Suitability of monosaccharides as markers for particle identification in carbonate sediments*†

The identification of the remains of organisms contributing to carbonate sediments by means of scanning electron-microscopy is limited to particles of the 2–20 μm size class. Mineralogy and the content of Mg, Sr and trace elements alone are usually insufficient to solve the problem of identification, especially in the differentiation between algal and coral aragonite. The organic matrix of calcareous organisms consists of stable biopolymers such as polysaccharides and glycoproteins which are intimately associated with the carbonate skeleton. Analysis of these hydrolysed compounds gives rise to characteristic arrays of monosaccharides which provide independent criteria for producer identification. The calcareous green algae Halimeda, Penicillus and Udotea show high xylose and low fucose levels. Xylose and fucose levels are elevated in the red algae Amphiroa but only fucose is prominent in the brown algae Padina. The corals Oculina, Porites, Millipora and Montastrea are relatively rich in fucose and show little or no xylose. In the bivalves Arca, Codakia and in Argopecten mannose may be characteristic. Analysis of artificial and natural sediments demonstrates that coral and algal aragonite can be distinguished on the basis of the total sugar concentration and respective xylose and fucose levels. The applicability of the technique in comparison to geochemical and mineralogical methods has been demonstrated for surface sediments from varying water depths of Harrington Sound, Bermuda.     

Petrogenesis of Mafic Garnet Granulite in the Lower Crust of the Kohistan Paleo-arc Complex (Northern Pakistan): Implications for Intra-crustal Differentiation of Island Arcs and Generation of Continental Crust

We report the results of a geochemical study of the Jijal andSarangar complexes, which constitute the lower crust of theMesozoic Kohistan paleo-island arc (Northern Pakistan). TheJijal complex is composed of basal peridotites topped by a gabbroicsection made up of mafic garnet granulite with minor lensesof garnet hornblendite and granite, grading up-section to hornblendegabbronorite. The Sarangar complex is composed of metagabbro.The Sarangar gabbro and Jijal hornblende gabbronorite have melt-like,light rare earth element (LREE)-enriched REE patterns similarto those of island arc basalts. Together with the Jijal garnetgranulite, they define negative covariations of La_N, Yb_N and(La/Sm)_N with Eu^* [Eu^* = 2 x Eu_N/(Sm_N + Gd_N), where N indicateschondrite normalized], and positive covariations of (Yb/Gd)_Nwith Eu^*. REE modeling indicates that these covariations cannotbe accounted for by high-pressure crystal fractionation of hydrousprimitive or derivative andesites. They are consistent withformation of the garnet granulites as plagioclase–garnetassemblages with variable trapped melt fractions via eitherhigh-pressure crystallization of primitive island arc basaltsor dehydration-melting of hornblende gabbronorite, providedthat the amount of segregated or restitic garnet was low (<5wt %). Field, petrographic, geochemical and experimental evidenceis more consistent with formation of the Jijal garnet granuliteby dehydration-melting of Jijal hornblende gabbronorite. Similarly,the Jijal garnet-bearing hornblendite lenses were probably generatedby coeval dehydration-melting of hornblendites. Melting modelsand geochronological data point to intrusive leucogranites inthe overlying metaplutonic complex as the melts generated bydehydration-melting of the plutonic protoliths of the Jijalgarnet-bearing restites. Consistent with the metamorphic evolutionof the Kohistan lower arc crust, dehydration-melting occurredat the mature stage of this island arc when shallower hornblende-bearingplutonic rocks were buried to depths exceeding 25–30 kmand heated to temperatures above c. 900°C. Available experimentaldata on dehydration-melting of amphibolitic sources imply thatthickening of oceanic arcs to depths >30 km (equivalent toc. 1·0 GPa), together with the hot geotherms now postulatedfor lower island arc crust, should cause dehydration-meltingof amphibole-bearing plutonic rocks generating dense garnetgranulitic roots in island arcs. Dehydration-melting of hornblende-bearingplutonic rocks may, hence, be a common intracrustal chemicaland physical differentiation process in island arcs and a naturalconsequence of their maturation, leading to the addition ofgranitic partial melts to the middle–upper arc crust andformation of dense, unstable garnet granulite roots in the lowerarc crust. Addition of LREE-enriched granitic melts producedby this process to the middle–upper island arc crust maydrive its basaltic composition toward that of andesite, affordinga plausible solution to the ‘arc paradox’ of formationof andesitic continental-like crust in island arc settings. KEY WORDS: island arc crust; Kohistan complex; Jijal complex; amphibole dehydration-melting; garnet granulite; continental crustal growth