Dacite Genesis via both Slab Melting and Differentiation: Petrogenesis of La Yeguada Volcanic Complex, Panama

La Yeguada volcanioc complex (LYVC) is one of many major volcanoesthat represent the extension of the Central American arc inwestern Panama and that have resulted from current oblique subductionsouth of Panama. There are two major phases of calc-alkalinevolcanic activity at LYVC based on mapping and K-Ar radiometricdates. The first phase began at {small tilde} 13 Ma and ceasedat {small tilde} 7?5 Ma. This sequence, termed the old group,consists of basalts to rhyolites with typical arc mineralogies(OL, CPX, PL, MGT, and OPX). The samples have similar radiogenicSr and Nd values and appear to be related by fractional crystallizationwith assimilation and/or magma mixing involved in the differentiation.The parental basalts were probably derived from the metasomatizedmantle wedge via melting induced by fluids released from thesubducted lithosphere. There was an apparent period of minor volcanic activity from7–5 to 2–5 Ma (only one documented sample from thisperiod). The second phase (<2?5 Ma), termed the young group,consists only of dacites but with very different mineralogies(PL, MGT, AM, BI, with no PX) and geochemistries (e.g., highSr and low Y and HREE) compared with the old-group dacites (andandesites and rhyolites). The dacites cannot be related to theold group by various petrogenetic modeling techniques. Thesehigh-Al dacites have the characteristics of magmas derived fromthe partial melting of the subducted oceanic lithosphere witha hornblende eclogite residuum. This has been substantiatedby geochemical modeling. Samples similar to the young-group dacites in other arcs havebeen termed adakites and arc associated with the subductionof young hot crust which may explain why the slab melts. ThePanama basin has extremely high heat flow values, comparablewith those of the Galapagos ridge system. The change from normalarc volcanism to adakites suggests that the subducted oceaniccrust became hotter as time progressed. The subduction of anoceanic ridge or new ridge development along the Sandra Riftin the Panama basin can explain the change in volcanism withtime but more geophysical data are needed.     

The concretions of the Bearreraig Sandstone Formation: geometry and geochemistry

The sandbodies of the Bearreraig Sandstone Formation (Inner Hebrides, UK) are cemented by two generations of calcite. The first generation, an inhomogeneous ferroan calcite (0.05?3.28 mol% FeCo₃) formed during sulphate reduction (δ¹³C =?24 to ?32%o PDB) in marine porewaters (δ¹⁸O of cement from ?1 to ?4%o PDB) at very shallow burial depths (a few centimetres). These cements are rare but form millimetre-scale clusters of crystals which acted as nuclei to the later, concretionary cements. The second generation of cements are more homogeneous ferroan calcites (mean 1?58% mol% FeCo₃) which evolve to progressively higher Fe/Mg ratios. They are sourced by shell dissolution (δ¹³C of cement from +1 to ?3%o PDB) into meteoric (δ¹⁸O of cement from ?6 to ?10%o PDB) or mixed marine meteoric waters (δ¹⁸O of cement from ?4 to ?6%o SMOW). These were introduced into the formation either during Bathonian times as a freshwater lens, or, subsequent to partial inversion, by confined aquifer flow. Corroded feldspars within the concretions suggest that an interval of at least 8 Ma separated the deposition of the sediments from the onset of concretion growth. Abundant concretions are preferentially developed at certain horizons within the sandbodies, where the early generation of ferroan calcite cements provided nuclei. The latter formed close to the sediment-water interface, the concentration of cement within the sediment being related to sedimentation rate. The relatively high concentrations of the first generation of cement, upon which the concretionary horizons are nucleated, formed during periods of minimal sedimentation.     

Rock varnish in the Sonoran Desert: microbiologically mediated accumulation of manganiferous sediments

