Magma storage conditions and differentiation of the mafic Lower Pollara volcanics,Salina Island,Aeolian Islands,Italy: implications for the formation conditions of shoshonites and potassic rocks

Crystallization experiments of basaltic andesite mafic endmember from the 24 ka Lower Pollara eruption (Salina, Aeolian Islands, Italy) were investigated at 200 MPa, 950–1100 °C, in the H₂O activity (aH₂O) range ~0.3 to 1, and at two ranges of oxygen fugacity (fO₂) between ~FMQ to FMQ+1 and ~FMQ+2 to FMQ+3.3 (log bars, FMQ is fayalite-magnetite-quartz). Comparison of the produced phase assemblages and phase compositions with the natural sample reveals that the storage conditions were ~1050 °C, ~2.8 wt% H₂O in the melt (aH₂O ~0.5), and relatively oxidizing (~FMQ+2.5). The composition of plagioclase in the groundmass indicates a period of cooling to ≤950 °C. The overall differentiation trends of the Salina volcanics can be explained by fractional crystallization close to H₂O saturated conditions (~5 wt% H₂O in the melt at 200 MPa) and most likely by accumulation of plagioclase, i.e., in basaltic andesites, and by various degree of mixing–mingling between the corresponding differentiates. The slightly elevated K₂O contents of the most mafic basaltic andesites that can be found in the lowermost unit of the Lower Pollara pyroclastics reveal earlier processes of moderately hydrous fractional crystallization at higher temperature (>~1050 °C). Fractional crystallization with decreasing influence of H₂O causes a moderate decrease of MgO and a significant increase of K₂O relative to SiO₂ in the residual liquids. It is exemplarily shown that the crystallization of SiO₂-rich phases at high temperature and low aH₂O of only moderately K₂O-rich calc-alkaline basalts can produce shoshonitic and high potassic rocks similar to those of Stromboli and Volcano. This suggests that the observed transition from calc-alkaline to shoshonitic and high potassic volcanism at the Aeolian Arc over time can be initiated by a general increase of magmatic temperatures and a decrease of aH₂O in response to the extensional tectonics and related increase of heat flow and declining influence of slab-derived fluids.     

H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O solubility in basalt at upper mantle conditions

This study presents a new experimental approach for determining H₂O solubility in basaltic melt at upper mantle conditions. Traditional solubility experiments are limited to pressures of ~600 MPa or less because it is difficult to reliably quench silicate melts containing greater than ~10 wt% dissolved H₂O. To overcome this limitation, our approach relies on the use of secondary ion mass spectrometry to measure the concentration of H dissolved in olivine and on using the measured H in olivine as a proxy for the concentration of H₂O in the co-existing basaltic melt. The solubility of H₂O in the melt is determined by performing a series of experiments at a single pressure and temperature with increasing amounts of liquid H₂O added to each charge. The point at which the concentration of H in the olivine first becomes independent of the amount of initial H₂O content of the charge (added + adsorbed H₂O) indicates its solubility in the melt. Experiments were conducted by packing basalt powder into a capsule fabricated from San Carlos olivine, which was then pressure-sealed inside a Ni outer capsule. Our experimental results indicate that at 1000 MPa and 1200 °C, the solubility of H₂O in basaltic melt is 20.6 ± 0.9 wt% (2 × standard deviation). This concentration is considerably higher than predicted by most solubility models but defines a linear relationship between H₂O fugacity and the square of molar H₂O solubility when combined with solubility data from lower pressure experiments. Further, our solubility determination agrees with melting point depression determined experimentally by Grove et al. (2006) for the H₂O-saturated peridotite solidus at 1000 MPa. Melting point depression calculations were used to estimate H₂O solubility in basalt along the experimentally determined H₂O-saturated peridotite solidus. The results suggest that a linear relationship between H₂O fugacity and the square of molar solubility exists up to ~1300 MPa, where there is an inflection point and solubility begins to increase less strongly with increasing H₂O fugacity.     

