Metamorphic phase relations in orthopyroxene-bearing granitoids: implication for high-pressure metamorphism and prograde melting in the continental crust

In this work, the factors controlling the formation and preservation of high-pressure mineral assemblages in the metamorphosed orthopyroxene-bearing metagranitoids of the Sandmata Complex, Aravalli-Delhi Mobile Belt (ADMB), northwestern India have been modelled. The rocks range in composition from farsundite through quartz mangerite to opdalite, and with varying K₂O, Ca/(Ca + Na)_rock and FeO_tot + MgO contents. A two stage metamorphic evolution has been recorded in these rocks.
An early hydration event stabilized biotite with or without epidote at the expense of magmatic orthopyroxene and plagioclase. Subsequent high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism (∼15 kbar, ∼800 °C) of these hydrated rocks produced two rock types with contrasting mineralogy and textures. In the non-migmatitic metagranitoids, spectacular garnet ± K-feldspar ± quartz corona was formed around reacting biotite, plagioclase, quartz and/or pyroxene. In contrast, biotite ± epidote melting produced migmatites, containing porphyroblastic garnet incongruent solids and leucosomes.
Applying NCKFMASHTO T–M (H₂O) and P–T pseudosection modelling techniques, it is demonstrated that the differential response of these magmatic rocks to high-pressure metamorphism is primarily controlled by the scale of initial hydration. Rocks, which were pervasively hydrated, produced garnetiferous migmatites, while for limited hydration, the same metamorphism formed sub-solidus garnet-bearing coronae. Based on the sequence of mineral assemblage evolution and the mineral compositional zoning features in the two metagranitoids, a clockwise metamorphic P–T path is constrained for the high-pressure metamorphic event. The finding has major implications in formulating geodynamic model of crustal amalgamation in the ADMB.     

Isotope hydrological study of mean transit time in the granitic Strengbach catchment (Vosges massif,France): application of the FlowPC model with modified input function

Measurements of ¹⁸O concentrations in precipitation, soil solution, spring and runoff are used to determine water transit time in the small granitic Strengbach catchment (0·8 km²; 883–1146 m above sea level) located in the Vosges Mountains of northeastern France. Water transit times were calculated by applying the exponential, exponential piston and dispersion models of the FlowPC program to isotopic input (rainfall) and output (spring and stream water) data sets during the period 1989–95. The input function of the model was modified compared with the former version of the model and estimated by a deterministic approach based on a simplified hydrological balance. The fit between observed and calculated output data showed marked improvements compared with results obtained using the initial version of the model. An exponential piston version of the model applied to spring water indicates a 38·5 month mean transit time, which suggests that the volume in the aquifer, expressed in water depth, is 2·4 m. A considerable thickness (>45 m) of fractured bedrock may be involved for such a volume of water to be stored in the aquifer. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical alteration of tephra in the depositional environment: theoretical stability modelling

The study of the chemical stability of vitreous material in aqueous media is well‐established. There has to date been little consideration of the implications of variations in the chemical durability of tephra in Quaternary tephrochronology. Chemical alteration can take the form of cationic leaching from the matrix, or complete destruction of the silica network, either of which could constrain the ability to chemically identify distal tephra. Here we apply established models of vitreous durability to the published chemical analyses of a large number of Icelandic tephras in order to predict their relative durabilities under equivalent conditions. This suggests that some important tephras have relatively poor chemical stability, and that rhyolitic tephras are, in general, more stable than basaltic. We conclude that tephras should be expected to show predictable differential chemical stability in the post‐depositional environment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of oxygen isotope provenance in relation to solute content of bulk meltwaters at Imersuaq Glacier,West Greenland

