Residence, Resorption and Recycling of Zircons in Devils Kitchen Rhyolite, Coso Volcanic Field, California

Zircons from the Devils Kitchen rhyolite in the PleistoceneCoso Volcanic field, California have been analyzed by in situPb/U ion microprobe (SHRIMP-RG) and by detailed cathodoluminescenceimaging. The zircons yield common-Pb-corrected and disequilibrium-corrected²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages that predate a previously reported K–Arsanidine age by up to 200 kyr, and the range of ages exhibitedby the zircons is also approximately 200 kyr. Cathodoluminescenceimaging indicates that zircons formed in contrasting environments.Most zircons are euhedral, and a majority of the zircons areweakly zoned, but many also have anhedral, embayed cores, witheuhedral overgrowths and multiple internal surfaces that aretruncated by later crystal zones. Concentrations of U and Thvary by two orders of magnitude within the zircon population,and by 10–20 times between zones within some zircon crystals,indicating that zircons were transferred between contrastingchemical environments. A zircon saturation temperature of 750°Coverlaps within error a previously reported phenocryst equilibrationtemperature of 740 ± 25°C. Textures in zircons indicativeof repeated dissolution and subsequent regrowth are probablycaused by punctuated heating by mafic magma input into rhyolite.The overall span of ages and large variation in U and Th concentrations,combined with calculated zircon saturation temperatures andresorption times, are most compatible with crystallization inmagma bodies that were emplaced piecemeal in the crust at Cosoover 200 kyr prior to eruption, and that were periodically rejuvenatedor melted by subsequent basaltic injections. KEY WORDS: zircon geochronology; residence time; rhyolite; ion microprobe; California     

The partitioning of Zr and Nb between diopside and melts in the system diopside-albite-anorthite

The crystal liquid partitioning of Zr and Nb has been measured experimentally between diopsidic clinopyroxene and melts in the system Di-Ab-An. Nb was found to be excluded from diopside (D(Nb) is always less than 0.02). D(Zr) is quite variable, ranging from 0.05 to 0.45. D(Zr) is positively correlated with the Al content of both the melt and the pyroxene and is negatively correlated with temperature. Both D(Zr) and D(Nb) were found to be independent of oxygen fugacity. This implies that neither Zr or Nb suffer valence changes over a range of oxygen fugacities spanning both lunar and terrestrial conditions.     

Petrology of the tin-bearing granite-leucogranites of the Piaoak Massif, Northern Vietnam

The Piaoak tin-bearing granite-leucogranites located in the Caobang Province of Northern Vietnam compose a stock-like hypabyssal body. Host rocks are represented by Early Devonian carbonate sequences and Early Triassic ??black?? shales. The geochronological age of the Piaoak granite-leucogranites corresponds to the Late Cretaceous: T = 83.5 ± 6.2 Ma, ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr method; T = 89.7 ± 1.0 Ma, ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar method. The massif has a simple basic to acid order: two-mica and muscovite granite-leucogranite ?? raremetal aplites, pegmatites ?? tin-bearing greisens and hydrothermal veins. The petrographic and microstructural studies revealed a sharp change in crystallization conditions of the granite-leucogranite magma at the late magmatic stage and formation of muscovite via incongruent melting of protolithionite. The study of melt and coexisting fluid inclusions showed that solidus crystallization occurred under fluid-saturated conditions at 635?C600°C. In composition, the granite-leucogranites of the Piaoak Massif correspond to the raremetal-plumasite geochemical type (according to L.V. Tauson), and reach Li-F facies in terms of their rare-element composition. The composition of aplites and pegmatites demonstrates that granite-leucogranite magma did not accumulate lithophile and volatile components in the residual melt during differentiation, but was initially enriched in rare-metals. It is most probable that the melt was generated from Proterozoic lithotectonic complexes and overlaying Lower Triassic ??black?? shales.     

Metal content and environmental risk assessment around high-altitude mine sites

Gold mining activities in Apolobamba area, northwest of La Paz, Bolivia have created serious environmental concern and great risk to human health. The current methods used to extract gold are too primitive resulting in metal contamination of soil and water. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the degree of metal pollution, and (2) assess the risk to human health and environment in the Apolobamba area. Soil, water, sediment samples, and mine spills were collected and analyzed. Metals including Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Hg concentrations were higher in surface soils than in subsurface soils indicating active atmospheric deposition of metals. Sediment samples had elevated levels of metals probably from mine spills discharged into the Sunchulli River. Surface soils in the Sunchulli community show the highest levels of Pb and Hg in all soil samples and may pose a risk to the health of the human population and environment.     

