calcic amphibole equilibria and a new amphibole plagioclase geothermometer there is currently a dearth of reliable thermobarometers for many hornblende and plagioclase bearing rocks such as granitoids and amphibolites a semi empirical thermodynamic evaluation of the available experimental data on amphibole plagioclase assemblages leads to a new thermometer based on the aliv content of amphibole coexisting with plagioclase in silica saturated rocks the principal exchange vector in amphiboles as a function of temperature in both the natural and experimental studies is left na square 1 right a left alsi 1 right t1 we have analysed the data using 3 different amphibole activity models to calibrate the thermometer reactions 1 edenite 4 quartz tremolite albite 1 2 pargasite 4 quartz hornblende albite 2 the equilibrium relation for both 1 and 2 leads to the proposed new thermometer t frac 0 677p 48 98 y 0 0429 0 008314 ln k and k left frac si 4 8 si right x ab plag where si is the number of atoms per formula unit in amphiboles with p in kbar and t in k the term y represents plagioclase non ideality rtln ab from darken s quadratic formalism dqf with y 0 for xab 0 5 and y 8 06 25 5 1 xab 2 for xab 0 5 the best fits to the data were obtained by assuming complete coupling between al on the t1 site and na in the a site of amphibole and the standard deviation of residuals in the fit is 38 c the thermometer is robust to ferric iron recalculation procedures from electron probe data and should yield temperatures of equilibration for hornblende plagioclase assemblages with uncertainties of around 75 c for rocks equilibrated at temperatures in the range 500 1100 c the thermometer should only be used in this temperature range and for assemblages with plagioclase less calcic than an92 and with amphiboles containing less than 7 8 si atoms pfu good results have been attained on natural examples from greenschist to granulite facies metamorphic rocks as well as from a variety of mafic to acid intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks our analysis shows that the pressure dependence is poorly constrained and the equilibria are not suitable for barometry

invariant and changing transitional field configurations in a sequence of geomagnetic reversals in the past few years the increasing number of detailed records of geomagnetic transitions has provided new and important information about the behaviour of the earth s magnetic field during a reversal surprisingly however no attempt has been made to obtain information about the evolution of the transitional field characteristics over a long period of time we report here the results of a palaeomagnetic study of four different geomagnetic reversals three of which are successive recorded at different stratigraphical levels of two upper tortonian marine clay sections in western crete greece this sequence represents 1 5 myr of geomagnetic field history the results obtained suggest that the process of reversal from either starting polarity may remain invariant for a long period of time then change rather abruptly between successive reversals

fluid rock interactions during uhp metamorphism a review of the dabie sulu orogen east central china comprehensive review on the characteristics of petrology oxygen isotope fluid inclusion and nominally anhydrous minerals nams for many dabie sulu ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic rocks including drill hole core samples reveals that fluid has played important and multiple roles during complicated fluid rock interactions attending the subduction and exhumation of supracrustal rocks we have identified several distinct stages of fluid rock interactions as follows 1 the neoproterozoic supercrustal protoliths of uhp rocks experienced variable degrees of hydration through interactions with cold meteoric water with extremely low oxygen isotope compositions during neoproterozoic snow ball earth time 2 a series of dehydration reactions took place during triassic subduction of the yangtze plate beneath the sino korean plate the released fluid entered mainly into volatile bearing high pressure hp and uhp minerals such as phengite zoisite epidote talc lawsonite and magnesite as well as into uhp nams such as garnet omphacite and rutile 3 silicate rich supercritical fluid hydrous melt existed during the uhp metamorphism at mantle depths 100 km which mobilized many normally fluid immobile elements and caused unusual element fractionation 4 the fluid exsolved from the nams during the early exhumation of the dabie sulu terrane was the main source for hp hydrate retrogression and generation of hp veins 5 local amphibolite facies retrogression at crustal depths took place by infiltration of aqueous fluid of various salinities possibly derived from an external source 6 the greenschist facies overprinting and low pressure lp quartz veins were generated by fluid flow along ductile shear zones and brittle faults during late stage uplift of the uhp terrane

coesite and pure pyrope in high grade blueschists of the western alps a first record and some consequences a pyrope quartzite originally described by vialon 1966 from the dora maira massif was resampled and reinvestigated garnet up to 25 cm in size phengite kyanite talc and rutile are in textural equilibrium in an undeformed matrix of polygonal quartz the garnet is a pyrope almandine solid solution with 90 to 98 mol mg end member it contains inclusions of coesite which has partially inverted to quartz resulting in a typical radial cracking of the host garnet around the inclusions several lines of evidence show that coesite crystallised under nearly static pressure conditions and that the whole matrix has once been coesite

carbon concentrations and isotopic ratios of eclogites from the dabie and sulu terranes in china abstract both concentration and isotope composition of bulk carbon in apatite and host eclogites from the dabie sulu ultrahigh pressure uhp terranes in china have been determined along with their oxygen isotope composition the results show significant 13 c depletion in the apatite 13 c 27 7 to 20 8 with the carbon concentrations of 0 59 to 1 65 wt co 2 despite a large variation in 18 o 6 5 to 9 5 the bulk carbon in 21 of the 24 eclogites has low 13 c values of 26 1 to 17 9 with low carbon content of 500 to 1000 ppm whereas the other three samples show high 13 c values of 7 1 to 2 8 with high carbon contents of 2400 to 4300 ppm noncarbonate carbon was measured by treating the all eclogites with 5 n hcl solution yielding uniformly low 13 c values of 27 9 to 24 2 and carbon contents of 200 to 300 ppm carbonate carbon is thus calculated by mass balance to have also low 13 c values of 25 6 to 15 1 for the 21 samples but high 13 c values of 4 3 to 1 2 for the remaining three samples secondary carbonate was identified in the three eclogites that are also depleted in 13 c primarily but subjected to overprint of 13 c rich co 2 bearing fluid subsequent to the uhp metamorphism the isotopically light carbon in both eclogite and apatite is interpreted to represent the isotope composition of carbon in eclogite precursors before plate subduction and thus has an origin of organic carbon from the earth s surface the uniformly low 13 c values of apatite suggest that the co 2 of metamorphic fluid in equilibrium with the host eclogites would be derived from the oxidation of organic carbon rather than the decarbonation of underthrust carbonates during progressive metamorphism protoliths of the eclogites are inferred to be of igneous origin which underwent more extensive interaction with organic matter than with meteoric hydrothermal fluid on the subsurface of the continental crust the break off of the subducted plate containing the isotopically light carbon and subsequent interactions with the surrounding mantle could produce the mafic and or silicic magmas that are significantly depleted in 13 c relative to the primary mantle carbon this may provide evidence for a linkage of the 13 c depleted mantle carbon to a surficial source via plate subduction

ultrahigh pressure minerals and metamorphic terranes the view from china abstract ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphism refers to mineralogical modifications of continental and oceanic crustal protoliths associated mafic ultramafic rocks initially formed or emplaced in shallow levels of the lithosphere but which subsequently have experienced p t conditions within or above the coesite stability field 2 7 gpa 700 c typical products include eclogite garnet peridotite and uhp varieties of metapelite quartzite marble paragneiss and orthogneiss uhp metamorphic assemblages require relatively cold lithospheric subduction to mantle depths some recrystallization even occurs under forbidden p t conditions characterized by a geotherm of the current explosion of research on continental uhp terranes reflects their significance for mantle dynamics and the tectonics of continental subduction collision exhumation mantle slab interactions and geochemical recycling a further characterization of uhp phases and positive identification of uhp minerals requires new experimental studies coupled with state of the art analyses for example the very rare occurrence of microdiamond inclusions in zircons from dabie sulu uhp rocks may reflect high f o 2 attending recrystallization inasmuch as epidote is rather common rutile needles within garnets from sulu uhp eclogitic rocks may not be the result of exsolution so in such cases the apparent uhp pressure may have been over estimated hadean igneous microdiamond inclusions in jack hills detrital zircons could have originated from mantle xenoliths whereas abundant detrital phanerozoic diamonds containing inclusions of coesite and other eclogitic minerals from new south wales might have been derived from unexposed uhp metamorphic terranes micro mineral intergrowth and nano size minerals may hold important key to deciphering the actual p t paths of subduction and mantle return flow although most exhumed terranes have returned surfaceward relatively rapidly after short time of uhp condition the long duration of storage at great depth and slow exhumation for the largest uhp terranes remain as major problems

iron isotopic systematics of uhp eclogites respond to oxidizing fluid during exhumation the iron stable isotope compositions 56fe and iron valence states of ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogites from bixiling in the dabie orogen belt china were measured to trace changes of geochemical conditions during vertical transportation of earth materials for example oxygen fugacity the bulk fe3 fe ratios of retrograde eclogites determined by mossbauer spectroscopy are consistently higher than those of fresh eclogites suggesting oxidation during retrograde metamorphism and fluid infiltration the studied eclogites five samples display limited morb like 0 10 56fe values which are indistinguishable from their protoliths i e gabbro cumulates formed through differentiation of mantle derived basaltic magma this suggests that fe isotope fractionation during continental subduction is limited garnet separates display limited 56fe variation ranging from 0 08 0 07 to 0 02 0 07 whereas coexisting omphacite displays a large variation of 56fe values from 0 15 0 07 to 0 47 0 07 omphacite also has highly variable fe3 fe ratios from 0 367 0 025 to 0 598 0 024 indicating modification after peak metamorphism omphacite from retrograde eclogites has elevated fe3 fe ratios 0 54 0 60 compared to that from fresh eclogites 0 37 whereas garnet displays a narrow range of ferric iron content with fe3 fe ratios from 0 039 0 013 to 0 065 0 022 the homogenous 56fe values and fe3 fe ratios of garnet suggest that it survived the retrograde metamorphism and preserved its fe isotopic features and ferric contents of peak metamorphism because of similar diffusion rates of fe mg in garnet and omphacite and constant 26mgomphacite garnet values 1 14 0 04 equilibrium iron isotope fractionation between garnet and omphacite was probably achieved during peak metamorphism elevated fe3 fe ratios of omphacite from retrograde eclogites and variant 56feomphacite garnet values of the studied eclogites 0 13 0 10 to 0 48 0 10 indicate that oxidized geofuild infiltration resulted in elevation of 56fe values of omphacite during retrograde metamorphism this article is protected by copyright all rights reserved

