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At least 595 records · Page 33Linked to original sources
USGS1992

Differential unroofing within the central metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Orogen: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology

An 40Ar/39Ar thermochronological investigation of upper greenschist to granulite facies gneiss, amphibolite and marble was conducted in the Central Metasedimentary Belt (CMB), Ontario, to constrain its cooling history. Incremental 40Ar/39Ar release spectra indicate that substantial differential unroofing occurred in the CMB between ??? 1000 and ??? 600 Ma. A consistent pattern of significantly older hornblende and phlogopite 40Ar/3Ar cooling ages on the southeast sides of major northeast striking shear zones is interpreted to reflect late displacement due to extensional deformation. Variations in hornblende 40Ar/39Ar age plateaus exceeding 200 Ma occur over distances less than 50 km with major age discontinuities occurring across the Robertson Lake shear zone and the Sharbot Lake mylonite zone which separate the Sharbot Lake terrane from the Elzevir and Frontenac terranes. Extensional displacements of up to 14 km are inferred between the Frontenac and Elzevir terranes of the CMB. No evidence for significant post argon-closure vertical displacement is indicated in the vicinity of the Perth Road mylonite within the Frontenac terrane. Variations of nearly 100 Ma in phlogopite 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages occur in undeformed marble on either side of the Bancroft Shear Zone. Phlogopites from sheared and mylonitized marble within the shear zone yield 40Ar/39Ar diffusional loss profiles, but have older geologically meaningless ages thought to reflect incorporation of excess argon. By ??? 900 Ma, southeast directed extension was occurring throughout the CMB, possibly initiated along previous zones of compressional shearing. An easterly migration of active zones of extension is inferred, possibly related to an earlier, overall easterly migration of active zones of regional thrusting and easterly migration of an ancient subduction zone. The duration of extensional shearing is not well constrained, but must have ceased before ??? 600 Ma as required by the deposition of overlying undeformed Cambrian and/or Ordovician sedimentary rocks. ?? 1992 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1969

A Rubidium-Strontium study of the Twilight Gneiss, West Needle Mountains, Colorado

The Precambrian trondhjemitic Twilight Gneiss (Twilight Granite of CROSS and HOWE , 1905b) of the West Needle Mountains, southwestern Colorado, and its interlayered amphibolite and metarhyodacite yield a Rb-Sr isochron of 1,805±35 m.y. A low initial Sr 87 /Sr 86 ratio of 0.7015 implies that metamorphism of these rocks to amphibolite facies took place soon after their emplacement. The mild metamorphism of Uncompahgran age, prior to 1,460 m.y. ago, and Laramide volcanism did not affect the Rb-Sr system in the Twilight. Rb contents of 26.5 to 108 ppm, Sr contents of 114 to 251 ppm, and K 2 O percentages of 1.23 to 3.64 in the Twilight Gneiss, in conjunction with high K/Rb ratios and the low initial ratio of Sr 87 /Sr 86 , lend support to geologic data that suggest the Twilight originated as volcanic or hypabyssal igneous rocks in a basaltic volcanic pile.

Colorado↗
USGS1977

The origin of garnet in the anorthosite-charnockite suite of the Adirondacks

Detailed analysis of textural and chemical criteria in rocks of the anorthosite-charnockite suite of the Adirondack Highlands suggests that development of garnet in silica-saturated rocks of the suite occurs according to the reaction: {Mathematical expression}, where ?? is a function of the distribution of Fe and Mg between the several coexisting ferromagnesian phases. Depending upon the relative amounts of Fe and Mg present, quartz may be either a reactant or a product. Using an aluminum-fixed reference frame, this reaction can be restated in terms of a set of balanced partial reactions describing the processes occurring in spatially separated domains within the rock. The fact that garnet invariably replaces plagioclase as opposed to the other reactant phases indicates that the aluminum-fixed model is valid as a first approximation. This reaction is univariant and produces unzoned garnet. It differs from a similar equation proposed by de Waard (1965) for the origin of garnet in Adirondack metabasic rocks, i.e. 6 Orthopyroxene+2 Anorthite = Clinopyroxene+Garnet+2 Quartz, the principle difference being that iron oxides (ilmenite and/or magnetite) are essential reactant phases in the present reactions. The product assemblage (garnet+clinopyroxene+plagioclase ?? orthopyroxene ?? quartz) is characteristic of the clinopyroxene-almandine subfacies of the granulite facies. ?? 1977 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1985

