(Table 2) Chemical composition of gases in basalts from DSDP Leg 65 Holes

Basalts from different structural provinces in the ocean basins, such as mid-ocean ridges, island arcs, and oceanic plateaus, show marked differences in major and minor element composition stemming from differences in magma source. In addition, there are variations even within individual provinces, based on such processes as crystal fractionation, secondary alteration, and hydrothermal alteration. It is also known that hydrothermal processes can cause changes in the gas composition of submarine basalts. For example, Zolotarev et al. (1978) have established that hydrothermal alteration frequently causes an increase in the CO2 content of basalts. If the homogeneity in composition and concentration of organic gases in oceanic basalts is associated with degassing during epimagmatic alteration, it would be interesting to investigate the relative abundance of gas phases in young basalts from midoceanic ridges. This chapter deals with the distribution of organic gases and CO2 in young basalts recovered on Leg 65 from the Gulf of California. Our aim was to establish the relationship between gas composition and degree of alteration.

Chemical characterization and quantification of the brown algal storage compound laminarin

In search of a meaningful stress indicator for Fucus vesiculosus we found that the often used quantitative determination procedures for the polysaccharide laminarin (beta-1,3-glucan) result in different kind of problems, uncertainties and limitations. This chemical long-term storage form of carbon enables perennial brown algae in seasonally fluctuating ecosystems to uncouple growth from photosynthesis. Because of this high ecological relevance a reliable and precise method for determination and quantification of laminarin is needed. Therefore, a simple, cold water extraction method coupled to a new quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometrical method (LC-MS) was developed. Laminarin was determined in nine out of twelve brown algal species, and its expected typical molar mass distribution of 2000-7000 Da was confirmed. Furthermore, laminarin consisted of a complex mixture of different chemical forms, since fifteen chemical laminarin species with distinct molecular weights were measured in nine species of brown algae. Laminarin concentrations in the algal tissues ranged from 0.03 to 0.86% dry weight (DW). The direct chemical characterization and quantification of laminarin by LC-MS represents a powerful method to verify the biochemical and ecological importance of laminarin for brown algae. Single individuals of Laminaria hyperborea, L. digitata, Saccharina latissima, F. serratus, F. vesiculosus, F. spiralis, Himanthalia elongata, Cystoseira tamariscifolia, Pelvetia canaliculata, Ascophyllum nodosum, Halidrys siliquosa and Dictyota dichotoma were collected in fall (18.11.2013) during spring low tide from the shore of Finavarra, Co. Clare, west coast of Ireland (53° 09' 25'' N, 09° 06' 58'' W). After sampling, the different algae were immediately transported to the lab, lyophilized and sent to the University of Rostock. Laminarin was extracted with cold ultrapure water from the algal samples. Before extraction they were ground to < 1 mm grain size with an analytical mill (Ika MF 10 Basic). The algal material (approx. 1.5 g DW) was extracted in ultrapure water (8 mL) on a shaker (250 rpm) for 5 h. After the addition of surplus ultrapure water (4 mL) and shaking manually, 1 mL of the sample was filter centrifuged (45 µm) at 14,000 rpm (Hettich Mikro 22 R). The slightly viscous supernatant was free of suspended material and converted into a microvial (300 µL) for further analysis. The extracts were analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis (LTQ Velos Pro ion trap spectrometer with Accela HPLC, Thermo Scientific). Laminarin species were separated on a KinetexTM column (2.6 µm C18, 150 x 3 mm). The mobile phase was 90 % ultrapure water and 10 % acetonitrile, run isocratically at a flow rate of 0.2 mL min-1. MS was working in ESI negative ion mode in a mass range of 100 - 4000 amu. Glucose contents were determined after extraction using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Extracted samples were analyzed in an HPLC (SmartLine, Knauer GmbH) equipped with a SUPELCOGELTM Ca column (30 x 7,8 mm without preColumn) and RI-detector (S2300 PDA S2800). Water was used as eluent at a flow rate of 0.8 mL min-1 at 75 °C. Glucose was quantified by comparison of the retention time and peak area with standard solutions using ChromGate software. Mannitol was extracted from three subsamples of 10-20 mg powdered alga material (L. hyperborea, L. digitata, S. latissima, F. serratus, F. vesiculosus, F. spiralis, H. elongata, P. canaliculata, A. nodosum, H. siliquosa) and quantified, following the HPLC method described by Karsten et al. (1991). For analyzing carbon and nitrogen contents, dried algal material was ground to powder and three subsamples of 2 mg from each alga thalli were loaded and packed into tin cartridges (6×6×12 mm). The packages were combusted at 950 °C and the absolute contents of C and N were automatically quantified in an elemental analyzer (Elementar Vario EL III, Germany) using acetanilide as standard according to Verardo et al. (1990).

