The contribution of tephra constituents during biogenic silica determination: implications for soil and  palaeoecological studies

Abstract. Biogenic silica (BSi) is used as a proxy by soil scientists to identify biological effects on the Si cycle and by paleoecologists to study environmental changes. Alkaline extractions are typically used to measure BSi in both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The dissolution properties of volcanic glass in tephra deposits and their nano-crystalline weathering products are hypothesized to overlap those of BSi, however, data to support this behavior are lacking. The understanding that the Si-bearing fractions that dissolve in alkaline media (SiAlk) do not necessarily correspond to BSi, question the applicability of BSi as a proxy. Here, analysis of 15 samples reported as tephra-containing allows us to reject the hypothesis that tephra constituents produce an identical dissolution signal to that of BSi during alkaline extraction. We found that dissolution of volcanic glass shards is incomplete during alkaline dissolution. Simultaneous measurement of Al and Si used here during alkaline dissolution provides an important parameter to enable us to separate glass shard dissolution from dissolution of BSi and other Si-bearing fractions. The contribution from volcanic glass shard (between 0.2–4 wt.% SiO2), the main constituent of distal tephra, during alkaline dissolution can be substantial depending on the total SiAlk. Hence, soils and lake sediments with low BSi concentrations are highly sensitive to the additional dissolution from tephra constituents and its weathering products. We advise evaluation of the potential for volcanic or other non-biogenic contributions for all types of studies using BSi as an environmental proxy.

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Miocene and Pliocene Silicic Coromandel Volcanic Zone Tephras from ODP Site 1124-C: Petrogenetic Applications and Temporal Evolution

10.26686/wgtn.16973989 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Matthew Thomas Stevens

Keyword(s):

Trace Element ◽

Mantle Wedge ◽

Major Element ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Fractional Crystallisation ◽

Volcanic Zone ◽

Arc Magmas ◽

Glass Shard ◽

Tephra Layers ◽

Glass Shards

<p>The Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ) was the longest-lived area of volcanism in New Zealand hosting the commencement of large explosive rhyolitic and ignimbrite forming eruptions. The NW trending Coromandel Peninsula is the subaerial remnant of the Miocene-Pliocene CVZ, which is regarded as a tectonic precursor to the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), currently the most dynamic and voluminous rhyolitic volcanic centre on Earth. This study presents new single glass shard major and trace element geochemical analyses for 72 high-silica volcanic tephra layers recovered from well-dated deep-sea sediments of the SW Pacific Ocean by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 181. ODP Site 1124, ~720 km south and east from the CVZ, penetrated sediments of the Rekohu Drift yielding an unprecedented record of major explosive volcanic eruptions owing to the favourable location and preservation characteristics at this site. This record extends onshore eruptive sequences of CVZ explosive volcanism that are obscured by poor exposure, alteration, and erosion and burial by younger volcanic deposits. Tephra layers recovered from Site 1124 are well-dated through a combination of biostratigraphic and palaeomagnetic methods allowing the temporal geochemical evolution of the CVZ to be reconstructed in relation to changes in the petrogenesis of CVZ arc magmas from ~ 10 to 2 Ma. This thesis establishes major and trace element geochemical "fingerprints" for all Site 1124-C tephras using well-established (wavelength dispersive electron probe microanalysis) and new (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) in situ single glass shard microanalytical techniques. Trace element analysis of Site 1124-C glass shards (as small as 20 um) demonstrate that trace element signatures offer a more specific, unequivocal characterisation for distinguishing (and potentially correlating) between tephras with nearly identical major element compositions. The Site 1124-C core contains 72 unaltered Miocene-Pliocene volcanic glass-shard-bearing laminae > 1 cm thick that correspond to 83 or 84 geochemical eruptive units. Revised eruptive frequencies based on the number of geochemical eruptive units identified represent at least one eruption every 99 kyr for the late Miocene and one per 74 kyr for the Pliocene. The frequency of tephra deposition throughout the history of the CVZ has not been constant, rather reflecting pulses of major explosive eruptions resulting in closely clustered groups of tephra separated by periods of reduced activity, relative volcanic quiescence or non-tephra deposition. As more regular activity became prevalent in the Pliocene, it was accompanied by more silicic magma compositions. Rhyolitic volcanic glass shards are characterised by predominantly calc-alkaline and minor high-K enriched major element compositions. Major element compositional variability of the tephras deposited between 10 Ma and 2 Ma reveals magma batches with pre-eruptive compositional gradients implying a broad control by fractional crystallisation. Trace element characterisation of glass shards reveals the role of magmatic processes that are not readily apparent in the relatively homogeneous major element compositions. Multi-element diagrams show prominent negative Sr and Ti anomalies against primitive mantle likely caused by various degrees of plagioclase and titanomagnetite fractional crystallisation in shallow magma chambers. Relative Nb depletion, characteristic of arc volcanism, is moderate in CVZ tephras. HFSEs (e.g. Nb, Zr, Ti) and HREEs (e.g. Yb, Lu) remain immobile during slab fluid flux suggesting they are derived from the mantle wedge. LILE (e.g. Rb, Cs, Ba, Sr) and LREE (e.g. La, Ce) enrichments are consistent with slab fluid contribution. B/La and Li/Y ratios can be used as a proxy for the flux of subducting material to the mantle wedge, they suggest there is a strong influence from this component in the generation of CVZ arc magmas, potentially inducing melting. CVZ tephra show long-term coherent variability in trace element geochemistry. Post ~ 4 Ma tephras display a more consistent, less variable, chemical fingerprint that persists up to and across the CVZ/TVZ transition at ~ 2 Ma. Initiation of TVZ volcanism may have occurred earlier than is presently considered, or CVZ to TVZ volcanism may have occurred without significant changes in magma generation processes.</p>

