Geochemistry and evolution of lherzolite-bearing phonolitic lavas from Nigeria, Australia, East Germany and New Zealand
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Irving, A. J.↗
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Mineralogy, petrology, and trace element geochemistry of the Johnstown meteorite - A brecciated orthopyroxenite with siderophile and REE-rich components
The compositional and petrologic characteristics of the Johnstown meteorite show it to contain uncontaminated and unbrecciated orthopyroxenite clasts of cumulative origin that (1) must have undergone subsolidus recrystalization, (2) are parental to the brecciated matrix, and (3) show no evidence of a xenolithic, meteoritic contribution to the matrix except for contamination by the projectile which crushed it on impact. The trapped liquid was not introduced in the impact process. The variability of such trace elements as the light rare earth elements, and the presence of plagioclase and olivine in only one of the thin sections studied, demonstrates the heterogeneity of coarse-grained diogenites on a millimeter scale and the difficulty of obtaining representative samples of such meteorites. The data presented indicate that this meteorite is a monominct breccia.
Floran, R. J.↗
The Balmer basin - Regional geology and geochemistry of an ancient lunar impact basin
Photogeologic, geochemical and geophysical information is cited to support the contention that an ancient multi-ringed basin exists in the east limb region of the moon, centered at 15 deg S and 70 deg E. The inner ring of the basin, with a diameter of 225 km, is composed of isolated rugged mountains of pre-Nectarian terra; the less distinct outer ring, whose diameter is approximately 450 km, is made up of irregular segments of surrounding large craters. It is noted that two units of light plains material occur in this area and that they are confined for the most part to the region within the proposed outer basin ring. According to orbital geochemical data, the younger unit (Imbrian age plains) consists of a mare basalt not unlike others of the nearside. This unit possesses high Mg/Al concentration ratios as determined from X-ray fluorescence data; it is also relatively high in Th and Fe when compared with the surrounding highlands. It is thought that the relatively high albedo of the Balmer plains may derive from either a reworking by numerous secondary craters from the surrounding impacts or a basaltic composition with higher albedo and lower Fe than the nearside maria.
Maxwell, T. A.↗
Io - Geochemistry of sulfur
The evidence from Voyager imaging, Earth-based spectral reflectivity studies, and thermal emission measurements combine to suggest an extremely fresh, volcanically recycled sulfur-rich crust for Io, with very shallow large-scale melting. Two present styles of volcanism are possible, depending on the thickness of local deposits of sulfur: shallow liquid sulfur magma generation with quiescent flooding, and high-temperature volcanism with violet eruption of a sulfur-iron magma driven by SO2. Evolutionary considerations preclude direct derivation of Io's lithosphere from any metal-bearing chondritic source material. Metal-free C3V- or C2M-type parent material of either primary or secondary origin is the most plausible direct antecedent of the present sulfur-rich crust. Sulfates are almost certainly important constituents of the mantle, and can participate in the recycling of reduced, dense sulfide species to prevent total extraction of sulfur into the core.
Lewis, J. S.↗
The Lappajarvi meteorite crater, Finland - Petrography, Rb-Sr, major and trace element geochemistry of the impact melt and basement rocks
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Reimold, W. U.↗
Comparative geochemistry of Apollo 16 surface soils and samples from cores 64002 and 60002 through 60007
New data are presented for the concentrations of 23 to 27 elements in nine Apollo 16 surface soil samples, two subsplits each of 12 splits of core 60002-7, and one subsplit each of 10 splits of drive tube 64002. The surface soils are generally similar to other surface soils collected at their respective stations. All ten 64002 samples are similar to each other and to the station 4 surface soils and distinctly different from soils at other stations. High iron concentrations previously reported for these same subsplits of 60002-7 result primarily from meteoritic metal. One sample from each core is contaminated by stainless steel. The recently proposed ferroan anorthositic norites are required to explain the soil compositions. A yet uncharacterized component with high concentrations of Na, Sr, and Eu is also needed.
