A chlorine isotope study of DSDP/ODP serpentinized ultramafic rocks: Insights into the serpentinization process

Eight DSDP/ODP cores were analyzed for major ion concentrations and δ³⁷Cl values of water-soluble chloride (δ³⁷Cl_WSC) and structurally bound chloride (δ³⁷Cl_SBC) in serpentinized ultramafic rocks. This diverse set of cores spans a wide range in age, temperature of serpentinization, tectonic setting, and geographic location of drilled serpentinized oceanic crust. Three of the cores were sampled at closely spaced intervals to investigate downhole variation in Cl concentration and chlorine isotope composition.The average total Cl content of all 86 samples is 0.26 ± 0.16 wt.% (0.19 ± 0.10 wt.% as water-soluble Cl (X_WSC) and 0.09 ± 0.09 wt.% as structurally bound Cl (X_SBC)). Structurally bound Cl concentration nearly doubles with depth in all cores; there is no consistent trend in water-soluble Cl content among the cores. Chlorine isotope fractionation between the structurally bound Cl⁻ site and the water-soluble Cl⁻ site varies from − 1.08‰ to + 1.16‰, averaging to + 0.21‰. Samples with negative fractionations may be related to reequilibration of the water-soluble chloride with seawater post-serpentinite formation. Six of the cores have positive bulk δ³⁷Cl values (+ 0.05‰ to + 0.36‰); the other two cores (173-1068A (Leg-Hole) and 84-570) have negative bulk δ³⁷Cl values (− 1.26‰ and − 0.54‰). The cores with negative δ³⁷Cl values also have variable Cl⁻ / SO₄² ratios, in contrast to all other cores. The isotopically positive cores (153-920D and 147-895E) show no isotopic variation with depth; the isotopically negative core (173-1068A) decreases by ∼1‰ with depth for both the water-soluble and structurally bound Cl fractions.Non-zero bulk δ³⁷Cl values indicate Cl in serpentinites was incorporated during original hydration and is not an artifact of seawater infiltration during drilling. Cores with positive δ³⁷Cl values are most likely explained by open system fractionation during hydrothermal alteration, with preferential incorporation of ³⁷Cl from seawater into the serpentinite and loss of residual light Cl back to the ocean. Fluid / rock ratios were probably low as evidenced by the presence of water-soluble salts. The two isotopically negative cores are characterized by a thick overlying sedimentary package that was in place prior to serpentinization. We believe the low δ³⁷Cl values of these cores are a result of hydration of ultramafic rock by infiltrating aqueous pore fluids from the overlying sediments. The resulting serpentinites inherit the characteristic negative δ³⁷Cl values of the pore waters. Chlorine stable isotopes can be used to identify the source of the serpentinizing fluid and ultimately discern chemical and tectonic processes involved in serpentinization.     

High-resolution sedimentary record of lead in the coastal mud of the East China Sea in the past one hundred and fifty years

In the East China Sea （ECS）, there are some mud areas, including the south coastal mud area, the north coastal mud area, and the mud area to the southwest of Cheju Island. X-ray fluorescence （XRF） techniques and Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry （TIMS） were used to study the high-resolution sedimentary record of Pb concentrations and Pb stable isotopic compositions in the past one hundred and fifty years in the coastal mud of the ECS. Pb concentrations of a ^210Pb dating S5 core in the study area have increased rapidly since 1980, and reached the maximal value with 65.08 μg/g in 2000, corresponding to the fast economic development of China since the implementation of the ＂Reform and Open Policy＂ in 1978; ^206Pb/^207Pb ratios generally had stabilized at 1.195 from 1860 to 1966, and decreased gradually from 1966 to 2000, indicating that the anthropogenic source Pb contribution to the ECS has increased gradually since 1966, especially since 1980. Pb concentrations decreased distinctly from 2000 to 2003 and ^206Pb/^207Pb ratios increased from 2001 to 2003, corresponding closely to the ban of lead gasoline from 2000 in China. From 1950 to 2003, there occurred four distinct decrease events of ^206Pb/^207Pb, possibly responding to the Changjiang River （Yangtze River） catastrophic floods in 1998, 1991, 1981 and 1954; from 1860 to 1966, there were two decrease periods of ^206Pb/^207Pb, which may respond to the catastrophic floods of Changjiang River in 1931 and 1935, and 1870. As a result of the erosion and drowning by the catastrophic floods, the anthropogenic lead accumulated in soil and water environments over a long period of time was brought into the Changjiang River, then part of them was finally transported into the ECS, which leads to changes in Pb stable isotopic composition.     

