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At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
USGS1974

Oxygen isotope activities and concentrations in aqueous salt solutions at elevated temperatures: Consequences for isotope geochemistry

Studies of the effect of dissolved salts on the oxygen isotope activity ratio of water have been extended to 275°C. Dehydrated salts were added to water of known isotope composition and the solutions were equilibrated with CO 2 which was sampled for analysis. For comparison similar studies were made using pure water. Results on water nearly coincide with earlier calculations. Salt effects diminish with increasing temperature only for solutions of MgCl 2 and LiCl. Other salt solutions show complex behavior due to the temperature-dependent formation of ion pairs of changing character. Equilibrium fractionations (10 3 ln α) between 1 molal solutions and pure water at 25, 100, and 275°C are: NaCl 0.0, −1.5, +1.0; KCl 0.0, −1.0, +2.0; LiCl −1.0, −0.6, −0.5; CaCl 2 −0.4, −1.8, +0.8; MgCl 2 −1.1, −0.7, −0.3; MgSO 4 −1.1, +0.1, −; NaF (0.8 m) 0.0, −1.5, −0.3; and NH 4 Cl (0.55 m) 0.0, −1.2, −1.3. These effects are significant in the isotope study of hot saline fluids responsible for ore deposition and of fluids found in certain geothermal systems. Minor modification of published isotope geothermometers may be required.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1974

Preliminary petrographic description and geologic implications of the Apollo 17 Station 7 boulder consortium samples

Preliminary petrographic description and mineral composition of four hand samples (77135, 77115, 77075 and 77215) are presented. 77135, 77115, and 77075 all crystallized from fragment-laden melts; they are similar in textures but differ in grain size. 77135 and 77115 are pigeonite feldspathic basalts. On the basis of geologic and petrographic evidence, 77115 and 77075 are related; they formed, cooled, and consolidated before being engulfed in the vesicular 77135. The impact or igneous origin of the melts from which these rocks crystallized cannot be determined. 77215 is a shocked, strongly sheared and granulated microbreccia consisting of three major lithologies dominated by mineral clasts of orthopyroxene and calcic plagioclase. The orthopyroxene clasts contain coarse exsolved blebs of augite, suggesting a deep-seated origin. The major, minor, and trace element compositions of 77135, 77115, and 77075 are in general similar. They represent a major highland rock type, perhaps more important than anorthosites.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1974

U-Th-Pb and Rb-Sr systematics of Apollo 17 boulder 7 from the North Massif of the Taurus-Littrow Valley

Portions of highland breccia boulder 7 collected during the Apollo 17 mission were studied using U Th Pb and Rb Sr systematics. A Rb Sr internal isochron age of 3.89 ± 0.08b.y. with an initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of0.69926 ± 0.00008 was obtained for clast 1 (77135,57) (a troctolitic microbreccia). A troctolitic portion of microbreccia clast 77215,37 yielded a U Pb internal isochron of 3.8 ± 0.2b.y. and an initial 206 Pb/ 207 Pb of 0.69. These internal isochron age are interpreted as reflecting metamorphic events, probably related to impacts, which reset Rb Sr and U Pb mineral systems of older rocks. Six portions of boulder 7 were analyzed for U, Th, and Pb as whole rocks. Two chemical groups appear to be defined by the U, Th, and Pb concentration data. Chemical group A is characterized by U, Th, and Pb concentrations and 238 U/ 204 Pb values which are higher than those of group B. Group A rocks have typical 232 Th/ 238 U ratios of ∼ 3.85, whereas-group B rocks have unusually high Th/U values of ∼ 4.1. Whole-rock U Pb and Pb Pb ages are nearly concordant. Two events appear to be reflected in these data — one at ∼ 4.4 b.y. and one at ∼ 4.5 b.y. The chemical groupings show no correlation with documented ages. The old ages of ∼ 4.4 b.y. and ∼ 4.5 b.y. may, like the younger ∼ 4.0 b.y. ages, be related to basin excavation events.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1975

Age of amphibolites associated with alpine peridotites in the Dinaride ophiolite zone, Yugoslavia

Amphibolites associated with alpine peridotites in the Central Ophiolite zone in Yugoslavia have K-Ar ages of 160–170 m.y. These amphibolites and associated peridotites underwent deep-seated metamorphism prior to tectonic emplacement into the sedimentary-volcanic assemblage of the Dinarides. The alpine peridotites and associated local rocks of the ophiolite suite are interpreted as Jurassic oceanic crust and upper mantle.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1975

The Néel transition and magnetic properties of terrestrial, synthetic, and lunar ilmenites

