behavior of rare earth elements in a paleoweathering profile on granodiorite in the front range colorado usa abstract a paleoweathering profile on the boulder granodiorite in northern colorado provides an opportunity to trace the behavior of rees from parent rock through a weathering profile into unconformably overlying permian sediments with progressive upward weathering of the granodiorite na2o cao sio2 ta hf co th cr sc cr th zr hf la sc zr y and la th decrease al2o3 and fe2o3t increase and tio2 mgo k2o p2o5 rb zr sc cr co hf nb ta y th u ree ti nb and zr nb increase to maximum values and then either level off or decrease lree enrichment is less in the weathering profile than in the parent granodiorite and although the parent does not have an eu anomaly or only a slight positive anomaly all samples from the weathering profile and overlying sediments have significant negative eu anomalies this observation is especially important in that it shows conclusively that a negative eu anomaly can be produced during chemical weathering of granitoids we suggest these eu anomalies are due to relative enrichment of the other rees and partial loss of eu during the breakdown of plagioclase the boulder weathering profile also has a very minor negative ce anomaly that is within error of a ce anomaly in the parent in the unweathered parent 50 of the ree are contained in sphene and in the case of la also in allanite from 10 20 of the ree are contained in apatite and biotite hornblende and from 7 10 of the hrees are in zircon with exception of eu for which feldspars contribute about 8 negligible amounts of rees occur in the feldspars in weathered samples 75 of the rees are contained in clay minerals the crossover between sphene and clay control of rees occurs over a distance of 1 m near the contact with fresh rock except for their small negative eu anomalies the clay minerals have ree patterns very similar to those of the parent rock isocon plots suggest apparent enrichments of many elements in the boulder weathering profile result from losses of na ca and si during plagioclase weathering in addition variable amounts of sr eu ta nb p and ba were lost during weathering although th u zr y th sc zr hf lu hf and ti zr may have been transferred relatively unchanged from granodiorite parent to the bulk weathering profile most other element ratios and ree distributions were significantly changed during weathering this observation implies that caution needs to be exercised when using ree patterns and element ratios to trace sediment provenance the fact that most element ratios and ree distributions also differ between fountain sediments and the bulk weathering profile may be related to one or a combination of four factors listed in order of probable decreasing importance contribution of other sources to the fountain sediments sorting of minerals during sediment deposition remobilization of elements during diagenesis and leaching of elements by water flow through the upper meter of the weathering profile

first cycle quartz arenites in the orinoco river basin venezuela and colombia modern first cycle quartz arenites are forming in the orinoco drainage basin by at least two distinct mechanisms common to both mechanisms is an environment of intense chemical weathering and extended time over which weathering can occur in the llanos andean foreland basin extended time is provided by temporary storage of orogenically derived sediments on extensive alluvial plains in lowland portions of the guayana shield long soil mineral residence times are produced by very low erosion and transport rates resulting from low relief and tectonic quiescence both weathering intensity and the duration of weathering are important in the modification of sand composition first cycle quartz arenites are produced in diverse tectonic settings and cannot be used by themselves to infer paleotectonic settings of ancient sequences furthermore although tectonic setting is of great importance in determining sand composition modifications during transport and deposition can overprint the effects of the tecto

behavior of ree and other trace and major elements during weathering of granitic rocks evora portugal the distribution of elements within a weathering profile depends on several factors including the relative stability of the mineral phases of the parent rock redox and leaching conditions three main processes are involved in weathering 1 the breakdown of the parent minerals 2 the removal in solution of some of the released constituents and 3 the formation of secondary phases with components from the atmosphere water oxygen and carbon dioxide from the parent rock and from shallower levels and transported by the percolating solutions fritz and ragland 1980 nesbitt 1980 chesworth et al 1981 the purpose of this work is to investigate how major and trace elements behave during the weathering of granitic rocks from l vora portugal the prevailing climatic characteristics of this region are 700 mm annual rainfall dry summers and a mean annual temperature of 16 c

chemistry of modern soils as a guide to interpreting precambrian paleosols precambrian paleosols are potentially one of our best sources of information about the composition of the atmosphere early in earth s history to be used this way however an alteration profile must be shown to be an in situ product of vadose processes data from modern soils show that the ratios of less mobile elements such as zr ti and al can be used as a preliminary screen to test for the in situ nature of a profile if the ti zr ratio departs from that of the host rock by more than 40 or the ti al ratio departs by more than 50 for moderate degrees of weathering then a significant allochthonous contribution to the profile is indicated this technique correctly separates in place from allochthonous horizons when applied to independent data from two modern profiles a review of published precambrian profiles identifies two often cited examples denison and pronto as suspect based on these criteria in the interpretation of paleoatmospheres it is also necessary to show that fe is controlled not b

rare earth element and mineralogic changes in holocene soil and stream sediment a case study in the wet mountains colorado u s a size fractions of soil and stream sediment developed on plutonic metamorphic or mixed plutonic metamorphic sources in the wet mountains colorado have been analyzed for ree rare earth elements and mineralogy the clay sized fractions 0 5 m and 0 5 2 m or 2 m have ree contents that are similar to more enriched than the source eu sm ratios that are similar to the source and la lu ratios that are higher than their corresponding source the 0 5 m fractions have lower ree contents than the corresponding 0 5 2 m fraction in every stream sediment for example unweathered san isabel batholith near the sampled stream sediment contains ree 511 712 ppm and eusmratio 0 17 0 19 and lalu cn 9 8 10 3 the corresponding 0 5 and 0 5 2 m fractions of sediment formed from san isabel batholith are enriched in the ree ree 1135 and 2225 ppm respec are slightly lower in eu sm ratios 0 16 and 0 14 respec and are higher in la lu ratios 12 2 and 16 3 respec than the unweathered rocks the silts have lree light ree contents and eu sm ratios very similar to the source due to similar mineralogy but silts have hree heavy ree contents higher than the source due to high zircon for example silt sized fractions in stream sediment draining the san isabel batholith contain ree 808 ppm eusmratio 0 18 and lalu cn 7 4 in contrast the sands contain lower ree contents similar to higher eu sm ratios and lower la lu ratios than the corresponding source due to depletion in heavy minerals concentrated in the ree and containing lower eu sm ratios relative to quartz and feldspar depleted in the ree and containing higher eu sm ratios for example the sand fraction from stream sediment from the san isabel batholith has ree 206 ppm eusmratio 0 17 and lalu cn 5 6 small variations of accessory minerals concentrated in the ree like allanite or sphene may cause drastic variation in ree content in the sand fraction clays and silts derived only from the plutonic rocks have higher ree and similar to lower eu sm ratios than corresponding fractions derived only from migmatites e g ree of silt fractions from migmatites 224 ppm and from plutons 375 808 ppm eu sm ratios from migmatites 0 17 and from plutons 0 11 0 18 the ree content and the eu sm ratio of clays and silts derived from migmatites are much more similar to the average of mcps mid continent platform sediment than corresponding fractions derived from the plutons mcps has ree 192 ppm eusm 0 19 lalu 8 0 the eusm ratio of sands derived from plutons and migmatite are lower to mostly higher than the mcps the ree content of sands from plutons are not necessarily higher than the mcps due to variation in heavy minerals like allanite or sphene concentrated in the ree sediments derived from mixed sources have ree contents in fine fractions that may not necessarily reflect the ree content of the nearest source for example 0 5 2 m and silt fractions developed on the san isabel batholith with a migmatite upstream have the high ree content of the batholith ree in 0 5 2 m fraction 1100 ppm silt 573 ppm while the corresponding 0 5 m fraction has the very low ree content of the migmatites ree 110 ppm these results suggest fine grained material near the source may sample a much larger area than coarser material near the source thus analysis of fine grained sediment associated with coarse grained material near the source may give a much different impression of the source than would determination of the source using classic petrographic examination of the sand or gravels

