Melt production during granulite-facies anatexis: experimental data from “primitive” metasedimentary protoliths

We conducted fluid-absent partial melting experiments, at 0.5 and 1.0?GPa in the temperature range 750 to 1000?°C, to investigate the influence of bulk rock Mg ? [100Mg/(Mg+Fe)] and the effects of additional TiO₂ on the granulite-grade anatectic evolution of relatively magnesian metapelites and metagreywackes. In these experiments, melting began between 780 and 830?°C by the incongruent breakdown of biotite to produce quartz-saturated, granulite-facies residual mineral assemblages in equilibrium with H₂O-undersaturated granitic melt. The glass (quenched melt) compositions produced in this study vary little. Generally, the glasses have compositions similar to those of many natural strongly peraluminous leucogranites. The solidus temperatures in both rock types increase with increasing Mg ?, but are unaffected by the presence or absence of a TiO₂ component. At 0.5?GPa the metapelites melted at temperatures up to 50?°C lower than the equivalent metagreywackes, but at 1?GPa there was no discernible difference. This study suggests that the fluid-absent solidus has a steep positive dP/dT slope in metapelites and steep negative dP/dT slope in metagreywackes. The pattern of melt production with increasing temperature is strongly controlled by the upper limit of biotite stability. In TiO₂-free compositions this was found to increase by 15 to 20?°C in the metapelites and by 30 to 40?°C in the metagreywackes, as a function of increasing Mg ? from 49 to 81. The presence of a TiO₂ component increases the upper limit of biotite stability by ～50?°C in the metapelites and by ～80?°C in the metagreywackes, over that observed in the equivalent TiO₂-free compositions. In consequence, in the TiO₂-free samples large pulses of melt (up to 35 wt%) are produced over narrow temperature ranges (as little as 15?°C in these experiments) between 830 and 875?°C. In the TiO₂-bearing samples the major pulse of melt production occurs more gradually between 830 and >900?°C.     

Tektonische Forschungen in den Appalachen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Precipitation and evaporation budgets over the Baltic Proper: observations and modelling

Precipitation and evaporation budgets over the Baltic Sea were studied in a concerted project called PEP in BALTEX (Pilot study of Evaporation and Precipitation in the Baltic Sea), combining extensive field measurements and modelling efforts. Eddy-correlation-measurements of turbulent heat flux were made on a semi-continuous basis for a 12 month period at four well-exposed coastal sites in the Baltic Proper (the main basin of the Baltic Sea). Precipitation was measured at land-based sites with standard gauges and on four merchant ships travelling between Germany and Finland with the aid of specially designed ship rain gauges (SRGs). The evaporation and precipitation regime of the Baltic Sea was modelled for a 12 month period by applying a wide range of numerical models: the operational atmospheric High Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM, Swedish and Finnish versions), the German atmospheric REgional-scale MOdel, REMO, the operational German Europe Model (only precipitation), the oceanographic model PROBE-Baltic, and two models that use interpolation of ground-based data, the Swedish MESAN model of SMHI and a German model of IFM-GEOMAR Kiel. Modelled precipitation was compared with SRG measurements on board the ships. A reasonable correlation was obtained, but the regional-scale models and MESAN gave some 20% higher precipitation over the sea than is measured. Bulk parameterisation schemes for evaporation were evaluated against measurements. A constant value of C_HN and C_EN with wind speed, underestimated large fluxes of both sensible and latent heat flux. The limited area models do not resolve the influence of the height of the marine boundary layer in coastal zones and the entrainment (on the surface fluxes), which may explain the observed low correlations between modelled and measured latent heat fluxes. Estimates of evaporation, E, and precipitation, P, for the entire Baltic Proper were made with several models for a 12 month period. While the annual variation was well represented by all predictions, there are still important differences in the annual means. Evaporation ranges from 509 to 625 mm year^-1 and precipitation between 624 and 805 mm year^-1 for this particular 12 month period. Taking the results of model verification from the present study into account, the best estimate of P-E is about 100 ± 50 mm for this particular 12 month period. But the annual mean of P-E varies considerably from year to year. This is reflected in simulations with the PROBE-Baltic model for an 18 year period, which gave 95 mm year^-1 for the 12 month period studied here and 32 mm year^-1 as an average for 18 years.     