Up-temperature flow of surface-derived fluids in the mid-crust: the role of pre-orogenic burial of hydrated fault rocks

The Walter‐Outalpa shear zone in the southern Curnamona Province of NE South Australia is an example of a shear zone that has undergone intensely focused fluid flow and alteration at mid‐crustal depths. Results from this study have demonstrated that the intense deformation and ductile shear zone reactivation, at amphibolite facies conditions of 534 ± 20 °C and 500 ± 82 MPa, that overprint the Proterozoic Willyama Supergroup occurred during the Delamerian Orogeny (c. 500 Ma) (EPMA monazite ages of 501 ± 16 and 491 ± 19 Ma). This is in contrast to the general belief that the majority of basement deformation and alteration in the southern Curnamona Province occurred during the waning stages of the Olarian Orogeny (c. 1610–1580 Ma). These shear zones contain hydrous mineral assemblages that cut wall rocks that have experienced amphibolite facies metamorphism during the Olarian Orogeny. The shear zone rock volumes have much lower δ¹⁸O values (as low as 1‰) than their unsheared counterparts (7–9‰), and calculated fluid δ¹⁸O values (5–8‰) consistent with a surface‐derived fluid source. Hydrous minerals show a decrease in δD_(H2O) from ?14 to ?22‰, for minerals outside the shear zones, to ?28 to ?40‰, for minerals within the shear zones consistent with a contribution from a meteoric source. It is unclear how near‐surface fluids initially under hydrostatic pressure penetrate into the middle crust where fluid pressures approach lithostatic, and where fluid flow is expected to be dominantly upward because of pressure gradients. We propose a mechanism whereby faulting during basin formation associated with the Adelaidean Rift Complex (c. 700 Ma) created broad hydrous zones containing mineral assemblages in equilibrium with surface waters. These panels of fault rock were subsequently buried to depths where the onset of metamorphism begins to dehydrate the fault rock volumes evolving a low δ¹⁸O fluid that is channelled through shear zones related to Delamerian Orogenic activity.     

GGR Critical Review of Analytical Developments in 2004–2005

In 2005 Geostandards and Geoanalytical Research embarked upon a new initiative for its readers. Key researchers in various fields of geoanalytical technique development and their application were identified and invited to provide reviews pertinent to their expertise. As noted in the first of these publications "…instead of revisiting the historical context or decades of development in each analytical technique, the goal here has been to capture a snapshot of "hot topics" across a range of fields as represented in the… literature" (Hergt et al . 2005). Rather than prepare an annual review, a decision was taken earlier this year to provide a biennial summary of progress and accomplishments, in this case for the years 2004–2005. The principal techniques employed in Earth and environmental sciences are covered here, and include laser ablation and multicollector ICP-MS, ICP-AES, thermal ionisation and secondary ion mass spectrometry, as well as neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence and atomic absorption spectrometry. A comprehensive review of the development of reference materials, often essential to these techniques, is also provided. The contributions assembled serve both to keep readers informed of advances they may be unfamiliar with, but also as a means of showcasing examples of the breadth and depth of work being conducted in these fields.     

The First Appearance of Cattle in Denmark Occurred 6000 Years Ago: An Effect of Cultural or Climate and Environmental Changes

Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios from bones of contemporaneous Late Atlantic aurochs and early cattle in eastern Denmark are significantly different and provide information on the origin and feeding strategies of the earliest domestic cattle. The data show that the early cattle were feeding on grass right from the beginning 4000 cal. yr BC. In contrast, the youngest aurochs population primarily browsed and grazed from the dense forest floor resulting in rather negative δ¹³C values measured on bone collagen. The oldest aurochs have similar isotope values to the earlier cattle, whereas the youngest aurochs have similar values to Late Atlantic red deer from the same locality. As eastern Denmark was largely covered by forest, speculations on the origin of the grazing areas are many. The grass may have grown in openings in the forest, at the forest fringe, or more likely on the newly reclaimed coastal land areas exposed by the decreasing rate of eustatic sea‐level rise contemporaneously with isostatic uplift, during the Littorina transgressions. The stable isotope values do not indicate that leaf foddering of the early cattle was of importance.     

Seismic Hazards Assessment for Radioactive Waste Disposal Sites in Regions of Low Seismic Activity

A comparative tectonic quiescence and lack of earthquakes make the stable centres of continents attractive for siting long-term radioactive waste storage facilities. The low rates of deformation in such regions, however, make it difficult to characterize their long-term seismotectonic behaviour, leading to uncertain estimates for the very low probability hazard estimates required by society. In an attempt to overcome the deficiency of both contemporary seismicity and paleoseismic data in central Canada, we have used earthquake histories from regions with similar seismotectonic characteristics from around the world. Substituting space for time, we estimate a long-term rate per 10⁶ km² of 0.004 magnitude ≥6 earthquakes per annum, of which 33–100% might rupture to the surface.     

