends of many smaller seamounts. A negativecorrelation of modal plagioclase content with bulk-rock SiO₂,as well as bulk-rock major and trace element variation trends,and glass analyses, suggests that lavas with >30 vol.% phenocrystsand <55 wt.% SiO₂ are partial cumulates. The presence ofbimodal phenocryst populations along with reversed to normalzoning of phenocrysts is explained by magma mixing of andesiticand basaltic liquids. Hybrid basaltic andesites probably formedby the accumulation of plagioclase in a tholeiitic magma chamberundergoing replenishment and mixing at a shallow crustal level.A petrogenetic model is presented for the origin of basalticandesite by combined magma mixing and fractional crystallization.Aphyric siliceous andesites can be modelled by simple fractionationof basaltic andesite. The early fractionating assemblage consistedmainly of plagioclase and clinopyroxene, with lesser olivineand minor magnetite, but plagioclase remained suspended in themelt. The later fractionating assemblage was dominated by plagioclasewith orthopyroxene instead of olivine. ^*Present address: 2260 rue Panet, Montreal, Quebec, H2L 3A6, Canada.     

ESTABLISHING LICHENOMETRIC AGES FOR NINETEENTH- AND TWENTIETH-CENTURY GLACIER FLUCTUATIONS ON SOUTH GEORGIA (SOUTH ATLANTIC)

Glaciers in small mountain cirques on South Georgia respond rapidly and sensitively to changes in South Atlantic climate. The timing and rate of their deglaciation can be used to examine the impact that nineteenth- and twentieth-century climate change has had on the glacial dynamics and terrestrial ecosystems of South Georgia. As part of a reconnaissance study in Prince Olav Harbour (POH), South Georgia, we measured the size of lichens ( Rhizocarpon Ram. em Th. Fr. subgenus. Rhizocarpon group) on ice-free moraine ridges around two small mountain cirques. Our aims were twofold: first, to provide age estimates for lichen colonization, and hence, deglaciation of the moraine ridges, and second, to examine the potential of applying lichenometry more widely to provide deglacial age constraints on South Georgia. In the absence of lichen age-size (dating) curves for South Georgia, we use long-term Rhizocarpon lichen growth-rates from recent studies on sub-Antarctic Islands and the western Antarctic Peninsula to calculate likely age estimates. These data suggest ice retreat from the two outermost moraines occurred between the end of the 'Little Ice Age' (post c. 1870) and the early twentieth century on South Georgia. Lichen colonization of the innermost moraines is probably related to glacier retreat during the second half of the twentieth century, which has been linked to a well-defined warming trend since c. 1950. Patterns of possible nineteenth- and twentieth-century glacial retreat identified in POH need to be tested further by establishing species- and site-specific lichen age-size (dating) curves for South Georgia, and by applying lichenometry to other mountain cirques across South Georgia.     

Fluvial and lacustrine palaeoenvironments of the Miocene Siwalik Group, Khaur area, northern Pakistan

The Miocene Siwalik Group (upsection, the Chinji, Nagri, and Dhok Pathan Formations) in northern Pakistan records fluvial and lacustrine environments within the Himalayan foreland basin. Thick (5 m to tens of metres) sandstones are composed of channel bar and fill deposits of low-sinuousity (1·08–1·19), single-channel meandering and braided rivers which formed large, low-gradient sediment fans (or ‘megafans’). River flow was dominantly toward the south-east and likely perennial. Palaeohydraulic reconstructions indicate that Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were small relative to Nagri rivers. Bankfull channel depths of Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were generally ≤ 15 m, and up to 33 m for Nagri rivers. Widths of channel segments (including single channels of meandering rivers and individual channels around braid bars) were 320–710 m for Chinji rivers, 320–1050 m for Nagri rivers, and 270–340 m for Dhok Pathan rivers. Mean channel bed slopes were on the order of 0·000056–0·00011. Bankfull discharges of channel segments for Chinji and Dhok Pathan rivers were generally 700–800 m³s^?1, with full river discharges possibly up to 2400 m³s^?1. Bankfull discharges of channel segments for Nagri rivers were generally 1800–3500 m³s^?1, with discharges of some larger channel segments possibly on the order of 9000–32 000 m³s^?1. Full river discharges of some of the largest Nagri braided rivers may have been twice these values. Thin (decimetres to a few metres) sandstones represent deposits of levees, crevasse channels and splays, floodplain channels, and large sheet floods. Laminated mudstones represent floodplain and lacustrine deposits. Lakes were both perennial and short-lived, and likely less than 10 m deep with maximum fetches on the order of a few tens of kilometres. Trace fossils and body fossils within all facies indicate the former existence of terrestrial vertebrates, molluscs (bivalves and gastropods), arthropods (including insects), worms, aquatic fauna (e.g. fish, turtles, crocodiles), trees, bushes, grasses, and aquatic flora. Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions are consistent with previous palaeoclimatic interpretations of monsoonal conditions.     

