Enrichment Events Research Articles

Along-arc variations in lithospheric mantle compositions in Kamchatka, Russia: First trace element data on mantle xenoliths from the Klyuchevskoy Group volcanoes

We provide results of a detailed study of the first peridotite xenoliths of proven mantle origin reported from Bezymyanny volcano in the Klyuchevskoy Group, northern Kamchatka arc. The xenoliths are coarse spinel harzburgites made up mainly of Mg-rich olivine as well as subhedral orthopyroxene (opx) and Cr-rich spinel, and also contain fine-grained interstitial pyroxenes, amphibole and feldspar. The samples are unique in preserving the evidence for both initial arc mantle substrate produced by high-degree melt extraction and subsequent enrichment events. We show that the textures, modal and major oxide compositions of the Bezymyanny xenoliths are generally similar to those of spinel harzburgite xenoliths from Avacha volcano in southern Kamchatka. However, coarse opx from the Bezymyanny harzburgites has higher abundances of light and medium rare earth elements and other highly incompatible elements than coarse opx from the Avacha harzburgites. We infer that (1) the sub-arc lithospheric mantle beneath both Avacha and Bezymyanny (and possibly between these volcanoes) consists predominantly of harzburgitic melting residues, which experienced metasomatism by slab-related fluids or low-fraction, fluid-rich melts and (2) the degrees of metasomatism are higher beneath Bezymyanny. By contrast, xenolith suites from Shiveluch and Kharchinsky volcanoes 50–100km north of the Klyuchevskoy Group include abundant cumulates and products of reaction of mantle rocks with silicate melts at high melt/rock ratios. The high melt flux through the lithospheric mantle beneath Shiveluch and Kharchinsky may be related to the asthenospheric flow around the northern edge of the sinking Pacific plate; lateral propagation of fluids in the mantle wedge south of the plate edge may contribute to metasomatism in the mantle lithosphere beneath the Klyuchevskoy Group volcanoes.

Faunal Dynamics Across the Silurian—Devonian Positive Isotope Excursions (δ13C, δ18O) in Podolia, Ukraine: Comparative Analysis of the Ireviken and Klonk Events

Two global isotopic events, the early Sheinwoodian (early Wenlock) and that at the Silurian—Devonian transition, have been comprehensively studied in representative carbonate successions at Kytayhorod and Dnistrove, respectively, in Podolia, Ukraine, to compare geochemistry and biotic changes related correspondingly to the Ireviken and Klonk events. These two large-scale isotope excursions reveal different regional ecosystem tendencies. The well-defined increasing trend across the Llandovery—Wenlock boundary in siliciclastic input, redox states and, supposedly, bioproductivity, was without strict correlative relations to the major 13C enrichment event. The environmental and biotic evolution was forced by eustatic sea-level fluctuations and two-step climate change toward a glaciation episode, but strongly modified by regional epeirogeny movements due to location near the mobile Teisseyre-Tornquist Fault Zone. Thus, the global early Sheinwoodian biogeochemical perturbation was of minor depositional signific...

INSIGHTS INTO PRE-ENRICHMENT OF STAR CLUSTERS AND SELF-ENRICHMENT OF DWARF GALAXIES FROM THEIR INTRINSIC METALLICITY DISPERSIONS

Star clusters are known to have smaller intrinsic metallicity spreads than dwarf galaxies due to their shorter star formation timescales. Here we use individual spectroscopic [Fe/H] measurements of stars in 19 Local Group dwarf galaxies, 13 Galactic open clusters, and 49 globular clusters to show that star cluster and dwarf galaxy linear metallicity distributions are binomial in form, with all objects showing strong correlations between their mean linear metallicity $\bar{Z}$ and intrinsic spread in metallicity $\sigma(Z)^{2}$. A plot of $\sigma(Z)^{2}$ versus $\bar{Z}$ shows that the correlated relationships are offset for the dwarf galaxies from the star clusters. The common binomial nature of these linear metallicity distributions can be explained with a simple inhomogeneous chemical evolution model (e.g., Oey 2000), where the star cluster and dwarf galaxy behaviour in the $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ diagram is reproduced in terms of the number of enrichment events, covering fraction, and intrinsic size of the enriched regions. The inhomogeneity of the self-enrichment sets the slope for the observed dwarf galaxy $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ correlation. The offset of the star cluster sequence from that of the dwarf galaxies is due to pre-enrichment, and the slope of the star cluster sequence represents the remnant signature of the self-enriched history of their host galaxies. The offset can be used to separate star clusters from dwarf galaxies without a priori knowledge of their luminosity or dynamical mass. The application of the inhomogeneous model to the $\sigma(Z)^{2}-\bar{Z}$ relationship provides a numerical formalism to connect the self-enrichment and pre-enrichment between star clusters and dwarf galaxies using physically motivated chemical enrichment parameters.