Resolving controls on epeiric sedimentation using trend surface analysis

An understanding of patterns of regional sedimentation is crucial to identifying trends of perspective petroleum reservoirs. The Upper Pennsylvanian, Missourian Kansas City Group consists of repetitions of widespread carbonate rock and shale. Each of four cyclothems chosen for subsurface study of western Kansas contains transgressive and regressive lithofacies with evidence of extensive subaerial exposure across the entire paleoshelf. Distribution of carbonate facies on the 350+ km-wide shelf was affected strongly by slight changes in structural configuration of the shelf and variations in sea level. Polynomial trend surface models prepared from selected wireline log information for four successive cyclothems assist in resolving regional and local patterns of sedimentation and help to access the effect of subtle structural deformation on sedimentation. Isopachs of marine portions of four cyclothems were fit by fourth-order trend surfaces, optimizing fit by comparing goodness-of-fit and minimizing skewness of residuals using the smallest order surface. Several cyclothems showed simple patterns of regional, basinward thickening with local, strike-elongated anomalies where goodness-of-fit was maximized with increasing order. One cyclothem did not converge to a good fit at small orders nor did distribution of residuals indicate convergence toward zero. Both anomalies reflected a more complex surface. Rather than thickening regionally, the pattern created by this anomalous cyclothem was more irregular. Mapped patterns resemble those of the present-day structural configuration of these horizons suggesting a general persistence in similar epeirogenic deformation. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗
USGS1985

Three-dimensional trend mapping from wire-line logs

Mapping of lithofacies and porosities of stratigraphic units is complicated because these properties vary in three dimensions. The method of moments was proposed by Krumbein and Libby (1957) as a technique to aid in resolving this problem. Moments are easily computed from wireline logs and are simple statistics which summarize vertical variation in a log trace. Combinations of moment maps have proved useful in understanding vertical and lateral changes in lithology of sedimentary rock units. Although moments have meaning both as statistical descriptors and as mechanical properties, they also define polynomial curves which approximate lithologic changes as a function of depth. These polynomials can be fitted by least-squares methods, partitioning major trends in rock properties from finescale fluctuations. Analysis of variance yields the degree of fit of any polynomial and measures the proportion of vertical variability expressed by any moment or combination of moments. In addition, polynomial curves can be differentiated to determine depths at which pronounced expressions of facies occur and to determine the locations of boundaries between major lithologic subdivisions. Moments can be estimated at any location in an area by interpolating from log moments at control wells. A matrix algebra operation then converts moment estimates to coefficients of a polynomial function which describes a continuous curve of lithologic variation with depth. If this procedure is applied to a grid of geographic locations, the result is a model of variability in three dimensions. Resolution of the model is determined largely by number of moments used in its generation. The method is illustrated with an analysis of lithofacies in the Simpson Group of south-central Kansas; the three-dimensional model is shown as cross sections and slice maps. In this study, the gamma-ray log is used as a measure of shaliness of the unit. However, the method is general and can be applied, for example, to suites of neutron, density, or sonic logs to produce three-dimensional models of porosity in reservoir rocks. ?? 1985 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗
USGS1988

Generation of pyroclastic flows and surges by hot-rock avalanches from the dome of Mount St. Helens volcano, USA

Several hot-rock avalanches have occurred during the growth of the composite dome of Mount St. Helens, Washington between 1980 and 1987. One of these occurred on 9 May 1986 and produced a fan-shaped avalanche deposit of juvenile dacite debris together with a more extensive pyroclastic-flow deposit. Laterally thinning deposits and abrasion and baking of wooden and plastic objects show that a hot ash-cloud surge swept beyond the limits of the pyroclastic flow. Plumes that rose 2-3 km above the dome and vitric ash that fell downwind of the volcano were also effects of this event, but no explosion occurred. All the facies observed originated from a single avalanche. Erosion and melting of craterfloor snow by the hot debris caused debris flows in the crater, and a small flood that carried juvenile and other clasts north of the crater. A second, broadly similar event occurred in October 1986. Larger events of this nature could present a significant volcanic hazard. ?? 1988 Springer-Verlag.

