Internal Contacts Research Articles

Growth of plutons by incremental emplacement of sheets in crystal-rich host: Evidence from Miocene intrusions of the Colorado River region, Nevada, USA

Growing evidence supports the notion that plutons are constructed incrementally, commonly over long periods of time, yet field evidence for the multiple injections that seem to be required is commonly sparse or absent. Timescales of up to several million years, among other arguments, indicate that the dominant volume does not remain largely molten, yet if growing plutons are constructed from rapidly solidifying increments it is unlikely that intrusive contacts would escape notice. A model wherein magma increments are emplaced into melt-bearing but crystal-rich host, rather than either solid or crystal-poor material, provides a plausible explanation for this apparent conundrum. A partially solidified intrusion undoubtedly comprises zones with contrasting melt fraction and therefore strength. Depending on whether these zones behave elastically or ductilely in response to dike emplacement, intruding magma may spread to form sheets by either of two mechanisms. If the melt-bearing host is elastic on the relevant timescale, magma spreads rather than continuing to propagate upward, where it encounters a zone of higher rigidity (higher crystal fraction). Similarly, if the dike at first ascends through rigid, melt-poor material and then encounters a zone that is weak enough (poor enough in crystals) to respond ductilely, the ascending material will also spread because the dike tip ceases to propagate as in rigid material. We propose that ascending magma is thus in essence trapped, by either mechanism, within relatively crystal-poor zones. Contacts will commonly be obscure from the start because the contrast between intruding material (crystal-poorer magma) and host (crystal-richer material) is subtle, and they may be obscured even further by subsequent destabilization of the crystal-melt framework. Field evidence and zircon zoning stratigraphy in plutons of the Colorado River region of southern Nevada support the hypothesis that emplacement of magma replenishments into a crystal-laden host is important in pluton construction. The dominant granite unit of the Spirit Mountain batholith displays only subtle internal contacts. However, ages and elemental zoning in zircons demonstrate a protracted history of almost 2 million years, major fluctuations in T and host melt chemistry, and mixing of strongly contrasting populations of magmatic zircon in single samples. We interpret this to reflect reactivation of rigid sponge and mush and entrainment of earlier-formed crystals, and we infer that this was in response to granitic replenishment. Much of the smaller Aztec Wash pluton comprises interlayered cumulate-textured quartz monzonite and mafic sheets. The latest phase of pluton emplacement is marked by numerous thick, fine-grained granite “sills” that intruded the subhorizontal quartz monzonite sheets. Contacts between granite and quartz monzonite are “soft,” highly irregular on cm–dm scale with coarse xenocrysts from the quartz monzonite entrained in the fine-grained granite. We interpret the granite replenishments to have spread laterally within crystal-rich, melt-bearing quartz monzonite beneath rigid mafic sheets. In this case, clear evidence for the emplacement process is fortuitously preserved because the granite was emplaced in the waning stage of the thermal lifetime of the pluton, and because the mafic sheets enhance the strength contrast and make the geometry more visible. Similar “sills” of fine-grained granite were also preserved during the late stages of the history of the Spirit Mountain batholith.

Electrochemical in Situ Electron Spin Resonance, Conductance, and Atomic Force Microscopy Studies of Poly-o-phenylenediamine

Poly-o-phenylenediamine (PoPD) has been commonly considered to be almost insulative at high electrode potentials (in the oxidized state). However, our in situ conductance and in situ electron spin resonance (ESR) results in controlled electrochemical environments suggested that PoPD at high potentials is not only still conductive but probably even more conductive than at low potentials, showing distinct contrast to the prevailing views in the literature (Yano, J.; Shimoyama, A.; Nagaoka, T.; Ogura, K. Denki Kagaku 1992, 60, 1101). The controversy is explained by the difference between the intrinsic conductivity of a material and the measured conductivity of a test sample made from this material. When internal contacts are poor in the test sample, apparent conductivity would be less than the intrinsic conductivity by a certain extent, depending on the measuring conditions. In situ atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed significant roughening of the PoPD coating with switching potentials from low to high values, implying worse internal contacts, resulting in considerably depressed apparent conductivity. This AFM observation supports well the conclusion inferred from the in situ conductance and ESR measurements.

