Comprehensive study of carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions, trace element abundances, and cathodoluminescence intensities of calcite in the Murchison CM chondrite

2015 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 101-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wataru Fujiya ◽  
Naoji Sugiura ◽  
Yves Marrocchi ◽  
Naoto Takahata ◽  
Peter Hoppe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Element ◽  
Element Abundances ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Oxygen Isotopic ◽  
Cm Chondrite ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The Chengwatana Volcanics, Wisconsin and Minnesota: petrogenesis of the southernmost volcanic rocks exposed in the Midcontinent rift

1997 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-548 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl R. Wirth ◽  
Zachary J. Naiman ◽  
Jeffrey D. Vervoort
Keyword(s):  
Trace Element ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Crustal Contamination ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
Limited Range ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Rift System ◽  
Midcontinent Rift ◽  
Element Abundances ◽  
Isotopic Compositions

The southernmost exposed rocks of the North American Midcontinent rift system (1100 Ma) consist of 3000 m of mafic volcanic flows and minor interflow sediment exposed along the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The flows are mostly high-Fe tholeiitic basalt with plagioclase phenocrysts and ophitic to subophitic clinopyroxene. Abundant secondary chlorite, epidote, and actinolite indicate the group was metamorphosed to greenschist facies (~350 °C). Low sodium (M4 site) and tetrahedral aluminum (AlIV) contents of actinolite indicate low-pressure metamorphism (0.25 GPa) and imply a geothermal gradient of 45 – 50 °C/km. Low magnesium (Mg# = 0.37–0.58) and Ni contents (36–185 ppm) indicate the basalts have undergone significant fractionation and are not primary mantle melts. Incompatible element abundances are inversely correlated with Mg#, and most samples plot within either high or low trace element groups (e.g., Ti, P, Zr). The basalts are enriched in the light rare earth elements and Th, and are variably depleted in Ta and Nb relative to La and Th. Initial 143Nd/144Nd compositions of the group range from 0.51099 to 0.51122 (initial εNd = −4.5 to +0.1). Most flows have isotopic compositions within a relatively limited range (initial εNd = −2.5 to −1.6), but exhibit variable trace element abundances. Flows with the highest and lowest initial 143Nd/144Nd ratios have isotopic compositions that are inversely correlated with trace element abundances and ratios (e.g., La/Yb, Th/La, Th/Ta). The combined geochemical data suggest that the Chengwatana basalts originated from plume-derived melts and underwent variable fractional crystallization and crustal contamination. These melts may have interacted with lithospheric mantle enriched during Penokean subduction.

Reconstructing Terrestrial Environments Using Stable Isotopes in Fossil Teeth and Paleosol Carbonates

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 ◽  
pp. 167-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin H. Passey
Keyword(s):  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Carbon Isotopes ◽  
Oxygen Isotopes ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Radiative Heating ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Heat Effects ◽  
Oxygen Isotopic

Carbon isotopes in Neogene-age fossil teeth and paleosol carbonates are commonly interpreted in the context of past distributions of C3 and C4 vegetation. These two plant types have very different distributions in relation to climate and ecology, and provide a robust basis for reconstructing terrestrial paleoclimates and paleoenvironments during the Neogene. Carbon isotopes in pre-Neogene fossil teeth are usually interpreted in the context of changes in the δ13C value of atmospheric CO2, and variable climate-dependent carbon-isotope discrimination in C3 plants. Carbon isotopes in pre-Neogene soil carbonates can be used to estimate past levels of atmospheric CO2. Oxygen isotopes in fossil teeth and paleosol carbonates primarily are influenced by the oxygen isotopic compositions of ancient rainfall and surface waters. The oxygen isotopic composition of rainfall is has a complex, but tractable, relationship with climate, and variably relates to temperature, elevation, precipitation amount, and other factors. Mammal species that rely on moisture in dietary plant tissues to satisfy their water requirements (rather than surface drinking water) may have oxygen isotopic compositions that track aridity. Thus, oxygen isotopes of fossil mammals can place broad constraints on paleoaridity. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry allows for reconstruction of soil temperatures at the time of pedogenic carbonate mineralization. The method is unique because it is the only thermodynamically based isotopic paleothermometer that does not require assumptions about the isotopic composition of the fluid in which the archive mineral formed. Soil temperature reflects a complex interplay of air temperature, solar radiative heating, latent heat effects, soil thermal diffusivity, and seasonal variations of these parameters. Because plants and most animals live in and/or near the soil, soil temperature is an important aspect of terrestrial (paleo)climate.

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