Rock varnish occurs in virtually all environments, most commonly in arid and semi-arid climates, including Antarctica. Rock varnish consists of thin layers of intimately mixed aeolian and chemical sediments often showing botryoidal and more rarely stromatolite-like morphologies. Typical rock varnish samples collected at Twin Peak Mountain Park, near Phoenix, Arizona, consist of abundant quartz, with plagioclase, illite and a mixed layer, Fe-clay mineral, probably corrensite. EDS, SEM (BSE) and TEM analyses revealed that the typical Mn, Fe minerals occur as minute particles; some of these particles and other mineral grains are attached to filaments. XRD and electron diffraction showed that the Mn.Fe-bearing particles are poorly crystalline. The filaments, based on morphological criteria, are virtually indistinguishable from fungal filaments. Most filaments are fragments, probably broken by scraping during sample collection. Coccoid and rod-shaped forms, resembling cyanobacteria and other bacteria, respectively, are also present. Unlike definitive minerals, these filaments disintegrated in the concentrated energy of the SEM electron beam at the instrumental and experimental conditions used. In addition, no filamentous, rod-shaped or coccoid forms were observed in samples hydrolysed with 6 N HCl for 24 h at 100°C. Bacteria and fungi in powdered rock varnish were cultured on four media, incubated aerobically in the dark at 25°C. The culture media yielded dense growths of spore-forming bacteria and filamentous fungi. One fungus and two Bacillus isolates oxidized and concentrated manganese. Control experiments revealed that fungi and bacteria are present on and below the surfaces of rock varnish. Free and hydrolysed, peptide/protein-bound amino acids were identified in the rock varnish. Amino acids showed virtually no racemization with the exception of D/L asp = 0.1. Relatively high molecular weight humic matter was also separated from the rock varnish. High-resolution mass spectrometry revealed non-hydrocarbon moieties, similar to a Suwannee River (FL) humic acid standard. Micro-organisms and their original biochemical compounds do not seem to be preserved for long in the accreting varnish layer. The studies showed that the filaments helped to trap mineral particles of rock varnish, and that bacteria and fungi abetted Mn concentration. Some structures in the layers of rock varnish resemble stromatolites and present definitions would allow them to be termed as such.     

Wolf Volcano, Galapagos Archipelago: Melting and Magmatic Evolution at the Margins of a Mantle Plume

Wolf volcano, an active shield volcano on northern Isabela Islandin the Galápagos Archipelago, has undergone two majorstages of caldera collapse, with a phase of partial calderarefilling between. Wolf is a typical Galápagos shieldvolcano, with circumferential vents on the steep upper carapaceand radial vents distributed in diffuse rift zones on the shallower-slopinglower flanks. The radial fissures continue into the submarineenvironment, where they form more tightly focused rift zones.Wolf's magmas are strikingly monotonous: estimated eruptivetemperatures of the majority of lavas span a total of only 22°C.This homogeneity is attributed to buffering of magmas as theyascend through a thick column of olivine gabbroic mush thathas been deposited from a thin, shallow (<2 km deep) subcalderasill that is in a thermochemical steady state. Wolf's lavashave the most depleted isotopic compositions of any historicallyactive intraplate ocean island volcano on the planet and haveisotopic compositions (except for ³He/⁴He) indistinguishablefrom mid-ocean ridge basalt erupted from the GalápagosSpreading Center (GSC) 250–410 km away from the peak ofinfluence of the Galápagos plume. Wolf's lavas are enrichedin incompatible trace elements and have systematic major elementdifferences relative to GSC lavas, however. Wolf's magmas resultfrom lower extents of melting, deeper melt extraction, and agreater influence of garnet compared with GSC magmas, but Wolfand the GSC share the same sources. These melt generation conditionsare attributed to melting in a thermal and mechanical boundarylayer of depleted asthenosphere at the margins of the Galápagosplume. The lower degrees of melting and extraction from deeperlevels result from a thicker lithospheric cap at Wolf than existsat the GSC. KEY WORDS: caldera; Galápagos; mush; partial melting; plume     

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM: A MILITARY GEOGRAPHICAL PERSPECTIVE*

ABSTRACT. The war in Iraq has spanned the full spectrum of military operations: intense combat, stability‐and‐support operations, and peacetime activities. Regardless of their nature and relative intensity, military operations are shaped by the characteristics of the military operating environment. Consequently, the scale, tempo, and complexity of any type of military endeavor are linked to the physical and cultural landscapes of the region in which it is conducted. Military geographers use geographical information, tools, and techniques to examine those links. Iraq's operating environment is studied to identify the relevant components of its physical and human geography. This military geographical examination of Iraq tells us a great deal about how the physical and cultural environment have influenced the war, as well as how the complexity of its human landscape continues to affect the postwar rebuilding of the country.     

Map and GIS database of glacial landforms and features related to the last British Ice Sheet

A review of the academic literature and British Geological Survey mapping is employed to produce a 'Glacial Map', and accompanying geographic information system (GIS) database, of features related to the last (Devensian) British Ice Sheet. The map (1:625 000) is included in a folder and GIS data are freely available by web download (http://www.shef.ac.uk/geography/staff/clark_chris/britice.html). Emphasis is on information that constrains the last ice sheet. The following are included: moraines, eskers, drumlins, meltwater channels, tunnel valleys, trimlines, limit of key glacigenic deposits, glaciolacustrine deposits, ice-dammed lakes, erratic dispersal patterns, shelf-edge fans and the Loch Lomond Readvance limit of the main ice cap. The GIS contains over 20 000 features split into thematic layers (as above). Individual features are attributed such that they can be traced back to their published sources. Given that the published sources of information that underpin this work were derived by piecemeal effort over 150 years, then our main caveat is of data consistency and reliability. It is hoped that this compilation will stimulate greater scrutiny of published data, assist in palaeoglaciological reconstructions and facilitate use of field evidence in numerical ice-sheet modelling. It may also help direct field workers in their future investigations.     

