illite neoformation in plagioclase during weathering evidence from semi arid northeast brazil illite minerals in soils and weathered rocks are usually interpreted as secondary clays derived from the transformation of primary rock forming minerals with similar properties e g muscovite or as direct products of hydrothermal alteration after feldspar i e sericite with the help of detailed investigations involving x ray diffraction scanning electron microscopy and x ray element mapping this study testifies to the neoformation of illite inside plagioclase feldspar crystals after their partial dissolution in the weathering zone of luvisols in semi arid northeast brazil our results thus reveal that meteoric weathering can produce illite not only from mica i e by a transformation process but also within non alkali feldspar by a neoformation process at least under the semi arid conditions that have long prevailed in the study area given that illite in weathering mantles has recurrently been attributed often by default to hydrothermal processes results shown here provide new focus to an alternative pathway of illite formation primarily controlled by climate

geological geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of the mandan and deh now bauxite deposits zagros fold belt iran the mandan and deh now bauxite deposits are located 40 km northeast of the dehdasht city in the zagros simply fold belt these deposits occur in eroded major nw se trending anticlines and occupy karst cavities near or at the boundary between the sarvak and ilam formations local uplifts at the end of the cenomanian and the mid turonian caused erosion and karstification of the sarvak formation these unconformities in the upper cretaceous favoured the formation and enrichment of bauxite deposits in the zagros fold belt the bauxite sequence in the mandan deposit consists of white gray black pisolitic red and yellow bauxites this sequence was repeated in the deh now area but without gray and black bauxites the present mineralogical studies of the sarvak formation and the mandan and deh now bauxite deposits indicate oxidizing to reducing conditions during the upper cretaceous in the zagros fold belt which had a significant effect on the compositions of the bauxites at least two phases of bauxitization can be distinguished in the study area i an oxidizing phase represented by boehmite diaspore hematite and kaolinite and ii a reducing phase represented by pyrite and chlorite geochemical data show that trace elements like zr hf nb ta th and u were enriched during bauxitization the bauxite deposits and carbonate rocks show similar ree patterns namely they are enriched in rees although the lrees are more enriched than the hrees mass change calculations demonstrate that mg mn ca k and p2o5 were leached out of the weathered system whereas al fe and si become concentrated in the residual system this study indicates that the mandan and deh now deposits are karst type bauxites formed by karstification and weathering of the sarvak formation

mobility and fractionation of rees during deep weathering of geochemically contrasting granites in a tropical setting malaysia in this study we describe the mobility and fractionation of rees in two deep up to 30 m tropical weathering profiles developed on two granites from the kuala lumpur pluton malaysia sampled at cheras and rawang on the basis of na2o and k2o both are s type granites but rawang has higher cao mgo and feo than cheras and lower sio2 with respect to al saturation rawang is i type and cheras is s type we compared the two profiles in terms of total rees magnitude and changes in ce and eu anomalies ree mobility and lree hree fractionation rawang profiles have higher ree contents display lower mobility for most except the heaviest rees and show higher lree hree fractionation than those from cheras these differences can be linked to differences in primary mineralogy and degree of weathering the latter controlling the type and volume of secondary minerals specifically bowl shaped parent rock normalised patterns in the cheras saprolites appear to be a result of apatite dissolution moreover moderate weathering evident in lower mineralogical indices of alteration mia at cheras has conserved parent rock ree patterns and fractionation factors in the saprolites by contrast more intense weathering observed in rawang profiles has produced abundant kaolinite group minerals that have preferentially retained lree which consequently display high lree hree fractionation this study provides important insights into the factors controlling ree mobility during tropical weathering and its potential as an indicator of weathering intensity

multiple early triassic greenhouse crises impeded recovery from late permian mass extinction the late permian mass extinction was not only the most catastrophic known loss of biodiversity but was followed by unusually prolonged recovery through the early triassic opinion has been divided on whether delayed recovery was a legacy of especially profound ecological disruption or due to additional environmental perturbations new records from the sydney basin in southeastern australia now reveal five successive late permian and early triassic spikes of unusually high atmospheric co2 and profound chemical weathering these successive atmospheric co2 greenhouse crises coincided with unusually warm and wet paleoclimates for a paleolatitude of 61 s successive transient greenhouse crises punctuated long term cool dry and low co2 conditions and may account for the persistence of low diversity and small size in early triassic plants and animals

early triassic seawater sulfate drawdown abstract the marine sulfur cycle is intimately linked to global carbon fluxes atmospheric composition and climate yet relatively little is known about how it responded to the end permian biocrisis the largest mass extinction of the phanerozoic here we analyze carbonate associated sulfate cas from three permo triassic sections in south china in order to document the behavior of the c s cycle and its relationship to marine environmental changes during the mass extinction and its aftermath we find that 34 s cas varied from 9 to 44 at rates up to 100 myr 1 during the griesbachian smithian substages of the early triassic we model the marine sulfur cycle to demonstrate that such rapid variation required drawdown of seawater sulfate concentrations to 4 mm and a reduction in its residence time to 200 kyr this shorter residence time resulted in positive covariation with 13 c carb due to strong coupling of the organic carbon and pyrite burial fluxes carbon and sulfur isotopic shifts were associated with contemporaneous changes in climate marine productivity and microbial sulfate reduction rates with negative shifts in 13 c carb and 34 s cas linked to warming decreased productivity and reduced sulfate reduction sustained cooling during the spathian re invigorated oceanic overturning circulation reduced marine anoxia and limited pyrite burial as seawater sulfate built to higher concentrations during the spathian the coupling of the marine c and s cycles came to an end and a general amelioration of marine environmental conditions set the stage for a recovery of invertebrate faunas variation in seawater sulfate during the early triassic was probably controlled by climate change possibly linked to major eruptive phases of the siberian traps

nano mineralogy and geochemistry of high grade diasporic karst type bauxite from parnassos ghiona mines greece abstract in the present work a combination of various techniques is utilized for the study of nano mineralogy and geochemistry of high grade karst type bauxite al rich and fe depleted samples al2o3 ca 80 wt from the parnassos ghiona mines located in greece initial characterization using pxrd and electron microscopy in microscale and mesoscale sem eds including stem mode proved the presence of fe cr ti containing diaspore anatase and minor rutile the study by means of 57fe mossbauer spectroscopy in correlation with magnetic susceptibility measurements and complemented with synchrotron based spectroscopies at the microscale sr micro xrf and micro xanes exafs indicated that fe3 in contrast to 6 cr3 is not exclusively a component of the diaspore structure while cr3 substitutes al3 in octahedral sites of diaspore 6 cr3 6 al3 the electron microscopy in nanoscale tem eds eels revealed that fe exists in the form of peculiar fe3 bearing nanominerals most likely maghemite type phases between 25 and 45 nm in size in addition to the fe3 ions substituting al3 in the diaspore structure moreover it was proven that tio2 polymorph mineral nanoparticles particularly rounded anatase mesocrystals and nanocrystals and individual needle shaped rutiles are dispersed into the diaspore matrix thus diaspore in the studied bauxite concerns in fact a distinct fe3 cr3 alooh low t authigenic phase demonstrated for the first time in literature on the other hand the observed tio2 mineral nanoparticles formed together with diaspore during diagenesis and fe nanominerals formed during epigenesis were hitherto unknown not only for the allochthonous karst type bauxite deposits of greece but also for the overall bauxite deposits worldwide

terrestrial deposition processes of quaternary gibbsite nodules in the yongjiang basin southeastern margin of tibet and implication for the genesis of ancient karst bauxite abstract the terrestrial deposition process for karst bauxite is difficult to constrain due to its allochthonous origin multiple controls and the difficulty in geodynamic reconstruction this ambiguity has been clarified from investigation of the provenance and geologic geographic conditions for the formation of quaternary gibbsite nodules in the yongjiang basin this karst basin located at the southeastern propagation front of the tibet plateau was affected by the se asia monsoon climate developed since the late oligocene and a later quaternary glaciation a thick blanket of quaternary laterite is located on paleozoic carbonate bedrock and covers an area about 1000 km2 along the east flowing river systems in the basin the laterite profiles are well layered with a layer of iron rich gibbsite nodules overlying on a basal clay zone and irregularly covered by a thin clayey topsoil gibbsite nodules from most localities yield detrital zircons with age peaks at ca 1000 ma 450 ma and 250 ma corresponding to those of the mesozoic clastic and magmatic rocks exposed on the western and southern surrounding highlands nevertheless those from the pingtianshan area produce an exclusive spike at ca 100 ma consistent with the emplacement age of nearby granites apatite fission track modeling for the mesozoic clastic rocks and darongshan granites shows a rapid cooling since the early miocene and that for the pingtianshan cretaceous granite reveals fast exhumation since the late miocene these data indicate differential erosion reshaped the topography and consequently a low relief karst basin was developed allowing a diverse material supply from the surrounding and local highlands via sheet flow and east flowing rivers under a monsoon influenced subtropical climate aluminum and iron oxides hydroxides were accumulated as nodules or concretions which were cemented by and coated with fe oxides due to variations in redox potential and alternating consolidation and swelling while silica was leached at greater depth groundwater solutions preferentially removed and brought upward fe under a reducing environment during the wet seasons while an underlying clay layer occurred due to the reduced solubility of silica later this bauxitization process was probably hindered by the quaternary glaciation which could have promoted the formation of the top clay layer this terrestrial deposition process of quaternary gibbsite nodules serves as one analogue for ancient karst bauxite in which the following submergence would improve the quality via further precipitation of alumina hydroxide and leaching of extra fe

