Geochemistry on Yangla copper deposit, China

The Yangla copper deposit, situated in the middle section of Jinshajiang tectonic belt between Zhongza-Zhongdian block and Changdu-Simao block, is a representative and giant copper deposit that has been discovered in Jinshajiang-Lancangjiang-Nujiang region in recent years. There are coupled relationship between Yangla granodiorite and copper mineralization in the Yangla copper deposit. Five molybdenite samples yielded a well-constrained 187Re-187Os isochron age of 233.3±3 Ma, the metallogenesis is therefore slightly younger than the crystallization age of the granodiorite. S, Pb isotopic compositions of the Yangla copper deposit indicate that the ore-forming materials were derived from the mixture of upper crust and mantle, also with the magmatic contributions. In the late Early Permian, the Jinshajiang Oceanic plate was subducted to the west, resulting in the formation of a series of gently dipping thrust faults in the Jinshajiang tectonic belt, meanwhile, accompanied magmatic activities. In the early Late Triassic, which was a time of transition from collision-related compression to extension in the Jinshajiang tectonic belt, the thrust faults were tensional; it would have been a favorable environment for forming ore fluids. The ascending magma provided a channel for the ore-forming fluid from the mantle wedge. After the magma arrived at the base of the early-stage Yangla granodiorite, the platy granodiorite at the base of the body would have shielded the late-stage magma from the fluid. The magma would have cooled slowly, and some of the ore-forming fluid in the magma would have entered the gently dipping thrust faults near the Yangla granodiorite, resulting in mineralization.

(Table 1) Redox potential and chemical element contents in CaCO3 and amorphous silica free matter in surface layer bottom sediments of the Pacific Ocean from Hawaiian Islands to Mexico coast

Distribution of Fe, Mn, P, Ti, Cu, Ni, Co, V, Cr, W, Mo, and As in the surface sediment layer on the section from the Hawaiian Islands to the coast of Mexico (Mexico section) is studied. Contents of all studied elements increase from biogenic-terrigenous sediments off the coast of Mexico to pelagic red clays of the Northeast Basin, and more sharply for mobile elements - Mn, Mo, Cu, Ni, Co, and As. In near Hawaii sediments rich in coarsely fragmented volcanic-terrigenous and pyroclastic material of basaltic composition with high contents of Ti, Fe, V, Cr, W, and P, contents of these elements increase sharply, and contents of Mn, Mo, Ni, Co, and Cu for the same reason decrease sharply in comparison with red clay. Abnormally high contents of Mn, Mo, Cu, Ni, Co, and As in the upper layer of hemipelagic and transition sediments of the Mexico section result from diagenetic redistribution and their accumulation on the surface. Processes of diagenetic redistribution in hemipelagic and transition sediment mass of the Mexico section are more rapid than in similar sediments of the Japan section due lower sedimentation rates and higher initial concentrations of Mn. Basic similarity of element distribution regularities in sediments of Japan and Mexico sections is shown.

Chemical composition of manganese nodules from the Southern Pacific

Deep sea manganese nodules from the Southern Ocean have been studied using chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, optical mineragraphic and electron probe microanalysis techniques. The nodules were lower in manganese, iron and associated elements than the average grade of manganese nodules from other localities. A number of chemical relationships have been observed. Nickel, copper, cobalt, barium, zinc, molybdenum, strontium, sulphur and phosphorus are associated with the manganese rich phases and titanium with the iron rich phases. X-ray diffraction analysis and electron probe microanalysis results indicate that the manganese phases are similar to the disordered delta-MnO2 and "manganite" phases reported by other workers.

