861 resultados para EPMA geochemistry
Resumo:
Forty-three core sections from Sites 434, 435, 438, 439, and 440 on the landward side and six core sections from Site 436 on the seaward side of the Japan Trench were obtained through the JOIDES Organic Geochemistry Advisory Panel for study of the origin and state of genesis of the organic matter associated with these continental slope, accretionary wedge, and outer trench slope sediments of the Japan Trench. The lipid fraction of these sediments is derived primarily from terrigenous organic matter and thus is allochthonous to the area. The associated kerogen fraction is of mixed allochthonous and autochthonous origin. The total organic carbon content seaward of the trench is less than that on the landward side. The composition of this organic matter is similar but not identical to that found in the landward side sediments. The organic matter within these sediments is in a diagenetic state in which geopolymerization of biogenic organic matter is nearly complete, but microbial alteration is still occurring.
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The modern Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) Ocean is a large oceanic source of carbon to the atmosphere1. Primary productivity over large areas of the EEP is limited by silicic acid and iron availability, and because of this constraint the organic carbon export to the deep ocean is unable to compensate for the outgassing of carbon dioxide that occurs through upwelling of deep waters. It has been suggested that the delivery of dust-borne iron to the glacial ocean could have increased primary productivity and enhanced deep-sea carbon export in this region, lowering atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations during glacial periods. Such a role for the EEP is supported by higher organic carbon burial rates documented in underlying glacial sediments but lower opal accumulation rates cast doubts on the importance of the EEP as an oceanic region for significant glacial carbon dioxide drawdown. Here we present a new silicon isotope record that suggests the paradoxical decline in opal accumulation rate in the glacial EEP results from a decrease in the silicon to carbon uptake ratio of diatoms under conditions of increased iron availability from enhanced dust input. Consequently, our study supports the idea of an invigorated biological pump in this region during the last glacial period that could have contributed to glacial carbon dioxide drawdown. Additionally, using evidence from silicon and nitrogen isotope changes, we infer that, in contrast to the modern situation, the biological productivity in this region is not constrained by the availability of iron, silicon and nitrogen during the glacial period. We hypothesize that an invigorated biological carbon dioxide pump constrained perhaps only by phosphorus limitation was a more common occurrence in low-latitude areas of the glacial ocean.
Resumo:
Newly sampled basaltic andesites and andesites from the tholeiitic Ferrar Supergroup of northern Victoria Land and George V Land, Antarctica, are attributed to the known low-Ti and high-Ti series. Aside from known sparsely distributed high-Ti extrusives, a high-Ti sill was found in the Alamein Range outside the Rennick Graben. Low-Ti lavas, sills and dikes display wide petrographical, mineral and geochemical variations, reflecting extensive in-situ differentiation. High-Ti rocks from Litell Rocks are homogeneous with respect to mineralogy and geochemistry, minor deviations are shown by the sampled sill. Chilled margins of low-Ti sills, dikes and lava flows exhibit nearly constant bulk-rock chemistry (mg# ~60) within the studied area. Compared to chilled margins from Tasmanian sills, the striking uniformity of the pre-emplacement chemistry of Ferrar magmas over large distances supports the magma transport model of Elliot et al. (1999, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(99)00023-0). In the area investigated, compositional variations within the low-Ti series, caused by in-situ differentiation, increase towards the Wilson-Bowers Terrane boundary, possibly displaying the asymmetrical distribution of outcrops over this area. Absence of Ferrar occurrences east of the Bowers Terrane remains a matter of palaeo-geodynamic discussion. Besides, the secondary mineralogy of extrusives from Litell Rocks and Monument Nunataks exhibits noticeable differences, which indicates an elevated thermal gradient in the vicinity of Litell Rocks compared to Monument Nunataks during the Cretaceous.