Chemical analyses of ODP Hole 105-647A basalts (Table 2)

Basalt samples recovered from the lowermost 37 m of Leg 105 Hole 647A in the Labrador Sea are fine- to medium grained, have microphenocrysts of clinopyroxene, and show little evidence of alteration. Chemically, these rocks are low potassium (0.01-0.09 wt% K20), olivine- to quartz-normative tholeiites that are also depleted in other incompatible elements. In terms of many of the incompatible trace elements, the Labrador Sea samples are similar both to iV-type midocean ridge basalts (MORBs) and to the terrestrial Paleocene volcanic rocks in the Davis Strait region of Baffin Island and West Greenland. However, significant differences are found in their strontium and neodymium isotope systematics. Hole 647A samples are more depleted in epsilon-Nd (+9.3) and are anomalously rich in 87Sr/86Sr (0.7040) relative to the Davis Strait basalts (epsilon-Nd +2.54 to + 8.97; mean 87Sr/86Sr, 0.7034). We conclude that the Hole 647A and Davis Strait basalts may have been derived from a similar depleted mantle source composition. In addition, the Davis Strait magmas were generated from mantle of more than one composition. We also suggest that there is no geochemical evidence from the Hole 647A samples to support or to refute the existence of foundered continental crust in the Labrador Sea.

Chemical composition of DSDP cherts and associated host sediments

Chert and associated host sediments from Monterey Formation and Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) sequences were analyzed in order to assess chemical behavior during diagenesis of biogenic sediments. The primary compositional contrast between chert and host sediment is a greater absolute SiO2 concentration in chert, often with final SiO2 >=98 wt%. This contrast in SiO2 (and Si/Al) potentially reflects precursor sediment heterogeneity, diagenetic chemical fractionation, or both. SiO2 concentrations and Si/Al ratios in chert are far greater than in modern siliceous oozes, however and often exceed values in acid-cleaned diatom tests. Compositional contrasts between chert and host sediment are also orders-of-magnitude greater than between multiple samples of the host sediment. Calculations based on the initial composition of adjacent host, observed porosity reductions from host to chert and a postulated influx of pure SiO2, construct a chert composition which is essentially identical to observed SiO2 values in chert. Thus, precursor heterogeneity does not seem to be the dominant factor influencing the current chert composition for the key elements of interest. In order to assess the extent of chemical fractionation during diagenesis, we approximate the precursor composition by analyzing host sediments adjacent to the chert. The SiO2 concentration contrast seems caused by biogenic SiO2 dissolution and transport from the local adjacent host sediment and subsequent SiO2 reprecipitation in the chert. Along with SiO2, other elements are often added (with respect to Al) to Monterey and DSDP chert during silicification, although absolute concentrations decrease. The two Monterey quartz chert nodules investigated, in contrast to the opal-CT and quartz chert lenses, formed primarily by extreme removal of carbonate and phosphate, thereby increasing relative SiO2 concentrations. DSDP chert formed by both carbonate/phosphate dissolution and SiO2 addition from the host. Manganese is fractionated during chert formation, resulting in MnO/Al2O3 ratios that no longer record the depositional signal of the precursor sediment. REE data indicate only subtle diagenetic fractionation across the rare earth series. Ce/Ce* values do not change significantly during diagenesis of either Monterey or DSDP chert. Eu/Eu* decreases slightly during formation of DSDP chert. Normative La/Yb is affected only minimally as well. During formation of one Monterey opal-CT chert lens, REE/Al ratios show subtle distribution changes at Gd and to a lesser extent near Nd and Ho. REE compositional contrasts between diagenetic states of siliceous sediment and chert are of a vastly smaller scale than has been noted between different depositional environments of marine sediment, indicating that the paleoenvironmental REE signature is not obscured by diagenetic overprinting.

