Mineral composition and major element oxides of gabbros from ODP Hole 179-1105A, southwest Indian Ridge

Hole 1105A penetrated 158 m of gabbros at a site offset 1.3 km east-northeast from Hole 735B on the Atlantis Bank near the Atlantis II Fracture Zone. A total of 118 m of dominantly medium- to coarse-grained intercalated Fe-Ti oxide gabbro and olivine gabbro was recovered from Hole 1105A that shows many petrographic features similar to those recovered from the upper part of Hole 735B. The main rock types are distinguished based on the constituent cumulus phases, with the most primitive gabbros consisting of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene. The inferred crystallization order is subsequently Fe-Ti oxides (ilmenite and titanomagnetite), followed by orthopyroxene, then apatite, and finally biotite. Orthopyroxene appears to replace olivine in a narrow middle interval. The magmatic evolution is likewise reflected in the mineral compositions. Plagioclase varies from An66 to An28. Olivine varies from Fo78 to Fo35. The gap in olivine crystallization occurs between Fo46 and Fo40 and coincides approximately with the appearance of orthopyroxene (~En50). The clinopyroxenes show large compositional variation in Mg/(Mg + Fe total) from 0.84 to 0.51. The nonquadrilateral cations of clinopyroxene similarly show large variations with Ti increasing for the olivine gabbros and decreasing for the Fe-Ti oxide gabbros with the decrease in Mg/(Mg + Fe total). The apatites are mainly flourapatites. The compositional variation in the gabbros is interpreted as a comagmatic suite resulting from fractional crystallization. Pyroxene geothermometry suggests equilibration temperatures from 1100°C and below. The coexisting Fe-Ti oxide minerals indicate subsolidus equilibration temperatures from 900°C for olivine gabbros to 700°C for the most evolved apatite-bearing gabbros. The cryptic variation in the olivine gabbros defines two or three lenses, 40 to 60 m thick, each characterized by a distinct convex zoning with a lower segment indicating upward reverse fractionation, a central maximum, and an upper segment showing normal fractionation. The Fe-Ti oxide gabbros show cryptic variations independent of the host olivine gabbros and reveal a systematic upward normal fractionation trend transgressing host olivine gabbro boundaries. Forward fractional crystallization modeling, using a likely parental magma composition from the Atlantis II Fracture Zone (MgO = 7.2 wt%; Mg/[Mg + Fe2+] = 0.62), closely matches the compositions of coexisting olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene. This modeling suggests cosaturation of olivine, plagioclase, and clinopyroxene from 1155°C and the addition of Fe-Ti oxides from 1100°C. The liquid line of descent initially shows increasing FeO with moderately increasing SiO2. After saturation of Fe-Ti oxides, the liquid strongly decreases in FeO and TiO2 and increases in SiO2, reaching dacitic compositions at ~10% liquid remaining. The calculations indicate that formation of olivine gabbros can be accounted for by <65% fractionation and that only the residual 35% liquid was saturated in Fe-Ti oxides. The modeling of the solid fractionation products shows that both the olivine gabbro and the Fe-Ti oxide gabbros contain very small amounts of trapped liquid (<5%). The implications are that the gabbros represent crystal mush that originated in a recharging and tapping subaxial chamber. Compaction and upward melt migration in the crystal mush appear to have been terminated with relatively large amounts of interstitial liquid remaining in the upper parts of the cumulate mush. This termination may have been caused by tectonic disturbances, uplift, and associated withdrawal of magma into the subaxial dike and sill system. Prolonged compaction and cooling of the trapped melt in the mush formed small differentiated bodies and lenses by pressure release migration and crystallization along syntectonic channels. This resulted in differentiation products along lateral and vertical channelways in the host gabbro that vary from olivine gabbro, to Fe-Ti oxide gabbro, gabbronorite, and apatite gabbros and show large compositional variations independent of the host olivine gabbros.

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).

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.

