Major element oxides, trace element content and isotopic ratios of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis

New results on the petrochemistry and geochemistry of dolerites from the Schirmacher Oasis shed light on the development of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The basalts and dolerites are petrologically identical to the rocks of western Dronning Maud Land (DML), which were previously studied and interpreted as a manifestation of the Karoo-Maud plume in Antarctica. The spatial distribution of the dikes suggests eastward spreading of the plume material, up to the Schirmacher Oasis for at least 10 Ma. The geochemical characteristics of magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis reflect the influence of crustal contamination, which accompanied both the ascent and spreading of the plume. The magmas of the initial stage of plume activity (western DML) appeared to be the most contaminated in crustal components. It was found that the geochemical characteristics of Mesozoic magmas from the Schirmacher Oasis are identical to those of enriched tholeiites from the Afanasy Nikitin Rise and the central Kerguelen Plateau (Hole 749), which indicates that their enrichment was related to the ancient material of the Gondwana continent. This was caused by the opening of the Indian Ocean under the influence of the Karoo-Maud plume. This process was peculiar in that it occurred in the presence of nonspreading blocks of varying thickness, for instance, Elan Bank in the central Kerguelen Plateau, and was accompanied by the formation of intraplate volcanic rises, which are documented in the seafloor relief of basins around Antarctica. The geochemical characteristics of igneous rocks from the resulting rises (Afanasy Nikitin, Kerguelen, Naturaliste, and Ninetyeast Ridge) indicate the influence of processes related to crustal assimilation. The magmatism that occurred 40 Ma after the main phase of the Karoo-Maud volcanism at the margins of the adjacent continents of Australia (Bunbury basalts) and India (Rajmahal trapps) could be generated by the Karoo-Maud plume flowing along the developing spreading zone. The plume moved subsequently and was localized at the Kerguelen Plateau, where it occurs at present as an active hotspot.

Chemical and isotopic compositions of basalts and glasses from lavas of the Sierra Leone fault site

According to detailed petrological, geochemical, and isotope-geochemical study, fragments of fresh pillow lavas with chilled glass margins dredged at the Sierra-Leone test site in the axial rift zone of the MAR between 5° and 7°N correspond to MORB tholeiites, which are not primitive mantle melts, but were differentiated in intermediate magmatic (intrusive) chambers. Small-scale geochemical and Sr-Nd isotope heterogeneities were established for the first time in basalts and their glasses. It was shown that some samples have significant nonsystematic differences in the 87Sr/86Sr ratio between basalts and their chilled glasses and less significant difference in e-Nd; higher Sr ratios can be observed both in glasses and basalts of the same lava fragments. No significant correlation is observed between isotope characteristics of samples and their geochemistry; it was also shown that seawater did not affect Sr and Nd isotope compositions of the chilled glasses from the studied pillow lavas. It is suggested that such differences in isotope ratios are related to small-scale heterogeneity of melts owing to incomplete homogenization during their rapid ascent to the surface. Heterogeneity of basaltic melts is explained by their partial contamination by older plutonic rocks (especially gabbroids) of the lower oceanic crust, through which they ascended to the surface of the ocean floor. The wider scatter of the Sr isotopic ratios relative to Nd ones is related to presence of xenocrysts of calcic plagioclase; correspondingly, absence of a Nd mineral carrier in the rocks results in less distinct Nd isotope variations. It was shown that all studied basalts define a single trend along the mantle correlation array in the Sr-Nd isotope diagram. Causes of this phenomenon remain unclear.

Chemical composition of minerals and rocks from the Sierra Leone segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and from the Markov depression, Central Atlantic

Silicic Fe-Ti-oxide magmatic series was the first recognized in the Sierra Leone axial segment of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 6°N. The series consists of intrusive rocks (harzburgites, lherzolites, bronzitites, norites, gabbronorites, hornblende Fe-Ti-oxide gabbronorites and gabbronorite-diorites, quartz diorites, and trondhjemites) and their subvolcanic (ilmenite-hornblende dolerites) and, possibly, volcanic analogues (ilmenite-bearing basalts). Deficit of most incompatible elements in the rocks of the series suggests that parental melts derived from a source that had already been melted. Correspondingly, these melts could not be MORB derivatives. Origin of the series is thought to be related to melting of the hydrated oceanic lithosphere during emplacement of an asthenospheric plume (protuberance on the surface of large asthenospheric lens beneath MAR). Genesis of different melts was supposedly controlled by ascent of a chamber of hot mantle magmas thought this lithosphere in compliance with the zone melting mechanism. Melt acquired fluid components from heated rocks at peripheries of the plume and became enriched in Fe, Ti, Pb, Cu, Zn, and other components mobile in fluids.

