Détermination de 87Sr86Sr dans les andésites cénozoïques et les laves associées de Sardaigne Nord occidentale (Italie)

Initial isotopic ratios of strontium have been determined in some calc-alkali rocks of Sardinia. The values of these ratios are from 0.7044 and 0.7047 in two basalts, and from 0.7063 to 0.7081 in five andesites. A dacite and a rhyolite have intermediate values of 0.7056 and 0.7058.It is suggested that increase of radiogenic strontium in andesite is most likely related to a contamination process involving water expelled from an underthrusting plate. This water also contributes to the increase in the potassium and related trace element contents in andesites.In spite of the${}^{87}\text{Sr}{}^{86}$Sr difference between basalt and andesite, a cogenetic relationship between these two kinds of rocks cannot be precluded     

Premieres datations par la methode K/Ar de quelques laves cenozoiques et quaternaires de sardaigne nord-occidentale

The K/Ar datings made on recent lavas of northwest Sardinia (Logudoro and Bosano districts) show that the calc-alkaline volcanism lasted about 11 m.y. It began at the Oligocene—Miocene limit and ended in the Middle Miocene.A Plio—Quaternary alkaline volcanic cycle followed the Middle Miocene sea transgression. These geochronological measurements complement a recent paleomagnetic study made on these Sardinian lavas.These data enable us to show that the northwest Sardinian volcanism is subsequent to the island drift. Thus, this movement would have ended in the Late Oligocene at the latest.

Résumé

Les datations K/Ar réalisées sur les laves récentes de Sardaigne nord-occidentale (régions du Logudoro et du Bosano) montrent que le volcanisme calco-alcalin a couvert une période de 11 M.A. environ; il a débuté à la limite Oligocène—Miocène pour s'achever au Miocène moyen. Un cycle volcanique alcalin d'âge plio—quaternaire a succédé à la transgression marine du Miocène moyen. Ces mesures géochronologiques complètent une étude paléomagnétique récente effectuée sur ces laves sardes. Ces données permettent de montrer que le volcanisme de la Sardaigne nord-occidentale est postérieur à la dérive de l'ile; ce mouvement aurait donc pris fin, au plus tard, à l'Oligocène supérieur.     

Experimental characterization of the impact of temperature and humidity on the breakdown of soil water repellency in sandy soils and composts

Soil water repellency is a widespread phenomenon with the capacity to alter hydrological and geomorphological processes. Water repellency decays with time, and the consequences are only of concern during the timescale at which the water repellency persists. This study aimed to characterize the influence of temperature and humidity on the breakdown of water repellency. Apparent contact angle measurements were carried out on samples consisting of sand treated with stearic acid as well as naturally repellent dune sands and composts. Temperature and humidity were controlled using a cooled incubator and a purpose designed enclosed box in which humidity could be raised or lowered. Results showed the contact angle of the stearic‐acid‐treated sands decayed with time and that there was a significant increase with stearic acid concentration. For all samples, the decay in apparent contact angle could be described with a continuous breakdown model. The stearic‐acid‐treated sands showed a significant increase in contact angle with relative humidity at a temperature of 10 and 20 °C. These differences diminished with increasing temperature. Similar results were seen for the dune sands and composts. Despite the influence of temperature and humidity on contact angles, there was no significant change in the rate at which the contact angle decayed in any sample. Absolute humidity was found to provide a more relevant indicator than relative humidity when assessing the influence of humidity on repellency over a range of temperatures. The contact angle initially increased with absolute humidity before plateauing owing to the confounding effect of temperature. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Respiratory Rate and Assessment of Secondary Production in the Holothuroid Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata) from Mediterranean Seagrass Beds

Abstract. Respiration in Holothuria tubulosa was investigated in individuals from the Posidonia oceanica meadow off Lacco Ameno (Ischia Island, Italy). Respiratory rates increase with increasing body weight and increasing sea water temperature. Oxygen consumption of an average individual (7g dw body wall) ranges from 0.409 (14 °C) to 1.300 (26 °C) mg O₂· h^-1. Data on population density, mean size of individuals, and annual sea water temperature variations allow an assessment of holothuroid production. Values of 45.65 and 13.75 kJ · m^-2· y^-1 were calculated for shallow (3 to 10 m) and deep (25 to 33 m) areas of the Posidonia meadow, respectively. Holothuroid production shows a bathymetric pattern similar to primary production of the Posidonia -epiphytes complex and the production of Posidonia litter.     

