Evidence from the lamarck granodiorite for rapid late cretaceous crust formation in california

Strontium and neodymium isotopic data for rocks from the voluminous 90-million-year-old Lamarck intrusive suite in the Sierra Nevada batholith, California, show little variation across a compositional range from gabbro to granite. Data for three different gabbro intrusions within the suite are identical within analytical error and are consistent with derivation from an enriched mantle source. Recognition of local involvement of enriched mantle during generation of the Sierran batholith modifies estimates of crustal growth rates in the United States. These data indicate that parts of the Sierra Nevada batholith may consist almost entirely of juvenile crust added during Cretaceous magmatism.     

Redox state of Mars' upper mantle and crust from Eu anomalies in shergottite pyroxenes

The oxidation state of basaltic martian meteorites is determined from the partitioning of europium (Eu) in their pyroxenes. The estimated redox conditions for these samples correlate with their initial neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions. This is interpreted to imply varying degrees of interaction between the basaltic parent melts, derived from a source in the martian mantle, and a crustal component. Thus, the mantle source of these martian basalts may have a redox state close to that of the iron-wüstite buffer, whereas the martian crust may be more oxidized (with a redox state higher than or equal to that of the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer). A difference in redox state of more than 3 log units between mantle and crustal reservoirs on Mars could result from oxidation of the crust by a process such as aqueous alteration, together with a subsequent lack of recycling of this oxidized crust through the reduced upper mantle.     

Detection of a meteoritic component in ivory coast tektites with rhenium-osmium isotopes

Measurement of rhenium (Re) and osmium (Os) concentrations and Os isotopic compositions in Ivory Coast tektites (natural glasses with upper crustal compositions that are ejected great distances during meteorite impact) and rocks from the inferred source crater, Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana, show that these tektites incorporate about 0.6 percent of a meteoritic component. Analysis of elemental abundances of noble metals alone gives equivocal results in the detection of meteoritic components because the target rocks already have relatively large amounts of noble metals. The Re-Os system is ideally suited for the study of meteorite impacts on old continental crust for three reasons. (i) The isotopic compositions of the target rocks and the meteoritic impactor are significantly different. (ii) Closed-system mixing of target rocks and meteorites is linear on Re-Os isochron diagrams, which thus permits identification of the loss of Re or Os. (iii) Osmium isotopic compositions are not likely to be altered during meteorite impact even if Re and Os are lost.     

Lateral isotopic discontinuity in the lower crust: an example from antarctica

The lower continental crust is one of the least known variables in the crust-mantle evolutionary equation. In order to study the nature and compositional heterogeneity of the lower crust, more than 20 inclusions of lower crustal granulites in volcanic rocks from the McMurdo Sound region of Antarctica were analyzed for strontium and oxygen isotopes. These inclusions were erupted from volcanic centers covering an area of 12,000 square kilometers. Along with results from analyses of major and trace elements, the isotopic data reveal a profound discontinuity in the composition and probably the age of the lower crust that coincides with the boundary between the Transantarctic Mountains and the Ross Embayment. Although this topographic boundary between East and West Antarctica is largely a Cenozoic development, which apparently reflects a simple subvertical faulting relationship due to crustal rifting, the isotopic differences in the lower crust across the boundary suggest that the current faulting and rifting may coincide with an older crustal suture, the age of which is uncertain.     

Rhenium-osmium and samarium-neodymium isotopic systematics of the stillwater complex

Isotopic data for the Stillwater Complex, Montana, which formed about 2700 Ma (million years ago), were obtained to evaluate the role of magma mixing in the formation of strategic platinum-group element (PGE) ore deposits. Neodymium and osmium isotopic data indicate that the intrusion formed from at least two geochemically distinct magmas. Ultramafic affinity (U-type) magmas had initial epsilon(Nd) of -0.8 to -3.2 and a chondritic initial (187)Os/(186)Os ratio of approximately 0.88, whereas anorthositic affinity (A-type) magmas had epsilon(Nd) of -0.7 to +1.7 and an initial (187)Os/(186)Os ratio of approximately -1.13. These data suggest that U-type magmas were derived from a lithospheric mantle source containing recycled crustal materials whereas A-type magmas originated either by crustal contamination of basaltic magmas or by partial melting of basalt in the lower crust. The Nd and Os isotopic data also suggest that Os, and probably the other PGEs in ore horizons such as the J-M Reef, was derived from A-type magmas. The Nd and Os isotopic heterogeneity observed in rocks below the J-M Reef also suggests that A-type magmas were injected into the Stillwater U-type magma chamber at several stages during the development of the Ultramafic series.     