The effects of predictability in daily husbandry routines on captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) housed indoors experience many routine husbandry activities on a daily basis. The anticipation of these events can lead to stress, regardless of whether the events themselves are positive or aversive in nature. The specific goal of this study was to identify whether increasing the predictability of husbandry events could decrease stress and anxiety in captive rhesus macaques. This study was conducted on 39 single-housed subjects in four indoor rooms at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. Temporal and signaled predictability were added to four daily husbandry events: morning and afternoon feeding, enrichment distribution, and room cleaning. Temporally predictable husbandry events occurred reliably at the same time daily, while signaled predictable husbandry events were preceded by a distinct event-specific signal in the form of a doorbell. Informal tests prior to study onset found the doorbells not to be aversive to the subjects. Subjects received each of four treatments: unpredictable events, temporally predictable events, signaled predictable events, and temporally and signaled predictable events. Change in stress was evaluated by monitoring changes in motor stereotypies and displacement behaviors. Our results showed that subjects displayed less stress and anticipatory behaviors related to feeding and enrichment events when the events were temporally predictable (P<0.0001). When husbandry events were preceded by a reliable signal, subjects vocalized less prior to the event and were less responsive to activity outside of the room (P<0.01). However this may have come at a cost as the animals were extremely reactive to the doorbell signals and showed a heightened stress response during the actual husbandry events (P<0.01). Similar to temporal predictability alone, when temporal predictability was combined with signaled predictability subjects displayed less stress and anticipatory behaviors related to feeding and enrichment events (P<0.0001). In addition, when both forms of predictability were combined subjects showed less stress behaviors while waiting for daily room cleaning (P<0.01). When signaled predictability was paired with temporal predictability subjects no longer had the negative response to the doorbell signal, as they were able to predict and anticipate when the events would occur. Because these results are not necessarily applicable to animals that are given control over their environment or housed in a group setting, the management recommendation that can be made from this study is that temporal predictability of feeding reduces stress and anxiety and is thus beneficial to captive indoor single-housed rhesus macaques.

Major- and Trace-Element Compositions of Indicator Minerals that Occur as Macro- and Megacrysts, and of Xenoliths, from Kimberlites in Northeastern Angola

In this study, we compare the major- and trace-element compositions of olivine, garnet, and clinopyroxene that occur as single crystals (142 grains), with those derived from xenoliths (51 samples) from six kimberlites in the Lucapa area, northeastern Angola: Tchiuzo, Anomaly 116, Catoca, Alto Cuilo-4, Alto Cuilo-63 and Cucumbi-79. The samples were analyzed using electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The results suggest different paragenetic associations for these kimberlites in the Lucapa area. Compositional overlap in some of the macrocryst and mantle xenolith samples indicates a xenocrystic origin for some of those macrocrysts. The presence of mantle xenocrysts suggests the possibility of finding diamond. Geothermobarometric calculations were carried out using EPMA data from xenoliths by applying the program PTEXL.XLT. Additional well calibrated single-clinopyroxene thermobarometric calculations were also applied. Results indicate the underlying mantle experienced different equilibration conditions. Subsequent metasomatic enrichment events also support a hypothesis of different sources for the kimberlites. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the petrogenetic evolution of the kimberlites in northeastern Angola and have important implications for diamond exploration.