rare earth elements in sedimentary phosphate deposits solution to the global ree crisis abstract the critical role of rare earth elements rees particularly heavy rees hrees in high tech industries has created a surge in demand that is quickly outstripping known global supply and has triggered a worldwide scramble to discover new sources the chemical analysis of 23 sedimentary phosphate deposits phosphorites in the united states demonstrates that they are significantly enriched in rees leaching experiments using dilute h2so4 and hcl extracted nearly 100 of their total ree content and show that the extraction of rees from phosphorites is not subject to the many technological and environmental challenges that vex the exploitation of many identified ree deposits our data suggest that phosphate rock currently mined in the united states has the potential to produce a significant proportion of the world s ree demand as a byproduct importantly the size and concentration of hrees in some unmined phosphorites dwarf the world s richest ree deposits secular variation in phosphate ree contents identifies geologic time periods favorable for the formation of currently unrecognized high ree phosphates the extraordinary endowment combined with the ease of ree extraction indicates that such phosphorites might be considered as a primary source of rees with the potential to resolve the global ree particularly for hree supply shortage

genesis of karst bauxite bearing sequences in baofeng henan china and the distribution of critical metals abstract bauxite bearing sequences are not only the main economic sources of aluminum but also of many critical metals the distribution of critical metals was determined from six bauxite profiles in baofeng and an evolution model was proposed for the formation of bauxite bearing sequences following a terrestrial deposition of the lower pisolitic bauxite horizon and the underlying clayey layer transportation and redeposition of bauxitic materials during submergence led to the formation of the upper bauxite horizon presenting finely clastic and oolitic textures as well as the intercalated clayey layers both bauxite ores and clay samples contain highly elevated contents of li b sc v ga zr nb w and total rees li contents are extremely low in high grade bauxite ores 10 92 44 77 ppm compared to highly elevated values in low grade bauxite ores 35 81 1601 ppm and clay samples 38 54 1965 ppm enlightening a new potential resource for li the bauxite bearing sequences resting on karstified carbonate the distribution pattern of ga is similar to that of li and the correlation analysis indicates that ga is primarily associated with silicates i e clay minerals the vertical distribution of li b v cr and ga shares the same pattern similar to that of k2o and sio2 being highly enriched in clayey layers relative to bauxite horizons both sc and total rees are also highly enriched in baofeng bauxite profiles highlighting a potential sc and rees resource

climatic and hydrologic controls on upper paleozoic bauxite deposits in south china abstract the late paleozoic era was an interval of major tectonic and climatic changes including formation of the supercontinent pangea and the 60 myr long late paleozoic ice age lpia although bauxite formation declined globally from the carboniferous to the permian in conjunction with global cooling it was an interval of widespread bauxite formation in china in south china 1 the jiujialu formation bauxite deposits in central and northern guizhou zunyi area are of early middle visean age 2 the dazhuyaun formation bauxite deposits in northern guizhou wuchuan zheng an daozheng area to southern chongqing nanchuan area and southeastern guizhou fuquan kaili area are of late pennsylvanian early permian age and 3 the heshan formation bauxite deposits in western guangxi to yunnan are of middle late permian age in north china the benxi formation bauxite deposits are of late mississippian middle pennsylvanian age the contrasting trends in bauxite metallogenesis between china and the rest of the world imply different climatic patterns in the eastern tethys high annual humidity with seasonal dryness and pangea aridification this hypothesis is further supported by differences in the chemical index of alteration or cia 80 in the eastern tethys vs 50 in western pangea and in paleotemperatures mean annual temperature or mat 20 c in the eastern tethys vs 4 c in western pangea determined from permo carboniferous siliciclastic deposits permo carboniferous bauxite deposits in south china formed in coastal plain and coastal karstic depression environments in which the position of the groundwater table was related to sea level changes during the late paleozoic high frequency eustatic fluctuations caused by waxing and waning of gondwana icesheets controlled sedimentation in these coastal depositional systems leading to cyclic accumulation of coal and bauxite deposits and cycles of vadose and phreatic type bauxite formation the results of the present study show that during interglacial stages lateritization resulted from high pco2 high sea level and groundwater table elevations low precipitation and limited vegetation cover whereas during glacial stages bauxitization of these ferralitic weathering products was promoted by low pco2 low sea level and groundwater table elevations high precipitation and more extensive vegetation cover thus a unique combination of geographic climatic and eustatic factors accounted for widespread formation of bauxite in south china during the lpia

experimental studies of ree fractionation during water mineral interactions ree release rates during apatite dissolution from ph 2 8 to 9 2 rare earth elements ree release rates were measured during the open system dissolution of natural apatite at 25 c 2 8 ph 9 2 and at ionic strengths ranging from 0 001 to 0 02 mol kg all inlet solutions were ca ree and p free in agreement with previous studies apatite dissolution rates determined from outlet solution ca concentrations decrease monotonically with increasing ph outlet solution molar ree ca ratios differ from that of the dissolving apatite during the experiments this behaviour is interpreted to stem from dissolution or precipitation of minor quantities of rhabdophane ree po4 nh2o this interpretation is supported by solute speciation calculations which indicate that ree are retained in the solid phase when the outlet fluids are supersaturated with respect to nd rhabdophane ksp 10 24 5 0 5 but preferentially released when the outlet fluids are undersaturated with respect to nd rhabdophane the relative concentrations of the ree in the outlet solutions suggest that the secondary rhabdophane is slightly enriched in light ree ce to eu the results of this study suggest that rhabdophane dissolution and precipitation during apatite fluid interaction plays a major role in controlling surface and ground water ree signatures

mobilization and redistribution of rees and thorium in a syenitic lateritic profile a mass balance study abstract ree th geochemistry and mineralogy have been studied in a lateritic profile derived from a syenite at akongo in sw cameroon ree and th mass balance calculations for the host rock minerals show that at least 70 of the lree s and 50 of the hrees are contained in allanite apatite titanite and epidote and at least 50 of the th is controlled by the same accessory minerals which represent about 2 wt of the unaltered syenite these accessory phases are destroyed during the first stages of weathering causing most of the rees and th to be rapidly released into the soil comparison of the variation in the zr ti and th content as a function of the apparent density of the different zones of the saprolite shows that th is the least mobile element the presence of secondary thorianite tho2 the etched surface on zircon grains and the presence of ti in secondary cerianite support this geochemical interpretation the concentration of thorium was therefore chosen as invariant relative to the concentration of the other elements especially the rees in mass balance calculations most of the rees are leached in the iron rich upper horizons loose nodular horizon iron crust and top of mottled clay horizon where the groundwater table moves saprolite and bottom of the mottled clay horizon the rees are fractionated and redistributed there is a juxtaposition of leached and accumulation zones with precipitation of lree aluminous hydrated phosphates this study supports the existence of two different cycles for the redistribution of elements in the soil 1 1 as dissolved ions in the saprolite horizon and 2 2 as individual particles in the upper part of the profile

abundance anomalies of aromatic biomarkers in the permian triassic boundary section at meishan china evidence of end permian terrestrial ecosystem collapse several aromatic biomarkers detected in solvent extracts and kerogen pyrolysates from samples of the global stratotype section and point gssp for the permian triassic boundary at meishan china show distinctive relative abundance anomalies that may be related to the end permian biotic crisis on land enrichment of dibenzofuran homologues across the permian triassic boundary may corroborate the concept of excessive soil erosion following loss of rooted vegetation enrichment of alkylphenol entities occurs just below the main marine mass extinction horizon and prior to the characteristic end permian 13c decline the alkylphenols were probably derived from lignin and may provide a molecular record of dieback of woody vegetation highly decreased relative abundances of dibenzothiophenes could be indicative of excessive supply of fe2 it is suggested that fe2 was land derived and may have originated from soils in addition to the permian triassic boundary interval biomarker abundance anomalies also occur around the wuchiapingian changhsingian boundary in the basal part of the meishan section

genesis of the dogankuzu and mortas bauxite deposits taurides turkey separation of al fe and mn and implications for passive margin metallogeny the taurides region of turkey is host to a number of important bauxite al rich laterite and mn deposits the most important bauxite deposits dog ankuzu and mortas are karst related unconformity type deposits in upper cretaceous limestone the bottom contact of the bauxite ore is undulatory and bauxite fills depressions and sinkholes in the footwall limestone whereas its top surface is concordant with the hanging wall limestone the thickness of the bauxite varies from 1 to 40 m and consists of bohmite hematite pyrite marcasite anatase diaspore gypsum kaolinite and smectite the strata bound sulfide and sulfate bearing low grade lower part of the bauxite ore bed contains pyrite pseudomorphs after hematite and is deep red in outcrop owing to supergene oxidation the lower part of the bauxite body contains local intercalations of calcareous conglomerate that formed in fault controlled depressions and sinkholes bauxite ore is overlain by fine grained fe sulfidebearing and calcareous claystone and argillaceous limestone which are in turn overlain by massive compact limestone of santonian age that 50 m thick limestone is in turn overlain by well bedded bioclastic limestone of campanian or maastrichtian age rich with rudist fossils fracture fillings in the bauxite orebody are up to 1 m thick and consist of bluish gray green pyrite and marcasite 20 with bohmite diaspore and anatase these sulfide veins crosscut and offset the strata bound sulfide zones sulfur for the sulfides was derived from the bacterial reduction of seawater sulfate and fe was derived from alteration of oxides in the bauxite iron sulfides do not occur within either the immediately underlying or overlying limestone the platform limestone and shale that host the bauxite deposits formed at a passive margin of the tethys ocean extensive vegetation developed on land as the result of a humid climate thereby creating thick and acidic soils and enhancing the transport of large amounts of organic matter to the ocean alteration of the organic matter provided co2 that contributed to formation of a relatively 12 c rich marine footwall limestone relative sea level fall resulted from strike slip faulting associated with closure of the ocean and local uplift of the passive margin that uplift resulted in karstification and bauxite formation in topographic lows as repre

