Mesozoic thermal evolution of the southern African mantle lithosphere

The thermal structure of Archean and Proterozoic lithospheric terranes in southern Africa during the Mesozoic was evaluated by thermobarometry of mantle peridotite xenoliths erupted in alkaline magmas between 180 and 60 Ma. For cratonic xenoliths, the presence of a 150–200 °C isobaric temperature range at 5–6 GPa confirms original interpretations of a conductive geotherm, which is perturbed at depth, and therefore does not record steady state lithospheric mantle structure.

Xenoliths from both Archean and Proterozoic terranes record conductive limb temperatures characteristic of a “cratonic” geotherm (40 mW m⁻²), indicating cooling of Proterozoic mantle following the last major tectonothermal event in the region at 1 Ga and the probability of thick off-craton lithosphere capable of hosting diamond. This inference is supported by U–Pb thermochronology of lower crustal xenoliths [Schmitz and Bowring, 2003. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 144, 592–618].

The entire region then suffered a protracted regional heating event in the Mesozoic, affecting both mantle and lower crust. In the mantle, the event is recorded at 150 Ma to the southeast of the craton, propagating to the west by 108–74 Ma, the craton interior by 85–90 Ma and the far southwest and northwest by 65–70 Ma. The heating penetrated to shallower levels in the off-craton areas than on the craton, and is more apparent on the southern margin of the craton than in its western interior. The focus and spatial progression mimic inferred patterns of plume activity and supercontinent breakup 30–100 Ma earlier and are probably connected.

Contrasting thermal profiles from Archean and Proterozoic mantle result from penetration to shallower levels of the Proterozoic lithosphere by heat transporting magmas. Extent of penetration is related not to original lithospheric thickness, but to its more fertile character and the presence of structurally weak zones of old tectonism. The present day distribution of surface heat flow in southern Africa is related to this dynamic event and is not a direct reflection of the pre-existing lithospheric architecture.     

Trends in 1,4-Dioxane Analyses: Implications for Identification and Characterization of Contaminated Groundwater Sites

1,4-Dioxane is a contaminant of emerging concern, and there is significant uncertainty about how its environmental occurrence in groundwater is being assessed given the various analytical methods available. This study compiled public sampling records from 2000 to 2019 that included >106,000 analyses of 1,4-dioxane from 822 different U.S. sites. The 1,4-dioxane detection frequency in the entire dataset (including all methods) was 45%, and the median detected concentration was 10 μg/L, highlighting the dilute nature of 1,4-dioxane in environmental media and the importance of selecting methods with adequate sensitivity. The annual distribution of samples analyzed by each method type confirmed a shift towards methods designed for semi-volatile compounds (Method 8270 and Method 8270 SIM) that exhibited consistently lower reporting limits (median reporting limit for each year typically ≤1 μg/L). In contrast, the method designed for volatile compounds (Method 8260) exhibited less sensitivity for 1,4-dioxane (median reporting limit per year between 40 and 100 μg/L) and its use declined significantly over time with increasing use of the moderately sensitive Method 8260 SIM in later years. This shift contributed to an increase in the 1,4-dioxane detection frequency over time, with a strong correlation between the annual detection frequency and the median reporting limit. Sites where 1,4-dioxane was analyzed but not detected overwhelmingly used less-sensitive methods that may not have been adequate for the expected concentration levels. Given the sub-μg/L groundwater criteria issued for 1,4-dioxane by some regulatory agencies, more sensitive and accurate methods will be increasingly needed to assess compliance.     

北吕宋岛菲律宾活动带蛇绿岩及其上覆浊积岩的放射虫研究新进展

The basement of the Philippine Mobile Belt (PMB) is mainly composed of ophiolites that are mostly overlain by Paleogene to Miocene turbidites in central Luzon. To clarify the geological development of the PMB with respect to the initial stage of the arc volcanism (eg. Yumul et al., 2003, 2008; Dimalanta and Yumul, 2003; Suzuki et al., 2011), radiolarian dating was examined in siliceous sediments associated with the ophiolites and turbidites. The samples were collected from sites identified with the Zambales and Montalban ophiolites, basic tuff phyllites in NW Din-galan, and their overlying formations.     

Relationship of diagenetic chlorite rims to depositional facies in Lower Cretaceous reservoir sandstones of the Scotian Basin

