The fate of accessory minerals and key trace elements during anatexis and magma extraction

This work was financially supported by ARC grant DP110102543.Granite genesis and crustal evolution are closely associated with partial melting in the lower or middle crust and extraction of granite magmas to upper levels. This is generally thought to be the leading mechanism by which the upper continental crust became enriched in incompatible components such as the heat-producing elements U and Th through time. However, field evidence from anatectic terrains, the source rocks of granite magmas, raises doubt about the efficiency of this process. Leucosomes and associated leucogranites, representative of melts in such terrains, are often depleted in U, Th and REE compared to their source and therefore unable to enrich the upper crust in these elements. This paper demonstrates using anatectic turbidites exposed on Kangaroo Island that accessory minerals, the main host of U, Th and REE, become preferentially concentrated in the melanosomes, effectively removing these elements from the melt. Whole rock geochemistry and detailed petrography suggests that (a) peraluminous melts dissolve only small fractions of monazite and xenotime, because efficient apatite dissolution saturates melt early in phosphorous; and (b) local melt–host reaction emerging from melt migration may cause substantial melt to crystallize in the magma extraction channelways in or close to the magma source region. Crystallization causes oversaturation of the magma triggering the crystallization and capture of accessory minerals in the growing biotite-rich selvedge rather than in the melt channel itself. Crystallization of accessory minerals away from the leucosomes explains the apparent under-saturation of elements hosted by these accessory minerals in the leucosome. While intense reworking of thick piles of turbidites, common in accretionary orogens, reflect important processes of crustal formation, the fate of accessory phases and the key elements they control, such as the heat producing elements U and Th, is strongly dependent on the interaction between melt and surrounding solids during segregation and extraction.PostprintPeer reviewe

Quantification of synmagmatic flow structures of the Vila Pouca de Aguiar Pluton, NE Portugal

Methods based on fractal geometry offer the opportunity to quantify complex rock patterns (Kruhl. 2013), which provide information about the pattern forming processes. Mineral distribution patterns of Variscan post-tectonic granites from NE of Portugal (Vila Pouca de Aguiar Pluton) were analyzed with the MORFA and Map-­Counting software (Peternell, 2011). The result of the analysis provides information about pattern inhomogeneity and anisotropy, i.e. magmatic flux directions and mineral equilibrium processes in the crystallizing magma chamber.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Quantification of synmagmatic flow structures: a tool for Rock Quality Evaluation

The result of the analysis using methods based on fractal geometry provides information about magmatic flux directions and mineral equilibrium processes in the crystallizing magma chamber. Additionally, the used methods may also provide important information for the rock industry, because they allow a fast and automatically evaluation of rock quality.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Quantification of quartz microstructures

Quartz microstructure analysis based on classical optical microscopy, is appointing to the identification of features related with dominial quartz studies. Microstructural features defined in this study include the concepts of microstructures, microstructural elements, microstructural features, fabric elements, elementary textures, textural elements and textural features (e.g., Vernon, 1976 and Kosaka, 1980). Petrographic analysis was focused on the identification of quartz microstructures, such as intra-granular microstructures, inter-granular boundary, and their relation to the deformation mechanisms activated during a simple shear progressive deformation event. These structures were quantified following the methodology developed by Kosaka (1980). To ensure a random sampling, measurement points were picked from a standard grid that covers the total thin section area. A statistically significant number of points were analysed.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

P-T Path of a Variscan Shear Zone recorded on Quartz-Aluminous Shearband Boudins

The work is focused on the P-T path recorded on internal shearband boudin microstructures, developed during simple shear progressive deformation (Malpica-Lamego Ductile Shear Zone – MLDSZ, NW Portugal). In the studied area, MLDSZ is a NW-SE striking Variscan crustal shear zone with a subvertical and west-dipping foliation and a sub-horizontal stretching lineation; it is recorded as a heterogeneous simple shear zone with bulk left-lateral kinematics (Pamplona and Rodrigues, 2011). The deformation zone is marked by a generalized foliation (Sn) defined by Bt+Ms±Sil and a stretching mineral lineation marked by sillimanite fibres. Microstructural analysis, fluid inclusions studies, Raman spectroscopy, crystallographic preferred orientation on quartz grains and fractal geometry based analysis were applied to the boudins.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Interpretative model of shearband boudins internal evolution in HT ductile shear zones

The internal structure of a shearband boudin resulting from an original igneous, hydrothermal or metamorphic segregation tabular rigid body is a subject of scientific interest. It allows understanding the deformation mechanisms acting on homogeneous quartz aggregate activated during simple shear progressive deformation. This work is focused on the characterization of the internal evolution of shearband boudins, using microtextural analysis, fluid inclusions studies, fractal and OCP analysis. The proposed interpretative model shows the several structural stages that can be well established during the process of the internal evolution of shearband boudin

Competing effects of spreading rate, crystal fractionation and source variability on Fe isotope systematics in mid-ocean ridge lavas

