Formation of shoshonites from calcalkaline basalt magmas: geochemical and experimental constraints from the type locality

Independence volcano, Montana is a major center of the Absaroka volcanic field, from which absarokite, shoshonite, and banakite were originally defined. One magmatic trend at Independence volcano, from high-alumina tholeiitic basalt through shoshonite to high-K dacite, may be modeled by fractional crystallization of observed phenocryst phases (plagioclase, hypersthene, augite, and magnetite). Trace-element and Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of rocks are consistent with this model.Compositions of partial melts from experiments on four rocks at 1 atm and at 10 kbar demonstrate that rock compositions represent a nearly-anhydrous liquid line of descent at a pressure much closer to 10 kbar than to 1 atm. The line of descent involves crystallization of orthopyroxene, not olivine, resulting in strong enrichment in K₂O with little increase in SiO₂. Crystallization at either lower pressures or with water present, involving olivine, results in enrichment in both SiO₂ and K₂O.High-pressure (10 kbar) fractional crystallization of basaltic magma, resulting in formation of shoshonites, may occur at the base of thick crust (e.g., in continental interiors or in very mature arcs). At least a portion of the relationship between K₂O content of arc-related magmas and depth to the Benioff Zone may be attributed to thickening of crust towards the back-arc, resulting in higher pressures of fractionation in Moho-level chambers.     

Nd isotopic evidence for the position of southernmost Indian terranes within East Gondwana

Sm-Nd model ages of orthopyroxene-bearing massif charnockites from the Cardamom Hills Massif and adjoining supracrustal rocks from the Kerala Khondalite Belt in southernmost India are used to infer some of the relationships within these rocks and between them and neighboring areas. Most of these rocks have model ages of 2.1–2.8 Ga with most charnockites in the range 2.2–2.6 Ga. Thus, 3.0–3.4 Ga Archean rocks to their north did not contribute material to either suite and the two suites may have been juxtaposed after formation of the supracrustal rocks. The similarity of Sm-Nd isotope systems in the two units studied here supports an argument that the massif charnockites were the primary sole source of the detritus incorporated into the supracrustal rocks. A cordierite gneiss, representative of a relatively minor lithology in the supracrustal belt, has a model age of 1.3 Ga. The protolith of this gneiss not only formed from much younger material than the rest of the belt but also formed significantly after the other metasedimentary rocks. The source material of the gneiss protolith may have been located in the Wanni and Vijayan Complexes of Sri Lanka. The overlap of the model ages of rocks in this area and those in the Highland Complex of Sri Lanka supports the notion that these two sets of rocks were joined to each other in Gondwana. They belong to a belt that ran from Antarctica through Sri Lanka and India into Madagascar. This belt was involved in Pan-African tectono-metamorphism, as reflected in the 550 Ma age of the last, granulite-forming, event throughout the belt.     

Precipitation-runoff simulation for a Himalayan River Basin, India using artificial neural network algorithms

In the Himalayan regions, precipitation-runoff relationships are amongst the most complex hydrological phenomena, due to varying topography and basin characteristics. In this study, different artificial neural networks (ANNs) algorithms were used to simulate daily runoff at three discharge measuring sites in the Himalayan Kosi River Basin, India, using various combinations of precipitation-runoff data as input variables. The data used for this study was collected for the monsoon period (June to October) during the years of 2005 to 2009. ANNs were trained using different training algorithms, learning rates, length of data and number of hidden neurons. A comprehensive multi-criteria validation test for precipitation-runoff modeling has been undertaken to evaluate model performance and test its validity for generating scenarios. Global statistics have demonstrated that the multilayer perceptron with three hidden layers (MLP-3) is the best ANN for basin comparisons with other MLP networks and Radial Basis Functions (RBF). Furthermore, non-parametric tests also illustrate that the MLP-3 network is the best network to reproduce the mean and variance of observed runoff. The performance of ANNs was demonstrated for flows during the monsoon season, having different soil moisture conditions during period from June to October.     