Bulletin of Volcanology↗
USGS1973

A semiobjective method for condensing classifications

A simple, semiobjective method is described to reduce the number of groups in a classification to an arbitrary level without losing contact with the geologic information contained in the evolving groups. The method, operated in a stepwise or cyclic manner, employs some of the commonly used numerical techniques, but avoids strict adherence to them to obtain geologically more meaningful results. The method is illustrated in a facies study of the upper Paleozoic rocks of southeastern Utah. ?? 1973 Plenum Publishing Corporation.

Journal of the International Association for Mathe↗
USGS1984

Sedimentary, tectonic, and sea-level controls on submarine fan and slope-apron turbidite systems

To help understand factors that influence submarine fan deposition, we outline some of the principal sedimentary, tectonic, and sea-level controls involved in deep-water sedimentation, give some data on the rates at which they operate, and evaluate their probable effects. Three depositional end-member systems, two submarine fan types (elongate and radial), and a third nonfan, slope-apron system result primarily from variations in sediment type and supply. Tectonic setting and local and global sea-level changes further modify the nature of fan growth, the distribution of facies, and the resulting vertical stratigraphic sequences. ?? 1984 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Geo-Marine Letters↗
USGS1984

The Ebro Deep-Sea Fan system

The Ebro Fan System consists of en echelon channel-levee complexes, 50??20 km in area and 200-m thick. A few strong reflectors in a generally transparent seismic facies identify the sand-rich channel floors and levee crests. Numerous continuous acoustic reflectors characterize overbank turbidites and hemipelagites that blanket abandoned channel-levee complexes. The interlobe areas between channel complexes fill with homogeneous mud and sand from mass flow and overbank deposition; these exhibit a transparent seismic character. The steep continental rise and sediment 'drainage' of Valencia Trough at the end of the channel-levee complexes prevent the development of distributary channels and midfan lobe deposits. ?? 1984 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Geo-Marine Letters↗
USGS1984

Ferrelo fan, California: Depositional system influenced by Eustatic sea level changes

Remnants of an Eocene fan system are preserved onshore at San Diego and in the central part of the southern California borderland. Even though faults and erosion have truncated its margins, geophysical data and exploratory wells indicate that remaining parts of the fan extend beneath an offshore area nearly 400-km long and 40- to 100-km wide. Environments representing fluvial, fan-delta, shelf-channel, overlapping inner- to outer-fan, and basin-plain facies are recognized or inferred. Three progradational cycles onshore and two distinct pulses of sand accumulation offshore are attributable to eustatic low sea-level stands rather than to tectonic uplift or shifts in depositional patterns. ?? 1984 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.

Geo-Marine Letters↗
USGS1964

Deep geothermal brine near Salton Sea, California

A well drilled for geothermal power near Salton Sea in Imperial Valley, Calif., is 5,232 feet deep; it is the deepest well in the world (1962) in a high-temperature hot spring area. In the lower half of the hole temperatures are too high to measure with available equipment, but are at loast 270°C, and may be as much as 370°C. For comparison, maximum temperature heretofore reported at depth (1962) for hot spring areas is 295°C. The well taps a very saline brine of Na-Ca-K-Cl type (about 185,000 ppm Cl) with exceptionally high potassium, and with the highest content of minor alkali elements known for natural waters; Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Ag, and some other metals are also exceptionally high. This brine may be connate, but present evidence favors a source in the magma chamber at depth that supplied late Quaternary rhyolite domes of the area. If the latter is correct, the brine is an undiluted magmatic water that is residual from the separation of a more volatile phase high in CO 2 , H 2 S, and with some alkali halides. Elsewhere, the hypothesized volatile phase may account for near-surface hot spring activity of most thermal areas of volcanic association. The residual brine of high salinity may ordinarily remain relatively deep in the volcanic systems because of high specific gravity and low content of volatiles, seldom appearing at the surface except in a greatly diluted form. The hot springs of Arima, Japan, may be a rare example of this type of magmatic water discharging at the surface in moderate concentration (Cl as much as 42,000 ppm). Independent evidence from fluid inclusions in minerals of high-temperature base-metal deposits also favors the existence of magmatic water high in Na, Ca, and Cl, and low in CO 2 and other volatile components. During a three-month production test several tons of material precipitated in the horizontal discharge pipe from the well. Amorphous silica with iron and manganese, and bornite are the dominant recognized components. This material contains the astonishingly high contents of about 20 percent copper, 2 percent silver, and notable sulfur, arsenic, bismuth, lead, antimony, and some other minor elements. Total quantities of all elements in the original whole brine are not yet known, but calculated amounts corresponding to 1 to 3 ppm of copper and 0.1 to 0.3 ppm of silver were precipitated from the brine to form the pipe deposits. The brine, therefore, may be man’s first sample of an « active » ore solution. Equally fascinating to many geologists is the possibility that in the lower part of the hole temperatures are so high and pressures are sufficient for young sedimentary rocks to be undergoing transformation into rocks with mineral assemblages of the greenschist facies of metamorphism. Drill cores from 4,400 to 5,000 feet in depth contain chlorite, albite, K-feldspar, epidote, mica, and quartz, with some indication of increase in metamorphic grade downward. Regional geological and geophysical studies favor a depth of about 20,000 feet to pre-Tertiary basement rocks in the general area. A shallow basement or local upfaulting of old metamorphic rocks are not likely possibilities for the thermal area.