active or passive continental margin geochemical and nd isotope constraints of metasediments in the backstop of a pre andean accretionary wedge in southernmost chile 46 30 48 30 s provenance analysis of siliciclastic sedimentary rocks gives indications of the tectonic evolution and setting of source regions and the rocks contained in them the composition of sedimentary rocks ideally reflects the nature of these regions and only indirectly the tectonic setting of the basin where the erosional debris is deposited this makes it possible to interpret late devonian to early carboniferous metasedimentary basement rocks of the andes in southernmost chile as having been deposited at a passive margin despite geochemical indications of an active margin setting for the source rocks and the position of the metasediments in the backstop of an accretionary wedge major and trace elements point to felsic source rocks from an active margin environment the nd model ages of 1170 1490 ma indicate that the source rocks were part of an old continental crust in the late palaeozoic the end t values range between 7 and 2 these characteristics in combination with the regional geology suggest that the geochemical signal is dominated by rocks formed at an active margin which later acted as feeders for the sediments deposited in a passive margin environment if corroborated by research in progress this emphasizes the problem of deducing the tectonic setting of a depositional basin from provenance data

a comparative study of gabbro and granite weathering in the piedmont of the southeastern u s a gabbros and granites weather in quite different fashions granites develop extensive weathering rind systems 2 m thick in which plagioclase is altered to a gibbsite kaolinite assemblage in rindlets adjacent to the fresh rock contact in the outer rindlets the clay fraction is dominated by kaolinite and dioctahedral vermiculite not surprisingly granitic weathering rind systems display relative depletions of si na ca rb and sr and relative enrichments of sesquioxides in contrast gabbro weathering rind systems are characterized by many thin 1 cm rindlets whose alteration products are dominated by limonitization of ferromagnesian minerals apart from a decrease in feofe2o3 ratios in the outer rindlets there is little relative depletion or enrichment of major elements in gabbro weathering rinds as compared to their fresh rock cores this contradiction in goldich s stability series is explained if weathering rinds are produced faster on gabbros than in granite outcrops thus the low degree of mineral alteration in gabbro rindlets reflects a shorter time of residence for minerals in this system compared to rindlets on granitic outcrops biotite and perthitic microcline were separated from a fresh granite and its attendant weathering rind system during alteration the albitic blebs of the perthite are dissolved leaving no trace of residual clay the result is a porous microcline whose composition is equivalent to the microcline matrix in the unweathered perthite progressive alteration of biotite results in oxidation of octahedrally coordinated fe2 with concomitant loss of k this results in the formation of dioctahedral vermiculites in outer rindlet samples of granite

ree and other trace elements in a granitic weathering profile from serre southern italy abstract ree v cr ni rb sr y zr and nb behaviour in a granitic weathering profile in southern italy is studied in the saprolites of the considered profile depletion of v cr ni rb sr zr and nb is observed this is quite remarkable for sr and cr whereas ree and y are enriched in the more altered portion of the profile and especially in its m fraction such enrichment is associated with the lree hree fractionation and the positive ce anomaly the former results from an increased solubility of hree in a non acid environment as well as from the removal of the hree rich phases from the residual component the latter is related to the redox chemistry of ce which as ceo 2 is less soluble than the other ree no analogy is observed between the behaviour of ce and fe mn and cr saprolites also exhibit a negative eu anomaly which is mostly inherited from the parental material finally the influence of accessory minerals in the ree distribution of weathering products and in sediments calls for a careful evaluation of preferential settling phenomena of heavy minerals during transportation and deposition processes this is especially true in the parent material sediment relationships

geochemistry and origin of ferruginous nodules in weathered granodioritic gneisses mysore plateau southern india fe nodules occur within saprolites formed from weathering of granodioritic gneisses in the rain shadow region of the mysore plateau adjacent to the sahyadri mountains in southern india these nodules and their host saprolites were studied for their geochemistry including chemical speciation to understand nodule formation and chemical redistribution processes during rock weathering from their mode of occurrence and mineralogical and geochemical data we infer that the nodules originated by a two stage process in which the initial extensive weathering of gneisses likely facilitated subsequent ferrolysis weathering and nodule formation nodules originated by precipitation of goethite hematite and gibbsite along with several amorphous phases within the matrix of weathered gneisses this is possible only under hydromorphic conditions suggesting that parts of the plateau must have gone through a humid phase prior to the present aridity in the saprolites al fe and ti become enriched because of the removal of si ca na and k however within the nodule fe ti cr and ni are deposited after their chemical transport from the saprolite titanium known for its immobile nature was also mobilized and concentrated under the conditions of nodule formation the most important elements in the nodule constitution are fe al ti and mn each having both crystalline and amorphous phases fe ti and mn oxyhydroxides grain coatings in the saprolites and discrete amorphous mn and ti phases in the nodules seem to have scavenged trace elements from the weathering profile ree were mobilized during weathering and nodule genesis in which ce and ti show a strong geochemical coherence the enrichment of only hree in saprolite and both hree and lree with significant ce in the nodule indicate the control of evolving secondary minerals in the ree redistribution during rock weathering strong enrichment of ce in the weathering profile and in nodules has important implications to the ree chemistry of river waters