Distribution and possible sources of organochlorine residues in sediments of a large urban estuary,Port Jackson,Sydney

Sydney Harbour is surrounded by a large capital city of about four million people and its highly urbanised (86%) catchment supports a substantial industrial base and an extensive transport infrastructure. Large commercial and naval ports occupy the waterway and the harbour is an important recreational area. Surficial sediment in Sydney Harbour contains high concentrations of PCBs, HCB, total chlordane, total DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor and heptachlor‐epoxide, but low concentrations of lindane. PCBs, total chlordane, and to a lesser extent dieldrin, are most elevated in sediment in creeks on the southern shores of the harbour suggesting sources within older, highly urbanised/industrialised catchments of western‐central Sydney. There are high concentrations of total DDT and HCB in sediments of the upper harbour and Homebush Bay suggesting that chemical industries on the shores of the estuary in this area are sources of these contaminants. Although no sediment quality guidelines apply in Australia, empirically derived biological effects criteria suggest that sediment over extensive areas of Sydney Harbour may have an adverse impact on biota. Especially of concern are sediments containing high concentrations of chlordane and DDT.     

Pre-failure behaviour of reconstituted peats in triaxial compression

This paper discusses the results of an experimental programme designed to investigate the deviatoric behaviour of peats. The results are obtained from triaxial experiments carried out on reconstituted peat samples. The interpretation of the experimental results follows a hierarchical approach in an attempt to derive the ingredients that an elastic–plastic model for peats should contain, including the yield locus, the hardening mechanism and the flow rule. The results obtained from stress tests along different loading directions show that purely volumetric hardening is not adequate to describe the deviatoric response of peat and that a deviatoric strain-dependent component should be included. The plastic deformation mechanism also depends on the previous stress history experienced by the sample. Stress and strain path dependence of the interaction mechanisms between the peat matrix and the fibres is discussed as a possible physical reason for the observed behaviour. This work offers a relevant set of data and information to guide the rational development and the calibration of constitutive laws able to model the deviatoric behaviour of peats.

     

The fast variable maser source IRAS 05338-0624

A new OH maser was detected in January 2008 toward the infrared source IRAS 05338-0624 in the dark cloud L1641N. The observations were carried out on the Nan cay Radio Telescope (France) in the 1667 and 1665 MHz OH lines. In the spectra of both lines, thermal OH emission from the surrounding molecular cloud is present at radial velocities V _LSR = 6–9 km/s. In addition, a narrow maser feature is present in both lines at V _LSR = 2 km/s in the profiles obtained on January 7, 2008; the peak flux densities at 1667 and 1665 MHz are 1.5 and 0.4 Jy, respectively. No OH maser emission was detected in February–July 2008. Then, a maser feature was again observed in the 1665 MHz line on August 20, 2008, at the same velocity as in January, V _LSR = 2 km/s, with a peak flux density of 0.4 Jy. No 1667 MHz counterpart was observed with an upper limit of ～0.1 Jy. Emission in both OH lines was again absent on September 18. The source was also observed in the H₂O line at λ = 1.35 cm on the 22-m radio telescope of the Pushchino Radio Astronomy Observatory (Russia) on February 7 and 13, 2008. In both cases, a maser feature was detected at V _LSR = 9 km/s, with peak flux densities of 35 and 15 Jy, respectively. After the its apparent absence in April, H₂O maser emission reappeared on May 14, 2008, at V _LSR = 7 km/s with a flux density of about 15 Jy. The history of previous observations of the object in the OH and H₂O lines is traced. The maser displays strong and rapid flux variability in the lines of both molecules, as is typical of young low-luminosity stellar objects at early stages of their evolution.     

Experimental Study of Factors Controlling Sorption of Heavy Metals on Ariake Clay and Implication for Practice

A series of batch tests have been presented to investigate the effects of solid-solution contact time, solid:solution ratio, and pH of solution on sorption of Cd²⁺ and Pb²⁺ on Ariake clay from Kyushu region of Japan. The results show that, among the three investigated factors, solid:solution ratio (SD/SN) seems to be the crucial controlling factor. The Freundlich sorption parameters determined from the batch tests were applied to a typical field landfill in which the Ariake clay was used as soil barrier. The impacts of the landfill were assessed by numerical analysis. Based on the analysis result, the significance of selecting proper solid:solution ratio for determining sorption parameters from batch test has been discussed.     

Angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background owing to initial perturbations in the radiation temperature

A new method is proposed to account for multiple scattering by electrons in calculations of the correlation functions describing the angular fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). The apparatus of the theory of radiative transport with Rayleigh scattering is used. The problem is reduced to solving an integral equation for the vector source function (dependent only on time), along with differential equations for the other quantities (scalar potentials, baryon velocities, etc.) which show up in the problem. The quantities which describe the angular fluctuations in the CMBR (in the temperature and in the polarization) are then calculated by integrating the vector source function along the line of sight. As an illustration, the correlation functions and power spectra are calculated for the case where the fluctuations are produced by some initial gaussian perturbations of the CMBR. __________ Translated from Astrofizika, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 621–631 (November 2007).