Geochemistry of bulk sediment from the Cape Basin

A technique for onsite application of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry to samples from sediment cores aboard a research vessel was developed and tested. The method is sufficiently simple, precise, and fast to be used routinely for high-resolution analyses of depth profiles as well as surface samples. Analyses were performed with the compact high-performance energy-dispersive polarisation X-ray fluorescence (EDPXRF) analyser Spectro Xepos. Contents of the elements Si, Ti, Al, Fe, Mn, Mg, Ca, K, Sr, Ba, Rb, Cu, Ni, Zn, P, S, Cl and Br were simultaneously determined on 200-225 samples of each core within 24 h of recovery. This study presents a description of the employed shipboard preparation and analysis technique, along with some example data. We show land-based datasets that support our decisions to use powder samples and to reduce the original measuring time for onboard analyses. We demonstrate how well the results from shipboard measurements for the various elements compare with the land-based findings. The onboard geochemical data enabled us to establish an element stratigraphy already during the cruise. Correlation of iron, calcium and silicon enrichment trends with an older reference core provided an age model for the newly retrieved cores. The Spectro Xepos instrument performed without any analytical and technical difficulties which could have been caused by rougher weather conditions or continuous movement and vibration of the research vessel. By now, this XRF technique has been applied during three RV Meteor cruises to approximately 5,000 Late Quaternary sediment samples from altogether 23 gravity cores, 25 multicorer cores and two box cores from the eastern South Atlantic off South Africa/Namibia and the eastern Atlantic off NW Africa.

Chemical and isotope compositions of main phases of metalliferous sediments from holes of DSDP Leg 92

The carbonate-free metalliferous fraction of thirty-nine sediment samples from four DSDP Leg 92 sites has been analyzed for 12 elements, and a subset of 16 samples analyzed for Pb isotopic composition. The main geochemical features of this component are as follows: i) very high concentrations of Fe and Mn, typically 25-39% and 5-14%, respectively; ii) Al and Ca contents generally less than 2% and 5%, respectively; iii) high Cu (1000-2000 ppm), and Zn and Ni (500-1000 ppm) values; and iv) Co and Pb concentrations of 100-250 ppm. In terms of element partitioning within the metalliferous fraction, amorphous to poorly crystallized oxide-oxyhydroxides removed by the second leach carry virtually all of the Mn, and about 90% of the Ca, Sr and Ni. The well-crystallized goethite-rich material removed by the third leach carries the majority of Fe, Cu, and Pb. These relations hold for sediments as young as ~1-2 Ma, indicating early partitioning of hydrothermal Fe and Mn into separate phases. Calculated mass accumulation rates (MAR) for Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni in the bulk sediment show the same overall trends at three of the sites, with greatest MAR values near the basement, and a general decrease in MAR values towards the tops of the holes (for sediments deposited above the lysocline). These relations strongly support the concept of a declining hydrothermal contribution of these elements away from a ridge axis. Nevertheless, MAR values for these metals up to ~200 km from the ridge axis are orders of magnitude higher than on abyssal seafloor plains where there is no hydrothermal influence. Mn/Fe ratios throughout the sediment column at two sites indicate that the composition of the hydrothermal precipitates changed during transport through seawater, becoming significantly depleted in Mn beyond ~200-300 km from the axis, but maintaining roughly the same proportion of Fe. Most of the Pb isotope data for the Leg 92 metalliferous sediments form approximately linear arrays in the conventional isotopic plots, extending from the middle of the field for mid-ocean ridge basalts toward the field for Mn nodules. The array of data lying between these two end-members is most readily interpreted in terms of simple linear mixing of Pb derived from basaltic and seawater end-member sources. The least radiogenic sediments reflect the average Pb isotope composition of discharging hydrothermal solutions and ocean-ridge basalt at the EPR over the ~4-8 Ma B.P. interval. Pb in sediments deposited up to 250 km from the axis can be almost entirely of basaltic-hydrothermal origin. Lateral transport of some basaltic Pb by ocean currents appears to extend to distances of at least 1000 km west of the East Pacific Rise.