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

a record of uranium series transport at nopal i sierra pena blanca mexico implications for natural uranium deposits and radioactive waste repositories abstract studies of uranium series u series disequilibria within and around ore deposits provide valuable information on the extent and timing of actinide mobility via mineral fluid interaction over a range of spatial and temporal scales such information is useful in studies of analogs of high level nuclear waste repositories as well as for mining and mineral extraction sites locations of previous nuclear weapons testing and legacy nuclear waste contamination in this study we present isotope dilution mass spectrometry u series measurements for fracture fill materials hematite goethite kaolinite calcite dolomite and quartz from one such analog the nopal i uranium ore deposit situated at pena blanca in the chihuahua region of northern mexico the ore deposit is located in fractured unsaturated volcanic tuff and fracture fill materials from surface fractures as well as fractures in a vertical drill core have been analyzed high uranium concentrations in the fracture fill materials between 12 and 7700 ppm indicate uranium mobility and transport from the deposit uranium concentrations generally decrease with horizontal distance away from the deposit but in this deposit there is no trend with depth below the surface isotopic activity ratios 238u 234u 230th 232th linear age trends and u th pa model ages indicate an actinide mobility evolution that can be characterized as complex and varied there is evidence of both open and closed system behavior for uranium depending on both sample and time scale the 234u 238u activity ratios indicate u mobility from 1 2 0 2 ma in the last 0 2 ma there is isotopic evidence for some u mobility but mostly u immobility in almost all cases the th pa radionuclides studied here have been immobile for the past 200 ka radium appears to have been recently 0 1 8 ka mobile due to ongoing fluid flow in the fractures overall the mainly closed system behavior for u th pa over the past 200 ka provides an indicator of the geochemical immobility of these actinides over time scales relevant for potential nuclear waste repositories situated in fractured unsaturated tuff

rare earth elements in river waters we measured rare earth element ree concentrations in river waters to characterize the suspended and dissolved river flux of the ree to the oceans the ree pattern of river suspended materials is sensitive to drainage basin geology a positive correlation is observed between la yb ratios and nd model ages for the rivers studied major rivers have light ree enriched patterns relative to the north american shale composite nasc with la yb n 1 6 2 7 river water dissolved material 0 2 m is heavy ree enriched relative to suspended material and the most pronounced negative ce anomalies occur in rivers of high ph light ree concentrations vary by approximately 3 orders of magnitude and are inversely related to ph and major cation concentrations from these data we estimate that typical major river runoff has heavy ree depleted suspended material with la yb n 1 9 we conclude that the terrigenous input to the oceans from major rivers is heavy ree depleted relative to shales from the available data average river water dissolved material appears to be heavy ree enriched with la yb n 0 4 estuarine removal processes lower the dissolved ree river flux by approximately 60 and result in a flux that is more heavy ree enriched with la yb n 0 2 calculated oceanic residence times with respect to river input range from 2300 to 21 000 years are shortest for ce and greatest for the heavy ree and la such long residence times may suggest the presence of additional sources of ree in seawater

alluvial sandstone composition and paleoclimate ii authigenic mineralogy abstract various empirical and theoretical arguments suggest that early formed cement in sandstone is a product of meteoric water whose chemistry is controlled by climate the nature and distribution of early silicate cement in gondwana fountain and cutler sandstone support this supposition sandstones from all three units have experienced a broadly similar diagenetic history characterized by two stages of authigenesis stage i was typified by neomorphic development of kaolinite chlorite smectite quartz and additionally in the cutler formation laumontite stage ii was dominated by replacement reactions involving the production mostly of illite iron oxide carbonate minerals and mostly in the gondwana sandstone a second generation of quartz thermodynamic relations hydrologic constraints and radiometric dating of the late stage illite indicate that early authigenesis took place within a few million years of deposition at burial depths measured in hundreds of meters consequently the nature of the silicate cement was a function of the groundwater chemistry as controlled by climate during times of relative aridity ionic concentration of the groundwater was high and high proportions of smectite chlorite and more rarely laumontite formed such was the case in petrofacies i iv v of the gondwana supergroup for a definition of gondwana petrofacies see part i of this study in the cutler fm and in the upper 150 m of the fountain fm during times of high precipitation pore water was dilute which promoted authigen c formation of kaolinite and quartz this is represented by sandstones in petrofacies ii and vi of the gondwana and by sandstones in the lower 200 m of the fountain fm illite is especially abundant as a pseudomorphic replacement of kaolinite in the older gondwana sandstones illitization apparently began at burial depths of about 1 600 m at a temperature of about 75 c illite is not common in the cutler formation and is present only in subordinate amounts in the fountain formation from the study area the 18o values of early clay cement in the gondwana sandstones range systematically from base to top from 5 00 to 13 20 the systematic variation in 18o value of gondwana clay reflects the gradual migratory drift of the gondwana harm toward lower latitudes through time average 18o values for cutler cement 13 23 and fountain cement 19 82 are greater than the analogous values for gondwana cements this is consistent with the lower latitude setting of deposition for the cutler and fountain relative to the latitudinal location of the gondwana basins however the values are anomalously lower than what have been observed in modern day neoformed clays in weathering profiles from low latitudes

