Nd and Sr isotope compositions, REE concentrations and Al/Ca ratios of different phases of surface sediments in the South Pacific

The radiogenic isotope composition of neodymium (Nd) and strontium (Sr) are useful tools to investigate present and past oceanic circulation or input of terrigenous material. We present Nd and Sr isotope compositions extracted from different sedimentary phases, including early diagenetic Fe-Mn coatings, "unclean" foraminiferal shells, fossil fish teeth, and detritus of marine surface sediments (core-tops) covering the entire midlatitude South Pacific. Comparison of detrital Nd isotope compositions to deep water values from the same locations suggests that "boundary exchange" has little influence on the Nd isotope composition of western South Pacific seawater. Concentrations of Rare Earth Elements (REE) and Al/Ca ratios of "unclean" planktonic foraminifera suggest that this phase is a reliable recorder of seawater Nd isotope composition. The signatures obtained from fish teeth and "nondecarbonated" leachates of bulk sediment Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide coatings also agree with "unclean" foraminifera. Direct comparison of Nd isotope compositions extracted using these methods with seawater Nd isotope compositions is complicated by the low accumulation rates yielding radiocarbon ages of up to 24 kyr, thus mixing the signal of different ocean circulation modes. This suggests that different past seawater Nd isotope compositions have been integrated in authigenic sediments from regions with low sedimentation rates. Combined detrital Nd and Sr isotope signatures indicate a dominant role of the Westerly winds transporting lithogenic material from South New Zealand and Southeastern Australia to the open South Pacific. The proportion of this material decreases toward the east, where supply from the Andes increases and contributions from Antarctica cannot be ruled out.

Chemical composition of Black Sea bottom sediments

Concentrations of major-, trace- and rare earth elements in recent and Old Black Sea bottom sediments are reported in the paper. Data presented suggest that accumulation of black shale deposits was not constrained to a certain time span but proceeds in certain modern basins and generates sediments with metal contents close to those in their ancients analogues in hydrogen sulfide contaminated environments. If REE are involved in the process, their composition can vary depending on such factors as variations in redox conditions and occurrence of phosphate and barite nodules, which can induce development of either positive or negative Eu anomalies.

Geochemistry of basalts at DSDP Leg 73 Holes

During Deep Sea Drilling Project Leg 73 (South Atlantic), basaltic pillow lava, flows, and sills were encountered in Holes 519A, 520, 522B, and 524. Paleomagnetic data indicate that the basalts from Holes 519A (magnetic Anomaly 51) and 522B (Anomaly 16) have ages of about 12 m.y. and about 38 m.y., respectively. The major- and trace- (including rare-earth-) element characteristics of the Hole 519A basalts (a total of 27 m) demonstrate that these basalts are typical normal-type mid-ocean-ridge basalts (N-type MORB). In composition the basalts overlap olivine tholeiites from other normal Mid-Atlantic Ridge segments. Both the spectra of incompatible, or less-hygromagmatophile elements (such as Ti, V, Y, and Zr) and REE abundances indicate that these basalts are the result of a low-pressure fractionation of olivine, spinel, and Plagioclase prior to eruption. In Hole 520 only 1.7 m of basalt were recovered from a total drilling depth of 10.5 m. These pillow basalts crystallized from fairly evolved (N-type MORB) tholeiitic melts. In total, 19 m of basaltic pillow lavas and flows were penetrated in Hole 522B. Thirteen cooling units were distinguished on the basis of glassy margins and fine quench textures. In contrast to Holes 519A and 520, the basalts of the Hole 522B ridge section can be divided into two major groups of tholeiites: (1) Cooling Units 1 through 12 and (2) Cooling Unit 13. The basalts in this ridge section are also N-type MORBs but are generally more differentiated than those of Holes 519A and 520. The lowermost basalts (Cooling Unit 13) have the most primitive composition and make up a compositional group distinct from the more evolved basalts in the twelve units above it. Hole 524 was drilled on the south flank of the Walvis Ridge and thus provided samples from a more complex part of the South Atlantic seafloor. Three different basaltic rock suites, interlayered with volcanic detrital sediments, were encountered. The rock suites are, from top to bottom, an alkali basaltic pillow lava; a 16-m-thick alkaline diabase sill with an age of about 65 m.y. (according to K-Ar dating and planktonic foraminifers); and a second sill that is approximately 9 m thick, about 74 m.y. in age, and tholeiitic in composition, thus contrasting strongly with the overlying alkaline rocks. The alkali basalts of Hole 524 show chemical characteristics that are very similar to the basaltic lavas of the Tristan da Cunha group volcanoes, which are located approximately 400 km east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge crest. Thus, the Walvis Ridge may plausibly be interpreted as a line of hot-spot alkaline volcanoes.