The role of gas-fluidisation in the formation of massive volcaniclastic kimberlite

Massive volcaniclastic kimberlite (MVK) deposits are a volumetrically important constituent in most kimberlite diatremes. MVKs are typically characterised by their uniform texture and homogeneous composition, and previous studies suggest that they exhibit little appreciable internal variation. However, new field results from the Venetia K1 diatreme (South Africa) show that MVK displays significant changes over metre-scales. The textural characteristics and large- and small-scale structure of the deposits are described and interpreted as being due to fluidisation. Laboratory experiments of tapered fluidised beds demonstrate how they are heterogeneous, with fluidisation and mixing limited to the centre of the bed. Marginal wedge-shaped regions remain unfluidised. The unfluidised regions are internally laminated and slip downwards when a high proportion of the bed is fluidised. The observations also demonstrate how fluctuations in gas velocity can produce steep internal boundaries between laminated and well-mixed regions. Data consistent with gas-fluidisation in MVK deposits includes the massive structure, uniform distribution of lithic clasts, presence of steep internal contacts, dominantly sub-vertical crystal fabrics across the vent, occurrence of surface-derived material along the tapered diatreme walls, and the presence of degassing structures. We propose that the overall structure of the Venetia K1 diatreme-fill is consistent with a multi-stage fluidised emplacement, which involved (1) strong initial fluidisation that caused thorough mixing of juvenile and lithic material; (2) a gradual step-wise decrease in gas flux, that produced nested pipe-like sequences; and (3) migration of the narrow fluidised column towards the steep eastern diatreme wall. The occurrence of (4) degassing structures in MVK deposits across the vent is consistent with an overall rapid transition from high to low degrees of fluidisation towards the end of the eruption.

Magmatic erosion of the solidification front during reintrusion: the eastern margin of the Tuolumne batholith, Sierra Nevada, California

The Tuolumne batholith, Sierra Nevada, California, consists of several nested granitoid units and is an example of upper-crustal normally zoned intrusions. The two outermost units of the batholith are separated by a wide gradational contact in what is interpreted to represent a large magma chamber. In the Potter Point area near the eastern margin of the batholith, the gradational contact is cross-cut by a network of interconnected mafic–felsic sheets, which grade into zones of magmatic erosion by stoping where the host granodiorite between the sheets was entirely removed and replaced by younger enclave-rich quartz diorite. We interpret these features to record disruption of a steep solidification front, which migrated inwards from the eastern batholith margin and separated the mushy to solidified margin from the remaining active magma chamber. When intersecting the gradational contact, the solidification front started to break up via a network of tectonically driven fractures accompanied by simultaneous injection of localized magma pulses. The solidification front break-up is interpreted here as an initial stage of a “recycling” process, whereby older magma mush is disrupted and incorporated into younger magma batches, a process we propose to have been widespread along internal contacts in the Tuolumne magma chamber.

Four-stage building of the Cambrian Carion pluton (Madagascar)

ABSTRACTThe 532±5 Ma old Carion pluton is a dark, porphyritic ferro-potassic granitoid emplaced near the late Pan-African Angavo mega-shear zone. A rough normal zoning from tonalitic to granitic compositions can be recognised in the field. Steep magmatic foliations are evidenced by K-feldspar megacryst preferred orientations. Microstructures are either magmatic or typical of incipient solid-state deformation in near solidus conditions. Magnetic susceptibility magnitudes (K) range from 11 to 111×10−3 SI in the pluton and can be correlated to the petrography (highest K values in the tonalites; lowest K in the granites; granodiorites in between). The susceptibility magnitudes display a complex zoning pattern. Combined with the arrangement of magnetic foliation trajectories, it is possible to delineate four nested sub-units, regarded as four magmatic pulses successively emplaced from the west to the east of the pluton. The four pulses are characterised by very similar magma geochemistry, but variable magmatic differentiation. The highest degrees of magnetic susceptibility anisotropies (up to 1·6) are observed along internal contacts between sub-units and along the borders of the pluton. The magnetic lineations are also steeply plunging in some places in each sub-unit, possibly imaging the different feeder zones. Magma emplacement occurred at the end of the activity of the Angavo shear zone, hence avoiding re-orientation of the magmatic structures by the late Pan-African transcurrent tectonics. The diachronicity of the four magmatic pulses is consistent with previously determined palaeomagnetic data, because only the two older sub-units display a magnetic reversal sequence, whereas the two youngest sub-units lack any reversion. Emplacement of these four magmatic batches was responsible for a strain aureole and suggests a diapiric mode of ascent.