The relationship between diagenetic chlorite rims and depositional facies in deltaic strata of the Lower Cretaceous Missisauga Formation was investigated using a combination of electron microprobe, bulk geochemistry and X‐ray diffraction data. The succession studied comprises several stacked parasequences. The delta progradational facies association includes: (i) fluvial or distributary channel sandstones (some with tidal influence); (ii) thick‐bedded delta‐front graded beds of sandstone interpreted as resulting from fluvial hyperpycnal flow during floods and storms; and (iii) more distal muddier delta‐front and prodeltaic facies. The transgressive facies association includes lag conglomerate, siderite‐cemented muddy sandstone and mudstone, and bioclastic sandy limestone. Chlorite rims are absent in the fluvial facies and best developed in thick sandstones lacking mudstone baffles. Good quality chlorite rims are well correlated with Ti in bulk geochemistry. Ti is a proxy for Fe availability, principally from the breakdown of abundant detrital ilmenite (FeTiO₃). Under conditions of sea floor diagenesis, the abrupt decrease in sedimentation rate at transgressive surfaces caused progressive shallowing of the sulphate‐depletion level and of the overlying Eh‐controlled diagenetic zones, resulting in conditions suitable for diagenetic formation of berthierine to migrate upwards through the packet of reservoir sandstones. This early diagenetic berthierine suppressed silica cementation and later recrystallized to chlorite. Thick euhedral outer chlorite rims were precipitated from formation water in sandstone lacking muddy baffles on this chlorite substrate and inhibited late carbonate cementation. This study thus shows that the preservation of porosity by chlorite rims is a two‐stage process. Rapidly deposited delta‐front turbidite facies create early diagenetic conditions that eventually lead to the formation of chlorite rims, but the best quality chlorite rims are restricted to sandstones with high permeability during burial diagenesis.     

Mesozoic Evaniidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) in Spanish Amber: Reanalysis of the Phylogeny of the Evanioidea

<正>One new genus and five new species of the family Evaniidae are described from the Early Cretaceous (Albian)Spanish amber of Penacerrada-Ⅰ(Province of Burgos),San Just and Arroyo de la Pascueta(both in the Province of Teruel):Cretevania alonsoi sp.nov.,C.montoyai sp.nov.,C.alcalai sp.nov.,C.rubusensis sp.nov.,and Iberoevania roblesi gen.and sp.nov.Taxonomic changes include Cretevania pristina(Zhang and Zhang,2000) comb.nov.,C.exquisita(Zhang,Rasmtsyn,Wang and Zhang,2007)comb.nov.,C.vesca(Zhang,Rasnitsyn,Wang and Zhang,2007)comb.nov.,and C.cyrtocerca(Deans,2004)comb.nov.,as a result of the reinterpretation of the genera Procretevania and Eovernevania.The new well preserved specimens of the genus Cretevania,together with the characters shown by the type specimens of the synonymized genera,give new information about their anatomical characters of taxonomical importance,and the genus Cretevania Rasnitsyn,1975 is re-diagnosed.The holotypes of the Russian species in amber have been revised.A cladistic analysis of fossil and extant groups of the superfamily Evanioidea is included.Cretevania had a wide palaeogeographic distribution,with the highest diversity known from Spain.The 13 known Cretevania species show a high interspecific variation mainly in wing characteristics,and a wide range of body and wing size.     

Elemental and isotopic fractionation of Type B CAI-like liquids by evaporation

Vacuum evaporation experiments with Type B CAI-like starting compositions were carried out at temperatures of 1600, 1700, 1800, and 1900 °C to determine the evaporation kinetics and evaporation coefficients of silicon and magnesium as a function of temperature as well as the kinetic isotope fractionation factor for magnesium. The vacuum evaporation kinetics of silicon and magnesium are well characterized by a relation of the form J = J_oe^−E/RT with J_o = 4.17 × 10⁷ mol cm⁻² s⁻¹, E = 576 ± 36 kJ mol⁻¹ for magnesium, J_o = 3.81 × 10⁶ mol cm⁻² s⁻¹, E = 551 ± 63 kJ mol⁻¹ for silicon. These rates only apply to evaporation into vacuum whereas the actual Type B CAIs were almost certainly surrounded by a finite pressure of a hydrogen-dominated gas. A more general formulation for the evaporation kinetics of silicon and magnesium from a Type B CAI-like liquid that applies equally to vacuum and conditions of finite hydrogen pressure involves combining our determinations of the evaporation coefficients for these elements as a function of temperature (γ = γ₀e^−E/RT with γ₀ = 25.3, E = 92 ± 37 kJ mol⁻¹ for γ_Si; γ₀ = 143, E = 121 ± 53 kJ mol⁻¹ for γ_Mg) with a thermodynamic model for the saturation vapor pressures of Mg and SiO over the condensed phase. High-precision determinations of the magnesium isotopic composition of the evaporation residues from samples of different size and different evaporation temperature were made using a multicollector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. The kinetic isotopic fractionation factors derived from this data set show that there is a distinct temperature effect, such that the isotopic fractionation for a given amount of magnesium evaporated is smaller at lower temperature. We did not find any significant change in the isotope fractionation factor related to sample size, which we interpret to mean that recondensation and finite chemical diffusion in the melt did not affect the isotopic fractionations. Extrapolating the magnesium kinetic isotope fractionations factors from the temperature range of our experiments to temperatures corresponding to partially molten Type B CAI compositions (1250-1400 °C) results in a value of α_Mg ≈ 0.991, which is significantly different from the commonly used value of .     