California↗
USGS1998

Where's the reef: the role of framework in the Holocene

Holocene reef models generally emphasize the role of in-place and interlocking framework in the creation of a rigid structure that rises above its surroundings. By extension, a number of ancient biohermal deposits have been disqualified as “true reefs” owing to their lack of recognizable framework. Fifty-four cores from several eastern Caribbean sites (Fig. 1) clearly demonstrate that in-place and interlocking framework is not common in these reefs that are comprised of varying mixtures of recognizable coral (primary framework), loose sediment/rubble and secondary framework made up mostly of coralgal fragments bound together by submarine cementation and biological encrustation. Recovery of primary and secondary framework ranged from 22% (avg.) in branching-coral facies to 33% in intervals dominated by head corals. Accretion rate decreased as expected with water depth. However, the recovery of recognizable coral generally increased with water depth, inversely to presumed coral-growth rates. This pattern reflects a spectrum in the relative importance of coral growth (primary construction), bioerosion, hydromechanical breakdown and the transport of sediment and detritus. The relative importance of each is controlled by the physical-oceanographic conditions at the site of reef development and will dictate both the architecture of the reef and the character of its internal fabric. We do not propose that framework reefs do no exist, as they most assuredly do. However, the fact that so many modern reefs are not dominated by in-place and interlocking framework suggests that its use as the primary determinant of ancient reefs may be unreasonable. We, therefore, propose the abandonment of framework-based models in favor of those that treat framework generation, physical/biological degradation, sedimentation, and encrustation as equal partners in the development of modern and ancient reefs alike.

Carbonates and Evaporites↗
USGS2002

Geology, distribution, and classification of gold deposits in the western Qinling belt, central China

Gold deposits of the western Qinling belt occur within the western part of the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogen, which is located between the Precambrian North China and Yangtze cratons and east of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. The early Paleozoic to early Mesozoic orogen can be divided into northern, central, and southern zones, separated by the Shangdan and Lixian-Shanyang thrust fault systems. The northern zone consists of an early Paleozoic arc accreted to the North China craton by ca. 450 Ma. The central zone, which contains numerous orogenic gold deposits, is dominated by clastic rocks formed in a late Paleozoic basin between the converging cratonic blocks. The southern zone is characterized by the easternmost exposure of Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. These Early to Late Triassic turbidities, in part calcareous, of the immense Songpan-Ganzi basin also border the western Qinling belt to the west. Carlinlike gold deposits are abundant (1) along a westward extension of the southern zone defined by a window of early Paleozoic clastic rocks extending into the basin, and (2) within the easternmost margin of the basinal rocks to the south of the extension, and in adjacent cover rocks of the Yangtze craton. Triassic and Early Jurassic synkinematic granitoids are widespread across the western Qinling belt, as well as in the Songpan-Ganzi basin. Orogenic lode gold deposits along brittle-ductile shear zones occur within greenschist-facies, highly deformed, Devonian and younger clastic rocks of the central zone. Mainly coarse-grained gold, along with pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, and minor base metal sulfides, occur in networks of quartz veinlets, brecciated wall rock, and are dissminated in altered wall rock. Isotopic dates suggest that the deposits formed during the Late Triassic to Middle Jurassic as the leading edge of the Yangtze craton was thrust beneath rocks of the western Qinling belt. Many gold-bearing placers are distributed along the river systems that flow south from the lode-bearing central zone. Carlin-like gold deposits have only been identified during the last decade in the southern zone of the western Qinling and in the northeastern corner of the Songpan-Ganzi basin. The deposits mainly contain micron-diameter gold in arsenical pyrite; are characterized by the common occurrence of cinnabar, stibnite, realgar, and orpiment; exhibit strong silicification, carbonatization, pyritization, and decalcification dissolution textures; and are structurally controlled. The lack of reactive host lithologies may have prevented development of large (> 100 tones of gold), stratigraphically-controlled orebodies, which are typical of the Carlin deposits in the western USA. These deposits are hosted by Triassic turbidities and shallow-water carbonates, and an early Paleozoic inlier in the Songpan-Ganzi basin that extends in an east-west belt for about 300 km. Rather than true "Carlin" deposits, these Carlin-like deposits may be some type of shallow-crustal (i.e., epithermal) hybrid with features intermediate to Nevada-style Carlin deposits and the orogenic gold deposits to the immediate north. These Carlin-like deposits also overlap in age with the early Mesozoic orogenic gold deposits and, therefore, also formed during the final stages of collision between the cratons and intermediate basin closure.