Iron binding effects on the kinetic stability and unfolding energetics of a thermophilic phenylalanine hydroxylase from Chloroflexus aurantiacus

The effects of non-heme iron binding on the function, structure, and stability of a monomeric phenylalanine hydroxylase from the thermophile Chloroflexus aurantiacus (caPAH) were investigated. Comparative studies on holo (iron-bound) and apo (iron-depleted) caPAH indicated that iron(II) binding does not significantly affect the overall structure of the enzyme. Thermal denaturation studies performed using differential scanning calorimetry showed that the unfolding reaction was kinetically controlled and that holo-caPAH displayed a large increase in thermal stability (approximately 15 degrees C upshift in the T (m) value) compared with the apoenzyme. Analysis using a simple irreversible two-state model also showed a higher kinetic stability for holo-caPAH at optimal growth temperature (denaturing approximately 8 times more slowly than the apo form at 55 degrees C). Experiments performed in the presence of urea in combination with structure-energetics calculations suggest that iron binding reduces the change in accessible surface area exposed in the unfolding transition state (from approximately 36% to approximately 5% of the total change in accessible surface area) and also the surface involved in water-unsatisfied broken internal contacts (solvation barriers). Additional comparative analyses using phenylalanine hydroxylase from mesophilic and psychrophilic organisms suggest that, in addition to its catalytic role, the non-heme iron serves to enhance the kinetic stability of phenylalanine hydroxylase at the optimal growth temperature of the organism.

Forensic Engineering Investigation Of Lawnmower Seat Switch Malfunction

Examination Of A Commercial Riding Mower Found Intermittent Function Of Seat Interlock Switch In That Powered Rotation Of Blades And Drive Wheels Would Occasionally Occur When Operator Left Seat. Testing Confirmed That This Magneto Shorting Seat Switch Would Occasionally Show Open Or High Resistance Across Contacts When Plunger Was Released By Seat. Evidence Of Opposing Expert Alleged Switch Plunger Binding Due To Galling Was Not Revealed During Testing. The Mower Design Resulted In Leaking Battery Acid Contaminating The Seat Switch Terminals. Extensive Switch Testing And Analysis (Including Dynamic x-Ray Viewing, Sem Imaging And Energy Dispersion, And Chemical Sampling) Revealed Sulfuric Acid Contamination And Corrosion Of Switch Internal Contacts That Inhibited Consistent Electrical Continuity. Concluded Was That Mower Design And Maintenance, Rather Than Off The Shelf Switch Design Flaw Was Cause Of Accident, Which Affected The Civil Trial Outcome.

Crystal Structure of the BARD1 Ankyrin Repeat Domain and Its Functional Consequences

BARD1 is the constitutive nuclear partner to the breast and ovarian cancer-specific tumor suppressor BRCA1. Together, they form a heterodimeric complex responsible for maintaining genomic stability through nuclear functions involving DNA damage signaling and repair, transcriptional regulation, and cell cycle control. We report the 2.0A structure of the BARD1 ankyrin repeat domain. The structure includes four ankyrin repeats with a non-canonical C-terminal capping ankyrin repeat and a well ordered extended loop preceding the first repeat. Conserved surface features show an acidic patch and an acidic pocket along the surface typically used by ankyrin repeat domains for binding cognate proteins. We also demonstrate that two reported mutations, N470S and V507M, in the ankyrin repeat domain do not result in observable structural defects. These results provide a structural basis for exploring the biological function of the ankyrin repeat domain and for modeling BARD1 isoforms.

Synthesis and crystal structure of catena-bis(nicotinamide)aqua(μ-phthalato)copper(II) hemihydrate

The copper(II) phthalate complex with nicotinamide [CuL2(μ-Pht)(H2O)] · 0.5H2O(I) (where L is nicotinamide and Pht2− is an anion of phthalic acid) is synthesized and investigated using IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The crystals of compound I are monoclinic, a = 13.368(2) A, b = 7.891(3) A, c = 20.480(2) A, β = 108.69(2)°, Z = 4, and space group P21/c. The structural units of crystal I are linear chains formed by bridging phthalate anions and crystallization water molecules. The copper atom is coordinated by two pyridine nitrogen atoms of two nicotinamide ligands (Cu-N, 2.001 and 2.045 A), two oxygen atoms of different phthalate anions (Cu-O, 1.964 and 2.235 A), and the oxygen atom of the H2 O molecule (Cu-O, 2.014 A). The coordination polyhedron of the copper atom is completed to an elongated (4 + 1 + 1) tetragonal bipyramid by the second (chelating) oxygen atom of the carboxyl group (Cu-O, 2.587 A), which is one of the anions of phthalic acid. The linear polymer molecules are joined into complex macromolecular dimers with the closest internal contacts of the specific type. The macromolecular dimers are the main supramolecular ensembles of the crystal structure.