Confirmation of mass-independent Ni isotopic variability in iron meteorites

We report high-precision analyses of internally-normalised Ni isotope ratios in 12 bulk iron meteorites. Our measurements of ⁶⁰Ni/⁶¹Ni, ⁶²Ni/⁶¹Ni and ⁶⁴Ni/⁶¹Ni normalised to ⁵⁸Ni/⁶¹Ni and expressed in parts per ten thousand (?) relative to NIST SRM 986 as and , vary by 0.146, 0.228 and 0.687, respectively. The precision on a typical analysis is 0.03?, 0.05? and 0.08? for , and , respectively, which is comparable to our sample reproducibility. We show that this ‘mass-independent’ Ni isotope variability cannot be ascribed to interferences, inaccurate correction of instrumental or natural mass-dependent fractionation, fractionation controlled by nuclear field shift effects, nor the influence of cosmic ray spallation. These results thus document the presence of mass-independent Ni isotopic heterogeneity in bulk meteoritic samples, as previously proposed by Regelous et al. (2008) (EPSL 272, 330-338), but our new analyses are more precise and include determination of ⁶⁴Ni. Intriguingly, we find that terrestrial materials do not yield homogenous internally-normalised Ni isotope compositions, which, as pointed out by Young et al. (2002) (GCA 66, 1095-1104), may be the expected result of using the exponential (kinetic) law and atomic masses to normalise all fractionation processes. The certified Ni isotope reference material NIST SRM 986 defines zero in this study, while appropriate ratios for the bulk silicate Earth are given by the peridotites JP-1 and DTS-2 and, relative to NIST SRM 986, yield deviations in , and of −0.006?, 0.036? and 0.119?, respectively. There is a strong positive correlation between and in iron meteorites analyses, with a slope of 3.03 ± 0.71. The variations of Ni isotope anomalies in iron meteorites are consistent with heterogeneous distribution of a nucleosynthetic component from a type Ia supernova into the proto-solar nebula.     

Looking beneath the Stawell and Bendigo zones in Victoria,Australia: a view through the granite window

Abstract

Information, mainly from the granitic and silicic volcanic rocks in the Stawell, Bendigo and Melbourne structural zones in the state of Victoria, shows that the sources of both the S- and I-type rocks of the Stawell and Bendigo zones (SBZ) contrast in ages and chemistry with the sources of similar granitic rocks in the Melbourne Zone, consistent with the absence of the mainly Proterozoic Selwyn Block beneath most of the SBZ. Below a mid-crustal décollement in the SBZ, the crust is evidently highly variable and possibly includes thinned Proterozoic crust. There is geochronological evidence for ca 400 and ca 370?Ma granulite-grade metamorphic events here, and, after this double bout of metamorphism, and depletion in the silicic melt component, the constituents of the entire deep crust of the SBZ would have densities similar to those of overlying, much lower-grade Cambrian metabasaltic to boninitic rocks. Thus, granitic magmas may have formed here by partial melting of a variety of rock types, probably with back-arc affinities, with ages that may extend back to the Proterozoic. Therefore, the basement of the SBZ is unlikely to consist solely of thick ocean-floor rocks, as in some current interpretations.

1. KEY POINTS

2. The sources of the Devonian granitic rocks of the Stawell and Bendigo zones (SBZ) contrast in ages and chemistry with those of the Melbourne Zone granites.

3. Two Devonian granulite-facies events left the melt-depleted deep SBZ crust with densities similar to those of overlying Cambrian metabasaltic rocks.

4. The SBZ Devonian granitic magmas probably formed by partial melting of heterogeneous Proterozoic to Cambrian arc-related crust, below the mid-crustal décollement.

     

Intrusion of igneous rocks — Physical aspects

Igneous rocks occur in two predominant modes. The plutonic mode is characterized by intrusive emplacement under compressional tectonic stress regimes. The volcanic mode is dominated by the eruption of large volumes of magma through fault controlled dyke structures in extensional tectonic stress regimes.Those typical intrusive phenomena are discussed in the light of the physical parameters like the dynamic-thermal regime of the lithosphere, the nature and source of buoyant forces as well as mechanical aspects of subsolidus flow of rocks.Twodimensional numerical models on the basis of typical parameter specifications and by means of a coupled dynamic-thermal physical approximation are presented. The simulation of buoyantly-driven diapiric intrusions has been adopted to derive parameters which are critically controlling the transport and emplacement of intrusion under surroundings of variable viscosity. Both sill-type and batholith-type structures are presented and discussed with respect to their predominant dependence on mechanical and physical conditions.