Contents of major and noble chemical elements in phosphorites and bottom sediments

Ag and Au are typically concentrated in phosphorites; they genetically related to organic matter of bottom sediments that extract these elements from seawater or interstitial water. Consequently, the phosphorites inherit Ag and Au from host sediments that are not always enriched in them. In contrast to other organic-rich sediments, analyzed sample of recent diatom ooze from the Namibian shelf is not enriched in Ag and Au, although some sediments from this region are enriched in Au. In addition to authigenic Au, allochthonous Au associated with quartz grains and micrograins can also be present in shelf phosphorites. This was observed in oceanic phosphorites of various types. Anomalous Au and Fe contents recorded in one seamount phosphorite sample can be related to extraction of Au and nonferrous metals by ferromanganese hydroxides from seawater. This process can serve as one of major mechanisms of Au supply to ferromanganese crusts on seamounts. Phosphorites and sediments are enriched in Ru simultaneously with U. Author's data show that U content varies from 17 (seamount phosphorite) to 887 ppm (Pleistocene phosphorite nodule from the Namibian shelf). This is probably caused by different types of behavior of light and heavy PGEs in the marine environment.

Isotopic and chemical compositions of rocks and minerals from the TAG hydrothermal mound, ODP Site 957

Strontium- and oxygen-isotopic measurements of samples recovered from the Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse (TAG) hydrothermal mound during Leg 158 of the Ocean Drilling Program provide important constraints on the nature of fluid-rock interactions during basalt alteration and mineralization within an active hydrothermal deposit. Fresh Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB), with a 87Sr/86Sr of 0.7026, from the basement beneath the TAG mound was altered at both low and high temperatures by seawater and altered at high temperature by near end-member black smoker fluids. Pillow breccias occurring beneath the margins of the mound are locally recrystallized to chlorite by interaction with large volumes of conductively heated seawater (>200°C). The development of a silicified, sulfide-mineralized stockwork within the basaltic basement follows a simple paragenetic sequence of chloritization followed by mineralization and the development of a quartz+pyrite+paragonite stockwork cut by quartz-pyrite veins. Initial alteration involved the development of chloritic alteration halos around basalt clasts by reaction with a Mg-bearing mixture of upwelling, high-temperature (>300°C), black smoker-type fluid with a minor (<10%) proportion of seawater. Continued high-temperature (>300°C) interaction between the wallrock and these Mg-bearing fluids results in the complete recrystallization of the wallrock to chlorite+quartz+pyrite. The quartz+pyrite+paragonite assemblage replaces the chloritized basalts, and developed by reaction at 250-360°C with end-member hydrothermal fluids having 87Sr/86Sr ~0.7038, similar to present-day vent fluids. The uniformity of the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of hydrothermal assemblages throughout the mound and stockwork requires that the 87Sr/86Sr ratio of end-member hydrothermal fluids has remained relatively constant for a time period longer than that required to change the interior thermal structure and plumbing network of the mound and underlying stockwork. Precipitation of anhydrite in breccias and as late-stage veins throughout most of the mound and stockwork, down to at least 125 mbsf, records extensive entrainment of seawater into the hydrothermal deposit. 87Sr/86Sr ratios indicate that most of the anhydrite formed from ~2:1 mixture of seawater and black smoker fluids (65%±15% seawater). Oxygen-isotopic compositions imply that anhydrite precipitated at temperatures between 147°C and 270°C and require that seawater was conductively heated to between 100°C and 180°C before mixing and precipitation occurred. Anhydrite from the TAG mound has a Sr-Ca partition coefficient Kd ~0.60±0.28 (2 sigma). This value is in agreement with the range of experimentally determined partition coefficients (Kd ~0.27-0.73) and is similar to those calculated for anhydrite from active black smoker chimneys from 21°N on the East Pacific Rise. The d18O (for SO4) of TAG anhydrite brackets the value of seawater sulfate oxygen (~9.5?). Dissolution of anhydrite back into the oceans during episodes of hydrothermal quiescence provides a mechanism of buffering seawater sulfate oxygen to an isotopically light composition, in addition to the precipitation and dissolution of anhydrite within the oceanic basement during hydrothermal recharge at the mid-ocean ridges.