‘Hungry for hands-on’: talented, inner-city engineering students, applied learning and employer engagement in a vocational-learning trajectory

This paper analyses the findings of a case study into the attitudes and experiences of engineering students and teachers on a vocational education trajectory from the 14–19 Diploma in Engineering through post-16 vocational courses to a university Access course. The research took place in 2008–2009 in a deprived inner city area of London. A baseline survey of nearly 100 participants sought the views of secondary and further education (FE) students as to learning preferences, attitudes to the subject, motivation and aspirations. These issues were investigated in more depth through interviews with secondary, vocational and university access students nominated by their teachers as talented. Engineering teachers at secondary, FE and higher education levels were interviewed regarding their understandings of talent in engineering and their approaches to nurturing such talent. The paper overviews the findings on these questions, and focuses in more depth on issues surrounding applied learning and employer engagement. The study found strong preferences among learners and teachers in all phases for applied and work-relevant learning approaches in engineering education. Opportunities for these were unbalanced through the phases, however, with work experience, enrichment events and access to professional engineers more available to the younger, 14–19 Diploma students than to further or higher education students.

NUCLEOSYNTHESIS AND THE INHOMOGENEOUS CHEMICAL EVOLUTION OF THE CARINA DWARF GALAXY

The detailed abundances of 23 elements in nine bright RGB stars in the Carina dSph are presented based on high resolution spectra gathered at the VLT and Magellan telescopes. A spherical model atmospheres analysis is applied using standard methods to spectra ranging from 380 to 680 nm. The stars in this analysis range from -2.9 < [Fe/H] < -1.3, and adopting the ages determined by Lemasle et al. (2012), we are able to examine the chemical evolution of Carina's old and intermediate-aged populations. One of the main results from this work is the evidence for inhomogeneous mixing in Carina; a large dispersion in [Mg/Fe] indicates poor mixing in the old population, an offset in the [alpha/Fe] ratios between the old and intermediate-aged populations (when examined with previously published results) suggests that the second star formation event occurred in alpha-enriched gas, and one star, Car-612, seems to have formed in a pocket enhanced in SN Ia/II products. This latter star provides the first direct link between the formation of stars with enhanced SN Ia/II ratios in dwarf galaxies to those found in the outer Galactic halo (Ivans et al. 2003). Another important result is the potential evidence for SN II driven winds. We show that the very metal-poor stars in Carina have not been enhanced in AGB or SN Ia products, and therefore their very low ratios of [Sr/Ba] suggests the loss of contributions from the early SNe II. Low ratios of [Na/Fe], [Mn/Fe], and [Cr/Fe] in two of these stars support this scenario, with additional evidence from the low [Zn/Fe] upper limit for one star. It is interesting that the chemistry of the metal-poor stars in Carina is not similar to those in the Galaxy, most of the other dSphs, or the UFDs, and suggests that Carina may be at the critical mass where some chemical enrichment events are lost through SN II driven winds.

A phytoplankton tool for water quality assessment in semi-enclosed coastal lagoons: Open vs closed regimes

The Atlantic western coast of Portugal includes several shallow coastal lagoons, such as Óbidos, Albufeira and Santo André, that are intermittently closed to the ocean by sand barriers. Their physico–chemical characteristics, as well as their residence time and tidal influence, are highly dependent on the open/closed periods and on the inter-annual raining/dry season's variability with important impacts on the phytoplankton community structure, abundance and dynamics. Furthermore, the number of coastal ecosystems with identified eutrophication symptoms is increasing worldwide due to the increasing anthropogenic pressures. Eutrophication is one of the greatest threats to water quality in coastal lagoons and a major concern for the European water quality regulators. One of the first symptoms of eutrophication is enhanced algal biomass. Thus, phytoplankton is generally one of the most important biological indicator of these processes.In this study, all available phytoplankton (chlorophyll and taxa blooms) and nutrient data from a period of more than 50 years were gathered. During the periods of closure, these lagoons have favoring conditions for phytoplankton growth, which can reach high levels of chlorophyll a (chl a, 290 μg L−1), as observed in Óbidos lagoon during the 80's. At that time, during the open periods, the highest chl a concentration registered was about one fifth lower (64 μg L−1). At present, this lagoon is artificially maintained open during almost all the time and the highest observed chl a concentration was 7 μg L−1. Comparatively, the lagoon of Albufeira still presents high phytoplankton biomass levels during the closed periods (e.g. 55 μg L−1, during winter 2004). In these semi-enclosed systems, phytoplankton blooms are recurrent and HAB species are frequently observed.Significant linear relationships were found between nutrient and chlorophyll concentration, during the open and closed periods, for the lagoon of Óbidos. This assessment was performed to validate the use of phytoplankton as an indicator of anthropogenic pressures. A tool for the classification, under the WFD, of the ecological quality of water bodies within these coastal lagoons is also described based on two different situations: open vs closed lagoon. A set of reference conditions and boundaries are also proposed. This tool was tested and validated against a scale of risk. In addition, the usefulness of specific species as ecological quality indicators is discussed, highlighting the occurrence of frequent Prorocentrum minimum blooms and its association with nutrient enrichment events worldwide.