geochemical behavior of cu and sulfur isotopes in the tropical mining region of taxco guerrero southern mexico abstract this study was aimed to identify the main processes involved in the release of metals using sulfur isotopes and those acting on the fractionation of copper isotopes we determined sulfur and copper isotopic ratios in rocks tailings precipitates and soils samples from the historical mining district of taxco southern mexico ratios of sulfur isotopes are reported in notation of per mil and standardization was based on international standards ogs 1 and nbs123 only copper ratio isotopes were studied in pyrite py sphalerite sph and galena results are reported as 65cu 65cu 63cusample 65cu 63cunist976standar 1 1000 error for all the analyzed samples was 0 01 and any mass bias was corrected trough bracketing method the sulfur isotopic value of a sample from the mexcala shale formation was 7 7 the 34s values in tailing ponds ranged from 2 6 to 1 2 in precipitates from 7 2 to 3 2 and in soils from 0 8 to 4 5 isotopic 34s values in rocks evidenced a magmatic influence of sulfides present in the mexcala formation oxidation of sulfides contained in tailings and precipitates was observed related with their low 34s values close to zero oxidation followed the order sphalerite pyrite pyrite rich in copper chalcopyrite galena in soils oxidation is not the main process as supported by their positive 34s values and low sulfate content results of 65cu values in rocks were 0 09 to 0 54 in sulfides values were 65cu 0 18 py and 65cu 0 20 sph concentration of copper in galena was not enough to get a reliable isotopic value in tailings 65cu ranged from 1 19 to 0 91 and in precipitates from 0 36 to 0 92 in soils values were between 0 26 and 1 72 results in rocks indicate an igneous influence on copper provenance the 65cu values in py and sph were within the range of terrestrial primary sulfides from 1 to 1 confirming its igneous provenance processes related with fractionation of copper isotopes were oxidation of tailings and reprecipitation of 65cu in tailings with a high content of fe oxyhydroxides enrichment in 65cu in precipitates and soils is favored by organic matter presence that retains 63cu erosion of rocks and tailings is the main source of copper being rocks the initial and tailings the end members the isotopic studies on environmental research provide a useful tool on 1 the behavior of copper and sulfur isotopes in environments where both natural and anthropogenic activities are present 2 understanding surficial processes of dispersion of metals and identifying their source in mining areas surrounded by villages and agricultural soils

prograde metamorphism decompressional partial melting and subsequent melt fractional crystallization in the weihai migmatitic gneisses sulu uhp terrane eastern china abstract in order to decipher fluid melt activity during subduction and subsequent exhumation of felsic continental crust we carried out a combined study of zircon internal structure zircon u pb age zircon trace element composition and whole rock geochemistry on migmatitic gneisses from the weihai region in the sulu ultra high pressure uhp metamorphic terrane eastern china the weihai migmatitic gneisses are composed of intercalated compositional layers of melanosome and plagioclase pl rich leucosome and k feldspar kfs rich pegmatite veins whole rock geochemistry suggests that mgo fe2o3t cao tio2 p2o5 rare earth elements ree and large ion lithophile elements hfse are nearly completely retained in the melanosome whereas significant amounts of lile e g rb ba k sr pb and u are partitioned into the pl rich leucosome and the kfs rich pegmatite veins the kfs rich pegmatite vein has much higher k2o u pb and rb but lower cao and na2o contents than those of the pl rich leucosome layer protolith magmatic zircon domains with an upper intercept age of about 780 ma are common in the cores of zircon grains from the melanosome and the pl rich leucosome layers indicating that the protolith of the migmatitic gneiss is mid neoproterozoic magmatic rock metamorphic zircons with concordant ages ranging from 243 to 256 ma occur as overgrowth mantles on the protolith magmatic zircon cores they are characterized by remarkably flat heavy rare earth element hree patterns without obviously negative eu anomalies and have low y and th contents low th u and high hf y ratios indicating a prograde metamorphism in the hp eclogite facies during subduction recrystallized rims of zircons 228 2 ma in the pl rich leucosome layer are similar to magmatic zircons in terms of their hree enriched patterns with negative eu anomalies high y and low th contents and low hf y and th u ratios this indicates that the gneiss has experienced decompressional partial melting and the pl rich leucosome layers were formed by fractional crystallization of the primary melt during the early stage hot exhumation zircon grains 219 2 ma in the kfs rich veins are characterized by aqueous fluid melt related signatures with strongly hree enriched patterns high u pb and low th contents and low th u and high lu hf ratios indicating that the pegmatite vein was formed by crystallization of residual aqueous melt after the crystallization of pl rich leucosome layers during later stage cooling during exhumation our results suggest that the migmatitic gneiss successively recorded information concerning the protolith prograde hp metamorphism during subduction fractional crystallization of primary melt and crystallization of the residual melt during exhumation

clinoenstatite exsolution in diopsidic augite of dabieshan garnet peridotite from depth of 300 km clinoenstatite exsolution lamellae have been discovered in clinopyroxene grains of garnet peridotite from the bixiling massif of the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic uhpm terrane in the dabie mountains china using transmission electron microscopy we show here that although the lamellae are low clinoenstatite lclen with p 2 1 c space group symmetry they contain nanometer scale antiphase domains indicating that the originally precipitating phase had c 2 c space group symmetry the lamellae are oriented parallel to 010 and 18 to 001 of the host approximately parallel to 401 both the very cold exhumation path of the dabie uhpm terrane and the orientation of the lamellae preclude the possibility that the originally precipitating phase could have been high temperature clinoenstatite htclen we conclude that the lamellae precipitated as high pressure clinoenstatite hpclen and subsequently inverted to lclen analysis of the incomplete high pressure crystallographic data available for compositions approximating those of the lamellae and host suggests a minimum pressure of precipitation of 9 gpa for dabie and about 12 gpa for similar exsolution previously observed in the alpe arami peridotite switzerland the bixiling complex is a crustal cumulate hence this result extends the minimum depth of subduction of continental rocks in the dabie sulu orogen to 300 km p 9 gpa

ultradeep metamorphic rocks the retrospective viewpoint ultradeep or ultra high pressure uhp metamorphic rocks formed from crustal protoliths within the stability field of coesite at pressures 2 5 3 0 gpa corresponding to depths 80 120 km occur locally though regionally distributed in at least five continental areas their recognition is solely based on characteristic minerals and mineral assemblages calibrated by experimental high pressure studies detailed petrographic and microprobe work especially on mineral inclusions in favorable cases allows the derivation of prograde pt paths during subduction and of retrograde ones during exhumation commonly the gneisses adjacent to the uhp rocks do not exhibit signs of ultradeep metamorphism apparently because the kinetics of their mineral reactions are sufficiently fast to allow complete reequilibration to shallower pt conditions during the retrograde path it is also possible however that uhp equilibria were not attained throughout the rock volumes subducted but only along zones of shearing and fluid introduction if it is true that not all uhp metamorphic rocks return to the crustal orogenic belts but some continue to be subducted to greater mantle depths the classical geochemical pattern of a one way mass transfer from mantle to crust throughout the earth s history is at stake the assumed gradual growth of continents may have had a counterpart of continent destruction during collision events most recent experimental studies at high pressures and relatively low temperatures show that at least three new hydrous mg a1 silicates exist that were not found in nature thus far but may be characteristic minerals in the cold portions of old subduction zones thus extending the water retentivity of subducting slabs to greater and hitherto unexpected depths

geochronology of fluid induced eclogite and amphibolite facies metamorphic reactions in a subduction collision system bergen arcs norway rb sr multimineral isochron data for metamorphic veins allow to date separate increments of the mineral reaction history of polymetamorphic terranes granulite facies rocks of the lindas nappe bergen arcs norway were subducted and exhumed during the caledonian orogeny the rocks show petrographic evidence for two distinct events of local fluid infiltration and vein formation along fractures and shear zones the first occurred at eclogite facies 15 21 kbar 650 750 c and a later one at amphibolite facies conditions 8 10 kbar 600 c the presence of fluids enabled local metamorphic equilibration only near fluid pathways in fluid absent domains preexisting assemblages were metastably preserved this resulted in a heterogeneity of metamorphic signatures on meter to m scales well preserved granulite facies rocks preserve their proterozoic rb sr mineral ages as does the u pb system of zircon in most lithologies six rb sr multimineral isochron ages for eclogite facies veins and their immediate wallrocks date the fluid induced eclogitization at 429 9 3 5 ma 2 weighted average mswd 0 39 an eclogite facies vein has yielded metamorphic zircon with concordant u pb ages of 429 3 ma identical to the u pb age of 427 4 0 9 ma for zircon xenocrysts in an amphibolite facies vein seven rb sr mineral isochron ages date amphibolite facies fluid infiltration at 414 2 2 8 ma mswd 1 5 an age value testifying to residence of the rocks in the deep orogenic crust at temperatures 600 c for nearly 15 ma the new data show that rb sr mineral isochron ages effectively date fluid induced re crystallization events rather than stages of cooling the direct link between isotopic ages and distinct petrographic equilibrium assemblages aids to constrain the evolution of rocks in the p t reaction time space which is essential for understanding exhumation histories and the internal dynamics of orogens in general