critical metals distribution in tethyan karst bauxite the cretaceous italian ores abstract bauxite is a residual rock consisting mainly of a mixture of aluminium hydroxides whose industrial significance is primarily due to its profitably exploitable alumina contents in the last decades bauxite mainly karst bauxite has been also considered as possible resource of a great number of economically interesting elements including some critical metals such as rare earth elements sc co ni and nb in this study we present results of univariate and multivariate r mode factor analysis statistics performed on a large data set including chemical composition of the principal cretaceous karst bauxites from central and southern italy with the twofold aim to evaluate the inter elemental relationship among major oxides and critical metals and describe factors affecting their distribution univariate statistics reveal that some critical metals co ni and lree have a significant number of outliers the co ni relationship associated to the outliers dataset suggests that co is likely hosted in ni rich phases whereas ce accumulation in authigenic minerals carbonate fluoride and phosphate is at the origin of lree outliers multivariate r mode statistics applied to the outliers devoid database instead demonstrate that in absence of specific mineralization events the distribution of most critical metals is controlled by al fe and ti oxi hydroxides and to a lesser extent by detrital phases among the critical metals cr and y are the exceptions their geochemical behaviour seems to be influenced primarily by their own chemical features that are responsible for the mobility of cr during bauxitization and for the decoupling of y from the rees

prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations abstract the exposed crust consists mainly of plagioclase 35 quartz 20 k feldspar 11 volcanic glass 12 biotite 8 and muscovite 5 quartz is a resistate thus feldspars and glass represent approximately 75 percent of the labile minerals the weathering characteristics of these constituents are summarized in the context of thermodynamic mass balance and kinetic considerations experimentally determined release rate constants were used to predict the proportions of ca na and k released by feldspars of plutonic rocks granites to gabbros to weathering solutions the chemical weathering trends of the weathered residues calculated from the kinetic data conform closely to the initial trends observed in some recent weathering profiles demonstrating the accuracy of the predictions since the weathering of feldspars is controlled by processes that should not change through geological time the relative release rates of ca na and k from the feldspars of granitic rocks can be calculated for future and past episodes of continental weathering experimentally determined release rate constants are not available for a wide range of volcanic glass compositions but the limited data indicate that compositional trends are predictable in weathering profiles developed on volcanic rocks the kinetic data available for rhyolitic glasses accurately predict the initial weathering trends observed in a recent rhyolite weathering profile

weathering and global denudation a negative correlation between sediment yield and weathering history as measured by the chemical alteration cia of the suspended sediment is observed for many of the world s major rivers and other regions of denudation the weathering history is a first order control on the sediment yield of such areas termed equilibrium denudation regions for other areas data scatter with either apparent increases or decreases of sediment yield for given cia values these areas are termed nonequilibrium denudation regions low sediment yields can be attributed to moderated erosion either natural or human induced and or the incorporation of unweathered glacial debris accelerated erosion resulting in high sediment yield is primarily human induced and results from cultivation and other land use each of these effects has a profound influence on global sediment discharge from the continents pre human suspended sediment discharge from the continents is estimated to be 12 6 times 10 15 g yr or about 0 6 the

genesis of ree minerals in the karstic bauxite in western guangxi china and its constraints on the deposit formation conditions abstract karstic bauxites in western guangxi china comprise two subtypes permian bauxite and quaternary bauxite the quaternary bauxite originated from the breaking up rolling and accumulating of permian bauxite in karstic depressions in quaternary various types of rare earth element ree minerals were discovered during the formation of the permian and quaternary bauxites from the xinxu longhe and tianyang bauxite deposits in this study five types of ree minerals including bastnasite parisite cerianite rhabdophane and churchite were identified bastnasite and parisite are the most abundant and they are widely developed in the permian ore and also present in the quaternary ore obvious variations in bastnasite and parisite ree compositions were observed which is ascribed to distinctions in the source materials in the primary weathering profile from different areas the mode of occurrence of bastnasite and parisite suggests they were mainly precipitated under alkaline and reducing conditions during the permian bauxite forming stage and underwent intensive corrosion in the quaternary churchite was formed during the permian weathering stage under acidic condition both cerianite and rhabdophane occur in fractures within the permian bauxite ore indicating that both formed during the quaternary weathering stage it is considered that the rhabdophane enriched in ce have formed locally in the process of that the ce3 released from bastnasite rapidly entered the rhabdophane lattice before being oxidized to ce4 cerianite was mainly found in association with mn al hydroxides suggesting that the released ce3 was oxidized into ce4 and precipitated cerianite in fractures within the permian bauxite ore mass balance equations reveal a depletion in nearly all rees during the transformation from the permian to the quaternary bauxite ore mainly caused by the dissolution of bastnasite and parisite the genesis of the ree minerals together with the occurrence of other minerals indicates that intensively acidic and oxidizing conditions developed before the formation of the permian bauxite ore towards the end of the permian the conditions became reducing and alkaline favorable for the large scale bauxitization the quaternary bauxite forming stage was characterized by variable ph and eh conditions with acidic ph 4 6 and oxidizing eh 2 conditions at the surface of the exposed permian bauxite ore

cerium anomalies in lateritic profiles the ree geochemistry and mineralogy have been studied in four lateritic profiles one derived from a syenite akongo sw cameroon the others being developed on a gneissic basement and located along a soil toposequence goyoum e cameroon there is a fractionation between lree and hree in the lateritic samples during weathering the weathered residual products being enriched in lree from la to eu and depleted in hree from gd to lu sampled waters are enriched in hree in relation to the syenite host rock a positive ce anomaly has been found systematically at the top of the saprolite beneath a zone of iron oxide accumulation in the laterite up to 2000 ppm ce may be present in the akongo profile cerianite ceo2 is present as very fine coatings in non ferruginous clayey domains primary ree bearing accessory minerals are weathered at the bottom of the profile specifically allanite and apatite are transformed into florencite and rhabdophane but these phases have no ce anomaly all the data are interpreted as the result of the following processes 1 1 ree leaching in a reducing environment 2 2 oxidation of ce3 to ce4 in an oxidizing environment 3 3 deposition of cerium as cerianite whereas the other ree remain in solution

rare earth element mineralogy and geochemistry in a laterite profile from madagascar abstract in this study rare earth element ree distribution has been investigated in a weathering profile from central madagascar combination of bulk rock geochemical data elements and isotopes with mineral characterization reveals a remarkable evolution of the ree abundances and ree minerals in the vertical weathering profile in the fresh tonalite bedrock ree y concentrations are typical of granitoids 299 363 ppm and the main ree minerals are allanite and chevkinite in the c horizon saprolite primary ree minerals disappear and rees are transported via fluid to precipitate rhabdophane group minerals in cracks and pores the presence of sulfate ligands produced by sulfide oxidation may be responsible for the ree speciation as suggested by the composition of the secondary ree minerals rhabdophane group minerals contain up to 9 wt so 3 and 7 wt cao indicating a mixture between rhabdophane sensu stricto ree po 4 h 2 o and tristamite ca u fe iii po 4 so 4 2h 2 o due to intense ca leaching rhabdophane disappears and al phosphates alunite jarosite group are found in the soil cerianite ce iv o 2 also precipitates in the b horizon of the soil mass transfer calculations based on immobile ti indicate significant ree leaching in a horizon with preferential leaching of the heavy ree rees accumulate partly in the b horizon the uniform nd isotope compositions and the constant proportion of immobile elements do not reveal external input in the b horizon total ree y reach 2194 ppm with high ce concentrations 1638 ppm 9 ce bedrock compared to other ree 3 4 ree bedrock tetravalent ce state is dominant in the b horizon and requires oxidizing conditions that likely account for the accumulation of redox sensitive elements in b horizon e g mn fe co under oxidizing conditions cerianite precipitation causes a ce fractionation from other trivalent ree in comparison to the ion adsorption clay of southern china preferential heavy ree enrichment was not observed in the weathering profile another remarkable peculiarity of the studied profile is the occurrence of gd 2 so 6 grains the discovery of this new mineral demonstrates that a natural process exists that that can fractionate ree to such an extent to produce a pure gadolinium end member mineral an understanding of such a mechanisms is crucial for the ree geochemistry of low temperature alteration processes as well as for the formation of ree ore deposits or industrial processing

iron oxyhydroxide and sulphide mineralization in hydrocarbon seep related carbonate submarine chimneys gulf of cadiz sw iberian peninsula this paper aims to investigate the iron mineralization hosted in the submarine hydrocarbon seep related carbonate chimneys from the gulf of cadiz continental slope sw iberia chimneys are made of a general fine groundmass of major fe rich dolomite ankerite and calcite small grains of quartz and phyllosilicates and some foraminifer tests and ostracod shells primary porosity is frequently generated inside foraminifer chambers and ostracod shells and is filled with closely packed microcrystals of iron oxyhydroxide and sulphide minerals forming framboids some extremely peculiar multiframboidal textures are also detected corresponding to microcrystal groups spherical framboids and euhedral crystals without framboidal texture the mineralogy observed is mainly goethite pyrite pseudomorphs traces of tiny grains of pyrite were also observed cubic octahedral and pyritohedral are the habits observed in both minerals chemical analyses of framboids and euhedral crystals display high often erratic amounts of as co ni and mo in oxyhydroxides and mo pb v and co in sulphides versus almost always negligible concentrations of cu and zn a textural geochemical and mineralogical evolution is proposed to explain the coexistence of different morphologies in the multiframboidal texture a growth and aggregation of microcrystals as typical framboidal type mineralogical associations b development of euhedral habits c coalescence and homogenization of the microcrystal into large size euhedral to anhedral crystals and d formation of euhedral crystals or polycrystalline masses with complete loss of framboidal texture along this process an increase of the concentration of fe s mn and ti linked to a decrease in mg si al as p ca and v was observed the study of the iron mineralization in the gulf of cadiz is a first and can give clues to understand the complex geobiological interactions in this and other similar extreme hydrocarbon bearing submarine ecosystems

