U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology of the lower Danube and its tributaries; implications for the geology of the Carpathians

We performed a detrital zircon (DZ) U-Pb geochronologic survey of the lower parts of the Danube River approaching its Danube Delta- Black Sea sink, and a few large tributaries (Tisza, Jiu, Olt and Siret) originating in the nearby Carpathian Mountains. Samples are modern sediments. DZ age spectra reflect the geology and specifically the crustal age formation of the source area, which in this case is primarily the Romanian Carpathians and their foreland with contributions from the Balkan Mountains to the south of Danube and the East European Craton. The zircon cargo of these rivers suggests a source area that formed during the latest Proterozoic and mostly into the Cambrian and Ordovician as island arcs and backarc basins in a Peri-Gondwanan subduction setting (~600 -440 Ma). The Inner Carpathian units are dominated by a U-Pb DZ peak in the Ordovician (460-470 Ma) and little inheritance from the nearby continental masses, whereas the Outer Carpathian units and the foreland has two main peaks, one Ediacaran (570-610 Ma) and one in the earliest Permian (290-300 Ma), corresponding to granitic rocks known regionally. A prominent igneous Variscan peak (320-350 Ma) in the Danube’s and tributaries DZ zircon record is difficult to explain and points out to either an extra Carpathian source or major unknown gaps in our understanding of Carpathian geology. Younger peaks corresponding to arc magmatism during the Alpine period make up as much as about 10% of the DZ archive, consistent with the magnitude and surface exposure of Mesozoic and Cenozoic arcs

Carpathian-Pannonian Magmatism Database

A database containing previously published geochronologic, geochemical, and isotopic data on Mesozoic to Quaternary igneous rocks from the Carpathian-Pannonian region is presented. Georeferenced data making up this database belong mostly to rocks sampled from five magmatic arcs: (a) the South Apuseni Jurassic island arc/backarc province, (b) a small volume mid-Cretaceous arc of the northernmost South Carpathians, (c) a late Cretaceous arc, locally known as “banatitic,” marking the closure of the Neotethys, (d) a regionally extensive Miocene ignimbrite flare-up, and (e) the Miocene-Quaternary collisional arc and associated extension-related basalts of the Pannonian and Transylvanian basins. The database is anchored by location and ages of various igneous rocks, as well as geochemical and isotopic data, where available. The database is publicly available online (https://osf.io/23kdg/), as well as a Supporting Information S1 attached to this manuscript. We exemplify the utility of the database by calculating paleo crustal thicknesses in the Carpathians as a function of time using well-calibrated geochemical paleo-mohometers. © 2021. The Authors.Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Marshallsussmanite, NaCaMnSi 3 O 8 (OH), a new pectolite-group mineral providing insight into hydrogen bonding in pyroxenoids

Marshallsussmanite (IMA2013-067) is a new pyroxenoid mineral from the Wessels mine, Kalahari Manganese Field, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. Marshallsussmanite has ideal formula NaCaMnSi3O8(OH) and triclinic P symmetry. Marshallsussmanite forms vitreous pink bladed crystals to 2.1 cm. The mineral shows perfect cleavage on both {100} and {001}. The chemical composition from electron microprobe (average of 20 analyses) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer analysis (average of three analyses) is Li2O 0.43, Na2O 8.06, MgO 0.08, CaO 15.33, MnO 21.79, SiO2 51.71; totalling 97.40 wt.%. The empirical formula, normalized to 3 Si and assuming 1 H apfu is Li0.100Na0.906Ca0.953Mg0.007Mn1.071Si3O8(OH). Unit-cell parameters from single crystal X-ray diffraction are a = 7.7854(4), b = 6.9374(4), c = 6.8516(3) Å, α = 90.683(3)°, β = 94.330(3)°, γ = 102.856(3)°, V = 359.59(3) Å3; Z = 2. The crystal structure refinement converged with Robs = 0.0248 and site occupancy refinement gives crystal chemistry [Na0.948Li0.052][Ca0.793Mn0.207] [Mn0.937Ca0.063]Si3O8(OH). Marshallsussmanite is a single chain silicate with a repeat interval of three tetrahedra (i.e. dreier chain). Marshallsussmanite is a member of the pectolite group of pyroxenoids, which also includes barrydawsonite-(Y), cascandite, pectolite, serandite and tanohataite. Parallel silicate chains form layers, intercalated with well-ordered cation layers. Calcium and Mn both exhibit octahedral coordination, while Na has four bonded interactions in a coordination sphere (radius 3 Å) of seven separate O atoms. Procrystal electron density and bond valence modelling results are compared. The mineral has an unusually strong hydrogen bond with O4O3 separation of 2.458(2) Å. Unlike pectolite and serandite, O4 in marshallsussmanite acts as an H-bond donor and O3 is an H-bond acceptor. Cation ordering in pyroxenoids has a substantial impact on the H position and corresponding H-bonding schemata. Copyright © The Author(s), 2018. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.12 month embargo; published online: 21 February 2018This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Does Large-Scale Crustal Flow Shape the Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau? Insights From Episodic Magmatism of Gongga-Zheduo Granitic Massif