Mafic and silica-rich glasses in mantle xenoliths from Wau-en-Namus, Libya: Textural and geochemical evidence for peridotite–melt reactions

Anhydrous spinel peridotite xenoliths in Quaternary nepheline-basanite and melilite- or sodalite-bearing lavas of the Wau-en-Namus volcano in S Libya range from lherzolites to harzburgites recording melt extraction in a shallow setting (≤ 2 GPa). Primary clinopyroxenes have distinct trace element characteristics documenting LILE (large ion lithophile element) depletion or enrichment events predating the formation of glass pockets and veins in the xenoliths. These glasses are aluminous and alkali-rich, range in composition from ultrabasic to silicic (43–67 wt.% SiO 2) and may contain empty vugs and micro-phenocrysts of olivine, clinopyroxene, spinel, plagioclase, sodalite, apatite that are similar in composition to phenocrysts in the host lavas. Reactions of infiltrating melt and xenolith minerals are documented by diffuse Fe–Ca-rich rims of olivine in contact with glass, and by spongy-textured reaction domains caused by incongruent dissolution of primary pyroxenes and spinel. Some glasses have trace element characteristics similar to that of the host Ne-basanite, suggesting they were derived from the same source during entrainment and transport to the surface. Incompatible element enrichment and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of the analyzed host lava are similar to HIMU (high μ; μ = 238Pb/ 204Pb)-type magmas, but the Pb isotopic composition is less radiogenic compared to other intra-plate Neogene magmatic rocks from N Africa.

Promoting community language learning in the United Kingdom

The COLT (Community and Lesser Taught Languages) project is a consortium of five UK universities, working with various other regional organisations to set up replicable projects and structures to promote languages in North West England. It received funding under the UK's national ‘Routes into Languages’ initiative. One objective was to promote community languages through language enrichment events for schools to encourage pupils to continue studying a language at school and at university. The other objective was to develop a potential framework for increasing capacity to deliver teaching in a range of languages, using the wealth of native speakers who live in our community but who are often unaware of how to gain formal training in how to teach their own language. The purpose of this article is to report on the project, drawing conclusions from the work undertaken so far.

Melt evolution in subarc mantle: evidence from heating experiments on spinel-hosted melt inclusions in peridotite xenoliths from the andesitic Avacha volcano (Kamchatka, Russia)

Glass-bearing inclusions hosted by Cr-spinel in harzburgite xenoliths from Avacha are grouped based on homogenization temperatures and daughter minerals into high-T (1,200°C; opx + cpx), intermediate (900–1,100°C; cpx ± amph), and low-T (900°C; amph) and are commonly accompanied by larger “melt pockets”. Unlike previous work on unheated inclusions and interstitial glass in xenoliths from Kamchatka, the homogenized glass compositions in this study are not affected by low-pressure melt fractionation during transport and cooling or by interaction with host magma. Primary melt compositions constrained for each inclusion type differ in major and trace element abundances and were formed by different events, but all are silica saturated, Ca-rich, and K-poor, with enrichments in LREE, Sr, Rb, and Ba and negative Nb anomalies. These melts are inferred to have been formed with participation of fluids produced by dehydration of slab materials. The high-T inclusions trapped liquids produced by ancient high-degree, fluid-induced melting in the mantle wedge. The low-T inclusions are related to percolation of low-T melts or hydrous fluids in arc mantle lithosphere. Melt pockets arise from localized heating and fluid-assisted melting induced by rising magmas shortly before the entrapment of the xenoliths. The “high-T” melt inclusions in Avacha xenoliths are unique in preserving evidence of ancient, high-T melting events in arc mantle, whereas the published data appear to characterize pre-eruption enrichment events.

THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES OF THE FIRST STAR CLUSTERS IN THE UNIVERSE

The chemical abundance patterns of the oldest stars in the Galaxy are expected to contain residual signatures of the first stars in the early universe. Numerous studies attempt to explain the intrinsic abundance scatter observed in some metal-poor populations in terms of chemical inhomogeneities dispersed throughout the early Galactic medium due to discrete enrichment events. Just how the complex data and models are to be interpreted with respect to "progenitor yields" remains an open question. Here we show that stochastic chemical evolution models to date have overlooked a crucial fact. Essentially all stars today are born in highly homogeneous star clusters and it is likely that this was also true at early times. When this ingredient is included, the overall scatter in the abundance plane [Fe/H] vs. [X/Fe] (C-space), where X is a nucleosynthetic element, can be much less than derived from earlier models. Moreover, for moderately flat cluster mass functions (gamma < 2), and/or for mass functions with a high mass cut-off (M_max > 10^5 M_sun), stars exhibit a high degree of clumping in C-space that can be identified even in relatively small data samples. Since stellar abundances can be modified by mass transfer in close binaries, clustered signatures are essential for deriving the yields of the first supernovae. We present a statistical test to determine whether a given set of observations exhibit such behaviour. Our initial work focusses on two dimensions in C-space, but we show that the clustering signal can be greatly enhanced by additional abundance axes. The proposed experiment will be challenging on existing 8-10m telescopes, but relatively straightforward for a multi-object echelle spectrograph mounted on a 25-40m telescope.

Reality maths: mathematics lessons from regular floor tiling

Many students do not really see that the mathematics they study at school has anything to do with real life. In this article, I discuss material I have used directly with students from 8 years of age up to 15 years, in Cathedral Maths Days held at Ely Cathedral (http://www.cathedral.ely.anglican.org/; a large, medieval cathedral in Cambridgeshire in the UK), and in other schools’ enrichment events (See [Motivate, Maths of churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, 2008. Available at http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=157 (Accessed 15 April 2009)] and [Motivate, Maths of churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, 2007. Available at http://motivate.maths.org/conferences/conference.php?conf_id=120 (Accessed 15 April 2009)] for examples of project work suggestions for these events). I have discussed using religious buildings in general as sources of mathematics elsewhere [J. Gage, The maths of churches, mosques, synagogues and temples, in Proceedings of Bridges Leeuwarden, 2008, Reza Sarhangi and Carlo Séquin, eds., Tarquin Books, London, 2008, pp. 195–200], so in this article I concentrate on tiling and other decorative patterns which can be used to motivate a variety of mathematical discussions and investigations for students through a wide age range, and which also help them to see how the maths connects with reality. Although I consider it very desirable for the students to view the tilings and patterns in situ, these ideas are intended to be adapted for use in other locations where possible or with photos. The mathematical areas covered include proportion and fractions, symmetry, number patterns, deriving algebraic formulae and programming.

Petrogenesis of Late Mesozoic mafic dykes in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern North China Craton and implications for the foundering of lower crust

Late Mesozoic (122.5–127 Ma) mafic dykes (dolerite-porphyries) in the Beibo gold district, Shandong Province, eastern North China Craton, can be subdivided into two groups (high-K and low-K) based upon K2O content. They are characterised by enrichment in light rare earth element (LREE) and some large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) (e.g., Rb, Ba and Sr), similar concentrations of heavy rare earth elements (HREEs), high (87Sr/86Sr)i ranging from 0.7094 to 0.7101, low εNd(t) values from −15.3 to −13.9, 206Pb/204Pb=16.98–17.70, 207Pb/204Pb=15.47–15.55 and 208Pb/204Pb=37.61–37.89. In addition, the high-K dolerite-porphyries are distinguished by negative Eu, Nb, Ta, P anomalies in chondrite-normalised REE and primitive-mantle-normalised trace element diagrams. These features suggest that they were derived from a common, enriched garnet-lherzolite mantle beneath the North China Craton, and that this was metasomatised by multiple enrichment events induced by hybridism of foundering lower crust at mantle depths. The low-K dolerite-porphyries were produced by 10–15% partial melting of the garnet-lherzolite source that had undergone metasomatism by carbonate-rich fluids producing secondary phlogopite and amphibole, whereas the high-K group was derived by relatively low-degree (3–5%) partial melting of a source that had experienced metasomatism by a carbonate-rich fluid with crystallisation of only secondary amphibole. The Pd-subgroup platinum-group element (PPGE) (Rh, Pt and Pd) enrichment and Ir-subgroup platinum-group element (IPGE) (Ir and Ru) depletion of these mafic dykes suggest derivation from an S-unsaturated magma. Geochemical and PGE features indicate that fractionation of olivine, clinopyroxene, hornblende, plagioclase, ilmenite, titanite, apatite, laurite and Os–Ir–Ru alloys was important in the formation of the high-K mafic magma. Additionally, separation of all the above phases with the exception of plagioclase and apatite played an important role in the origin of low-K dolerite-porphyries. Minor crustal contamination also occurred during ascent of these mafic magmas.