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Miocene and Pliocene Silicic Coromandel Volcanic Zone Tephras from ODP Site 1124-C: Petrogenetic Applications and Temporal Evolution

10.26686/wgtn.16973989.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Matthew Thomas Stevens

Keyword(s):

Trace Element ◽

Mantle Wedge ◽

Major Element ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Fractional Crystallisation ◽

Volcanic Zone ◽

Arc Magmas ◽

Glass Shard ◽

Tephra Layers ◽

Glass Shards

<p>The Coromandel Volcanic Zone (CVZ) was the longest-lived area of volcanism in New Zealand hosting the commencement of large explosive rhyolitic and ignimbrite forming eruptions. The NW trending Coromandel Peninsula is the subaerial remnant of the Miocene-Pliocene CVZ, which is regarded as a tectonic precursor to the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ), currently the most dynamic and voluminous rhyolitic volcanic centre on Earth. This study presents new single glass shard major and trace element geochemical analyses for 72 high-silica volcanic tephra layers recovered from well-dated deep-sea sediments of the SW Pacific Ocean by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 181. ODP Site 1124, ~720 km south and east from the CVZ, penetrated sediments of the Rekohu Drift yielding an unprecedented record of major explosive volcanic eruptions owing to the favourable location and preservation characteristics at this site. This record extends onshore eruptive sequences of CVZ explosive volcanism that are obscured by poor exposure, alteration, and erosion and burial by younger volcanic deposits. Tephra layers recovered from Site 1124 are well-dated through a combination of biostratigraphic and palaeomagnetic methods allowing the temporal geochemical evolution of the CVZ to be reconstructed in relation to changes in the petrogenesis of CVZ arc magmas from ~ 10 to 2 Ma. This thesis establishes major and trace element geochemical "fingerprints" for all Site 1124-C tephras using well-established (wavelength dispersive electron probe microanalysis) and new (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) in situ single glass shard microanalytical techniques. Trace element analysis of Site 1124-C glass shards (as small as 20 um) demonstrate that trace element signatures offer a more specific, unequivocal characterisation for distinguishing (and potentially correlating) between tephras with nearly identical major element compositions. The Site 1124-C core contains 72 unaltered Miocene-Pliocene volcanic glass-shard-bearing laminae > 1 cm thick that correspond to 83 or 84 geochemical eruptive units. Revised eruptive frequencies based on the number of geochemical eruptive units identified represent at least one eruption every 99 kyr for the late Miocene and one per 74 kyr for the Pliocene. The frequency of tephra deposition throughout the history of the CVZ has not been constant, rather reflecting pulses of major explosive eruptions resulting in closely clustered groups of tephra separated by periods of reduced activity, relative volcanic quiescence or non-tephra deposition. As more regular activity became prevalent in the Pliocene, it was accompanied by more silicic magma compositions. Rhyolitic volcanic glass shards are characterised by predominantly calc-alkaline and minor high-K enriched major element compositions. Major element compositional variability of the tephras deposited between 10 Ma and 2 Ma reveals magma batches with pre-eruptive compositional gradients implying a broad control by fractional crystallisation. Trace element characterisation of glass shards reveals the role of magmatic processes that are not readily apparent in the relatively homogeneous major element compositions. Multi-element diagrams show prominent negative Sr and Ti anomalies against primitive mantle likely caused by various degrees of plagioclase and titanomagnetite fractional crystallisation in shallow magma chambers. Relative Nb depletion, characteristic of arc volcanism, is moderate in CVZ tephras. HFSEs (e.g. Nb, Zr, Ti) and HREEs (e.g. Yb, Lu) remain immobile during slab fluid flux suggesting they are derived from the mantle wedge. LILE (e.g. Rb, Cs, Ba, Sr) and LREE (e.g. La, Ce) enrichments are consistent with slab fluid contribution. B/La and Li/Y ratios can be used as a proxy for the flux of subducting material to the mantle wedge, they suggest there is a strong influence from this component in the generation of CVZ arc magmas, potentially inducing melting. CVZ tephra show long-term coherent variability in trace element geochemistry. Post ~ 4 Ma tephras display a more consistent, less variable, chemical fingerprint that persists up to and across the CVZ/TVZ transition at ~ 2 Ma. Initiation of TVZ volcanism may have occurred earlier than is presently considered, or CVZ to TVZ volcanism may have occurred without significant changes in magma generation processes.</p>