Stable oxygen isotope analysis and measurement of several dissolved cations and anions of bulk meltwater samples have provided information about the hydrochemical environment of the glacial hydrological system at Imersuaq Glacier, an outlet tongue from the Greenland ice‐sheet, West Greenland. The samples were collected at frequent intervals during the period 20–28 July 2000 in a small (<20 L s^?1) englacial meltwater outlet at the glacier margin. The results document the following findings: (i) a marked diurnal variation of δ¹⁸O is related to the composition of oxygen isotope provenances, mainly near‐marginal local superimposed ice and basal up‐sheared ice further up‐glacier; (ii) a relationship is seen between all base cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺), SO₄^2? and δ¹⁸O, indicating that solute acquisition is provided by solid–solution contact with the up‐sheared ice—as the relationship with Cl^? is weak the influence of seasalt‐derived solutes is small in the area; (iii) when the melt rate is high, two diurnal maxima of δ¹⁸O values and solute concentrations are measured, and it is suggested that a snow meltwater component is responsible for the second maximum of δ¹⁸O—a short residence time leads to a delayed decrease in ion concentrations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distinct climate change synchronous with Heinrich event one, recorded by stable oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions in stalagmites from China

Uranium-series dating of oxygen and carbon isotope records for stalagmite SJ3 collected in Songjia Cave, central China, shows significant variation in past climate and environment during the period 20-10 ka. Stalagmite SJ3 is located more than 1000 km inland of the coastal Hulu Cave in East China and more than 700 km north of the Dongge Cave in Southwest China and, despite minor differences, displays a clear first-order similarity with the Hulu and Dongge records. The coldest climatic phase since the Last Glacial Maximum, which is associated with the Heinrich Event 1 in the North Atlantic region, was clearly recorded in SJ3 between 17.6 and 14.5 ka, in good agreement in timing, duration and extent with the records from Hulu and Dongge caves and the Greenland ice core. The results indicate that there have been synchronous and significant climatic changes across monsoonal China and strong teleconnections between the North Atlantic and East Asia regions during the period 20-10 ka. This is much different from the Holocene Optimum which shows a time shift of more than several thousands years from southeast coastal to inland China. It is likely that temperature change at northern high latitudes during glacial periods exerts stronger influence on the Asian summer monsoon relative to insolation and appears to be capable of perturbing large-scale atmospheric/oceanic circulation patterns in the Northern Hemisphere and thus monsoonal rainfall and paleovegetation in East Asia. Climatic signals in the North Atlantic region propagate rapidly to East Asia during glacial periods by influencing the winter land-sea temperature contrast in the East Asian monsoon region.     

Geochemical cycling in the Hooghly estuary, India

U–Th decay series isotopes, δ¹⁸O and Si measurements in the river estuarine waters and sediments of the polluted Hooghly estuary as well as the surface waters of the Bay of Bengal, its high salinity end member, are reported. Dissolved Si indicates that there are probably two mixing regimes, dissolved U behaviour is nonconservative and δ¹⁸O behaves conservatively in the overall estuarine region. Isotopes of reactive elements, viz. ²³⁴Th and ²¹⁰Po, are removed from the estuarine waters in <2 days and <1 month, respectively, which is due to high suspended matter (30–301 mg l⁻¹). ²²⁸Ra and ²²⁶Ra are profusely released into the estuarine waters in the low to mid-salinity regions.As expected, the opposite trend is observed in the case of estuarine sediments and suspended matter. Reactive isotopes of Th, ²¹⁰Pb and ²¹⁰Po are enriched, whereas Ra isotopes are depleted with respect to their parent nuclides in the estuarine sediments and suspended matter. ²³²Th/Al ratio appears well suited to study the distribution and mixing of the bed load sediments of the Ganga–Brahmaputra (G–B) and the Hooghly rivers with those from other rivers on the Bay of Bengal floor.     

