Search results for " petrology"
showing 10 items of 1353 documents
Seismic stratigraphy of upper Quaternary shallow-water contourite drifts in the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea, southern Italy)
2018
Abstract The occurrence of articulated seafloor morphology over continental shelf-upper slope environments, may result in a significant change in the patterns and intensity of basin-scale thermohaline circulation during eustatic sea-level fluctuations. These changes may cause, in turn, erosion, deposition and/or transport of sediments at the seafloor, to form shallow-water contourite drifts. Here we investigate this process in the NW sector of the Gulf of Taranto (Ionian Sea) during and following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), by integrating multibeam bathymetric data, ultra-high resolution seismic-reflection data and gravity core data. Sea level fall caused subaerial exposure of the summi…
Bader’s topological analysis of the electron density in the pressure-induced phase transitions/amorphization in α-quartz from the catastrophe theory …
2013
In this work, the Bader's topological analysis of the electron density, coupled with Thom's catastrophe theory, was used to characterize the pressure-induced transformations in α-quartz. In particular, ab initio calculations of the α-quartz structures in the range 0-105 Gpa have been performed at the HF/DFT exchange-correlation terms level, using Hamiltonians based on a WC1LYP hybrid scheme. The electron densities calculated throughout the ab initio wave functions have been analysed by means of the Bader's theory, seeking for some catastrophic mechanism in the sense of Thom's theory. The analysis mainly showed that there is a typical fold catastrophe feature involving an O-O interaction at …
The pressure-induced ringwoodite to Mg-perovskite and periclase post-spinel phase transition: a Bader’s topological analysis of the ab initio electro…
2011
In order to characterize the pressure-induced decomposition of ringwoodite (c-Mg2SiO4), the topological analysis of the electron density q(r), based upon the theory of atoms in molecules (AIM) developed by Bader in the framework of the catastrophe theory, has been performed. Calculations have been carried out by means of the ab initio CRYSTAL09 code at the HF/DFT level, using Hamiltonians based on the Becke- LYP scheme containing hybrid Hartree– Fock/density functional exchange–correlation terms. The equation of state at 0 K has been constructed for the three phases involved in the post-spinel phase transition (ringwoodite -> Mg-perovskite + periclase) occurring at the transition zone–lower…
Petrogenetic evolution of metabasalts and metakomatiites of the lower Onverwacht Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt (South Africa)
2019
A well-preserved sequence, by Archean standards, of mantle-derived metabasalts and metakomatiites forms large parts of the lower Onverwacht Group of the Barberton Greenstone Belt (South Africa). To elucidate the origin of mafic and ultramafic rocks from this 3.55 to 3.45 Ga sequence, we present a comprehensive geochemical dataset including major and trace elements as well as Lu-Hf and Sm-Nd isotope compositions for a variety of metavolcanic rocks. These include metabasalts of the amphibolite-facies Sandspruit and Theespruit Formations as well as metabasalts and metakomatiites of the lower greenschist-facies Komati Formation. Based on their incompatible trace element patterns, the basalts of…
Coupled silicon-oxygen isotope fractionation traces Archaean silicification
2011
International audience; Silica alteration zones and cherts are a conspicuous feature of Archaean greenstone belts worldwide and provide evidence of extensive mobilisation of silica in the marine environment of the early Earth. In order to understand the process(es) of silicification we measured the silicon and oxygen isotope composition of sections of variably silicified basalts and overlying bedded cherts from the Theespruit, Hooggenoeg and Kromberg Formations of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa.The δ30Si and δ18O values of bulk rock increase with increasing amount of silicification from unsilicified basalts (-0.64‰ 30Si 18O 30Si and δ18O values as high as + 0.81‰ and + 15.6‰, r…
Investigation of Li/Ca variations in aragonitic shells of the ocean quahogArctica islandica, northeast Iceland
2009
Interannual and intra-annual variations in lithium-to-calcium ratio were investigated with high temporal resolution in the aragonitic outer shell layer of juvenile Arctica islandica (Mollusca; Bivalvia) collected alive in 2006 off northeast Iceland. Li/Ca shell ranged between 7.00 and 11.12 µmol mol -1 and presented well-marked seasonal cycles with minimum values recorded at the annual growth lines; a general pattern was a progressive increase in Li/Ca shell from March to May, followed by a plateau in June and a decrease down to minimum values in July-August. Li/Ca shell was correlated with d 18 O shell -derived temperature, but the strength of this relationship was weak ( r 2 p shell in A.…
Evidence of deep magma degassing and ascent by geochemistry of peripheral gas emissions at Mount Etna (Italy): Assessment of the magmatic reservoir p…
2003
[1] Five gas discharges in the area of Mount Etna volcano (Italy) and in the near Hyblean plateau have been monitored since 1996. All the emissions displayed low contributions from crustal fluids, whereas magmatic gases were the main component. Selective dissolution of these gases into hydrothermal aquifers has been recognized and modeled, allowing us to calculate the original composition of the magma-released gases. The inferred composition of the magmatic gases exhibits synchronous variations of He/Ne and He/CO2 ratios, which are coherent with the magma degassing process. On the basis of numerical simulations of volatile degassing from Etnean basalts we have computed the initial and final…
Geochemical constraints on basalt petrogenesis in the Strait of Sicily Rift Zone (Italy): Insights into the importance of short lengthscale mantle he…
2020
Igneous activity from the late Miocene to historic time (most recently 1891 CE) in the Strait of Sicily has created two volcanic islands (Pantelleria and Linosa) and several seamounts. These volcanoes are dominated by transitional (ol + hy-normative) to alkaline (ne-normative) basaltic lavas and scoriae; volcanic felsic rocks (peralkaline trachyte-rhyolite) crop out only on Pantelleria. Although most likely erupted through continental crust, basalts demonstrate no evidence of crustal contamination and are geochemically similar to oceanic island basalts (OIB). Despite their isotopic similarities, there are considerable compositional differences with respect to major and trace element geochem…
Fe-rich Dunite Xenoliths from South African Kimberlites: Cumulates from Karoo Flood Basalts
2007
Fe-rich dunite xenoliths within the Kimberley kimberlites comprise olivine neoblasts with minor elongated, parallel-oriented ilmenite, and rarely olivine porphyroclasts and spinel. Compared with typical mantle peridotites, olivines in the Fe-rich dunites have lower forsterite (Fo87^89) and NiOcontents (1300^2800 ppm), which precludes a restitic origin for the dunites. Chrome-rich spinels are remnants of a metasomatic reaction that produced ilmenite and phlogopite.Trace element compositions differ between porphyroclastic and neoblastic olivine, the latter having higherTi, V, Cr and Ni and lower Zn, Zr and Nb contents, documenting their different origins.The dunites have high Os/Os ratios (0 …
Metamorphism and melting of picritic crust in the early Earth
2014
Abstract Partial melting experiments with models of Archean oceanic crust (MAOC; with 11, 13 and 15 wt.% MgO) are used to investigate the role of metamorphism and melting of primary picritic compositions in the formation of TTG-like melts and continental crust on the early Earth. The approach investigates the possibility that the average early crust composition was comparatively MgO-rich and evolved to lower magnesium content during the secular cooling of the Earth. High-pressure partial melting experiments indicate a transition of melt compositions from aluminous basaltic melts in MAOC 15 to predominantly tonalitic melts in MAOC 11 and higher melting temperatures with increasing magnesium …