Nd and Sr isotopic crustal contamination patterns in an Archaean meta-basic dyke from northern Labrador

Samples from the core to the margin of a 20 cm wide meta-dolerite dyke are sequentially enriched in K, Rb, Sr, and the light REE's. Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd compositional and isotopic profiles in the dyke are interpreted to be the result of selective contamination with components of country rock derivation, rather than the result of simple bulk mixing. ${}^{87}\text{Rb}{}^{86}\text{Sr}$ ratios are higher at the edge of the dyke than at its centre, although they are somewhat irregular, due probably to the effects of subsequent alteration. This profile and one shown by unsupported ⁸⁷Sr are both consistent with contamination of the dyke by a fluid phase derived by the breakdown of biotite. Common Sr shows a parallel, albeit weaker, contamination profile which is interpreted to reflect the contribution of a Sr-bearing phase such as plagioclase. ${}^{147}\text{Sm}{}^{144}$Nd ratios and ¹⁴⁴Nd concentrations increase and decrease respectively from the margin to the core of the dyke. In addition, the margin of the dyke is significantly less radiogenic than the interior. This contrasts with the relatively radiogenic character of an adjacent pegmatite vein. As this sample does not lie on an anticipated contamination profile between the Uivak gneisses and the dyke it is concluded that the REE contamination of the dyke occurred by the addition of a REE-enriched fluid phase which gained access to the dyke by flow along the dyke-pegmatite interface. If it is assumed that both the Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd contamination profiles are the result of diffusion limited processes, then the observations of scale made in this paper suggest that the rate of diffusion of Nd is an order-of-magnitude slower than that for Sr. In view of the scale and nature of these profiles, ages obtained from isotopic data for such mafic dykes must be interpreted with some care. Nevertheless, in spite of these limitations the ?_Nd values for the least contaminated specimens provide a clear indication that the Saglek dykes were derived from a depleted mantle source with ?_Nd? +2.     

Genesis of copper mineralisation,Myall Creek prospect,South Australia

The Myall Creek copper prospect is in unmetamorphosed carbonaceous dolosiltstone and sandstone at the base of the late Proterozoic (Adelaidean) Tapley Hill Formation. It contains disseminated, fine-grained chalcopyrite, zincian tennanite, bornite, chalcocite, pyrite, sphalerite and galena, and irregular to straight chalcopyrite-rich veinlets. Some ore minerals rim and/or partially replace pyrite or clastic grains. There is no evidence of hydrothermal activity. The ³⁴S_CDT values of pyrite and the other sulfides fall in the wide range –3.6 to +44.2. Dolomite in both mineralised and unmineralised samples has ¹³C_PDB values concentrated around –3, and ¹⁸O_SMOW values around +25. It is concluded that the mineralising fluids were near-neutral brines which leached metals from the basement and early Adelaidean rocks. They entered the Tapley Hill sediments at moderately low temperatures via permeable strata and faults. The metals were precipitated by biogenic H₂S, and also fixed by reaction with iron sulfides and, possibly, organic matter. Continuing ascent of brines into the mineralised strata caused breakdown of detrital feldspars and Fe-Ti oxides, and some solution-remobilisation of early-formed sulfides.     

Frequency-Dependent Climate Signal in Upper and Lower Forest Border Tree Rings in the Mountains of the Great Basin

We examine the relationships, over the past millennium, between tree-ring chronologies from long-lived pines at their upper and lower limits in four mountain ranges in and near to the semi-arid Great Basin. We confirm LaMarche's (1974a) finding, based on a single mountain range in this same region, and a much shorter period of comparison, that climate responses are frequency dependent. In particular, upper and lower forest border chronologies in each mountain range are strongly coherent at decadal periods and less, with particular strength in the 3–7 year band. Thisvariability is significantly correlated with precipitation. Conversely, we find no significant correlation between the low frequency fluctuations (60 years and longer) of upper and lower forest border chronologies. There are, however, significant correlations between the low-frequency components of the upper forest border chronologies in the different ranges, consistent with their containing a growing season temperature signal on decadal time scales. The four upper forest border chronologies all show an anomalous increase in growth since the late 19th century, and an apparent change in climate control of ring growth.     

