(Table 1) Sr isotopes and chemical composition of DSDP Hole 61-462A basalts

Sixteen elemental abundances and 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the Nauru Basin basalt (Cores 75 to 90: sub-bottom depths 950 m to 1050 m) from Hole 462A have been determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The result indicates that the basalt is a new type of oceanic tholeiite, elementally similar to normal mid-oceanic ridge basalts and isotopically similar to oceanic island-type basalts.

Chemical, and Sr and Li isotopic composition of pore fluids and sediments from ODP Leg 170 and Leg 205 sites

Pore fluid and sediment chemical and isotopic data were obtained for samples from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 205 Sites 1253, 1254, and 1255 in the Costa Rica subduction zone. The chemical and isotopic data reported here were generated in our shore-based laboratories to complement shipboard inorganic geochemical data. Li isotopic analyses were carried out by L.-H. Chan at Louisiana State University (USA). The data reported herein include fluoride, bromide, rubidium, cesium, and barium concentrations; Li and Sr isotopic compositions in pore fluids; and Rb, Cs, and Ba concentrations in representative bulk sediments. The data also include new pore fluid fluoride and bromide concentrations from corresponding ODP Leg 170 Sites 1039, 1040, and 1043. O.M. Saether's Site 1039 and 1040 fluoride concentration data are shown for comparison. Basal sediment fluoride concentrations and Li and Sr isotope ratios at both Sites 1253 and 1039 show reversals that approach modern seawater values. Br/Cl ratios are, however, conservative throughout the sediment section at Sites 1039 and 1253. The observed sharp F and Br concentration maxima, Rb and K concentration minima, the most radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and highest 7Li values along the décollement and fracture zone (Sites 1040, 1043, 1254, and 1255) strengthen the evidence obtained during Leg 170 that a deeply sourced fluid, originating from fluid-rock reactions at ~150°C and corresponding to between 10 and 15 km depth, is transporting solutes to the ocean.

Grain-size analysis and geochemistry of sediment core GeoB13602-1

Grain-size, terrigenous element and rock magnetic remanence data of Quaternary marine sediments retrieved at the NW African continental margin off Gambia (gravity core GeoB 13602-1, 13°32.71' N, 17°50.96'W) were jointly analyzed by end-member (EM) unmixing methods to distinguish and budget past terrigenous fluxes. We compare and cross-validate the identified single-parameter EM systems and develop a numerical strategy to calculate associated multi-parameter EM properties. One aeolian and two fluvial EMs were found. The aeolian EM is much coarser than the fluvial EMs and is associated with a lower goethite/hematite ratio, a higher relative concentration of magnetite and lower Al/Si and Fe/K ratios. Accumulation rates and grain sizes of the fluvial sediment appear to be primarily constrained by shore distance (i.e., sea-level fluctuations) and to a lesser extent by changes in hinterland precipitation. High dust fluxes occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and during Heinrich Stadials (HS) while the fluvial input remained unchanged. Our approach reveals that the LGM dust fluxes were ~7 times higher than today's. However, by far the highest dust accumulation occurred during HS 1 (~300 g m**-2 yr** -1), when dust fluxes were ~80 fold higher than today. Such numbers have not yet been reported for NW Africa, and emphasize strikingly different environmental conditions during HSs. They suggest that deflation rate and areal extent of HSs dust sources were much larger due to retreating vegetation covers. Beyond its regional and temporal scope, this study develops new, in principle, generally applicable strategies for multi-method end-member interpretation, validation and flux budgeting calibration.

(Table 1) Mineralogy of veins in basalts at DSDP Hole 61-462A

Numerous veins are present in basalts recovered from Hole 462A, Leg 61 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Three mineral assemblages are recognized and stratigraphically controlled. These assemblages are (1) a zeolite-bearing, quartz-poor assemblage which occurs from Core 44 to the bottom of the hole and contains smectite, clinoptilolite, calcite, pyrite, ± chabazite, ± analcime, ± quartz, ± apophyllite, ± talc (?); (2) a quartz-rich, pyrite-bearing assemblage, found between Cores 19 and 29, which contains smectite, calcite, quartz, and pyrite; and (3) a quartz-rich, celadonite-bearing assemblage which occurs from Cores 14 through 17 and contains smectite, calcite, quartz, celadonite, and Fe oxide. These data are interpreted to represent two episodes of vein mineral formation with an oxidative overprint on the more recent. The first episode followed the outpourings of basaltic lavas onto the sea floor. Zeolite-bearing veins were formed at elevated temperatures under low PCO2 while the thermal gradient was high and before a cover of calcareous sediments had formed. The second mineralization episode followed injection of basalt and microdiabase sills into a thick layer of sediments, and produced all the vein minerals now occurring between Cores 14 and 29. These veins formed at lower temperature and higher PCO2 than zeolite-bearing veins. The presence of pyrite indicates a nonoxidative environment. After the initial formation of these veins, oxygenated seawater diffused through the sedimentary cover and oxidized the pyrite and smectite, forming celadonite and Fe oxides.

Grain-size analyses and bulk chemistry determined in surface sediment samples along the Chilean continental margin in the Southeast Pacific Ocean

Physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of a set of surface sediment samples collected along the Chilean continental slope (21-44°S) are used to characterise present-day sedimentation patterns and sediment provenance on the Chilean margin. Despite the presence of several exceptional latitudinal gradients in relief, oceanography, tectonic evolution, volcanic activity and onshore geology, the present-day input of terrigenous sediments to the Chilean continental margin appears to be mainly controlled by precipitation gradients, and source-rock composition in the hinterland. General trends in grain size denote a southward decrease in median grain-size of the terrigenous (Corganic, CaCO3 and Opal-free) fraction, which is interpreted as a shift from aeolian to fluvial sedimentation. This interpretation is supported by previous observations of southward increasing bulk sedimentation rates. North-south trends in sediment bulk chemistry are best recognised in the iron (Fe) and titanium (Ti) vs. potassium (K) and aluminium (Al) ratios of the sediments that most likely reflect the contribution of source rocks from the Andean volcanic arc. These ratios are high in the northernmost part, abruptly decrease at 25°S, and then more or less constantly increase southwards to a maximum at ~40°S.