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Cryptotephra from Lipari Volcano in the eastern Gulf of Taranto (Italy) as a time marker for paleoclimatic studies

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1017/qua.2018.2 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 89 (2) ◽

pp. 520-532

Author(s):

Valerie Menke ◽

Steffen Kutterolf ◽

Carina Sievers ◽

Julie Christin Schindlbeck ◽

Gerhard Schmiedl

Keyword(s):

High Resolution ◽

Large Scale ◽

Sediment Cores ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽

Glass Shard ◽

Shelf Sediments ◽

Age Model ◽

Tephra Layers ◽

Glass Shards

AbstractWe present the first tephroanalysis based on geochemical fingerprinting of volcanic glass shards from eastern Apulian shelf sediments in the Gulf of Taranto (Italy). High sedimentation rates in the gulf are ideal for high-resolution paleoclimate studies, which rely on accurate age models. Cryptotephrostratigraphy is a novel tool for the age assessment of marine sediment cores in the absence of discrete tephra layers. High-resolution quantitative analysis of glass shard abundance in the uppermost 45 cm of a gravity core identified two cryptotephras. Microprobe analysis of glass shards supported by an accelerator mass spectrometry 14C–based age model identified the pronounced primary cryptotephra at 36 cm bsf (below sea floor) as the felsic AD 776 Monte Pilato Eruption on the island of Lipari, whereas the thinner, mafic tephra layer at 1.5 cm bsf is associated with the AD 1944 eruption of Somma-Vesuvius. Identifying these tephra layers provides an additional, 14C-independent, stratigraphic framework for further paleoclimatic studies allowing us to link Mediterranean climate and hydrology to orbital variation and large-scale atmospheric processes. Our results underline the importance of qualitative tephrostratigraphy in a highly geodynamic region, where solely quantitative approaches have demonstrated to bear a high potential for false correlations between tephra layers and eruptions.

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Sedimentological and Biological Changes Associated with the Construction of the Oil Terminal of Antifer, France

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1984.0071 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 16 (3-4) ◽

pp. 399-406

Author(s):

Y Monbet

Keyword(s):

Grain Size ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Biological Effects ◽

Standing Stock ◽

Natural Populations ◽

Benthic Fauna ◽

Field Investigations ◽

Mean Grain Size ◽

To Receive ◽

Principal Species

A study was conducted to gain insight on actual sedimentological and biological effects associated with the construction of an oil Terminal designed to receive 500 000 d.w.t. tankers. Field investigations and subsequent laboratory analyses were organized to evaluate the nature and magnitude of environmental changes on benthic macrofauna, three years after the end of the construction. Sediments were found to decrease dramatically in medium grain size in area sheltered by the newly built breakwater. Increase of percentage of silt and clays (90 % against 20 %) was observed leeward of the jetty. The benthic fauna showed significant modifications. Although the same community (Pectinaria kareni Abra alba) recolonized the bottom after the dredging of up to 30 × 106 m3 of sediments, increase in abundance occured. Biomass remained at a constant level and decrease of diversity was observed. Considering the rate of siltation, and assuming a constant siltation rate equal to the rate observed from 1975 to 1978, a simple regressive model relating biomass to mean grain size of sediments has been developped. This model allowed the prediction of biomass and production of the two principal species for the period 1978 – 1981. Continuous siltation within the harbor leads to a maximum of biomass from years after the end of the construction, followed by a decrease of standing stock. This process may be explained by the respective tolerance of the two principal species to increase silt contant and also probably by the accumulation of organic matter which may impede the development of natural populations.