mineralogical and geochemical features of karst bauxites from poci western henan china implications for parental affinity and bauxitization abstract the poci bauxite deposits in western henan china are hosted in the lower member of upper carboniferous benxi formation unconformably overlying upon the paleokarst surface of the ordovician majiagou formation the orebodies comprise a high grade bauxite horizon characterized by the association of diaspore illite anatase and a basal iron rich horizon diaspore goethite hematite illite anatase sandwiched between the overlying clayey layer illite diaspore goethite anatase and the underlying clayey layer illite diaspore microcline goethite geochemical investigations reveal that rb cs ba cu zn are depleted while b ga bi v sc zr hf nb ta w u and th are enriched in bauxite horizons b is highly enriched in bauxite ores and clays contents 176 1061 ppm and positively associated with sio2 indicating b is mainly hosted in clay components e g dominantly illite which are considered a mixture of authigenic minerals transformed from kaolinites during diagenesis and unaltered detrital minerals mass change calculations reveal that hf zr nb ta u th sc cr and ga are stable relative to tio2 during the bauxitization process indicating these elements are mainly associated with anatase and diaspore the bauxite horizons and the underlying clays are more enriched in total ree contents rees and display more intense lree hree fractionation than the overlying clays provenance analysis shows that parental materials of poci bauxites were mainly derived from felsic dominated igneous rocks along the southern margins of the north china craton with minor contribution from siliciclastic sedimentary rocks and argillaceous components of underlying carbonates a conceptual model is proposed for the formation and evolution of poci bauxites uplift caused by the north qinling orogenesis along the southwestern margin of ncc led to the formation of karstic topography allowing aluminum rich source materials to be transported to the low karst plain and transformed into incipient bauxites under hot and humid tropical conditions when the platform was submerged fe2 ions were released from fe al oxides hydroxides under the reducing conditions associated with bacteria activity in an organic rich environment and redeposited as pyrites and siderites generating a high grade bauxite horizon and an iron rich bauxite horizon this marine modification resulted in further aluminum enrichment of bauxite ores

geochemical and mineralogical characteristics of ion adsorption type ree mineralization in phuket thailand geochemical and mineralogical studies were conducted on the 12 m thick weathering profile of the kata beach granite in phuket thailand in order to reveal the transport and adsorption of rare earth elements ree related to the ion adsorption type mineralization the parent rock is ilmenite series biotite granite with transitional characteristics from i type to s type abundant in ree 592 ppm ree are contained dominantly in fluorocarbonate as well as in allanite titanite apatite and zircon the chondrite normalized ree pattern of the parent granite indicates enrichment of lree relative to hree and no significant ce anomaly the upper part of the weathering profile from the surface to 4 5 m depth is mostly characterized by positive ce anomaly showing lower ree contents ranging from 174 to 548 ppm and lower percentages of adsorbed ree from 34 to 68 compared with the parent granite in contrast the lower part of the profile from 4 5 to 12 m depth is characterized by negative ce anomaly showing higher ree contents ranging from 578 to 1 084 ppm and higher percentages from 53 to 85 the negative ce anomaly and enrichment of ree in the lower part of the profile suggest that acidic soil water in an oxidizing condition in the upper part mostly immobilized ce4 as ceo2 and transported ree3 downward to the lower part of the profile the transported ree3 were adsorbed onto weathering products or distributed to secondary minerals such as rhabdophane the immobilization of ree results from the increase of ph due to the contact with higher ph groundwater since the majority of ree in the weathered granite are present in the ion adsorption fraction with negative ce anomaly the percentages of adsorbed ree are positively correlated with the whole rock negative ce anomaly the result of this study suggests that the ion adsorption type ree mineralization is identified by the occurrence of easily soluble ree fluorocarbonate and whole rock negative ce anomaly of weathered granite although fractionation of ree in weathered granite is controlled by the occurrence of ree bearing minerals and adsorption by weathering products the ion adsorption fraction tends to be enriched in lree relative to weathered granite

genesis of the guangou karstic bauxite deposit in western henan china abstract the guangou bauxite deposit in western henan china is located in the north china block and to the north of the north qinling orogenic belt the orebody is hosted within the lower member of the carboniferous benxi formation which overlies unconformably upon the ordovician majiagou formation in the lower member of the benxi formation the bauxite orebody with a diaspore illite anatase mineral assemblage is sandwiched between underlying ferric clay illite hematite goethite and overlying top clay kaolinite quartz goethite according to field observations and geochemical evidence including trace and rare earth element ree compositions especially zr hf ratios the ferric clays were weathered from the underlying argillaceous limestones in the majiagou formation during this weathering process trace elements s zn ni cr v sc f ba and be are depleted li rb and b are enriched and zr hf bi ta ga nb and th are relatively immobile rees exhibit evident differentiation with enrichment of la ce pr and nd and depletion of gd tb dy ho er tm yb and lu the bauxite formed in weak reducing slightly basic water conditions according to the geneses of coexisting diaspore and anatase and it was altered during the epigenetic and second exposure periods forming kaolinite and goethite respectively interelemental relationship analyses of the ores suggest that the elemental behaviors of trace elements and rees in the bauxitization process are mainly controlled by the mineral compositions in bauxite ore and chemical properties of the elements for instance zircon rutile and anatase contain zr hf nb ta w and u based on geochemical evidence together with age data and chemical compositions of the detrital minerals both distant igneous rocks in the plate margin and paleozoic carbonates and precambrian rocks inside north china block provide the miscellaneous material for the bauxite ore and the top clay

modern climate forcing of terrigenous deposition in the tropics cariaco basin venezuela one approach to deciphering tropical quaternary paleoclimate records has been to study the composition of terrigenous material in order to infer past changes in hydrologic and atmospheric conditions here we present the inorganic geochemistry major and trace elements of modern sediment traps and shelf sediments in the tropical cariaco basin venezuela in order to characterize seasonal variation in deposition of the terrigenous component and to document linkages within the ocean atmosphere climate system we show that variation in the chemistry of terrigenous input to the basin is a sensitive monitor of the annual meridional migration of the intertropical convergence zone itcz additionally seasonal terrigenous relative abundances are decoupled from terrigenous absolute fluxes showing that abundances are not directly related to terrigenous delivery changes in mixing between local fluvial sediments fluvial and or eolian mafic material and saharan dust explains the observed seasonality the modern seasonal variations are significantly smaller than those observed in the glacial interglacial paleorecord indicating that climate sensitivity at the two time scales is very different a striking contrast in the behavior of ti al between the longer glacial interglacial time scale and the modern seasonality also suggests that long term terrigenous deposition is not linked simply to 100kyr shifting of the itcz the modern data can be reconciled with the glacial interglacial record by invoking generally drier conditions during glacial periods over tropical latitudes combined with intermittent wet conditions caused by precessional forcing 2007 elsevier b v all rights reserved

altered river morphology in south africa related to the permian triassic extinction the permian triassic transition in the karoo basin of south africa was characterized by a rapid and apparently basin wide change from meandering to braided river systems as evidenced by preserved sedimentary facies this radical changeover in river morphology is consistent with geomorphic consequences stemming from a rapid and major die off of rooted plant life in the basin evidence from correlative nonmarine strata elsewhere in the world containing fluvial permian triassic boundary sections suggests that a catastrophic terrestrial die off of vegetation was a global event producing a marked increase in sediment yield as well as contributing to the global 13 c excursion across the permian triassic boundary

87sr 86sr record of permian seawater abstract a population of 169 permian articulate brachiopod shells was analysed for their 87 sr 86 sr ratios 51 of these characterised as well preserved and stratigraphically well defined are utilized for delineation of the permian seawater strontium isotope trend the 87 sr 86 sr curve shows values of about 0 7080 in the lowermost permian asselian followed by a gradual decline to 0 70685 in the capitanian and a minor rise in the dzhulfian and lower dorashamian to values of 0 70715 just below the permian triassic boundary the early permian decrease in the strontium isotope curve that commences in the early sakmarian is coincident with the advancing deglaciation of the gondwana and with the increased aridity in large parts of the pangaea these factors may have led to a reduced continental weathering of rb rich silicate rocks and thus to the decline in seawater 87 sr 86 sr starting with the artinskian the opening of the neotethys and the associated widespread basaltic volcanism supplied low radiogenic strontium to seawater from an enhanced hydrothermal flux in the capitanian basaltic volcanism in the entire palaeotethys ceased and this may have been the reason for a slightly more radiogenic seawater isotopic composition during the lopingian higher input of riverine sr due to expansion of humid areas may have been a contributory factor

high resolution terrestrial permian triassic eventostratigraphic boundary in western guizhou and eastern yunnan southwestern china the adjoining area of western guizhou and eastern yunnan provinces in southwest china is an ideal place to investigate the feasibility of correlating marine and nonmarine permian triassic boundary ptb sequences as it contains outcrop sections of shallow marine marginal marine or paralic and terrestrial ptb sections all in close geographic proximity this paper documents for the first time multiple stratigraphic data from several well preserved terrestrial ptb sections in the area and attempts to use these data to define locate and correlate the ptb in the area a study of the spores and pollen and vegetation types across the terrestrial ptb sections in the study area suggests three distinct evolutionary stages across the boundary stage 1 xuanwei formation is characterised by late permian or paleozoic type ferns and pteridosperms 85 0 with a few gymnosperms 15 0 stage 2 is marked by an abrupt drop of sporopollen elements of late permian aspects coupled with the appearance of fungal spores and limited early triassic palynomorphs stage 3 top xuanwei formation and kayitou formation is dominated by gymnosperm pollen 58 8 of clearly early triassic aspect although still retaining limited ferns and pteridosperms the three biotic stages seem to well correspond with the changing trend of the 13corg curves from the same sections which is characterized by a sharp drop just before the ptb followed by a short term partial recovery across the boundary and then succeeded by a gradual decline after the ptb in the early triassic combining evidence from eventostratigraphic i e the succession of boundary clay beds biostratigraphic using both macroplants and palynomorphs and chemostratigraphic i e organic carbon isotope excursion signals we propose that a high resolution ptb succession closely correlatable to its marine counterpart at the meishan section in eastern china is recognisable at the terrestrial ptb sections in the western guizhou eastern yunnan area in southwest china