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Lakes Prespa and Ohrid, in the Balkan region, are considered to be amongst the oldest lakes in Europe. Both lakes are hydraulically connected via karst aquifers. From Lake Ohrid, several sediment cores up to 15 m long have been studied over the last few years. Here, we document the first long sediment record from nearby Lake Prespa to clarify the influence of Lake Prespa on Lake Ohrid and the environmental history of the region. Radiocarbon dating and dated tephra layers provide robust age control and indicate that the 10.5 m long sediment record from Lake Prespa reaches back to 48 ka. Glacial sedimentation is characterized by low organic matter content and absence of carbonates in the sediments, which indicate oligotrophic conditions in both lakes. Holocene sedimentation is characterized by particularly high carbonate content in Lake Ohrid and by particularly high organic matter content in Lake Prespa, which indicates a shift towards more mesotrophic conditions in the latter. Long-term environmental change and short-term events, such as related to the Heinrich events during the Pleistocene or the 8.2 ka cooling event during the Holocene, are well recorded in both lakes, but are only evident in certain proxies. The comparison of the sediment cores from both lakes indicates that environmental change affects particularly the trophic state of Lake Prespa due to its lower volume and water depth.
Resumo:
Measurements of benthic foraminiferal cadmium:calcium (Cd/Ca) have indicated that the glacial-interglacial change in deep North Pacific phosphate (PO4) concentration was minimal, which has been taken by some workers as a sign that the biological pump did not store more carbon in the deep glacial ocean. Here we present sedimentary redox-sensitive trace metal records from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 882 (NW subarctic Pacific, water depth 3244 m) to make inferences about changes in deep North Pacific oxygenation - and thus respired carbon storage - over the past 150,000 yr. These observations are complemented with biogenic barium and opal measurements as indicators for past organic carbon export to separate the influences of deep-water oxygen concentration and sedimentary organic carbon respiration on the redox state of the sediment. Our results suggest that the deep subarctic Pacific water mass was depleted in oxygen during glacial maxima, though it was not anoxic. We reconcile our results with the existing benthic foraminiferal Cd/Ca by invoking a decrease in the fraction of the deep ocean nutrient inventory that was preformed, rather than remineralized. This change would have corresponded to an increase in the deep Pacific storage of respired carbon, which would have lowered atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) by sequestering CO2 away from the atmosphere and by increasing ocean alkalinity through a transient dissolution event in the deep sea. The magnitude of change in preformed nutrients suggested by the North Pacific data would have accounted for a majority of the observed decrease in glacial atmospheric pCO2.
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Oceanic sediments contain the products of erosion of continental crust, biologic activity and chemical precipitation. These processes create a large diversity of their chemical and isotopic compositions. Here we focus on the influence of the distance from a continental platform on the trace element and isotopic compositions of sediments deposited on the ocean floor and highlight the role of zircons in decoupling high-field strength elements and Hf isotopic compositions from other trace elements and Nd isotopic compositions. We report major and trace element concentrations as well as Sr and Hf isotopic data for 80 sediments from the Lesser Antilles forearc region. The trace-element characteristics and the Sr and Hf isotopic compositions are generally dominated by detrital material from the continental crust but are also variably influenced by chemical or biogenic carbonate and pure biogenic silica. Next to the South American continent, at DSDP Site 144 and on Barbados Island, sediments, coarse quartz arenites, exhibit marked Zr and Hf excesses that we attribute to the presence of zircon. In contrast, the sediments from DSDP Site 543, which were deposited farther away from the continental platform, consist of fine clay and they show strong deficiencies in Zr and Hf. The enrichment or depletion of Zr-Hf is coupled to large changes in Hf isotopic compositions (-30 < epsilon-Hf < +4) that vary independently from the Nd isotopes. We interpret this feature as a clear expression of the "zircon effect" suggested by Patchett and coauthors in 1984. Zircon-rich sediments deposited next to the South American continent have very low epsilon-Hf values inherited from old zircons. In contrast, in detrital clay-rich sediments deposited a few hundred kilometers farther north, the mineral fraction is devoid of zircon and they have drastically higher epsilon-Hf values inherited from finer, clay-rich continental material. In the two DSDP sites, average Hf isotopes are very unradiogenic relative to other oceanic sediments worldwide (epsilon-Hf = -14.4 and -7.4) and they define the low Hf end member of the sedimentary field in Hf-Nd space. Their compositions correspond to end members that, when mixed with mantle, are able to reproduce the pattern of volcanic rocks from the Lesser Antilles. More generally, we find a relationship between Nb/Zr ratios and the vertical deviation of Hf isotope ratios from the Nd-Hf terrestrial array and we suggest that this relationship can be used as a tool to distinguish sediment input from fractionation during melting during the formation of arc lavas.