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TephraNZ: a major and trace element reference dataset for prominent Quaternary rhyolitic tephras in New Zealand and implications for correlation

10.5194/gchron-2020-34 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jenni L. Hopkins ◽

Janine E. Bidmead ◽

David J. Lowe ◽

Richard J. Wysoczanski ◽

Bradley J. Pillans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Trace Element ◽

Major Element ◽

Chemical Compositions ◽

Volcanic Centre ◽

Reference Dataset ◽

Future Studies ◽

Glass Shard ◽

Tephra Deposits ◽

Glass Shards

Abstract. Although analyses of tephra-derived glass shards have been undertaken in New Zealand for nearly four decades (pioneered by Paul Froggatt), our study is the first to systematically develop a formal, comprehensive, open access, reference dataset of glass-shard compositions for New Zealand tephras. These data will provide an important reference tool for future studies to identify and correlate tephra deposits and for associated petrological and magma-related studies within New Zealand and beyond. Here we present the foundation dataset for TephraNZ, an open access reference dataset for selected tephra deposits in New Zealand. Prominent, rhyolitic, tephra deposits from the Quaternary were identified, with sample collection targeting original type sites or reference locations where the tephra's identification is unequivocally known based on independent dating or mineralogical techniques. Glass shards were extracted from the tephra deposits and major and trace element geochemical compositions were determined. We discuss in detail the data reduction process used to obtain the results and propose that future studies follow a similar protocol in order to gain comparable data. The dataset contains analyses of twenty-three proximal and twenty-seven distal tephra samples characterising 45 eruptive episodes ranging from Kaharoa (636 &pm; 12 cal. yrs BP) to the Hikuroa Pumice member (2.0 &pm; 0.6 Ma) from six or more caldera sources, most from the central Taupō Volcanic Zone. We report 1385 major element analyses obtained by electron microprobe (EMPA), and 590 trace element analyses obtained by laser ablation (LA)-ICP-MS, on individual glass shards. Using PCA, Euclidean similarity coefficients, and geochemical investigation, we show that chemical compositions of glass shards from individual eruptions are commonly distinguished by major elements, especially CaO, TiO2, K2O, FeOt (Na2O+ K2O and SiO2/K2O), but not always. For those tephras with similar glass major-element signatures, some can be distinguished using trace elements (e.g. HFSEs: Zr, Hf, Nb; LILE: Ba, Rb; REE: Eu, Tm, Dy, Y, Tb, Gd, Er, Ho, Yb, Sm), and trace element ratios (e.g. LILE / HFSE: Ba / Th, Ba / Zr, Rb / Zr; HFSE / HREE: Zr / Y, Zr / Yb, Hf / Y; LREE / HREE: La / Yb, Ce / Yb). Geochemistry alone cannot be used to distinguish between glass shards from the following tephra groups: Taupō (Unit Y in the post-Ōruanui eruption sequence of Taupō volcano) and Waimihia (Unit S); Poronui (Unit C) and Karapiti (Unit B); Rotorua and Rerewhakaaitu; and Kawakawa/Ōruanui, Okaia, and Unit L (of the Mangaone subgroup eruption sequence). Other characteristics can be used to separate and distinguish all of these otherwise-similar eruptives except Poronui and Karapiti. Bimodality caused by K2O variability is newly identified in Poihipi and Tahuna tephras. Using glass shard compositions, tephra sourced from Taupō Volcanic Centre (TVC) and Mangakino Volcanic Centre (MgVC) can be separated using bivariate plots of SiO2/K2O vs. Na2O+K2O. Glass shards from tephras derived from Kapenga Volcanic Centre, Rotorua Volcanic Centre, and Whakamaru Volcanic Centre have similar major- and trace-element chemical compositions to those from the MgVC, but can overlap with glass analyses from tephras from Taupō and Okataina volcanic centres. Specific trace elements and trace element ratios have lower variability than the heterogeneous major element and bimodal signatures, making them easier to geochemically fingerprint.