Chemistry and accumulation rates of Jurassic to early Cretaceous sediments from the central equatorial Pacific

Sedimentation in the central Pacific during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous was dominated by abundant biogenic silica. A synthesis of the stratigraphy, lithology, petrology, and geochemistry of the radiolarites in Sites 801 and 800 documents the sedimentation processes and trends in the equatorial central Pacific from the Middle Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous. Paleolatitude and paleodepth reconstructions enable comparisons with previous DSDP sites and identification of the general patterns of sedimentation over a wide region of the Pacific. Clayey radiolarites dominated sedimentation on Pacific oceanic crust within tropical paleolatitudes from at least the latest Bathonian through Tithonian. Radiolarian productivity rose to a peak within 5° of the paleoequator, where accumulation rates of biogenic silica exceeded 1000 g/cm**2/m.y. Wavy-bedded radiolarian cherts developed in the upper Tithonian at Site 801 coinciding with the proximity of this site to the paleoequator. Ribbon-bedding of some radiolarian cherts exposed on Pacific margins may have formed from silicification of radiolarite deposited near the equatorial high-productivity zone where radiolarian/clay ratios were high. Silicification processes in sediments extensively mixed by bioturbation or enriched in clay or carbonate generally resulted in discontinuous bands or nodules of porcellanite or chert, e.g., a "knobby" radiolarite. Ribbon-bedded cherts require primary alternations of radiolarian-rich and clay-rich layers as an initial structural template, coupled with abundant biogenic silica in both layers. During diagenesis, migration of silica from clay-rich layers leaves radiolarian "ghosts" or voids, and the precipitation in adjacent radiolarite layers results in silicification of the inter-radiolarian matrix and infilling of radiolarian tests. Alternations of claystone and clay-rich radiolarian grainstone were deposited during the Callovian at Site 801 and during the Berriasian-Valanginian at Site 800, but did not silicify to form bedded chert. Carbonate was not preserved on the Pacific oceanic floor or spreading ridges during the Jurassic, perhaps due to an elevated level of dissolved carbon dioxide. During the Berriasian through Hauterivian, the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) descended to approximately 3500 m, permitting the accumulation of siliceous limestones at near-ridge sites. Carbonate accumulation rates exceeded 1500 g/cm**2/m.y. at sites above the CCD, yet there is no evidence of an equatorial carbonate bulge during the Early Cretaceous. In the Barremian and Aptian, the CCD rose, coincident with the onset of mid-plate volcanic activity. Abundance of Fe and Mn and the associated formation of authigenic Fe-smectite clays was a function of proximity to the spreading ridges, with secondary enrichments occurring during episodes of spreading-center reorganizations. Callovian radiolarite at Site 801 is anomalously depleted in Mn, which resulted either from inhibited precipitation of Mn-oxides by lower pH of interstitial waters induced by high dissolved oceanic CO2 levels or from diagenetic mobilization of Mn. Influx of terrigenous (eolian) clay apparently changed with paleolatitude and geological age. Cyclic variations in productivity of radiolarians and of nannofossils and in the influx of terrigenous clay are attributed to Milankovitch climatic cycles of precession (20,000 yr) and eccentricity (100,000 yr). Diagenetic redistribution of biogenic silica and carbonate enhanced the expression of this cyclic sedimentation. Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments were deposited under oxygenated bottom-water conditions at all depths, accompanied by bioturbation and pervasive oxidation of organic carbon and metals. Despite the more "equable" climate conditions of the Mesozoic, the super-ocean of the Pacific experienced adequate deep-water circulation to prevent stagnation. Efficient nutrient recycling may have been a factor in the abundance of radiolarians in this ocean basin.