zircon geochemistry records the action of metamorphic fluid on the formation of ultrahigh pressure jadeite quartzite in the dabie orogen abstract a combined study of mineral inclusions u pb ages trace elements and hf o isotopes was carried out for zircons from a coesite bearing jadeite quartzite in the dabie orogen the results provide insights into the action of ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic fluids during continental deep subduction to a mantle depth and thus constraints on the origin of the jadeite quartzite in the continental subduction zone the zircons mostly show core rim structures in cathodoluminescence images the overgrown rims contain rare mineral inclusions and exhibit concordant u pb ages of 225 to 246 ma and flat hree patterns with negligible eu anomalies in contrast the relict cores contain uhp metamorphic mineral inclusions such as coesite jadeite and rutile and show discordant u pb ages ranging from 983 to 2045 ma and steep ree patterns with significant negative eu anomalies the u pb isotope data for the all cores and rims define an apparent discordia line with upper and lower intercept ages of 2000 43 ma and 234 18 ma respectively we interpret the rims with triassic ages as the new growth of metamorphic origin and the cores with precambrian ages as the protolith relics of magmatic origin the relict magmatic zircons underwent two subtypes of metamorphic recrystallization i e solid state transformation and metasomatic alteration the solid state recrystallized zircons exhibit slightly discordant u pb ages close to the protolith age steep mree hree patterns and almost unchanged hf isotope ratios these observations point to the lowest degree of resetting to the geochemical composition of protolith zircons in contrast the metasomatically recrystallized zircons exhibit partial resetting in protolith zircon ree composition and u pb and lu hf isotopic systems all of the zircon domains regardless of the rims and cores show relatively consistent 18 o values of 4 0 0 2 such a consistency indicates not only that the metamorphic fluids are of internal origin from the deeply subducted continental crust but also that the oxygen isotope composition of protolith zircons was reequilibrated with the uhp metamorphic fluids of triassic age the metasomatic recrystallization of protolith zircons is indicated by the occurrence of uhp inclusion minerals such as coesite rutile and jadeite in sealed microcracks in this regard the fluid metasomatism firstly took place along fractures of the relict zircons during prograde subduction of the continental crust and then experienced the metamorphic recrystallization to result in sealing of the fractures under the uhp conditions as such the metasomatic recrystallization has heterogeneously reset the u pb and lu hf isotope systems of protolith zircons the composition of inclusion minerals within the relict zircon cores suggests that the metamorphic fluids were rich in si ti na and al these elements would be acquired by the metamorphic fluids through metasomatic reaction of metagreywackes overlying the granitic orthogneiss therefore the jadeite quartzite would be precipitated from the uhp metamorphic fluids that were derived from dehydration of the underlying basement orthogneiss but reacted with the metagreywackes during the continental subduction zone metamorphism

lower mantle convection and geomagnetism the statistical properties of recent marine magnetic anomaly time scales covering the period from 165 ma to the present are analyzed via the methods presented in the companion paper mcfadden this issue the data no longer support the hypothesis that during the last 86 ma there were two periods separated by a discontinuity at about 45 ma when the properties were stationary instead there is strong evidence that the rate of reversals decreased in an approximately linear manner with time from 165 ma until it reached zero resulting in the cretaceous normal polarity interval at about 86 ma ago the process of reversals began again and the rate of reversals increased linearly with time there is a slight indication that the rate of reversals reached a maximum about 10 ma ago and is again decreasing analysis of the reversal sequences shows there is no good evidence for the concept of differences in the relative stabilities of the two polarity states nor need such a concept be invoked to explain long intervals without reversals such as the cretaceous normal polarity interval quite clearly there has been some form of thermal perturbation at the base of the mantle with a characteristic time of the order of 108 years our interpretations require convection deep within the mantle and suggest that the temperature at the base of the mantle attains a maximum during long magnetic quiet intervals

fluid regime in continental subduction zones petrological insights from ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks abstract intensive studies of ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic rocks in continental collision zones have provided petrological insights into the fluid regime during subduction and exhumation recent studies in the dabie sulu orogen of china have made important contributions to understanding fluid action in such systems hence these rocks are the main focus of this review sources of metamorphic fluid can be deduced from study of hydrous minerals structural hydroxyl and molecular water in nominally anhydrous minerals fluid and solid inclusions of uhp metamorphic minerals are also a record of fluid action in deep subduction zones the presence or absence of metamorphic fluid during subduction and exhumation dictates zircon growth and recrystallization making available materials for u pb dating isotopic dating demonstrates that after peak uhp metamorphism retrograde fluid with deuteric origin became active the decomposition of hydrous minerals and the exsolution of molecular water and structural hydroxyl during exhumation can provide sufficient amounts of aqueous fluid for quartz veining and amphibolite facies retrogression within uhp slabs aqueous fluid released by the exsolution of molecular water and structural hydroxyl from uhp nominally anhydrous minerals is characterized by low salinity and light hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions therefore one part of the uhp slab is a source of aqueous fluid whereas another part is a sink in both cases the fluid action during subduction and exhumation is episodic rather than continuous supplementary material a description of the dabie sulu uhp metamorphic rocks analytical methods la icpms zircon u pb isotope data and rare earth element compositions are available at http www geolsoc org uk sup18355

oxygen isotope geothermometers for metamorphic rocks the chicago mineral carbonate oxygen isotope fractionation curves have been combined with mineral water fractionation data for jadeite zoisite and rutile and new data for grossular water to provide a set of self consistent mineral pair calibrations the a coefficients in the equation 1000 in a 106t 2 of the new mineral pair fractionations are jadeite zoisite grossular rutile quartz 1 69 2 00 3 03 5 02 jadeite 0 31 1 34 3 33 zoisite 1 03 3 02 grossular 1 99 the isotopic fractionation properties of natural pyralspite garnet ca fe mg mn 3al2si3o12 can be approximated by those of the grossular end member appropriate substitutions also yield coefficients for the solid solution minerals sodic pyroxene and epidote e g aquartz sodic pyroxene 2 75 1 06xjd aquartz epidote 2 00 0 75xps where xjd and xps are the mole fractions of the jadeite and pistacite components respectively the new data set is particularly suitable for the geothermometry of metamorphic rocks 18o data from minerals of the high pressure metamorphic rocks of the sesia zone of italy and cyclades complex of greece yield well constrained mean temperatures of 572 and 478d c respectively type iii blueschist metabasalts of the franciscan formation of california give mean quartz garnet temperatures of 354d c

regional ultrahigh pressure coesite bearing eclogitic terrane in central china evidence from country rocks gneiss marble and metapelite the dabie mountains represent a fault bounded coesite bearing eclogite gneissic terrane within the collisional belt between the sino korean and yangtze cratons the following geologic evidence indicates that this terrane has been subjected to regional ultrahigh pressure metamorphism 1 the country rocks have a metamorphic pressure temperature evolution compatible with that of the eclogites on the basis of the occurrence of quartz pseudomorphs after coesite calcite pseudomorphs after aragonite relict high pressure assemblages in different rock types of the country rocks and consistent comparable compositional zonations of garnets in both country rocks and eclogites 2 peak metamorphic pressure temperature conditions consistently decrease both from east to west in the collisional belt and from north to south in the dabie mountains and clockwise pressure temperature paths are common for eclogites over the region 3 layered eclogites interbedded with gneisses and amphibolites contain omphacite kyanite and garnet indicating a minimum pressure of 20 kbar at 600 c for formation of these rocks

composition and pre metamorphic geodynamic setting of the ultrahigh pressure metabasic rocks from dabie shan e china as part of the yangtze plate segments of the dabie shan terrane of central china underwent ultra high pressure metamorphism during triassic subduction we studied the geochemistry of the abundant eclogites to evaluate the nature of the protoliths and their geodynamic setting although some previous geochemical work exists the analyses and interpretation herein are based on a new subdivision of the ultra high pressure sequence into basement and cover units changpu and ganghe unit revealing new and important results in addition eclogites of the so called hp unit south of the uhp units were studied whereas the large ion lithophile elements indicate postmagmatic metasomatic changes of some samples the high field strength elements and the rare earth elements display original magmatic trends the geochemical characteristics of the eclogites of the ultra high pressure areas display a strong dependence on their structural and geographic position the eclogites of the basement and the changpu unit indicate melt intrusion and extrusion in a continental rift system i e during extensional tectonics in contrast the ganghe unit is characterized by a pronounced chemical homogeneity the composition of the eclogites indicates generation from a mantle source highly influenced by slab derived fluids those of the hp unit show similar characteristics magmatism of the ganghe and hp unit probably occurred in a continental arc setting a similar age for both units geographically and or tectonically separated is possible the geodynamic interpretation based on the geochemistry of the four units points to a neoproterozoic scenario in which the protoliths of the hp and the cover units could have been of similar age and deposited in one evolving geological system a rift related larger scale basin might have formed e g a continental back arc basin behind a magmatic arc after or simultaneous to sedimentation and magmatism in the magmatic arc alternatively magmatism occurred in independent geodynamic settings distinct in time and space the units were juxtaposed during exhumation after subduction to varying depths

large areal extent of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism in the sulu ultrahigh pressure terrane of east china new implications from coesite and omphacite inclusions in zircon of granitic gneiss abstract coesite and omphacite inclusions have been identified for the first time as minute inclusions in zircon from amphibolite facies granitic orthogneiss in the sulu ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic terrane of eastern china by raman spectroscopy and microprobe analyses the occurrences of these minerals in the voluminous granitic gneiss of sulu support a regional and pervasive uhp metamorphic event that predated regional amphibolitic retrogression taking into account the widespread discoveries of coesite in other lithologies we thus conclude that a substantial crustal component in the sulu uhp metamorphic terrane appears to have shared a common history of triassic subduction to mantle depths and later exhumation