Korotev, R. L.↗
Radioactive nuclear waste stabilization - Aspects of solid-state molecular engineering and applied geochemistry
Stabilization techniques for the storage of radioactive wastes are surveyed, with emphasis on immobilization in a primary barrier of synthetic rock. The composition, half-life, and thermal-emission characteristics of the wastes are shown to require thermally stable immobilization enduring at least 100,000 years. Glass materials are determined to be incapable of withstanding the expected conditions, average temperatures of 100-500 C for the first 100 years. The geological-time stability of crystalline materials, ceramics or synthetic rocks, is examined in detail by comparing their components with similar naturally occurring minerals, especially those containing the same radioactive elements. The high-temperature environment over the first 100 years is seen as stabilizing, since it can recrystallize radiation-induced metamicts. The synthetic-rock stabilization technique is found to be essentially feasible, and improvements are suggested, including the substitution of nepheline with freudenbergite and priderite for alkaline-waste stabilization, the maintenance of low oxygen fugacity, and the dilution of the synthetic-rock pellets into an inert medium.
Haggerty, S. E.↗
Geochemistry and tectonic affinities of a Proterozoic bimodal igneous suite, west Texas
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Rudnick, R. L.↗
Geochemistry of volcanic rocks from the Wawa greenstone belt
The Wawa greenstone belt is located in the District of Algoma and extends east-northeast from Lake Superior to the western part of the Sudbury District in Ontario, Canada. Recent mapping by Attoh has shown that an unconformity at the base of the Dore' Formation and equivalent sedimentary rocks marks a significant stratigraphic break which can be traced throughout the volcanic belt. This break has been used to subdivide the volcanic-sedimentary into pre- and post-Dore' sequences. The pre-Dore' sequence includes at least two cycles of mafic-to-felsic volcanism, each capped by an iron-formation unit. The post-Dore' sequence includes an older mafic-to-felsic unit, which directly overlies sedimentary rocks correlated with the Dore' Formation, and a younger felsic breccia unit interpreted to have formed as debris flows from a felsic volcanic center. In the present study, samples of both the pre-and post-Dore' volcanic sequences were analyzed for major and trace elements, incuding rare earths (REE). This preliminary study is part of an ongoing program to assess the petrogenesis of the volcanic rocks of the Wawa greenstone belt.
Schulz, K. J.↗
The Archean crust in the Wawa-Chapleau-Timmins region. A field guidebook prepared for the 1983 Archean Geochemistry-Early Crustal Genesis Field Conference
This guidebook describes the characteristics and interrelationships of Archean greenstone-granite and high-grade gneiss terrains of the Superior Province. A 300-km long west to east transect between Wawa and Timmins, Ontario will be used to illustrate regional-scale relationships. The major geological features of the Superior Province are described.
Percival, J. A.↗
Light element geochemistry and spallogenesis in lunar rocks
Abundance and isotopic compositions are measured for the very volatile elements carbon, nitrogen and sulfur in 11 lunar rocks representing a wide spectrum of textures and compositions. Samples were combusted sequentially at three temperatures in order to remove terrestrial contaminants before melting the lunar rock and liberating lunar volatiles. The combustion results indicate very little terrestrial sulfur contamination, with sulfur contents correlated with the TiO2 contents of the basalts analyzed. Sulfur isotopic compositions are remarkably uniform and similar to the Canon Diablo meteorite standard. Nitrogen levels are found to be no greater than those obtained with procedural blanks, corresponding to abundances less than 0.1 microg/g. Stable nitrogen isotope measurements indicate a spallogenic N-15 production rate of 4.1 x 10 to the -6th microg N-15/g sample/million years, in agreement with previous estimates. No indigenous carbon in excess of procedural blank levels of about 0.7 microg/g is found in lunar basalts. Levels of 1 to 5 microg/g found in highland rocks may derive from meteoritic or terrestrial sources. The average measured spallogenic C-13 production rate is 4.1 x 10 to the -6th microg C-13/g sample/million years.
Des Marais, D. J.↗
Carbon isotope geochemistry and geobiology
Carbon isotope fractionation values were used to understand the history of the biosphere. For example, plankton analyses confirmed that marine extinctions at the end of the Cretaceous period were indeed severe (see Hsu's article in Sundquist and Broeker, 1984). Variations in the isotopic compositions of carbonates and evaporitic sulfates during the Paleozoic reflect the relative abundances of euxinic (anoxic) marine environments and organic deposits from terrestrial flora. The carbon isotopic composition of Precambrian sediments suggest that the enzyme ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase has existed for perhaps 3.5 billion years.