Chemical profiles in sediment and basalt at DSDP Hole 74-525A

Forty sediment and four basement basalt samples from DSDP Hole 525A, Leg 74, as well as nine basalt samples from southern and offshore Brazil, were subjected to instrumental neutron activation analysis. Thirty-two major, minor, and trace elements were determined. The downcore element concentration profiles and regression analyses show that the rare earth elements (REE) are present in significant amounts in both the carbonate and noncarbonate phases in sediments; Sr is concentrated in the carbonate phase, and most of the other elements determined exist mainly in the noncarbonate phase. The calculated partition coefficients of the REE between the carbonate phase and the free ion concentrations in seawater are high and increase with decreasing REE ionic radii from 3.9 x 10**6 for La to 15 x 10**6 for Lu. Calculations show that the lanthanide concentrations in South Atlantic seawater have not been changed significantly over the past 70 Ma. The Ce anomaly observed in the carbonate phase is a redox indicator of ancient seawater. Study of the Ce anomaly reveals that seawater was anoxic over the Walvis Ridge during the late Campanian. As the gap between South America and West Africa widened and the Walvis Ridge subsided from late Campanian to late Paleocene times, the water circulation of the South Atlantic improved and achieved oxidation conditions about 54 Ma that are similar to present seawater redox conditions in the world oceans. The chemical compositions of the basement rocks correspond to alkalic basalts, not mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORBs). The results add more evidence to support the hypothesis that the Walvis Ridge was formed by a series of volcanos moving over a "hot spot" near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From the chemical composition and REE pattern, one 112 Ma old basalt on the Brazilian continental shelf has been identified as an early stage MORB. To date, this is the oldest oceanic tholeiite recovered from the South Atlantic. This direct evidence indicates that the continental split between South America and Africa commenced > 112 Ma.

Geochemistry of ODP Leg 125 peridotites

Ocean Drilling Program Leg 125 recovered serpentined harzburgites and dunites from a total of jive sites on the crests and flanks of two serpen finite seamounts, Conical Seamount in the Mariana forearc and Torishima Forearc Seamount in the Izu-Bonin forearc. These are some of the first extant forearc peridotites reported in the literature and they provide a window into oceanic, supra-subduction zone (SSZ) mantle processes. Harzbutrgites from both seamounts are very refractory with low modal clinopyroxene (<4%), chrome-rich spinels (cx-number = 0.40-0.80), very low incompatible element contents, and (with the exception of amphibole-bearing samples) U-shaped rare earth element (REE) profiles with positive Eu anomalies. Both sets of peridotites have olivine-spinel equilibration temperatures that are low compared with abyssal peridotites, possibly because of water-assisted diffusional equilibration in the SSZ environment However, other features indicate that the harzburgites from the two seamounts have very different origins. Harzburgites from Conical Seamount are characterized by calculated oxygen fugacities between FMQ (fayalite- magnetite- quartz) - 1.1 (log units) and FMQ + 0.4 which overlap those of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) peridotites. Dunites from Conical Seamotmt contain small amounts of clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and amphibole and are light REE (LREE) enriched. Moreover; they are considerably more oxidized than the harzburgites to which they are spatially related, with calculated oxygen fugacities of FMQ -0.2 toFMQ + 1.2. Using textural and geochemical evidence, we interpret these harzburgites as residual MORB mantle (from 15 to 20 % fractional melting) which has subsequently been modified by interaction with boninitic melt ivithin the mantle wedge, and these dunites as zones of focusing of this melt in which pyroxene has preferentially been dissolved from the harzbutgite protolith. In contrast, harzburgites from Torishima Forearc Seamount give calculated oxygen fugacities between FMQ + 0.8 and FMQ + l.6, similar to those calculated for other subduction-zone related peridotites and similar to those calculated for the dunites (FMQ + 1.2 to FMQ + 1.8) from the same seamount. In this case, we interpret both the harzburgites and dunites as linked to mantle melting (20-25 % fractional melting) in a supra-subduction zone environment The results thus indicate that the forearc is underlain by at least two types of mantle lithosphere, one being trapped or accreted oceanic lithosphere, the other being lithosphere formed by subduction-related melting. They also demonstrate that both types of mantle lithosphere may have undergone extensive interaction with subduction-derived magmas.