metallogenic and tectonic implications of detrital zircon u pb hf isotopes and detrital rutile geochemistry of late carboniferous karstic bauxite on the southern margin of the north china craton abstract late carboniferous bauxite is widely developed on the north china craton ncc and is referred to as the g layer bauxite the bauxite ores of the southern ncc are closely related to the tectonic evolution of the ncc and its neighboring north qinling belt nqb to the south in this study based on the geological and mineralogical observations we used the u pb and hf isotopes of detrital zircons and chemical compositions of detrital rutiles from the gunziying and shibanhe bauxite deposits along the southern margin of the ncc to study the metallogenic process of bauxite ores and their tectonic implications one and two bauxite ore layers were observed in the gunziying and shibanhe bauixte deposits respectively the bauxite ore is dominated by diaspore illite anatase kaolinite pyrite zircon and rutile analyses of detrital zircons revealed that the largest group 432 515 ma at a peak age of 450 ma is spread throughout the late carboniferous bauxite deposits with ehf t values of 5 7 21 4 similar to the zircons from the nqb similarly the detrital zircons with peak ages of 950 ma and age clusters at 1 1 ga 1 3 ga and 1 8 ga as well as those ranging in age from 635 to 797 ma also exhibited ehf t values similar to the zircons from the nqb in addition the results suggested that 62 73 and 75 88 2 of detrital rutiles showed metapelitic protoliths and amphibolite eclogite facies temperatures respectively while 23 27 and 10 11 8 exhibited metamafic protoliths and granulite facies temperatures respectively based on the results above we propose that the provenance of the bauxite ores on the southern margin of the ncc is primarily from the nqb the dominant contributors were the neoproterozoic kuanping group and the meso neoproterozoic qinling group the archean proterozoic metamorphic rocks in the paleo uplifts of the ncc were also likely involved in the bauxite formation a probable outline of the bauxite formation process on the southern ncc former weathered residuals and subsequent deposition is proposed and a reasonable interpretation that the nqb was accreted to the ncc in the late carboniferous and formed a northward lying slope basin within the ncc is supported

new constraints on fluid sources in orogenic gold deposits victoria australia fluid inclusion microthermometry raman spectroscopy and noble gas plus halogen geochemistry complemented by published stable isotope data have been used to assess the origin of gold rich fluids in the lachlan fold belt of central victoria south eastern australia victorian gold deposits vary from large turbidite hosted orogenic lode and disseminated stockwork gold only deposits formed close to the metamorphic peak to smaller polymetallic gold deposits temporally associated with later post orogenic granite intrusions despite the differences in relative timing metal association and the size of these deposits fluid inclusion microthermometry indicates that all deposits are genetically associated with similar low salinity aqueous co2 bearing fluids the majority of these fluid inclusions also have similar 40ar 36ar values of less than 1500 and 36ar concentrations of 2 6 58 ppb by mass that are equal to or much greater than air saturation levels 1 3 2 7 ppb limited amounts of nitrogen rich fluids are present at a local scale and have the highest measured 40ar 36ar values of up to 5 700 suggesting an external or distinct source compared to the aqueous fluids the predominance of low salinity aqueous carbonic fluids with low 40ar 36ar values in both orogenic and intrusion related gold deposits is attributed to fluid production from common basement volcano sedimentary sequences and fluid interaction with sedimentary cover rocks turbidites aqueous fluid inclusions in the stawell magdala deposit of western victoria including those associated with n2 preserve mantle like br cl and i cl values in contrast fluid inclusions in deposits in the eastern structural zones which contain more abundant shales have elevated molar i cl ratios with maximum values of 5 170 10 6 in the melbourne zone br i ratios in this zone range from 0 5 to 3 0 that are characteristic of fluid interaction with organic rich sediments the maximum i cl and characteristic br i ratios provide evidence for organic br and i released during metamorphism of the shales therefore the regional data provide strong evidence for the involvement of sedimentary components in gold mineralisation but are consistent with deeper metamorphic fluid sources from basement volcano sedimentary rocks the overlying sediments are probably involved in gold mineralisation via fluid rock interaction

ree fractionation during granite weathering and removal by waters and suspended loads sr and nd isotopic evidence very few studies deal with ree rare earth element mobility within the system soil soil solution streamwater in this article we try to characterize the fractionation and the migration of the ree in a granite derived soil system located in a small catchment of the vosges mountains icp ms and tims measurements were performed on both solid samples fresh granite soil and suspended load of the stream and waters soil solutions springwater and streamwater to determine their respective ree concentrations and sr and nd isotopic compositions the paas normalized ree pattern of the bedrock is characterized by a strong depletion in hree heavy ree and a negative eu anomaly 0 46 similarly the granite normalized ree distribution patterns of the soil samples show hree depletions that become more important with decreasing depth the correlative behavior between p2o5 th and ree with depth indicates that besides apatite other phosphate minerals such as monazite are the most important phases controlling the th and ree budget in the soil profile on the other hand at greater depth zircon seems to be another important mineral phase controlling especially the hree enrichment as shown by the positive relationship between zr content and the yb ho ratio different grain size fractions show similar ree distribution patterns and are only weakly fractionated compared with bulk soil sample however the finest fraction 0 20 m is more enriched in sr and ree suggesting a stronger concentration of ree carrying minerals in this fraction the suspended and dissolved load of the stream show as a whole an enrichment in hree if compared with the granite or with the different soil samples however compared with the uppermost soil samples the suspended load is significantly more enriched in hree its ree distribution pattern is more similar to that of the finest fraction of the deeper soil sample and to the fresh granite thus most probably the ree of the suspended load originated from a source with ree characteristics found in the deep soil horizons this source might have been situated in the uppermost soil profile which is actually ree depleted the weathering process can be compared with a leaching experiment where the waters correspond to the leachate and the soil to the residual phase of the granite the sr isotope data indicate that the suspended load originates from the finest soil fraction the sr and nd isotopic data of the suspended load suggest that it contains up to 3 sr and nd from apatite and up to 97 from feldspar most of the sr and nd in the waters originate from apatite leaching or dissolution

episodic mineralization of hydrothermal illite in the soultz sous forets granite upper rhine graben france episodic and localized illite mineralization is documented in the hydrothermally altered soultz sous forets granite upper rhine graben france separated grain size fractions of altered granite and argillite vein samples contain mixtures of 2m1 and 1m trans vacant illite varieties the platy pseudohexagonal 2m1 illite phases dominate the vein fillings whereas the 1m illite occurs largely as a fibrous pore filling variety which is particularly abundant in the granite matrix multiple phases of fluid injections into the granite body have resulted in different illite assemblages each sample containing a mixture of polytype generations formed during different crystal growth events on the basis of mineralogical and k ar isotopic constraints the ages of these vein mineralizing events are determined by plotting the k ar values of the various grain size fractions against polytype abundance and the fitted volume weighted crystallite thickness distributions the results suggest a permian age for the formation of the studied argillite veins characterized by successive injections of hydrothermal fluids secondary episodes of illite crystallization occurred during jurassic and cretaceous or even younger times in both the veins and the granite matrix there are indications that the polytype structure and composition of illite were strongly influenced by variations in fluid chemistry and the degree of fluid rock interaction as the granite was progressively sealed during post variscan episodic hydrothermal activity

intensified chemical weathering during the permian triassic transition recorded in terrestrial and marine successions abstract global warming is inferred to have been one of the main causes of the permian triassic p tr boundary mass extinction although a strong temperature rise in tropical sea surface temperatures during the latest permian has been documented coeval climate changes in terrestrial sections are less well known here we analyzed multiple weathering indexes including cia ciw and pia for two terrestrial sections in north china shichuanhe and yima all of which show a major excursion toward higher values greater weathering intensity around the end permian plant extinction eppe at shichuanhe the cia chemical index of alteration increases from 70 to 75 over the interval of 11 36 m which straddles the eppe at 33 m and then decreases from 75 to 71 in the overlying strata at yima cia increases from 63 to 79 over the interval of 57 68 m extending up to the eppe at 68 m and then gradually decreases from 78 to 72 in the overlying strata these results imply a strong warming event coupled with intense chemical weathering in soil environments leading up to the end permian plant extinction the decline in cia values following the eppe may reflect loss of weathered soils through physical erosion rather than climatic cooling estimation of atmospheric temperatures from the cia data indicate rapid rises at shichuanhe from 11 6 c to 16 5 c and yima from 9 3 c to 18 4 c during the end permian crisis the findings in this study are consistent with the hypothesis that a sharp temperature rise caused the extinction of terrestrial organisms during the end permian crisis

