Gondwana break-up related magmatism in the Falkland Islands

Jurassic dykes (c. 182 Ma) are widespread across the Falkland Islands and exhibit considerable geochemical variability. Orthopyroxene-bearing NW–SE-oriented quartz-tholeiite dykes underwent fractional crystallization at >1 GPa, and major element constraints suggest that they were derived by melting of a pyroxenite-rich source. They have εNd182 in the range –6 to –11 and 87Sr/86Sr182 >0.710 and therefore require an old lithospheric component in their source. A suite of basaltic andesites and andesites exhibit geochemical compositions transitional between Ferrar and Karoo magma types, and are similar to those seen in the KwaZulu-Natal region of southern Africa and the Theron Mountains of Antarctica. Olivine-phyric intrusions equilibrated at 182 1.6–3.6 and 87Sr/86Sr182 0.7036–0.7058) that require limited interaction with old continental lithosphere. A suite of plagioclase-phyric intrusions with 87Sr/86Sr182 c. 0.7035 and εNd182 c. +4, and low Th/Ta and La/Ta ratios (c. 1 and c. 15, respectively) also largely escaped interaction with the lithosphere. These isotopically depleted intrusions were probably emplaced synchronously with Gondwana fragmentation and the formation of new oceanic lithosphere. Estimates of mantle potential temperature from olivine equilibration temperatures do not provide unequivocal evidence for the presence of a plume thermal anomaly beneath the Falkland Islands at 182 Ma

Shallow-water hydrothermal venting linked to the Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum

The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a global warming event of 5–6 °C around 56 million years ago caused by input of carbon into the ocean and atmosphere. Hydrothermal venting of greenhouse gases produced in contact aureoles surrounding magmatic intrusions in the North Atlantic Igneous Province have been proposed to play a key role in the PETM carbon-cycle perturbation, but the precise timing, magnitude and climatic impact of such venting remains uncertain. Here we present seismic data and the results of a five-borehole transect sampling the crater of a hydrothermal vent complex in the Northeast Atlantic. Stable carbon isotope stratigraphy and dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy reveal a negative carbon isotope excursion coincident with the appearance of the index taxon Apectodinium augustum in the vent crater, firmly tying the infill to the PETM. The shape of the crater and stratified sediments suggests large-scale explosive gas release during the initial phase of vent formation followed by rapid, but largely undisturbed, diatomite-rich infill. Moreover, we show that these vents erupted in very shallow water across the North Atlantic Igneous Province, such that volatile emissions would have entered the atmosphere almost directly without oxidation to CO2 and at the onset of the PETM

Melt inclusion constraints on the magma source of Eyjafjallajökull 2010 flank eruption

International audienc

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

An experimental study of pyroxenite partial melts at 1 and 1.5 GPa : implications for the major-element composition of Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalts

To better assess the potential role of pyroxenites in basalt generation at mid-ocean ridges, we performed partial melting experiments on two natural websterites and one clinopyroxenite representative of worldwide pyroxenites. The experiments were conducted at 1 and 1.5 GPa in a piston-cylinder apparatus; the microdike technique was used to separate the liquid from the solid phases and to obtain reliable glass analyses even at low degrees of melting. Contrasted melting behaviors were observed depending on the phase proportions at the solidus, especially the abundance of orthopyroxene. (1) If orthopyroxene is abundant, the main melting reaction is similar to the melting reaction in peridotites (clinopyroxene + orthopyroxene +/- spinel = liquid + olivine), and the liquids are similar to peridotite-derived melts for most major elements. (2) In the absence of orthopyroxene, the main melting reaction is clinopyroxene + spinel = liquid + olivine, yielding liquids that are strongly depleted in SiO2 in comparison to peridotite-derived melts. This low-SiO2 content can be associated with a high FeO content, a combination usually ascribed to a high average pressure of melting (of a peridotitic source). Because of their higher melt productivities and lower solidus temperatures, 5 wt.% of pyroxenites in a heterogeneous mantle may contribute up to 40 wt.% of the total melt production. (1) In some cases, pyroxenite-derived melts differ strongly from peridotite partial melts, leading to a distinct pyroxenite signature in the average melt (lower alkali and TiO2 contents, lower SiO2, higher FeO and/or lower Mg#). The classical criteria used to select primitive mantle-derived magmas (melt inclusions hosted into high Mg# olivine or MORB glasses with Mg# >= 67) or to track down enriched mantle sources (MORB glasses with high incompatible element contents) must be considered with caution, otherwise melts carrying a pyroxenite signature may be eliminated. (2) In general, however, the major-element signature of pyroxenites should be hardly detectable in the average melt because of the similarity of most pyroxenite-derived melts with peridotite partial melts. This similarity may explain why MORB have relatively uniform major-element compositions, but may have variable trace element and/or isotopic compositions

Fate of Pyroxenite-derived Melts in the Peridotitic Mantle: Thermodynamic and Experimental Constraints

We performed a thermodynamic and experimental study to investigate the fate of pyroxenite-derived melts during their migration through the peridotitic mantle. We used a simplified model of interaction in which peridotite is impregnated by and then equilibrated with a finite amount of pyroxenite-derived liquid. We considered two pyroxenite compositions and three contexts of pyroxenitic melt impregnation: (1) in a subsolidus lithospheric mantle; (2) beneath a mid-ocean ridge (MOR) in a subsolidus asthenospheric mantle at high pressure; (3) beneath a MOR in a partially molten asthenospheric mantle. Calculations were performed with pMELTS at constant pressure and temperature with a melt–rock ratio varying in the range 0–1. Concurrently, a series of impregnation experiments was performed at 1 and 1·5 GPa to reproduce the final stages of the calculations where the melt–rock ratio is 1. Incoming melt and host-rocks react differently according to the melt composition and the physical state of the surrounding mantle. Whereas clinopyroxene (Cpx) is systematically a reaction product, the role of olivine (Ol) and orthopyroxene (Opx) depends on the incoming melt silica activity a^0_(SiO2): if it is lower than the silica activity Formula of a melt saturated in Ol and Opx at the same pressure P and temperature T, Opx is dissolved and Ol precipitates, and conversely if a_(SiO2) > a^0_(SiO2). Such contrasted reactions between pyroxenitic melts and peridotitic mantle may generate a large range of new lithological heterogeneities (wehrlite, websterite, clinopyroxenite) in the upper mantle. Also, our study shows that the ability of pyroxenite-derived melts to migrate through the mantle depends on the melting degree of the surrounding peridotite. The reaction of these melts with a subsolidus mantle results in strong melt consumption (40–100%) and substantial Cpx production (with some spinel or garnet, depending on P). This is expected to drastically decrease the system permeability and the capacity of pyroxenite-derived melts to infiltrate neighbouring rocks. In contrast, melt migration to the surface should be possible if the surrounding mantle is partially melted; although liquid reactivity varies with composition, melt consumption is restricted to less than 20%. Hence, magma–rock interactions can have a significant impact on the dynamics of melting and magma migration and should not be neglected when modelling the partial melting of heterogeneous mantle

Technic of the irrigation treatment of wounds by the Carrel method /

"A fairly literal translation of the first portion of the book, with some few additions."--Pref.Mode of access: Internet