Elevation of potassium content of basaltic magma by fractional crystallization: the effect of pressure

A wide range of natural quartz-normative liquids crystallizes olivine at low pressure. Addition of K₂O to the system results in expansion of the olivine primary phase field and replacement of pigeonite (stable in the K-free system) by hypersthene. Some variation in phase relations results from depression of crystallization temperature towards the temperature at which pigeonite reacts to form augite and hypersthene because of addition of K₂O. Another important influence on phase relations results from cation interactions in the liquid related to addition of K₂O. Studies of crystallization behavior of materials similar in most elements except K₂O show that K₂O content markedly alters crystallization behavior for more siliceous liquids but appears to have less effect on liquids with lower SiO₂ contents. Low-Ca pyroxenes melt congruently at P>5 kbar, so anhydrous liquids coprecipitate olivine, plagioclase, and two pyroxenes. Addition of K₂O to the liquid has the same effect as at 1 atm. Hypersthene replaces pigeonite as the Low-Ca pyroxene crystallization from liquids with >1.5% K₂O and the olivine primary phase field grows at the expense of those of pyroxenes and plagioclase. At 10 kbar, olivine may develop a reaction relationship with liquids containing >6% K₂O. At 15 kbar, however, liquids evolve to a pseudoeutectic involving alkali feldspar. The systematic variation in phase relations has important consequences for magmatic evolution in different environments. Dry mafic liquids at shallow levels in oceanic areas can crystallize olivine until the liquid is very evolved, resulting in extreme SiO₂-enrichment besides enrichment in K₂O, and producing potassic dacites. Olivine coexists with liquids with up to 54% SiO₂ if K₂O=0.6% (Grove and Baker 1984) but as much as 63% SiO₂ if K₂O3.5% (Ussler and Glazner 1989). Magmas rising beneath light continental crust may pond at the Moho and evolve to low-density liquids that can rise to the surface. Coprecipitation of olivine, plagioclase, augite, and a low-Ca pyroxene, produces enrichment in K₂O with only slight enrichment in SiO₂. This is terminated, at pressures of 6 to, possibly, 12 kbar, by development of a reaction relationship of olivine and liquid that progresses to higher K₂O contents with pressure. At pressures as high as 15 kbar, the reaction relation may not develop and only crystallization of alkali feldspar suppresses K₂O-enrichment. Any magmatic H₂O or crustal contamination may modify phase relations. The phase relations do, however, suggest that variation in K₂O:SiO₂ of evolved volcanic rocks is related to crustal thickness rather than to variation in the chemical compositions of primary magmas.     

Improving Cascadia subduction zone residents’ tsunami preparedness: quasi-experimental evaluation of an evacuation brochure

Natural Hazards - This study surveyed 227 residents in three US Pacific Coast communities that are vulnerable to a Cascadia subduction zone tsunami. In the Brochure condition, information was...     

Chemical and isotopic compositions of Absaroka granitoids,Southwestern Montana

Contents of major and most trace elements of granitoids in three intrusions associated with the Cretaceous Independence volcanic complex, Montana, correlate well with SiO₂. Major-element contents in granitoids in each intrusion are accurately modeled as mixtures of minimum melts and phenocryst assemblages (presumably restite). Restite assemblages are hypersthene+augite+plagioclase, hornblende+plagioclase, and biotite+plagioclase+quartz. Residues of melting are granulite or amphibolite. Melts in two of the bodies were LREE-enriched but unfractionated in MREE and HREE. REE patterns are consistent with residues dominated by pyroxene or amphibole and feldspar. Initial ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb of granitoids define a line interpreted as a secondary isochron established during crustal homogenization 3.3 Ga ago. The relatively low of source rocks (8.25) suggests that they did not spend long in U-rich environments. Source regions had variable trace element patterns; Th/Pb and U/Pb were correlated, Rb/Sr and Sm/Nd moderately well correlated, but Rb/Sr and U/Pb were decoupled. This is consistent with poor correlation of Rb, Sr and Ba with SiO₂ in some granitoids and may suggest that minor phases that concentrate these elements were inhomogeneously distributed in source regions. The source probably consisted of LREE-rich, Rb-poor metamorphic rocks. Archean amphibolites, exposed in the Beartooth Mountains, are similar to the postulated source materials. They contain plagioclase, hornblende, minor quartz, biotite, and muscovite, and have low Rb/Sr and high LREE/HREE. Certain trace-element characteristics of the granitoids indicate that the deep crust in this part of Montana may be dominated by metamorphosed mafic-intermediate lavas that formed on the sea-floor. Metapelites, intercalated with amphibolites at the surface, were rare in granitoid source regions. This buried supracrustal pile was isotopically homogenized 3.3 Ga ago. Although some material melted 2.7 Ga ago to form granites that dominate the exposed basement, enough remained fertile that heating by mantle-derived magmas 85–90 Ma ago produced the granitic rocks at Independence.