mineralogical and geochemical evolution of the bidgol bauxite deposit zagros mountain belt iran implications for ore genesis rare earth elements fractionation and parental affinity the present study focuses on the late cretaceous bidgol bauxite deposit in the zagros simply fold belt sw iran the orebody is located in the eroded major nw se trending koh e hosseyn anticline and hosted as discontinuous stratified layers and lenses within the upper member of the cenomanian turonian sarvak formation detailed mineralogical analysis reveals that diaspore hematite goethite anatase clinochlore chamosite and calcite are the major mineral components accompanied by minor amounts of detrital and ree bearing minerals such as rutile zircon and parisite the ore texture suggest that the bauxite material has an authigenic origin but in some parts it has been transported short distances from a primary in situ environment and redeposited in karstic depressions the spheroidal pisolites of the bidgol bauxite formed under conditions of low water activity favouring the formation of large diaspore cores and a single dry to wet climatic fluctuation the mass change calculations relative to the immobile element ti show that elements such as si fe mg k na and sr are leached out of the weathered system al ni zr ga cr and ba are concentrated in the residual system and hf ta co rb cs be and u are relatively immobile during the bauxitisation processes the nb th y v sc sn and ree are relatively immobile in the initial stage of bauxitisation processes in the bauxite ores but were slightly mobile at the later stage of bauxitisation geochemical data reveal progressive enrichment of the ree and intense lree hree fractionation toward the lower parts of the bauxite profile cerium behaves differently from the other rees especially lree and show positive anomalies in the upper horizons that gradually become negative in the deeper parts of the profile the distribution and fractionation of trace elements and rees during the bauxitisation process in the bidgol deposit are mainly controlled by the presence of ree bearing minerals fluctuations in soil solution ph ree ionization potential and the presence of bicarbonates or organic matter geochemical analyses confirm a protolith contribution from the bedrock argillaceous limestone and suggest that the source material for the bidgol bauxite was provided from a siliciclastic material derived from a continental margin the mid turonian uplift led to the formation of karstic topography rubbly breccia and a layer of ferruginous argillaceous debris that was affected by lateritic weathering under humid tropical climate subsequently mobile elements are removed from the profiles while al fe and ti are enriched resulting in the formation of the pristine bauxite materials when the platform subsided into the water again the pristine bauxitic materials were partly converted to bauxite during the exposure of bauxite orebodies on the limbs and crests of anticlines and subsequent eroding and accumulation in the karstic depressions during folding and faulting in oligocene miocene important factors such as intensity of the weathering drainage and floating flow may have improved the qualities of the bauxite ores

terrestrial marine teleconnections in the collapse and rebuilding of early triassic marine ecosystems abstract the latest permian mass extinction lpe just prior to the permian triassic boundary at 252 ma resulted in the disappearance of 90 of skeletonized marine taxa and the replacement of the paleozoic fauna by the modern fauna in the immediate aftermath of the extinction shallow marine ecosystems were dominated by microbial communities and diminutive disaster taxa lilliput faunas and the post crisis period in general was characterized by high abundance low diversity marine communities occupying a reduced ecological space the recovery of marine ecosystems was a protracted process lasting throughout the 5 myr long early triassic some clades failed to recover and subsequently went extinct dead clades walking while others recovered only to suffer secondary crises during the early triassic profound environmental changes accompanied these biotic developments deep oceans experienced sustained hypoxia or anoxia for at least several million years following the boundary event anoxia was also widespread in shallow marine areas especially at the time of the lpe but it was more episodic and abated more rapidly than in the deep ocean making it an unlikely factor in the delayed recovery of early triassic marine ecosystems the development of anoxia was due at least in part to a sharp temperature rise following the lpe but may have been stimulated by changes in marine nutrient inventories and productivity rates as well these conditions may have been the result of a concurrent increase in subaerial weathering rates that was sustained into the early triassic in addition to increasing nutrient fluxes to marine areas rapid weathering caused a massive influx of sediment to shallow marine systems subjecting marine biotas to siltation stress this scenario implies close teleconnections between terrestrial and marine environments during the permian triassic boundary crisis with perturbations of the terrestrial realm contributing to the marine crisis

carbon dioxide in the paleozoic atmosphere evidence from carbon isotope compositions of pedogenic carbonate stable carbon isotope compositions of pedogenic carbonate occurring in three clay rich vertic paleosols within paleozoic red bed successions in central pennsylvania provide a record of past pedogenic environments and can be used to estimate co sub 2 pressure p sub co sub 2 of the paleozoic atmosphere the delta sup 13 c values of carbonate nodules from paleosols in the deltaic lower bloomsburg formation upper silurian reflect the contribution of carbon from marine groundwater or fossils coupled with low biological activity the delta sup 13 c values of carbonate rhizocretions from stratigraphically high paleosols in the bloomsburg formation and in the alluvial catskill upper devonian and mauch chunk upper mississippian formations suggest an extensive c sub 3 flora and significant contribution of atmospheric co sub 2 paleozoic atmospheric co sub 2 levels inferred from delta sup 13 c of pedogenic carbonate are significantly higher than present levels

ce anomalies in the textural components of upper cretaceous karst bauxites from the apulian carbonate platform southern italy the chemical and mineralogical composition of upper cretaceous apulian karst bauxites southern italy and their textural components i e ooids and matrix has been studied the bulk samples are composed of boehmite hematite anatase and kaolinite the samples collected along a vertical profile show a downward enrichment for the elements rb sr ba ni and cr a similar distribution is observed in deposits bauxitized in situ at the expense of matrix like material collected in the karst zone the ooids consist mainly of hematite with minor boehmite and anatase whereas in the matrix boehmite prevails on hematite kaolinite and anatase in the void fillings in the matrix there is a ca fluorocarbonate having a ce ce of 5 8 the ooids with the exception of ce are enriched in ree and show a higher la yb ch ratio relative to the matrix the matrix exhibits a large positive ce anomaly whereas the ooids have negative ce anomaly the ce fractionation between the textural components can be explained assuming 1 ce oxidation and cerianite precipitation in the uppermost part of the deposits 2 scavenging of ree from ce depleted percolating solutions by the iron oxide inducing both ree enrichment and ce negative anomalies in ooids 3 remobilization of cerium as fluoride complex as a consequence of more acidic conditions in the uppermost part of the deposit and precipitation of ce3 as fluorocarbonate mineral toward the carbonate bedrock barrier at alkaline ph alternatively the cerium remobilization possibly as a carbonate fluoride complex could be due to an eh decrease favoured by a rise of the groundwater level

vegetation changeover across the permian triassic boundary in southwest china extinction survival recovery and palaeoclimate a critical review abstract this paper reviews critically the permian triassic p tr fossil plants and microflora recorded in three well studied terrestrial permian triassic boundary ptb sections namely chahe zhejue and jiucaichong and two marine terrestrial transitional ptb sections namely mide and tucheng in western guizhou province and eastern yunnan province wgey southwest china distinct floral composition abundance and diversity across the ptb allow the establishment of two terrestrial macrofloral assemblages the lobatannularia multifolia gigantoclea guiyangensis l g assemblage was recognized from the upper xuanwei formation while the annalepis peltaspermum a p assemblage from the lower kayitou formation the former flora comprises 105 species in 39 genera and is late changhsingian in age the latter assemblage includes 18 species in 14 genera and is induan in age the changhsingian assemblage is characterized by the loss of many wuchiapingian elements of the gigantopteris flora and an increase of the gymnosperms most of the permian type plant taxa were wiped out in the ptb crisis on land with only few relicts persisting into the early triassic which saw the flourishing of annalepis and common presence of peltaspermum and permian relicts of the gigantopterids during the permian triassic transition some rare gigantopterids elements as well as some peltaspermum representatives survived the biocrisis annalepis a pioneering lycopsid genus in the recovery of the triassic land plants and its proliferation marks the recovery of land plants after the ptb crisis on land in wgey accordingly vegetation changeover across the ptb is marked by a dramatic turnover of plants on land from the permian gigantopteris flora to the triassic annalepis dominated assemblage palynofloras are characterized by a dramatic drop of palynomorphs in both abundance and diversity and show a stepwise extinction pattern moreover macro and microfloras of the wgey region indicate that humid and warm climate regime prevailed through the p tr transition in southwest china the coal forming swamps gradually migrated westward due to marine transgressions throughout the late permian the gigantopteris flora also migrated from east to west and a few species can survive into the earliest triassic in the wgey region but disappeared soon after

rare earth element contents of jurassic fish and reptile teeth and their potential relation to seawater composition anglo paris basin france and england the rare earth element ree chemistry of jurassic shelf seawater from western europe anglo paris basin was investigated by analyzing the fish and reptile teeth deposited in shallow to deeper water 200 m environments ree patterns in apatites are controlled by the host sediments vertebrate teeth sampled from the siliciclastic sediments calcareous sandstones and shales show flat shale normalized ree patterns that reflect the dominant influence of the continental source from which the ree were derived carbonate deposits protected from the clastic sources contain fish and reptile teeth whose ree patterns reflect more accurately the ree composition of the overlying water column the ree patterns are similar through the bajocian to the oxfordian and are characterized by a depletion in heavy rare earth element dy ybn 1 8 5 0 compared to modern seawater compositions dy ybn 0 8 0 9 the fractionations among hree in the jurassic seawater are more efficient than in modern oceans and increases with depth instead of decreasing these hree removal processes operated as early as the paleozoic and disappeared during the late cretaceous the fractionation of hree relative to lree is correlated with the increasing depth of the basin as indicated by two independent criteria that are the sedimentary structures and the oxygen isotope composition of coexisting brachiopods the dy ybn ratio of the marine biogenic phosphates can be used as a proxy of paleo water depths at the scale of a water mass ce anomalies ce in biogenic apatite bearing limestones are variable and systematically negative relative to modern surface seawater and bathonian values mean ce 0 63 0 10 weak ce anomalies during the callovian mean ce 0 21 0 09 suggest the onset of more reducing conditions this redox change coincided with an increase of seawater temperatures as suggested by the oxygen isotope compositions measured on the same teeth we speculated that the callovian low ce could result from a decrease in the po2 due to the warming of seawater

