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.     

Reference Materials in Geoanalytical Research -Review for 2004 and 2005

This review gives an overview of the use and development of reference materials of geochemical and environmental interest in the literature of the years 2004 and 2005. In these years the performance of existing methods has been improved and new geochemical applications using new techniques have been developed. Accordingly, there was an increasing need for new reference materials, especially for in situ microanalysis and for precise stable isotope measurements. In addition, there was a notable trend for further characterisation of existing reference materials, mainly for the platinum-group elements. This review focuses on five topics: reference materials for platinum-group elements, reference glasses for in situ microanalysis, zircon reference materials, isotopic reference materials, and the development and certification of reference materials.     

The connection between Labrador Sea buoyancy loss, deep western boundary current strength, and Gulf Stream path in an ocean circulation model

The sensitivity of the North Atlantic gyre circulation to high latitude buoyancy forcing is explored in a global, non-eddy resolving ocean general circulation model. Increased buoyancy forcing strengthens the deep western boundary current, the northern recirculation gyre, and the North Atlantic Current, which leads to a more realistic Gulf Stream path. High latitude density fluxes and surface water mass transformation are strongly dependent on the choice of sea ice and salinity restoring boundary conditions. Coupling the ocean model to a prognostic sea ice model results in much greater buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea compared to simulations in which the ocean is forced by prescribed sea ice boundary conditions. A comparison of bulk flux forced hindcast simulations which differ only in their sea ice and salinity restoring forcings reveals the effects of a mixed thermohaline boundary condition transport feedback whereby small, positive temperature and salinity anomalies in subpolar regions are amplified when the gyre spins up as a result of increased buoyancy loss and convection. The primary buoyancy flux effects of the sea ice which cause the simulations to diverge are ice melt, which is less physical in the diagnostic sea ice model, and insulation of the ocean, which is less physical with the prognostic sea ice model. Increased salinity restoring ensures a more realistic net winter buoyancy loss in the Labrador Sea, but it is found that improvements in the Gulf Stream simulation can only be achieved with the excessive buoyancy loss associated with weak salinity restoring.     

THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF MAJOR ELEMENTS AND HEAVY TRACE METALS IN CHONDRITES PARAMBÙ AND MARILIA

The chemical composition of the newly observed fallen chondrites Parambù, 1967, and Marilia, 1971, was determined. Wet chemical methods were used for major elements analyses and the abundances of heavy trace elements from tungsten to uranium were determined by spark source mass spectrometry. The chemical composition confirmed the classification of Marilia as an H-group chondrite by Avanzo et al. (1973): Parambù was classified as an LL-group chondrite.     

Stable isotopes and trace elements in modern ostracod shells: implications for reconstructing past environments on the Tibetan Plateau,China

Stable isotopes and trace elements in ostracod shells have been used widely in paleolimnological investigations of past lake hydrochemistry and climate because they provide insights into past water balance and solute evolution of lakes. Regional differences in lake characteristics and species-specific element fractionation, however, do not permit generalization of results from other regions or ostracod species to the southern Tibetan Plateau, in part because most common taxa from the southern Tibetan Plateau are endemic to the area. This study evaluated relations between present-day environmental conditions and the geochemical composition of modern ostracod shells from the southern Tibetan Plateau, to assess the suitability of using shell chemistry to infer hydrological conditions. We studied nine lakes and their catchments, located along a west–east transect in the south-central part of the Tibetan Plateau. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope values and trace element concentrations in recent shells from the four most abundant ostracod species (Leucocytherella sinensis, ?Leucocythere dorsotuberosa, Limnocythere inopinata, Tonnacypris gyirongensis) were measured, together with hydrochemical properties of host waters at the time of sampling. Results revealed significant between-species differences in stable isotope fractionation and trace element incorporation into shell calcite. Stable oxygen and carbon isotope values of ostracod shells were correlated significantly with the stable isotope composition of the respective water body \( \left( {\updelta^{18} {\text{O}}_{{{\text{H}}_{ 2} {\text{O}}}} \,{\text{and }}\updelta^{13} {\text{C}}_{{{\text{H}}_{ 2} {\text{O}}}} } \right) \), reflecting salinity and productivity, respectively. Offsets between δ¹⁸O_shell and δ¹³C_shell and inorganic calcite, the latter representing isotopic equilibrium, suggest shell formation of T. gyirongensis during spring melt. L. sinensis reproduces throughout the monsoon season until September and shows several consecutive generations, and L. inopinata molts to the adult stage after the monsoon season in August/September. The influence of pore water δ¹³C was displayed by L. inopinata, suggesting shell calcification within the sediment. Mg/Ca_shell is primarily influenced by water Mg/Ca ratios and salinity and confirms the use of this shell ratio as a proxy for precipitation-evaporation balance and lake level. In addition, Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca can be used to infer changes in salinity, at least in closed-basin lakes with calcite saturation. Observed effects of water Sr/Ca and salinity on Sr/Ca incorporation are biased by the presence of aragonite precipitation in the lakes, which removes bioavailable Sr from the host water, resulting in low Sr/Ca_shell values. Changes in carbonate mineralogy affect the bioavailability of trace elements, a process that should be considered in paleoclimate reconstructions. Oxygen isotopes and Mg/Ca_shell ratios were unaffected by water temperature. Positive correlations among Fe/Ca, Mn/Ca and U/Ca in ostracod shells, and their negative correlation with δ¹³C, which reflects organic matter decay, show the potential to infer changes in redox conditions that can be used to reconstruct past oxygen supply to bottom waters and thus past water-circulation changes within lakes. The intensity of microbial activity, associated with organic matter decomposition, can be inferred from U/Ca ratios in ostracod shells. These findings highlight the value of fossil ostracod records in lake deposits for inferring paleoenvironmental conditions on the southern Tibetan Plateau.     