The mechanisms driving crustal deformation and uplift of orogenic plateaus are fundamental to continental tectonics. Large-scale crustal flow has been hypothesized to occur in eastern Tibet, but it remains controversial due to a lack of geologic evidence. Geochemical and isotopic data from Cenozoic igneous rocks in the eastern Tibet-Gongga-Zheduo intrusive massif, provide a way to test this model. Modeling results suggest that Cenozoic magmas originated at depths of ∼30–40 km, the depth that crustal flow has been postulated to occur at. Detailed isotopic analyses indicate that the igneous rocks are derived from partial melting of the local Songpan-Ganzi crust, arguing against a long-distance crustal flow. Episodic magmatism during the Cenozoic showing a repeated shifting of magmatic sources can be correlated with crustal uplift. The continued indentation of the Indian Block and upwelling of the asthenosphere contribute to the crustal deformation, magmatism, and uplift. © 2022. The Authors.Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Answering Geosciences Research Questions at a Global Scale via a Hybrid Machine-Human Learning Approach: A Case Study of the Link between Climate and Volcanism

A common challenge in science is the human capability to evaluate the real impact of an observation and a data set. This is a complex task due to having only partial information and/or to the complexity of the problem, requiring different fields to be combined. In order to overcome these important limitations, we need to be able to review all the available data and interpretations. This would allow us to evaluate the global distribution of a specific process or phenomenon of interest. The increasing number of scientific publications prevents scientists from being able to keep up with all the available literature especially when scientific papers cross disciplines. These challenges prevent us from evaluating the global impact of a certain process and are particularly relevant today given the impact of our scientific assessment on one of the most pressing issues of our time, which is climate change and its impact on society. We present here an application of artificial intelligence to geosciences: We conduct a systematic analysis of geoscience literature through a hybrid machine-human approach. Such applications are more common in other fields such as biomedicine and are in their infancy in the geosciences because of various difficulties the machines encounter in parsing geologic literature. We describe here some of these limitations and how we overcame them. We then use the following case study as an example to test our approach: We ask whether climate is influenced by volcanism in the geologic past. Our case study results show, as expected, that most analyzed literature in this experiment conclude that volcanism influences climate change in deep time, but there is no complete consensus on this question. Similarly, any question of potential global significance, such as the impact of human activities on climate change, can be posed as an interrogating technique for our vast and fast-growing literature in the field of geosciences. Such an approach has the potential to be applied to a variety of complex problems, hence addressing some of the major limitations with cross-disciplinary research. © 2022 Geological Society of America. All rights reserved.Open access journalThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Europium anomalies in detrital zircons record major transitions in Earth geodynamics at 2.5 Ga and 0.9 Ga

Abstract Trace elements in zircon are a promising proxy with which to quantitatively study Earth’s long-term lithospheric processes and its geodynamic regimes. The zircon Eu anomaly reflects the crystallization environment of its felsic or intermediate parental magma. In particular, it provides insight into the water content, magmatic redox conditions, and the extent of plagioclase fractionation in the source rock or its occurrence as a cogenetic crystallizing phase from the magma. We performed a statistical analysis of Eu anomalies from a compilation of detrital zircons over geologic time and found a major decrease in Eu anomaly ca. 2.5 Ga and an important increase ca. 0.9 Ga. Coupled with thermodynamic modeling, we suggest that these variations could be due to long-term change in the chemical system of the mafic source from which the intermediate to felsic melt and derived zircons were produced. The 2.5 Ga drop was likely associated with an enrichment in incompatible elements in the mafic source, which extended the pressure-temperature field of plagioclase stability as a cogenetic melt phase. We interpret the 0.9 Ga rise to record increasing hydration of magmagenetic sites due to the general development of cold subduction systems, which would delay and/or suppress the saturation of plagioclase in hydrous magmagenetic sites