Chemical and mineral compositions of basalts and volcanic glasses from DSDP Sites 65-483 and 65-485

Major and rare earth element (REE) data for basalts from Holes 483, 483B, and 485A of DSDP Leg 65, East Pacific Rise, mouth of the Gulf of California, support a simple fractional crystallization model for the genesis of rocks from this suite. The petrography and mineral chemistry (presented in detail elsewhere) provide no evidence for magma mixing, but rather a simple multistage cooling process. Based on its lowest TiO2 content (0.88%), FeO*/MgO ratio (0.95 with total Fe as FeO), and Mg# (100 Mg/Mg + Fe" = 70), sample 483-17-2-(78-83) has been selected as the most primitive primary magma of the samples analyzed. This is supported by the REE data which show this sample has the lowest total REE content, a La/Sm_cn (chondrite-normalized) = 0.36, and Eu/Sm_cn = 1.05. Because other samples analyzed have higher SiO2, lower Mg#, and a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Sm_cn as low as 0.89), they are most likely derivative magmas. Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling support fractional crystallization of 14.1% plagioclase (An88), 6.7% olivine (Fo86), and 4.7% clinopyroxene (Wo41En49Fs10) from 483-17-2-(78-83) to form the least differentiated sample with Mg# = 63. The La/Sm_cn of this derivative magma is almost identical to the parent magma (0.35 to 0.36), but the other samples have higher La/Sm_cn (0.45 to 0.51), more total REE, and lower Mg# (60 to 56). Both Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling indicate that the primary magma chosen cannot produce these more evolved samples. For the major elements, the TiO2 and P2O5 are too low in the calculated versus the observed (1.38 to 1.90; 0.11 to 0.17, respectively, for example). Rayleigh fractionation calculates a lower La/Sm_cn and requires about 60% crystal removal versus 40% for the Wright-Doherty. These more evolved samples must be derived from a parent magma different from the one selected here and, unfortunately, not sampled in this study. A magma formed by a smaller degree of partial melting with slightly more residual clinopyroxene left in the mantle than for sample 483-17-2-(78-83) is required.

Geochemistry of altered phases, basalts and sediments of ODP Site 136-843

40Ar-39Ar incremental heating experiments on a relatively unaltered basalt from Site 843 yield a crystallization age of 110 ± 2 Ma for the central Pacific Ocean igneous basement near Hawaii. Previous estimates of the age of the basement inferred by indirect methods and from radiometric dates of the South Hawaiian Seamounts are too young by 20-30 m.y. Phyllosilicate alteration minerals from veins in the Site 843 basalts define a Rb/Sr isochron with an age of 94.5 ± 0.5 Ma. The isochron records the last equilibration of the phyllosilicate minerals with a hydrothermal fluid at about 16 m.y. after the formation of the igneous basement. The last event recorded by calcite veins is the sealing of the crust by a sufficient thickness of sediment to impede the free circulation of seawater into the crust. The chemistry of the alteration minerals indicates the rare earth elements in the hydrothermal solutions were derived from alteration of the basalts and, furthermore, were transported in solution as metal species and carbonate complexes. Calcite with approximately seawater 87Sr/86Sr, but Sr contents too low to precipitate directly from seawater, is suggested to have formed at a late stage in the alteration history of the crust by the reaction of seawater with calcite precipitated earlier from basalt-dominated hydrothermal fluids.

Geochemistry of Mid-Atlantic Ridge sediments

Geochemical compositions and Sr and Nd isotopes were measured in two cores collected ~2 and 5 km from the Rainbow hydrothermal vent site on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Overall, the cores record enrichments in Fe and other metals from hydrothermal fallout, but sequential dissolution of the sediments allows discrimination between a leach phase (easily leachable) and a residue phase (refractory). The oxy-anion and transition metal distribution combined with rare earth element (REE) patterns suggest that (1) the leach fraction is a mixture of biogenic carbonate and hydrothermal Fe-Mn oxy-hydroxide with no significant contribution from detrital material and (2) >99.5% of the REE content of the leach fraction is of seawater origin. In addition, the leach fraction has an average 87Sr/86Sr ratio indistinguishable from modern seawater at 0.70916. Although we lack the epsilon-Nd value of present-day deep water at the Rainbow vent site, we believe that the REE budget of the leach fraction is predominantly of seawater origin. We suggest therefore that the leach fraction provides a record of local seawater epsilon-Nd values. Nd isotope data from these cores span the period of 4-14 ka (14C ages) and yield epsilon-Nd values for North East Atlantic Deep Water (NEADW) that are higher (-9.3 to -11.1) than those observed in the nearby Madeira Abyssal Plain from the same depth (-12.4 ± 0.9). This observation suggests that either the Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) and Lower Deep Water contributions to the formation of NEADW are higher along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge than in the surrounding basins or that the relative proportion of ISOW was higher during this period than is observed today. This study indicates that hydrothermal sediments have the potential to provide a higher-resolution record of deep water epsilon-Nd values, and hence deepwater circulation patterns in the oceans, than is possible from other types of sediments.