Strontium and rubidium isotopes in serpentinites from ODP Site 195-1200

Subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the Mariana forearc releases fluids to the overlying mantle wedge that ascend, producing serpentinite "mud" that discharges on the ocean floor. As part of Leg 195 of the Ocean Drilling Program cores were obtained from drill-holes into the mud volcanoes. We report the isotopic composition of Sr in water squeezed from intervals of the cores, in the serpentinite mud, in leaches of the serpentinite mud, and in entrained small harzburgitic clasts. Except in the upper few meters below the seawater-mud interface, where pore water approaches seawater Sr concentration and isotopic ratio, Sr concentration and isotopic composition remain constant at 3-6 µmol/kg and ~0.7054. Because the elemental chemistry of the pore water is unlike seawater, this isotopic composition reflects fluids derived from the subducted slab, probably modified by reaction with mantle material during ascent. Higher Sr isotopic ratios, up to 0.7087, - but not with higher Sr concentrations in pore water - occur superimposed on an advection profile at 13-16 mbsf surrounding a thin layer of foraminiferal sand. Since the upward seepage velocity of slab fluids in the mud volcano vents is a few cm/yr, exchange of Sr between these carbonates and the rising fluids must have occurred within a maximum of a few hundred years, essentially instantaneously given the millions, or tens of millions, of years the mud volcanoes have been in existence. In contrast, the strontium isotopic compositions of leached serpentinite mud, and of small harzburgite clasts entrained in the mud, are always significantly greater than that of the pore water. In small harzburgite clasts the ratio reaches 0.7088, almost as high as the seawater value of 0.7092 and much higher than the value of typical mantle-derived strontium of ~0.704. The serpentinite muds and harzburgite clasts clearly equilibrated with seawater Sr when they were initially deposited at the surface of the seamount, but following burial they have not fully equilibrated with strontium in the pore water now discharging through the vents. These variations in the strontium isotopic composition of solids and pore waters are more consistent with episodic expulsion of fluids in the subduction zone than steady state flow. Whereas strontium in carbonates equilibrates isotopically within a few hundred years, strontium in buried harzburgite clasts does not equilibrate in the same time, assuming steady state rates of upward fluid flow. By inference, the harzburgite clasts and associated serpentinite mud must have been near the seafloor, unburied, for a yet undetermined but much longer period of time to have equilibrated from ~0.704 to 0.709 prior to subsequent burial. It may be possible to characterize at least the periodicity of fluid release in the mud volcano setting by investigating the zonation of strontium isotopic composition of hartzburgite clasts throughout the 60-meter deep composite cores.

(Table 1) Characteristics of South Pole personnel according to forced expiratory flow (FEF25-75) response to altitude

The impact of acute altitude exposure on pulmonary function is variable. A large inter-individual variability in the changes in forced expiratory flows (FEFs) is reported with acute exposure to altitude, which is suggested to represent an interaction between several factors influencing bronchial tone such as changes in gas density, catecholamine stimulation, and mild interstitial edema. This study examined the association between FEF variability, acute mountain sickness (AMS) and various blood markers affecting bronchial tone (endothelin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), catecholamines, angiotensin II) in 102 individuals rapidly transported to the South Pole (2835 m). The mean FEF between 25 and 75% (FEF25-75) and blood markers were recorded at sea level and after the second night at altitude. AMS was assessed using Lake Louise questionnaires. FEF25-75 increased by an average of 12% with changes ranging from -26 to +59% from sea level to altitude. On the second day, AMS incidence was 36% and was higher in individuals with increases in FEF25-75 (41 vs. 22%, P = 0.05). Ascent to altitude induced an increase in endothelin-1 levels, with greater levels observed in individuals with decreased FEF25-75. Epinephrine levels increased with ascent to altitude and the response was six times larger in individuals with decreased FEF25-75. Greater levels of endothelin-1 in individuals with decreased FEF25-75 suggest a response consistent with pulmonary hypertension and/or mild interstitial edema, while epinephrine may be upregulated in these individuals to clear lung fluid through stimulation of beta2-adrenergic receptors.