A change in the geodynamics of continental growth 3 billion years ago

Models for the growth of continental crust rely on knowing the balance between the generation of new crust and the reworking of old crust throughout Earth's history. The oxygen isotopic composition of zircons, for which uranium-lead and hafnium isotopic data provide age constraints, is a key archive of crustal reworking. We identified systematic variations in hafnium and oxygen isotopes in zircons of different ages that reveal the relative proportions of reworked crust and of new crust through time. Growth of continental crust appears to have been a continuous process, albeit at variable rates. A marked decrease in the rate of crustal growth at ~3 billion years ago may be linked to the onset of subduction-driven plate tectonics.     

Production of isotopic variability in continental basalts by cryptic crustal contamination

Regional variations in the Nd, Sr, and Pb isotopic compositions of Neogene basalts from the western United States are commonly interpreted to originate in the subcontinental mantle. In southern California, isotopic variability is restricted to lavas that lack mantle-derived xenoliths; xenolith-bearing basalts have uniform isotopic compositions similar to those of ocean-island basalts (OIBs). Combined with available geochemical data, these observations suggest that isotopic variability at these volcanoes results from subtle crustal contamination, locally by mafic crust, of primitive OIB-like magma. Recognition of such cryptic contamination may help to reconcile local discrepancies between tectonic and isotopic views of the subcontinental mantle.     

Sierra Nevada Batholith: The batholith was generated within a synclinorium

The Sierra Nevada batholith is localized in the axial region of a complex faulted synclinorium that coincides with a downfold in the Mohorovicic discontinuity and in P-wave velocity boundaries within the crust. Observed P-wave velocities are compatible with downward increase in the proportion of diorite, quartz diorite, and calcic granodiorite relative to quartz monzonite and granite in the upper crust, with amphibolite or gabbro-basalt in the lower crust, and with periodotite in the upper mantle. The synclinorium was formed in Paleozoic and Mesozoic strata during early and middle Mesozoic time in a geosyncline marginal to the continent. Granitic magmas are believed to have formed in the lower half of the crust at depths of 25 to 45 kilometers or more, primarily as a result of high radiogenic heat production in the thickened prism of crustal rocks. Magma was generated at different times in different places as the locus of down-folding shifted. It rose into the upper crust because it was less dense than rock of the same composition or residual refractory rocks. Refractory rocks and crystals that were not melted and early crystallized mafic minerals that settled from the rising magma thickened the lower crust. Wall and roof rocks settled around, and perhaps through, the rising magma and provided space for its continued rise. Erosion followed each magmatic episode, and 10 to 12 kilometers of rock may have been eroded away since the Jurassic and 7 to 10 kilometers since the early Late Cretaceous.     

Genetic relations of oceanic basalts as indicated by lead isotopes

The isotopic compositions of lead and the concentrations lead, uranium, and thorium in samples of oceanic tholeiite and alkali suites are determined, and the genetic relations of the oceanic basalts are discussed. Lead of the oceanic tholeiites has a varying lead-206: lead-204 ratio between 17.8 and 18.8, while leads of the alkali basalt suites from Easter Island and Guadalupe Island are very radiogenic with lead-206: lead-204 ratios between 19.3 and 20.4 It is concluded that (i) the isotopic composition of lead in oceanic tholeiite suggests that the upper mantle source region of the tholeiite was differentiated from and original mantle material more than 1 billion years ago and that the upper mantle is not homogeneous at the present time, (ii) less than 20 million years was required for the crystal differentiation within the alkali suite from Easter Island, (iii) no crustal contamination was involved in the course of differentiation of rocks from Easter Island; however, some crustal contamination may have affected Guadalupe Island rocks, and (iv) alkali basalt may be produced from the tholeiite in the oceanic region by crystal differentiation. Alternatively the difference in the isotopic composition of lead in oceanic basalts may be produced by partial melting at different depths of a differentiated upper mantle.     