Barium concentrations und stable isotope ratios of late Paleocene deep-sea sediments

Deep-sea sediment Ba* (Ba/Al2O3(sample) * 15% - Ba(aluminosilicate) records show increasing values synchronous with the evolution of the late Paleocene global d13C maximum, reflecting an increase in marine surface primary production and biogenic barite formation at this time. At two oligotrophic locations, Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites 384 and 527 in the North and South Atlantic, respectively, Ba* increases from 160-360 ppm in the early Paleocene to 1100-3000 ppm during the d13C maximum. At equatorial DSDP Site 577, positioned within or near the high-productivity zone, Ba* increases from ~15,500 ppm in the early Paleocene to ~25,400 ppm in conjunction with late Paleocene maximum d13C values. Linear fitted correlation plots of sediment Ba* content versus surface water d13C in all three regions support barite originating in the euphotic zone. The early to late Paleocene relative increase in Ba* illustrates how burial rates of Corg (relative to Al2O3) accelerated by a factor of ~1.8 and ~6.0 in the eutrophic and oligotrophic areas, respectively. A tentative estimate, weighing our result for the entire ocean, suggests that accumulation rates of organic carbon increased by a factor of 2 during the late Paleocene d13C maximum.

Geochemistry of Lau Backarc Basin sediments

Major and minor (Mn, Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Ni, Co, Zn, Cu, Zr, Y, Sc) elements and mineralogic compositions were determined on bulk sediments collected during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 135. Three classes of sediment samples from holes drilled in the Lau Basin are discriminated by mineralogy and major element data. Samples labeled Class 1 are significantly enriched in biogenic calcite and occur predominantly in the northern part of the basin (Sites 834-835), whereas those of Class 3 are mostly enriched in volcanogenic material and are predominant in the central part of the basin (Sites 836-839). The minor element composition records the effects of the hydrothermal activity on the sediments. In the northern area of the basin (Sites 834-835), sedimentation is characterized by higher accumulation rates of the carbonate and hydrothermal fractions. These sediments are probably reworked predominantly, transported in the water column, and then settled locally. Thus, ponded sediments are probably responsible to this high accumulation rates. Diagenetic processes altered the volcanic material to a grade corresponding to the stability of phillipsite. In the central area of the basin (Sites 836-839), sedimentation is characterized by the action of bottom currents preferentially reworking the carbonate and hydrothermal fractions. Volcanogenic accumulation rates are greater at these sites than in the northern Lau Basin. Alteration of volcanic material is more important deeper in the holes and records authigenesis of clay rich in Fe-Mg, most likely smectite. Locally, clay minerals have apparently incorporated Cr and other ore-forming elements.

Major element oxides in ODP Site 164-997 sediments

Since being first discovered in the Blake-Bahama region of the west Atlantic in the 1970s (Hollister, Ewing, et al., 1972, doi:10.2973/dsdp.proc.11.1972), submarine gas hydrates have been identified in the continental margin worldwide. Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 164 was the first drilling designated to study the occurrence and distribution of natural gas hydrates in Blake Ridge where a well developed, distinct BSR (Bottom Simulating Reflector) has been identified (Paull, Matsumoto, Wallace, et al., 1996, doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.164.1996). It has been reported there is a prominent discrepancy between the BSR and the base of gas hydrate stability (Paull, Matsumoto, Wallace, et al., 1996, doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.164.1996; Ruppel, 1997, doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1997)025<0699:ACTOAT>2.3.CO;2), though theoretically they should be at the same depth. Natural gas hydrate in marine sediments coexists with sediment particles, so detailed delineation of sediment geochemistry will be of benefit to solve this apparent discrepancy. The main objectives of this study are to supply background data of the major chemical compositions of sediments from a hydrated sediment section.

Mineralogy and geochemistry of sulfide minerals and bulk rocks from ODP Hole 176-735B