Petrogenesis of Cogenetic Silica-Oversaturated and -Undersaturated Syenites by Periodic Recharge in a Crustally Contaminated Magma Chamber: the Kangerlussuaq Intrusion, East Greenland

The Palaeogene Kangerlussuaq Intrusion (∼50 Ma) of East Greenland displays concentric zonation from quartz-rich nordmarkite (quartz syenite) at the margin, through pulaskite, to foyaite (nepheline syenite) in the centre; modal layering and igneous lamination are locally developed but there are no internal intrusive contacts. This is an apparent violation of the phase relations in Petrogeny's Residua System. We propose that this intrusion is layered, grading from quartz syenite at the bottom to nepheline syenite at the top. Mineral and whole-rock major and trace element data and Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb isotope data are presented that provide constraints on the petrogenesis of the intrusion. Radiogenic isotope data indicate a continuously decreasing crustal component from the quartz nordmarkites (87Sr/86Sr = 0·7061; ɛNdi = 2·3; ɛHfi = 5·2; 206Pb/204Pbmeas = 16·98) to the foyaites (87Sr/86Sr = 0·7043–0·7044; ɛNdi = 3·8–4·9; ɛHfi = 10·7–11·1; 206Pb/204Pbmeas = 17·78–17·88); the foyaites are dominated by a mantle isotopic signature. The average Mg-number of amphibole cores becomes increasingly primitive, varying from 26·4 in the nordmarkites to 57·4 in the pulaskites. Modal layering, feldspar lamination and the presence of huge basaltic xenoliths derived from the chamber roof, now resting on the transient chamber floor, demonstrate bottom-upwards crystallization. The intrusion cannot, therefore, have formed in a system closed to magmatic recharge. The lack of gneissic xenoliths in the nordmarkites suggests that most contamination took place deeper in the crust. In the proposed model, the nordmarkitic magma formed during crustal assimilation in the roof zone of a large, silica-undersaturated alkali basaltic/basanitic, stratified magma chamber, prior to emplacement in the uppermost crust. The more primitive syenites, terminating with foyaite at the top of the intrusion, formed as a consequence of repeated recharge of the Kangerlussuaq Intrusion magma chamber by tapping less contaminated, more primitive phonolitic melt from deeper parts of the underlying chamber during progressive armouring of the plumbing system.

Solution Structure of Inhibitor-Free Human Metalloelastase (MMP-12) Indicates an Internal Conformational Adjustment

Macrophage metalloelastase or matrix metalloproteinase-12 (MMP-12) appears to exacerbate atherosclerosis, emphysema, aortic aneurysm, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease. An inactivating E219A mutation, validated by crystallography and NMR spectra, prevents autolysis of MMP-12 and allows us to determine its NMR structure without an inhibitor. The structural ensemble of the catalytic domain without an inhibitor is based on 2813 nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) and has an average RMSD to the mean structure of 0.25 Å for the backbone and 0.61 Å for all heavy atoms for residues Trp109-Gly263. Compared to crystal structures of MMP-12, helix B (hB) at the active site is unexpectedly more deeply recessed under the β-sheet. This opens a pocket between hB and β-strand IV in the active-site cleft. Both hB and an internal cavity are shifted toward β-strand I, β-strand III, and helix A on the back side of the protease. About 25 internal NOE contacts distinguish the inhibitor-free solution structure and indicate hB's greater depth and proximity to the sheet and helix A. Line broadening and multiplicity of amide proton NMR peaks from hB are consistent with hB undergoing a slow conformational exchange among subtly different environments. Inhibitor-binding-induced perturbations of the NMR spectra of MMP-1 and MMP-3 map to similar locations across MMP-12 and encompass the internal conformational adjustments. Evolutionary trace analysis suggests a functionally important network of residues that encompasses most of the locations adjusting in conformation, including 18 residues with NOE contacts unique to inhibitor-free MMP-12. The conformational change, sequence analysis, and inhibitor perturbations of NMR spectra agree on the network they identify between structural scaffold and the active site of MMPs.