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Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2), spanning the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary (CTB), represents one of the largest perturbations in the global carbon cycle in the last 100 Myr. The d13Ccarb, d13Corg, and d18O chemostratigraphy of a black shale-bearing CTB succession in the Vocontian Basin of France is described and correlated at high resolution to the European CTB reference section at Eastbourne, England, and to successions in Germany, the equatorial and midlatitude proto-North Atlantic, and the U.S. Western Interior Seaway (WIS). Delta13C (offset between d13Ccarb and d13Corg) is shown to be a good pCO2 proxy that is consistent with pCO2 records obtained using biomarker d13C data from Atlantic black shales and leaf stomata data from WIS sections. Boreal chalk d18O records show sea surface temperature (SST) changes that closely follow the Delta13C pCO2 proxy and confirm TEX86 results from deep ocean sites. Rising pCO2 and SST during the Late Cenomanian is attributed to volcanic degassing; pCO2 and SST maxima occurred at the onset of black shale deposition, followed by falling pCO2 and cooling due to carbon sequestration by marine organic productivity and preservation, and increased silicate weathering. A marked pCO2 minimum (~25% fall) occurred with a SST minimum (Plenus Cold Event) showing >4°C of cooling in ~40 kyr. Renewed increases in pCO2, SST, and d13C during latest Cenomanian black shale deposition suggest that a continuing volcanogenic CO2 flux overrode further drawdown effects. Maximum pCO2 and SST followed the end of OAE2, associated with a falling nutrient supply during the Early Turonian eustatic highstand.
Resumo:
Four petrographic lava types occur, ranging from aphyric to moderately phyric clinopyroxene-olivine tholeiitic basalts (Unit 1); olivine-clinopyroxene picritic basalts, sparsely to strongly olivine-phyric (Unit 3-type); olivine-clinopyroxene basalts (clinopyroxene dominant) (Unit 4); and moderately to strongly phyric two-pyroxene-plagioclase basaltic andesites (Unit 9-type). The olivine phyric lavas contain forsteritic olivines (extending to Fo92), and very magnesian Cr-rich spinels similar to those occurring in boninitic lavas. The basaltic andesites are mineralogically and petrographically indistinguishable from the modern Tofua Arc basaltic andesites, one notable feature being the highly calcic cores in plagioclase phenocrysts (up to An95). The forsteritic olivines, the Cr-spinels, and the calcic plagioclases are unlikely to have been precipitated in the lava compositions in which they occur, and are thought to have been incorporated from highly primitive melts by way of mixing processes (as advocated by Allan, this volume). Notwithstanding the evidence for mixing, the major element chemistries of the Unit 1- and Unit 9-type lavas are shown to be consistent with the derivation of the Unit 9-type basaltic andesites by means of fractional crystallization, through magmas of similar chemistry to Unit 1. Some trace element discrepancies in the modeling, and the relative volcanic stratigraphy of Site 839, however, preclude a direct liquid line of descent between the actual recovered units. Trace element data as well as TiO2 and Na2O data clearly illustrate the arc-like affinities of the magmas, with strong highfield-strength element depletion and large-ion-lithophile element enrichment. The abundance patterns are very close to those of the Tofua and Kermadec arc magmas, and also Valu Fa. Pb-, Sr-, and Nd-isotopic compositions indicate closest affinities with a "Pacific" MORB source, apparently characteristic of the western, older part of the Lau Basin. A subduction-related isotopic contribution is, however, inferred. The sources of the Site 839 magmas are thus inferred to be similar to, but less depleted geochemically, than those of the modern Tofua Arc magmas. The Site 839 sequence is interpreted as an older remnant of a volcanic construct of the "proto-Tofua arc", originally developed adjacent to the Tonga Ridge. Opening of the eastern Lau Basin, because of southward migrating propagators, has split and isolated the sequence, leaving it stranded within the modern Lau Basin.