Latitudinal variation of measured O3 photolysis frequencies J(O1D) and primary OH production rates over the Atlantic Ocean between 50° N and 30° S

The latitudinal variation of the photolysis frequency of ozone to O(¹D) atoms, J(O¹D), was measured using a filter radiometer during the cruise ANT VII/1 of the research vessel Polarstern in September/October 1988. The J(O¹D) noon values exhibited a maximum of 3.6×10^-5 s^-1 (2 sr) at the equator and decreased strongly towards higher latitudes. J(O¹D) reached highest values for clean marine background air with low aerosol load and almost cloudless sky. The J(O¹D) data, measured under these conditions and a temperature of 295 K, can be expressed by: % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaamOsaiaacI% cacaqGpbWaaWbaaSqabeaaiiaacqWF8baFaaGccaqGebGaaeykaiaa% bccacqWF9aqpcaqGGaGaaeyzaiaabIhacaqGWbGaaeiiaiaabUhacq% GHsislcaaI4aGaaiOlaiaaicdacaaIYaGaeyOeI0IaaGioaiaac6ca% caaI4aGaaiiEaiaaigdacaaIWaWaaWbaaSqabeaacqGHsislcaaIZa% aaaOGaaeiiaiaabIhacaqGGaGaam4uaiabgUcaRiaaiodacaGGUaGa% aGinaiaacIhacaaIXaGaaGimamaaCaaaleqabaGaeyOeI0IaaGOnaa% aakiaadofadaahaaWcbeqaaiaaikdaaaGccaGG9bGaaeikaiaaboha% daahaaWcbeqaaiabgkHiTiaaigdaaaGccaGGPaaaaa!5EE9!\[J({\text{O}}^| {\text{D) }} = {\text{ exp \{ }} - 8.02 - 8.8x10^{ - 3} {\text{ x }}S + 3.4x10^{ - 6} S^2 \} {\text{(s}}^{ - 1} )\] where S represents the product of the overhead ozone column (DU) and the secant of the solar zenith angle. The meridional profile of the primary OH radical production rate P(OH) was calculated from the J(O¹D) measurements and simultaneously recorded O₃ and H₂O mixing ratios. While the latitudinal distribution of J(O¹D) and water vapour was nearly symmetric to the equator, high tropospheric ozone levels up to 40 ppb were observed in the Southern Hemisphere, SH, resulting in higher P(OH) in the SH.     

羌塘盆地那底岗日地区中侏罗世层序地层与碳、氧、锶同位素响应

羌塘盆地那底岗日地区中侏罗世沉积了一套稳定的滨浅海相碳酸盐岩与碎屑岩地层,通过层序地层研究划分出五个三级层序。对其中四个层序内碳酸盐岩碳、氧、锶稳定同位素测试分析得出,不同层序、层序界面及层序内不同体系域的δ13 C、δ180、N(87Sr/86Sr)值均有明显的差异,并具规律性变化,整体上反映出研究区中侏罗世发生了多次海平面升降变化和气候、构造活动的演变,为层序地层研究提供了定量的地质地球化学依据。     

成矿流体演化与成矿物理化学

成矿流体是富含挥发分 (CO2 、CH4等 )是具有较高含盐度的特殊地质流体。本文讨论了在流体演化过程中挥发分的来源 ,指出主要来自水岩作用、有机质分解及地幔去气和岩浆 ;碱金属及卤素同样具有多来源的性质 ,以海水、含盐系淋滤、建造水为主要来源 ,含盐系重熔可以形成富含碱金属的成矿流体。流体演化过程中氢氧同位素、硫同位素的分馏主要与温度、水岩比值或硫源丰度有关。一个重要的结论是 ,成矿流体的形成主要与地质作用有关 ,而流体来源是次要的。海底热水流体的地球化学特征以高δ3 4 S值、中稀土富集及正铕异常为特征。本文总结了热水流体成矿物理化学条件 ,指出水热流体物相点 :1) 10 80℃ ,7.5× 10 8Pa水溶液与硅酸岩熔浆分熔点 ;2 )水溶液的第二个临界点是气水溶液的超临界点 (374.15℃ ,2 .2 1× 10 7Pa) ;3)水溶液的沸点 (≥ 10 0℃ ,≥ 1× 10 5Pa) ;4)水溶液的冰点 (≤ 0℃ ,1× 10 5Pa) ;5 )H2 O CO2 体系的不混溶温度点 (2 6 6℃ ,2 .15×10 8Pa[1 3 ] 等是重要的成矿相变点。