eclogites and eclogites in the western gneiss region norwegian caledonides the western gneiss region wgr marks the outcrop of a composite terrane consisting of variably re worked proterozoic basement and parautochthonous or autochthonous cover units the wgr exhibits a gross structural petrographic and thermobarometric zonation from southeast to northwest reflecting an increasing intensity of scandian late palaeozoic

structural mineralogical and petrophysical effects on deep crustal rocks of fluid limited polymetamorphism western gneiss region norway the proterozoic banded granulite facies complex of bardsholmen western gneiss region norway t 815 845 c was locally transformed to eclogite t 455 510 c p 12 kbar and amphibolite facies rocks t 460 c during the caledonian continental collision the granulite complex consists of mafic two pyroxene granulite and leucocratic orthopyroxene garnet bearing layers alternating on a scale from 1 cm to 10 m the granulite facies rocks change to eclogite facies rocks over centimetre scale distances along well defined fluid infiltration fronts the mafic granulite was transformed to omphacite garnet rich eclogites and the leucocratic rocks were converted to quartz phengite rich assemblages with minor garnet and local omphacite melange like lithologies consisting of mafic lenses of eclogite surrounded by felsic material represent an advanced stage in the process of converting deep crust to eclogite facies during amphibolitization this melange like lithology evolves to a rock where amphibolite lenses and layers are surrounded by granitoid gneiss a lithology typical of the western gneiss region the bardsholmen locality illustrates the profound control exerted by fluids on the timing of metamorphism the structural make up and petrophysical properties such as density and rheology of crustal root zones fluid induced metamorphism will therefore exert control on the attributes of orogenic belts such as topography and moho depth and influence the dynamics of collision zones by controlling the time of orogenic collapse and the buoyancy of the subducted crust we suggest that orogens may develop differently depending on the fluid budget

compositional variations at ultra structure length scales in coral skeleton distributions of mg and sr in the skeletons of a deep sea coral caryophyllia ambrosia and a shallow water reef building coral pavona clavus have been obtained with a spatial resolution of 150 nm using the nanosims ion microprobe at the museum national d histoire naturelle in paris these trace element analyses focus on the two primary ultra structural components in the skeleton centers of calcification coc and fibrous aragonite in fibrous aragonite the trace element variations are typically on the order of 10 or more on length scales on the order of 1 10 mu m sr ca and mg ca variations are not correlated however mg ca variations in pavona are strongly correlated with the layered organization of the skeleton

evolution of amphibolite facies structural features and boundary conditions for deformation during exhumation of high and ultrahigh pressure rocks nordoyane western gneiss region norway 1 geologic mapping and structural analysis of baltica basement and overlying thrust nappes have yielded a record of the late exhumation history of high pressure rocks where strain partitioning has preserved evidence for interpreting the evolution of late structural features the earliest of these were extensional detachments juxtaposing eclogite facies rocks against overlying amphibolite facies rocks that show no evidence for eclogite facies metamorphism these early detachments are strongly overprinted and complexly folded and they represent a phase of upper crustal extension that was active during continued convergence at deeper levels younger more localized mylonite zones formed synchronously with tubular sheath isoclinal tight and open folding that shows a progression from wnw to ene trends the earliest mylonite zones interpreted as originally subhorizontal range in strike through a 20 angle from 110 to 90 later steeply dipping mylonite zones formed under lower amphibolite facies conditions strike 75 and locally truncate earlier structures the youngest mylonite zones formed under lowest amphibolite conditions strike 50 and truncate all earlier structures folds developed during this progression show the range in orientation from wnw to ene reflected in the orientations of the mylonite zones that is interpreted to represent progressive evolution during top west shearing these changes in orientation of the late structural features are interpreted to have been caused by changes in boundary conditions related to transtensional deformation during exhumation l s fabrics absence of axial planar foliation and chaotic orientations of axial surfaces of granulite to amphibolite facies folds indicate formation in a constrictional strain field this is also supported by estimates of the finite strain accumulated at 780 c and 45 km and similar observations by previous workers assuming a simple monoclinic deformation for transtension strain estimates and structural measurements indicate apparent transtensional angles of 9 11 that increased to greater than 20 and then decreased to less than 20 these changes in transtensional angle agree with changes in the orientation of the x y plane of strain during exhumation from 45 km to less than 20 km depth and appear to reflect changes in the boundary conditions of deformation this upper crustal transtension is interpreted to have occurred during continued sinistral oblique convergence and provides a mechanism for syncollisional exhumation of hp and uhp metamorphic rocks

