Subtropical to temperate facies from a transition zone, mixed carbonate–siliciclastic system, Palaeogene, North Carolina, USA

Palaeogene passive margin sediments on the US mid‐Atlantic coastal plain provide valuable insight into facies interaction and distribution on mixed carbonate–siliciclastic shelves. This study utilizes well cuttings, outcrop, core, and seismic data to document temporal and spatial variations in admixed bryozoan‐rich skeletal carbonates and sandy siliciclastic units that were deposited on a humid passive margin located in the vicinity of a major marine transition zone. This zone was situated between north‐flowing, warm waters of the ancestral Gulf Stream (carbonate dominated settings) and south‐flowing, cold waters of the ancestral Labrador Current (siliciclastic dominated settings). Some degree of mixing of carbonates and siliciclastics occurs in all facies; however, siliciclastic‐prone sediments predominate in nearshore settings, while carbonate‐prone sediments are more common in more open marine settings of the inner shelf break and deep shelf. A distinctive dual‐break shelf depositional profile originated following a major Late Cretaceous to Palaeocene transgression that drowned the earlier shallow platform. This profile was characterized by prominent mid‐shelf break dividing the shallow shelf from the deep shelf and a major continental shelf/slope break. Incomplete filling of available accommodation space during successive buildup of the shallow shelf preserved the topographic break on this passive margin. Storm wave base also contributed to the preservation of the dual‐break shelf geometry by beveling shallow shelf sediments and transporting them onto and seaward of the mid‐shelf break. Sediment fines in deep shelf facies were produced in place, transported downdip from the shallow shelf by storm ebb currents and boundary currents, and reworked from adjacent areas of the deep shelf by strike‐parallel boundary currents. Regional climate and boundary currents controlled whether carbonate or siliciclastic material was deposited on the shelf, with warmer waters and more humid climates favouring carbonate deposition and cooler, more arid conditions favouring glaucony and siliciclastic dominated deposition. Continuous wave and current sweeping of the shallow shelf favoured deposition of mud‐lean facies across much of the shallow shelf. Skeletal components in much of the carbonate‐rich strata formed in warm, nutrient‐rich subtropical waters, as indicated by widespread occurrences of larger benthic foraminifera and molluscan assemblages. These indicators of warm water deposition within the bryozoan‐mollusk‐rich carbonate assemblage on this shelf provide an example of a warm water bryomol assemblage; such facies generally are associated with cooler water depositional settings.     

Geochemistry of the Gabbro--Diorite--Tonalite--Trondhjemite Suite of southwest Finland and its Implications for the Origin of Tonalitic and Trondhjemitic Magmas

Rocks of the Proterozoic gabbro—diorite—tonalite—trondhjemitesuite of southwest Finland were analyzed for major elements,REE, Rb, Sr, Ba, U, Th, and isotopic composition of Sr and O.Petrographic continuity from hornblendite through hornblendegabbro, hornblende—biotite diorite, hornblende—biotitetonalite and trondhjemite is reflected in regular variationof major and trace elements in samples ranging from 42 to 74per cent of SiO₂. The suite is calc alkaline—trondhjemiticand is distinguished from ‘normal’ calc-alkalinesuites by the increase in Na₂O and decrease in K₂O and REE concentrationsfrom intermediate to silicic rocks. Prior to solidification, the magmas may have undergone additionof water from metamorphic country rock producing a variationof whole-rock O₁₈ values of from 6.0 to 11.3 per mil. This processmay have been accompanied by introduction of Rb and Sr and removalof Ba from intermediate to trondhjemitic magmas. A linear whole-rockisochron age of 1.9 x 10⁹ years may only be approximate owingto the possibility of Rb and Sr exchange. REE concentrationsshow regular variation through the suite and were not noticeablyaffected by exchange processes. Samples ranging from 50 to 60per cent SiO₂ show chondrite-normalized light REE contents rangingfrom 40 to 160 whereas heavy REE contents are constant at 10,and there are no Eu anomalies. Samples ranging from 60 to 74per cent SiO₂ have REE patterns which decrease in both lightand heavy REE with increasing SiO₂ to values of 10 and 1 timeschondritic values respectively, and show increasingly positiveEu anomalies. Three possible models for magma genesis are consistent withthe petrographic, major and trace element variations, isotopicdata, and experimental petrologic studies: (1) fractional crystallizationof a gabbroic liquid involving hornblende, plagioclase, andbiotite as the major precipitating phases; (2) partial meltingof amphibolite leaving a hornblende-rich residue; (3) partialmelting of amphibolite or eclogite leaving an eclogitic residue.Model (1) is preferred because of the presence of hornblende-cumulaterocks, and because there is a continuum of compositions fromgabbro to trondhjemite.     

The future of the 'Geological Museum'

The following letter was written for, and has already been published in, the Geologists' Association Circular; but because it represents an important contribution to issues rehearsed in these columns, the editor of the Circular and the author have kindly agreed to its re-publication here.     