Petrology of tholeiitic lavas from Tanna Island (New Hebrides): Importance of cumulative processes in Island arc magmatism

Tanna, one of the southernmost islands of the New Hebrides volcanic arc, is made of Late Pliocene to Recent island arc tholeiitic basalts and andesites, with SiO₂ contents ranging from 45 to 57%. These lavas are highly porphyritic (30–50% in volume): phenocrysts of plagioclase are the most abundant, together with olivine and clinopyroxene. The groundmass contain plagioclase, augite, olivine, magnetite and glass; pigeonite, tridymite, sanidine and, rarely, biotite may also occur. The olivines and clinopyroxenes show an iron enrichment from the cores of phenocrysts to their rims and the groundmass crystals, but their compositional variations are not correlated with the Mg/Fe ratio of bulk host rocks, the most Fe-rich compositions being found in Mg-rich lavas. Plagioclase compositions range from An₉₅ to An₆₀ in the basalts and An₆₀ to An₅₀ in the andesites, but, within each group, they are not correlated with SiO₂ or Na₂O contents of host lavas. Consequently, the bulk major element compositions of Tanna volcanic rocks cannot be considered as primarily controlled by crystal separation from successive liquids. The oxyde-SiO₂ variations diagrams, and the modal compositions and mineral chemistry show that crystal accumulation is the predominant mechanism accounting for bulk rock compositions. However, this does not exclude fractional crystallization: the variation of the calculated groundmass mineralogy strongly suggest the occurrence of crystal removal mainly clinopyroxene and magnetite.     

Mass transfer controlled by fracturing in micritic carbonate rocks

The fractured Coniacian chalk from the Omey area (Paris Basin, France) displays strong evidence of modifications controlled by brittle deformation. Fracturing is associated with important changes in pore space (decrease in total porosity and pore interconnection, change in distribution of pore access diameters and capillary characteristics), nannofacies (gradual evolution from a point-contact fabric to a welded, interlocked or coalescent fabric) and chemical composition (Sr concentration decrease). These modifications result from fluid–rock interaction that control significant mass transfer (percentage of secondary calcite >50%). Sr is a remarkable indicator of these mass transfers. Sr analyses allowed us to prove that the deformed zone (26.7 m) is wider than the fractured zone (11.3 m). They also indicate that the footwall block is less affected than the hanging wall block. A physicochemical model of the deformation mechanism is proposed. It shows that a cyclic process of fracturing controls the temporal evolution of the fluid saturation and fluid pressure and, consequently, the mass transfer.     

Rare-earth elements in high-alumina basaltic rocks from Sardinia

High-alumina basalts and basic andesites, which represent the most “primitive” magma types of the Cenozoic andesitic series of Sardinia, show a spatial chemical zonation with respect to REE. The basaltic rocks from the northern and south-central part of the island have REE patterns typical of calc-alkaline rocks with an enrichment of light REE and fractionation of heavy REE. In contrast, those from the southernmost part have a pattern similar to typical continental tholeiites with only a small light-REE enrichment and unfractionated heavy REE.The present data suggest that basaltic rocks may be formed by anatexis of upper-mantle material with mineral assemblages containing either garnet (calc-alkaline rocks) or spinel (rocks of tholeiitic affinities). The presence of garnet or spinel could merely reflect mineral phase transformation and indicates a different depth of fusion for the various types of basaltic rocks with those of tholeiitic affinities originating at a shallower depth than the calcalkaline rocks. The REE data are consistent with the generation of the basaltic rocks by partial melting of mantle peridotite overlying a subducted plate.     