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Bioluminescence dynamics in single germinating bacterial spores reveal metabolic heterogeneity

Journal of The Royal Society Interface ◽

10.1098/rsif.2020.0350 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (170) ◽

pp. 20200350

Author(s):

Zak Frentz ◽

Jonathan Dworkin

Keyword(s):

Cell Fate ◽

Quantitative Measurement ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Reducing Power ◽

Extreme Case ◽

Bacterial Bioluminescence ◽

Highly Sensitive ◽

Germination Timing ◽

Metabolic Heterogeneity ◽

Spore Forming Bacteria

Spore-forming bacteria modulate their metabolic rate by over five orders of magnitude as they transition between dormant spores and vegetative cells and thus represent an extreme case of phenotypic variation. During environmental changes in nutrient availability, clonal populations of spore-forming bacteria exhibit individual differences in cell fate, the timing of phenotypic transitions and gene expression. One potential source of this variability is metabolic heterogeneity, but this has not yet been measured, as existing single-cell methods are not easily applicable to spores due to their small size and strong autofluorescence. Here, we use the bacterial bioluminescence system and a highly sensitive microscope to measure metabolic dynamics in thousands of B. subtilis spores as they germinate. We observe and quantitate large variations in the bioluminescence dynamics across individual spores that can be decomposed into contributions from variability in germination timing, the amount of endogenously produced luminescence substrate and the intracellular reducing power. This work shows that quantitative measurement of spore metabolism is possible and thus it opens avenues for future study of the thermodynamic nature of dormant states.

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AMS 14C Dates and Major Element Composition of Glass Shards of Late Pleistocene Tephras on Tanegashima Island, Southern Japan

Radiocarbon ◽

10.1017/s0033822200047135 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 54 (3-4) ◽

pp. 351-358 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mitsuru Okuno ◽

Masayuki Torii ◽

Hideto Naruo ◽

Yoko Saito-Kokubu ◽

Tetsuo Kobayashi

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

Major Element ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Archaeological Site ◽

Major Element Composition ◽

Ams Radiocarbon Dating ◽

Southern Japan ◽

Tephra Layers ◽

C 32 ◽

Glass Shards

Four late Pleistocene tephra layers—Tane I (Tn1), II (Tn2), III (Tn3), and IV (Tn4) in ascending order—are intercalated between widespread tephras, Kikai-Tozurahara (K-Tz: 95 ka) and Aira-Tn (AT: 30 cal kBP), on Tanegashima Island, in southern Japan. Paleolithic ruins such as the Yokomine C and Tatikiri archaeological sites were excavated from the loam layer between the Tn4 and Tn3 tephras. To refine the chronological framework on the island, we conducted accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating for 2 paleosol and 6 charcoal samples related with the late Pleistocene tephras and the Yokomine C archaeological site. The obtained 14C dates are consistent with the stratigraphy in calendar years, 33 cal kBP for Tn4, 40 cal kBP for Tn3, and >50 cal kBP for Tn2 and Tn1. The charcoal dates from Yokomine C, 32–38 cal kBP, not only constrain the age of Tn4 and Tn3 ashes, but also serve as a possible date for the site. We also measured the major element compositions of volcanic glass shards with EDS-EPMA to characterize these tephras. Although we could not find a possible correlative for Tn3 and Tn4 ashes using major element oxides of the glass shards, i.e. 75–76 wt% in SiO2, the glass chemistry obtained in this study will be valuable in correlating these tephras with their source volcanoes in the near future.

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Neoformation of halloysite on volcanic glass in a marine environment

Clay Minerals ◽

10.1180/claymin.1987.022.2.06 ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 22 (2) ◽

pp. 179-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

T. Imbert ◽

A. Desprairies

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Marine Environment ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Volcanic Glass ◽

Marine Environments ◽

Thin Sections ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Glass Shards

AbstractTransmission electron microscopy of ultramicrotomed thin-sections of Pleistocene and Eocene glass shards revealed the neoformation of (i) illite and (ii) halloysite at the glass periphery. According to previous experimental studies, halloysite neoformation in marine environments can occur on glass shards deposited in Si-rich sediments; an excess of Ca tends to inhibit the reaction.

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