Oxygen isotope variations in granulite-grade iron formations: constraints on oxygen diffusion and retrograde isotopic exchange

The oxygen isotope ratios of various minerals were measured in a granulite-grade iron formation in the Wind River Range, Wyoming. Estimates of temperature and pressure for the terrane using well calibrated geothermometers and geobarometers are 730±50° C and 5.5±0.5 kbar. The mineral constraints on fluid compositions in the iron formation during retrogression require either very CO₂-rich fluids or no fluid at all. In the iron formation, isotopic temperature estimates from quartz-magnetite fractionations are controlled by the proximity to the enclosing granitic gneiss, and range from 500° C ( _{qz – mt}=10.0) within 2–3 meters of the orthogneiss contact to 600° C ( _{qz – mt}=8.0) farther from the contact. Temperature estimates from other isotopic thermometers are in good agreement with those derived from the quartz-magnetite fractionations.During prograde metamorphism, the isotopic composition of the iron formation was lowered by the infiltration of an external fluid. Equilibrium was achieved over tens of meters. Closed-system retrograde exchange is consistent with the nearly constant whole-rock ¹⁸O_wr value of 8.0±0.6. The greater _qz-mt values in the iron formation near the orthogneiss contact are most likely due to a lower oxygen blocking temperature related to greater exchange-ability of deformed minerals at the contact. Cooling rates required to preserve the quartz-magnetite fractionations in the central portion of the iron formation are unreasonably high (800° C/Ma). In order to preserve the 600° C isotopic temperature, the diffusion coefficient D (for -quartz) should be two orders of magnitude lower than the experimentally determined value of 2.5×10^–16 cm²/s at 833 K. There are no values for the activation energy (Q) and pre-exponential diffusion coefficient (D ₀), consistent with the experimentally determined values, that will result in reasonable cooling rates for the Wind River iron formation. The discrepancy between the diffusion coefficient inferred from the Wind River terrane and that measured experimentally is almost certainly due to the enhancement of exchange by the presence of water in the laboratory experiments. Cooling rate estimates were also determined for iron formation retrograded under water-rich conditions. Application of the experimentally determined data to these rocks results in a reasonable cooling rate estimate, supporting the conclusion that the presence of water greatly enhances oxygen diffusion.Contribution 441 from the Mineralogical Laboratory, University of Michigan     

Structure and stability of the former subglacial drainage system of the glacier De Tsanfleuron,Switzerland

A well-developed subglacial drainage system consisting of large cavities developed in the lee of bedrock steps connected together by a network of Nye channels is exposed on an area of recently deglaciated limestone bedrock in front of Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland. This system covers some 51 per cent of the bedrock surface area, and is believed to have transported the bulk of supraglacially-derived meltwaters through the glacier. Using the cavity hydraulics model of Kamb (1987), it is shown that the geometry of the system rendered it stable against collapse by meltback of channel roofs into a tunnel-dominated system. For likely combinations of glacier geometry and meltwater discharge, the steady state water pressure in this system would have been only a small fraction of that required for flotation, and for discharges of less than about 0·5–5 m³ s^?1 water would have flowed at atmospheric pressure. The system appears to have adjusted to varying discharges by a combination of varying water pressure and changing the total cross-sectional area of flow by altering the number of active channels connecting cavities. Glacier sliding velocity would have been independent of meltwater discharge for discharges at which water flowed at atmospheric pressure, but would have risen with increasing discharge for higher flows. Velocities on the order of 0·1 m d^?1 are predicted for a realistic range of discharges and effective pressures, and these are believed to be plausible. Episodes of enhanced sliding in glaciers with similar drainage systems could be triggered by a rise in meltwater discharge across the threshold between flows at atmospheric pressure and flow under pressure from the glacier.     

Debris from the basal ice of the Agassiz ice cap,Ellesmere Island,arctic Canada

This article describes the characteristics of debris obtained from the basal ice in a borehole in the Agassiz ice cap, Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories by the Canadian Polar Continental Shelf Project in 1979. The debris appears to have been incorporated by basal freezing at a time when the base of the glacier upstream was near the pressure melting point and some 19°C warmer than at the present site. Such an occurrence may be explained by a different flow regime, by a thicker ice sheet, by the influence of irregular bedrock topography on basal ice conditions at some stage in the past, or by a combination of these factors.     

The influence of river variability on the circulation,chemistry, and microbiology of the Delaware Estuary

Gravitational circulation of the Delaware Estuary is dominated by a single river, the Delaware River. The seasonal variation in river discharge is large. Consequently, the water column varies between vertically homogenous conditions found during most of the year and strongly stratified conditions found during the high flow of the spring freshet. Both the variation in river discharge and the extent of stratification affect chemical distributions and biological processes in the estuary. With a simple advection-diffusion model, we show that the apparent nonconservative behavior of nitrate in the Delaware Estuary can result from varying endmember concentration and varying river discharge. In addition, we illustrate the relationship between water column stratification, phytoplankton production, and concurrent bacterial activity. Finally, as an indirect chemical response to phytoplankton growth during high river discharge, we show strongly nonconservative patterns for ammonium, phosphate, and silicate in the estuary.     

Sedimentation and stratigraphy at Eyjabakkajökull—An Icelandic surging glacier

A model for sedimentation by surging glaciers is developed from analysis of the debris load, sedimentary processes, and proglacial stratigraphy observed at the Icelandic surging glacier, Eyjabakkajökull. Three aspects of the behavior of surging glaciers explain the distinctive landformsediment associations which they may produce: (a) sudden loading of proglacial sediments during rapid glacier advances results in the buildup of excess pore pressures, failure, and glacitectonic deformation of the overridden sediments; (b) reactivation of stagnant marginal ice by the downglacier propagation of surges is associated with large longitudinal compressive stresses. These induce intense folding and thrusting during which basal debris-rich ice is elevated into an englacial position in a narrow marginal zone. As the terminal area of the glacier stagnates between surges, debris from this ice is released supraglacially and deposited by meltout and sediment flows; (c) local variations in overburden pressure beneath stagnant, crevassed ice cause subglacial lodgement tills, which are sheared during surges, to flow into open crevasses and form “crevasse-fill” ridges.     

The primitive lavas of Roccamonfina volcano,Roman region,Italy: new constraints on melting processes and source mineralogy

Within a large collection of lavas from the Roccamonfina volcano are rocks which represent the most mafic samples yet recorded from Roccamonfina and which are amongst the least differentiated lavas found in the Roman co-magmatic region as a whole. These rocks extend both high-K and low-K series to more primitive values. However, petrographic and geochemical considerations rule out a primary origin, and even these mafic samples appear to record the effects of repeated episodes of fractional crystallization and hybridization. Relatively potassic samples from the low-K series are apparently transitional between low-K and high-K series, as previously delineated. However, these intermediate-K samples are not transitional in their Sr isotopic composition, suggesting that there is no continuum between low-K and high-K magma source regions. Rather, the compositional range within the low-K series appears predominantly to reflect variation in the degree of melting of a common mantle source. Analysis of the low-K series data, using an inverse method suggests a source containing amphibole and garnet, and indicates that these phases were consumed during the melting processes responsible for the low-K series magmas. The role of amphibole is further indicated by the association of low K₂O with elevated Rb concentration and, for example, higher Ce/Yb. Such variations are taken to reflect the consumption of high K/Rb amphibole during the initial phase of partial melting.