Mineralium Deposita↗
USGS2025

A time-space model of graphite mineral systems

Increasing demand for graphite in energy storage systems warrants review of graphite ore genesis in a mineral systems framework. Orogenic graphite encompasses the metamorphic and orogenic mineral systems that produce flake graphite and hydrothermal vein (lump and chip) graphite deposits, respectively. A common feature of orogenic graphite deposits is an association with upper amphibolite- to granulite-facies metasedimentary rocks in continent-continent or continent-island arc collisional orogens. Orogenic flake graphite deposits form primarily through graphitization of organic carbon during regional metamorphism, but strain localization and partial melting of pelitic protoliths are likely important processes for graphite grade and quality enrichment. Orogenic vein graphite deposits precipitate from hydrothermal fluids, possibly derived from metamorphism or anatexis at depth. Decarbonation reactions in mixed calcareous-carbonaceous metasedimentary sequences are the most likely carbon sources for the veins. In contrast, intrusion-related graphite includes magmatic-hydrothermal and metamorphic mineral systems that form primarily in continental arc settings via the interaction of magmas with carbonaceous sedimentary packages. Magmatic-hydrothermal flake graphite deposits are hosted in plutonic and volcanic rocks, and result from the exsolution of CO 2 -CH 4 -rich fluids from melts contaminated by such packages. Contact metamorphism of carbonaceous sedimentary rocks by plutons produces some microcrystalline (amorphous) graphite deposits, including many in China. Compilation of geologic data from known graphite deposits globally suggests that pulses of carbon deposition in the Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic provided source carbon material. Subsequent supercontinent orogenesis at ca. 2,100 to 1,700 Ma (Columbia), ca. 1,300 to 1,000 Ma (Rodinia), and ca. 650 to 500 Ma (Gondwana) resulted in the genesis of orogenic flake and vein graphite deposits, where favorable geologic components overlapped with organic ± carbonate carbon-rich strata. Cryogenian deposition of graphite protoliths and Cryogenian – Cambrian metamorphic mineralization account for nearly 75% of all known resources globally and coincide with profound carbon isotope excursions and climate variability, implying a link with the global carbon budget. Comparatively few graphite deposits are associated with Pangea-forming orogens, attributed to less exhumation and/or denudation. High-temperature metasedimentary belts containing organic carbon-rich protoliths are most favorable for hosting orogenic flake graphite deposits, whereas sequences that also contain carbonate protoliths are favorable for orogenic graphite veins. Continent-scale orogenic belts may host both deposit types along with vanadium deposits. Use of a time-space mineral systems framework for graphite deposits can improve exploration models needed to ensure future supply of this critical mineral and provide insights into Earth’s long-term carbon cycle.