The magnetic susceptibility of a terrestrial, synthetic and lunar ilmenite specimen has been measured from 4 to 300 K. All specimens had a single Néel temperature transition which ranged from 56 to 57.7 K. In one case the powdered specimen was partially aligned in the magnetic field prior to the susceptibility measurements and the Néel transition was observed to shift to 60 K indicating magnetic anisotropy. A study of several magnetic parameters calculated from the experimental data showed gross impurities in the terrestrial specimen, single-domain to multi-domain metallic iron in the synthetic specimen, and a small amount of superparamagnetic metallic iron in the lunar sample. No multidomain iron was observed in the lunar ilmenite. The results of electron spin resonance measurements were also in general agreement with these findings. Because of the absence of Fe 3+ compared to most terrestrial samples it is suggested that the anisotropic magnetic parameters be determined on lunar ilmenite when a large enough single crystal becomes available.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1975

Calculated geochronology and stress field orientations along the Hawaiian chain

A new method has been discovered for calculating ages of the main shield building stages of volcanoes along the Hawaiian chain from Kilauea to the Hawaiian-Emperor bend. The method is based on a graphical technique for hypothetical subtraction of distance intervals that theoretically represent regions of simultaneous volcanism along adjacent or nearly en-echelon loci of volcanism. Distances along the chain, measured from Kilauea, when progressively foreshortened by the distances of hypothetical “collapse” and plotted versus existing age data are found to give linear age-distance relationships. A calibration graph is presented that agrees closely with the measured ages in 17 of the 20 existing dated volcanoes. The criterion for simultaneous activity on different loci is based on the concept of equal azimuths of synchronous volcanic propagation within coeval segments of the chain. This is the predicted relationship when magmatic fluids inject the lithosphere along directions normal to a nearly horizontal least principal stress. It appears that the Pacific plate has been subjected to oscillatory, but principally clockwise, rotations of horizontal stress components during the last 40 m.y.

Hawaii↗
USGS1975

Thermomagnetic analysis of meteorites, 2. C2 chondrites

Samples of all eighteen of the known C2 chondrites have been analyzed thermomagnetically. For eleven of these, initial Fe 3 O 4 content is low (generally <1%) and the J s -T curves are irreversible. The heating curves show variable greater (up to 10 times) than it is initially. This behavior is attributed to the production of magnetite from a thermally unstable phase — apparently FeS. Four of the remaining seven C2 chondrites contain Fe 3 O 4 as the only significant magnetic phase: initial magnetite contents range from 4 to 13%. The remaining three C2 chondrites contain iron or nickel-iron in addition to Fe 3 O 4 . These seven C2 chondrites show little evidence of the breakdown of a thermally unstable phase.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1975

Rates of dissolution of aluminosilicates in seawater

Dissolution of eight clay minerals, four zeolites, and quartz in seawater has been monitored for 8 1 2 years. For most of the minerals, dissolution can be described as a first-order reaction in which dissolved silica approaches from undersaturation steady concentration values with time. Characteristic reaction rate constants (k 1 ) are of the order of 10 -7 sec -1 . One of the zeolites, clinoptilolite, shows a different dissolution behavior: SiO 2 concentration in solution reaches a high value within one year, followed by a decline to a lower value, suggestive of precipitation of another silicate phase (possibly sepiolite). A mathematical solution is given for a kinetic equation combining the parabolic-rate and first-order rate processes. It is shown that in a wide range of silicate dissolution reactions taking place over long periods of time, the presence of the parabolic-rate dissolution processes cannot be detected, thereby making its inclusion in the kinetic equations unnecessary. The experimental rates of dissolution are comparable to the SiO 2 - dissolution rates in oceanic sediments near the sediment/water interface. But deeper in the sediment, the calculated dissolution rates are significantly lower than the near-interface and experimental values. © 1975.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Identification of excess 40Ar by the 40Ar 39Ar, age spectrum technique

40 Ar/ 39 Ar incremental heating experiments on igneous plagioclase, biotite, and pyroxene that contain known amounts of excess 40 Ar indicate that saddle-shaped age spectra are diagnostic of excess 40 Ar in igneous minerals as well as in igneous rocks. The minima in the age spectra approach but do not reach the crystallization age. Neither the age spectrum diagram nor the 40 Ar/ 36 Ar versus 39 Ar/ 36 Ar isochron diagram reliably reveal the crystallization age in such samples.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Age of the Hawaiian-Emperor bend