1984 sepm presidential address diagenetic albitization of potassium feldspar in arkosic sandstones abstract petrographic studies of subsurface cores of the fountain formation pennsylvanian in the denver region colorado show that detrital grains of potassium feldspar have been pervasively and complexly albitized during burial diagenesis in some strata all detrital grains of potassium feldspar have been convened to albite in some instances the conversion has taken place directly in others it has involved prior replacement of the potassium feldspar by other minerals particularly anhydrite calcite and dolomite which in turn are replaced by albite the albitized grains display fabrics such as perthitic intergrowths and chessboard twinning that are strikingly similar to replacement fabrics produced in feldspars by igneous and metamorphic processes if successive stages of the convers on to albite were not preserved the diagenetically albitized grains might easily be interpreted erroneously as detrital grains of plagioclase perthite or antiperthite derived from igneous or metamorphic source rocks the sodium required for the albitization is presumed to have been derived from intraformational sources particularly from diagenetically altered detrital grains of sodium rich plagioclase which have been extensively replaced by sodium free clay minerals ions released in the course of the albitization have provided important intrastratal sources of potassium aluminum and silicon which have been reprecipitated locally in authigenic minerals particularly albite illitic clays and adularia

chemical and mineralogical comparison of the pennsylvanian fountain formation colorado u s a an uplifted continental block to sedimentary rocks from other tectonic environments the mineralogic and chemical composition of composites of cobble and pebble sized rock clasts clay stones siltstones fine sandstones and size fractions of two sandstones of the fountain formation near beulah colorado were determined the sandstones are arkosic and most plot in the basement uplift or transitional continental fields of qfl diagrams the mineralogic composition of the sandstones is similar to that of the composite of rock clasts at a given location al mg fe ti mn sc th ree and cs are concentrated in the clay minerals or heavy minerals and are diluted by quartz or feldspar consequently they are inversely correlated with si cr hf k rb ba and sr are poorly correlated with si cr is concentrated in clay and in heavy minerals in the silts k rb ba and sr are correlated with k feldspar mica or clay mineral abundances sedimentary rocks from the fountain formed from an uplifted continental block the element concentrations plot in the fields of active or passive continental margins in many tectonic discrimination diagrams probably as a result of derivation from granitoid sources of similar composition the ree patterns eu anomaly size k and rb concentrations of the fine sandstones are mostly similar to those of the corresponding composite of rock clasts at a given location suggesting that these parameters might be the most reliable in distinguishing sources the most reliable discrimination diagram for uplifted tectonic blocks like the fountain may be a plot of k2o vs eu anomaly size since both of these parameters were very similar in concentration in both the sedimentary rocks and presumed source of the fountain most sedimentary rocks in this study have larger negative eu anomalies than those from the nasc north american shale composite or mcps midcontinent platform sediment this suggests a more evolved source for the fountain than that for average platform sediment

the effects of weathering on rare earth element y and ba abundances in tertiary basalts from southeastern australia tholeiitic basalts showing anomalously high ba y and rare earth element ree concentrations occur within the tertiary newer volcanic province of victoria and these geochemical characteristics are related to incipient alteration accompanying weathering ree and y released during weathering of basalts are retained either in secondary phosphate or clay minerals and in rocks showing very high ba concentrations the ba is present as baso4 leaching experiments suggest that glassy or fine grained rocks are more likely to release ree y and ba while more extensively altered rocks are likely to hold these elements probably because they substitute in or are adsorbed on clay minerals or because secondary baso4 and ree phosphates are resistant to acid leaching samples taken sequentially across a weathering profile in a tholeiitic basalt flow from fresh to intensively altered rock illustrate that in the very earliest stages of alteration extreme variations in the abundances of ba y and ree can occur this is reflected in the broad patterns of trace element behaviour manifested by an extensive analysed sample suite from the victorian newer volcanic province where there is no correlation between anomalous enrichments in ba y or ree and the level of incipient alteration ba anomalies are not necessarily accompanied by abnormal y and ree behaviour and this is probably because the mobility of each trace element is a function of a the ionic radius and charge of the ionic species it forms in solution b local groundwater parameters such as eh ph groundwater flux and concentrations in the groundwater of species such as so42 and c the secondary mineral assemblages developed in a particular situation sr isotopic compositions are not strongly affected by incipient weathering and do not show significant changes until alteration has progressed to the point where plagioclase begins to break down the study illustrates that relatively slight alteration at the earliest stages of weathering can produce drastic changes in the concentrations of ree y and ba and petrographic assessment of the freshness of samples is not precise enough to eliminate prior to analysis cases where these effects may be manifested where weathering has caused changes in abundance patterns these may be recognised by careful comparisons of appropriate elemental ratios e g ba rb throughout a particular analysed sample suite

constitutive mass balance relations between chemical composition volume density porosity and strain in metasomatic hydrochemical systems results on weathering and pedogenesis relations characterizing the chemical physical and mechanical changes resulting from metasomatic hydrochemical processes are developed using mass balance models which formally link chemical composition to bulk density mineral density volumetric properties porosity and amount of deformation strain rigorous analysis of aqueous solute transport effects is then made possible in a variety of porous media flow environments including chemical weathering pedogenesis soil formation diagenesis ore deposition and enrichment and metamorphism application of these linear constitutive relations to chemical weathering profiles shows that immobile and locally mobile chemical elements with masses conserved on the scale of soil profiles can be accurately identified from analysis of appropriate data arrays and then used as natural geochemical tracers to infer the nature and extent of hydrochemical weathering processes and volume changes during pedogenesis assumptions commonly made in the past about the supposed immobility of certain elements e g ti and zr become unnecessary quantitative differentiation between the effects of residual and supergene fractionation is then easily made these methods are applied to ni rich laterites developed by weathering of ultramafic rocks showing that during ordinary residual enrichment ni is concentrated by as much as 4 protolith peridotite concentrations this occurs simply by silicate mineral dissolution and removal of chemical elements other than ni e g mg with a corresponding reduction in saprolite density and increase in bulk porosity without significant deformation in contrast laterites with mineable concentrations of ni which are similarly undeformed such as the nickel mountain mine in riddle oregon have experienced in addition to residual enrichment strong supergene enrichment by fractionation of ore elements between a leached zone from which ni is extracted and a complementary enriched zone positioned farther along the direction of ground water flow soil forming processes in podzol chronosequences developed on sandy beach terraces of the mendocino coast of california involved soil column collapse of 60 percent by dissolution of silicate minerals in the albic horizon of al and fe leaching and 70 percent dilation expansion in the overlying organic rich layer by root growth the amount of erosion based upon paleosurface reconstructions using the excess mass of fe al pb ga and cu in the zone of supergene enrichment spodic horizon below the ground water table indicates that subsurface erosion by dissolutional collapse is three times that of surficial erosion finally using published chemical data for ti zr and cr on major bauxite deposits in australia where erosion rates are thought to be low we infer that there may have been major amounts of dissolutional collapse to explain the upwards increase of detrital zircon and rutile in weathering profiles