calculation of oxygen isotope fractionation in metal oxides abstract a theoretical model calculating the thermodynamic isotope factors of oxygen in metal oxides of geochemical interest is presented for temperatures between 0 and 1200 c on the basis of the modified increment method the following order of 18o enrichment is obtained cassiterite rutile magnetite ilmenite ulvospinel hematite uraninite chromite corundum spinel the results are expressed as 103 in a 106 t2 b 103 t c which compare well with existing theoretical experimental and empirical calibrations on quartz oxides and oxides water systems the present calculations enable not only estimation of the oxygen isotope composition of fluids from which the metal oxides were precipitated when independent temperature information is available but can also be applied as oxygen isotope geothermometers to igneous and metamorphic rocks

geomagnetic reversal frequency since the late cretaceous models of geomagnetic reversals as a stochastic or gamma renewal process have generally been tested for the heirtzler et al 1 magnetic polarity time scale which has subsequently been superseded examination of newer time scales shows that the mean reversal frequency is dominated in the cenozoic and late cretaceous by a linearly increasing trend on which a rhythmic fluctuation is superposed subdivision into two periods of stationary behavior is no longer warranted the distribution of polarity intervals is visibly not poissonian but lacks short intervals the labrecque et al 2 polarity time scale shows the positions of 57 small wavelength marine magnetic anomalies which may represent short polarity chrons after adding these short events the distribution of all polarity intervals in the age range 0 40 myr is stationary and does not differ significantly from a poisson distribution a strong asymmetry develops in which normal polarity chrons are poisson distributed but reversed polarity chrons are gamma distributed with indexk 2 this asymmetry is of opposite sense to previous suggestions and results from the unequal distribution of the short polarity chrons which are predominantly of positive polarity and concentrated in the late cenozoic if short wavelength anomalies arise from polarity chrons the geomagnetic field may be more stable in one polarity than the other alternative explanations of the origin of short wavelength marine magnetic anomalies cast doubt on the inclusion of them as polarity chrons however the observed behavior of reversal frequency suggests that core processes governing geomagnetic reversals possess a long term memory

dehydration melting of ultrahigh pressure eclogite in the dabie orogen evidence from multiphase solid inclusions in garnet several types of multiphase solid ms inclusions are identified in garnet from ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogite in the dabie orogen the mineralogy of ms inclusions ranges from pure k feldspar to pure quartz with predominance of intermediate types consisting of k feldspar quartz silicate plagioclase or epidote barite the typical ms inclusions are usually surrounded with radial cracks in the host garnet similar to where garnet contains relict coesite barite aggregates display significant heterogeneity in major element composition with total contents of only 57 73 and highly variable sio2 contents of 0 32 25 85 that are positively correlated with bao and so3 contents the occurrence of ms inclusions provides petrographic evidence for partial melting in the uhp metamorphic rock the occurrence of barite aggregates with variably high sio2 contents suggests the coexistence of aqueous fluid with hydrous melt under hp eclogite facies conditions thus local dehydration melting is inferred to take place inside the uhp metamorphic slice during continental collision this is ascribed to phengite breakdown during hot exhumation of the deeply subducted continental crust as a consequence the aqueous fluid is internally buffered in chemical composition and its local sink is a basic trigger to the partial melting during the continental subduction zone metamorphism

shrimp u pb dating trace elements and the lu hf isotope system of coesite bearing zircon from amphibolite in the sw sulu uhp terrane eastern china abstract in this study we link mineral inclusion data trace element analyses u pb age and hf isotope composition obtained from distinct zircon domains of complex zircon to unravel the origin and multi stage metamorphic evolution of amphibolites from the sulu ultrahigh pressure uhp terrane eastern china zircon grains separated from amphibolites from the ccsd mh drill hole g12 and niushan outcrop g13 were subdivided into two main types based on cathodoluminescence cl and laser raman spectroscopy big dusty zircons with inherited cores and uhp metamorphic rims and small clear zircons weakly zoned grey white luminescent inherited cores preserve mineral inclusions of cpx pl ap qtz indicative of a mafic igneous protolith dark grey luminescent overgrowth rims contain the coesite eclogite facies mineral inclusion assemblage coe grt omp phe ap and formed at t 732 839 c and p 3 0 4 0 gpa in contrast white luminescent small clear zircons preserve mineral inclusions formed during retrograde hp quartz eclogite to lp amphibolite facies metamorphism t 612 698 c and p 0 70 1 05 gpa inherited zircons from both samples yield shrimp 206 pb 238 u ages of 695 520 ma with an upper intercept age of 800 31 ma the uhp rims yield consistent triassic ages around 236 225 and 239 225 ma for g12 and g13 with weighted means of 229 3 and 231 3 ma respectively small clear zircons from both samples give 206 pb 238 u ages around 219 210 ma with a weighted mean of 214 3 ma interpreted as the age of retrograde quartz eclogite facies metamorphism matrix amphibole from both samples indicate ar ar ages of 209 0 7 and 207 0 7 ma respectively probably dating late amphibolite facies retrogression the data suggest subduction of neoproterozoic mafic igneous rocks to uhp conditions in middle triassic 230 ma times and subsequent exhumation to an early hp 214 ma and a late lp stage 208 ma over a period of 16 and 6 myr respectively thus early exhumation from a mantle depth of 120 100 km to about 60 km occurred at an average rate of 0 3 cm y while subsequent exhumation to a middle crustal level took place at approximately 0 54 cm y these exhumation rates are considerably slower than those obtained for uhp rocks in the dora maira and kokchetav massifs 2 3 cm y based on similar p t estimates and trace element and hf isotope compositions sulu amphibolites can be identified as retrograde uhp eclogites the ehf 800 of 8 implies a significant input from the depleted mantle to the sulu dabie terrane during the middle neoproterozoic overgrown rims are characterized by a distinct trace element composition with low lu hf and th u and significantly higher 176 hf 177 hf ratios than inherited cores consistent with formation during after garnet re crystallization and fractionation of the lu hf system during uhp metamorphism the combined dataset suggests homogenization of the 176 hf 177 hf ratio within the metamorphic mineral assemblage and during protolith formation observed variations are explained by mixing of material from both domains during laser ablation e g due to partial recrystallization of inherited cores

fluid inclusions in coesite bearing eclogites and jadeite quartzite at shuanghe dabie shan china fluid inclusions in coesite bearing eclogites and jadeite quartzite at shuanghe in dabie shan east central china have preserved remnants of early prograde and or peak metamorphic fluids reset during post uhp ultrahigh pressure metamorphic uplift inclusions occur in several minerals e g omphacite epidote notably as isolated primary inclusions in quartz included in various host minerals two major fluid types have been identified non polar fluid species n2 or co2 and aqueous the latter is by far the most predominant aqueous fluids cover a wide range of salinity from halite bearing brines to low salinity fluids for non polar fluids few n2 inclusions occur in undeformed eclogite whereas a number of co2 rich inclusions have been found in microshear zones of eclogite or jadeite quartzite in close proximity to marble occurrences the primary character of n2 and high salinity aqueous inclusions indicates that they are remnants from uhp metamorphic fluids and for some there is the distinct possibility that they are ultimately derived from pre metamorphic fluids this conclusion is supported by the preservation in some samples of microdomains containing synchronous inclusions of variable salinities which tend to relate to the chemical composition of the host crystal carbonic fluids may be derived from neighbouring rocks notably marble and carbonate bearing metasediments during post metamorphic uplift during post uhp exhumation a limited decrease of the fluid density has occurred with formation of new sets of fluid inclusions fluid movements however remained exceedingly limited at the scale of the enclosing crystal

oxygen and hydrogen isotope geochemistry of gneisses associated with ultrahigh pressure eclogites at shuanghe in the dabie mountains the oxygen and hydrogen isotope compositions of minerals and whole rock were determined for two types of gneiss biotite gneiss and granitic gneiss associated with ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogites in the shuanghe district of the eastern dabie mountains there are significant differences in 18o between the two gneisses the uhp biotite gneiss varying from 4 3 to 10 6 similar to the associated eclogites whereas the non uhp granitic gneiss ranges only from 3 8 to 1 2 the d values are similar in the two gneisses with 37 to 64 for epidote zoisite 92 to 83 for amphibole and 63 to 109 for biotite phengite hydrogen isotope disequilibrium among the coexisting hydroxyl bearing minerals is ascribed to retrograde exchange subsequent to amphibolite facies metamorphism oxygen isotopic equilibrium has been preserved among various minerals in both gneisses regardless of the large variation in rock 18o oxygen isotopic geothermometers yield different but regular temperatures corresponding to the closure temperatures of oxygen diffusion in the minerals the metamorphic temperatures of both eclogite facies and amphibolite facies have been recovered in mineral pairs from the biotite gneiss the isotopic temperatures for the granitic gneiss are mostly in accordance with amphibolite facies metamorphism however high temperatures of 550 to 650 c are obtained from those minerals resistant to retrograde oxygen isotope exchange implying that the granitic gneiss may have experienced higher temperature metamorphism than expected from petrologic thermometers the 18o depletion of both gneisses is interpreted to result from meteoric hydrothermal exchange before during plate subduction therefore the measured 18o values of the gneisses reflect the oxygen isotope compositions of their protoliths prior to the uhp metamorphism it is inferred that the uhp unit is in foreign contact with the non uhp unit like a tectonic melange but both of them experienced the two common stages of geodynamic evolution 1 18o depletion prior to the uhp metamorphism 2 uplifting since the amphibolite facies metamorphism