empirical relationship between ph and the boron isotopic composition of globigerinoides sacculifer implications for the boron isotope paleo ph proxy culture experiments were carried out with the planktonic foraminifera globigerinoides sacculifer at three different ph values 7 6 0 05 8 20 0 05 8 60 0 05 in order to establish the ph dependence of the boron isotopic fractionation between the calcitic tests of g sacculifer and seawater additional objectives were to compare the ph dependences of boron isotopic composition of g sacculifer with that of orbulina universa and inorganic calcite in order to evaluate the robustness of the boron isotope paleo ph proxy the relationship between the boron isotopic composition of g sacculifer and the culture water ph shows heavier boron isotopic values at higher ph this empirical relationship is similar but slightly offset by 3 per mil from that of o universa indicating the presence of biogenic influence vital effect on the boron isotopic composition of foraminifera however comparison of the boron isotopic composition of o universa and g sacculifer with that of inorganic calcite grown over a common ph range shows that inorganic processes are the dominant control on the boron isotopic composition of foraminifera and the vital effects play a small but not insignificant role the results imply that in spite of a small biogenic influence the variation in boron isotopic composition of foraminiferal shells with ph at least for o universa and g sacculifer is consistent with that for inorganic calcite demonstrating the potential of this isotopic signature in foraminifera as a reliable paleo ph proxy

u pb zircon geochronology of eclogites from the scandian orogen northern western gneiss region norway 14 20 million years between eclogite crystallization and return to amphibolite facies conditionsthis article is one of a series of papers published in this special issue on the theme of geochronology in honour of tom krogh reconstructing tectonic histories involving continental collision subduction and exhumation at plate tectonic rates of 1 cm year requires precise u pb zircon geochronology the western gneiss region has exceptional exposures of high pressure hp and ultra high pressure uhp rocks the strategy adopted here involved sampling eclogite and associated late unstrained pegmatites to acquire the time of eclogite crystallization and subsequent exhumation respectively the oldest eclogite sampled is 415 1 ma from layered probably uhp eclogite at tevik averoya also with a garnet hornblende assemblage at 410 1 ma the flem gabbro eclogite margin with implied uhp conditions is 410 2 ma hornblende eclogite at seth lepsoya never at uhp is 412 2 ma these compare to devonian ages of 401 1 ma for overgrowths on proterozoic baddeleyite in selnes gabbro 402 2 ma for coesite eclogite at hareidlandet 405 400 ma for coesite eclogite at flatraket and 405 2 ma for near uhp eclogite at hjelmeland

zircon geochronology and ca 400 ma exhumation of norwegian ultrahigh pressure rocks an ion microprobe and chemical abrasion study understanding the formation and exhumation of the remarkable ultrahigh pressure uhp rocks of the western gneiss region norway hinges on precise determination of the time of eclogite recrystallization we conducted detailed thermal ionization mass spectrometry chemical abrasion analysis and sensitive high resolution ion microprobe analysis of zircons from four ultrahigh and high pressure hp rocks ion microprobe analyses from the flatraket eclogite yielded a broad range of apparently concordant caledonian ages suggesting long term growth in contrast higher precision thermal ionization mass spectrometry analysis of zircon subject to combined thermal annealing and multi step chemical abrasion yielded moderate pb loss from the first lowest temperature abrasion step possible minor pb loss or minor growth at 400 ma from the second step and a 407 404 ma cluster of slightly discordant 206pb 238u ages most likely free from pb loss from the remaining abrasion steps we interpret the latter to reflect zircon crystallization at 405 400 ma with minor discordance from inherited cores zircon crystallization occurred at eclogite facies possibly post peak conditions based on compositions of garnet inclusions in zircon as well as nearly flat hree profiles and lack of eu anomalies in zircon fractions subjected to chemical abrasion these ages are significantly younger than the 425 ma age often cited for western norway eclogite recrystallization implying faster rates of exhumation 2 5 8 5 km myr and coeval formation of eclogites across the uhp portion of the western gneiss region

two stage cooling and exhumation of deeply subducted continents the burial and exhumation of continental crust during collisional orogeny exert a strong controlon the dynamics of mountain belts and plateaus constraining the rates and style of exhumation of dee