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

paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the lower mogi guacu river basin sao paulo state brazil morphopedosedimentary records and fluvial processes abstract the mogi guacu river rises in bom repouso minas gerais state brazil in the mantiqueira ridge and flows into the rio pardo river at an elevation of 483 m in pontal sao paulo state brazil after running a 530 km long course especially along the lower mogi guacu basin the river morphology is extremely sinuous characterized by intense processes of channel migration avulsion abandonment and reactivation of the channel producing an extensive alluvial plain composed of a series of associated relief forms and sedimentary facies among these forms point bar deposits by lateral accretion abandoned meanders paleo channels and fluvial terraces are notable features in this sense the objective of this work was to investigate whether these features could be linked to environmental changes to reach this goal soil properties of a catena of the jatai ecological station luiz antonio sao paulo state were analyzed in four sectors slope terrace i terrace ii and alluvial plain the results from grain size determination geochemical and isotopic studies dating paleopalynology coal fragments and micromorphology are presented in this paper from these analyses a paleo environmental evolution divided in three stages is proposed for the area 130 000 ybp upper pleistocene when the mogi guacu river base level was approximately 6 m above the present one a drier second phase 10 250 years bp lower holocene when an organic horizon was formed inside of an abandoned meander oxbow lake and a third phase 2096 ybp upper holocene of reactivation of a warm and humid climate that promoted the development of a two meters thick typic udifluvent in a sector where the mogi guacu river no more floods due to the incision of its thalweg reaching more than six meters depth in the last 130 000 years bp thus this paper used a fluvial geomorphologic approach and its interplay with climate to understand how the landscape was shaped from upper pleistocene to holocene however neotectonics might have played a relevant role as well not only in the mogi guacu river basin but also in the parana sedimentary basin

geochemistry of red residua underlying dolomites in karst terrains of yunnan guizhou plateau ii the mobility of rare earth elements during weathering the aim of this study is to characterize the evolution of the rare earth elements ree in the pingba red residua on karst terrain of yunnan guizhou plateau the in situ weathering and the two stage development of the profile had been inferred from ree criterions the ree were significantly fractionated and ce was less mobilized and separated from the other rees at the highly enriched top of the profile this is consistent with the increase of oxidation degree in the regolith and it is also suggested that the wet dry climate change during chemical weathering caused ce alternative change between enrichment and invariance in the upper regolith chondrite normalized ree distribution patterns for samples from dolomites and the lower regolith are characteristic of mree enrichment and remarkable negative ce anomalies patterns similar to the convex up ree patterns the following processes are interpreted for the patterns in this study 1 the accumulation of mrre rich minerals in dolomite dissolution 2 water rock interaction in the weathering front and 3 more leaching mree from the upper part of the profile the latter two explanations are considered as the dominant process for the formation of the ree patterns samples from the soil horizon exhibit typical ree distribution patterns of the upper crust i e la n yb n 10 and eu eu 0 65 all data indicate that the leaching process is very important for pedogenesis in this region the experiments demonstrating that abnormal enrichment of ree at the upper regolith bedrock interface is caused by a combination of volume change accumulation of ree bearing minerals leaching of ree from the upper regolith and water rock interaction during rock soil alteration processes our results support the conclusion that the weathering profile represents a large continental elemental storage reservoir whereas ree enrichment occurs under favorable conditions in terms of stable tectonics low erosion and rapid weathering over sufficiently long time c 2003 elsevier b v all rights reserved

another look at rare earth elements in shales linear correlation and mass balance considerations indicate that clays are more important than zircon or other heavy minerals in hosting both light and heavy ree in cratonic shales considering the uniformity of the eu anomaly and ree distributions in cratonic shales it seems likely that detritus is thoroughly mixed during weathering and sediment transport and that the ree patterns in shales reflect the average ree pattern of the sources regardless of the ratio of clays to heavy minerals in the shales shales suspended river loads and near shore marine sediments all have broadly similar ree patterns and reported hree depletions in the latter two groups may reflect incomplete dissolution of heavy minerals during sample preparation ree distributions in shales and suspended river loads determined by inna are similar to those in average upper continent crust and ree distributions in shale averages nasc and paas seem to be reasonably representative of the average composition of post archean upper continental crust

oligocene miocene 28 13 ma climato tectonic evolution of the northeastern qinghai tibetan plateau evidenced by mineralogical and geochemical records of the xunhua basin abstract changes in sediment composition in the xunhua basin provide insights into the climatic and tectonic evolution of the northeastern qinghai tibetan plateau during the oligocene and miocene here we analyzed the clay mineralogy i e the proportions of smectite illite and chlorite and clay indicators bulk mineral composition i e the amounts of calcite quartz gypsum k feldspar plagioclase dolomite and halite and trace element indicators i e rb sr and ba sr ratios of sediments deposited from 28 to 13 ma in the xunhua basin to reveal the climate and or provenance changes the results suggest that significant changes in sediment provenance occurred at 25 1 ma and 21 6 ma caused respectively by initial uplift and accelerated uplift of the laji shan the xunhua basin experienced warm and humid conditions at 28 0 25 1 ma cool and dry conditions at 25 1 21 6 ma and somewhat warmer and wetter conditions at 21 6 19 2 ma followed by aridification in two steps at 19 2 ma and 13 9 ma the climate cooling event at 25 1 ma corresponds temporally to a major phase of uplift of central tibet relatively warmer and wetter conditions during the early miocene 21 6 19 2 ma are considered to record the influence of the asian summer monsoon and accelerated uplift of the laji shan the shift toward more arid conditions on the northeastern qinghai tibetan plateau at 19 2 13 9 ma was probably driven by uplift of the tibetan plateau and further aridification since 13 9 ma may reflect a weakening of the east asian summer monsoon and global climatic cooling

ti nb ratios of clastic terrigenous sediments used as an indicator of provenance abstract geochemical data have been compiled for the clastic sedimentary rocks of late proterozoic to carboniferous age in the armorican massif northwest france these data show a great similarity in the distribution of ti and nb in most sediments due to an association of these elements during geochemical processes the ti nb ratios remain close to 300 a result which is interpreted as being an inheritance from the source areas however recent published works have indicated that ti and nb are not fractionated by either weathering or diagenetic phenomena in contrast to all the other formations studied the basal carboniferous clastic rocks are different in having abnormally low ti nb ratios compilation of geochemical data on recent volcanic suites shows that ti nb ratios are a possible indicator of mantle supply in clastic rocks