Natively unstructured regions in proteins identified from contact predictions

Natively unstructured (also dubbed intrinsically disordered) regions in proteins lack a defined 3D structure under physiological conditions and often adopt regular structures under particular conditions. Proteins with such regions are overly abundant in eukaryotes, they may increase functional complexity of organisms and they usually evade structure determination in the unbound form. Low propensity for the formation of internal residue contacts has been previously used to predict natively unstructured regions. We combined PROFcon predictions for protein-specific contacts with a generic pairwise potential to predict unstructured regions. This novel method, Ucon, outperformed the best available methods in predicting proteins with long unstructured regions. Furthermore, Ucon correctly identified cases missed by other methods. By computing the difference between predictions based on specific contacts (approach introduced here) and those based on generic potentials (realized in other methods), we might identify unstructured regions that are involved in protein-protein binding. We discussed one example to illustrate this ambitious aim. Overall, Ucon added quality and an orthogonal aspect that may help in the experimental study of unstructured regions in network hubs. http://www.predictprotein.org/submit_ucon.html. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Implication for buried polar contacts and ion pairs in hyperthermostable enzymes

Understanding the structural basis of thermostability and thermoactivity, and their interdependence, is central to the successful future exploitation of extremophilic enzymes in biotechnology. However, the structural basis of thermostability is still not fully characterized. Ionizable residues play essential roles in proteins, modulating protein stability, folding and function. The dominant roles of the buried polar contacts and ion pairs have been reviewed by distinguishing between the inside polar contacts and the total intramolecular polar contacts, and by evaluating their contribution as molecular determinants for protein stability using various protein structures from hyperthermophiles, thermophiles and mesophilic organisms. The analysis revealed that the remarkably increased number of internal polar contacts in a monomeric structure probably play a central role in enhancing the melting temperature value up to 120 degrees C for hyperthermophilic enzymes from the genus Pyrococcus. These results provide a promising contribution for improving the thermostability of enzymes by modulating buried polar contacts and ion pairs.

LAM-ICP-MS zircon dating of the Falcon Lake Intrusive Complex and Caddy Lake granite, southeastern Manitoba, Canada

The Falcon Lake Intrusive Complex is a layered, compositionally zoned intrusion that intrudes the western end of the Wabigooti-Kenora Greenstone Belt of the Superior province, Canada. Cross-cutting field relations indicate that it is post-tectonic; internal contacts are complex and preserve evidence of multiple phases of magma emplacement and magmatic erosion. Xenoliths of country rock are common, as are cognate xenoliths, particularly in the central part of the intrusion. Zircon separates were collected from three of the six principal magmatic phases and dated using LAM-ICP-MS (laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry). Zircon crystals typically preserve internal textures including sector zoned cores mantled by oscillatory zoned overgrowths. These give an age of emplacement for the Falcon Lake Intrusive Complex of between 2733 ± 15 Ma and 2723 ±9 Ma. Zircon crystals from the Caddy Lake granite were also sector zoned and give an age of emplacement of 2687 ± 7 Ma.

Northward extension of carolina slate belt stratigraphy and structure, south-central virginia: Results from geologic mapping

Geologic mapping in south-central Virginia demonstrates that the stratigraphy and structure of the Carolina slate belt extend northward across a steep thermal gradient into upper amphibolite-facies correlative gneiss and schist. The Neoproterozoic greenschist-facies Hyco, Aaron, and Virgilina Formations were traced northward from their type localities near Virgilina, Virginia, along a simple, upright, northeast-trending isoclinal syncline. This syncline is called the Dryburg syncline and is a northern extension of the more complex Virgilina synclinorium. Progressively higher-grade equivalents of the Hyco and Aaron Formations were mapped northward along the axial trace of the refolded and westwardly-overturned Dryburg syncline through the Keysville and Green Bay 7.5-minute quadrangles, and across the northern end of the Carolina slate belt as interpreted on previous geologic maps. Hyco rocks, including felsic metatuff, metawacke, and amphibolite, become gneisses upgrade with areas of local anatexis and the segregation of granitic melt into leucosomes with biotite selvages. Phyllite of the Aaron Formation becomes garnet-bearing mica schist. Aaron Formation rocks disconformably overlie the primarily felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the Hyco Formation as evidenced by repeated truncation of internal contacts within the Hyco on both limbs of the Dryburg syncline at the Aaron-Hyco contact. East-northeast-trending isograds, defined successively by the first appearance of garnet, then kyanite ± staurolite in sufficiently aluminous rocks, are superposed on the stratigraphic units and synclinal structure at moderate to high angles to strike. The textural distinction between gneisses and identifiable sedimentary structures occurs near the kyanite ± staurolite-in isograd. Development of the steep thermal gradient and regional penetrative fabric is interpreted to result from emplacement of the Goochland terrane adjacent to the northern end of the slate belt during Alleghanian orogenesis. This mapping study indicates that the Carolina slate belt does not terminate on the north against through-going faults or rest on higher-grade basement as previously suggested.