Nature and timing of multiple metasomatic events in the sub-cratonic lithosphere beneath Labait, Tanzania

Petrography, mineral major- and trace element analyses and Rb–Sr and Sm–Nd systematics of xenoliths from Labait volcano, north-central Tanzania, document multiple metasomatic events after initial depletion of the Archaean sub-lithospheric mantle. Four distinct metasomatic phases occurred during the 2.8–3.2 Ga history of the mantle section of the Tanzanian craton. 1) Garnet and Cr-diopside in two depleted lherzolites record LREE enrichment in an early cryptic metasomatic event (~ 2 Ga) resulting in unradiogenic ε Nd (− 6.6) and relatively radiogenic Sr signature ( 87Sr/ 86Sr = 0.7049); 2) Four texturally equilibrated peridotites contain phlogopite and Cr-diopside inferred to be introduced by a hydrous melt/fluid that produced LREE enrichment related to the subduction and collision during the 650 Ma Pan-African Orogeny; 3) Fe-enrichment is observed in many garnet-free wehrlites and dunites having low Mg# olivines. Timing of this enrichment event remains poorly defined; and 4) One spinel lherzolite records orthopyroxene replacing clinopyroxene due to recent infiltration of a rift-related H 2O poor, K-alkaline silicate melt. This ongoing metasomatic reaction caused by rift-related magmatism would result in the conversion of lherzolite to orthopyroxene-rich harzburgite. The reaction possibly represents the mechanism involved in the formation of orthopyroxene-rich sub-continental lithospheric mantle below the Kaapvaal and Siberian cratons. Generally, the rift-related metasomatism beneath Tanzania has caused formation of interstitial clinopyroxene, melt veins and melt pockets and new rims of phlogopite, all of which are in chemical disequilibrium with the original xenolith mineralogy.

Episodic meteorological and nutrient-load events as drivers of coastal planktonic ecosystem dynamics: a time-series analysis

In temperate coastal zones, episodic meteorological forcing can have a strong impact on the classical seasonal phytoplankton succession. Episodes of continental runoff and wind storms involve nutrient enrichment and turbulence, 2 factors that can promote primary production and alter the planktonic community species composition and size structure. We determined the joint influence of these 2 variables on the osmotrophic plankton of an oligotrophic NW Mediterranean open bay. We used an 8 yr long time series of monthly physical, chemical and biological water-column parameters, and we looked for correlations between these and several meteorological and physical high- frequency time series through cross-correlation analyses. Influence of river runoff in this particular location was found to be very important for phytoplankton dynamics, whereas no immediate response of bacterioplankton was detected. Resuspension events caused by waves had a secondary importance. Cross correlations allowed defining a sequence of responses to these types of forcing, from changes in water turbidity and salinity, to increases in phytoplankton and bacteria abundances through nutrient enrichments. The maximum response of the ecosystem in terms of chlorophyll a concentration lagged nutrient enrichment events by about 1 wk. A more detailed analysis was per- formed between June 2003 and June 2004, a period characterised by an intense drought in summer and by 6 strong meteorological events afterwards. The increase in the frequency of meteorological events during this period drove the system from heterotrophy to autotrophy. Our data stress the importance of episodic meteorological events in coastal planktonic communities.