Geochemistry of igneous rocks recovered from a transect across the Mariana Trough, arc, fore-arc, and trench, at DSDP Leg 60 Holes and DM17

Major and trace element analyses are presented for 110 samples from the DSDP Leg 60 basement cores drilled along a transect across the Mariana Trough, arc, fore-arc, and Trench at about 18°N. The igneous rocks forming breccias at Site 453 in the west Mariana Trough include plutonic cumulates and basalts with calc-alkaline affinities. Basalts recovered from Sites 454 and 456 in the Mariana Trough include types with compositions similar to normal MORB and types with calc-alkaline affinities within a single hole. At Site 454 the basalts show a complete compositional transition between normal MORB and calc-alkaline basalts. These basalts may be the result of mixing of the two magma types in small sub-crustal magma reservoirs or assimilation of calc-alkaline, arc-derived vitric tuffs by normal MORB magmas during eruption or intrusion. A basaltic andesite clast in the breccia recovered from Site 457 on the active Mariana arc and samples dredged from a seamount in the Mariana arc are calc-alkaline and similar in composition to the basalts recovered from the Mariana Trough and West Mariana Ridge. Primitive island arc tholeiites were recovered from all four sites (Sites 458-461) drilled on the fore-arc and arc-side wall of the trench. These basalts form a coherent compositional group distinct from the Mariana arc, West Mariana arc, and Mariana Trough calc-alkaline lavas, indicating temporal (and perhaps spatial?) chemical variations in the arc magmas erupted along the transect. Much of the 209 meters of basement cored at Site 458 consists of endiopside- and bronzite-bearing, Mg-rich andesites with compositions related to boninites. These andesites have the very low Ti, Zr, Ti/Zr, P, and rare-earthelement contents characteristic of boninites, although they are slightly light-rare-earth-depleted and have lower MgO, Cr, Ni, and higher CaO and Al2O3 contents than those reported for typical boninites. The large variations in chemistry observed in the lavas recovered from this transect suggest that diverse mantle source compositions and complex petrogenetic process are involved in forming crustal rocks at this intra-oceanic active plate margin.

Trace element contents in different types of recent bottom sediments from the Indian Ocean

Trace element contents in different types of recent botoom sediments of the Indian Ocean are given. Sediment samples were obtained during cruises of the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Moscow.

Geochemistry on Yangla copper deposit, China

The Yangla copper deposit, situated in the middle section of Jinshajiang tectonic belt between Zhongza-Zhongdian block and Changdu-Simao block, is a representative and giant copper deposit that has been discovered in Jinshajiang-Lancangjiang-Nujiang region in recent years. There are coupled relationship between Yangla granodiorite and copper mineralization in the Yangla copper deposit. Five molybdenite samples yielded a well-constrained 187Re-187Os isochron age of 233.3±3 Ma, the metallogenesis is therefore slightly younger than the crystallization age of the granodiorite. S, Pb isotopic compositions of the Yangla copper deposit indicate that the ore-forming materials were derived from the mixture of upper crust and mantle, also with the magmatic contributions. In the late Early Permian, the Jinshajiang Oceanic plate was subducted to the west, resulting in the formation of a series of gently dipping thrust faults in the Jinshajiang tectonic belt, meanwhile, accompanied magmatic activities. In the early Late Triassic, which was a time of transition from collision-related compression to extension in the Jinshajiang tectonic belt, the thrust faults were tensional; it would have been a favorable environment for forming ore fluids. The ascending magma provided a channel for the ore-forming fluid from the mantle wedge. After the magma arrived at the base of the early-stage Yangla granodiorite, the platy granodiorite at the base of the body would have shielded the late-stage magma from the fluid. The magma would have cooled slowly, and some of the ore-forming fluid in the magma would have entered the gently dipping thrust faults near the Yangla granodiorite, resulting in mineralization.

REE, Ba, and Sr abundances and Sr, Nd, and Ce isotope ratos of ODP Hole 110-504B basalts

Abundances of rare earth elements (REE), Ba, and Sr and isotopic ratios of Sr, Nd, and Ce were determined for six samples of basalts drilled at Hole 504B on Leg 111 of the Ocean Drilling Program. Analyses found that these basalts are the most depleted in Sr, Ba, and light REE among mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB); Ba depletion is especially notable. On the other hand, Sr, Nd, and Ce isotopic ratios for basalts from Hole 504B are within the range of typical MORB values.