mechanism for geomagnetic polarity reversals recent studies of old magnetic observations1 and the seismic velocity of the lower mantle2 suggest that at least part of the geomagnetic secular variation is driven by temperature anomalies in the solid mantle3 in particular a patch of flux of opposite sign to that expected for a dipole field occurs beneath southern africa it has intensified throughout the twentieth century by a process that is believed to be flux expulsion associated with a particularly hot part of the lowermost mantle and is drifting westwards a similar patch lies beneath south america here i show that the present fall in the dipole moment is directly related to the intensification and southward movement of these patches and suggest the fall occasionally leads to polarity reversal the almost linear increase in the frequency of polarity reversals that has occurred since the cretaceous quiet interval is attributed to the growth of the hot patch of mantle presently under southern africa

transition of uhp eclogites to gneissic rocks of low amphibolite facies during exhumation evidence from the dabie terrane central china the shuanghe ultrahigh pressure uhp slab in the dabie mountains consists of layered coesite bearing eclogite jadeite quartzite marble and biotite gneiss and is fault bounded against hosting orthogneiss representative assemblages of eclogite are grt omp coe rt ky phn mgs it formed at p 27 kbar and 680 720 50 c during exhumation these uhp rocks experienced multistage retrograde metamorphism coesite was overprinted by quartz aggregates phengite by biotite muscovite and rutile by titanite garnet was successively replaced by a thin rim of amp amp pl and amp ep bt pl minor omphacite and kyanite were replaced by amp pl cpx or bt and by zo pl ms mrg bt respectively secondary calcite occurs as irregular pockets in some layers an outcrop near the uhp slab border is composed of 20 thin concordant layers of foliated eclogites amphibolite and gneissic rocks of variable bulk composition these layers exhibit mineral assemblages and textures transitional from less altered through extensively retrograded eclogite to gneissic rock of low amphibolite facies through hydration metasomatism and recrystallization retrograde metamorphism has caused oxygen and hydrogen isotope disequilibria between some of the minerals but the fluid for retrograde reactions was internally buffered in the stable isotope compositions retrograde metamorphism of variable extent may be attributed to selective infiltration of retrograde fluids of co2 rich and low salinity aqueous intensity of deformation and mineral resistance to alteration the fluid phase for retrogression may have occurred either as discontinuous flow along grain boundaries in completely retrograded eclogites and or as isolated pockets in extensive or less altered eclogite layers

u pb hf and o isotope evidence for two episodes of fluid assisted zircon growth in marble hosted eclogites from the dabie orogen abstract a combined study of internal structure u pb age and hf and o isotopes was carried out for metamorphic zircons from ultrahigh pressure eclogite boudins enclosed in marbles from the dabie orogen in china cl imaging identifies two types of zircon that are metamorphically new growth and recrystallized domain respectively the metamorphic zircons have low th and u contents with low th u ratios yielding two groups of 206 pb 238 u age at 245 3 to 240 2 ma and 226 4 to 223 2 ma respectively anomalously high 18 o values were obtained for refractory minerals with 9 9 to 21 4 for garnet and 16 9 for zircon this indicates that eclogite protolith is sedimentary rocks capable of liberating aqueous fluid for zircon growth during continental subduction zone metamorphism most of the zircons are characterized by very low 176 lu 177 hf ratios of 0 000001 0 000028 indicating their growth in association with garnet recrystallization a few of them falling within the older age group have comparatively high 176 lu 177 hf ratios of 0 000192 0 000383 suggesting their growth prior to the formation of garnet in the late stage of subduction the variations in the lu hf ratios for zircons can thus be used to correlate with garnet growth during eclogite facies metamorphism in either case the zircons have variable e hf t values for individual samples suggesting that their protolith is heterogeneous in hf isotope composition with localized fluid availability in the bulk processes of orogenic cycle nevertheless a positive correlation exists between 206 pb 238 u ages and lu hf isotope ratios for the metamorphically recrystallized zircons suggesting that eclogite facies metamorphism in the presence of fluid has the identical effect on zircon lu hf and u th pb isotopic systems we conclude that the zircons of the older group grew in the presence of fluid during the subduction prior to the onset of peak ultrahigh pressure metamorphism whereas the younger zircons grew in the presence of fluid released during the initial exhumation toward high pressure eclogite facies regime

on the analysis of paleomagnetic secular variation modern methods of geomagnetic field analysis can be applied to paleomagnetic data provided account is taken of the relatively sparse and inaccurate nature of paleomagnetic results paleomagnetism tends to produce data sets dominated by inclination measurements which do not provide a unique field model as an example two magnetic fields are found with closely similar inclinations but completely different declinations and strengths directional measurements are difficult to deal with because they are nonlinearly related to the field model the equations are simplified by linearizing the field about an axial dipole the approximation is adequate for paleomagnetic data and can be used to show that the vgp scatter function is not an appropriate estimate of the non axial dipole field even when averaged over longitude four assertions made in the paleomagnetic literature are shown to be correct within this linearization but are not true in general in particular equatorial symmetry of the vgp scatter functions for the separate symmetric quadrupole field holds within the approximation the virtual geomagnetic pole vgp scatter functions for the modern geomagnetic field has strong north south asymmetry but historical field models show it to be a relatively recent feature the vgp scatter function for the symmetric part of the field sq is dominated by the equatorial dipole and is approximately equal to the angular distance between the geomagnetic and geographic poles that for the antisymmetric part of the field sd is dominated by geomagnetic coefficients of degree 2 and order 1 surprisingly the axisymmetric quadrupole and octupole terms contribute very little highlighting the dangers of modeling the paleomagnetic field without regard to departures from axial symmetry

metamorphic evolution mineral chemistry and thermobarometry of schists and orthogneisses hosting ultra high pressure eclogites in the dabieshan of central china as is typical of ultra high pressure uhp terrains the regional extent of the uhp terrain in the dabieshan of central china is highly speculative since the volume of eclogites and paragneisses preserving unequivocal evidence of coesite and or diamond stability is very small by contrast the common garnet xmn 0 18 0 45 phengite si 3 2 3 35 zoned epidote ps38 97 biotite titanite two feldspars quartz assemblages in the more extensive orthogneisses have been previously thought to have formed under low p t conditions of ca 400 50 c at 4 kbar however certain orthogneiss samples preserve garnets with xca up to 0 50 rutile inclusions within titanite or epidote and relict phengite inclusions within epidote with si contents p f u of up to 3 49 overlapping with the highest values 3 49 3 62 recorded for phengites in samples of undoubted uhp schists these and other mineral composition features such as a site deficiencies in the highest si phengites na in garnets linked to y yb substitution and al f ti 1 o 1 substitution in titanites are taken to be pointers towards the orthogneisses having experienced a similar metamorphic evolution to the associated uhp schists and eclogites re evaluated garnet phengite and garnet biotite fe mg exchange thermometry and calculated 5 rutile 3 grossular 2sio2 h2o 5 titanite 2 zoisite equilibria indicate that the orthogneisses may indeed have followed a common subduction related clockwise p t path with the uhp paragneisses and eclogites through conditions of pmax at ca 690 c 715 c and 36 kbar to tmax at ca 710 c 755 c and 18 kbar prior to extensive re crystallisation and re equilibration of these ductile orthogneisses at ca 400 c 450 c and 6 kbar the consequential conclusion that it is no longer necessary to resort to models of tectonic juxtapositioning to explain the spatial association of these dabieshan orthogneisses with undoubted uhp lithologies has far reaching implications for the interpretation of controversial gneiss eclogite relationships in other uhp metamorphic terrains

oxygen isotope geochemistry of ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from 200 4000 m core samples of the chinese continental scientific drilling abstract oxygen isotope studies were carried out for ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from the main hole of the chinese continental scientific drilling in the sulu orogen the samples of interest include various types of lithology mainly eclogite and gneiss in a depth of 200 to 4000 m containing five continuous core segments between contrasting lithologies the results show a large variation in 18o value from 10 41 to 9 63 for constituent minerals distinct 18o depletions are observed in the frequently alternated layers of eclogite and gneiss in which the variations of 18o values are gradual regardless of lithologies both equilibrium and disequilibrium o isotope fractionations are observed between quartz and the other minerals special attention was paid to the relationship between distance petrography and 18o value of adjacent samples the results show o isotope heterogeneities between the different and same lithologies on scales of about 20 to 50 cm corresponding to the maximum scales of fluid mobility during the continental collision amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphism during exhumation caused mineral reactions and o isotope disequilibria between some of the minerals considerable changes occur in 18o and petrography at the contact between eclogite and gneiss suggesting that the contact between different lithologies is the most favorable place for fluid activity despite the widespread retrogression retrograde fluid was internally buffered in the stable isotope compositions the retrograde fluid is of deuteric origin and thus was derived from the decompression exsolution of structural hydroxyl although locally external fluids became available along fault zones and lithological layers it still acted within the exhumed slabs with internal origins fluid flow also took place after the amphibolite facies retrogression but it only affects the o isotope compositions of feldspar and mica premetamorphic protoliths are deduced to have heterogeneous 18o values due to varying degrees of meteoric water rock interaction before continental collision minimum depth of the 18o depletion is up to 3300 m together with areal 18o depletion in surface outcropped rocks along the dabie sulu orogenic belt at least 66 000 km3 of supracrustal rocks were interacted with meteoric water along the northern margin of the south china block during the neoproterozoic

