Monazite geochronology and geochemistry of meta-sediments in the Narryer Gneiss Complex, Western Australia: constraints on the tectonothermal history and provenance

Mt. Narryer and Jack Hills meta-sedimentary rocks in the Narryer Gneiss Complex of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia are of particular importance because they yield Hadean detrital zircons. To better understand the tectonothermal history and provenance of these ancient sediments, we have integrated backscattered scanning electron images, in situ U–Pb isotopic and geochemical data for monazites from the meta-sediments. The data indicate multiple periods of metamorphic monazite growth in the Mt. Narryer meta-sediments during tectonothermal events, including metamorphism at ~3.3–3.2 and 2.7–2.6 Ga. These results set a new minimum age of 3.2 Ga for deposition of the Mt. Narryer sediments, previously constrained between 3.28 and ~2.7 Ga. Despite the significant metamorphic monazite growth, a relatively high proportion of detrital monazite survives in a Fe- and Mn-rich sample. This is likely because the high Fe and Mn bulk composition resulted in the efficient shielding of early formed monazite by garnet. In the Jack Hills meta-sediments, metamorphic monazite growth was minor, suggesting the absence of high-grade metamorphism in the sequence. The detrital monazites provide evidence for the derivation of Mt. Narryer sediments from ca. 3.6 and 3.3 Ga granites, likely corresponding to Meeberrie and Dugel granitic gneisses in the Narryer Gneiss Complex. No monazites older than 3.65 Ga have been identified, implying either that the source rocks of >3.65 Ga detrital zircons in the sediments contained little monazite, or that >3.65 Ga detrital minerals had experienced significant metamorphic events or prolonged sedimentary recycling, resulting in the complete dissolution or recrystallization of monazite.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112001065

It has been thought that granitic crust,having been formed on the surface,must have survived through the Earth’s evolution because of its buoyancy.At subduction zones continental crust is predominantly created by arc magmatism and is returned to the mantle via sediment subduction,subduction erosion, and continental subduction.Granitic rocks,the major constituent of the continental crust,are lighter than the mantle at depths shallower than 270 km,but we show here,based on first principles calculations, that beneath 270 km they have negative buoyancy compared to the surrounding material in the upper mantle and transition zone,and thus can be subducted in the depth range of 270-660 km.This suggests that there can be two reservoirs of granitic material in the Earth,one on the surface and the other at the base of the mantle transition zone(MTZ).The accumulated volume of subducted granitic material at the base of the MTZ might amount to about six times the present volume of the continental crust.Our calculations also show that the seismic velocities of granitic material in the depth range from 270 to 660 km are faster than those of the surrounding mantle.This could explain the anomalous seismic-wave velocities observed around 660 km depth.The observed seismic scatterers and reported splitting of the 660 km discontinuity could be due to jadeite dissociation,chemical discontinuities between granitic material and the surrounding mantle,or a combination thereof.     

ENSIP: the El Niño simulation intercomparison project

An ensemble of twenty four coupled ocean-atmosphere models has been compared with respect to their performance in the tropical Pacific. The coupled models span a large portion of the parameter space and differ in many respects. The intercomparison includes TOGA (Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere)-type models consisting of high-resolution tropical ocean models and coarse-resolution global atmosphere models, coarse-resolution global coupled models, and a few global coupled models with high resolution in the equatorial region in their ocean components. The performance of the annual mean state, the seasonal cycle and the interannual variability are investigated. The primary quantity analysed is sea surface temperature (SST). Additionally, the evolution of interannual heat content variations in the tropical Pacific and the relationship between the interannual SST variations in the equatorial Pacific to fluctuations in the strength of the Indian summer monsoon are investigated. The results can be summarised as follows: almost all models (even those employing flux corrections) still have problems in simulating the SST climatology, although some improvements are found relative to earlier intercomparison studies. Only a few of the coupled models simulate the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in terms of gross equatorial SST anomalies realistically. In particular, many models overestimate the variability in the western equatorial Pacific and underestimate the SST variability in the east. The evolution of interannual heat content variations is similar to that observed in almost all models. Finally, the majority of the models show a strong connection between ENSO and the strength of the Indian summer monsoon.     

Variations in atmospheric CO2 at the Meteorological Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan

Since April 1986, measurements of the CO₂ concentration in the surface air have been conducted at the Meteorological Research Institure (MRI, 36°04 N, 140°07 E, 25 m above sea level) in Tsukuba, located 50 km northeast of Tokyo, Japan. The CO₂ data measured over times between 11:00 Japan Standard Time (JST) and 16:00 JST (C _N ) were considered to be representative of the air (within a few ppmv) in the planetary boundary layer. To evaluate the representative CO₂ level on a spatial scale larger than that of the C _N record, the CO₂ data with hour-to-hour variation less than 1 ppmv were selected (C _P ). Comparison of these data with those of Ryori (39°02 N, 141°50 E), a continental station operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency, indicates that the C _P record provides a representative CO₂ level in the air on spatial scales of at least a few hundred kilometers.The C _N record allows an investigation of the internanual changes in photosynthesis/respiration against changes in climatological parameters. Within a small temperature anomaly (ca.±1 °C) respiration is sensitive to the temperature change, while photosynthesis is less sensitive. When the temperature anomaly is large, however, photosynthesis and respiration tend to be competitive.