Chemical and isotopic compositions of lavas from the Broken Ridge and Southern Kerguelen Plateau

Lavas from several major bathymetric highs in the eastern Indian Ocean that are likely to have formed as Early to Middle Cretaceous manifestations of the Kerguelen hotspot are predominantly tholeiitic; so too are glass shards from Eocene to Paleocene volcanic ash layers on Broken Ridge, which are believed to have come from eruptions on the Ninetyeast Ridge. The early dominance of tholeiitic compositions contrasts with the more recent intraplate, alkalic volcanism of the Kerguelen Archipelago. Isotopic and incompatible-element ratios of the plateau lavas are distinct from those of Indian mid-ocean ridge basalts; their Nd, Sr, 207Pb/204Pb and 2078b/204Pb isotopic ratios overlap with but cover a much wider range than measured for more recent oceanic products of the Kerguelen hotspot (including the Ninetyeast Ridge) or, indeed, oceanic lavas from any other hotspot in the world. Samples from the Naturaliste Plateau and ODP Site 738 on the southern tip of the Kerguelen Plateau are particularly noteworthy, with e-Nd(T) = -13 to -7, (87Sr/86Sr)T=0.7090 to 0.7130 and high 207Pb/204Pb relative to 206Pb/204Pb. In addition, the low-e-Nd(T) Naturaliste Plateau samples are elevated in SiO2 (>54 wt%). In contrast to "DUPAL" oceanic islands such as the Kerguelen Archipelago, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha, the plateau lavas with extreme isotopic characteristics also have relative depletions in Nb and Ta (e.g., Th/Ta, La Nb > primitive mantle values); the lowest e-Nd(T) and highest Th/Ta and La Nb values occur at sites located closest to rifted continental margins. Accepting a Kerguelen plume origin for the plateau lavas, these characteristics probably reflect the shallow-level incorporation of continental lithosphere in either the head of the early Kerguelen plume or in plume-derived magmas, and suggest that the influence of such material diminished after the period of plateau construction. Contamination of asthenosphere with the type of material affecting Naturaliste Plateau and Site 738 magmatism appears unlikely to be the cause of low-206Pb/204Pb Indian mid-ocean ridge basalts. Finally, because isotopic data for the plateaus do not cluster or form converging arrays in isotope-ratio plots, they provide no evidence for either a quickly evolving, positive ?Nd, relatively high-206Pb/204Pb plume composition, or a plume source dominated by mantle with e-Nd of -3 to ~0.

Chemical composition of bottom sediments at DSDP Sites 91-595 and 91-596 and ODP Sites 114-701 and 129-801

