Properties of Synthetic Triclinic KFeSi3O8, Iron-microcline, with some Observations on the Iron-microcline{rightleftharpoons}Iron-sanidine Transition

Triclinic KFeSi₃O₈, iron-microcline, has been synthesized fromoxide mixes and by complete conversion of monoclinic KFeSi₃O₈,iron-sanidine. Iron-microcline is triclinic, C, a=8?68?0?01?, b=13?10?0?01, c=7?34?0?01, =90? 45'?10', ß=116?03'?10', =86?14'?10'. The optical properties (Na light) are:=1?585?0?002, ß=1?596?0?002, =1?605?0?002, 2V=85?(calc.), Xb, Z c=20??5?. A reversible phase transition betweentriclinic and monoclinic KFeSi₃O₈ occurs at 704??6? C at 2000bars total pressure. Iron-microcline is the low-temperaturepolymorph; no intermediate polymorphs were observed in eitherhydrothermal or dry heating experiments.     

Phase Relations and Stability of Magnetoplumbite- and Crichtonite-Series Phases under Upper-Mantle P-T Conditions: an Experimental Study to 15 GPa with Implications for LILE Metasomatism in the Lithospheric Mantle

High-pressure–high-temperature experiments were performedin the range 7–15 GPa and 1300–1600°C to investigatethe stability and phase relations of the K- and Ba-dominantmembers of the crichtonite and magnetoplumbite series of phasesin simplified bulk compositions in the systems TiO₂–ZrO₂–Cr₂O₃–Fe₂O₃–BaO–K₂Oand TiO₂–Cr₂O₃–Fe₂O₃–BaO–K₂O. Both seriesof phases occur as inclusions in diamond and/or as constituentsof metasomatized peridotite mantle xenoliths sampled by kimberlitesor alkaline lamprophyres. They can accommodate large ion lithophileelements (LILE) and high field strength elements (HFSE) on awt % level and, hence, can critically influence the LILE andHFSE budget of a metasomatized peridotite even if present onlyin trace amounts. The Ba and K end-members of the crichtoniteseries, lindsleyite and mathiasite, are stable to 11 GPa and1500–1600°C. Between 11 and 12 GPa, lindsleyite breaksdown to form two Ba–Cr-titanates of unknown structurethat persist to at least 13 GPa. The high-pressure breakdownproduct of mathiasite is a K–Cr-titanate with an idealizedformula KM₇O₁₂, where M = Ti, Cr, Mg, Fe. This phase possessesspace group P6₃/m with a = 9·175(2) Å, c = 2·879(1)Å, V = 209·9(1) ų. Towards high temperatures,lindsleyite persists to 1600°C, whereas mathiasite breaksdown between 1500 and 1600°C to form a number of complexTi–Cr-oxides. Ba and K end-members of the magnetoplumbiteseries, hawthorneite and yimengite, are stable in runs at 7,10 and 15 GPa between 1300 and 1400°C coexisting with anumber of Ti–Cr-oxides. Molar mixtures (1:1) of lindsleyite–mathiasiteand hawthorneite–yimengite were studied at 7–10GPa and 1300–1400°C, and 9–15 GPa and 1150–1400°C,respectively. In the system lindsleyite–mathiasite, onehomogeneous Ba–K phase is stable, which shows a systematicincrease in the K/(K + Ba) ratio with increasing pressure. Inthe system hawthorneite–yimengite, two coexisting Ba–Kphases appear, which are Ba rich and Ba poor, respectively.The data obtained from this study suggest that Ba- and K-dominantmembers of the crichtonite and magnetoplumbite series of phasesare potentially stable not only throughout the entire subcontinentallithosphere but also under conditions of an average present-daymantle adiabat in the underlying asthenosphere to a depth ofup to 450 km. At still higher pressures, both K and Ba may remainstored in alkali titanates that would also be eminently suitablefor the transport of other ions with large ionic radii. KEY WORDS: crichtonite; magnetoplumbite; high-P–T experiments; phase relations; upper mantle     

赞比亚北部省卡萨马西部石英闪长岩锆石U- Pb和Lu- Hf同位素及地球化学特征

石英闪长岩锆石U-Pb和Lu-Hf同位素及地球化学特征研究对赞比亚东北部班韦乌卢地块的形成时代及构造演化具有重要的研究意义。采用LA-MC-ICP MS方法测得班韦乌卢地块中卡萨马西部地区出露的两个石英闪长岩体中锆石的~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb年龄加权平均值分别为1964±8 Ma(MSWD=0.87,N=32)和1913±10 Ma(MSWD=0.77,N=19),表明两期石英闪长岩均形成于古元古代且可能与古元古代乌本迪构造带的活动有关。全岩地球化学分析显示,石英闪长岩属准铝质、高钾钙碱性系列岩石。稀土配分曲线均呈右倾型,具有富含轻稀土元素(LREE)、贫重稀土元素(HREE)以及δEu (0.77～0.80)弱负异常特点。微量元素均显示大离子亲石元素(如Rb、Ba及K)和活泼的不相容元素(如Th及U)相对富集,高场强元素Nb、Ta、P、Sr和Ti相对亏损。Nd/Th=3.60～4.65,Nb/Ta=12.05～13.87,Th/Ta=11.14～11.81,Ti/Zr=36.84～41.71,Ti/Y=220.28～300.00和具有不均一的ε_(Hf)(t)值(分别为-3.8～1.3和-4.3～8.6)均显示石英闪长岩的原始岩浆具有壳幔混合的特点。Zr/Y=5.98～7.19,La/Nb=2.91～3.88,La/Yb=12.19～13.92及构造判别图解均显示石英闪长岩形成于安第斯型活动大陆边缘。     

