Stratigraphy of total metals in PIRLA sediment cores

Sediment cores from 30 low-alkalinity lakes in northern New England (NE), New York (NY), the northern Great Lakes States (NGLS) of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin, and Florida (FL) have been dated by ²¹⁰Pb and analyzed for water and organic content, eight major elements (Al, Ti, Fe, Mn, Ca, Mg, Na, K) plus four trace metals (Pb, Zn, Cu, and V). Variations in the percentages of major elements through time are dominated by long-term independent variations in the abundance of SiO₂, FeO, and to a lesser extent Ca and Al. Additional variations are caused by varying proportions of inorganic matter. Major variations in chemistry are generally unrelated to documented distrubances in the watersheds; most disturbances are minor fires or selective logging.Accelerated accumulation of Pb from atmospheric sources into sediment first occurs in sediment dated between 1800 and 1850 in NY and NE, slightly later in the NGLS region, and about 1900 in FL. Modern accumulation rates in all areas are comparable (ca. 1 to 4 g cm^–2 yr^–1). Accumulation rates of Pb in some lakes have declined significantly from 1975 to 1985. Atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic Zn and Cu is also indicated by generally increasing accumulation rates in sediment cores, but the record is not as clear nor are chemical profiles in all lakes parallel to the trends in atmospheric emissions inferred on the basis of fossil fuel consumption, smelting, and other industrial activities. Inter-lake variations in profiles of Cu and Zn are large. Vanadium accumulation rates increase by the 1940s in NY and NE, but not until the 1950s in the NGLS region. This timing correlates with regional trends in the combustion of fuel oil, a major source of atmospheric V.Acidification of some of the lakes is suggested by decreases in the concentration and accumulation rates of Mn, Ca, and Zn in recent sediment, relative to other elements of catchment origin. The decreases generally occur slightly before the onset of acidification as indicated by diatoms. Increased sediment accumulation rates for Fe may indicate the acidification of watershed soils. The use of the accumulation rate of TiO₂ as an indicator of rates of erosion and for normalization of trace metal accumulation rates is in question for lakes where the flux of TiO₂ from the atmosphere varies and is a significant fraction of the total flux of TiO₂ to the sediment.This is the thirteenth of a series of papers to be published by this journal which is a contribution of the Paleoecological Investigation of Recent Lake Acidification (PIRLA) project. Drs. D. F. Charles and D. R. Whitehead are guest editors for this series.     

Heat flow and crustal thermal structure in the Late Archaean Closepet Granite batholith,south India

The Late Archaean Closepet Granite batholith in south India is exposed at different crustal levels grading from greenschist facies in the north through amphibolite and granulite facies in the south along a ∼400 km long segment in the Dharwar craton. Two areas, Pavagada and Magadi, located in the Main Mass of the batholith, best represent the granitoid of the greenschist and amphibolite facies crustal levels respectively. Heat flow estimates of 38 mW m⁻² from Pavagada and 25 mW m⁻² from Magadi have been obtained through measurements in deep (430 and 445 m) and carefully sited boreholes. Measurements made in four boreholes of opportunity in Pavagada area yield a mean heat flow of 39 ± 4 (s.d.) mW m⁻², which is in good agreement with the estimate from deep borehole. The study, therefore, demonstrates a clear-cut heat flow variation concomitant with the crustal levels exposed in the two areas. The mean heat production estimates for the greenschist facies and amphibolite facies layers constituting the Main Mass of the batholith are 2.9 and 1.8 μW m⁻³, respectively. The enhanced heat flow in the Pavagada area is consistent with the occurrence of a radioelement-enriched 2-km-thick greenschist facies layer granitoid overlying the granitoid of the amphibolite facies layer which is twice as thick as represented in the Magadi area. The crustal heat production models indicate similar mantle heat flow estimates in the range 12–14 mW m⁻², consistent with the other parts of the greenstone-granite-gneiss terrain of the Dharwar craton.     

A proposed search of the solar neighborhood for substellar objects

The Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) program will produce an extremely sensitive all-sky survey over the wavelength region 8 to 120 μm when the mission is flown in 1982. These data will provide a novel opportunity to detect planetary-sized objects having masses <0.08M_⊙ or near our solar system. The improved detection limit of the IRAS will greatly increase the volume of space searched for such objects as compared with previous optical and infrared studies.     