A magma ocean on Vesta: Core formation and petrogenesis of eucrites and diogenites

Abstract— Available evidence strongly suggests that the HED (howardite, eucrite, diogenite) meteorites are samples of asteroid 4 Vesta. Abundances of the moderately siderophile elements (Ni, Co, Mo, W and P) in the HED mantle indicate that the parent body may have been completely molten during its early history. During cooling of a chondritic composition magma ocean, equilibrium crystallization is fostered by the suspension of crystals in a convecting magma ocean until the crystal fraction reaches a critical value near 0.80, when the convective system freezes and melts segregate from crystals by gravitational forces. The extruded liquids are similar in composition to Main Group and Stannern trend eucrites, and the last pyroxenes to precipitate out of this ocean (before convective lockup) span the compositional range of the diogenites. Subsequent fractional crystallization of a Main Group eucrite liquid, which has been isolated as a body of magma, produces the Nuevo Laredo trend and the cumulate eucrites. The predicted cumulate mineral compositions are in close agreement with phase compositions analyzed in the cumulate eucrites. Thus, eucrites and diogenites are shown to have formed as part of a simple and continuous crystallization sequence starting with a magma ocean environment on an asteroidal size parent body that is consistent with Vesta.     

Faceted garnets from sandstones of the Munising Formation (Cambrian), northern Michigan: petrographic evidence for their origin by intrastratal dissolution

Imbricate wedge marks (facets) on garnets in sandstones of the Cambrian Munising Formation of northern Michigan are associated with mouldic secondary porosity developed at the expense of garnet. Mouldic pores surrounding faceted garnets indicate that garnets in these sandstones have been affected by intrastratal dissolution (retreat of the mineral surface from its original boundaries) rather than by grain enlargement, which would be expected if garnet overgrowths had formed. The association of garnet facets with textural evidence of garnet dissolution proves that garnet facets form by intrastratal dissolution. These results confirm similar findings in other recent studies, and extend the geographic and stratigraphic range of proven occurrences of facet formation by intrastratal dissolution.     

The anatomy of an early Dinantian terraced floodplain: palaeo-environment and early diagenesis

The lowermost Carboniferous rocks in the Cockburnspath area of east Berwickshire (southern Scotland) are interpreted as coastal floodplain sediments. A lower mudstone-dominated unit is composed of silty mudstones and shales with subordinate sandstones and argillaceous ferroan dolomites (cementstones). These are interpreted as distal floodplain sediments with periodic crevasse-splay deposition. The dark grey colour of the mudrocks suggests deposition in reducing conditions, probably in floodplain lakes. Most of the cementstones are concretionary, some with septarian cracks, suggesting an early diagenetic origin. An immature palaeosol suggests periodic pedogenesis under improved drainage. A synsedimentary erosion surface indicates incision of a valley into the floodplain, presumably in response to base-level lowering. An upper sandstone-dominated unit starts with fine-grained rippled sandstones, cut by small channel sandstones. These are interpreted as floodplain lake deposits fed by crevasse channels. A distinctive conglomerate with cementstone clasts, wood fragments and fish remains is interpreted as a major overbank deposit, dumped into a pre-existing floodplain lake. A bivalve fauna was established in the overlying mudstones, followed by a thin limestone with a restricted marine fossil assemblage, showing that seawater flooding of the lakes occurred at times. Mudrocks throughout the sequence contain no pyrite, except for the marine band which has an organic-carbon/sulphur ratio and degree of pyritization value typical of marine sediments. The concretionary cementstones have δ¹³C values around —4 to —6%^0/00 PDB which are interpreted as indicative of anaerobic oxidation of organic matter. The combined geochemical data suggest a significant involvement of iron reduction in cementstone formation, although the δ¹³C values are ambiguous in assessing the relative involvement of methanogenesis and methane oxidation. Limited seawater inundation of the floodplains might have supplied magnesium and calcium ions for dolomite formation assuming that any H₂S derived as a result of sulphate reduction was oxidized by iron reduction. Alternatively a weathering source for solutes might have been involved.     

The origin and significance of groundwater-seepage gypsum from Bristol Dry Lake, California, USA