Resumo:
Two igneous rock units were recovered at Site 841. More than 200 m of island-arc rhyolites, rhyolitic tuffs, lapilli tuffs, and pumice breccias, divided into five units, compose the basement at the site. These rhyolitic volcanics are late middle Eocene or older and formed part of a subaerial rhyolitic volcano. These low-K rhyolites were produced by fractional crystallization of a more mafic arc-tholeiitic lava or by dehydration melting of lower crustal arc tholeiites. The Site 841 basement rocks are similar in composition to high-SiO2 lavas in the Eocene basement on 'Eua and crystallized from depleted island-arc-tholeiitic basalts like those exposed on 'Eua. No evidence is present in the rhyolites, or in the clasts enclosed within them, for boninite series magmas at Site 841. The Site 841 rhyolitic complex bears no resemblance to Cretaceous rhyolites from the Lord Howe Rise, which are enriched in K and incompatible elements. The volcanic rocks at Site 841 are part of a widely distributed Eocene volcanic episode that marked the earliest phases of subduction in the Tonga region; they are not part of an older crustal fragment. The second igneous sequence is a series of basaltic dikes and sills that intruded Miocene sediments. These basalts have trace element abundances and ratios identical to upper Miocene lavas from the Lau Ridge. The Site 841 basalts do not have any geochemical characteristics that suggest they were generated by unusual thermal conditions in the shallow sub-forearc mantle. They are most reasonably interpreted as intrusions fed by basement dikes propagated from the associated active arc. No evidence for local serpentinite exposures, like those that are common in the Mariana forearc, was found at Site 841. The results from Site 841 provide strong support for hypotheses of forearc evolution that have been advanced for the Izu-Bonin-Mariana system.
Resumo:
We report mineral chemistry, whole-rock major element compositions, and trace element analyses on Hole 735B samples drilled and selected during Leg 176. We discuss these data, together with Leg 176 shipboard data and Leg 118 sample data from the literature, in terms of primary igneous petrogenesis. Despite mineral compositional variation in a given sample, major constituent minerals in Hole 735B gabbroic rocks display good chemical equilibrium as shown by significant correlations among Mg# (= Mg/[Mg + Fe2+]) of olivine, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene and An (=Ca/[Ca + Na]) of plagioclase. This indicates that the mineral assemblages olivine + plagioclase in troctolite, plagioclase + clinopyroxene in gabbro, plagioclases + clinopyroxene + olivine in olivine gabbro, and plagioclase + clinopyroxene + olivine + orthopyroxene in gabbronorite, and so on, have all coprecipitated from their respective parental melts. Fe-Ti oxides (ilmenite and titanomagnetite), which are ubiquitous in most of these rocks, are not in chemical equilibrium with olivine, clinopyroxene, and plagioclase, but precipitated later at lower temperatures. Disseminated oxides in some samples may have precipitated from trapped Fe-Ti-rich melts. Oxides that concentrate along shear bands/zones may mark zones of melt coalescence/transport expelled from the cumulate sequence as a result of compaction or filter pressing. Bulk Hole 735B is of cumulate composition. The most primitive olivine, with Fo = 0.842, in Hole 735B suggests that the most primitive melt parental to Hole 735B lithologies must have Mg# 0.637, which is significantly less than Mg# = 0.714 of bulk Hole 735B. This suggests that a significant mass fraction of more evolved products is needed to balance the high Mg# of the bulk hole. Calculations show that 25%-45% of average Eastern Atlantis II Fracture Zone basalt is needed to combine with 55%-75% of bulk Hole 735B rocks to give a melt of Mg# 0.637, parental to the most primitive Hole 735B cumulate. On the other hand, the parental melt with Mg# 0.637 is far too evolved to be in equilibrium with residual mantle olivine of Fo > 0.89. Therefore, a significant mass fraction of more primitive cumulate (e.g., high Mg# dunite and troctolite) is yet to be sampled. This hidden cumulate could well be deep in the lower crust or simply in the mantle section. We favor the latter because of the thickened cold thermal boundary layer atop the mantle beneath slow-spreading ridges, where cooling and crystallization of ascending mantle melts is inevitable. These observations and data interpretation require reconsideration of the popular concept of primary mantle melts and relationships among the extent of mantle melting, melt production, and the composition and thickness of igneous crust.
