Zooplankton and seston in the White Sea and its chemical composition

A technique of zooplankton net sampling at night in the Kandalaksha and Dvinskii Bays and during the full tide in the Onezhskii Bay of the White Sea allowed us to obtain "clean" samples without considerable admixtures of terrigenous particulates. Absence of elements-indicators of the terrigenous particulates (Al, Ti, and Zr) in the EDX spectra allows to conclude that ash composition of tested samples is defined by constitutional elements comprising organic matter and integument (chitin, shells) of plankton organisms. A quantitative assessment of accumulation of ca. 40 chemical elements by zooplankton based on a complex of modern physical methods of analysis is presented. Values of the coefficient of the biological accumulation of the elements (Kb) calculated for organic matter and the enrichment factors (EF) relative to Clarke concentrations in shale are in general determined by mobility of the chemical elements in aqueous solution, which is confirmed by calculated chemical speciation of the elements in the inorganic subsystem of surface waters of Onezhskii Bay.

Chemical and isotopic compositions of sediments from DSDP Hole 21-204

The highly depleted intra-oceanic Tonga-Kermadec island arc forms an endmember of arc systems and a unique location in which to isolate the effects of the slab flux. High precision TIMS uranium, thorium, strontium, neodymium, and lead isotopes, along with complete major and trace element data, have been obtained on an extensive sample set comprising fifty-eight lavas along the arc as well as nineteen samples of the subducting sediments at DSDP site 204 just to the east of the Tonga-Kermadec trench. Ca/Ti and Al/Ti ratios extend from values appropriate to an N-MORB source in the southern Kermadecs to very high ratios in Tonga interpreted to reflect increasing degrees of depletion of the mantle wedge due to backarc basalt extraction. The isotope data emphasize the need for four components in the petrogenesis of the lavas: (1) the mantle wedge; (2) a component with elevated 207Pb/204Pb towards which the Kermadec and southern Tongan lavas extend; (3) a component characterised by high 206Pb/204Pb, Ta/Nd, and low 143Nd/144Nd observed only in the northernmost Tongan islands of Tafahi and Niuatoputapu; (4) a fluid component characterised by strong enrichments of Rb, Ba, U, K, Ph, and Sr, relative to Th, Zr, and the REE and producing large 238U excesses ((230Th/238U) = 0.8-0.5) in the more depleted lavas. The mantle wedge (Component 1) is isotopically similar to the source of the Lau BABB. Component 2 is average pelagic sediment on the downgoing Pacific plate as observed at DSDP sites 595/596 and in the upper sections of the sediment pile at DSDP site 204. Mass balance calculations indicate that less than 0.5% is recycled into the arc lavas; essentially all the subducted sediment is returned to the upper mantle (~0.03 km**3/yr). Exceptionally low concentrations of Ta and Nb relative to Th and the LREE requires that this sediment component is added as a partial melt which was in equilibrium with residual rutile or ilmenite. Component 3 is identified as volcaniclastics from the Louisville Ridge which comprise the lower 44 m of the sediment section intersected at DSDP site 204. These volcaniclastics are spatially restricted to the vicinity of the Louisville Ridge and provide a unique sediment tracer which can be used to show that it takes 4 Myr from the time of subduction to its first appearance in the arc lava signature. Component 4, the fluid contribution to the lava source is inferred to contribute ~1 ppm Rb, 10 ppm Ba, 0.02 ppm U, 600 ppm K, 0.2 ppm Ph, and 30 ppm Sr. It has 87Sr/86Sr = 0.7035 and 206Pb/204Pb = 18.5 and thus it is inferred to have been derived from dehydration of the subducting altered oceanic crust. U-Th isotope disequilibria reflect the time since fluid release from the subducting slab and a reference line through the lowest (230Th/232Th) lavas constrains this to be 30000-50000 yr. The U-Th and Th-Ra isotope systematics are decoupled, and it is suggested that Th-Ra isotope disequilibria record the time since partial melting and thus indicate rapid channelled magma ascent. Olivine gabbro xenoliths from Raoul are interpreted as cumulates to their host lavas with which they form zero age U-Th isochrons indicating that minimal time was spent in magma chambers. The subduction signature is not observed in lavas from the backarc island of Niuafo'ou. These were derived from partial melting of fertile peridotite at 130-160 km depth with melt rates around 0.0002 kg/m**3/yr.