Desmarais, D.↗
A review of noble gas geochemistry in relation to early Earth history
One of the most fundamental noble gas constraints on early Earth history is derived from isotopic differences in (129)Xe/(130)Xe between various terrestrial materials. The short half life (17 m.y.) of extinct (129I, parent of (129)Xe, means that these differences must have been produced within the first 100 m.y. after terrestrial accretion. The identification of large anomalies in (129)Xe/(130)Xe in mid ocean ridge basalts (MORB), with respect to atmospheric xenon, suggests that the atmosphere and upper mantle have remained separate since that time. This alone is a very strong argument for early catastrophic degassing, which would be consistent with an early fractionation resulting in core formation. However, noble gas isotopic systematics of oceanic basalts show that the mantle cannot necessarily be regarded as a homogeneous system, since there are significant variations in (3)He/(4)He, (40)Ar/(36)Ar, and (129)Xe/(130)Xe. Therefore, the early degassing cannot be considered to have acted on the whole mantle. The specific mechanisms of degassing, in particular the thickness and growth of the early crust, is an important variable in understanding present day noble gas inventories. Another constraint can be obtained from rocks that are thought to be derived from near the lithosphere asthenosphere boundary: ultramafic xenoliths.
Kurz, M. D.↗
Petrology and geochemistry of lunar dimict breccia 61015
The results of a petrological and geochemical study of the dimict breccia 61015 at the Apollo 16 site are presented and discussed. The breccia consists predominantly of granulated anorthosite and impact melt rock of very high aluminum-basalt composition. It probably formed in the floor of an expanding crater cavity when impact melt generated within the cavity was injected into underlying anorthositic bedrock and solidified rapidly, the anorthosite and melt rock being fragmented by deformation in the later stages of the impact. A possible source crater for the breccia is identified. The breccia has been affected by at least one recent small impact, which produced internal shock-induced melting of the breccia and injected and coated the rock with externally derived melts. The TiO2 content of the coating and vein glasses establish that they cannot be melted soils; their composition requires a mafic, low-TiO2 protolith component.
James, O. B.↗
Stratigraphy and geochemistry of the Stone mountain core (64001/2)
Ferromagnetic resonance and magnetic data measured on both sections of the double drive tube cord 64001/2 collected on Stone mountain, station four, Apollo 16 are reported, along with instrumental neutron activation analysis data measured on the lower section. These data provide insight into the depositional and irradiational history and the geochemical provenances of the core.
Korotev, R. L.↗
Apollo 14 mare basalts - Petrology and geochemistry of clasts from consortium breccia 14321
It is pointed out that polymict lunar breccia 14321 has long been renowned for the relative abundance of mare basalt clasts which it contains. However, few detailed studies of these clasts exist. The most comprehensive studies to date are those of the first 14321 consortium. Although the studies produced important results, a number of questions remain still unanswered. Thus, it is not certain if the clasts studied are representative of the entire clast population. In addition, there is a lack of correlation of petrography and mineral chemistry information with specific, analyzed clasts, and the major elements Mg and Ca were not analyzed. A second 14321 consortium effort has been organized with the objective to address the remaining questions. The present investigation is concerned with the results of a combined petrographic, mineral /chemical, and geochemical study of 11 mare basalt clasts chipped from five separate subsamples of breccia 14321. It is found that the mare basalt suite at the Apollo 14 site comprises a diverse assemblage of petrographic and compositional types which confirm the importance of ancient mare volcanism.
Shervais, J. W.↗
Petrology and geochemistry of highlands samples from the Apennine Front
Individual rocks from the Hadley Delta massif, part of the Apennine Front, are described beginning with the simplest samples to the most complex breccias. Relationship among the samples were evaluated. Geological interpretations of the samples were speculative because of the limited data set, but provided models to be tested when additional data are available.
Lindstrom, M. M.↗
Geochemistry of granitoid rocks from the western Superior Province: Evidence for 2- and 3-stage crustal evolution models
The Superior Province is divisible into subprovinces that can be classified as greenstone-tonalite, paragneiss, or batholitic terranes and are distinguished by differences in lithologic proportions, metamorphic grade, and structural style. The origin and significance of contrasting geochemical characteristics of plutonic rocks from the Winnipeg River subprovince (a batholithic terrane) and the Wabigoon subprovince (a greenstone-tonalite terrane) are discussed.
Beakhouse, G. P.↗