吉林台爆破料应力应变关系的三轴试验研究

通过室内大型三轴实验，研究了吉林台水库爆破料在不同级配下的应力应变关系，得到了在一定击实功下爆破料的最大干密度随细料含量变化的规律，分析了爆破料在不同级配和不同围压下应力与应变的变化规律、轴向应变与体积应变的关系及抗剪强度变化特性．从微观的角度说明了变化规律产生的原因，得出爆破料的抗剪强度随级配的变化而变化的规律．     

Isotopic constraints on growth conditions of multiphase calcite–pyrite–barite concretions in Carboniferous mudstones

Carbonate concretions in the Lower Carboniferous Caton Shale Formation contain diagenetic pyrite, calcite and barite in the concretion matrix or in different generations of septarian fissures. Pyrite was formed by sulphate reduction throughout the sediment before concretionary growth, then continued to form mainly in the concretion centres. The septarian calcites show a continuous isotopic trend from δ¹³C=?28·7‰ PDB and δ¹⁸O=?1·6‰ PDB through to δ¹³C=?6·9‰ PDB and δ¹⁸O=?14·6‰ PDB. This trend arises from (1) a carbonate source initially from sulphate reduction, to which was added increasing contributions of methanogenic carbonate; and (2) burial/temperature effects or the addition of isotopically light oxygen from meteoric water. The concretionary matrix carbonates must have at least partially predated the earliest septarian cements, and thus used the same carbonate sources. Consequently, their isotopic composition (δ¹³C=?12·0 to ?10·1‰ PDB and δ¹⁸O=?5·7 to ?5·6‰ PDB) can only result from mixing a carbonate cement derived from sulphate reduction with cements containing increasing proportions of carbonate from methanogenesis and, directly or indirectly, also from skeletal carbonate. Concretionary growth was therefore pervasive, with cements being added progressively throughout the concretion body during growth. The concretions contain barite in the concretion matrix and in septarian fissures. Barite in the earlier matrix phase has an isotopic composition (δ³⁴S=+24·8‰ CDT and δ¹⁸O=+16·4‰ SMOW), indicating formation from near‐surface, sulphate‐depleted porewaters. Barites in the later septarian phase have unusual isotopic compositions (δ³⁴S=+6 to +11‰ CDT and δ¹⁸O=+8 to +11‰ SMOW), which require the late addition of isotopically light sulphate to the porewaters, either from anoxic sulphide oxidation (using ferric iron) or from sulphate dissolved in meteoric water. Carbon isotope and biomarker data indicate that oil trapped within septarian fissures was derived from the maturation of kerogen in the enclosing sediments.     

Celestite formation, bacterial sulphate reduction and carbonate cementation of Eocene reefs and basinal sediments (Igualada, NE Spain)

Petrographic and geochemical studies of an Upper Eocene reef and associated basinal sediments from the mixed carbonate–siliciclastic fill of the south‐eastern Pyrenean foreland basin near Igualada (NE Spain) provide new insights into the evolution of subsurface hydrology during the restriction of a marine basin. The reef deposits are located on delta‐lobe sandstones and prodelta marls, which are overlain by hypersaline carbonates and Upper Eocene evaporites. Authigenic celestite (SrSO₄) is an important component in the observed diagenetic sequences. Celestite is a significant palaeohydrological indicator because its low solubility constrains transportation of Sr²⁺ and SO₄^2? in the same diagenetic fluid. Stable isotopic analyses of carbonates in the reef indicate that meteoric recharge was responsible for aragonite stabilization and calcite cementation. Sulphur and oxygen isotope geochemistry of the celestite demonstrates that it formed from residual sulphate after bacterial sulphate reduction, but also requires that there was a prior episode of sulphate recycling. Meteoric water reaching the reef and basinal areas was most probably charged with SO₄^2? from the dissolution of younger Upper Eocene marine evaporites. This sulphate, combined with organic matter present in the sediments, fuelled bacterial sulphate reduction in the meteoric palaeoaquifer. Strontium for celestite precipitation was partly derived in situ from dissolution of aragonite corals in the reef and basinal counterparts. However, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr data also suggest that Sr²⁺ was partly derived from dissolution of overlying evaporites. Mixing of these two fluids promoted celestite formation. The carbonate stable isotopic data suggest that the local meteoric water was enriched in ¹⁸O compared with that responsible for stabilization of other reefs along the basin margin. Furthermore, meteoric recharge at Igualada post‐dated evaporite deposition in the basin, whereas other parts of the same reef complex were stabilized before evaporite formation. This discrepancy resulted from the spatial distribution of continental siliciclastic units that acted as groundwater conduits.