geochemical and u pb age constraints on the occurrence of polygenetic titanites in uhp metagranite in the dabie orogen abstract relict magmatic titanite was identified in the core of a few titanite grains with the overgrown rim of metamorphic titanite in uhp metagranite in the dabie orogen la icpms u pb dating gave neoproterozoic ages for the magmatic titanite but triassic ages for the metamorphic titanite the magmatic and metamorphic titanites are clearly distinct by differences in petrological and geochemical compositions the magmatic titanite occurs as residual cores that show bright bse the presence of allanite and quartz inclusions low contents of cao al2o3 and tio2 but high contents of fe2o3 and mgo in trace elements the magmatic titanite exhibits high ree and hfse contents distinctly negative eu anomalies with flat mree hree patterns and high th u ratios in contrast the metamorphic titanite occurs as rims and grains of homogeneously dark bse that contain inclusions of epidote quartz k feldspar rutile biotite and phengite and have relatively high contents of cao al2o3 and tio2 but low contents of fe2o3 and mgo and relatively low ree and hfse contents slightly negative eu anomalies with hree depletion relative to mree and low th u ratios the zr in titanite thermometry yields 727 to 877 c at 0 5 to 1 0 gpa for the magmatic titanite and 729 to 870 c at 1 5 to 2 0 gpa for the metamorphic titanite the neoproterozoic u pb chronometric system of magmatic titanite survived the triassic continental subduction zone hp uhp metamorphism this suggests a relatively high closure temperature of 800 c for the titanite u pb system the metamorphic titanite is principally a product of retrograde metamorphism during decompression exhumation at the transition from hp eclogite facies to amphibolite facies therefore titanite holds a great potential to geochronological and petrogenetic studies of continental subduction zone metamorphic rocks

protolith control on fluid availability for zircon growth during continental subduction zone metamorphism in the dabie orogen abstract different episodes of zircon growth are recognized by a combined study of cl images mineral inclusions u pb ages trace elements and lu hf isotopes for ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogite facies metamorphic rocks in the dabie orogen the results provide insights into the effect of protolith property on fluid liberation during continental collision fluid availability from premetamorphic protoliths of different origins is recognized as a key to the zircon growth zircon u pb dating for uhp metabasalt and metasediment eclogite and its host paragneiss yields two groups of ages at 244 3 and 225 2 ma respectively mineral inclusion trace element and lu hf isotope analyses also suggest that these two groups of zircon grew from hydrous melt during the final subduction and supercritical fluid during the initial exhumation respectively in contrast zircon u pb dating for uhp metaintrusive rocks granitic orthogneiss and its hosted eclogite gave only one group of age at 222 2 ma mineral inclusion trace element and lu hf isotope analyses suggest that the metamorphic zircon grew from aqueous fluid during the initial exhumation the difference between the two groups of zircon u pb dates is attributed to the difference in their protolith origin volcanic and sedimentary rocks contain large amounts of water primarily in the form of molecular water pore fluid so that considerable amounts of aqueous fluid can be released from them during subduction this episode of fluid action was recorded by the growth of anatectic zircon at 244 ma in contrast intrusive rock only contains small amounts of water primarily in the form of structural hydroxyl in crystalline minerals so that little fluid can be released from them during subduction nevertheless large amounts of retrograde fluid were released from uhp metamorphic rocks regardless of their protolith origin during decompression exhumation this episode of fluid action was recorded by the growth of metamorphic and anatectic zircons at 220 225 ma therefore the protolith property is a key to the liberation of aqueous fluid from metamorphosing rocks during subduction which has great bearing on partial melting element transport and mineral growth during continental subduction zone metamorphism

basement cover sequences within the uhp unit of the dabie shan field data define two lithologically distinct basement cover sequences within the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic uhpm unit of the dabie shan eastern china one of the cover units the changpu unit comprises calc arenitic metasediments in stratigraphic contact with a basement consisting of gneisses of the yangtze craton the second cover unit the ganghe unit consists of felsic intermediate metavolcanics and clastic metasediments basement exposure of the ganghe unit is not known fold axes in the ganghe unit are oblique to those of the changpu unit which are parallel to those of the yangtze gneisses preservation of primary textures in some volcanic rocks and tectonic separation from the yangtze gneisses by a greenschist facies mylonite support an interpretation of the ganghe unit as a low strain domain protolith associations in the ganghe and changpu units are compatible with deposition in a rift setting and along a passive continental margin respectively a u pb single zircon age of 761 33 ma for volcanoclastic rocks of the ganghe unit demonstrates a neoproterozoic deposition age concordant with inferred rifting at that time eclogite facies parageneses in the gneisses and both cover units along with p t data demonstrate regional uhpm in the dabie shan

mineral oxygen isotope and hydroxyl content changes in ultrahigh pressure eclogite gneiss contacts from chinese continental scientific drilling project cores a combined study of mineral o isotopes and hydroxyl contents was carried out for the contacts between ultrahigh pressure eclogite and gneiss from main hole of the chinese continental scientific drilling project in the sulu orogen while there is a large d 18 o variation from 8 3 to 7 3 for all minerals different styles of mineral pair fractionation occur at the boundaries of different lithologies both equilibrium and disequilibrium o isotope fractionations are observed between quartz and the other minerals with reversed fractionations between omphacite and garnet in some samples of eclogite this suggests that both eclogite and gneiss acquired their negative d 18 o values by meteoric hydrothermal alteration of their protoliths at high temperatures before subduction and that fluid assisted o isotope exchange did take place across the boundary of different lithologies at local scales during amphibolite facies retrogression fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis yielded h2o concentrations of 50 to 1144 p p m by weight for garnet and 139 to 751 p p m for omphacite the state of equilibrium or disequilibrium o isotope fractionations between omphacite and garnet are correlated with variations in their water content at local scales indicating that the internally derived fluid plays a critical role in retrograde metamorphism during exhumation the retrograde metamorphism results in mineral reactions and o isotope disequilibria between some of the minerals but the fluid for retrogression was derived from the decompression exsolution of structural hydroxyl and thus internally buffered in the o isotope composition a quantitative estimate suggests that a hand specimen 3 6 9 cm of eclogite composed of 70 garnet and 30 omphacite can release 0 316 g water by the decompression exsolution of structural hydroxyl which can form 14 4 g amphibole during exhumation this provides sufficient amounts of water for the amphibolite facies retrogression

petrology geochemistry and isotope data on a ultrahigh pressure jadeite quartzite from shuanghe dabie mountains east central china abstract in the dabie ultrahigh pressure terrane of east central china coesite bearing jadeite quartzites occur locally as intercalated layers with marble and mafic eclogite this rock assemblage is in turn enclosed within quartzofeldspathic gneisses metamorphic parageneses and kelyphitic textures reveal a multistage metamorphic evolution and complex exhumation history the primary peak metamorphic assemblage consists of jadeite garnet coesite rutile apatite minor coesite and coesite pseudomorphs occur as inclusions in jadeite and garnet three stages of retrograde assemblages are observed in the jadeite quartzites stage a is represented by the polymorphic transformation of coesite to quartz aggregates stage b is characterized by formation of coronas around jadeite porphyroblasts consisting of an inner layer of oligoclase amphibole and an outer layer of albite aegirine augite the last stage stage c involved total replacement of jadeite and most garnets by taramitic amphibole albite aegirine augite peak metamorphic p t conditions were 26 kbar at 660 c and are consistent with the estimates from the adjacent coesite bearing eclogites the jadeite quartzites display clockwise p t path that matches those of the adjacent eclogites major and trace element data suggest that the protolith of the jadeite quartzite could have been an albitized siltstone enriched in na and depleted in k and ca the highly negative present day end value 24 7 indicates a very old age for the protolith its late archean model age tdm of 2 58 ga is among the oldest so far identified for rocks from the dabie uhpm terrane concordant field relations and petrogenetic considerations suggest that all mafic politic carbonate and gneissic rocks have experienced in situ uhp metamorphism during triassic continental collision between the sino korean and yangtze cratons

calculation of oxygen isotope fractionation in hydroxyl bearing silicates abstract the modified increment method has been applied to the calculation of oxygen isotope fractionation factors for hydroxyl bearing silicate minerals the order of 18o enrichment obtained in common rock forming minerals is pyrophyllite kaolinite tourmaline talc prehnite topaz illite phengite lepidolite muscovite staurolite epidote glaucophane serpentine chlorite tremolite hornblende phlogopite biotite humite norbergite ilvaite hydroxyl bearing silicates are enriched in 18o relative to hydroxyl groups but depleted in 18o relative to anhydrous counterparts three sets of self consistent fractionation factors between quartz and the hydroxyl bearing silicate minerals between calcite and the silicate minerals and between the silicate minerals and water have been calculated for a temperature range of 0 1200 c the fractionation factors calculated for mineral pairs are applicable to isotopic geothermometry in igneous metamorphic and sedimentary petrology they can be used as a test of isotopic equilibrium or disequilibrium in natural mineral assemblages over all temperature ranges of geological interest the difference in oxygen isotope composition between the hydroxyl bearing mineral and the oh group is quantitatively demonstrated to be temperature dependent and therefore can be used as a single mineral geothermometer

dynamo waves and palaeomagnetic secular variation summary a dynamic model is proposed for large amplitude geomagnetic secular variation with periodicity in the range of 1000 3000yr thermal convection in the lower mantle imposes a spatially variable heat flux at the core mantle boundary if the total heat loss from the core exceeds approximately 3 x 10 2w then both i a convective layer and ii large scale quasigeostrophic shear flows are likely to exist beneath the core mantle boundary the combined effects of convection and shear at the top of the outer core can generate three dimensionally propagating magnetic field disturbances called cuw dynamo waves an analysis is made of the surface magnetic field disturbances due to dynamo wave propagation in the outer core in the presence of turbulent convection and an east west shear flow nonaxisymmetric disturbances exhibit the following characteristics i dynamo waves propagate in each hemisphere with a poleward or equatorward component depending on the sign of the a effect ii both eastward and westward propagation is allowed althcugh westward propagation is preferred the apparent velocity at the earth s surface is the sum of propagation and drift velocities in the core iii dynamo wave disturbances are transient with exponential growth and decay phases iv traces of inclination versus declination of individual fourier components obey runcorn s circularity rule a comparison is made with lake sediment secular variation records from central north america measured by lund banerjee the band passed time series and the major inclination declination loops can be modelled from 2600 to 10 000 yr bp by a single dynamo wave periodic in 2400 yr propagating under the site along an azimuth of 345 between 0 and 2600 yr bp the record can be modelled by addition of a wave with 1200yr period propagating along an azimuth of 30 this indicates that the palaeomagnetic secular variation record in north america to 10 000 yr may be dominated by poleward propagating wave like disturbances

