Partial Melting and Counterclockwise P T Path of Subducted Oceanic Crust (Sierra del Convento Melange, Cuba)

Partial melting of subducted oceanic crust has been identifiedin the Sierra del Convento mélange (Cuba). This serpentinite-matrixmélange contains blocks of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-derivedplagioclase-lacking epidote ± garnet amphibolite intimatelyassociated with peraluminous trondhjemitic–tonalitic rocks.Field relations, major element bulk-rock compositions, mineralassemblages, peak metamorphic conditions (c. 750°C, 14–16kbar), experimental evidence, and theoretical phase relationssupport formation of the trondhjemitic–tonalitic rocksby wet melting of subducted amphibolites. Phase relations andmass-balance calculations indicate eutectic- and peritectic-likemelting reactions characterized by large stoichiometric coefficientsof reactant plagioclase and suggest that this phase was completelyconsumed upon melting. The magmatic assemblages of the trondhjemitic–tonaliticmelts, consisting of plagioclase, quartz, epidote, ±paragonite, ± pargasite, and ± kyanite, crystallizedat depth (14–15 kbar). The peraluminous composition ofthe melts is consistent with experimental evidence, explainsthe presence of magmatic paragonite and (relict) kyanite, andplaces important constraints on the interpretation of slab-derivedmagmatic rocks. Calculated P–T conditions indicate counterclockwiseP–T paths during exhumation, when retrograde blueschist-faciesoverprints, composed of combinations of omphacite, glaucophane,actinolite, tremolite, paragonite, lawsonite, albite, (clino)zoisite,chlorite, pumpellyite and phengite, were formed in the amphibolitesand trondhjemites. Partial melting of subducted oceanic crustin eastern Cuba is unique in the Caribbean realm and has importantconsequences for the plate-tectonic interpretation of the region,as it supports a scenario of onset of subduction of a youngoceanic lithosphere during the early Cretaceous (c. 120 Ma).The counterclockwise P–T paths were caused by ensuingexhumation during continued subduction. KEY WORDS: amphibolite; Cuba; exhumation; partial melting; trondhjemite; subduction     

U – Pb zircon ages from leucogneiss in the Etheridge Group and their significance for the early history of the Georgetown region,north Queensland

The Timbarra Tablelands pluton is an extensive (～550 km²) complexly zoned intrusion forming one of many predominantly monzogranite I‐type plutons, which constitute the Moonbi Supersuite in northern New South Wales, Australia. It comprises an outer rim of Rocky River monzogranite (Zones 1–3), an intermediate zone of Sandy Creek syenogranite (Zones 4A–4C), surrounding a core of Surface Hill syenogranite (Zones 5–7). The suite is calc‐alkaline, high‐K, and varies from mildly metaluminous to weakly peraluminous with increasing fractionation. Average Rb/Sr ratios range from 0.4 in the least evolved very coarse‐grained monzogranite (Zone 3) to 46 in the most evolved very fine‐grained biotite microgranite (Zone 6). Trace‐element modelling indicates that the observed compositional variation could have been produced by crystal fractionation. New bulk rock major‐ and trace‐element data for 71 samples are presented, and indicate that a compositional continuum exists that varies between 63 and 78 wt% SiO₂. Importantly, there is no systematic chemical variation with spatial distribution of samples from the core of the pluton to its margin, requiring multiple separate pulses of an evolving magma to explain compositional discontinuities. The pluton is interpreted to have been emplaced at mesozonal levels (～180 ± 60 MPa, 5–10 km depth) and crystallised at temperatures between 620 and 820°C under moderately oxidising conditions (log fO₂ = ‐11.5 to ‐19). The association of gold‐molybdenite mineralisation at Timbarra with moderately oxidised I‐type magmas is consistent with fractionation‐redox controls on ore‐element behaviour in magmatic systems in other studies.     

Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of bentonites from Cabo de Gata (Almería,Spain)

The aim of this study is to investigate the nature of the solutions and the temperature during the bentonite formation by using δ¹⁸O and δ²H values and the relationship between chemical and isotopic composition of smectites from Cabo de Gata region. Therefore, 36 bentonite samples had been selected. For analyses the <2 μm fraction were separated. Most of the samples contain smectite above 90 wt%. The stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of the analysed smectites is close to the “montmorillonite line”. However, from isotopic composition two types of bentonite can be distinguished. The Sierra de Gata (SG) and Serrata de Nijar (SN) types show δ¹⁸O and δ²H values above and below this line, respectively. Temperatures obtained from geothermometer equation are similar to the temperatures values obtained from the equation of Savin and Lee (1988). Estimated formation temperatures of SG type are 25 and 49 °C higher compared to those of the SN type (6 and 25 °C).Correlations between structural cations versus isotopic composition show no statistical significance concerning all samples. However, separating the samples of SG (Sierra de Gata) from SN (Serrata of Nijar) a statistical significance for the individual areas is obtained. In both cases the effect is similar for ¹⁸O and for ²H. This could be due to the different composition of the solutions forming these bentonites.     

Population and employment in selected countries bordering the Pacific

This study is concerned with the dynamics of labor force composition in selected countries bordering the Pacific. The estimates presented are based on national definitions of urban and rural places and of the labor force and are derived primarily from published U.N. data. Variations in labor force composition and in urbanization levels by country are discussed. Countries considered include Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Nicaragua, Peru, the Philippines, and the United States.     

Hydration properties of bentonites from Cabo de Gata (SE, Spain). Isotopic study (O/O; H/H) of the hydration water

The aim of this study is to determine the isotopic composition (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) of interstitial water in bentonites. The study had been carried out from adsorbed vapour in homoionic bentonites. We have worked with the fraction <20 μm of a bentonite from Serrata de Níjar (Almería, Spain). Homoionic sodium and calcium bentonites were prepared as well as variable quantities of exchangeable Na/Ca (75Ca/25Na; 50Ca/50Na; 25Ca/75Na), by mixing pure sodium and calcium suspensions in the appropriate quantities. To carry out the hydration of the samples, every one of them was previously dried at 300 °C overnight, they were subjected to controlled saturation conditions in an atmosphere of different relative humidity and at a constant temperature of 20 °C, until equilibrium was achieved. The different vapour pressures were: P/P_o = 0.05; P/P_o = 0.078; P/P_o = 0.15; P/P_o = 0.32; P/P_o = 0.45; P/P_o = 0.63; P/P_o = 0.8; P/P_o = 1, obtained from the saturated solutions of different salts or sulphuric acid.The saturation water was extracted for isotopic analysis from an aliquot of a saturated sample. The technique used was vacuum extraction based on a modification of the one described by Araguás-Araguás et al. (1995).The differentiation between the isotopes of ¹⁸O and ²H from interstitial water in the bentonite samples, depending on the different relative humidity, may affect the ions diffusion in the interstitial solutions, since in those from low relative humidities, there could be a higher diffusion velocity as they are formed by molecules of light isotopes, versus interstitial solutions from higher relative humidities or those near saturation. This fact should be taken into account in studies on cation and solute transport from these solutions inside bentonite, even though it is important to continue studying and corroborating it with a larger number of solutions isotopically marked.