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Zusammenfassung Magmatische Gesteine treten in zwei vorherrschenden Erscheinungsformen auf. Die Plutonite sind charakterisiert durch eine intrusive Platznahme unter kompressiven tektonischen Spannungsbedingungen. Die Vulkanite werden beherrscht von gro\en Volumina eruptierten Magmas, das vorzugsweise durch weiträumige Bruchsysteme unter Zugspannungsbedingungen aufsteigt.Derartige magmatische Phänomene werden aus der Sicht physikalischer Parameter wie dynamisch-thermische Bedingungen der Lithosphäre, der Natur und des Ursprungs von Auftriebskräften sowie der Mechanik von Gesteinsformationen diskutiert.Es werden zweidimensionale numerische Modellrechnungen auf der Grundlage typischer Parameterbereiche vorgestellt. Die Rechnungen basieren auf einer dynamisch-thermischen Approximation von Flie\vorgängen. Sie werden eingesetzt zur Untersuchung von diapirartigen Intrusionsvorgängen, die durch Dichteinversionen angetrieben sind. Hierbei sollen die Parameter bestimmt werden, die Aufstieg und Platznahme der Intrusionen bestimmen. Die Umgebung ist charakterisiert durch eine vorgebbare variable Viskosität. Sowohl linsenförmige Sill-Strukturen als auch typische Batholith-Strukturen werden mathematisch simuliert. Ihr Zusammenhang mit den strukturbestimmenden Parametern wird aufgezeigt.

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Résumé Les roches magmatiques se répartissent en deux catégories principales: la catégorie plutonique est caractérisée par une mise en place dans des régimes de contraintes tectoniques compressives; la catégorie volcanique est dominée par l'éruption de volumes importants de magma à travers des systèmes de cassures dans des régimes de contraintes tectoniques d'extension.Ces phénomènes intrusifs sont discutés à la lumière de paramètres physiques tels que: le régime thermique et dynamique de la lithosphère, la nature et l'origine des forces ascensionnelles, ainsi que les aspects mécaniques du fluage sub-solidus des roches.Les auteurs présentent des modèles numériques bidimensionnels basés sur des domaines paramétriques typiques, au moyen d'une approximation dynamo-thermique de phénomène d'écoulement. La simulation d'intrusions diapiriques permet de déduire les paramètres qui déterminent le transport et la mise en place d'une intrusion dans diverses conditions de viscosité de l'encaissant. Les structures de type sill et de type batholite sont discutées en relation avec les conditions mécaniques et physiques dont elles dépendent.

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Impacts of post-depositional processes on rapid monsoon signals recorded by the last glacial loess deposits of northern China

Rapid East Asian Monsoon oscillations recorded by Chinese loess are thought to be dynamically linked to north Atlantic climate. However, few efforts have been made to assess the effects of post-depositional processes (e.g., surface mixing and pedogenesis) on loess paleoclimatic records. Here a detailed optically stimulated luminescence dating of a thick loess sequence from the western Loess Plateau is presented, offering a reliable chronology for last glacial deposits. Magnetic susceptibility and mean grain size records from three loess–paleosol sequences along a northwest–southeast transect are investigated to evaluate impacts of post-depositional processes on these loess-based proxy records. Our results indicate that: (1) loess sequences developed within the flat tableland of the central and western Loess Plateau are nearly continuous during the last glaciation; and (2) post-depositional processes have distinct impacts on rapid monsoon signals recorded in loess sequences from different regions. In the central Loess Plateau, rapid monsoon signals have been attenuated to various degrees depending on the sedimentation rate and pedogenic intensity. In the northwestern Loess Plateau, however, due to high sedimentation rate and relatively weak pedogenesis, high-resolution grain size oscillations reliably record rapid monsoon changes and can be well correlated to rapid climate changes recorded in the Greenland ice core and Hulu cave stalagmite.     

Brixenbach research catchment: Quantification of runoff process proportions in a small Alpine catchment depending on soil moisture states and precipitation characteristics

The Brixenbach valley is a small Alpine torrent catchment (9.2 km², 820–1950 m a.s.l., 47.45°, 12.26°) in Tyrol, Austria. Intensive hydrological research in the catchment since more than 12 years, including a hydrogeological survey, pedological and land use mapping, measurements of precipitation, runoff, soil moisture and infiltration as well as the conduction of rainfall simulations, has contributed to understand the hydrological response of the catchment, its subcatchments and specific sites. The paper presents a synthesis of the research in form of runoff process maps for different soil moisture states and precipitation characteristics, derived with the aid of a newly developed Soil-hydrological model. These maps clearly visualize the differing runoff reaction of different subcatchments. The pasture dominated areas produce high surface flow rates during short precipitation events (1 h, 86 mm) with high rainfall intensity, whilst the forested areas often develop shallow subsurface flow. Dry preconditions lead to a slight reduction of surface flow, long rainfall events (24 h, 170 mm) to a dominance of deep subsurface flow and percolation.