Resumo:
New major, trace element, and isotope data (Pb, Sr, and Nd) reveal an impressive compositional variation in the basalts recovered from Site 834. Major element compositions span almost the entire range observed in basalts from the modern axial systems of the Lau Basin, and variations are consistent with low-pressure fractionation of a mid-ocean-ridge-basalt (MORB)-like parent, in which plagioclase crystallization has been somewhat suppressed. Trace element compositions deviate from MORB in all but one unit (Unit 7) and show enrichments in large-ion-lithophile elements (LILEs) relative to high-field-strength elements (HFSEs) more typically associated with island-arc magmas. The Pb-isotope ratios define linear trends that extend from the field of Pacific MORB to highly radiogenic values similar to those observed in rocks from the northernmost islands of the Tofua Arc. The Sr-isotope compositions also show significant variation, and these too project from radiogenic values back into the field for Pacific MORB. The variations in key trace element and isotopic features are consistent with magma mixing between two relatively mafic melts: one represented by Pacific MORB, and the other by a magma similar to those erupted on 'Eua when it was part of the original Tongan arc, or perhaps members of the Lau Volcanic Group (LVG). Based on our model, the most radiogenic compositions (Units 2 and 8) represent approximately 50:50 mixtures of these MORB and arc end-members. Magma mixing requires that both components are simultaneously available, and implies that melts have not shown a compositional progression from arc-like to MORB-like with extension at this locality. Rather, it is apparent that essentially pristine MORB can erupt as one of the earliest products of backarc initiation. Indeed, repetition of isotopic and trace element signatures with depth suggests that eruptions have been triggered by periodic injections of fresh MORB melts into the source regions of these magmas. The slow and almost amagmatic extension of the original arc complex envisaged to explain the observed chemistry is also consistent with the horst-and-graben topography of the western side of the Lau Basin. Given the similarities between basalts erupted at the modern Lau Basin spreading centers and MORB from the Indian Ocean, the overwhelming evidence for involvement of mantle similar to Pacific MORB in the petrogenesis of basalts from Site 834 is a new and important observation. It indicates that the original arc was underlain by asthenospheric material derived from the Pacific mantle convection cell, and that this has somehow been replaced by Indian Ocean MORB during the last ~5.5 Ma.
Resumo:
Basalt samples recovered during DSDP Legs 68, 69, and 70 from a 550-meter-thick section in two holes near the Costa Rica Rift (Holes 501 and 504B) were found to contain the following secondary minerals: trioctahedral and dioctahedral smectite, chlorite, mixed-layer clays, talc, hematite, pyrite, foujasite, phillipsite, analcime, natrolite, thomsonite, gyrolite, aragonite, calcite, anhydrite, chalcocite, Fe-hydrosilicate, okenite, apophyllite, actinolite, cristobalite, quartz, and magnesite. A less positive identification of bismutite was made. A mineral rich in Mn and minerals with strong reflections at 12.9 Å and 3.20 Å remain unidentified. Trioctahedral smectite replaces glass and olivine in the basalt groundmass. The other secondary minerals occur in veins. The distribution of the secondary minerals in the basalt section shows both hydrothermal and oxidizing-nonoxidizing zonation. Most of the secondary minerals formed under alkaline, nonoxidizing conditions at temperatures up to 120° C. An acidic regime probably existed in the lowest portion of basalt. Oxidative diagenesis followed nonoxidative diagenesis in the upper part of the section. Oxidative diagenesis is characterized by the absence of celadonite, rare occurrences of dioctahedral smectite, and widespread hematite and phillipsite.