40 Ar/ 39 Ar age data on alkalic and tholeiitic basalts from Diakakuji and Kinmei Seamounts in the vicinity of the Hawaiian-Emperor bend indicate that these volcanoes are about 41 and 39 m.y. old, respectively. Combined with previously published age data on Yuryaku and Ko¯ko Seamounts, the new data indicate that the best age for the bend is 42.0 ± 1.4 m.y. Petrochemical data indicate that the volcanic rocks recovered from bend seamounts are indistinguishable from Hawaiian volcanic rocks, strengthening the hypothesis that the Hawaiian-Emperor bend is part of the Hawaiian volcanic chain. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar total fusion ages on altered whole-rock basalt samples are consistent with feldspar ages and with 40 Ar/ 39 Ar incremental heating data and appear to reflect the crystallization ages of the samples even though conventional K-Ar ages are significantly younger. The cause of this effect is not known but it may be due to low-temperature loss of 39 Ar from nonretentive montmorillonite clays that have also lost 40 Ar.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Evidence of the impacting body of the Ries crater - the discovery of Fe-Cr-Ni veinlets below the crater bottom

Fe-Cr-Ni particles and veinlets have been discovered in the top 15 m of the compressed zone with abundant shatter cones below the bottom of the Ries crater. The metallic particles are less than a few microns across. They occur in various minerals along healed intergranular and locally in intragranular microfractures in quartz diorite, amphibolite and chloritized granite of the basement crystalline rocks. The particles consist of major Fe, Cr, and Ni with minor Si and Ca. Origin due to contamination is absolutely ruled out. We believe that these Fe-Cr-Ni particles are probably condensed from the vaporized impacting body which produced the Ries crater. These particles were injected with high velocity into microfractures near the top of the compressed zone, implanted in and across various minerals before these microfractures were resealed. The presence of Si and Ca as well as the fact that the Cr content is nearly twice that of Ni, led us to conclude that the Ries impacting body is very likely not an iron meteorite but a stony meteorite.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Thermomagnetic analysis of meteorites, 3. C3 and C4 chondrites

Thermomagnetic analysis was made on samples of all known C3 and C4 chondrites in a controlled oxygen atmosphere. Considerable variation was noted in the occurrence of magnetic minerals, comparable to the variation observed earlier in the C2 chondrites. Magnetite was found as the only major magnetic phase in samples of only three C3 chondrites (2–4 wt.%) and the Karoonda C4 chondrite (7.7 wt.%). The magnetite content of these three C3 chondrites is only about one-third that observed in the C1 and C2 chondrites which were found to contain magnetite as the only magnetic phase. Five C3 chondrites were observed to undergo chemical change during heating, producing magnetite: this behavior is characteristic of troilite oxidation. Upper limits on initial magnetite content of about 1–9% were established for these meteorites. Samples of the remaining five C3 chondrites and the Coolidge C4 chondrite were found to contain both magnetite and metallic iron. In two samples, iron containing ≤2% Ni was observed, while in the other four, the iron contained 6–8 wt.% Ni. In addition to containing both magnetite and iron metal, three of these samples reacted during heating to form additional magnetite. Variations in the magnetic mineralogy and, hence by inference bulk mineralogy, of C3 and C4 chondrites indicate a more complex genesis than is evident from whole-rock elemental abundance patterns.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Zoned Cr, Fe-spinel from the La Perouse layered gabbro, Fairweather Range, Alaska

Zoned spinel of unusual composition and morphology has been found in massive pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-pent-landite ore from the La Perouse layered gabbro intrusion in the Fairweather Range, southeastern Alaska. The spinel grains show continuous zoning from cores with up to 53 wt.% Cr 2 O 3 to rims with less than 11 wt.% Cr 2 O 3 . Their composition is exceptional because they contain less than 0.32 wt.% MgO and less than 0.10 wt.% Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 . Also notable are the concentrations of MnO and V 2 O 3 , which reach 4.73 and 4.50 wt.%, respectively, in the cores. The spinel is thought to have crystallized at low oxygen fugacity and at temperatures above 900°C, directly from a sulfide melt that separated by immiscibility from the gabbroic parental magma.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1976

Tectonic implications of space-time patterns of Cenozoic magmatism in the western United States