Subducted sediments play an important role in arc magmatism and crust-mantle recycling. Models of continental growth, continental composition, convergent margin magmatism and mantle heterogeneity all require a better understanding of the mass and chemical fluxes associated with subducting sediments. We have evaluated subducting sediments on a global basis in order to better define their chemical systematics and to determine both regional and global average compositions. We then use these compositions to assess the importance of sediments to arc volcanism and crust-mantle recycling, and to re-evaluate the chemical composition of the continental crust. The large variations in the chemical composition of marine sediments are for the most part linked to the main lithological constituents. The alkali elements (K, Rb and Cs) and high field strength elements (Ti, Nb, Hf, Zr) are closely linked to the detrital phase in marine sediments; Th is largely detrital but may be enriched in the hydrogenous Fe-Mn component of sediments; REE patterns are largely continental, but abundances are closely linked to fish debris phosphate; U is mostly detrital, but also dependent on the supply and burial rate of organic matter; Ba is linked to both biogenic barite and hydrothermal components; Sr is linked to carbonate phases. Thus, the important geochemical tracers follow the lithology of the sediments. Sediment lithologies are controlled in turn by a small number of factors: proximity of detrital sources (volcanic and continental); biological productivity and preservation of carbonate and opal; and sedimentation rate. Because of the link with lithology and the wealth of lithological data routinely collected for ODP and DSDP drill cores, bulk geochemical averages can be calculated to better than 30% for most elements from fewer than ten chemical analyses for a typical drill core (100-1000 m). Combining the geochemical systematics with convergence rate and other parameters permits calculation of regional compositional fluxes for subducting sediment. These regional fluxes can be compared to the compositions of arc volcanics to asses the importance of sediment subduction to arc volcanism. For the 70% of the trenches worldwide where estimates can be made, the regional fluxes also provide the basis for a global subducting sediment (GLOSS) composition and flux. GLOSS is dominated by terrigenous material (76 wt% terrigenous, 7 wt% calcium carbonate, 10 wt% opal, 7 wt% mineral-bound H2O+), and therefore similar to upper continental crust (UCC) in composition. Exceptions include enrichment in Ba, Mn and the middle and heavy REE, and depletions in detrital elements diluted by biogenic material (alkalis, Th, Zr, Hf). Sr and Pb are identical in GLOSS and UCC as a result of a balance between dilution and enrichment by marine phases. GLOSS and the systematics of marine sediments provide an independent approach to the composition of the upper continental crust for detrital elements. Significant discrepancies of up to a factor of two exist between the marine sediment data and current upper crustal estimates for Cs, Nb, Ta and Ti. Suggested revisions to UCC include Cs (7.3 ppm), Nb (13.7 ppm), Ta (0.96 ppm) and TiO2 (0.76 wt%). These revisions affect recent bulk continental crust estimates for La/Nb and U/Nb, and lead to an even greater contrast between the continents and mantle for these important trace element ratios. GLOSS and the regional sediment data also provide new insights into the mantle sources of oceanic basalts. The classical geochemical distinction between 'pelagic' and 'terrigenous' sediment sources is not valid and needs to be replaced by a more comprehensive understanding of the compositional variations in complete sedimentary columns. In addition, isotopic arguments based on surface sediments alone can lead to erroneous conclusions. Specifically, the Nd/Hf ratio of GLOSS relaxes considerably the severe constraints on the amount of sediment recycling into the mantle based on earlier estimates from surface sediment compositions.

Chemical composition of bulk sediments from ODP Hole 199-1221C

A record of inorganic geochemical variability was produced from a contiguous sequence of 35 samples, with 1 cm spacing, recovered from Hole 1221C. This record covers from 153.91 to 154.27 meters below seafloor and spans the Carbon Isotope Excursion (CIE) associated with the Paleocene/Eocene boundary interval. Elemental concentrations were determined for Al, As, Ba, Ca, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, P, Si, Sr, Ti, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hf, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Pt, Re, Sc, V, Y, Zn, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu. Most concentration profiles exhibit a marked peak coincident with or just prior to the CIE. In addition, the rare earth element pattern exhibits a significant flattening of the typical, prominent negative Ce anomaly across the same interval.

Concentrations and accumulation rates of chemical elements and sediment components in sediments of central equatorial Pacific, DSDP data