geochemistry of archean shales from the witwatersrand supergroup south africa source area weathering and provenance with a few exceptions shales from the archean witwatersrand supergroup 2800 ma in south africa are depleted in na ca lile ree and hfse compared to phanerozoic shales cr co and ni are enriched in all witwatersrand shales and fe and mg are high in shales from the west rand groups wrg and lower central rand group crg shales from the crg and uppermost wrg are enriched in na al lile ree hfse and transition metals relative to shales from the lower wrg chondrite normalized ree patterns for all witwatersrand shales are enriched in light ree and exhibit small to moderate negative eu anomalies a positive correlation of ree and al2o3 contents in the shales suggests that ree are contained principally in clay minerals relative to shales from the crg shales from the wrg exhibit depletions of na ca and sr a feature probably reflecting intense chemical weathering of their source rocks cia indices in witwatersrand shales are variable chiefly 70 98 even within the same shale unit such variations reflect chiefly variable climatic zones or rates of tectonic uplift in source areas with perhaps some contribution from provenance and element remobilization during metamorphism compared to present day upper continental crust all but the orange grove roodepoort and k8 shales appear to have been derived from continental sources depleted in lile ree and hfse and enriched in transition metals computer mixing models based on six relatively immobile elements th hf yb la sc co and four source rocks indicate that the relative proportions of granite basalt and komatiite increased with time in sediment source areas at the expense of tonalite the contributions of basalt and komatiite appear to reach a maximum during deposition of the booysens shale and granite during deposition of the k8 shales and possibly during deposition of the orange grove shales

the ciw index a new chemical index of weathering abstract a new chemical index of weathering that can be applied to modern soils and precambrian paleosis is proposed ciw al2o3 the value of this index increases as the degree of weathering increases and the difference between ciw index values of the silicate parent rock and soil or sediment reflects the amount of weathering experienced by the weathered material

trace element mobility during spheroidal weathering of basalts and andesites in hawaii and guatemala abstract trace element mobility has been studied in spheroidally weathered corestone shell complexes developed on late tertiary and quaternary volcanic rocks the parent materials are basalts and andesites related to 1 a subduction zone tecuamburro and moyuta volcanoes guatemala and 2 a hot spot hawaiian islands of oahu maui and hawai i the initial major element compositions are largely preserved in the corestones each corestone sample shows major element abundances characteristic of the different magmatic processes through which the lavas were generated however the changes in trace element compositions due to weathering show similar patterns in the corestone shell complexes independent of the tectonic setting and age element mobility within the different corestone shell complex was determined using an isovolumetric reference frame in this method bulk density is chosen as an independent measure of the extent of weathering based on volumetric concentrations the notion of element immobility cannot be applied to all the corestone shell complexes elements commonly assumed to be immobile e g zr ti and al vary in volumetric concentration for some corestone shell complex despite petrographic evidence of only minor weathering two corestones oahu and tecuamburro have become enriched in ree 3 relative to other lava flows from the same volcanoes and display negative ce anomalies the exfoliated shells from these complexes tend to have lower concentrations of ree 3 and have positive ce anomalies the fractionation of ce from the other rare earth elements ree is inferred to be a manifestation of changes in the valence state of ce from trivalent to tetravalent under oxidizing conditions in settings where the development of corestone shell complex is advanced an acidic solution can mobilize trivalent ree leach them out of more extensively weathered materials and transport them to less acidic portions of the regolith undergoing incipient weathering the precipitation of the ree 3 in the rinds and centers of the corestones are likely due to increases of the ph of the weathering solution systematic weathering induced ree behavior enrichment of most ree with lesser ce enrichment resulting in a negative ce anomaly can be discerned even in corestone samples that exhibit major element abundances and petrographic features otherwise similar to unweathered basalts and andesites

eolian contribution to soils on mount cameroon isotopic and trace element records abstract we determined sr nd and pb isotopic compositions and major and trace element compositions of soil samples recovered from three soil profiles developed on relatively young pyroclastic deposits less than 10 000 years old of the mount cameroon volcano the time elapsed since then is short compared with the half lives of rb sm u and th suggesting that radioactive decay can be neglected we therefore assumed that i these polyphase soils developed on isotopically homogenous substrates and ii any isotopic variation within such profiles cannot be due to selective dissolution of primary minerals with isotopic compositions different from that of bulk bedrock any sr nd or pb isotopic variation would therefore record an allochtonous input occurring either in a solid or dissolved state sr and nd isotope compositions change systematically with depth in the soil profile in particular 87 sr 86 sr ratios are far greater in the humic horizons than in the underlying horizons except in the ca9h soil profile although smaller than for sr isotope compositions 143 nd 144 nd ratios displayed an inverse relationship with a decrease towards the uppermost organic rich horizons these isotope shifts correlate with changes in sr and nd contents suggesting an allochtonous input characterized by significantly different isotope compositions and slightly lower sr contents but higher nd contents pb isotopic compositions and pb concentrations in the uppermost horizons were distinct from those of underlying horizons in the soil sequences since an anthropogenic contamination such as from leaded petrol cannot explain the pb shifts a natural source has to be invoked for pb as well as for sr and nd considering both the wind paths in west africa and the isotopic shifts registered in the uppermost horizons saharan dust appears to be the best candidate to explain such variations these inputs probably happened in winter when dry warm harmattan wind blows from the northeast a maximum of 8 of saharan dust accretion was calculated for the mount cameroon soils this corresponds to average dust deposition rates between 1 3 and 0 8 g cm 2 ka 1 values that are much higher than those found in hawaiian soils by kurtz et al kurtz a c derry l a chadwick o a 2001 accretion of asian dust to hawaiian soils isotopic elemental and mineral mass balances geochim cosmochim acta 65 1971 1983 and are probably related to shorter distance between dust source and deposit any elemental mass balance calculated in the upper organic rich horizons should be then corrected from allochtonous wind borne saharan dust before evaluating weathering linked chemical mobilities