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 176 built upon the work of ODP Leg 118 wherein the 500-m section that was sampled represented the most complete recovery of an intact portion of lower oceanic crust ever described. During Leg 176, we deepened Hole 735B to >1500 m below seafloor in an environment where gabbroic rocks have been tectonically exposed at the Southwest Indian Ridge. This new expedition extended the remarkable recovery (>85%) that allowed unprecedented investigations into the nature of the lower oceanic crust as a result of Leg 118. Sulfide mineral and bulk rock compositions were determined from samples in the 1000-m section of oceanic gabbros recovered during Leg 176. The sulfide assemblage of pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, pentlandite, and troilite is present throughout this section, as it is throughout the 500-m gabbroic section above that was sampled during Leg 118. Troilite is commonly present as lamellae, and the only interval where troilite was not observed is from the uppermost 150 m of the section sampled during Leg 118, which is intensely metamorphosed. The common presence of troilite indicates that much of the sulfide assemblage from Hole 735B precipitated from a magmatic system and subsequently underwent low-temperature reequilibration. Evaluation of geochemical trends in bulk rock and sulfides indicates that the combined effects of olivine accumulation in troctolites and high pentlandite to pyrrhotite ratios account for the sporadic bulk rock compositions high in Ni. Bulk rock and sulfide mineral geochemical indicators that are spatially coincident with structural and physical properties anomalies indicate a heretofore unrecognized lithologic unit boundary in this section. Platinum-group element (PGE) compositions were also determined for 36 samples from throughout the section that were recovered during Leg 176. Whereas most samples had low (<0.4 ppb) PGE concentrations, rare samples had elevated PGE values, but no unique common trend between these samples is evident.

Geochemical composition of gabbroic rocks from ODP Hole 179-1105A, southwest Indian Ridge

Oxide-free olivine gabbro and gabbro, and oxide olivine gabbro and gabbro make up the bulk of the gabbroic suite recovered from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 179 Hole 1105A, which lies 1.2 km away from Hole 735B on the eastern transverse ridge of the Atlantis II Fracture Zone, Southwest Indian Ridge. The rocks recovered during Leg 179 show striking similarities to rocks recovered from the uppermost 500 m of Hole 735B during ODP Leg 118. The rocks of the Atlantis platform were likely unroofed as part of the footwall block of a large detachment fault on the inside corner of the intersection of the Southwest Indian Ridge and the Atlantis II Transform at ~11.5 Ma. We analyzed the lithologic, geochemical, and structural stratigraphy of the section. Downhole lithologic variation allowed division of the core into 141 lithologic intervals and 4 main units subdivided on the basis of predominance of oxide gabbroic vs. oxide-free gabbroic rocks. Detailed analyses of whole-rock chemistry, mineral chemistry, microstructure, and modes of 147 samples are presented and clearly show that the gabbroic rocks are of cumulate origin. These studies also indicate that geochemistry results correlate well with downhole magnetic susceptibility and Formation MicroScanner (FMS) resistivity measurements and images. FMS images show rocks with a well-layered structure and significant numbers of mappable layer contacts or compositional contrasts. Downhole cryptic mineral and whole-rock chemical variations depict both "normal" and inverse fine-scale variations on a scale of 10 m to <2 m with significant compositional variation over a short distance within the 143-m section sampled. A Mg# shift in whole-rock or Fo contents of olivine of as much as 20-30 units over a few meters of section is not atypical of the extreme variation in downhole plots. The products of the earliest stages of basaltic differentiation are not represented by any cumulates, as the maximum Fo content was Fo78. Similarly, the extent of fractionation represented by the gabbroic rocks and scarce granophyres in the section is much greater than that represented in the Atlantis II basalts. The abundance of oxide gabbros is similar to that in Hole 735B, Unit IV, which is tentatively correlated as a similar unit or facies with the oxide gabbroic units of Hole 1105A. Oxide phases are generally present in the most fractionated gabbroic rocks and lacking in more primitive gabbroic rocks, and there is a definite progression of oxide abundance as, for example, the Mg# of clinopyroxene falls below 73-75. Coprecipitation of oxide at such early Mg#s cannot be modeled by perfect fractional crystallization. In situ boundary layer fractionation may offer a more plausible explanation for the complex juxtaposition of oxide- and nonoxide-bearing more primitive gabbroic rocks. The geochemical signal may, in part, be disrupted by the presence of mylonitic shear zones, which strike east-west and dip both to the south and north, but predominantly to the south away from the northern rift valley where they formed. Downhole deformation textures indicate increasing average strain and crystal-plastic deformation in units that contain oxides. Oxide-rich zones may represent zones of rheologic weakness in the cumulate section along which mylonitic and foliated gabbroic shear zones nucleate in the solid state at high temperature, or the oxide may be a symptom of former melt-rich zones and hypersolidus flow, as predicted during study of Hole 735B.