Composition of matrix glasses and melt inclusions of fallout tephra from ODP Hole 125-782A

We studied the systematics of Cl, F and H2O in Izu arc front volcanic rocks using basaltic through rhyolitic glass shards and melt inclusions (Izu glasses) from Oligocene to Quaternary distal fallout tephra. These glasses are low-K basalts to rhyolites that are equivalent to the Quaternary lavas of the Izu arc front (Izu VF). Most of the Izu glasses have Cl ~400-4000 ppm and F ~70-400 ppm (normal-group glasses). Rare andesitic melt inclusions (halogen-rich andesites; HRA) have very high abundances of Cl (~6600-8600 ppm) and F (~780-910 ppm), but their contents of incompatible large ion lithophile elements (LILE) are similar to the normal-group glasses. The preeruptive H2O of basalt to andesite melt inclusions in plagioclase is estimated to range from ~2 to ~10 wt% H2O. The Izu magmas should be undersaturated in H2O and the halogens at their preferred levels of crystallization in the middle to lower crust (~3 to ~11 kbar, ~820° to ~1200°C). A substantial portion of the original H2O is lost due to degassing during the final ascent to surface. By contrast, halogen loss is minor, except for loss of Cl from siliceous dacitic and rhyolitic compositions. The behavior of Cl, F and H2O in undegassed melts resembles the fluid mobile LILE (e.g.; K, Rb, Cs, Ba, U, Pb, Li). Most of the Cl (>99%), H2O (>95%) and F (>53%) in the Izu VF melts appear to originate from the subducting slab. At arc front depths, the slab fluid contains Cl = 0.94+/-0.25 wt%, F = 990+/-270 ppm and H2O = 25+/-7 wt%. If the subducting sediment and the altered basaltic crust were the only slab sources, then the subducted Cl appears to be almost entirely recycled at the Izu arc (~77-129%). Conversely, H2O (~13-22% recycled at arc) and F (~4-6% recycled) must be either lost during shallow subduction or retained in the slab to greater depths. If a seawater-impregnated serpentinite layer below the basaltic crust were an additional source of Cl and H2O, the calculated percentage of Cl and H2O recycled at arc would be lower. Extrapolating the Izu data to the total length of global arcs (~37000 km), the global arc outflux of fluid-recycled Cl and H2O at subduction zones amounts to Cl ~2.9-3.8 mln ton/yr and H2O ~70-100 mln ton/yr, respectively - comparable to previous estimates. Further, we obtain a first estimate of global arc outflux of fluid-recycled F of ~0.3-0.4 mln ton/yr. Despite the inherent uncertainties, our results support models suggesting that the slab becomes strongly depleted in Cl and H2O in subduction zones. In contrast, much of the subducted F appears to be returned to the deep mantle, implying efficient fractionation of Cl and H2O from F during the subduction process. However, if slab devolatilization produces slab fluids with high Cl/F (~9.5), slab melting will still produce components with low Cl/F ratios (~0.9), similar to those characteristic of the upper continental crust (Cl/F ~0.3-0.9).

AMS and EBSD maps of rock salt - lamprophyre dyke contact zone, Loule diapir, Algarve basin, Portugal

A rock salt-lamprophyre dyke contact zone (sub-vertical, NE-SW strike) was investigated for its petrographic, mechanic and physical properties by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and rock magnetic properties, coupled with quantitative microstructural analysis and thermal mathematical modelling. The quantitative microstructural analysis of halite texture and solid inclusions revealed good spatial correlation with AMS and halite fabrics. The fabrics of both lamprophyre and rock salt record the magmatic intrusion, "plastic" flow and regional deformation (characterized by a NW-SE trending steep foliation). AMS and microstructural analysis revealed two deformation fabrics in the rock salt: (1) the deformation fabrics in rock salt on the NW side of the dyke are associated with high temperature and high fluid activity attributed to the dyke emplacement; (2) On the opposite side of the dyke, the emplacement-related fabric is reworked by localized tectonic deformation. The paleomagnetic results suggest significant rotation of the whole dyke, probably during the diapir ascent and/or the regional Tertiary to Quaternary deformation.

Water chemistry, and isotopic ratios and fatty acids and alcohols in Calanus finmarchicus CV, norther Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Fatty acid and alcohol profiles and stable nitrogen and carbon isotope values, d15N and d13C, of Calanus finmarchicus CV were studied in June 2004 to estimate their trophic status along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge i.e. the Reykjanes Ridge (RR), extending from Iceland in the north to the productive region of the Sub-Polar Front (SPF) in the south. Two main groups of stations were defined in the study area based on fatty acid (FA) and fatty alcohol compositions, the stations in the RR area constituted one group and the stations in the frontal area constituted another. The sum of relative amounts of the dietary FAs was significantly higher in the RR area than in the frontal area. Conversely, the long-chained FAs, 20:1 and 22:1, were found in significantly lower relative amounts in the RR area than in the frontal area, thus indicating later ascent of the animals in the frontal area. Further support of this is provided by the fatty alcohols ratio 20:1/22:1 which differed significantly between the two areas. The d15N values were significantly higher in the frontal area compared to the RR area indicating higher trophic position and/or different pelagic-POM baseline in these areas.