abrupt and gradual extinction among late permian land vertebrates in the karoo basin south africa the karoo basin of south africa exposes a succession of upper permian to lower triassic terrestrial strata containing abundant terrestrial vertebrate fossils paleomagnetic magnetostratigraphic and carbon isotope data allow sections to be correlated across the basin with this stratigraphy the vertebrate fossil data show a gradual extinction in the upper permian punctuated by an enhanced extinction pulse at the permian triassic boundary interval particularly among the dicynodont therapsids coinciding with negative carbon isotope anomalies

lilliput effect in freshwater ostracods during the permian triassic extinction abstract the lilliput effect following the permian triassic mass extinction and its aftermath has been documented in a variety of marine animal groups but it is less known in terrestrial and freshwater invertebrates here we present new investigations of the size variations of terrestrial ostracods of the genus darwinula based on fossil records from a permian triassic section on the northern limb of the dalongkou anticline section in northwest china quantitative analyses reveal that ostracod test sizes decreased sharply through the terrestrial permian triassic mass extinction interval the lilliput effect in terrestrial ostracods is characterized by the extinction of large taxa and the rise of small sized and elongate new forms coupled with the dramatic loss of conchostracans charophytes and the blooming of lycopod spores the size decrease in terrestrial ostracods following the biotic crisis through the permian triassic interval was probably triggered by several interacting events including global warming anoxia and enhanced sediment input following acid rain and wildfire

metallogeny of the large scale carboniferous karstic bauxite in the sanmenxia area southern part of the north china craton china abstract above two billion tons of bauxite were formed during the exposure of the north china craton ncc in 445 300 ma mineralogical geochemical and isotopic analyses of karstic bauxite deposits in the sanmenxia area situated within southern ncc were conducted to explore the genetic processes of carboniferous bauxite the bauxite contains three layers a lower fe bearing claystone layer a middle bauxite ore layer and an upper claystone layer fe bearing claystone is dominated by illite and hematite in the uplift and illite siderite and pyrite in the depression bauxite ore is composed of diaspore illite pyrite and anatase and the upper claystone consists of illite diaspore and anatase distinct pyrite 34s values 11 7 15 2 and 11 5 to 1 0 illite 87sr 86sr i 0 711917 0 713588 and 0 708000 0 711057 and end t 12 2 to 11 4 and 11 8 to 9 7 values and the immobile elemental ratios were obtained between the lower fe bearing claystone and upper bauxite ore and claystone together with chemistry of detrital rutile it is denoted the fe bearing claystone was formed from the underlying limestone whereas the bauxite ore and claystone were derived from both igneous rocks along craton margin and regional precambrian metamorphic rocks the visible microorganisms and wide development of framboidal pyrite with negative 34s within the bauxite ore provide evidences of microbial activity during bauxite formation bio leaching process after the deposition of allochthonous source materials caused the downward migration of ions al3 fe2 ti4 ree3 etc these ions encountered an alkaline and reducing condition in the karstic depression forming diaspore pyrite and anatase and ree enrichment at the bottom of bauxite ore this large input of raw materials warm and humid climate and microorganisms led to large scale bauxite formation in the ncc during late carboniferous

biotic carbonate precipitation inhibited during the early triassic at the rim of the arabian platform oman abstract sedimentological palaeontological and geochemical data of a 152 m thick composite section of the saiq formation were used to describe the facies associations and the nature of carbonate precipitation during the late permian early triassic at the eastern rim of the arabian platform sultanate of oman saih hatat wadi aday changhsingian late permian platform carbonates dominated by bryozoans brachiopods and crinoids are truncated by a mineralized discontinuity surface the disappearance of permian calcified metazoans a negative 13ccarb excursion and a sharp facies contrast collectively suggest that the permian triassic boundary lies in this interval unfossiliferous siliciclastics with nodules of iron and manganese minerals on top of the unconformity were probably deposited during a phase when sea water was undersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate after a gap late dienerian carbonate deposition started with abiotically precipitated lime mudstone and biotically induced microbialites having the lowest observed 13ccarb values facies association a further up 1 2 m of bioclastic wacke and grainstones with a positive 13ccarb excursion indicate a short lived interval of biotically controlled carbonate precipitation facies association b the overlying sequence of siliciclastics laminated or bioturbated dolomitized mudstone microbialites dolomitic siltstone and black calcite which is characterized by a 2nd negative 13ccarb shift marks the return to biotically induced carbonate precipitation facies associations c d the recrystallized black calcite at the top of the sequence is capped by a thick palaeosol and overlain by late early to middle triassic cycles consisting of biotically precipitated carbonate the facies development of the rim of the arabian platform differs from that of the interior in having a pronounced discontinuity at the permian triassic boundary and an early triassic bioclastic carbonate unit sandwiched between abiotically precipitated carbonates the observed lateral changes in carbonate precipitation across the arabian platform could have been caused by changes in oceanic circulation such as episodic upwelling of deep water

contribution to the geochemistry of the rare earth elements in the karst bauxite deposits of yugoslavia and greece abstract distribution of the rare earth elements ree including la lu y along vertical profiles is presented for four well studied karst bauxite deposits from yugoslavia and greece for one deposit from jamaica la and y contents are given all deposits a downward enrichment of the ree culminating at the base where authigenic ree minerals have been formed this ree pattern is characteristic for karst bauxites formed in situ through the bauxitization of argillaceous material collected in karstic depressions in this way the highest enrichment of the ree in the sedimentary cycle has been achieved both light ree lree and heavy ree hree were mobile during the bauxitization process and were concentrated at the alkaline barrier of the carbonate footwall in four out of five studied deposits the ratios lre hree and la y in bauxites decrease downwards showing an enrichment of the hree relative to lree a further fractionation of the ree took place in the formation of authigenic ree minerals which exhibit a very high enrichment of lree relative to hree in spite of this these minerals and bauxites in four studied deposits have a general similarity of the ree distribution patterns which indicate a close genetic relationship

origin and geochemical evolution from ferrallitized clays to karst bauxite an example from the lower cretaceous of ne spain abstract four outcrops of lower cretaceous barremian karst bauxites located in teruel ne spain were analysed the deposits show a heterogeneous chaotic lithostructure consisting of pisolitic bauxite blocks embedded in lateritic red clays filling karst cavities the research has focused on the geochemical study of major minor and trace elements including some critical to industry of both the bauxites and clays the objective was to investigate the bauxite precursor material and to characterize the system s geochemical evolution geochemical analyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma optical emission and mass spectroscopy an absolute weathering index has been calculated to estimate element mobility assuming ti as an immobile element and the upper continental crust ucc as parent material further selected samples were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy the data indicate that both the bauxites and red clays originated by intense chemical weathering from more mafic argillaceous sediments than the ucc ongoing weathering caused the bauxitization of the upper parts of the original profile preventing the lower parts from being bauxitized thus producing the ferrallitized clays underlying the pisolitic bauxites subsequent karst reactivation gave rise to the current lithostructure ferrallitization is related to fe sc and v enrichment on the other hand although bauxites are relatively enriched in some elements compared to clays the more intense chemical weathering associated with bauxitization led to chemical homogenization and widespread element depletion during the bauxitization al ti zr cr and probably hf and the critical element nb behaved as more immobile elements in the system bauxitization also enhanced homogenization and depletion of the ree which is more pronounced for the lree hree trends seem to be partly related to the concentration of ti oxides in the bauxites whereas p bearing phases more frequent in the clays control the lree subsequent to bauxitization partial kaolinization of the bauxite took place related to the circulation of acid solutions that also caused the karst reactivation these late processes caused some al depletion in the bauxites and enhanced fe loss together with v and to a lesser extent ge

two pulses of extinction during the permian triassic crisis over 90 of marine species were lost during the end permian extinction fossil data show that the crisis in china was marked by two distinct phases of marine extinction separated by a 180 000 year recovery period

permian geodynamic setting of northeast china and adjacent regions closure of the paleo asian ocean and subduction of the paleo pacific plate abstract northeast china and adjacent regions are located in the central east asian continent and consist tectonically of both the paleo asian and paleo pacific orogens between the siberian platform and sino korean north china block this paper discusses some hotly debated issues concerning the permian geodynamic setting of these regions based on a comprehensive analysis of available geological geochemical paleobiogeographical and paleomagnetic data spatial and temporal distribution of ophiolites and associated continental marginal sequences permian sedimentary sequences spatial distribution and geochemistry of permian magmatic rocks and the evolution of paleobiogeographical realms imply 1 that the permian marine basins in northeast china and adjacent regions include remnants of the paleo asian ocean in southeastern inner mongolia and central jilin province and active continental margins of the paleo pacific ocean 2 that the suture between the siberian and sino korean paleoplates was finally emplaced in the permian and is located in areas from suolunshan solonker eastwards through regions north to the xar moron river in southeastern inner mongolia and then central jilin province to the yanji area and 3 that the permian crustal evolution of northeast china and adjacent regions as well as parts of the siberian paleoplate was influenced by subduction of the paleo pacific oceanic plate finally the permian tectonic framework and paleogeography of northeast china and adjacent regions in central east asia are discussed briefly and early and late permian palinspastic reconstruction maps are provided

a review on the potentiality of rare earth elements to trace pedogenetic processes abstract this review aims at considering the use of rees to trace pedogenetic processes in order to quantify the respective contribution of the successive processes on pedogenesis we first consider the origins and contents of rees in soils to assess their natural occurrence and tackle the common data treatment used to interpret their concentrations we review subsequently the impact of the different pedogenetic processes on the fate of rees in soils from their release into a soil solution by primary mineral heavy minerals phosphates silicates and carbonates dissolution during weathering to their fixation on or into main ree bearing secondary minerals clay minerals fe mn oxides and carbonates then their mobilization by plant recycling and organic matter and finally the impact of argilluviation and redox processes on their fractionation we conclude that rees much more than other trace elements can interestingly trace the considered processes that are encountered in a large diversity of non polluted soils arising from diverse parent materials weathering generally fractionates rees and accounts for a significant part of the variation in the initial ree stock of the soils plant recycling induces a weak mobilization of rees and their accumulation in topsoil argilluviation can be traced using the mree enrichment and the eu anomaly of the clay minerals redox processes can be traced by the ce anomaly caused by the precipitation of cerium on mn oxides to use rees as tracers of pedogenetic processes we recommend to i precisely characterize the ree bearing minerals ii adapt the choice of reference s for normalization and iii perform mass balance calculations