Sources of continental crust: neodymium isotope evidence from the sierra nevada and peninsular ranges

Granitic rocks from batholiths of the Sierra Nevada and Peninsular Ranges exhibit initial (143)Nd/(144)Nd ratios that vary over a large range and correlate with (87)Sr/(86)Sr ratios. The data suggest that the batholiths represent mixtures of materials derived from (i) chemically depleted mantle identical to the source of island arcs and (ii) old continental crust, probably sediments or metasediments with a provenance age of approximately 1.6 x 10(9) years. These conclusions are consistent with a model for continental growth whereby new crustal additions are repeatedly extracted from the same limited volume of the upper mantle, which has consequently become depleted in elements that are enriched in the crust. There is little evidence that hydrothermally altered, subducted oceanic crust is a primary source of the magmas.     

The process of formation of ocean crust

Ocean crust is the outermost layer of earth under the oceans. It is separated from the underlying mantle by a seismic transition zone called the Moho. A widely held view is that the Moho represents a petrologic change from basaltic-type rocks to a mantle composed mostly of olivine and pyroxene. According to this view, crust is formed by a steady segregation of basaltic melt, derived from partial melting of the mantle, into a crustal magma chamber wherein cooling and crystallization bring about steady-state accretion to the continuously spreading plates. There is sufficient disagreement between the predictions of this hypothesis and marine geophysical data to cause one to doubt the validity of this formation process. At least two other processes are more compatible with the geophysical data. In one, the crust is formed from the episodic injection of basaltic dikes from a mantle reservoir and the Moho is a primary petrologic boundary. In the other, the crust is treated as a mechanical boundary layer in which thermal contraction results in cracking; by comparison, in the mantle thermal contraction is accommodated by flow. The upper part of the crust is formed from episodic extrusion and intrusion of basaltic melt. The lower crust is formed by rapid hydrothermal alteration of mantle that may be continuously or episodically injected by viscous flow at temperatures below the melting temperature.     

Neodymium and strontium isotope evidence for crustal contamination of continental volcanics

Combined neodymium and strontium isotope studies on Tertiary volcanics from northwest Scotland indicate that their parental mantle isotopic compositions have been substantially modified in many instances by contamination with the Precambrian continental crust through which they were erupted. The occurrence of samarium-neodymium and rubidium-strontium "pseudoisochrons" of different ages in these contaminated continental volcanics indicates that they are artifacts of the contamination processes and have no temporal significance with respect to mantle fractionation events.     

The apollo 16 lunar samples: petrographic and chemical description

The preliminary characterization of the rocks and soils returned from the Apollo 16 site has substantiated the inference that the lunar terra are commonly underlain by plagioclase-rich or anorthositic rocks. No evidence has been found for volcanic rocks underlying the regolith in the Apollo 16 region. In their place, we have found anorthositic rocks that are thoroughly modified by crushing and partial melting. The textural and chemical variations in these rocks provide some evidence for the existence of anorthositic complexes that have differentiated on a scale of tens to hundreds of meters. The occurrence of deep-seated or plutonic rocks in place of volcanic or pyroclastic materials at this site suggests that the inference from physiographic evidence that the latter materials are widespread in terra regions may be incorrect. Several additional, more specific conclusions derived from this preliminary examination are: 1) The combination of data from the Descartes region with data from the orbital x-ray fluorescence experiment indicates that some backside, highland regions are underlain by materials that consist of more than 80 percent plagioclase. 2) The soil or upper regolith between North Ray and South Ray has not been completely homogenized since the time of formation of these craters. 3) The chemistry of the soil indicates that rocks rich in potassium, uranium, and thorium, similar to those that prevail at the Fra Mauro site, are relatively abundant (10 to 20 percent) in the Descartes region. 4) The K/U ratio of the lunar crust is similar to that of the KREEP basalts. 5) The carbon content of the premare lunar crust is even lower than that of the mare volcanic rocks.     