Accumulation rates of Mg, Al, Si, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, opal, and calcium carbonate have been calculated from their concentrations in samples from equatorial Deep Sea Drilling Project sites. Maps of element accumulation rates and of Q-mode factors derived from raw data indicate that the flux of trace metals to equatorial Pacific sediments has varied markedly through time and space in response to changes in the relative and absolute influence of several depositional influences: biogenic, detrital, authigenic, and hydrothermal sedimentation. Biologically derived material dominates the sediment of the equatorial Pacific. The distributions of Cu and Zn are most influenced by surface-water biological activity, but Ni, Al, Fe, and Mn are also incorporated into biological material. All of these elements have equatorial accumulation maxima similar to those of opal and calcium carbonate at times during the past 50 m.y. Detritus distributed by trade winds and equatorial surface circulation contributes Al, non-biogenic Si, Fe, and Mg to the region. Detrital sediment is most important in areas with a small supply of biogenic debris and low bulk-accumulation rates. Al accumulation generally increases toward the north and east, indicating its continental source and distribution by the northeast trade winds. Maxima in biological productivity during middle Eocene and latest Miocene to early Pliocene time and concomitant well-developed surface circulation contributed toward temporal maxima in the accumulation rates of Cu, Zn, Ni, and Al in sediments of those ages. Authigenic material is also important only where bulk-sediment accumulation rates are low. Ni, Cu, Zn, and sometimes Mn are associated with this sediment. Fe is almost entirely of hydrothermal origin. Mn is primarily hydrothermal, but some is probably scavenged from sea water by amorphous iron hydroxide floes along with other elements concentrated in hydrothermal sediments, Ni, Cu, and Zn. During the past 50 m.y. all of these elements accumulated over the East Pacific Rise at rates nearly an order of magnitude higher than those at non-rise-crest sites. In addition, factor analysis indicates that some of this material is carried substantial distances to the west of the rise crest. Accumulation rates of Fe in basal metalliferous sediments indicate that the hydrothermal activity that supplied amorphous Fe oxides to the East Pacific Rise areas was most intense during middle Eocene and late Miocene to early Pliocene time.

Chemical composition of basalts and basaltic glasses from the Sierra Leone Fracture Zone region

Major and trace element (including REE) geochemistry of basalts and chilled basaltic glasses from the MAR axial zone in the vicinity of the Sierra Leone FZ (5-7°10'N) has been studied. Associations of basalts of various compositions with particular ocean-floor geological structural features have been analyzed as well. Three basaltic varieties have been discriminated. Almost ubiquitous are high-Mg basalts (Variety 1) that are derivatives of N-MORB tholeiitic melts and that are produced in the axial zone of spreading. Variety 2 is alkaline basalts widespread on the southwestern flank of the MAR crest zone in the Sierra Leone region, likely generated through deep mantle melting under plume impact. Variety 3 is basalts derivative from T- and P-MORB-like tholeiitic melts and originating through addition of deeper mantle material to depleted upper mantle melts. Magma generation parameters, as calculated from chilled glass compositions, are different for depleted tholeiites (44-55 km, 1320-1370°C) and enriched tholeiites (45-78 km, 1330-1450°C). Mantle plume impact is shown to affect not only tholeiitic basalt compositions but also magma generation conditions in the axial spreading zone, resulting in higher Ti and Na concentrations in melts parental to rift-related basalts occurring near the plume. T- and P-MORBs are also developed near areas where mantle plumes are localized. High-Mg basalts are shown to come in several types with distinctive Ti and Na contents. Nearly every single MAR segment (bounded by sinistral strike slips and the Bogdanov Fracture Zone) is featured by its own basalt type suggesting that it has formed above an asthenospheric diapir with its unique magma generation conditions. These conditions are time variable. Likely causes of temporal and spatial instability of the mantle upwelling beneath this portion of the MAR are singular tectonic processes and plume activity. In sulfide-bearing rift morphostructures (so-called "Ore area'' and the Markov Basin), basalts make up highly evolved suites generated through olivine and plagioclase fractionation, which is suggestive of relatively long-lived magma chambers beneath the sulfide-bearing rift morphostructures. Functioning of these chambers is a combined effect of singular geodynamic regime and plume activity. In these chambers melts undergo deep differentiation leading to progressively increasing concentration of sulfide phase, eventually to be supplied to the hydrothermal plumbing system.

Description and chemical composition of manganese nodules during R/V "Tyro" cruise APNAP 1 to the Madeira Abyssal Plain in 1986