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Richter, M., Nebel, O., Schwindinger, M., Nebel-Jacobsen, Y., & Dick, H. J. B. Competing effects of spreading rate, crystal fractionation and source variability on Fe isotope systematics in mid-ocean ridge lavas. Scientific Reports, 11(1), (2021): 4123, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-83387-7.Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by mid-ocean ridge basalts, which form along a network of divergent plate margins. Basalts along these margins display a chemical diversity, which is consequent to a complex interplay of partial mantle melting in the upper mantle and magmatic differentiation processes in lower crustal levels. Igneous differentiation (crystal fractionation, partial melting) and source heterogeneity, in general, are key drivers creating variable chemistry in mid-ocean ridge basalts. This variability is reflected in iron isotope systematics (expressed as δ57Fe), showing a total range of 0.2 ‰ from δ57Fe =  + 0.05 to + 0.25 ‰. Respective contributions of source heterogeneity and magma differentiation leading to this diversity, however, remain elusive. This study investigates the iron isotope systematics in basalts from the ultraslow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean and compares them to existing data from the fast spreading East Pacific Rise ridge. Results indicate that Gakkel lavas are driven to heavier iron isotope compositions through partial melting processes, whereas effects of igneous differentiation are minor. This is in stark contrast to fast spreading ridges showing reversed effects of near negligible partial melting effects followed by large isotope fractionation along the liquid line of descent. Gakkel lavas further reveal mantle heterogeneity that is superimposed on the igneous differentiation effects, showing that upper mantle Fe isotope heterogeneity can be transmitted into erupting basalts in the absence of homogenisation processes in sub-oceanic magma chambers.This work was supported by an ARC grant FT140101062 to O.N. H.J.B.D was supported by the NSF grants PLR 9912162, PLR 0327591, OCE 0930487 and OCE 1434452

Reducing epistemic and model uncertainty in ionic inter-diffusion chronology: A 3D observation and dynamic modeling approach using olivine from Piton de la Fournaise, La Réunion

Modeling of ionic diffusion in natural crystals has been developed over the last three decades to calculate timescales of geological processes. As the number of studies and the size of data sets have expanded, improvements in the precision of the general technique are needed to resolve temporal patterns that would otherwise be masked by large uncertainties. This contribution examines fundamental aspects of timescale calculation uncertainty using Mg-Fe zonation in olivine crystals from a Piton de la Fournaise oceanite erupted in 2002 CE. First, we quantitatively consider the role of geometric uncertainty in data sets from the perspectives of sectioning angle, crystal shape, and crystal agglomeration. Second, we assess how crystal growth and changing boundary conditions during diffusion pose problems for simplistic, 1D, diffusion-only modeling. An initial database of 104 timescales (7–45 days) was generated using typical, 1D, isothermal diffusion-only methods for profiles taken from 30 compositionally and texturally zoned crystals of olivine. This simplistic modeling yields poor model fits and imprecise timescales; prior to this work, we would have rejected >60% of these data. Universal-stage measurements of crystal boundary angles and three-dimensional (3D) X-ray microcomputed tomography observations of crystal shape address geometric uncertainties. U-stage measurements show that, contrary to expectations of random sectioning, most boundaries modeled initially were close to the ideal sectioning plane. Assessment of crystal morphology from 2D thin sections suggests olivine crystals are dominantly euhedral; however, 3D imaging reveals that they are significantly subhedral and often exist as agglomerates, an observation that underscores both the potential for diverse crystal interactions through time in the magma (Wieser et al. 2019) and out-of-plane effects capable of influencing calculations of diffusion profiles. Refinements to timescale determination can be made using a dynamic 1D modeling code to resolve growth and changing boundary effects simultaneous with diffusion. We incorporated temperature-dependent crystal growth rates (both linear growth and quadratically increasing, with a peak growth rate ~1.9 ×10–11 ms–1) and temperature-dependent boundary conditions (controlled using a cooling rate of −0.5 ± 0.1 °C/h) to remodel 13 timescales, resulting in significantly improved fits of the diffusion model to the initial data, better agreement between different faces of the same crystal, and less scatter within the whole data set. The use of 3D imaging and the inclusion of changing boundary conditions and crystal growth for diffusion calculations will enable more robust conclusions to be drawn from similar data in the future. Accurately retrieving timescale information from these crystals expands the pool of data available and reduces sampling bias toward “well-behaved” crystals

G-protein signaling: back to the future

Heterotrimeric G-proteins are intracellular partners of G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs act on inactive Gα·GDP/Gβγ heterotrimers to promote GDP release and GTP binding, resulting in liberation of Gα from Gβγ. Gα·GTP and Gβγ target effectors including adenylyl cyclases, phospholipases and ion channels. Signaling is terminated by intrinsic GTPase activity of Gα and heterotrimer reformation — a cycle accelerated by ‘regulators of G-protein signaling’ (RGS proteins). Recent studies have identified several unconventional G-protein signaling pathways that diverge from this standard model. Whereas phospholipase C (PLC) β is activated by Gαq and Gβγ, novel PLC isoforms are regulated by both heterotrimeric and Ras-superfamily G-proteins. An Arabidopsis protein has been discovered containing both GPCR and RGS domains within the same protein. Most surprisingly, a receptor-independent Gα nucleotide cycle that regulates cell division has been delineated in both Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we revisit classical heterotrimeric G-protein signaling and explore these new, non-canonical G-protein signaling pathways