kinematics of syneclogite deformation in the bergen arcs norway implications for exhumation mechanisms the northwestern part of holsnoy island in the bergen arcs norway consists of a granulite facies protolith partially transformed at depth in eclogite 700 c 19 kbars and amphibolite 650 c 8 10 kbars facies during the caledonian orogenesis eclogitized zones are mainly planar objects fractures with parallel reaction bands and cm to 100 m scale shear zones eclogitic zones are distributed in two sets of orientations and the associated deformation can be described as bookshelf tectonics the major shear zones strike around n120 and dip to the north and show consistent top to the ne shear sense throughout the area in the large scale kinematic frame of caledonian nw dipping slab eclogitic shear zones are interpreted as the way to detach crustal units from the subducting slab and to prevent their further sinking as the retrograde amphibolitic deformation pattern is similar to the eclogitic one the detached crustal units started their way up along these eclogitic shear zones radiometric ages of eclogitic and amphibolitic metamorphism and their comparison with the chronology of caledonian orogenesis show that the deformation recorded on holsnoy occurred in a convergent context the mechanism we propose can thus account for the first steps of exhumation during collision

subduction and eduction of continental crust major mechanisms during continent continent collision and orogenic extensional collapse a model based on the south norwegian caledonides during continental collision in the middle silurian the thickness of the lithosphere under the caledonides of s norway was doubled by subduction of the western margin of baltica including the western gneiss region under laurentia crustal rocks of the baltic plate reached sub moho depths of near 100 km or more as inferred from the presence of coesite in eclogites isostatic calculations indicate an average elevation of the mountain chain of about 3 km at this stage the subducted lithosphere experienced vertical constrictional strains as a result of slab pull by its heavy and cold root eduction of the deeply buried crustal material was initiated by decoupling of the thermal boundary layer in the subducted lithosphere isostatic rebound resulted in very rapid uplift 1 2 mm yr 1 and the deep crust was exhumed mainly by tectonic extensional stripping over a period of 30 40 myr the eduction was probably related to a rolling hinge footwall uplift mechanism and the early high pressure coaxial fabrics were overprinted by extensional simple shear as the deep crust reached middle and upper crustal levels the model explains the present day normal crustal thickness under the exhumed deep rocks without necessarily invoking large scale lateral flow of material in the lower crust or igneous underplating

the role of serpentinization in exhumation of high to ultra high pressure metamorphic rocks abstract analysis of physical processes involved in serpentinization show that it can lead to a significant reduction in density huge volume increase and generate giant pressure within serpentinizing rocks combined together these factors make the serpentinization process a very important one for the start and support of exhumation of high and ultra high pressure rocks serpentinization can generate a significant buoyancy force as well as forces capable of horizontal displacing of an exhuming block exhumation of high grade rocks to the surface requires the presence of an external force and it cannot be accomplished by buoyancy alone intimate relationships between exhumation and serpentinization serpentinized peridotites and hp lt uhp lt rocks and co existence of eclogites and blueschists with thrusts and nappes containing peridotites serpentinites or ophiolites point to the significant role of serpentinization in exhumation formal analysis of the viscous properties of the lithosphere illustrates that exhumation within the continental crust is extremely slow that its velocity increases with an increase of slab size and that the velocity value during the subduction process should be greater than during exhumation generated by serpentinization process pressure can play an important role in both forcing an exhuming block up and or detaching the upper part of the subducting slab from its bottom part an absence of serpentinites of the archean age proves that serpentinization cannot play a significant role in exhumation of high grade rocks in the archean

monazite geochronology of uhp and hp metamorphism deformation and exhumation nordoyane western gneiss region norway u th pb monazite geochronology is combined with previous structural analysis and quantitative estimates of metamorphic conditions to date the thermotectonic evolution of uhp and hp plates 820 c 39 kbar 780 c 18 kbar metamorphosed during the late silurian early devonian collision between baltica and laurentia the upper plate contains a microdiamond bearing kyanite garnet graphite gneiss and associated kyanite eclogites independently indicating probable diamond forming conditions in situ dating of monazite in the microdiamond sample using the shrimp ii at the geological survey of canada yielded ages of 415 6 8 ma for those included in garnet and 398 6 ma for those in the matrix these ages compare to 408 0 5 6 and 397 5 4 4 ma determined using the electron microprobe at the university of massachusetts both methods also identified complexly zoned detrital cores up to 150 micrometers in diameter with ages of 1100 950 ma and scattered grains with ages of 900 500 ma but no ages of 1680 1650 ma equivalent to the local baltica basement were found agreement between the two techniques allowed evaluation of monazite age domains 198 analyses from the microdiamond rock and a kyanite garnet sillimanite mylonite produced from it using a combination of high resolution element imaging and trace element analysis of u th pb and y this comparison yielded three mean ages of 407 0 2 1 ma 394 8 2 3 ma and 374 6 2 7 ma combining this geochronology with previous p t estimates we propose that the uhp unit reached its maximum depth of 125 km at a maximum age of 407 ma when monazite was included in garnet and experienced 65 km of exhumation at an average rate of 10 9 mm year during top southeast thrusting that brought it into contact with the hp unit following these events both units were exhumed together at an average rate of 3 8 mm year until reaching a depth of 37 km at 395 ma where these rocks experienced extensive re equilibration and top west and left lateral shearing after 395 ma these units continued to be exhumed at an average rate of 0 8 to 1 4 mm year until 375 ma the time of last equilibration of asymmetric monazite porphyroclasts in the mylonite the exhumation histories of these units record a change in mechanism from syncollisional exhumation through late to post orogenic collapse that was a consequence of plate reorganization