The porewater and sediment composition of two boxcores and of a small gravity core, taken on a manganese-nodule-covered hill and in the Madeira Abyssal Plain proper respectively, are compared. The pore-water study of the two boxcores indicates that oxic conditions prevail in both cores. In addition, it indicates that no detectable fluxes of Mn or Fe occur from the porewater to the ocean bottom water. Variations in the geochemical composition of the sediments can be explained by fluctuations in the amount of carbonate, which acts as a diluting agent. A clear carbonate minimum is observed at 20-22 cm depth in the two cores. This minimum is likely to be associated with the last glacial period (10-20 kyr B.P.). This association is supported by the sediment accumulation rate of 15 mm/kyr as found by extrapolation from the rate for pelagic sediments in the Madeira Abyssal Plain. The bulk composition of the manganese nodules recovered from the submarine hill is chemically almost identical to the average composition of Atlantic nodules. The trace metal and Rare Earth Elements composition indicate a hydrogenous origin for the manganese nodules of this study. On the basis of the chemical composition, and that of nodules relative to that of the adjacent sediments, an average nodule accretian rate of 2.8-3.3 mm/myr has been calculated. Although the analyses of the entire ferromanganese nodules that have been studied seem to indicate a homogenous composition, internal structures of the nodules reveal great inhomogeneity, both visually and chemically. These fluctuations may be related to variations in the fluxes of Mn and Fe, which in turn could be climate-related.

Chemical composition of bottom sediments from the Baltic Sea

According to geochemical analyses carbonaceous sediments from deep basins of the Baltic Sea containing 3-5% of organic carbon are enriched in some metals such as Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Zn, V, and U relative to shallow-water facies of the Bay of Finland. These metals also enrich (relative to background values in clayey rocks) ancient carbonaceous shales, where the average Cu and V contents are slightly higher and that of Mo, Pb, and Zn lower than in deep-sea carbonaceous sediments of the Baltic Sea. In addition, the deep-sea carbonaceous sediments of the Baltic Sea are enriched (but less notably than ancient shales) in Ag, As, Bi, and Cd. These data confirm previous assumptions that carbonaceous sediments accumulating now in seas and oceans can be considered as recent analogs of ancient metalliferous shales.

Chemical and mineral compositions of altered peridotites from ODP Leg 209

Abyssal peridotite from the 15°20'N area of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge show complex geochemical variations among the different sites drilled during ODP Leg 209. Major element compositions indicate variable degrees of melt depletion and refertilization as well as local hydrothermal metasomatism. Strongest evidence for melt-rock interactions are correlated Light Rare Earth Element (LREE) and High Field Strength Element (HFSE) additions at Sites 1270 and 1271. In contrast, hydrothermal alteration at Sites 1274, 1272, and 1268 causes LREE mobility associated with minor HFSE variability, reflecting the low solubility of HFSE in aqueous solutions. Site 1274 contains the least-altered, highly refractory, peridotite with strong depletion in LREE and shows a gradual increase in the intensity of isochemical serpentinization; except for the addition of H2O which causes a mass gain of up to 20 g/100 g. The formation of magnetite is reflected in decreasing Fe(2+)/Fe(3+) ratios. This style of alteration is referred to as rock-dominated serpentinization. In contrast, fluid-dominated serpentinization at Site 1268 is characterized by gains in sulfur and development of U-shaped REE pattern with strong positive Eu anomalies which are also characteristic for hot (350 to 400°C) vent-type fluids discharging from black smoker fields. Serpentinites at Site 1268 were overprinted by talc alteration under static conditions due to interaction with high a_SiO2 fluids causing the development of smooth, LREE enriched patterns with pronounced negative Eu anomalies. These results show that hydrothermal fluid-peridotite and fluid-serpentinite interaction processes are an important factor regarding the budget of exchange processes between the lithosphere and the hydrosphere in slow spreading environments.

Phosphorylation levels of JAK2 after addition of increasing Epo-concentrations: model approach (Figure 5a)

The present dataset contain source data for Figure 5a from Schilling et al., 2009. Cell fate decisions are regulated by the coordinated activation of signalling pathways such as the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) cascade, but contributions of individual kinase isoforms are mostly unknown. The authors combined quantitative data from erythropoietin-induced pathway activation in primary erythroid progenitor (colony-forming unit erythroid stage, CFU-E) cells with mathematical modelling, in order to predict and experimentally confirmed a distributive ERK phosphorylation mechanism in CFU-E cells. The authors found evidences that double-phosphorylated ERK1 attenuates proliferation beyond a certain activation level, whereas activated ERK2 enhances proliferation with saturation kinetics. Phosphorylation levels of JAK2 at 7 min after stimulation for Epo concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 1000 U/ml were simulated.