Friction in unconforming grain contacts as a mechanism for tensorial stress–strain hysteresis

Materials composed of consolidated grains and/or containing internal contacts are widespread in everyday life (e.g. rocks, geomaterials, concretes, slates, ceramics, composites, etc.). For any simulation of the elastic behavior of this class of solids, be it in seismology, in NDT, or in the modeling of building constructions, the stress–strain constitutive equations are indispensable. Since the most common loading patterns in nature considerably deviate from simple uniaxial compression, the problem of tensorial stress–strain representation arises. In simple loading cases it may be sufficient to use a phenomenological constitutive model. However, in a more general case, phenomenological approaches encounter serious difficulties due to the high number of unknown parameters and the complexity of the model itself. Simplification of the phenomenology can help only partly, since it may require artificial assumptions. For instance, is it enough just to link the volumetric stress to the volumetric strain, or do we have to include shear components as well, and if yes, in what form? We therefore propose a physical tensorial stress–strain model, based on the consideration of plane cracks with friction. To do this, we combine known relations for normal displacements of crack faces given by contact mechanics, the classical Amonton's law of dry friction for lateral displacements, and the equations of elasticity theory for a collection of non-interacting cracks with given orientation. The major advantages of this model consist in the full tensorial representation, the realistic stress–strain curves for uniaxial stress compression and quantitative comparison with experimental data, and a profound account for hysteretic memory effects.

Mechanisms and duration of non-tectonically assisted magma emplacement in the upper crust: The Black Mesa pluton, Henry Mountains, Utah

A new study of Black Mesa pluton (Henry Mountains, Colorado Plateau, Utah, USA) indicates that it is a classic example of a small upper-crustal pluton assembled over a few years by incremental amalgamation of discrete magma pulses. The results of our petrostructural study of the pluton interior allow us to constrain the geometry, kinematics and timing of the processes. The symmetric internal fabric is interpreted as an evidence for a feeding by below and not laterally. The observed rotation of the lineation, from WNW–ESE on the very top to NNE–SSW below, lead us to propose that the fabric at the base of the pluton is a record of magma infilling process, and the fabric at the very top is a record of the strain due to the relative movement between magma and wallrocks. A consequence is that except at the contact between pluton and wallrocks (top and margins), the stretching direction, recorded by the lineation, is not parallel to the flow direction of the magma i.e. displacement. The Black Mesa pluton is a sheeted laccolith on its western edge and a bysmalith on its eastern edge. This E–W asymmetry in pluton geometry/construction and the symmetrical internal fabric indicates that the apparently different west and east growth histories could have occurred simultaneously. Our field data indicate pluton growth through an asymmetric vertical stacking of sill-like horizontal magma sheets. One-dimensional thermal models of the pluton provide maximum limits on the duration of its growth. We have constrained the number, the thickness, and the frequency of magma pulses with our structural observations, including: (1) the emplacement of the pluton by under-accretion of successive magma pulses, (2) the absence of solid-state deformation textures at internal contacts, and (3) the apparent absence of significant recrystallization in the wallrocks. Our results suggest that the emplacement of the Black Mesa pluton was an extremely rapid event, with a maximum duration on the order of 100 years, which requires a minimum vertical displacement rate of the wallrocks immediately above the pluton greater than 2 m/yr. Finally, our data show that the rates of plutonic and volcanic processes could be similar, a significant result for interpretation of magma transfer in arc systems.