CHIRICAHUA APACHE HOMELAND IN THE BORDERLAND SOUTHWEST*

The creation of the present United States‐Mexico boundary in the mid‐nineteenth century interrupted and disregarded the traditional territorial space of the Chiricahua Apache, whose ancestral homeland transcended this new line. As a result of their land claims, the United States created a reservation for the Chiricahua Apache, but it was later withdrawn. Today members of this group officially reside among Mescalero Apache in New Mexico and Fort Sill Apache in Oklahoma. This essay assesses the historic and contemporary impact of geographical borderland changes for the Chiricahua Apache and discusses the legacy of a transformed homeland.     

Feldspathoidal Syenite in a Quartz Diabase Sill, Brookville, New Jersey

Nepheline- and analcime-bearing syenite occurs at the uppercontact of a quartz diabase sill with the Lockatong Argilliteat Brookville, New Jersey. The syenite is intimately mixed withgranophyre that formed by fractional crystallization of basalticmagma and accumulated near the top of the sill. Some of theresidual liquid now represented by granophyre reacted with silica-poor,sodium-rich argillite to form the syenite. Initial Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratios (assuming an age of 190 m. y.) are0.7144–0.7147 for the unmetamorphosed and the hornfelsedargillite, 0.7067 for the granophyre, 0.7058 for the diabase,and intermediate values of 0.7128–0.7131 for the syenite. The isotopic evidence agrees with field, petrographic, experimental,and chemical data supporting assimilation. Alternative hypothesesof syenite formation by separate intrusion, differentiation,or partial melting of Lockatong Argillite are contradicted bythe data. Isotopic and normative data strongly suggest that syenite formedfrom argillite and granophyre in the proportions three or fourto one; during the assimilation process the country rock actedas solvent and the intrusive as solute.     

Comment on Air pollution and precipitation suppression over SE Australia: critical review of evidence presented by Rosenfeld (2000) and Rosenfeld (2006) by Greg Ayers

Rosenfeld (2000, hereafter R00), in applying new satellite methodology to analyse case studies in Southeastern Australia and elsewhere, provided evidence that urban and industrial air pollution can suppress precipitation from shallow clouds. He concluded that 'Air pollution must be an important factor in determining the precipitation amounts in the Snowy Mountains'. These satellite observations were the impetus for our proposed detailed follow-on research program to further validate and quantify these inferences, publicly offered in Rosenfeld et al. (2006, hereafter R06) and repeated here, thereby recognizing the remaining large uncertainties. In response, Ayers (2009, hereafter A09) attempts to deny the significance and validity of the observations of R00. His scientific arguments are refuted here. Furthermore, A09 wrote erroneously that 'a hypothesis that air pollution in the form of small particles has caused a secular decrease in precipitation over SE Australia was advanced by Rosenfeld (2000) , who concluded that the hypothesis was proven.' But R00 did not make such a claim, although this is a viable hypothesis that warrants testing (R06). In fact, R00 wrote: 'trend analyses of snow, winter temperature, and total winter rainfall for the period 1910–1991 showed statistically insignificant decreases… ( Duus, 1992 )'.     

Genesis of hummocks in glaciofluvial corridors near the Keewatin Ice Divide, Canada

Glaciofluvial corridor hummocks (GCHs) within the Walker Lake map area, Canada, were examined in order to determine the character and genesis of these geomorphic features and their associated deposits. Located south of the Chantrey Moraine and north of the Keewatin Ice Divide, these corridors occur within a belt extending approximately 120 km east–west and approximately 60 km north–south. They are spaced 5–10 km apart and are hundreds of metres to several kilometres in width. They have undulating longitudinal profiles, abrupt material boundaries with the surrounding till and occur in valleys and over interfluves. Hummocks were investigated using longitudinal and perpendicular ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys in conjunction with pit excavations. From these analyses, the hummocks comprise a single lithofacies consisting of coarsely stratified, matrix-supported gravely sand to a depth of approximately 10 m. This sediment is similar to that of a 'sliding bed facies' observed in esker sediments and hyperconcentrated flow deposits, both of which are attributed to high meltwater discharges. Therefore, we hypothesize that the Walker Lake GCHs formed from sedimentation in cavities at the base of the ice sheet by a rapid influx of meltwater.