Observations of cosmic gamma-ray bursts

The occasional occurrence of brief but intense bursts of cosmic gamma-rays was disclosed through a systematic search of data acquired from the Vela satellites. Confirmation of the nature of the events and additional detail of their characteristics has subsequently been provided by 15 other groups of experimenters with instruments on 13 spacecraft. Thirty-nine such events have been identified from data spanning a period of four and a half years. The record of intensity as a function of time varies considerably for different events, with total durations ranging from 0.1 to 60s. Time-integrated flux density ranges from 10^–6 to 10^–3 erg cm^–2. Spectral measurements have been accomplished by several groups of experimenters, showing a broad maximum in the energy distribution at about 150 keV. The distribution of source directions implies either near galactic or extragalactic locations. The existing data are not sufficient to distinguish between the various models proposed to explain the phenomenon; no model is completely consistent with all observed characteristics.Work performed under the auspices of the United States Energy Research and Development Administration.Paper presented at the COSPAR Symposium on Fast Transients in X-and Gamma-Rays, held at Varna, Bulgaria, 29–31 May, 1975.     

Application of the QUILF thermobarometer to the peralkaline trachytes and pantellerites of the Eburru volcanic complex, East African Rift, Kenya

The Quaternary Eburru volcanic complex in the south-central Kenya Rift consists of pantelleritic trachytes and pantellerites. The phenocryst assemblage in the trachytes is sanidine + fayalite + ferrohedenbergite + aenigmatite ± quartz ± ilmenite ± magnetite ± pyrrhotite ± pyrite. In the pantellerites, the assemblage is sanidine + quartz + ferrohedenbergite + fayalite + aenigmatite + ferrorichterite + pyrrhotite ± apatite, although fayalite, ferrohedenbergite and ilmenite are absent from more evolved rocks (e.g. with SiO₂ > 71%). QUILF temperature calculations for the trachytes range from 709 to 793 °C and for the pantellerites 668–708 °C, the latter temperatures being among the lowest recorded for peralkaline silicic magmas. The QUILF thermobarometer demonstrates that the Eburru magmas crystallized at relatively low oxidation states (ΔFMQ + 0.5 to − 1.6) for both trachytes and pantellerites. The trachytes and pantellerites evolved along separate liquid lines of descent, the trachytes possibly deriving from a more mafic parent by fractional crystallization and the pantellerites from extreme fractionation of comenditic magmas.     

Primary volcanic structures from a type section of Deccan Trap flows around Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara, central India: Implications for cooling history

Field investigations of the Deccan Trap lava sequence along a 70 km traverse in the Narsingpur-Harrai-Amarwara area of central India indicate twenty lava flows comprising a total thickness of around 480 m. Primary volcanic structures like vesicles and cooling joints are conspicuous in this volcanic succession and are used to divide individual flows into three well-defined zones namely the lower colonnade zone, entablature zone, and the upper colonnade zone. The variable nature of these structural zones is used for identification and correlation of lava flows in the field. For twenty lava flows, the thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of eight flows are ∼5 m while those of eight other flows are ∼8 m each. The thicknesses of upper colonnade zones of remaining four flows could not be measured in the field. Using the thicknesses of these upper colonnade zones and standard temperature-flow thickness-cooling time profiles for lava pile, the total cooling time of these sixteen Deccan Trap lava flows has been estimated at 12 to 15 years.     

U–Pb and Hf isotopic analysis of zircon in lower crustal xenoliths from the Navajo volcanic field: 1.4 Ga mafic magmatism and metamorphism beneath the Colorado Plateau

Zircon from lower crustal xenoliths erupted in the Navajo volcanic field was analyzed for U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopic compositions to characterize the lower crust beneath the Colorado Plateau and to determine whether it was affected by ∼1.4 Ga granitic magmatism and metamorphism that profoundly affected the exposed middle crust of southwestern Laurentia. Igneous zircon in felsic xenoliths crystallized at 1.73 and 1.65 Ga, and igneous zircon in mafic xenoliths crystallized at 1.43 Ga. Most igneous zircon has unradiogenic initial Hf isotopic compositions (ɛ_Hf=+4.1–+7.8) and 1.7–1.6 Ga depleted mantle model ages, consistent with 1.7–1.6 Ga felsic protoliths being derived from “juvenile” Proterozoic crust and 1.4 Ga mafic protoliths having interacted with older crust. Metamorphic zircon grew in four pulses between 1.42 and 1.36 Ga, at least one of which was at granulite facies. Significant variability within and between xenoliths in metamorphic zircon initial Hf isotopic compositions (ɛ_Hf=−0.7 to +13.6) indicates growth from different aged sources with diverse time-integrated Lu/Hf ratios. These results show a strong link between 1.4 Ga mafic magmatism and granulite facies metamorphism in the lower crust and granitic magmatism and metamorphism in the exposed middle crust.