Sugarloaf Mountain,central Arizona,USA: A small-scale example of Miocene basalt-rhyolite magma mixing to yield andesitic magmas

Sugarloaf Mountain is a 200-m high volcanic landform in central Arizona, USA, within the transition from the southern Basin and Range to the Colorado Plateau. It is composed of Miocene alkalic basalt (47.2–49.1?wt.% SiO₂; 6.7–7.7?wt.% MgO) and overlying andesite and dacite lavas (61.4–63.9?wt.% SiO₂; 3.5–4.7?wt.% MgO). Sugarloaf Mountain therefore offers an opportunity to evaluate the origin of andesite magmas with respect to coexisting basalt. Important for evaluating Sugarloaf basalt and andesite (plus dacite) is that the andesites contain basaltic minerals olivine (cores Fo_76-86) and clinopyroxene (～Fs_9-18Wo_35-44) coexisting with Na-plagioclase (An_48-28Or_1.4–7), quartz, amphibole, and minor orthopyroxene, biotite, and sanidine. Noteworthy is that andesite mineral textures include reaction and spongy zones and embayments in and on Na-plagioclase and quartz phenocrysts, where some reacted Na-plagioclases have higher-An mantles, plus some similarly reacted and embayed olivine, clinopyroxene, and amphibole phenocrysts.Fractional crystallization of Sugarloaf basaltic magmas cannot alone yield the andesites because their ～61 to 64?wt.% SiO₂ is attended by incompatible REE and HFSE abundances lower than in the basalts (e.g., Ce 77–105 in andesites vs 114–166?ppm in basalts; Zr 149–173 vs 183–237; Nb 21–25 vs 34–42). On the other hand, andesite mineral assemblages, textures, and compositions are consistent with basaltic magmas having mixed with rhyolitic magmas, provided the rhyolite(s) had relatively low REE and HFSE abundances. Linear binary mixing calculations yield good first approximation results for producing andesitic compositions from Sugarloaf basalt compositions and a central Arizona low-REE, low-HFSE rhyolite. For example, mixing proportions 52:48 of Sugarloaf basalt and low incompatible-element rhyolite yields a hybrid composition that matches Sugarloaf andesite well ? although we do not claim to have exact endmembers, but rather, viable proxies. Additionally, the observed mineral textures are all consistent with hot basalt magma mixing into rhyolite magma. Compositional differences among the phenocrysts of Na-plagioclase, clinopyroxene, and amphibole in the andesites suggest several mixing events, and amphibole thermobarometry calculates depths corresponding to 8–16?km and 850° to 980?°C. The amphibole P-T observed for a rather tight compositional range of andesite compositions is consistent with the gathering of several different basalt-rhyolite hybrids into a homogenizing ‘collection' zone prior to eruptions. We interpret Sugarloaf Mountain to represent basalt-rhyolite mixings on a relatively small scale as part of the large scale Miocene (～20 to 15 Ma) magmatism of central Arizona. A particular qualification for this example of hybridization, however, is that the rhyolite endmember have relatively low REE and HFSE abundances.     

玄武质陨石NWA8545的岩石地球化学特征以及对其母体岩浆过程的启示

NWA 8545 是一块玄武质无球粒陨石,它与碳质陨石(CC)NWA 011 成对.CC 被认为是来自于外太阳系的一类物质,由于同位素异常,它们区别于来自内太阳系的非碳质陨石(NC).NWA 011 及其成对陨石作为CC中稀有的玄武质无球粒陨石,其记录的岩浆过程可以被用来研究外太阳系早期行星母体的岩浆活动.本文利用扫描电镜、电子探针和激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子质谱仪(LA-ICP-MS)对NWA 8545 中的辉石、斜长石和陨磷钙钠石进行岩相学以及原位主微量元素的分析,并根据矿物模式丰度计算全岩稀土元素含量.电子探针结果显示NWA 8545 与 HED族陨石Eucrite(钙长辉长无球粒陨石)具有相似的主量元素特征,同时其岩相学与5 型Eucrite类似.激光微量数据表明辉石、斜长石和陨磷钙钠石的稀土元素配分都表现出略微的Ce异常,但其辉石的Ba、Sr等元素并未出现明显的富集现象,即该陨石受地球风化作用影响不明显.利用辉石和斜长石的稀土元素含量,计算平衡熔体的成分,显示其平衡熔体的成分都与全岩的成分比较接近,可以认为两者是在封闭的体系下接近同时结晶.结合变质过程和母体岩浆的成分,本文认为NWA 8545 是由其母体岩浆在经历分离结晶过程后喷发到母体行星表面冷却形成的.     