multiple alteration events in the history of a sub huronian regolith at lauzon bay ontario confusion exists over the usefulness of chemical data from precambrian weathering profiles in constraining models of atmospheric evolution one difficulty is in correctly identifying ancient weathering effects and isolating them from numerous other processes that are likely to have affected such ancient rocks in this study of a middle precambrian granitic weathering profile we have used several analytical techniques to separate weathering related chemical and mineralogical changes from those resulting from other processes the profile is exposed beneath the huronian at lauzon bay in the blind river area of ontario and has a complex history of alteration events addition of allochthonous material and low grade metamorphism much of this history can be deciphered and changes in mineralogy and bulk and mineral chemistry can be assigned to separate alteration events specifically the granite has undergone preweathering albitization resulting in na enrichment followed by chemical weathering that corrode

allochthonous surface alteration of ni laterites abstract lateritic weathering sections over ultramafic rocks in burma puerto rico venezuela malagasy and brazil display anomalous chemical variations in their upper parts these variations are not due to weathering of ultramafics but to the addition of varying amounts of weathered material from other rocks this contribution can cause a considerable increase in si al ti and zr and decrease in fe cr and ni in the surficial parts of the limonite zone in other occurrences the admixture of foreign material can only be recognized by strongly elevated ti and zr amounts in surface layers which is atypical for ultramafic rocks and their weathering products in most of the occurrences the foreign material was probably transported by colluvial alluvial processes but an eolian derivation is also possible sedimentary processes may cause large amounts of foreign material to be mixed with ni limonite smaller amounts of foreign clayey material can also be washed downwards into clearly autochthonous limonite the ni laterite deposit on the tagaung taung burma which has been explored in detail by drill holes provides an excellent example for the processes discussed above which can also influence the composition of the weathering mantle above other parent rocks

aeolian accumulation an alternative origin of laterite on the deccan plateau india abstract laterite is ubiquitous in india and has been extensively studied however it is still controversial with respect to its origin definition classification and implications in paleoclimate tectonic history and topography evolution of those the origin of laterite either in situ weathering of protoliths or weathering of allochthonous input is the most critical to address the ca 25 m thick laterite duricrust capping the deccan plateau is conventionally hypothesized to derive from in situ weathering of the topmost basalt however this thick laterite lacks upward progressive weathering which is characteristic of lateritic profile instead it displays 1 homogeneity in weathering intensity through the duricrust 2 a clear unconformable contact of laterite with red clay which together suggests that this thick laterite is genetically unrelated to in situ weathering of the topmost basalt lines of evidence in mineralogy granularity and geochemistry proved the disconnection between this laterite and basalt and in contrast indicated its correlation to aeolian accumulation in this study the laterite together with the red clay was proposed to derive from aeolian dust accumulation and weathering since 65 ma within context of indian plate drifting across the equator from southern to northern hemisphere

mobilization and re distribution of major and trace elements during extreme weathering of basalt in hainan island south china major trace and organic elements of a laterite profile developed on neogene basalts in northern hainan island south china were reported in this paper the aim of which was to investigate element mobilization and re distribution during extreme weathering the results indicate that most of the elements have been mobilized and transferred downwards along the profile by aqueous solution organic matter om can significantly improve the transport of insoluble elements among all the elements th is the least mobile as for the general conservative elements during incipient chemical weathering such as fe ti zr hf nb and ta the removals are up to 20 40 in the upper profile however these elements behave as conservatively as th in the lower profile in the middle profile oxic environment occurs accompanied with significant om decomposition the mn and ce transferred downward are readily oxidized into insoluble mn iv and ce iv and precipitate in the oxic front important om decomposition decreases the capacity of transfer of insoluble elements in aqueous solution consequently al significantly precipitates in the oxic front and rees with the exception of ce precipitate largely in the omdepleted layers co and u are also concentrated in the oxic front in association with mn and ce respectively however cr shows a negative correlation with mn because its response to redox condition changes is reversed from that of mn mn oxides hydroxides fe oxides hydroxides and secondary phosphate minerals other than clay minerals are potential hosts for rees except for ce in the profile rees with high concentrations in the profile seem closely associated with mn oxides hydroxides remarkable highly correlated ce and gd anomalies are observed in the profile ce anomalies are caused by ce precipitation in the oxic environment and successive decomposition of organic matter gd anomalies are likely to have resulted from lower stability constants of gd om complexes compared to those of neighboring rees the overall elemental behaviors in this profile suggest that organic matter plays a very important role in the mobilization and re distribution of the elements during extreme weathering

mineralogical and chemical changes of soil and stream sediment formed by intense weathering of the danburg granite georgia u s a abstract a series of soil and stream sediments developed during intense weathering on the metaluminous danburg granite northeastern georgia u s a have been analyzed mineralogically and chemically the concentrations of ba na rb and cs in the silt and coarser fractions are controlled mainly by feldspars and biotite hf is controlled by zircon and the ree rare earth elements and th are largely controlled by sphene variations in feldspar sphene and zircon may produce small variations in eu sm and la lu ratios ferromagnesian minerals control ta fe co sc and cr concentrations the mineralogical and chemical composition of the danburg granite is more closely reflected in the silt than in the sand or gravel fractions of stream sediments in the silt the contents of rb ree th ta fe co and sc and the ratios of la sc th sc la co th co eu sm and la lu are similar to those in the unweathered granite in contrast these element contents or ratios in the sands and gravels are 0 05 3 the concentration in the unweathered granite ta and ba contents are an exception to the above the ta and ba contents of the sands and gravels are similar to those of the granite in the kaolinite halloysite clays the content of na is depleted relative to the source rb cs ba hf and ta are depleted or enriched in the clays relative to the source while the ree th fe co sc and cr are enriched the eu sm eu anomaly size and la lu ratios and the ree patterns of the clays are similar to those of the source thus the mineralogy and element contents of a siltstone developed from metaluminous granitic sources during intense weathering would be expected to be more similar to the source rock than the sandstones and conglomerates claystones should contain similar ree patterns and eu sm ratios as the source rock but such fine grained sediments might represent much larger areas of source rocks than the more locally derived sandstones or conglomerates