Mineralium Deposita↗
USGS2001

Sulfur and lead isotope geochemistry of hypogene mineralization at the Barite Hill Gold Deposit, Carolina Slate Belt, southeastern United States: A window into and through regional metamorphism

The Barite Hill gold deposit, at the southwestern end of the Carolina slate belt in the southeastern United States, is one of four gold deposits in the region that have a combined yield of 110 metric tons of gold over the past 10 years. At Barite Hill, production has dominantly come from oxidized ores. Sulfur isotope data from hypogene portions of the Barite Hill gold deposit vary systematically with pyrite–barite associations and provide insights into both the pre-metamorphic Late Proterozoic hydrothermal and the Paleozoic regional metamorphic histories of the deposit. The δ 34 S values of massive barite cluster tightly between 25.0 and 28.0‰, which closely match the published values for Late Proterozoic seawater and thus support a seafloor hydrothermal origin. The δ 34 S values of massive sulfide range from 1.0 to 5.3‰ and fall within the range of values observed for modern and ancient seafloor hydrothermal sulfide deposits. In contrast, δ 34 S values for finer-grained, intergrown pyrite (5.1–6.8‰) and barite (21.0–23.9‰) are higher and lower than their massive counterparts, respectively. Calculated sulfur isotope temperatures for the latter barite–pyrite pairs (Δ=15.9–17.1‰) range from 332–355 °C and probably reflect post-depositional equilibration at greenschist-facies regional metamorphic conditions. Thus, pyrite and barite occurring separately from one another provide pre-metamorphic information about the hydrothermal origin of the deposit, whereas pyrite and barite occurring together equilibrated to record the metamorphic conditions. Preliminary fluid inclusion data from sphalerite are consistent with a modified seawater source for the mineralizing fluids, but data from quartz and barite may reflect later metamorphic and (or) more recent meteoric water input. Lead isotope values from pyrites range for 206 Pb/ 204 Pb from 18.005–18.294, for 207 Pb/ 204 Pb from 15.567–15.645, and for 208 Pb/ 204 Pb from 37.555–38.015. The data indicate derivation of the ore leads from the country rocks, which themselves show evidence for contributions from relatively unradiogenic, mantle-like lead, and more evolved or crustal lead. Geological relationships, and stable and radiogenic isotopic data, suggest that the Barite Hill gold deposit formed on the Late Proterozoic seafloor through exhalative hydrothermal processes similar to those that were responsible for the massive sulfide deposits of the Kuroko district, Japan. On the basis of similarities with other gold-rich massive sulfide deposits and modern seafloor hydrothermal systems, the gold at Barite Hill was probably introduced as an integral part of the formation of the massive sulfide deposit.

Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia↗
USGS2012

Glaciotectonic deformation associated with the Orient Point-Fishers Island moraine, westernmost Block Island Sound: further evidence of readvance of the Laurentide ice sheet

High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles collected across pro-glacial outwash deposits adjacent to the circa 18 ka b.p. Orient Point–Fishers Island end moraine segment in westernmost Block Island Sound reveal extensive deformation. A rhythmic seismic facies indicates the host outwash deposits are composed of fine-grained glaciolacustrine sediments. The deformation is variably brittle and ductile, but predominantly compressive in nature. Brittle deformation includes reverse faults and thrust faults that strike parallel to the moraine, and thrust sheets that extend from beneath the moraine. Ductile deformation includes folded sediments that overlie undisturbed deposits, showing that they are not drape features. Other seismic evidence for compression along the ice front consists of undisturbed glaciolacustrine strata that dip back toward and underneath the moraine, and angular unconformities on the sea floor where deformed sediments extend above the surrounding undisturbed correlative strata. Together, these ice-marginal glaciotectonic features indicate that the Orient Point–Fishers Island moraine marks a significant readvance of the Laurentide ice sheet, consistent with existing knowledge for neighboring coeval moraines, and not simply a stillstand as previously reported.

New York↗
USGS2018

Near-solidus melts of MORB + 4 wt% H2O at 0.8 – 2.8 GPa applied to issues of subduction magmatism and continent formation