Lakes of the Jom-Bolok Volcanoes Valley in the East Sayan Mts., Baikal region

Journal of Geographical Sciences - This article describes the lake basins of the Jom-Bolok volcanic region in the East Sayan (the largest manifestation of the Holocene eruptions in Central Asia)....     

琉球群岛以东海区沉积物重矿物分布及来源

琉球群岛东部海区沉积物中富含大量火山碎屑矿物、岛屿岩石遭受风化蚀变形成的普通角闪石以及水生的铁锰微结核,其重矿物种类、特征、组合分区等与火山作用、沉积环境、地形、物质来源等内外生因素密切相关。通过对本区重矿物的种类、特征及组合分区的研究,初步判断位于研究区北部、菲律宾板块向欧亚大陆俯冲而导致的正在活动的的琉球岛弧区为火山碎屑的主要源区,重矿物成分主要为水携成因来源,受同期火山作用控制;少量紫苏辉石来自先期形成的海岭或海底高原(如冲大东海岭、奄美海岭及九州海岭等)上的火山岩系,是经过剥蚀、搬运再沉积的产物;琉球群岛、九州等火山活动产物受海底高地等阻隔而在本区表现为向南或东南影响力逐渐减小;本区地质历史上的及正在进行的岩浆活动主要以基性及中性岩浆为主。此外,流经本区的黑潮对自生铁锰微结核的富集具有重要影响。     

Volcanically Driven Terrestrial Environmental Perturbations during the Carnian Pluvial Episode in the Eastern Tethys

The Carnian Pluvial Episode (CPE) fingerprints global environmental perturbations and biological extinction on land and oceans and is potentially linked to the Wrangellia Large Igneous Province (LIP). However, the correlation between terrestrial environmental changes and Wrangellia volcanism in the Ordos Basin during the CPE remains poorly understood. Records of negative carbon isotopic excursions (NCIEs), mercury (Hg), Hg/TOC, and Hg enrichment factor (HgEF) from oil shales in a large-scale terrestrial Ordos Basin in the Eastern Tethys were correlated with marine and other terrestrial successions. The three significant NCIEs in the study section were consistently correlated with those in the CPE successions of Europe, the UK, and South and North China. The U-Pb geochronology indicates a Ladinian–Carnian age for the Chang 7 Member. A comprehensive overview of the geochronology, NCIE correlation, and previous bio- and chronostratigraphic frameworks shows that the Ladinian–Carnian boundary is located in the lower part of Chang 7 in the Yishicun section. HgEF may be a more reliable proxy for tracing volcanic eruptions than the Hg/TOC ratio because the accumulation rates of TOC content largely vary in terrestrial and marine successions. The records of Hg, Hg/TOC, HgEF, and NCIEs in the Ordos Basin aligned with Carnian successions worldwide and were marked by similar anomalies, indicating a global response to the Wrangellia LIP during the CPE. Anoxia, a warm-humid climate, enhancement of detrital input, and NCIEs are synchronous with the CPE interval in the Ordos Basin, which suggests that the CPE combined with the regional Qinling Orogeny should dominate the enhanced rate of terrigenous input and paleoenvironmental evolution in the Ordos Basin.     

The Darfur Dome,western Sudan: the product of a subcontinental mantle plume

Field investigations, K-Ar age determinations and chemical data were used to describe the development of an intraplate volcanic province, the Darfur Dome, Sudan. Magmatism started 36 Ma ago at a small subvolcanic complex (Jebel Kussa) in the center of the dome and was active in the same area between 26 and 23 Ma. Two major volcanic fields (Marra Mountains and Tagabo Hills) developed between 16 and 10 Ma. Volcanism started again at 6.8 Ma with a third volcanic field (Meidob Hills) and at 4.3 Ma in the Marra Mountains and with the reactivation of the center. Activity then continued until the late Quaternary. Having started in the center of the Darfur Dome, volcanism moved in 36 Ma 200 km towards the NNE and 100 km SSW No essential difference in the alkaline magma types (basanitic to phonolitic-trachytic, with different amounts of assimilation of crustal material) in the different fields, was observed. Magmatism is thought to have been produced by a rising mantle plume and volcanism was triggered by stress resolution along the Central African Fault Zone.     