Petrogenesis of Evolved Basalts and Rhyolites at Austurhorn, Southeastern Iceland: the Role of Fractional Crystallization

The Austurhorn intrusive complex in southeastern Iceland representsthe evolved hypabyssal remains of an eroded Tertiary (6–7Ma) central volcano. The complex consists of a layered gabbrointrusion, a composite granophyric stock, and abundant maficand felsic dikes. Mineralogical and geochemical trends amongcontemporaneous, compositionally diverse liquids from the complexprovide insight into the genesis of evolved basalts and rhyolitesin Iceland that are difficult to infer from studies of onlylavas. Mafic and felsic samples have comparable ranges in incompatibletrace element ratios (Ba/La and P/Ce) and Sr- and Pb-isotopes(O'Nions and Pankhurst, 1973; B. Hanan, pers. comm., 1988),suggesting derivation from a common parental composition. Majorand trace element variations throughout the Austurhorn suiteare consistent with fractional crystallization of the observedphenocrysts. Quartz-normative basalts were derived from parentalbasalt containing 7.8 wt.% MgO by extensive low-pressure crystallizationof olivine, augite, plagioclase, magnetite, and ilmenite. Thefractionating assemblage is consistent with the observed mineralogyof associated gabbro. Moreover, the cumulus mineralogy of thegabbro provides evidence for fractionation processes in a compositionalinterval not represented by dikes and sills (i.e., 54–63wt.% SiO₂).Diversity among the mafic dikes reflects severaladditional factors: (1) crystallization under conditions ofvariable oxygen fugacity; (2) separate mantle melting eventsthat produce different Ce/Yb values; (3) contamination of somemafic dikes at depth, presumably by interaction with felsicmagmas. Major and trace element trends among most felsic samples canbe modeled by fractionation of the observed mineral phases:plagioclase, K-feldspar, clinopyroxene, ilmenite, apatite, allanite,and zircon. Although crustal melting has been proposed for generatingIcelandic rhyolites, most Austurhorn felsic samples are unlikeliquids derived by melting of hydrated basalts. In particular,apatite and zircon have controlled the abundances of Zr, Hf,and the REE in the felsic rocks, but they are unlikely to beresidual phases during partial melting of basalt. One felsicdike, interpreted as a melt of an evolved source, shows petrographicevidence of in situ anatexis and also has anomalous trace elementabundances and unusually high ₂₀₆Pb/₂₀₄Pb.     

An Early Holocene Palaeoenvironmental Record from Two Mile Lake,South‐Western Australia

This research is part of an integrated study investigating the Cainozoic development of the Proteaceae in south‐western Australia and this study documents the pollen and geochemical record from Two Mile Lake, south‐western Australia, to determine the environment of this area during the late Quaternary. The vegetation record from Two Mile Lake is consistently dominated by Casuarina and Chenopodiaceae species, with a variety of other pollen types. Geochemical analysis indicates that the environment was low in magnetic minerals, organics, carbonates, nitrogen and phosphorus. Geochemical and palynological results indicate that the vegetation and environment of south‐western Australia were unresponsive and/or unaffected by climatic changes of the early Holocene. The sedimentation rates are unclear and represent an important constraint to this study. It is possible that there was either rapid sedimentation in this area during the early Holocene and/or a lack of environmental change as a result of complex environmental processes.     

An Example of Consequent Mantle Metasomatism in Peridotite Inclusions from Nunivak Island, Alaska

Many of the coarse-grained peridotite inclusions in basanitesfrom Nunivak Island, Alaska, contain amphibole and a smallerfraction also contain phlogopite and apatite. All of these peridotiteshave light REE/heavy REE abundance ratios greater than chondritesand many have abundances of K, Rb, Sr, Ba and light REE whichexceed estimates for primitive mantle. On the basis of mineraltextures and compositions we infer that the clinopyroxene, amphibole,phlogopite and apatite equilibrated with a metasomatic fluid.Isotopic (Sr and Nd) ratios and parent-daughter abundance datafor the coarse-grained peridotites constrain the age of themetasomatism to be less than 200 million years. Associated amphibole pyroxenite inclusions are not metasomatized;these inclusions probably formed as crystal segregates froman alkalic magma. Both pyroxenites and coarse-grained peridotitesare isotopically similar to basalts from Nunivak Island. Usingthese data, we propose a model in which the metasomatized peridotiteswere wallrocks located adjacent to the pyroxenites, and thatmetasomatism of these peridotites was caused by the infiltrationof a residual silicate melt or volatile-rich fluid derived fromthe parental magma of the pyroxenites; i.e. the metasomatismwas a consequence of basaltic magmatism. Furthermore, the parentalmagma of the pyroxenites was probably petrogenetically relatedto the Nunivak volcanism. REE modelling of fluids in equilibriumwith clinopyroxenes from the coarse-grained peridotites is consistentwith this model.