Constraints from high-pressure veins in eclogites on the composition of hydrous fluids in subduction zones

Hydrous high-pressure veins formed during dehydration of eclogites in two paleo-subduction zones (Trescolmen locality in the Adula nappe, central Alps and Münchberg Gneiss Massif, Variscan fold belt, Germany) constrain the major and trace element composition of solutes in fluids liberated during dehydration of eclogites. Similar initial isotopic compositions of veins and host eclogites at the time of metamorphism indicate that the fluids were derived predominantly from the host rocks. Quartz, kyanite, paragonite, phengite, zoisite and omphacite are the dominant minerals in the veins. The major element compositions of the veins are in agreement with experimental evidence indicating that the composition of solutes in such fluids is dominated by SiO₂ and Al₂O₃. Relative to N-MORB, the veins show enrichments of Cs, Rb, Ba, Pb, and K, comparable or slightly lower abundances of Sr, U, and Th, and very low abundances of Nd, Sm, Zr, Nb, Ti and Y. The differential fractionation of highly incompatible elements such as K, U and Th in the veins, as well as the presence of hydrous minerals in the eclogites rule out partial melting as a cause for vein formation. These results confirm previous suggestions that fluids derived from subducted basalt may have low abundances of high field strength elements, rare earth elements and Y. Variable vein-eclogite enrichment factors of incompatible alkalis and to a lesser extent Pb appear to reflect mineralogical controls (phengite, epidote-group minerals) on partitioning of these elements during dehydration of eclogite in subduction zones. However, abundance variations of incompatible elements in minerals from eclogites suggest that the composition of fluids released from eclogites at temperatures <700°C may not reflect true equilibrium partitioning during dehydration. Simple models for the trace elements U and Th indicate the relative importance of the basaltic and sedimentary portions of subducted oceanic crust in producing the characteristic chemical signatures of these elements in convergent plate margin volcanism.     

GGR Biennial Critical Review: Analytical Developments Since 2014

This GGR biennial critical review covers developments and innovations in key analytical methods published since January 2014, relevant to the chemical, isotopic and crystallographic characterisation of geological and environmental materials. In nine selected analytical fields, publications considered to be of wide significance are summarised, background information is provided and their importance evaluated. In addition to instrumental technologies, this review also presents a summary of new developments in the preparation and characterisation of rock, microanalytical and isotopic reference materials, including a précis of recent changes and revisions to ISO guidelines for reference material characterisation and reporting. Selected reports are provided of isotope ratio determinations by both solution nebulisation MC‐ICP‐MS and laser ablation‐ICP‐MS, as well as of radioactive isotope geochronology by LA‐ICP‐MS. Most of the analytical techniques elaborated continue to provide new applications for geochemical analysis; however, it is noted that instrumental neutron activation analysis has become less popular in recent years, mostly due to the reduced availability of nuclear reactors to act as a neutron source. Many of the newer applications reported here provide analysis at increasingly finer resolution. Examples include atom probe tomography, a very sensitive method providing atomic scale information, nanoscale SIMS, for isotopic imaging of geological and biological samples, and micro‐XRF, which has a spatial resolution many orders of magnitude smaller than conventional XRF.     

Distribution and seasonal abundance of large cetaceans in the Durban whaling grounds off KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa, 1972–1975

Daily charts of the aerial search effort (432 206 nautical miles) of the Union Whaling Company and 1 099 sightings of 10 497 whales were available from 628 flights off Durban between 1972 and 1975. Densities of whales were analysed by month and water depth distribution over the four-year period. Low observed densities of blue Balaenoptera musculus, right Eubalaena australis, sei B. borealis and humpback Megaptera novaeangliae whales most likely resulted from earlier whaling pressure. Seasonality of blue, sei and humpback whales was bimodal, indicative of winter migrations to the north of the Durban whaling grounds, whereas the unimodal seasonality of fin whales B. physalus and minke whales B. bonaerensis or B. acutorostrata suggest the offshore region as the northern terminus of their migrations. Sperm whales Physeter macrocephalus migrate northwards offshore of the KwaZulu-Natal coast in autumn/early winter and southwards in late winter/spring, with larger males migrating later than the smaller males and females. Killer whale Orcinus orca presence was coincident with that of offshore minke whales and the southward migrations of other baleen whales, whereas densities of animals deemed as bottlenose whale Hyperoodon planifrons suggest strong early and late summer seasonal abundance in the offshore region. Such extensive surveys offshore of the KwaZulu-Natal coast are unlikely to be repeated; hence, data-extraction of whaling records provides a valuable source of seasonal and distributional information for marine management.