Locations of 2,100 radiometrically dated igneous rocks were plotted on a series of 20 maps, each representing an interval within the period 80 m.y. B.P. to present. Derivative maps showing the distributions in space and time of dated granitic intrusive rocks, silicic lavas and domes, ash-flow tuffs, andesitic-dacitic rocks, and basalts depict well the two main petrogenetic assemblages noted previously by others: (1) mainly intermediate andesitic-dacitic suites, including associated granitic intrusive rocks, silicic extrusive rocks, and minor basaltic lavas, are interpreted as reflecting plate interactions related to subduction along the continental margin; and (2) bimodal suites, dominantly basaltic but with minor silicic extrusive rocks, are interpreted as reflecting extensional tectonics. Space-time distribution of the two assemblages suggests that magmatic arcs extended continously parallel to the continental margin from Canada to Mexico in latest Mesozoic and in Oligocene times. An early Cenozoic null in magmatism in the Great Basin may delineate the region where subduction was arrested temporarily by development of the proto-San Andreas fault as a transform in coastal California or, alternatively, may reflect complex subsurface configurations of subducted plates. The late Cenozoic transition from subduction-related magmatism to extention-related basaltic volcanism in the southern Cordillera occurred at different times in different areas in harmony with current concepts about the migration of the Mendocino triple junction as the modern San Andreas transform fault was formed. The plots also reveal the existence of several discrete magmatic loci where igneous activity of various kinds was characteristically more intense and long-lived than elsewhere.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1977

Paleomagnetic poles and polarity zonation from Cambrian and Devonian strata of Arizona

Basal Paleozoic Tapeats Sandstone (Early and Middle Cambrian) in northern and central Arizona exhibits mixed polarity and a low-latitude paleomagnetic pole. Carbonates of Middle and early Late Cambrian age, and directly superposed carbonate and carbonate-cemented strata of latest Middle(?) and early Late Devonian age, are characterized by reversed polarity and high-latitude poles. The high-latitude Middle Cambrian pole, which appears to record a large but brief excursion of the polar wandering path, is considered provisional pending additional work. The Devonian data from Arizona indicate that a shift of the pole to a “late Paleozoic” position had occurred by Middle Devonian time.

Arizona↗
USGS1977

Recent metalliferous sediment in the North Pacific manganese nodule area

Quaternary sediments cored in the northeast Pacific nodule area (DOMES site C, 14°N, 126°W) contain a significant amount of hydrothermal metalliferous mud. Water content, color, mineralogy, and chemical composition are analogous to metalliferous sediments of the subequatorial East Pacific Rise. Correction for contribution of pelagic clay indicates the metalliferous fraction to be about 40% of the sediment. SiO 2 and Mg are major components in the corrected composition, as they are for other metalliferous sediments similarly corrected from a variety of East Pacific Rise and DSDP metalliferous sediments. A correlation between Mg and SiO 2 for these corrected sediments could indicate a hydrothermal origin for a significant portion of the SiO 2 . Results from DSDP in the nodule area suggest that metalliferous globules are a ubiquitous minor component of the Clipperton Oceanic Formation, which underlies much of the Pacific ferromanganese nodule belt. This indicates that deposition of hydrothermal precipitates is not confined to spreading centers.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1977

Hydrothermal transport of heavy metals by seawater: The role of seawater/basalt ratio

Seawater reacted with basaltic glass at 260°C and 500 bars under water-dominated conditions (50 : 1 water/rock ratio) efficiently leached and maintained heavy metals in solution. Cu, Zn, and Ba are transferred in significant proportions to the aqueous phase, while Fe and Mn attain concentrations of 45 and 20 ppm respectively as the basalt is completely made over to magnesian smectite. High metal solubility is a function of acidity maintained by large excess of dissolved Mg and equilibria with the alteration phase. Metal concentrations and relative proportions are consistent within limits required for metal-rich fluid which produced East Pacific Rise metalliferous sediments. Experiments mixing metal-bearing altered seawater and normal seawater were carried out as a qualitative indicator of sea-floor precipitation processes. Bulk composition of the precipitates are strongly influenced by mixing ratio. Precipitates range from silica-magnesium rich under low dilution by seawater to essentially pure ferric hydroxide under conditions of high dilution.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗
USGS1977

Measured oxygen fugacities of the Angra dos Reis achondrite as a function of temperature

Measurements of the oxygen fugacity (ƒO 2 ) as a function of temperature ( T ) were made on an interior bulk sample of the cumulate achondrite, Angra dos Reis. Data clustered between the ƒO 2 -T relationship of the iron-wüstite assemblage and 1.2 log atm units above iron-wüstite. Interpretation of the data indicates that, throughout most of the cooling history of the meteorite, ƒO 2 values were defined by equilibria involving iron-bearing species at values close to the ƒO 2 of the assemblage iron-wüstite. Measured ƒO 2 data are compatible with crystallization and cooling at pressures greater than 50 bars.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