Geochemistry on sediment profile PS69/335

During RV Polarstern cruise ANT-XXIII/4 in 2006, a gravity core (PS69/335-2) and a giant box core (PS69/335-1) were retrieved from Maxwell Bay off King George Island (KGI). Comprehensive geochemical (bulk parameters, quantitative XRF, Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) and radiometric dating analyses (14C, 210Pb) were performed on both cores. A comparison with geochemical data from local bedrock demonstrates a mostly detrital origin for the sediments, but also points to an overprint from changing bioproductivity in the overlying water column in addition to early diagenetic processes. Furthermore, ten tephra layers that were most probably derived from volcanic activity on Deception Island were identified. Variations in the vertical distribution of selected elements in Maxwell Bay sediments further indicate a shift in source rock provenance as a result of changing glacier extents during the past c. 1750 years that may be linked to the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Warm Period. Whereas no evidence for a significant increase in chemical weathering rates was found, 210Pb data revealed that mass accumulation rates in Maxwell Bay have almost tripled since the 1940s (0.66 g cm-2 yr-1 in AD 2006), which is probably linked to rapid glacier retreat in this region due to recent warming.

Analyses of Manganese nodules off Izu Island

Manganese nodules have been found by the author in the shallow waters of the Hyotan-se bank west of Shikime-jima, an island of the Izu archipelago in the Sea of Japan. The slopes around the bank are steep and rocks are exposed; gravels and coarse material cover the broad and flat plain on its top; andesite and basalt, which are very common in the bedrock, are found mingled with liparite gravels together with a number of manganese concretions from the bank.

Aerosols in the Arctic

In this monograph on the basis of materials obtained by the author and his colleagues in Arctic expeditions of 1991-2005 and of published data results of studies effect of aerosols on environmental conditions and marine sedimentation in the Arctic are summarizes. Processes of aeolian transport and transformation of sedimentary material from sources to places of its accumulation in bottom sediments are described. Results of this study can be used to assess current state of ecosystem of Arctic seas and as a background for evaluation of possible human impact on nature during exploration of mineral resources of the Arctic shelf. For oceanographers, geochemists, geoecologists.

Chemical composition of sediment core GeoB12309-5 from the northern Arabian Sea, its pore water profile and age depth relationship as well as CTD data obtained during cruise M74/3

The Arabian Sea off the Pakistan continental margin is characterized by one of the world's largest oxygen minimum zones (OMZ). The lithology and geochemistry of a 5.3 m long gravity core retrieved from the lower boundary of the modern OMZ (956 m water depth) were used to identify late Holocene changes in oceanographic conditions and the vertical extent of the OMZ. While the lower part of the core (535 - 465 cm, 5.04 - 4.45 cal kyr BP, Unit 3) is strongly bioturbated indicating oxic bottom water conditions, the upper part of the core (284 - 0 cm, 2.87 cal kyr BP to present, Unit 1) shows distinct and well-preserved lamination, suggesting anoxic bottom waters. The transitional interval from 465 to 284 cm (4.45 - 2.87 cal kyr BP, Unit 2) contains relicts of lamination which are in part intensely bioturbated. These fluctuations in bioturbation intensity suggest repetitive changes between anoxic and oxic/suboxic bottom-water conditions between 4.45 - 2.87 cal kyr BP. Barium excess (Baex) and total organic carbon (TOC) contents do not explain whether the increased TOC contents found in Unit 1 are the result of better preservation due to low BWO concentrations or if the decreased BWO concentration is a result of increased productivity. Changes in salinity and temperature of the outflowing water from the Red Sea during the Holocene influenced the water column stratification and probably affected the depth of the lower boundary of the OMZ in the northern Arabian Sea. Even if we cannot prove certain scenarios, we propose that the observed downward shift of the lower boundary of the OMZ was also impacted by a weakened Somali Current and a reduced transport of oxygen-rich Indian Central Water into the Arabian Sea, both as a response to decreased summer insolation and the continuous southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone during the late Holocene.