mineralogical and geochemical studies of boron rich bauxite ore deposits in the songqi region sw henan china the songqi region sw henan is an important bauxite province in china the bauxite ore deposits occur unconformably on the top of middle ordovician argillaceous carbonates the bauxite ores from the songqi region are characterized by unusually high boron contents in this paper we report the mineralogical and chemical compositions of selected bauxite ores from the region these new data together with existing geochemical data of soils in the region are used to evaluate the origin of boron enrichment in the bauxite ores the compositional characteristics of tourmaline in the bauxite ores suggests that this mineral was likely derived from a meta sedimentary protolith mass balance calculation reveals that tourmaline only accounts for a small portion of boron in the bauxite ores the majority of boron in the ores must occur in other forms possibly by ion absorption on the surfaces of diaspore and clay minerals in the songqi region the precambrian meta sedimentary rocks are known to contain abundant tourmalines whereas the cambrian ordovician argillaceous carbonates and the upper proterozoic shales are all enriched in boron in free ion state we suggest that these rocks provided tourmaline and boron ion to the bauxite deposits in the region most known bauxite deposits in the songqi region occur at the margins of boron rich soil domains suggesting that boron in soils is a potential exploration indicator for unknown bauxite deposits in this region

influence of phosphate on mobility and adsorption of rees during weathering of granites in thailand abstract the permo jurassic north thai nt granites and the late cretaceous to paleogene western province wp granites in thailand are contrasting in terms of tectonic settings and chemical compositions the nt granites which are dominated by s type features are characterized by lower sio2 contents and higher p2o5 contents than the wp granites in this study in order to compare the mobility and adsorption of rare earth elements rees during weathering of the two granite suites geochemical analyses were conducted on the granite and weathered granites the weathered wp granites show wider ranges of rees y rey contents percentages of ion exchangeable rey and ce anomalies than the weathered nt granites these results indicate that rees were less mobile during weathering of the nt granites than those of the wp granites the low mobility of rees can be explained by the occurrences of residual monazite and secondary ree phosphates which immobilize rees during weathering therefore in the weathered nt granites rees are mostly contained in the phosphate minerals in contrast the weathered wp granites are dominated by ion exchangeable rees adsorbed rees which are likely to exist on the surface of clays previous studies and our study results suggest that the ion exchangeable rees in the weathered granites were probably sourced from weatherable allanite titanite apatite and or ree fluorocarbonate and rarely from monazite and zircon which are resistant to weathering the weathered granites of low phosphate contents potentially show high percentages of ion exchangeable rey although they can be influenced by the degree of hydrothermal alteration or weathering of granites

impact of atmospheric deposition biogeochemical cycling and water mineral interaction on ree fractionation in acidic surface soils and soil water the strengbach case leaf litter contains not only important quantities of elements derived from decomposition of organic matter but also atmospheric compounds this is illustrated by sr and nd isotope data from soils of the strengbach catchment which show that soil litter contains more than 50 of atmospheric sr and nd downward migrating soil water becomes strongly acidic during flow through litter and humus layers ph 3 8 4 at 5 10 cm depth causing not only intense mobilization of elements in the underlying acid brown and podzolic soils at depths between 10 and 50 cm but also the downward transfer of some litter derived compounds the sr and nd isotope data allow to quantify that soil water from 10 to 70 cm depth contains 45 to 65 of litter derived nd and sr sequential leaching experiments have been performed on soil samples in order to recover adsorbed trace elements or those fixed in acid soluble mineral phases such as fe mn oxyhydroxides and phosphate minerals the isotope data of these leachates of the uppermost soil horizons point similarly to the presence of important quantities of litter derived sr and nd in the uppermost 30 cm of the soils with the exception of the litter layer the soil profiles are substantially depleted in ca and p down to 50 cm depth which can be related to low apatite and plagioclase contents these minerals have probably been preferentially weathered and ca and p have been removed by percolating soil water and plant uptake leaching of primary granite derived apatite controls rare earth element ree fractionation only below 50 cm depth rhabdophane ree po4 has been observed as secondary replacement mineral of apatite this replacement is reflected by ca p ratios that are low at the surface and which increase regularly with depth implying that some of the apatite derived p has been integrated into newly formed rhabdophane and some of the p and ca have been exported either by soil solutions or plant uptake during downward transport litter derived elements are adsorbed on soil particles and or coprecipitate with authigenic minerals such as fe mn oxyhydroxide or rhabdophane alternatively litter derived elements may remain in solution or like ca be absorbed by vegetation the soil solutions from the uppermost 30 cm of the soil profiles and the corresponding soil leachates show very similar ree distribution patterns and are compared to the waters of the strengbach stream which drains the forested catchment strongly enriched in light rare earth elements lree however soil solutions from 60 to 70 cm depth are compared to litter strongly lree depleted and show stream water like ree distribution patterns it is suggested that this evolution of the ree in the soil solutions is due to the following processes taking place above 50 cm depth 1 precipitation of lree rich phosphate minerals like rhabdophane 2 diminution of the formation of organic dissolved or colloidal phases in association with fe mn and al oxyhydroxides and 3 preferential lree uptake by vegetation below 50 cm the ree distribution patterns are further modified by dissolution precipitation reactions and adsorption the combination of all these fractionation processes finally leads to the ree patterns of the strengbach stream at the catchment outlet

geochemical and mineralogical features of karst bauxite deposits from the alborz zone northern iran implications for conditions of formation behavior of trace and rare earth elements and parental affinity abstract the present study focuses on three outcrops of upper permian to lower jurassic karst bauxite deposits in the alborz zone north of iran the deposits occur as sharp semi continuous lenses within the upper permian ruteh formation gheshlagh and the upper triassic elika formation siahrudbar and separdeh carbonate rocks textural characteristics such as pelitomorphic matrix local ooidic pisoidic fluidal and clastic textures indicate authigenic allothigenic origins mineralogically kaolinite boehmite goethite and hematite in the gheshlagh diaspore hematite and kaolinite in the siahrudbar and kaolinite hematite goethite diaspore siderite and chamosite in the separdeh deposits are the main phases the distribution patterns of major elements normalized to the upper continental crust ucc depict enrichments of al fe and ti in all three deposits the three deposits are variably enriched in transition trace elements cr ni co v u th and high field strength elements ga hf zr nb y relative to ucc the studied bauxites have average concentrations of rare earth elements ree la lu between 305 97 and 373 69 ppm geochemical data reveal progressive enrichment of ree and an intense lree hree n fractionation toward the lower parts of the profile in the separdeh deposit due to the alkaline conditions of the carbonate bedrock and irregular distribution patterns at the gheshlagh and siahrudbar deposits due to water level and ph fluctuations the positive ce anomalies at separdeh and siahrudbar suggest oxidizing conditions in the upper parts of the profiles at gheshlagh the negative to nil ce anomalies reflect low intensity of oxidation based on previous geochemical analysis data the upper permian basalts in the gheshlagh and the upper triassic basalts in the separdeh and siahrudbar areas were the most likely source materials the local uplift of the permian upper triassic series led to the formation of karstic topography filled with materials derived from weathering of the basaltic rocks under humid tropical paleoclimate the initial weathering converted the source rocks to kaolinitic soils characterized by the enrichment of al fe and ti then they were transferred to the karstic depressions and sinkholes and underwent in situ leaching and desilicification bringing about a relatively higher ore grade the overall field and petrographic evidence demonstrate that these deposits were formed in shallow and swampy environments in the eastern part of the alborz zone at siahrudbar and gheshlagh better drainage conditions have enhanced the quality of ores

provenance of late carboniferous bauxite deposits in the north china craton new constraints on marginal arc construction and accretion processes abstract the north china craton ncc is bounded by two paleozoic accretionary arc terranes the north qinling terrane to the south and the bainaimiao terrane to the north the timing of arc accretion to the ncc and the architecture of the bainaimiao arc remain unclear during the building and accretion of the arcs along its margins the ncc experienced a long sedimentary hiatus since the ordovician which ended with the deposition of bauxite bearing sediments in the late carboniferous in this paper we report the u pb and hf isotopes of detrital zircons from the late carboniferous bauxite layer and use these data to constrain the tectonic evolution of the margin of the ncc the detrital zircons yield a minimum u pb age of ca 310 ma and a prominent age peak at ca 450 ma zircon crystals with ages of ca 330 ma and ca 1900 ma are more common in the bauxite samples from the northern part of the ncc than in those from the central part the ehf t values of the ca 450 ma detrital zircon crystals of the bauxite samples from the ncc are similar to those of the contemporaneous detrital zircon crystals from the north qinling arc terrane to the south but different from those of the contemporaneous detrital zircon crystals from the bainaimiao arc terrane to the north the ca 450 ma detrital zircon crystals in the ca 310 ma bauxite deposits are therefore interpreted to have been derived from the north qinling arc terrane the source of the ca 330 ma detrital zircon crystals of the bauxite deposits is interpreted to be the northern margin of the ncc where intermediate felsic plutons formed at ca 330 ma are common the results from this study support the interpretation that the paleozoic continental arc terranes and their concomitant back arc basins were developed along the margins of the ncc before ca 450 ma and the arc complexes were subsequently accreted to the craton in the late carboniferous this was then followed by the formation of a walled continental basin within the ncc