Mantle source variations beneath the Eastern Lau Spreading Center and the nature of subduction components in the Lau basin–Tonga arc system

New high‐density sampling of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center provides constraints on the processes that affect the mantle wedge beneath a back‐arc environment, including the effect of the subduction input on basalt petrogenesis and the change in subduction input with distance from the Tonga arc. We obtained trace element and Pb‐Sr‐Nd isotopic compositions of 64 samples distributed between 20.2°S and 22.3°S with an average spacing of ∼3.6 km. The trace element and isotope variations do not vary simply with distance from the arc and reflect variations in the mantle wedge composition and the presence of multiple components in the subduction input. The mantle wedge composition varies form north to south, owing to the southward migration of Indian‐like mantle, progressively replacing the initially Pacific‐like mantle wedge. The mantle wedge compositions also require an enriched mid‐ocean ridge basalt–like trace element enrichment that has little effect on isotope ratios, suggesting recent low‐degree melt enrichment events. The composition of the subduction input added to the mantle wedge is geographically variable and mirrors the changes observed in the Tonga arc island lavas. The combination of the back‐arc and arc data allows identification of several components contributing to the subduction input. These are a fluid derived from the altered oceanic crust with a possible sedimentary contribution, a pelagic sediment partial melt, and, in the southern Lau basin, a volcaniclastic sediment partial melt. While on a regional scale, there is a rough decrease in subduction influence with the distance from the arc, on smaller scales, the distribution of the subduction input reflects different mechanisms of the addition of the subduction input to a variable mantle wedge.

The Nonsulfide Zinc Deposit at Accha (Southern Peru): Geological and Mineralogical Characterization

The Accha-Yanque zinc belt is located in the southern Altiplano of Peru, a major zinc-rich metallogenic province hosting a number of economic mineral deposits (porphyry copper and skarn ores). Several nonsulfide-type occurrences, showings, and mineral deposits are situated in a belt, peripheral to the northern, northeastern, and northwestern edge of the Oligocene-(Miocene?) Yauri-Apurimac batholith. Mineralization is hosted in breccias of both sedimentary and tectonic origin in the limestones of the Middle to Upper Cretaceous Ferrobamba Formation. Primary ores belong to the carbonate replacement deposit type and are at least in part structurally controlled. Currently, the Zn mineralization is almost fully oxidized: the Accha deposit can be assigned to both direct replacement and wall-rock replacement types. The mineralized zone (indicated resources 5.1 Mt @ 8.2% Zn and 0.9% Pb) occupies the hinge of an anticlinal dome that has been exposed by erosion. The southern limb of the structure dips about 55° to the south-southwest, whereas its northern limb is truncated by faults. The nonsulfide concentrations, consisting of a mineralized zone 5 to 20 m thick, are continuous along strike to the west for at least 700 m. The mineralogy of the Accha deposit shares many characteristics with that of the typical carbonate-hosted calamine-type nonsulfide Zn ores. The nonsulfide mineral association consists mainly of smithsonite and hemimorphite replacing both primary ore minerals and carbonate host rocks. Hydrozincite has been detected only in samples near the surface. Smithsonite occurs in zoned concretions with goethite, Mn (hydr)oxides and Zn clays, as well as replacive cement in the limestone intervals. One of the most peculiar nonsulfide Zn minerals at Accha is a sauconite-like, zincian smectite, variably concentrated throughout the deposit. Locally sauconite occurs as replacement of detrital feldspars and/or detrital fragments occurring in marly sediments or in infills of karst cavities. It also replaces both hemimorphite and smithsonite deposited during earlier stages. The age of the supergene products in the whole belt is poorly constrained, although there is geomorphologic evidence that the formation of supergene minerals postdates by more than 10 m.y. the last large-scale secondary enrichment event that terminated with central Andean climatic desiccation at ~15 Ma. The age of the Accha deposit may be consistent with a Pliocene K-Ar date of 3.3 ± 0.2 Ma obtained for supergene alunite from the top part of the leached cap in the nearby Cotabambas Cu deposit.

SENSITIVITY ANALYSES OF POPULATION BIOMASS DYNAMICS FOR ULVA SPP. AND SARGASSUM FURCATUM AT THE CABO FRIO UPWELLING REGION OF BRAZIL

Sargassum furcatum population dynamics was studied at Cabo Frio Island, where generally the effect of upwelling waters is sporadic and occurs mainly during the summer months at Farol Beach. Model sensitivity analyses were compared for Sargassum simulations at Cabo Frio Island and for Ulva dynamics simulated with data sets collected at two other upwelling sites, Sonar and Jaconé. Field data suggests that Sargassum growth shows a delay to nutrient enrichment events, whereas Ulva growth follows nutrient peaks more closely. Algal biomass was simulated with parameter values changed plus and minus 10%, one at a time, while holding all other parameters constant. Those parameters that cause, a plus or minus change of greater than 10% in the model output, were used in the next stage of the sensitivity analyses. In the second stage, a fractional factorial design was used to evaluate the main effect of a particular parameter. The parameter literature survey and sensitivity analyses, for both Sargassum and Ulva models, suggest that parameters related to environmental factors, such as minimal cellular nutrient quota for growth- and temperature-related growth functions, should be further investigated for algae at the Cabo Frio upwelling region, since they caused a change in the biomass output greater than 10%.