Tree-Ring Reconstructed Winter Precipitation and Tropical Teleconnections in Durango, Mexico

Earlywood width chronologies from Douglas-fir tree rings were used to reconstruct winter (November–March) precipitation for more than 600 years over Durango, Mexico. The tree-ring data were obtained from two sites of long-lived Douglas-fir in northern and southern Durango and the seasonal climatic precipitation data were regionally averaged from five weather stations well distributed across the state. The averaged earlywood chronology accounted for 56% of the variance in instrumental November–March precipitation 1942–1983. We validated the reconstruction against independent precipitation records. The worst winter drought of the 20th century in Durango occurred 1950–1965. However, the reconstruction indicates droughts more severe than any witnessed in the 20th century, e.g., the 1850s–1860s, and the megadrought in the mid- to late-16th century. Reconstructed winter precipitation 1540–1579 shows 33 of 40 years were dry. Persistent drought may be linked to extended La Niña episodes. The Tropical Rainfall Index (TRI) correlates well with instrumental and reconstructed winter precipitation (r = 0.49 and 0.55, respectively), reflecting the strong ENSO modulation of cool season climate over northern Mexico. The ENSO teleconnection varies through time, with TRI-reconstructed precipitation correlations ranging from 0.78 to 0.27 in five periods 1895–1993. The 1942–1983 winter observed and reconstructed Durango data correlate well with the corresponding seasonalization of the All-Mexico Rainfall Index (AMRI; r=0.68, P<0.0001 and r=0.70, P<0.001, respectively), indicating that both the observed and the reconstructed precipitation often reflect broad-scale precipitation anomalies across Mexico. New long Douglas-fir and baldcypress tree-ring chronologies are now available for central and southern Mexico near major population centers, allowing the exploration of relationships between drought, food scarcity, and social and political upheaval in Mexican history.     

Efficient hydrologic tracer-test design for tracer-mass estimation and sample-collection frequency, 1, method development

Hydrological tracer testing is the most reliable diagnostic technique available for the determination of basic hydraulic and geometric parameters necessary for establishing operative solute-transport processes. Tracer-test design can be difficult because of a lack of prior knowledge of the basic hydraulic and geometric parameters desired and the appropriate tracer mass to release. A new efficient hydrologic tracer-test design (EHTD) methodology has been developed to facilitate the design of tracer tests by root determination of the one-dimensional advection-dispersion equation (ADE) using a preset average tracer concentration which provides a theoretical basis for an estimate of necessary tracer mass. The method uses basic measured field parameters (e.g., discharge, distance, cross-sectional area) that are combined in functional relationships that describe solute-transport processes related to flow velocity and time of travel. These initial estimates for time of travel and velocity are then applied to a hypothetical continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) as an analog for the hydrological-flow system to develop initial estimates for tracer concentration, tracer mass, and axial dispersion. Application of the predicted tracer mass with the hydraulic and geometric parameters in the ADE allows for an approximation of initial sample-collection time and subsequent sample-collection frequency where a maximum of 65 samples were determined to be necessary for describing the predicted tracer-breakthrough curve (BTC). Inclusion of tracer retardation and decay cause a net increase in tracer-mass estimates so that the preset average tracer concentration will be maintained and there will be a consequent steepening of the BTC, but retardation also causes BTC spreading and a delay in tracer arrival.     

An assessment of the Sr/Ca ratio in shallow water hermatypic corals as a proxy for sea surface temperature