Resumo:
The concentration of dissolved Sr and the distribution of 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios in Leg 113 interstitial waters may be interpreted in terms of mixing of Sr from four different reservoirs: indigenous seawater, marine carbonate minerals, and basaltic and siliceous detrital material. The input to the pore water from these reservoirs is determined by the reactivity of the reservoir rather than its size. The presence of strontium derived from siliceous detrital material is unequivocally demonstrated in the pore waters of the hemipelagic deposits, and is also significant in the calcareous Maud Rise sediments due to the unusually low degree of carbonate recrystallization. Also, alteration of basic volcanic material is important at several sites.
Resumo:
We have studied the chemical zoning of plagioclase phenocrysts from the slow-spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the intermediate-spreading rate Costa Rica Rift to obtain the time scales of magmatic processes beneath these ridges. The anorthite content, Mg, and Sr in plagioclase phenocrysts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge can be interpreted as recording initial crystallisation from a primitive magma (~11 wt% MgO) in an open system. This was followed by crystal accumulation in a mush zone and later entrainment of crystals into the erupted magma. The initial magma crystallised plagioclase more anorthitic than those in equilibrium with any erupted basalt. Evidence that the crystals accumulated in a mush zone comes from both: (1) plagioclase rims that were in equilibrium with a Sr-poor melt requiring extreme differentiation; and (2) different crystals found in the same thin section having different histories. Diffusion modelling shows that crystal residence times in the mush were <140 years, whereas the interval between mush disaggregation and eruption was ?1.5 years. Zoning of anorthite content and Mg in plagioclase phenocrysts from the Costa Rica Rift show that they partially or completely equilibrated with a MgO-rich melt (>11 wt%). Partial equilibration in some crystals can be modelled as starting <1 year prior to eruption but for others longer times are required for complete equilibration. This variety of times is most readily explained if the mixing occurred in a mush zone. None of the plagioclase phenocrysts from the Costa Rica Rift that we studied have Mg contents in equilibrium with their host basalt even at their rims, requiring mixing into a much more evolved magma within days of eruption. In combination these observations suggest that at both intermediate- and slow-spreading ridges: (1) the chemical environment to which crystals are exposed changes on annual to decadal time scales; (2) plagioclase crystals record the existence of melts unlike those erupted; and (3) disaggregation of crystal mush zones appears to precede eruption, providing an efficient mechanism by which evolved interstitial melt can be mixed into erupted basalts.
Resumo:
The cyclic development of anoxic conditions in the eastern Mediterranean deep sea waters is one of the most fascinating research topics in paleoceanographic studies. In combination with bottom water stagnation, enhanced primary production is a common explanation for the deposition of organic-rich layers (sapropels). This is supported by extensive evidence from both geochemical and micropaleontological studies. The correspondence of recent sapropel layers with peaks of the lower photic zone coccolithophore species Florisphaera profunda has been interpreted as a proxy for the development of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), due to the pycnocline/nutricline shallowing into the lower part of the photic zone. We present millennial-scale data for coccolithophore assemblages from sediments across the most recent sapropel (S1), in the ODP Hole 964B drilled in the Ionian Sea. Relative and absolute abundances of taxa are compared with selected elemental composition of the bulk sediments. The Mn/Al and Ba/Al profiles are used to determine the original thickness of the S1 interval, and show that the upper part of S1 was affected by post-depositional oxidation of organic matter. The Nannofossil Accumulation Rate, defined by the number of coccoliths/cm**2/kyr, suggests that there is no evidence of increased productivity within most of the sapropel layer. In fact, coccolithophore production was at its minimum in the lower part. Minimum coccolith concentrations are reached despite the increase in F. profunda in both relative and absolute abundance. We suggest that the DCM deduced from the increased productivity of this species did not significantly contribute to the putative overall increased primary productivity during the deposition of most of the sapropel layer. Within the upper oxidized part of S1, coccolith accumulation was at least five times higher than in the lower part. This period of high coccolith productivity finds a counterpart in the increase of the Ba/Al ratio. The total concentration of coccoliths is again controlled by the amount of E. huxleyi, but it is also supported by concomitant increases in all the other groups, suggesting that coccolithophore productivity increased throughout the year and through the total vertical extent of the photic zone. At site 964, this is apparently the only moment when coccolithophores contributed substantially to the increased primary productivity generally assumed for the S1 layer.