behavior of calcium isotopes during continental subduction recorded in meta basaltic rocks abstract in order to investigate the behavior of ca isotopes during subduction we report high precision ca isotopic data of a suit of well characterized meta basaltic rocks from the dabie sulu orogen including six greenschists six amphibolites and seven eclogites except two samples that may have been affected by carbonation alteration greenschists amphibolites and eclogites yield comparable 44 42ca values ranging from 0 36 to 0 41 0 32 to 0 39 and 0 32 to 0 42 respectively overall dabie sulu meta basaltic rocks have an average 44 42ca of 0 37 0 06 2sd n 17 19 comparable to terrestrial basalts previously reported 0 36 0 05 2sd n 34 combined with no correlation of 44 42ca with h2o and rb tio2 this study suggests that prograde metamorphism dehydration cannot significantly fractionate ca isotopic compositions of meta basaltic rocks given the comparable cao contents in meta basaltic rocks with increasing metamorphism grade isotope fractionation may be limited by insignificant ca loss during dehydration two heavy greenschists with 44 42ca of 0 46 and 0 49 also have high co2 concentrations indicating carbonation alteration that is evidenced by 0 04m hcl leaching experiments the limited 44 42ca variation observed in the other metamorphic samples is most likely inherited from their igneous protoliths considering that terrestrial basalts have 44 42ca systematically lower than the upper mantle subduction of mafic lithologies e g oceanic slabs thus could reflux light ca isotopes back into the mantle and may create mantle heterogeneity

the secular variation of earth s magnetic field models of the magnetic field at the core mantle boundary at selected epochs from 1715 0 to 1980 0 reveal novel features in the field at the core these suggest that the flow of core fluid is coupled to the mantle and that magnetic diffusion is significant

polyphase formation and exhumation of high to ultrahigh pressure rocks in continental subduction zone numerical modeling and application to the sulu ultrahigh pressure terrane in eastern china 1 high to ultrahigh pressure hp uhp metamorphic rocks commonly form and exhume during the early continental collision and many questions related to their origin still remain unresolved we focus our study on explaining the poly metamorphic origins of many hp uhp terranes composed of tectonic units having strongly variable ages peak metamorphic conditions and p t paths these features are especially well characterized for the sulu uhp terrane in eastern china which we have chosen therefore as the reference case we conducted 2 d thermomechanical numerical modeling of continental subduction associated with formation and exhumation of hp uhp rocks our experiments suggest existence of several consequent episodes of u hp rocks exhumation related to the inherently cyclic origin of continental crust subduction detachment exhumation processes three major phases of these processes are identified in our reference model for the sulu uhp terrane 1 first and 2 second exhumation episodes of hp rocks originated in the subduction channel at lithospheric depths and 3 exhumation of uhp rocks originated at asthenospheric depths numerical models also suggest that subducted uhp rocks which are positively buoyant compared to the mantle may detach from the slab forming a flattened plume underplating the overriding lithosphere this sublithospheric plume may exist for several million years being heated to 800 900 c by the surrounding hot mantle at the later stage upward extrusion of hot partially molten rocks from the plume may exhume high temperature ht uhp complexes toward the surface

the formation of foliated garnet bearing granites in the tongbai dabie orogenic belt partial melting of subducted continental crust during exhumation foliated garnet bearing fgb granites are associated closely with and are usually the major wall rocks of the high pressure hp and ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic rocks in the tongbai dabie region the mid segment of the qinling dabie sulu orogenic belt in central china these granites appear either as small plutons or as veins which commonly intrude into or surround the hp and uhp metamorphic eclogites or gneisses the veins of fgb granites usually penetrate into the retrograded eclogites or gneisses along the foliations condensation rims can occasionally be found along the margins of granite veins these granites are rich in si and alkali with high ga al ratios and depleted in ca mg al ti sc v ni co cr and sr which are similar to a type granites in a chondrite normalized diagram the samples are light rare earth elements enriched with different extent of negative eu anomaly moreover rb nb ta sr p and ti show different degrees of negative anomalies whereas ba k la zr and hf show positive anomalies in the primitive mantle normalized diagram negative anomalies of eu and sr indicate strong influence of plagioclase in conventional discrimination diagrams these fgb granites belong to the a type granite with geochemical characteristics affinitive to post collisional granites the end 230 ma values 15 80 to 2 52 and tdm values 1 02 2 07 ga suggest that magma for the fgb granites were derived from a heterogeneous crustal source therefore the fgb granites may provide clues for deciphering the formation of post collisional granites it is proposed that the magma of the fgb granites both in the hp and uhp units was formed in an extensional tectonic setting slightly post dating the hp and uhp metamorphism most likely as a result of decompressional partial melting of uhp retrograded eclogites during exhumation

core mantle interactions abstract recent studies of the magnetic field at the core mantle boundary have revealed fixed sites of either static magnetic features or persistent secular variation this suggests part of the magnetic field behaviour is controlled by the mantle the most plausible mechanism for core mantle interaction is thermal coupling although topography may also be significant the magnetic sites coincide with anomalies in lower mantle seismic velocity as determined from tomography and density as determined by flow models of mantle convection constrained by tomography and the geoid some magnetic features coincide with subduction zones particularly those near indonesia they may be caused by bumps on the core mantle boundary beneath trenches paleomagnetic pole positions suggest the magnetic behaviour has persisted for at least 5 myr as would be expected if it were controlled from the mantle

mapping the lower mantle determination of lateral heterogeneity in p velocity up to degree and order 6 the data from the international seismological centre bulletins for the years 1964 1979 are used to derive a three dimensional model of lateral variations of the p velocity in the lower mantle unlike previous studies in which such perturbations were represented by a blocklike parameterization we seek the solution in the form r k 0k l 0l m 0l k r kalm cos m kblm sin m plm cos some 500 000 travel time residuals for teleseismic distances from 5000 earthquakes are used in an iterative procedure to derive the coefficients a and b the maximum k and l used are 4 and 6 respectively in each iteration in addition to solving for the three dimensional structure we also relocate all the earthquakes perturb the average travel time curve and determine station corrections for over 1000 stations particular attention is given to the problem of weighting the individual observations in order to avoid as much as possible the bias due to the uneven distribution of sources and receivers the resulting model shows a high level of perturbations just below the 670 km discontinuity and just above the core mantle boundary where the maximum perturbations reach 1 1 5 of the average velocity even for this highly smoothed model at a depth of 2000 km the rms perturbations are some 3 to 4 times lower than at either of the two boundaries the model predicts well the large scale pattern of observed travel time residuals for various source regions except for the distinct effects of the subduction zones the most striking large scale three dimensional feature of the model is a ring of high velocities circumscribing the pacific basin within a depth range from 1000 km to the core mantle boundary if the proportionality between perturbations in the velocity and temperature is assumed the derived pattern of anomalies could be consistent with a two boundary layer model of convection in the lower mantle some caution however should be exercised in interpreting the results near the 670 km discontinuity where the resolving power of our data set is limited by the lack of adequate control of the upper mantle structure at the same time a significant global increase in the level of perturbations in the lowermost mantle is established beyond question the results of dziewonski et al 1977 on the correlation between the equivalent geoid and the observed geoid for the angular order numbers 2 and 3 is confirmed but there is no significant correlation for degrees from 4 to 6 these calculations are made for the rigid earth richards and hager this issue show that introduction of finite viscosity can change the sign of a geoid anomaly in addition recent studies of lateral variations in the shear velocity reveal the presence of large scale anomalies in the upper mantle thus while the inferences made here with respect to the origin of the gravest orders of the geopotential field are not conclusive they point the way in which results from seismology can be used to address some of the basic questions of geodynamics

persistent high paleosecular variation activity in southern hemisphere for at least 10 000 years abstract direct observations of the geomagnetic field show that secular variation is strong in the atlantic hemisphere and comparatively reduced in the pacific region the dipole has been decaying since at least 1840 ad driven by growth and migration of reverse flux patches in the southern hemisphere we investigate whether anything like this modern pattern of geomagnetic secular variation persists and can be detected in global paleomagnetic field models synthesis of results from two new time varying spherical harmonic models shows that geographically distinct geomagnetic secular variation extends to at least 10 000 bp the models use the same database but differ in methodology leading to some regional differences in results consistent large scale surface features include strong average fields in the northern hemisphere and weaker fields with greater overall variability in the south longitudinal structure is present with weaker average fields in the western pacific than in the east and prominent negative inclination anomalies extending beneath indonesia across africa and to brazil but weaker anomalies in the central pacific marginally positive inclination anomalies occur west of the americas paleosecular variation activity peaks at high southern latitudes and there is a pattern of reduced activity at equatorial and mid latitudes beneath the pacific although the dipole has exhibited both growth and decay over the interval 0 10 000 bp our results show that geomagnetic paleosecular variation is preferentially focused in similar geographic regions to secular variation seen in the modern field