Geochemistry of ODP Leg 129 igneous rocks

This report presents all the available major and trace elemental analyses and Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic compositions of basaltic rocks recovered from Ocean Drilling Program Sites 800, 801, and 802 during Leg 129 (Table 1). Its main purpose is to provide other investigators a complete summary of geochemical data for Leg 129 basement basalts that they can use for later work. Detailed discussions of the data are presented elsewhere in the volume by Floyd and Castillo (Site 801 geochemistry and petrogenesis, dataset: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779154) Floyd et al. (Sites 800 and 802 geochemistry and petrography, dataset: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779129), Alt et al. (Site 801 alteration, dataset: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779207), and Castillo et al. (Sr, Nd, and Pb isotope geochemistry of Leg 129 basalts, dataset: doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.779191).

Chemical composition and age of metamorphic rocks from the Khavyven Highland, Eastern Kamchatka

Metamorphic rocks of the Khavyven Highland in eastern Kamchatka were determined to comprise two complexes of metavolcanic rocks that have different ages and are associated with subordinate amounts of metasediments. The complex composing the lower part of the visible vertical section of the highland is dominated by leucocratic amphibole-mica (+/-garnet) and epidote-mica (+/-garnet) crystalline schists, whose protoliths were andesites and dacites and their high-K varieties of island-arc calc-alkaline series. The other complex composing the upper part of the vertical section consists of spilitized basaltoids transformed into epidote-amphibole and phengite-epidote-amphibole green schists, which form (together with quartzites, serpentinized peridotites, serpentinites, and gabbroids) a sea-margin ophiolitic association. High LILE concentrations, high K/La, Ba/Th, Th/Ta, and La/Nb ratios, deep Ta-Nb minima, and low (La/Yb)_N and high 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the crystalline schists of the lower unit are demonstrated to testify to their subduction nature and suggest that their protolithic volcanics were produced in the suprasubduction environment of the Ozernoi-Valaginskii (Achaivayam-Valaginskii) island volcanic arc of Campanian-Paleogene age. The green schists of the upper unit show features of depleted MOR tholeiitic melts and subduction melts, which cause the deep Ta-Nb minima, and low K/La and 87Sr/86Sr ratios suggesting that the green schists formed in a marginal basin in front of the Ozernoi-Valaginskaya island arc. Recently obtained K-Ar ages in the Khavyven Highland vary from 32.4 to 39.3 Ma and indicate that metamorphism of the protolithic rocks occurred in Eocene under effect of collision and accretion processes of the arc complexes of the Ozernoi-Valaginskii and Kronotskii island arcs with the Asian continent and the closure of forearc oceanic basins in front of them. The modern position of the collision suture that marks the fossil subduction zone of the Ozernoi-Valaginskii arc and is spatially restricted to the buried Khavyven uplift in the Central Kamchatka Depression characterized by well-pronounced linear gravity anomalies.

Composition of ocean suspended matter

Compositions of different types of ocean suspended matter are under consideration.

Major and trace element composition of sepentine muds and metabasic rocks of ODP Leg 195 and Leg 125 sites

New geochemical data on serpentinite muds and metamorphic clasts recovered during Ocean Drilling Program Legs 195 (Holes 1200A-1200E) and 125 (Holes 778A and 779A) provide insights into the proportions of rock types of various sources that compose the serpentinite mudflows and the fluid-rock interactions that predominate in these muds. We interpret the metamorphic rock fragments as derivatives of mostly metamorphosed mafic rocks from the descending Pacific oceanic crust. Based on their mid-ocean-ridge basalt (MORB)-like Al2O3, TiO2, CaO, Si/Mg, and rare earth element (REE) systematics, these metamorphic rocks are classified as metabasalts/metagabbros and, therefore, ~30-km depths represent an active subduction zone setting. The serpentinite muds from Holes 1200A and 1200E have slightly lower REE when compared to Hole 1200D, but overall the REE abundance levels range between 0.1-1 x chondrite (CI) levels. The chondrite-normalized patterns have [La/Sm]N ~ 2.3 and [Sm/Yb]N ~ 2. With the exception of one sample, the analyzed metamorphic clasts show flat to slightly depleted light REE patterns with 1.0-15 x CI levels, resembling MORBs. Visually, ~6 vol% of the serpentinized muds are composed of 'exotic' materials (metamorphic clasts [schists]). Our mixing calculations confirm this result and show that the serpentinite muds are produced by additions of ~5% metamafic materials (with flat and up to 10 x CI REE levels) to serpentinized peridotite clast material (with very low REE abundances and U-shaped chondrite-normalized patterns). The preferential incorporation of B, Cs, Rb, Li, As, Sb, and Ba into the structure of H2O-bearing sheet silicates (different than serpentine) in the Leg 125 and Leg 195 metamorphic clasts (chlorite, amphibole, and micas) have little effect on the overall fluid-mobile element (FME) enrichments in the serpentinite muds (average B = ~13 ppm; average Cs = ~0.05 ppm; average As = ~1.25 ppm). The extent of FME enrichment in the serpentinized muds is similar to that described for the serpentinized peridotites, both recording interaction with fluids very rich in B, Cs, and As originating from the subducting Pacific slab.