Mantle flow beneath a continental strike-slip fault: postseismic deformation after the 1999 Hector Mine earthquake

Two recent large earthquakes in the Mojave Desert, California-the magnitude 7.3 1992 Landers and magnitude 7.1 1999 Hector Mine earthquakes-have each been followed by elevated crustal strain rates over periods of months and years. Geodetic data collected after the Hector Mine earthquake exhibit a temporally decaying horizontal velocity field and a quadrant uplift pattern opposite to that expected for localized shear beneath the earthquake rupture. We interpret the origin of this accelerated crustal deformation to be vigorous flow in the upper mantle in response to the stress changes generated by the earthquake. Our results suggest that transient flow in the upper mantle is a fundamental component of the earthquake cycle and that the lower crust is a coherent stress guide coupling the upper crust with the upper mantle.     

Diamond from the dabie shan metamorphic rocks and its implication for tectonic setting

Diamond occurs in ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from Dabie Shan, Anhui Province, eastern China. Diamond-bearing rocks include eclogite, gamet-pyroxenite, and jadeitite. Diamond occurs in a mineral assemblage with coesite and jadeite. The diamonds and diamondiferous rocks of Dabie Shan are interpreted to be the products of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism in the undérthrust basement of the Yangtze continental plate during the early Mesozoic, at greater than 4.0 gigapascals and 900 degrees C. This interpretation is based on the distribution of rock units, the stability field of diamond, and isotopic data indicating a crustal origin for the rocks. Most diamonds occur as euhedral inclusions in garnets and are 10 to 60 micrometers across, although some are up to 700 micrometers across.     

Sudbury structure, ontario: some petrographic evidence for origin by meteorite impact

Unusual deformation structures, similar to those observed in rocks from known and suspected meteorite impact craters, are observed in inclusions of basement rock in the Onaping formation at Sudbury, Ontario. These features, which include planar sets in quartz parallel to the (0001) and (10ī3) planes, suggest that the Onaping formation consists of shocked and melted material deposited immediately after a meteorite impact which formed the Sudbury basin.     

Isotopic composition of neodymium in waters from the drake passage

The isotopic composition of neodymium has been determined in seawaters from the Drake Passage. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which controls interocean mixing, flows through this passage. The parameter epsilon(Nd)(0) which is a function of the ratio of neodymium-143 to neodymium-144, is found to be uniform with depth at two stations with a value which is intermediate between the values for the Atlantic and the Pacific and indicates that the Antarctic Circumpolar current consists of about 70 percent Atlantic water. Cold bottom water from a site in the south central Pacific has the neodymium isotopic signature of the waters in the Drake Passage. By using a box model to describe the exchange of water between the Southern Ocean and the ocean basins to the north together with the isotopic results, an upper limit of approximately 33 million cubic meters per second is calculated for the rate of exchange between the Pacific and the Southern Ocean. Concentrations of samarium and neodymium were also determined and found to increase approximately linearly with depth. These results suggest that neodymium may be a valuable tracer in oceanography and may be useful in paleo-oceanographic studies.     

Geologists Get Together to Dissect Earth's Thin Skin

At the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in Boston during late October, Earth's crust came in for close scrutiny. One surprise was its age: Chemical and isotopic evidence suggested the crust formed soon after the planet did. Participants also discussed features of today's crust, including a horizontal slice beneath San Francisco and the possibility that a particular kind of crustal stretching, long envisioned, may not actually take place.     

Osmium Recycling in Subduction Zones

Peridotite xenoliths from the Cascade arc in the United States and in the Japan arc have neodymium and osmium isotopic compositions that are consistent with addition of 5 to 15 percent of subducted material to the present-day depleted mantle. These observations suggest that osmium can be partitioned into oxidized and chlorine-rich slab-derived fluids or melts. These results place new constraints on the behavior of osmium (and possibly other platinum group elements) during subduction of oceanic crust by showing that osmium can be transported into the mantle wedge.     

Simultaneous miocene extension and shortening in the himalayan orogen

The South Tibetan detachment system separates the high-grade metamorphic core of the Himalayan orogen from its weakly metamorphosed suprastructure. It is thought to have developed in response to differences in gravitational potential energy produced by crustal thickening across the mountain front. Geochronologic data from the Rongbuk Valley, north of Qomolangma (Mount Everest) in southern Tibet, demonstrate that at least one segment of the detachment system was active between 19 and 22 million years ago, an interval characterized by large-scale crustal thickening at lower structural levels. These data suggest that decoupling between an extending upper crust and a converging lower crust was an important aspect of Himalayan tectonics in Miocene time.