Post-collisional transition from calc-alkaline to alkaline volcanism during the Neogene in Oranie (Algeria): magmatic expression of a slab breakoff

During the Neogene, a magmatic change from calc-alkaline to alkaline types occurred in all the regions surrounding the western Mediterranean. This change has been studied in Oranie (western Algeria). In this area, potassic to shoshonitic calc-alkaline andesites (with La/Nb ratios in the range 4–6) were mainly erupted between 12 and 9 Ma. They were followed (between 10 and 7 Ma) by basalts displaying geochemical features which are transitional between calc-alkaline and alkaline lavas (La/Nb=1–1.7). After a ca. 3-Ma quiescence period, volcanic activity resumed, with the eruption of OIB-type alkaline basalts (La/Nb=0.5–0.6), from 4 to 0.8 Ma. A combined geochemical approach, using incompatible elements and Sr, Nd and O isotopes, allows us to conclude that the transitional basalts derived from the melting of a heterogeneous mantle source, at the boundary between lithosphere and asthenosphere. We propose that melting of a previously subduction-modified lithospheric mantle occurred between 12 and 10 Ma, in response to the upwelling of hot asthenosphere flowing up into an opening gap above a detached sinking slab. As a result, calc-alkaline magmas were formed. From 10 to 7 Ma, the transitional basalts were generated through melting of the boundary mantle zone between the lithosphere and the upwelling asthenosphere. During that stage, the contribution of the lithospheric source was still predominant. Then, as sinking of the oceanic slab progressed, the increasing uprise of the asthenosphere led to the formation and emplacement (from 4 to 0.8 Ma) of typical within-plate alkaline basalts derived from a plume-modified asthenospheric mantle.     

Biometry, Bathymetric Distribution, and Reproductive Cycle of the Holothuroid Holothuria tubulosa (Echinodermata) from Mediterranean Sea grass Beds

Abstract. Holothuria tubulosa individuals were sampled regularly at three different depths (6, 19, and 33m) over a 20-month period in a Posidonia oceanica meadow off Ischia Island (Italy). Biometrical analysis demonstrated that holothuroids have a well-marked size-related distribution according to depth, with the smallest individuals in the shallowest part of the meadow and the large ones in its deepest part. The observed distributions reflect the ability of H. tubulosa to grow more efficiently in areas of low water turbulence where Posidonia shoots are scattered and detrital food is more easily accessible. Recruitment takes place in the shallow meadow, and holothuroids with high reproductive potential only occur in the deep meadow. Small holothuroids (shallow individuals of similar sizes) may be either juveniles or sexually mature individuals; environmental constraints apparently restrict the growth of individuals and their gonads. There is a progressive downward migration of growing individuals when the whole population is considered, although at the level of the individual the migration occurs randomly. Accordingly, the size of a sexually mature individual is more a function of its past history in the meadow than of its real age.     

Petrology and geochemistry of the ignimbrites and associated lava domes from N.W. Sardinia

Cenozoic calc-alkaline ignimbrites and related lavas from N.W. Sardinia (Italy), which are closely associated with andesites, have dacitic to rhyolitic composition. The ignimbritic rocks underwent fractional crystallization dominated by plagioclase. The model calculations for REE, Ba, Sr, and Rb are consistent with the generation of ignimbritic magmas by partial melting of tonalitic rocks. P-T estimates for the crystallization of ignimbrites, which give temperatures in the range of 910 °–1070 ° C and P about 5 kb, imply a local increase of temperature in the crust, which is probably related to the ascending andesitic magma. The variations of trace elements indicate that associated andesitic rocks were contaminated by ignimbritic magma.