Barium in seawater and sediments from the Artic Ocean

As part of ongoing circulation studies in the Arctic, seawater samples for dissolved Ba concentrations were obtained during Sep.-Oct., 1992 at several locations in the Bering Strait, Eastern Chukchi and Southern Beaufort Seas. The results reveal a dynamic rang (10 to 150 nmol/kg) for this element in the Arctic equal to or greater than that in combined Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans. Lowest levels are observed in surface waters, with values tending to decrease northwards in the direction of currents generally flowing frorn the Bering Strait along the Alaskan coast. Low surfacc concentrations tend to be accompanied by relatively enriched near bottom levels. On the basis of these spatial distributions, hydrographic observations and a knowledge of its behavior in other marine settings, it appears that Ba can be significantly depleted from surface waters as a result of the highly seasonal biological aclivities over Arctic marginal shelves. Removal at the surface is counteracted to some extent by regeneration at depth or in the sediments and by riverine inputs. The biologically related drawdown is likely to enhance the contrast between 'background' surface Ba levels in the Arctic and waters imprinted by regeneration and/or rivers, These preliminary findings suggest that Ba holds particular promise for tracing river waters and the ventilation of halodine waters hy laterally sinking brines produced during ice formation over the shelves.

Composition and origin of sediments at DSDP Site 54-424

The sediments recovered on Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 54 appear to be mixtures of the normal pelagic sediments of the area and hydrothermally produced manganese and iron phases. The latter are mineralogically and chemically very similar to phases recovered from surficial sampling of the mounds. The hydrothermal nontronite which is approximately 15 meters thick in the three holes is essentially free of carbonate or detrital contaminants. The basal sediments are similar to the carbonate oozes presently being deposited in the region, but are enriched in Mn and Fe. This enrichment appears to be the result of hydrothermal deposition that took place at or near the spreading center and may not be associated with the mounds formation. Three different hypotheses for the formation of the nontronite layer and the mounds deposits are considered. An initial deposition of a widespread nontronite layer and subsequent diapiric-like movement of the layer into carbonates could account for the observed stratigraphy; however, if this be correct, analogous deposits should be present in other DSDP sites. The second hypothesis - replacement of the normal sediments by nontronite - may be feasible, but the high purity of the nontronite requires dissolution and removal of refractory elements. The third hypothesis, metal deposition in an advancing oxidation gradient, is compatible with submersible observations of the mounds; however, it can account only for the high purity of the nontronite by very rapid deposition of the hydrothermal phases.

Chemical composition of ferromanganese manifestations from the Sea of Okhotsk

New data on microstructures and mineral and chemical compositions of ferromanganese crusts sampled from the western slope of the Kuril Island Arc in the Sea of Okhotsk during cruises of R/V Vulkanolog are discussed. The study of the crusts using analytical electron microscopy methods revealed that their manganese phase is represented by vernadite, Fe-vernadite, todorokite, asbolane, and asbolane-buserite, while iron phase consists of hematite, hydrohematite, ferroxyhite, and magnetite. Lithic mineral assemblage includes apatite, quartz, epidote, and montmorillonite. According to chemical analysis most of the crusts contain significant part of volcanogenic and hydrothermal material. It is evident from elevated values of Mn/Fe and (Mn+Fe)/Ti ratios, low concentrations of some trace elements, and positive Eu anomaly.