Experiments on MORB + 4 wt% H 2 O at 0.8–2.8 GPa and 700–950 °C (Liu in High pressure phase equilibria involving the amphibolite–eclogite transformation. PhD dissertation, Stanford University, Stanford, California, 1997; Liu et al. in Earth Planet Sci Lett 143:161–171, 1996) were reexamined for their major and trace element melt compositions and melting relations. Degree of melting diminishes at greater pressures, with corresponding evolution of melt from andesitic at the lowest pressures and hottest temperatures to high-silica rhyolitic at the greatest pressure and coolest temperature. Quartz contributes greatly to the production of near-solidus melts of basaltic eclogite, with the result that melt productivity falls markedly following quartz exhaustion. This limits the extent of melting attainable in the basaltic eclogite portions of sub-arc subducting plates to no more than ~ 2 × the modal wt% quartz in the mafic eclogite protolith. Synthesized residual mineral assemblages lack an epidote-series mineral at temperatures > 750 °C, and as a result, melts from the rutile eclogite and rutile-amphibole eclogite facies have elevated concentrations of light rare earth elements, U, Th, have elevated Ba, K, and Sr, high Sr/Y, and are strongly depleted in Nb, Y, and the heavy rare earth elements. Models of eclogite partial melt reacting with peridotite of the mantle wedge reproduce major and trace element characteristics of parental arc magmas so long as the proportions of infiltrating melt to peridotite are relatively high, consistent with channelized ascent. Melt mass is estimated to increase roughly three- to ten-fold, consistent with H 2 O concentrations of 3–7 wt% in the magmas produced by reaction. Partial melts of subducting basaltic eclogite are predicted to have positive Sr concentration anomalies, relative to Ce and Nd, that persist through melt-peridotite reactions. Primitive arc magmas commonly have positive Sr anomalies, whereas such anomalies are smaller in estimates of the bulk continental crust. Overall, Sr anomalies diminish passing from primitive to more evolved arc volcanic rocks, consistent with extensive mineral-melt differentiation (crystallization, partial remelting) involving plagioclase. On the order of 50 wt% differentiation would be necessary to eliminate Sr positive anomalies, based on geochemical variations in the Cascade and western Aleutian magmatic arcs. Loss to the mantle of cumulates and restites with high Sr anomalies, in abundances broadly equal to the mass of the preserved crust, would be required to form the continents via processes similar to present-day subduction magmatism.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS2004

Complex proximal deposition during the Plinian eruptions of 1912 at Novarupta, Alaska

Proximal (<3 km) deposits from episodes II and III of the 60-h-long Novarupta 1912 eruption exhibit a very complex stratigraphy, the result of at least four transport regimes and diverse depositional mechanisms. They contrast with the relatively simple stratigraphy (and inferred emplacement mechanisms) for the previously documented, better known, medial-distal fall deposits and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes ignimbrite. The proximal products include alternations and mixtures of both locally and regionally dispersed fall ejecta, and numerous thin complex deposits of pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) with no regional analogs. The locally dispersed component of the fall deposits forms sector-confined wedges of material whose thicknesses halve radially from and concentrically about the vent over distances of 100-300 m (cf. several kilometers for the medial-distal fall deposits). This locally dispersed fall material (and many of the associated PDC deposits) is rich in andesitic and banded pumices and richer in shallow-derived wall-rock lithics in comparison with the coeval medial fall units of almost entirely dacitic composition. There are no marked contrasts in grain size in the near-vent deposits, however, between locally and widely dispersed beds, and all samples of the proximal fall deposits plot as a simple continuation of grain size trends for medial-distal samples. Associated PDC deposits form a spectrum of facies from fines-poor, avalanched beds through thin-bedded, landscape-mantling beds to channelized lobes of pumice-block-rich ignimbrite. The origins of the Novarupta near-vent deposits are considered within a spectrum of four transport regimes: (1) sustained buoyant plume, (2) fountaining with co-current flow, (3) fountaining with counter-current flow, and (4) direct lateral ejection. The Novarupta deposits suggest a model where buoyant, stable, regime-1 plumes characterized most of episodes II and III, but were accompanied by transient and variable partitioning of clasts into the other three regimes. Only one short period of vent blockage and cessation of the Plinian plume occurred, separating episodes II and III, which was followed by a single PDC interpreted as an overpressured "blast" involving direct lateral ejection. In contrast, regimes 2 and 3 were reflected by spasmodic sedimentation from the margins of the jet and perhaps lower plume, which were being strongly affected by short-lived instabilities. These instabilities in turn are inferred to be associated with heterogeneities in the mixture of gas and pyroclasts emerging from the vent. Of the parameters that control explosive eruptive behavior, only such sudden and asymmetrical changes in the particle concentration could operate on time scales sufficiently short to explain the rapid changes in the proximal 1912 products. Springer-Verlag 2003.

Alaska↗