insights into u hp metamorphism of the western gneiss region norway a high spatial resolution and high precision zircon study abstract combining high spatial resolution and high precision geochronology and geochemistry of zircon provides constraints on the timing and duration of ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphism resulting from the collision of baltica avalonia and laurentia during the scandian orogeny in the western gneiss region of norway zircons were extracted from a layered eclogite in the saltaneset region southern uhp domain and from an eclogite in the ulsteinvik region central uhp domain zircons were first analyzed for u pb and trace element compositions by laser ablation split stream lass inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry icp ms followed by analysis of those same zircons that yielded scandian dates by integrated u pb isotope dilution thermal ionization mass spectrometry and trace element analysis tims tea lass results from a garnet quartz layer within the saltaneset eclogite give scandian dates of ca 413 397 ma with subsequent id tims analyses ranging from 408 9 0 4 ma to 401 4 0 2 ma 2 an omphacite rich layer from the same eclogite yields lass dates of ca 414 398 ma and a single id tims date of 396 7 1 4 ma in comparison the ulsteinvik eclogite lass results give dates spanning ca 413 397 ma whereas id tims analyses range from 409 6 0 6 ma to 401 3 0 4 ma id tims zircon data from the eclogites reveals two age populations 1 ca 409 407 ma and 2 ca 402 ma both in situ and solution trace element data show a distinct pattern for scandian zircons with strongly depleted hree and weakly negative eu anomalies eu eu whereas inherited zircon ree patterns are distinguished by steep hree slopes and marked negative eu eu when coupled with partition coefficients calculated for zircon and garnet these ree patterns indicate that zircon re crystallized during eclogite facies metamorphism at ca 409 407 ma and ca 402 ma at two widely separated uhp localities

new evidence for coesite in eclogite and gneisses defining an ultrahigh pressure province in the western gneiss region of norway widespread evidence of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism is reported from the nordfjord and stadtlandet area of the western gneiss region in norway outlining a distinct ultrahigh pressure province coesite has been found as inclusions in garnet omphacite or kyanite in eclogite from 5 new localities and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite occur in eclogite minerals at an additional 12 localities quartz pseudomorphs after coesite within garnet and clinozoisite are reported for the first time from associated gneisses which is evidence for in situ ultrahigh pressure metamorphism at least at a local scale the boundary to an ultrahigh pressure province is defined by a metamorphic break from lower pressure 2 8 gpa within a 10 km wide mixed zone in the nordfjord area this zone may mark the disrupted tectonic boundary to a small ultrahigh pressure unit and casts doubt on the assumption that the western gneiss region behaved as a coherent terrane during burial and exhumation

geometry of eclogite facies structural features implications for production and exhumation of ultrahigh pressure and high pressure rocks western gneiss region norway 1 well preserved eclogite facies structural features in metamorphosed gabbro and diorite gneiss in baltica crust formed at a minimum depth of 60 70 km during the scandian orogeny allow direct inferences to be made regarding the geometry of folds kinematics and original structural orientations related to production and exhumation of high pressure rocks folds associated with eclogite facies fabrics are isoclinal to tubular with axes parallel to the trend of a stretching lineation strain estimates and l s or l s fabrics indicate that these structures were formed in a constrictional strain field locally they are well preserved in eclogite facies mylonite zones at least 40 m thick that cut proterozoic gabbro and adjacent gneiss where steeply dipping they show a north side up shear sense across a younger northeast trending shallowly plunging amphibolite facies anticlinorium formed in a constrictional noncoaxial strain field where original structural facing direction can be inferred small circle rotation of the eclogite facies lineation about the anticline axis indicates that the relative motion vector of baltica with respect to overlying imbricated crust and laurentia was oriented 320 in a present day reference frame this result is identical to the orientation of the relative motion vector estimated from paleomagnetic plate reconstructions and consistent with late silurian to early devonian oblique sinistral convergence between baltica and laurentia results of this study indicate that coherent baltica crust at 60 70 km depth experienced subvertical and horizontal shortening while extending toward the foreland during tops southeast thrusting parallel to plate motion high pressure rocks were progressively imbricated and stacked along eclogite facies mylonite zones with the deforming zone separating coherent baltica crust from imbricated basement above the constrictional strains under eclogite facies conditions are interpreted to have resulted from stretching associated with sinking of the cool dense mantle lithosphere