Geology of Tok Island,Korea: eruptive and depositional processes of a shoaling to emergent island volcano

Detailed mapping of Tok Island, located in the middle of the East Sea (Sea of Japan), along with lithofacies analysis and K-Ar age determinations reveal that the island is of early to late Pliocene age and comprises eight rock units: Trachyte I, Unit P-I, Unit P-II, Trachyandesite (2.7±0.1 Ma), Unit P-III, Trachyte II (2.7±0.1 Ma), Trachyte III (2.5±0.1 Ma) and dikes in ascending stratigraphic order. Trachyte I is a mixture of coherent trachytic lavas and breccias that are interpreted to be subaqueous lavas and related hyaloclastites. Unit P-I comprises massive and inversely graded basaltic breccias which resulted from subaerial gain flows and subaqueous debris flows. A basalt clast from the unit, derived from below Trachyte I, has an age of 4.6±0.4 Ma. Unit P-II is composed of graded and stratified lapilli tuffs with the characteristics of proximal pyroclastic surge deposits. The Trachyandesite is a massive subaerial lava ponded in a volcano-tectonic depression, probably a summit crater. A pyroclastic sequence containing flattened scoria clasts (Unit P-III) and a small volume subaerial lava (Trachyte II) occur above the Trachyandesite, suggesting resumption of pyroclastic activity and lava effusion. Afterwards, shallow intrusion of magma occurred, producing Trachyte III and trachyte dikes.The eight rock units provide an example of the changing eruptive and depositional processes and resultant succession of lithofacies as a seamount builds up above sea level to form an island volcano: Trachyte I represents a wholly subaqueous and effusive stage; Units P-I and P-II represent Surtseyan and Taalian eruptive phases during an explosive transitional (subaqueous to emergent) stage; and the other rock units represent later subaerial effusive and explosive stages. Reconstruction of volcano morphology suggests that the island is a remnant of the south-western crater rim of a volcano the vent of which lies several hundred meters to the north-east.     

Miocene shallow-water limestones from São Nicolau (Cabo Verde): Caribbean-type benthic fauna and time constraints for volcanism

Shallow-water limestones of presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene age, interbedded with basaltic lavas, were described by earlier authors from São Nicolau in the northwestern part of the Cabo Verde archipelago. If confirmed, these ages would imply late Mesozoic shallow-marine and subaerial volcanic activity in the Cabo Verde archipelago, and document a geological history very different from that known so far from other Cabo Verde Islands, from which no subaerial volcanic activity before the mid-Cenozoic is known. Our re-investigation of the foraminiferal fauna indicates a Late Miocene age for the presumed Late Cretaceous and Eocene limestones. The hypothesis of a long-lived hot spot, active by the Early Cretaceous, and of a major island-building stage in the Cabo Verde Islands during this period, is therefore not supported by the present bio- or chronostratigraphic data.     

Determining magma flow in sills,dykes and laccoliths and their implications for sill emplacement mechanisms

Three-dimensional seismic data from the Faeroe-Shetland Basin provides detailed information on the relationships between sills, dykes, laccoliths and contemporaneous volcanic activity. The data shows that sills are predominantly concave upwards, being complete or partial versions of radially or bilaterally symmetrical forms that possess flat inner saucers connected to a flat outer rim by a steeply inclined sheet. Such morphologies are only partially modified by pre-existing faults. Sills can be sourced from dykes or the steep climbing portions of deeper sills. Both sills and dykes can provide magma to overlying volcanic fissures and sills can be shown to feed shallow laccoliths. Magma flow patterns, as revealed by opacity rendering, suggest that sills propagate upwards and outwards away from the magma feeder. As an individual sill can consist of several leaves emplaced at different stratigraphic levels, and as a sill or dyke can provide magma to volcanic fissures, other sills and laccoliths, the data suggests that neutral buoyancy concepts may not provide a complete explanation for the mechanism and level of sill emplacement. Instead, the data suggests that the presence of lithological contrasts, particularly ductile horizons such as overpressured shales may permit sill formation at any level below the neutrally buoyant level. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Ken Thomson–deceased, April 2007