Andean surface uplift constrained by radiogenic isotopes of arc lavas

Climate and tectonics have complex feedback systems which are difficult to resolve and remain controversial. Here we propose a new climate-independent approach to constrain regional Andean surface uplift. 87Sr/86Sr and 143Nd/144Nd ratios of Quaternary frontal-arc lavas from the Andean Plateau are distinctly crustal (>0.705 and <0.5125, respectively) compared to non-plateau arc lavas, which we identify as a plateau discriminant. Strong linear correlations exist between smoothed elevation and 87Sr/86Sr (R2 = 0.858, n = 17) and 143Nd/144Nd (R2 = 0.919, n = 16) ratios of non-plateau arc lavas. These relationships are used to constrain 200 Myr of surface uplift history for the Western Cordillera (present elevation 4200 ± 516 m). Between 16 and 26°S, Miocene to recent arc lavas have comparable isotopic signatures, which we infer indicates that current elevations were attained in the Western Cordillera from 23 Ma. From 23–10 Ma, surface uplift gradually propagated southwards by ~400 km

Shear heating not a cause of inverted metamorphism

An archetypal example of inverted metamorphism purportedly resulting from shear heating is found in the Pelona Schist of southern California (United States). Recent studies demonstrate that the Pelona Schist was subducted and accreted at the onset of Laramide flat subduction under thermal and kinematic conditions not considered in earlier numerical models. To test the shear heating hypothesis under these conditions, we constructed a thermokinematic model of flat subduction initiation involving continuous accretion of the schist. A neighborhood algorithm inversion demonstrates that available metamorphic and thermochronologic constraints in the Sierra Pelona mountains are satisfied only if accretion rates were 0.2-3.6 km/m.y and shear heating was minimal (shear stress 0-19 MPa). Minimal shear heating is also consistent with an inversion of models constrained by thermochronology of the East Fork (of the San Gabriel River) exposure of the schist. Shear heating inhibits the formation of modeled inverted gradients during accretion and should not be considered an important factor in their generation. © 2013 Geological Society of America

Episodic magmatism during the growth of a Neoproterozoic oceanic arc (Anti-Atlas, Morocco)

We present an integrated study combining detailed field, geochronological and geochemical data of a Neoproterozoic intra-oceanic arc systems exposed in the Pan-African belt of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas. The arc rock units exposed in Bou Azzer and Sirwa inliers consist of a tectonic patchwork of back-arc ophiolitic sequences to the north thrusted onto accreted arc complexes to the south. Arc complexes are composed of amphibolite, granodioritic and granitic gneisses intruded by various undeformed hydrous ultramafic (hornblendite), mafic (hornblende-gabbro, diorite) and felsic (granodiorite, tonalite, granite) arc lithologies. We show that these complexes are remnants of a long-lived (120 Myr) Neoproterozoic oceanic arc, punctuated by three successive magmatic episodes (760–730 Ma, 710–690 Ma, 660–640 Ma respectively) interspersed with periods of magmatic quiescence. The typical geochemical arc signature and positive ƐNdt values for the igneous rocks emplaced during each magmatic episode (medians at +7.1, +5.4 and +5.7, from older to younger) attest that their parental magmas derived from a depleted mantle source without substantial assimilation by the WAC older crustal basement. Trace-element geochemistry, i.e. Sr/Y, La/Yb, of intermediate to felsic arc rocks produced during each magmatic pulse suggests that the arc crust was thickened (>30–35 km) over a short time period between the first and second magmatic episodes (730–710 Ma) which coincides with an important regional shortening event. Soft-docking of the oceanic arc on a buoyant transitional margin is invoked to explain tectonic inversion in overriding plate, leading to shortening and related thickening of the arc crust. Concomitant magmatic shutdown resulting from a reorganization of subduction dynamics (i.e. change in slab geometry, flip in subduction polarity). A non-tectonic critical thickening of the arc crust is invoked to explain the second magmatic shutdown (680–660 Ma), by freezing the subarc mantle influx. This lull period is followed by a third magmatic episode which is likely triggered by delamination of the dense lower crust and reactivation of subarc mantle flow. This is supported by the bimodal chemical signature of evolved magmatic products, suggesting two distinct sources partial melts from the foundered lower crust and new magmatic products which differentiated from a post-delamination thinned crust.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Geodynamics of Late Carboniferous-Early Permian forearc in north Chile (28°30'-29°30'S)

Table 1: Sedimentary facies of the Quebrada Honda - Quebrada Chañaral sections