Origins of subcalcic garnets and their relation to diamond forming fluids—Case studies from Ekati (NWT-Canada) and Murowa (Zimbabwe)

Subcalcic, high-Cr (G10) garnets are found as inclusions within diamonds and in peridotitic xenoliths. The strong spatial associations between G10 garnets and diamond make them an important tool in the investigation of diamond genesis. We present an integrated study of the major and trace element composition and oxygen–Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic ratios of eight G10 garnets from the Ekati mine (NWT-Canada) and four from the Murowa mine (Zimbabwe) in an attempt to determine their petrogenetic evolution and to further examine a possible relationship between the metasomatic agents responsible for G10 garnet signatures and diamond forming fluids. All garnets display sinusoidal to mildly sinusoidal REE patterns and have negative Ti, Sr and positive U anomalies. They have variably radiogenic 87Sr/ 86Sr (0.703261–0.731191) and non-radiogenic ε Nd values (−8.1 to −27.1), except for one sample from Murowa that has a positive ε Nd of 2.5. One Ekati sample has an extremely low ε Hf value of −61.6. The Ekati garnets we have studied all appear to come from a single depth in the Slave lithospheric mantle. On the base of Cr–Ca relations they have crystallized at 4.9 GPa and display dunitic Ca intercept values. Their δ 18O values range between +5.23‰ and +5.42‰. The Ekati G10 garnets record a complex, multi-stage metasomatic history involving the interaction of several components during their genesis. One metasomatic agent was enriched in HFSE, LREE, Sr, and depleted in Nb. This agent had the least radiogenic Sr. Another metasomatic agent had highly radiogenic Sr, and was enriched in LREE, Sr, Nb, Th and U. The G10 garnets have very low ε Nd and ε Hf values combined with radiogenic Sr, thus, they require an early lithospheric mantle enrichment event at some stage during their genesis or during the evolution of any precursor material that they formed from. The only Hf isotope composition measurable from the Ekati suite is so unradiogenic ( ε Hf = −61) that it yields a Lu/Hf model age of 3521 Ma. This indicates that the lithospheric enrichment event seen by the Ekati garnets or their precursors may have occurred in the early stages of the craton stabilization, during the diamond forming event [Westerlund K., Shirey S., Richardson S., Carlson R., Gurney J. and Harris J. (2006) A subduction wedge origin for Paleoarchean peridotitic diamonds and harzburgites from the Panda kimberlite, Slave craton: evidence from Re–Os isotope systematics. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 152(3), 275–294]. Although our data cannot unequivocally discriminate between a variety of models for the genesis of subcalcic garnets it is clear that the host peridotite originated via melting at shallow depths followed by subduction and that the observed geochemical fingerprint of the garnets is strongly influenced by diamond forming fluids. Diamond forming fluids sampled from fibrous diamonds, have steep REE patterns, negative Ti and Sr anomalies and very low Sm/Nd ratios that are very similar to G10 garnet characteristics. These diamond forming fluids have been recently shown to have extreme Sr and Nd isotopic compositions [Klein-BenDavid O., Pearson D. G., Nowell G. M. and Cantigny P. (2008) Origins of diamond forming fluids—constraints from a coupled Sr–Nd isotope and trace element approach. Extended abstracts to the 9th International Kimberlite Conference, Frankfurt, Germany, 9IKC-A-00118.] that are closely concordant with G10 garnets. The fluids are also rich in LREE, P, K and water, sharing these features with mica-rich metasomes. These similarities suggest that ancient lithospheric metasomes could either provide a source region for, or be a product of diamond forming fluids. Diamond forming fluids appear to be intimately involved in the evolution of G10 garnets in the lithospheric mantle, either acting as a metasomatic agent, or being integral to triggering or enhancing garnet growth in a Cr-rich protolith. Such a link explains the strong association between G10 garnets and diamonds.