Ancient relative and absolute ages for a basaltic meteorite: Implications for timescales of planetesimal accretion and differentiation

Asuka 881394 is a unique basaltic meteorite that originated in the crust of a differentiated planetesimal in the early Solar System. We present high precision Pb, Mg, and Cr isotopic compositions of bulk samples and mineral separates from this achondrite. A ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb internal isochron obtained from the radiogenic pyroxene and whole-rock fractions of Asuka 881394 yields an absolute age of 4566.5 ± 0.2 Ma, which we consider to be the best estimate for the crystallization age of this basaltic achondrite. The ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg systematics show some evidence of disturbance, but 5 of the 6 analyzed whole-rock and mineral fractions define an isochron corresponding to a ²⁷Al/²⁶Al ratio of (1.28 ± 0.07) × 10⁻⁶. Comparison with the ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg and Pb-Pb systematics in the D’Orbigny achondrite translates to a ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg age of 4565.4 ± 0.2 Ma for Asuka 881394. The ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr systematics in whole-rock, silicate and chromite fractions correspond to a ⁵³Mn/⁵⁵Mn ratio of (3.85 ± 0.23) × 10⁻⁶. Compared to the most precise ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr and Pb-Pb systematics available for the D’Orbigny angrite, this translates to a ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr age of 4565.3 ± 0.4 Ma; similarly, a comparison with the NWA 4801 angrite yields a ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr age of 4565.5 ± 0.4 Ma, in agreement with the age obtained relative to D’Orbigny. While the ²⁶Al-²⁶Mg and ⁵³Mn-⁵³Cr ages appear to be concordant in Asuka 881394, these ages are ∼1 Ma younger than its ²⁰⁷Pb-²⁰⁶Pb age. This discordance might have been caused by one or more of several reasons, including differences in the closure temperatures for Pb versus Cr and Mg diffusion in their host minerals combined with slow cooling of the parent body as well as differential resetting of isotopic systems by a process other than volume diffusion, e.g., shock metamorphism. The ancient age of Asuka 881394 suggests that basaltic volcanism on its parent planetesimal occurred within ∼3 Ma of the formation of earliest solids in the Solar System, essentially contemporaneously with chondrule formation. This requires that the Asuka 881394 parent body was fully accreted within ∼500,000 yrs of Solar System formation.     

A local spatial decision support system for developing countries based on MCA,fuzzy sets and OWA – case study of a municipality in Cuba

This paper presents a Spatial Decision Support System for local governments of developing countries. It allows municipality government, enterprises, scientific community and civil society to address decision problems using GIS. The framework is supported by four modules of information technologies: Environmental Decision Support Database, Data Manipulation, Decision Support, and Mapping. A case study is presented covering the implementation of this framework in one municipality of Cuba. An example of land suitability planning for coconut crops is used to evaluate the system performance and usability. Results show local municipalities are able to use this framework to solve local decision problems using state of the art decision making even with low infrastructure development.     

The early differentiation history of Mars from W-Nd isotope systematics in the SNC meteorites

We report here the results of an investigation of W and Nd isotopes in the SNC (Shergottite-Nakhlite-Chassignite (martian)) meteorites. We have determined that ε¹⁸²W values in the nakhlites are uniform within analytical uncertainties and have an average value of ∼3. Also, while ε¹⁸²W values in the shergottites have a limited range (from 0.3-0.7), their ε¹⁴²Nd values vary considerably (from −0.2-0.9). There appears to be no correlation between ε¹⁸²W and ε¹⁴²Nd in the nakhlites and shergottites. These results shed new light on early differentiation processes on Mars, particularly on the timing and nature of fractionation in silicate reservoirs. Assuming a two-stage model, the metallic core is estimated to have formed at ∼12 Myr after the beginning of the solar system. Major silicate differentiation established the nakhlite source reservoir before ∼4542 Ma and the shergottite source reservoirs at 4525 Ma. These ages imply that, within the uncertainties afforded by the ¹⁸²Hf-¹⁸²W and ¹⁴⁶Sm-¹⁴²Nd chronometers, the silicate differentiation events that established the source reservoirs of the nakhlites and shergottites may have occurred contemporaneously, possibly during crystallization of a global magma ocean. The distinct ¹⁸²W-¹⁴²Nd isotope systematics in the nakhlites and the shergottites imply the presence of at least three isotopically distinct silicate reservoirs on Mars, two of which are depleted in incompatible lithophile elements relative to chondrites, and the third is enriched. The two depleted silicate reservoirs most likely reside in the Martian mantle, while the enriched reservoir could be either in the crust or the mantle. Therefore, the ¹⁸²W-¹⁴²Nd isotope systematics indicate that the nakhlites and the shergottites originated from distinct source reservoirs and cannot be petrogenetically related. A further implication is that the source reservoirs of the nakhlites and shergottites on Mars have been isolated since their establishment before ∼4.5 Ga. Therefore, there has been no giant impact or efficient global mantle convection to thoroughly homogenize the Martian mantle following the establishment of the SNC source reservoirs.