The high precision measurement of the Sr/Ca ratio in corals has the potential for measuring past sea surface temperatures at very high accuracy. However, the veracity of the technique has been questioned on the basis that there is both a spatial and temporal variation in the Sr/Ca ratio of seawater, and that kinetic effects, such as the calcification rate, can affect the Sr/Ca ratio of corals, and produce inaccuracies of the order of 2-4 °C. In the present study, a number of cores of the massive hermatypic scleractinian coral Porites, from the central Great Barrier Reef, have been analyzed for Sr/Ca at weekly to monthly resolution. Results from a 24 year record from Myrmidon Reef show an overall variation from 22.7 °C to 30.4 °C. The record shows a warming/cooling trend with maximum warming centred on the 1986-1987 summer. While some bleaching was reported to have occurred at Myrmidon Reef in 1982, the Sr/Ca record indicates that subsequent summer temperatures were much higher. The 4.5 year record from Stanley Reef shows a maximum SST of 30 °C during the 1997-1998 El Niño event. The calibrations from Myrmidon and Stanley Reefs are in excellent agreement with previously published calibrations from nearby reefs. While corals do not calcify in equilibrium with seawater due to physiological control on the uptake of Sr and Ca into the lattice of coralline aragonite, it can be argued that, provided only a single genus such as Porites sp. is used, and that the coral is sampled along a major vertical growth axis, then the Sr/Ca ratio should vary uniformly with temperature. Similarly, objections based on the spatial and temporal variability of the Sr/Ca activity ratio of seawater can be countered on the basis that in most areas where coral reefs grow there is a uniformity in the Sr/Ca activity ratio, and there does not appear to be a change in this ratio over the growth period of the coral. Evidence from several corals in this study suggest that stress can be a major cause of the breakdown in the Sr/Ca-SST relationship. Thermal stress, resulting from either extremely warm or cool temperatures, can produce anomalously low Sr/Ca derived SSTs as a result of the breakdown of the biological control on Sr/Ca fractionation. It is considered that other stresses, such as increased nutrients and changes in light intensity, can also lead to a breakdown in the Sr/Ca-SST relationship. Two of the main issues affecting the reliability of the Sr/Ca method are the calibration of the Sr/Ca ratio with measured SST and the estimation of tropical last glacial maximum (LGM) palaeotemperatures. Instead of producing a constant calibration, just about every one published so far is different from the others. What is obvious is that for most calibrations while the slope of the calibration equation is similar, the intercepts are not. While the cause for this variation is still unknown, it would appear that corals from different localities around the world are responding to their own particular environment or that certain types of environments exert a control on the corals’ physiology. Sr/Ca derived SST estimates for the LGM and deglaciation of 5 °C-6 °C cooler than present are at odds with estimates of 2 °C-3 °C cooling by other climate proxies. The apparent lack of reef growth during the LGM suggests that SSTs were too cold in many parts of the tropics for reefs to develop. This would lend support to the idea that tropical SSTs were much cooler than what the CLIMAP data suggests.     

A detailed palaeointensity and inclination record from drill core SOH1 on Hawaii

A new record of absolute palaeointensity was obtained from drill core Scientific Observation Hole 1 (SOH1) on Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. Kilauea’s high eruption rate resulted in a relatively continuous record and stratigraphic constraints preserved the chronological order. Three hundred and sixty samples were studied with the Thellier-Thellier technique, which gave 195 successful palaeointensity and 271 successful inclination determinations. Three geomagnetic excursions were observed, which exhibited intensity reductions of about 50%. Initial age control from K-Ar and Ar/Ar dating only constrained the total age between 20 and 120 ka. The final age model was obtained by stretching the SOH1 record relative to other Hawaiian palaeomagnetic data. This gave an age range of 0-45 ka for the flows and identified the excursions as the Hilina Pali, Mono Lake and Laschamp events. The SOH1 record of the Hilina Pali event is the most detailed ever, incorporating data from around 40 flows. This age model suggests that Kilauea had a burst of activity at the SOH1 site around 20 ka. All available data was combined to form a composite record of palaeointensity and inclination on Hawaii for 0-45 ka.     

A new approach to soil characterisation for hydrology–stability analysis models

Landslide stability analysis increasingly utilises high-resolution coupled hydrology–slope stability models (CHASM) to improve stability assessments in areas subject to dynamic pore pressure regimes. In such environments, the estimation of soil hydraulic conductivity (K) is a key parameter but one which is not always readily available or determined with the required resolution. By using basic soil particle-size distribution (PSD) data, we evaluate the microscopic composition of the actual soil, and applying the analytical relations obtain by a Self-Consistent Method (SCM) approach, we determine an appropriate value of K. This is of importance in that it allows within-soil type variability to be reflected in terms of K and hence within the model structure. The SCM methodology is briefly reviewed and an illustrative application is undertaken for a slope typical of Hong Kong. The results show model output sensitivity in terms of moisture content and factor of safety (FOS) when comparing K values determined using the SCM approach and the conventional field determination. In attempting to determine slope hydrological processes and attendant stability conditions, we conclude that the application of SCM approach offers a novel methodology for potentially improving the parameterisation of hydrology–slope stability models.