A new occurrence of extremely rare Ferro-Chloro-Pargasite in Tudor,Ontario

International Journal of Earth Sciences -     

Geoarchaeological prospection of a medieval manor in the dutch polders using an electromagnetic induction sensor in combination with soil augerings

In archaeological prospection, geophysical sensors are increasingly being used to locate buried remains within their natural context. To cover a large area in sufficient detail, an electromagnetic induction sensor can be very useful, measuring simultaneously the electrical conductivity and the magnetic susceptibility of the soil (e.g., Geonics EM38DD). In this study, an 8 ha field containing a Medieval manor was mapped in a submeter resolution, using a mobile sensor configuration equipped with a GPS. As different soil features can yield analogous responses, the interpretation of geophysical maps can be ambiguous. Therefore, soil auger observations were laid out along two perpendicular transects to provide vertical profiles across the sensor measurements. This information greatly enhanced the interpretation of the anomalies obtained by the sensor. Both natural and anthropogenic features were delineated, which clearly presented a moated site along a former tidal channel. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Glacial isostasy and plate motion

The influence of glacial-isostatic adjustment (GIA) on the motion of tectonic plates is usually neglected. Employing a recently developed numerical approach, we examine the effect of glacial loading on the motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates where we consider an elastic lithosphere of laterally variable strength and the plates losely connected by low viscous zones. The aim of this paper is to elucidate the physical processes which control the GIA-induced horizontal motion and to assess the impact of finite plate-boundary zones. We show that the present-day motion of tectonic plates induced by GIA is at, or above, the order of accuracy of the plate motions determined by very precise GPS observations. Therefore, its contribution should be considered when interpreting the mechanism controlling plate motion.     

X-ray timing behaviour of Cygnus X-2 at low intensities

It is known that the overall (mean) intensity of the low-mass X-ray binary Cyg X-2 varies on time-scales from a day to months, independently of the variations on time-scales of hours to a day by which the source moves between the horizontal, normal and flaring branches.
We present RXTE PCA observations of Cyg X-2, taken when its overall intensity was near its lowest values, in 1996 October and 1997 September. For the first time we perform a study of the fast timing behaviour at such low intensities. During the 1996 October observations, the source was in the left part of the horizontal branch, and during the 1997 September observations was most likely in the lower parts of the normal branch and flaring branch.
We find that the properties of the very low-frequency noise during the 1997 September observations are consistent with a monotonic decrease in its strength and power-law index as a function of overall intensity. In contrast, the strength of the ∼6 Hz normal branch quasi-periodic oscillations does not vary monotonically with overall intensity. They are strongest at medium overall intensity and weaker both when the overall intensity is low and when the overall intensity is high.     

The target peneplain of the Lockne impact

Abstract— The Lockne impact crater in central Sweden, with a diameter of about 7 km, formed in the mid‐Ordovician in a marine environment that was deeper than present shelf seas. The present dip of the so‐called sub‐Cambrian peneplain in the target area of the impact is about 0.85° toward the northwest. The peneplain is cut by a set of northwest‐striking, nearly vertical faults with a throw of up to just over 100 m, collectively. The identification of the peneplain and its deformation by faulting allows us to infer that the part of the crater that is exposed to the east of Lake Locknesjön has been lowered by about 100 m relative to parts exposed to the west of the lake and that it has, therefore, been spared from significant erosion. Therefore, the preservation of the whole crater is even better than was assumed in previous work. The peneplain extends to 600–700 m from the rim of the inner crater. Hence, the structural uplift of the rim is quite subdued compared to the craters that formed on land.     

Simulations of impact ejecta and regolith accumulation on Asteroid Eros

We have carried out a set of Monte Carlo simulations of the placement of impact ejecta on Asteroid 433 Eros, with the aim of understanding the distribution and accumulation of regolith. The simulations consisted of two stages: (1) random distribution of primary impact sites derived from a uniform isotropic flux of impactors, and (2) integration of the orbits of test particle ejecta launched from primary impact points until their re-impact or escape. We integrated the orbits of a large number of test particles (typically 10⁶ per individual case). For those particles that did not escape we collected the location of their re-impact points to build up a distribution on the asteroid surface. We find that secondary impact density is mostly controlled by the overall topography of the asteroid. A gray-scale image of the density of secondary ejecta impact points looks, in general, like a reduced-scale negative of the topography of the asteroid's surface. In other words, regolith migration tends to fill in the topography of Eros over time, whereas topographic highs are denuded of free material. Thus, the irregular shape of Eros is not a steady-state configuration, but the result of larger stochastic events.