Gypsum and anhydrite fabrics observed in trenches and deep (500 m) cores from Bristol Dry Lake, California, USA, exhibit a vertical alignment of crystals similar to the fabric seen in bottom-nucleated brine pond gypsum. However, geochemical and sedimentological evidence indicate that the gypsum formed in Bristol Dry Lake precipitated displacively within the sediment where groundwater saturated with respect to gypsum recharges around the playa margin (groundwater-seepage gypsum). Evidence for displacive growth of gypsum is: (i) the geometry of the deposit, (ii) stable isotopic data and the water chemistry of the brine, and (iii) inclusions of matrix which follow twin planes and completely surround crystals as they grow. The bulk of the gypsum precipitated in the playa occurs around the edges of the playa in the playamargin facies and completely rings the lake. Sulphate concentrations in the groundwater increase toward the gypsum zone in the playa margin. Basinward of this zone, sulphate concentrations decrease sharply to trace element levels in the basin centre brine. Authigenic gypsum is rare in the centre of the playa. Stable (δ¹⁸O values measured for gypsum waters of crystallization (GWC) are similar to the values calculated for groundwater in the playa margin and alluvial fan sediments (?– 6%0), whereas measured brine δ¹⁸O values range from + 0·5 to + 3·7%0. Deuterium values measured for groundwater are ?– 70%0, GWC are ?– 60 to – 65%0 and brine values are ?– 57%0. The geometry of the deposit and the chemical data suggest that the water precipitating the gypsum is more closely associated with the groundwater than the brine. However, some mixing between groundwater and brine is likely. Within 100 m of the surface, the gypsum dehydrates to anhydrite, although the same vertically aligned fabric is retained through the diagenetic process. The similarity of displacive vertically aligned gypsum and anhydrite fabrics seen in Bristol Dry Lake to subaqueously deposited gypsum in modern brine ponds indicates that the criteria used to define subaqueous fabrics must be better constrained.     

Late Pleistocene glacial and lake history of northwestern Russia

Five regionally significant Weichselian glacial events, each separated by terrestrial and marine interstadial conditions, are described from northwestern Russia. The first glacial event took place in the Early Weichselian. An ice sheet centred in the Kara Sea area dammed up a large lake in the Pechora lowland. Water was discharged across a threshold on the Timan Ridge and via an ice-free corridor between the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and the Kara Sea Ice Sheet to the west and north into the Barents Sea. The next glaciation occurred around 75-70 kyr BP after an interstadial episode that lasted c. 15 kyr. A local ice cap developed over the Timan Ridge at the transition to the Middle Weichselian. Shortly after deglaciation of the Timan ice cap, an ice sheet centred in the Barents Sea reached the area. The configuration of this ice sheet suggests that it was confluent with the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Consequently, around 70-65 kyr BP a huge ice-dammed lake formed in the White Sea basin (the 'White Sea Lake'), only now the outlet across the Timan Ridge discharged water eastward into the Pechora area. The Barents Sea Ice Sheet likely suffered marine down-draw that led to its rapid collapse. The White Sea Lake drained into the Barents Sea, and marine inundation and interstadial conditions followed between 65 and 55 kyr BP. The glaciation that followed was centred in the Kara Sea area around 55-45 kyr BP. Northward directed fluvial runoff in the Arkhangelsk region indicates that the Kara Sea Ice Sheet was independent of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and that the Barents Sea remained ice free. This glaciation was succeeded by a c. 20-kyr-long ice-free and periglacial period before the Scandinavian Ice Sheet invaded from the west, and joined with the Barents Sea Ice Sheet in the northernmost areas of northwestern Russia. The study area seems to be the only region that was invaded by all three ice sheets during the Weichselian. A general increase in ice-sheet size and the westwards migrating ice-sheet dominance with time was reversed in Middle Weichselian time to an easterly dominated ice-sheet configuration. This sequence of events resulted in a complex lake history with spillways being re-used and ice-dammed lakes appearing at different places along the ice margins at different times.     

A Petrologic Perspective of Kilauea Volcano's Summit Magma Reservoir

Two hundred years of magmatic history are documented by thelavas and tephra sampled from K     

Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake,British Columbia,Canada

Tunnicliffe, J., Church, M. & Enkin, R. J. 2012 (January): Postglacial sediment yield to Chilliwack Lake, British Columbia, Canada. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 84–101. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2011.00219.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Seismic records and evidence from sediment cores at Chilliwack Lake provide the basis for a long‐term (postglacial) sediment budget for a 324‐km² Cordilleran catchment. Chilliwack Lake (11.8 km² surface area), situated in the North Cascade Mountains, near Chilliwack, British Columbia, was formed behind a valley‐wide recessional moraine in the final phase of post‐Fraser alpine glaciation. Seismic surveys highlight the postglacial lacustrine record, which is underlain by a thick layer of sediments related to deglacial sedimentation. Sediment cores provide details of grain‐size fining from the delta to the distal lake basin. The cores also show a record of intermittent fire and debris flows. Magnetic measurements of lake sediments provide information on grain size, as well as a dating framework. The total postglacial lake‐floor deposit volume is estimated to be 397 ± 27 × 10⁶ m³. Including estimates of fan and delta deposition, the specific postglacial yield to the lake is calculated to be ～86 ± 13 Mg km² a^?1. The sediment volume in the uppermost (Holocene) lacustrine layer is 128 ± 9 × 10⁶ m³, representing ～41 ± 4 Mg km² a^?1 in the Holocene. Compared with other Cordilleran lakes of similar size, particularly those with glacial cover in the watershed, Chilliwack Lake has experienced relatively modest rates of sediment accumulation. This study provides an important contribution to a growing database of long‐term (postglacial) sediment yield data for major Cordilleran lakes, essential for advancing our understanding of the pace of landscape evolution in formerly glaciated mountainous regions.