Phosphorus components and barite in untreated and in carbonate-free sediments of ODP Hole 199-1221C

We determined changes in equatorial Pacific phosphorus (µmol P/g) and barite (BaSO4; wt%) concentrations at high resolution (2 cm) across the Paleocene/Eocene (P/E) boundary in sediments from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 199 Site 1221 (153.40 to 154.80 meters below seafloor [mbsf]). Oxide-associated, authigenic, and organic P sequentially extracted from bulk sediment were used to distinguish reactive P from detrital P. We separated barite from bulk sediment and compared its morphology with that of modern unaltered biogenic barite to check for diagenesis. On a CaCO3-free basis, reactive P concentrations are relatively constant and high (323 µmol P/g or ~1 wt%). Barite concentrations range from 0.05 to 5.6 wt%, calculated on a CaCO3-free basis, and show significant variability over this time interval. Shipboard measurements of P and Ba in bulk sediments are systematically lower (by ~25%) than shore-based concentrations and likely indicate problems with shipboard standard calibrations. The presence of Mn oxides and the size, crystal morphology, and sulfur isotopes of barite imply deposition in sulfate-rich pore fluids. Relatively constant reactive P, organic C, and biogenic silica concentrations calculated on a CaCO3-free basis indicate generally little variation in organic C, reactive P, and biogenic opal burial across the P/E boundary, whereas variable barite concentrations indicate significant changes in export productivity. Low barite Ba/reactive P ratios before and immediately after the Benthic Extinction Event (BEE) may indicate efficient nutrient burial, and, if nutrient burial and organic C burial are linked, high relative organic C burial that could temporarily drawdown CO2 at this site. This interpretation requires postdepositional oxidation of organic C because organic C to reactive P ratios are low throughout the section. After the BEE, higher barite Ba/reactive P ratios combined with higher barite Ba concentrations may imply that higher export productivity was coupled with unchanged reactive P burial, indicating efficient nutrient and possibly also organic C recycling in the water column. If the nutrient recycling is decoupled from organic C, the high export production could be indicative of drawdown of CO2. However, the observation that organic C burial is not high where barite burial is high may imply that either C sequestration was restricted to the deep ocean and thus occurred only on timescales of the deep ocean mixing or that postdepositional oxidation (burn down) of organic matter affected the sediments. The decoupling of barite and opal may result from low opal preservation or production that is not diatom based.

Major oxides for tektites and for conglomerate clast of the Upper Eocene ejecta-bearing layer of ODP Hole 150-904A (Table 1)

Evidence for the Chesapeake Bay Crater as the source for New Jersey continental margin ejecta is provided by fine-grained tektites and coarse-grained unmelted ejecta. The Upper Eocene ejecta deposit, now demonstrated to be part of the North American strewn field, occurs on the New Jersey continental margin at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 904 and 903. The mineralogy, major oxide composition of the ejecta materials, and biostratigraphic age of the enclosing sediments link the origin of these ejecta to the recently recognized Chesapeake Bay impact crater, located only 330 km away. Sediments associated with the ejecta provide information about the dynamics of impact events. The 35-cm-thick ejecta-bearing layer can be subdivided into three subunits that indicate a sequence of events. Bottom subunit III documents sediment failure and deposition of gravel-sized fragments, middle subunit II records deposition of abundant sand-sized ejecta by gravity settling, and upper subunit I contains a 12-cm-thick sedimentary deposit containing rare silt-sized tektites and evidence of waning currents. These events are interpreted by linking sediment deposition to seismic ground motion and subsequent tsunami waves triggered by both the Chesapeake Bay impact and slope failures.