Chemical and isotopic compositions of basaltic glasses and crusts from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rift valley

Data presented in the paper suggest significant differences between thermodynamic conditions, under which magmatic complexes were formed in MAR at 29°-34°N and 12°-18°N. Melts occurring at 29°-34°N were derived by melting of a mantle source with homogeneous distribution of volatile components and arrived at the surface without significant fractionation, likely, due to their rapid ascent. The MAR segments between 12° and 18°N combine contrasting geodynamic environments of magmatism, which predetermined development of a large plume region with widespread mixing of melting products of geochemically distinct mantle sources. At the same time, this region is characterized by conditions favorable for origin of localized zones of anomalous plume magmatism. These sporadic magmatic sources were spatially restricted to MAR fragments with the Hess crust, whose compositional and mechanical properties were, perhaps, favorable for focusing and localization of plume magmatism. The plume source between 12° and 18°N beneath MAR may be geochemically heterogeneous.

Radiosonde profiles and meteorological observations during Atlantic Expedition M2 in 1965 (IQSY) of RV "Meteor"

A radiosonde is described for measuring the upward and downward fluxes of visible light in the atmosphere. Photoresistors are used as sensors, the optical center of the spectral range beeing at 0.55 µ. The results of these flux-measurements obtained during the Atlantic Expedition 1965 with the research vessel "Meteor" are presented. The datas have been divided into three groups according to the amount of cloudiness. In group a) (small cloudiness) the extinction coefficient of the prevailing linear radiation is derived as a function of the height. Characteristics of airmasses of maritime or continental origin are shown. In group b) (cloud covered sky) microphysical quantities are determined from the radiative lapse rate in the clouds. The average radius of droplets is found to lie between 5.5 µm and 14.4 µm. The albedo of cloud surfaces varies between 25% and 54%, the transmission values are between 58% and 73%. One ascent through a Cirrus cloud of considerable vertical thickness is treated seperately. The observed distribution of extinction is compared with theoretical values in water clouds leading to the same order of magnitude. The relation between the albedo of the surface of the sea and the amount of cloudiness is discussed.

Abundance of copepods from multinet samples during POLARSTERN cruise ANT-XXII/2 (ISPOL)

The mesozooplankton community, with special emphasis on calanoid copepods, was studied with respect to its species composition, abundance, vertical distribution and developmental structure during the ISPOL expedition to the ice covered western Weddell Sea. Stratified zooplankton tows were carried out nine times between December 1, 2004 and January 2, 2005 with a multiple opening-closing net between 0 and 1000 m depth. Copepods were by far the most abundant taxon contributing more than 94% of the total mesozooplankton. Numerical dominants were cyclopoid copepods, mostly Oncaea spp. A total of 66 calanoid copepod species were identified, but the calanoid copepod community was characterised by the dominance of only a few species. The most numerous species was Microcalanus pygmaeus, which comprised on average 70% of all calanoids. Calanoides acutus and Metridia gerlachei represented other abundant calanoid species contributing an average of 8 and 7%, respectively. All other species comprised less than 3%. The temporal changes in the abundance and population structure of M. pygmaeus and M. gerlachei were small while a shift in the stage frequency distribution of C. acutus was observed during the study: CIV dominated the C. acutus population with 48 to 50% during the first week of December, while CV comprised 48% in late December. CI and CII of C. acutus were absent in the samples and males occurred only in very low numbers in greater depths. In M. gerlachei, CI was not found, whereas all developmental stages of M. pygmaeus occurred throughout the study. All three species showed migratory behaviour, and they occurred in upper water layers towards the end of the investigation. This vertical ascent was most pronounced in C. acutus and relatively weak in the other two species. In M. pygmaeus and M. gerlachei, copepodite stages were responsible for the upward migration in late December, while the vertical distribution of adults did not change. In C. acutus all abundant developmental stages (CIV, CV and females) ascended to upper water layers. Almost exclusively (93%) medium- and semi-ripe females of C. acutus and M. gerlachei were found, and only 3 - 4% of the ovaries were ripe. The absence of CI and the low number of ripe females indicate that the main reproductive period had not started in C. acutus and M. gerlachei until the end of our study in early January. In contrast, the high portion of CI and CII of M. pygmaeus suggests that reproduction of this species had started in October-November and hence, before the onset of the phytoplankton bloom in the water. The community structure did not differ between stations with one exception on December 26, when the station was strongly influenced by the continental shelf.