Significance of localized pore pressures to the genesis of septarian concretions

The burial-stress and hydrologic conditions existing during concretion formation in mudrocks are evaluated and integrated into a model for the genesis of septarian cracks. Initial concretion cement formation will lower concretion permeability through the filling of pre-existing pore space. During progressive burial, this may lead to increased excess pore pressure, localized within the concretion body causing a reduction of the effective stress. Analysis of the stress conditions and crack morphology suggests that cracks in septarian concretions result from tensional failure (sub-critical crack growth), as a consequence of this localized excess pore pressure. Conditions suitable for crack formation will depend upon the magnitude of the excess pore pressure and the stress corrosion limit of the concretion body. A review of the likely strength of such concretions indicates that cracking could be initiated at depths less than 10 m. A variety of observed crack morphologies can be explained with this model, depending upon the spatial distribution of strength and effective stress in the concretion. Crack orientations mostly reflect stress anisotropy, but are also influenced by directional anisotropy in the crack growth rates. Locally increased pore pressure also likely occurs in non-septarian concretions, but is not sufficient to cause cracking. This enhanced local pressure may assist the crystal surface growth reactions of the carbonate cement. Through this enhancement process, the shape of concretions may be a response to the local anisotropic pore-pressure contours, which reflect the permeability anisotropy of the concretion and surrounding mudrock.     

Overpressures and hydrocarbon generation in the Sable sub-basin, offshore Nova Scotia

One of several interconnected depocentres lying offshore eastern Canada, the Sable sub-basin preserves a thick sequence of Mesozoic-Cenozoic clastic sediments, significant gas accumulations and an extensive development of abnormal pressures. In order to understand the basin's hydrocarbon generation, migration and accumulation history it is necessary to quantify the interplay between its burial, thermal, and maturation history, and to determine the influence on these of the basin's excess pressure history. Simple, one-dimensional reconstructions of maturity and pore pressure histories are derived for exploration well and pseudo-well locations on a seismic line running from the basin's structural high to its depocentre. Calibrated, where possible, by reference to measured maturity, temperature and pressures, these models provide a basic dynamic framework within which it is possible to consider the generation history of the basin's source rocks. Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sediments underwent an initial rapid, rift-related subsidence. The thermal/maturation models suggest that source rocks lying within these intervals quickly matured and began generating gas and condensates. Similarly, this rapid burial was translated, through sediment compaction disequilibrium processes, into an early expression of abnormal pressures. The pore pressure/time reconstructions in the modelling assume that sediment compaction disequilibrium and gas generation are the principal causal mechanisms. Matching pore pressure reconstructions with present-day pressure-depth profiles is particularly sensitive to assumed seal permeability profiles. Although the seal permeabilities used as model input are based on actual measured permeabilities at the present day, this does not mean that the permeability-time curves derived through the model's decompaction assumptions accurately reflect seal permeability evolution.     

Methane-derived high-Mg calcite submarine cement in Holocene nodules from the Fraser Delta, British Columbia, Canada

Carbonate nodules and slabs in late Holocene shelly terrigenous deposits of the modern Fraser River delta (～49°N) are formed close to the seafloor by precipitation from saline pore waters of mainly fibrous to bladed crystals of high-Mg (～ 10–20 mol% MgCO₃) calcite cement as coalescing isopachous crusts on grains. Previous reports that the cement is low-Mg calcite are not supported by this study. Highly negative δ¹³C values of ? 7 to ? 59‰ for the cements indicate that the bulk of their carbonate carbon was derived from the microbiological degradation of organic matter in the deltaic deposits during shallow burial. In particular, the production of biogenic methane (CH₄) by anaerobic bacterial fermentation, its upward migration, chemical or biological oxidation to CO₂ and neutralization in the near-surface sediment, and diffusion to microenvironments relatively enriched in organic components, are a possible set of conditions influencing the process and sites of carbonate cementation. Methane-derived Mg-calcite appears also to be the major submarine cement in several other modern occurrences of lithified shallow-water terrigenous sands and muds at non-tropical latitudes.