Time scales of pluton construction at differing crustal levels: Examples from the Mount Stuart and Tenpeak intrusions, North Cascades, Washington

Deciphering the magmatic history of continental magmatic arcs, in general, and the growth history of individual intrusions, in particular, is key to understanding the complex history of magma generation, segregation, and transport that define the dynamics of crustal growth. We utilize high precision U-Pb geochronology to resolve a detailed magmatic history from two composite intrusions, the 2–4 kbar Mount Stuart batholith and the 7–10 kbar Tenpeak pluton, emplaced in the Cretaceous North Cascades arc. This temporal framework provides a way to evaluate models of pluton growth that explain common features of intrusions such as concentric compositional zoning and internal magmatic contacts. U-Pb zircon crystallization ages were obtained from 12 samples of the Mount Stuart batholith and 8 samples of the Tenpeak intrusion, representing the range of compositional diversity and geographical extent. These dates indicate that the Mount Stuart batholith was constructed over a ∼5.5 m.y. time period that was punctuated by four intervals of high magma flux. The durations of the high-flux periods are short (a few hundred thousand years) relative to the duration of the batholith. The consistent pattern of magmatic fabrics and the lack of distinct contacts in the batholith may be explained by the juxtaposition of melt-rich and mush zones with subtle contacts between mineralogically and texturally similar tonalite and time-transgressive magma fabrics. In contrast, the Tenpeak intrusion was constructed over a ∼2.6 m.y. time period, with magma influx distributed throughout the intrusive history and texturally distinct magma bodies. The Tenpeak intrusion lacks distinct age domains, which suggests that any magma reservoir was smaller in size and potentially more ephemeral. Although the distinct age domains and discrete compositional and textural phases indicate that pluton growth occurred incrementally, neither pluton bears resemblance to a purely end-member incremental growth model whereby a pluton is constructed from hundreds to thousands of discrete magma pulses that have little, if any, interaction. In particular, ages from the youngest domain of the Mount Stuart batholith indicate that a melt-rich magma reservoir of ≥520 km 3 existed over a 170 ± 90 k.y. time span.

Microcontact-based theory for acoustics in microdamaged materials

A universal theory describing the wide range of mechanical and acoustic phenomena in solids with internal contacts such as rocks, concrete, ceramics and composites is quite complex to develop. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the potential to deduce the macroscopic stress–strain constitutive equation for a material as a whole starting from the microscopic hysteretic force–displacement relationship of individual asperities in contact. The material considered in the proposed model contains a large number of isotropic oriented penny-shaped cracks with rough internal surfaces. The stress–strain relationship we obtained for such a material is based on physical principles and laws. Even so, it displays close resemblance to the phenomenological Preisach–Mayergoyz model adopted for mechanical hysteresis and nonlinearity. This constitutive relationship is then used to simulate an experiment with standing acoustic waves in a resonant bar, and to compare model predictions to actual observations. We show that the most important experimentally measurable nonlinear features of these materials, such as the typical classical and nonclassical shifting behavior of the resonant frequency, the dependencies of the amplitudes of the generated harmonics, the softening due to intensive straining, and the subsequent relaxation effect (slow dynamics) can be attributed and explained in terms of the mechanics and the statistics of the internal contacts. The present model bridges the gap between three scales: macroscopic (material as a whole), mesoscopic (structure of intergranular contacts and cracks) and microscopic scale (contacts of individual asperities).

Stable isotope transfer in open and closed system across chemically contrasted boundaries: metacarbonate–granitoid contacts in the Quérigut magmatic complex (Eastern Pyrenees, France)

The processes of stable isotope transfer between chemically contrasted boundaries are examined for two metacarbonate–granitoid contacts in the Quérigut complex, Pyrénées, France. External contacts, between the sedimentary basement and granitic intrusions, behaved like a fluid-dominated open system whereas septa contacts, between carbonate septa and the host granitoids, behaved like a closed system with respect to external fluids. Along external contacts, skarns of several decimetres to several metres were developed. δ 18 O values of calcite, buffered at 13.5–14‰, suggest an advection of metamorphic aqueous fluid with a minor contribution of low δ 13 C CO 2 during skarn formation. Internal contacts are characterized by a thin centimetre-sized skarn layer. δ 13 C and δ 18 O values of calcite follow an evolution explained by decarbonation processes alone. δ 18 O exchange profiles across the contact show a typical diffusion profile with their inflection points slightly displaced towards the metacarbonate side, interpreted as a limited influx of magmatic fluids. Moreover, the shape of septa profiles varies according to the thermal energy budget induced by the intrusive rock: more isotopic alteration appears where the intrusion size is larger.