magnetic boundary layers in numerical dynamos with heterogeneous outer boundary heat flux abstract it has been proposed that magnetic flux expulsion due to outer core fluid upwellings may affect the geomagnetic secular variation on the core mantle boundary bloxham 1986 in this process intense horizontal field lines are concentrated below the outer boundary introducing small radial length scales and consequently strong radial diffusion here we explore such magnetic boundary layers in numerical dynamo simulations with heterogeneous outer boundary heat flux inferred from a tomographic model of lower mantle seismic shear waves velocity anomalies our scheme associates magnetic boundary layers to peak horizontal magnetic fields at the top of the shell in our models mean magnetic boundary layer thickness ranges 200 400 km and decreases with increasing magnetic reynolds number extrapolation or interpolation to earth s core conditions based on total core flow amplitude or its poloidal part gives mean magnetic boundary layer thickness of 220 and 260 330 km respectively we find magnetic boundary layers associated with the azimuthal field at the equatorial region whereas magnetic boundary layers associated with the meridional field are found at mid latitudes negative outer boundary heat flux anomalies yield preferred locations of expulsion of azimuthal field below africa and the pacific while positive outer boundary heat flux anomalies yield preferred locations of expulsion of meridional field below the americas and east asia furthermore we find a tendency of the azimuthal field to low latitudes of the northern hemisphere our results suggest that the local diffusion time is on the order of several kyr and the local magnetic reynolds number is on the order of 10 both much smaller than classical estimates

thermal core mantle interactions maps of the magnetic field at the core mantle boundary for 1715 1980 reveal static features in the field and an absence of westward drift from much of the core mantle boundary the static features suggest that flow in the core is coupled to the mantle we examine different coupling mechanisms and predict lateral inhomogeneity at the core mantle boundary comparison with models of the lower mantle and core mantle boundary derived seismically and from the geoid is encouraging though their resolution is currently inadequate for a full comparison to be made with the much better resolved magnetic field

slow subduction of a thick ultrahigh pressure terrane 1 high precision lu hf and sm nd ages reported here cover a large portion of the western gneiss region wgr ultrahigh pressure uhp terrane norway and range from 413 9 3 7 to 397 1 4 8 ma collectively new and existing geochronologic data for eclogites demonstrate that eclogite facies metamorphism occurred over a large area 60 000 km2 for an unexpectedly long period of 20 ma a thermal model using slow subduction 2 4 mm a 1 of a relatively warm and thick slab can reproduce the observed p t t history of the wgr uhp terrane indicating that large uhp terranes with protracted peak or near peak histories probably reflect slow subduction of relatively thick crustal sections

hydrogen and oxygen isotope evidence for fluid rock interactions in the stages of pre and post uhp metamorphism in the dabie mountains abstract hydrogen and oxygen isotope studies were carried out on high and ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks in the eastern dabie mountains china the 18 o values of eclogites cover a wide range of 4 2 to 8 8 but the d values of micas from the eclogites fall within a narrow range of 87 to 71 both equilibrium and disequilibrium oxygen isotope fractionations were observed between quartz and the other minerals with reversed fractionations between omphacite and garnet in some eclogite samples the 18 o values of 4 to 1 for some of the eclogites represent the oxygen isotope compositions of their protoliths which underwent meteoric water rock interaction before the high to ultrahigh pressure metamorphism heterogeneous 18 o values for the eclogite protoliths implies not only the varying degrees of the water rock interaction before the metamorphism at different localities but also the channelized flow of fluids during progressive metamorphism due to rapid plate subduction retrograde metamorphism caused oxygen and hydrogen isotope disequilibria between some of the minerals but the fluid for retrograde reactions was internally buffered in the stable isotope compositions and could be derived from structural hydroxyls dissolved in nominally anhydrous minerals

origin of retrograde fluid in ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks constraints from mineral hydrogen isotope and water content changes in eclogite gneiss transitions in the sulu orogen abstract by taking advantage of having depth profiles between contrasting lithologies from core samples of the chinese continental scientific drilling ccsd project a combined study was carried out to examine changes in mineral h isotope total water and hydroxyl contents in garnet and omphacite across the contacts between ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogite and gneiss in the sulu orogen east central china the samples of interest were from two continuous core segments from the ccsd main hole at depths of 734 21 737 16 and 929 67 932 86 m respectively the results show d values of 116 to 64 for garnet and 104 to 82 for omphacite consistent with incorporation of meteoric water into protoliths of uhp metamorphic rocks by high t alteration both equilibrium and disequilibrium h isotope fractionations were observed between garnet and omphacite suggesting fluid assisted h isotope exchange at local scales during amphibolite facies retrogression while bulk water analysis gave total h2o concentrations of 522 1584 ppm for garnet and 1170 20745 ppm for omphacite structural hydroxyl analysis yielded h2o contents of 80 413 ppm for garnet and 228 412 ppm for omphacite it appears that significant amounts of molecular h2o are present in the minerals pointing to enhanced capacity of water storage in the uhp eclogite minerals hydrogen isotope variations in the transition between eclogite and gneiss show correlations with variations in their water contents petrographically the degree of retrograde metamorphism generally increases with decreasing distance from the eclogite gneiss boundary thus retrograde metamorphism results in mineral reactions and h isotope variation because hydroxyl solubility in nominally anhydrous minerals decreases with dropping pressure significant amounts of water are expected to be released from the minerals during decompression exhumation decompression exsolution of structural hydroxyl from 1 m3 volume of eclogite composed of only garnet and omphacite results in release of a quantitative estimate of 3 07 3 44 kg water that can form 140 156 kg amphibole during exhumation therefore it is concluded that fluid for retrogression of the eclogites away from the eclogite gneiss boundary was derived from the decompression exsolution of structural hydroxyl and molecular h2o in nominally anhydrous minerals for the eclogites adjacent to gneiss in contrast the retrograde metamorphism was principally caused by aqueous fluid from the gneiss which is relatively rich in water consequently both the origin and availability of metamorphic fluid during exhumation of deeply subducted continental crust are deciphered by this combined study focusing on the transitions and the retrograde processes between the felsic and mafic uhp rocks

geomagnetic secular variation we analyse over 175000 magnetic observations from an interval spanning 1695 1980 to produce a sequence of maps of the magnetic field at the core mantle boundary we find that even the earlier data enable us to determine reliable maps we produce these maps at approximately 60 year intervals through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and at 10 year intervals in the twentieth century this span of maps is long enough to render straightforward the distinction between static and drifting features in the field we observe that some features show no sign whatsoever of drift over the entire 285 year time interval although others drift westwards in particular we observe that the secular variation is very low beneath the pacific ocean but beneath southern africa and the south atlantic ocean we observe rapid secular variation we interpret the morphology of the static field in terms of a simple model of the dynamo and conjecture that interactions between the core and the mantle are an important element of the process as part of the static field we identify four main concentrations of flux two in each hemisphere at high latitudes these features largely account for the earth s axial dipole moment we find unequivocal evidence that magnetic flux has not remained frozen over the time span of our models much of the diffusive behaviour that we identify is associated with the formation of a pair of flux spots a core spot beneath southern africa early in this century nevertheless we are able to construct maps that satisfy a set of necessary conditions for frozen flux and use these maps to construct maps of the core surface fluid flow based on the steady flow hypothesis although we find no strong evidence against the steady flow hypothesis we do find some grounds on which to doubt the validity of the flow maps

how persistent is the present trend of the geomagnetic field to decay and possibly to reverse abstract recent studies provide evidence for a possible imminent change of polarity or an excursion of the geomagnetic field in this paper we explore the possibility that the present trends are persistent looking at the behaviour of some physical quantities of the recent geomagnetic field with particular attention to the last century analysis of the mean square value of the field over the last 400 years shows a linear decay that if extrapolated will be zero in around 1000 years while if we extrapolate the field over antarctica it will go to zero in around 300 years the information content of the geomagnetic field has been decaying from around 1690 but began to decrease more rapidly at around 1775 and even more rapidly after 1900 an intermittent synchronicity between the exponential field decay and the increase latitudinal speed of the south geomagnetic pole with similar decaying or growing timescales can be interpreted as evidence for a present persistent turbulence of the geomagnetic field from this work it emerges that the present situation is likely to persist further into the future probably for another century but longer predictions are not possible

petrology of ultrahigh pressure rocks from the southern su lu region eastern china abstract in the su lu ultrahigh p terrane eastern china many coesite bearing eclogite pods and layers within biotite gneiss occur together with interlayered metasediments now represented by garnet quartz jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite in addition to garnet omphacite rutile coesite other peak stage minerals in some eclogites include kyanite phengite epidote zoisite talc nyboite and high al titanite the garnet quartz jadeite rock and kyanite quartzite contain jadeite quartz garnet rutile zoisite apatite and quartz kyanite garnet epidote phengite rutile omphacite assemblages respectively coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur as inclusions in garnet omphacite jadeite kyanite and epidote from both eclogites and metasediments study of major elements indicates that the protolith of the garnet quartz jadeite rock and the kyanite quartzite was supracrustal sediments most eclogites have basaltic composition some have experienced variable crustal contamination or metasomatism and others may have had a basaltic tuff or pyroclastic rock protolith the su lu ultrahigh p rocks have been subjected to multi stage recrystallization and exhibit a clockwise p t path inclusion assemblages within garnet record a pre eclogite epidote amphibolite facies metamorphic event ultrahigh p peak metamorphism took place at 700 890 c and p 28 kbar at c 210 230 ma the symplectitic assemblage plagioclase hornblende epidote biotite titanite implies amphibolite facies retrogressive metamorphism during exhumation at c 180 200 ma metasedimentary and metamafic lithologies have similar p t paths several lines of evidence indicate that the supracrustal rocks were subducted to mantle depths and experienced in situ ultrahigh p metamorphism during the triassic collision between the sino korean and yangtze cratons