rare earth element distributions among minerals in a granodiorite and their petrogenetic implications a study of the distribution of lanthanide rare earths in a granodiorite from the eastern peninsular ranges batholith southern california reveals that a large fraction of the ree in this rock resides in the accessory phases sphene and allanite the minerals plagioclase alkali feldspar biotite epidote and apatite each contribute approximately 1 or less of each ree to the whole rock with the exception of eu for which plagioclase contributes 7 sphene and allanite together contain 80 to 95 of each ree each of these phases is zoned in ree concentration with substantial decreases from core to margin textural observations argue for relatively early saturation and precipitation of sphene and allanite in the magma ree zoning trends in sphene and allanite and unexpectedly low ree concentrations in largely later crystallizing minerals such as feldspar indicate that the precipitation of sphene and allanite significantly reduced ree concentrations in residual melts these results illustrate the potential that sphene and allanite have for controlling the behavior of ree in granitic magmas available information collectively suggest that the sampled granodiorite existed as a complete melt that the ree contained in the assemblage of phases were derived by direct crystallization from the melt and that the melt behaved essentially as a closed system once crystallization of the phases now present began close correspondences between the major and trace element chemistries of the granodiorite and phenocryst poor lavas from similar tectonic settings support these conclusions the ree pattern of the granodiorite melt appears to have originated at depth and is characteristic of its source regions and derivation mechanism the high liquidus temperature of a granodiorite melt 1000 c indicates the importance of mantle derived components within the sources of batholithic magmas in the peninsular ranges

geochemical anatomy of a spheroidally weathered diabase major trace element concentrations and nd sr isotope ratios were measured in micro drilled samples of a 237 ga old hand specimen sized spheroidally weathered diabase from southern india a sample of the un weathered diabase dike was also analyzed x ray micro ct imaging of the weathered sample shows three dominant mineral phases which are plagioclase pyroxene and a fe bearing phase possibly hematite and or ilmenite this imaging documents the pervasive nature of two generations of ribbon like cross cutting fractures the older fracture is sealed while the more recent fracture is open without any in filling the values of the chemical index of alteration cia of the samples show a wide range but are less than 50 despite being a relatively less weathered rock we observe that concentrations of major minor and trace elements vary significantly with the percentage relative standard deviation rsd for the elements ranging from 10 2 41 8 the cia of the samples do not show any trend with the position of the sample in the hand specimen barring ca and li whose concentrations decrease from the core to the rim of the sample there is no significant spatial trend in the concentrations of the elements concentrations of na al and sr increase with increasing cia values while concentrations of mg fe and sc decrease with increasing cia the strong positive correlations of na and al as well as na and sr indicates preferential weathering of plagioclase in the diabase na ca increases while mg al mg na mg ca fe al and sc sr decrease with increasing cia values and the un weathered rock plots in the middle of these trends such variations are explained in terms of differential weathering of plagioclase in samples with lower cia than the un weathered rock w1 type and pyroxene in samples with higher cia than the un weathered rock w2 type which have varying resistance to weathering at the hand specimen scale the variability in the weathering indices like cia are controlled by differential weathering of minerals and might not accurately reflect the intensity of weathering chondrite normalized la sm and gd lu co vary with cia values indicating mobility of the rees during spheroidal weathering even at the hand specimen scale the eu anomaly also increases with increasing cia values which is explained by differential weathering of pyroxene and plagioclase we observe large percentage deviations of the nb normalized concentrations of elements from the un weathered rock in specific samples but no spatial trend is observed overall the variations in element concentrations can be explained by varying fluid mobility of the elements selective weathering of the minerals in the diabase and ambient environmental conditions considerable nd and sr isotopic variability is observed at the hand specimen scale and is explained in terms of weathering related fractionation of parent daughter ratios this elemental fractionation must have happened long time ago to allow for radiogenic decay of the long lived isotopes of rb 87 and sm 147 the spread rsd in the initial sr and nd isotope compositions of the weathered samples reach a minimum value around 12 13 ga which we interpret as the timing of the peak weathering event which led to fractionation of the parent daughter ratios for nd isotopes the average epsilon nd 1 2 ga of the weathered samples coincides with the epsilon nd 1 2 ga of the unweathered rock the timing of the weathering event coincides with the timing of the breakup of the columbia supercontinent and follows wide spread alkaline volcanism in the indian subcontinent this is the first such attempt to determine the timing of a weathering event in rocks using long lived radioactive isotopes c 2016 elsevier b v all rights reserved

heavy rare earth element enrichment in granites of the aar massif central alps switzerland abstract the paper presents rare earth element ree determinations of whole rocks and minerals of the central aar granite a hercynian composite granite intrusion in the aar massif central alps consisting mainly of granodiorites granites and leucogranites their geochemical differentation is characterized by a slight depletion of light ree lree and eu and a clear enrichment of heavy ree hree this evolution leads to hree enriched leucogranites with typical wing shaped distribution patterns in chondrite normalized diagrams these distribution patterns can be explained either by pure fractional crystallization of k feldspar and or by crystallization of accessory phases that did not deplete the melt in hree due to their affinity to highly polymerized high silica melts the latter stayed in the liquid phase until they were incorporated in solids during the final stage of bulk magma crystallization the ree contents of analyzed mineral phases allanite apatite biotite epidote garnet and zircon are used to calculate a ree budget of the whole rock these data suggest that existence of further hree rich accessory mineral phases in the felsic rock compositions which have not been analyzed qualitative x ray and eds analyses revealed the existence of accessory minerals like thorite chernovite an y ca mineral and polycrase these minerals may play an outstanding role in the distribution of ree u and th in high silica melts

debris flow evolution and the activation of an explosive hydrothermal system te maari tongariro new zealand abstract analysis of the pre and post eruption topography together with observations of the avalanche deposition sequence yields a triggering mechanism for the 6 august 2012 eruption of upper te maari the avalanche was composed of a wedge of c 683 000 774 000 m 3 of coarse breccia spatter and clay rich tuffs and diamictons which slid from the western flanks of the upper te maari crater the failure plane is considered to be a hydrothermally altered clay layer this landslide led to a pressure drop of up to 0 5 mpa enough to generate an explosive eruption from the hydrothermal system below which had been activated over the months earlier by additional heat and gas from a shallow intrusion the landslide transformed after c 700 m into a clay rich cohesive debris flow eroding soils from steep narrow stretches of channel before depositing on intermediate broad flatter reaches after each erosive reach the debris flow contained greater clay and mud contents and became more mobile at c 2 km flow distance however the unsaturated flow stopped due to a lack of excess pore pressure this volume controlled flow deposited thick steep sided lobes behind an outer levee accreting inward and upward to form a series of curved surface ridges