coesite micro inclusions and the u pb age of zircons from the hareidland eclogite in the western gneiss region of norway abstract we have identified by laser micro raman spectroscopy that inclusions of coesite occur together with other eclogite facies mineral phases within metamorphic zircons separated from the large eclogite body at ulsteinvik dimnoy on hareidland this is the first identification of coesite from this portion of the northwestern western gneiss region wgr and supports continuity of ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphism between the documented coesite occurrences on stadlandet to the south and the microdiamond and coesite pseudomorph localities on fjortoft in the nordoyene to the north the zircons first analysed by u pb tims in 1973 have been re analysed and have yielded a much more precise age of 401 6 1 6 ma that overlaps with the previously determined age our discovery of coesite and the indication of a close to 402 ma formation age add to a growing number of mid late early devonian ages that signal that the uhp metamorphism in this part of west norway occurred relatively late in the caledonian orogenic cycle these observations should be incorporated in geodynamic models for the exhumation of these rocks and for the metastable preservation of eclogite facies mineralogies

a tectonic model for the metamorphic evolution of the basal gneiss complex western south norway a review of currently available information relevant to the basal gneiss complex bgc of western south norway combined with the authors own observations leads to the following conclusions 1 most of the bgc consists of proterozoic crystalline rocks and probably subordinate lower palaeozoic cover 2 the last major deformation of these rocks was during the caledonian orogeny and involved large scale thrusting recumbent folding and doming the structural development of the bgc is closely tied in with that of the caledonian allochthon 3 the whole eclogite bearing part of the bgc has suffered a high pressure metamorphism with conditions of between 550 c 12 5 kbar sunnfjord and about 750 c 20 kbar more og romsdal at the metamorphic climax 4 this metamorphism was of caledonian age probably rather early in the caledonian tectonic history of the bgc and is considered to have been a rather transient event by setting these conclusions in a framework provided by geophysical evidence for the deep structure of the crust in southern norway we have constructed a geotectonic model to explain the recorded metamorphic history of the bgc it is suggested that considerable crustal thickening was caused by imbrication of the baltic plate margin during continental collision with the greenland plate this resulted in high pressure metamorphism in the resulting nappe stack progradation of the suture caused underthrusting of the baltic foreland below the eclogite bearing terrain causing it to emerge at the earth s surface aided by tectonic stripping and erosion application of isostacy equations to the model shows that eclogites can be formed by in situ metamorphism in crustal rocks and reappear at the land surface above a normal thickness of crust in a single orogenic episode of approximately 65 70 ma duration

metamorphic rocks seek meaningful cooling rate interpreting 40ar 39ar ages in an exhumed ultra high pressure terrane 40ar 39ar dating of metamorphic white mica is commonly used to elucidate the timing of cooling and or exhumation of metamorphic terranes in theory so long as the dated mineral originally crystallised above its closure temperature the yielded 40ar 39ar ages should not vary significantly within or between samples and should vary only due to grain size 3 ma variation depending on the estimated cooling rate infra red laser single grain fusion and ultra violet laser spot muscovite and or phengite data from mafic eclogite bodies and their host gneisses in the nordfjord region of the western gneiss complex wgc norway show that the ages yielded both within and between white micas from the same mafic eclogite sample vary by up to 284 ma ages yielded within the same pelitic gneiss sample vary by up to 28 ma overall the 40ar 39ar phengite dates from mafic eclogites range from 750 to 440 ma and are significantly older than the previously reported 405 400 ma u pb zircon age constraining peak metamorphism in the nordfjord wgc the felsic host gneiss samples which recrystalised during a post peak exhumation related amphibolite facies overprint yield single grain fusion and laser spot 40ar 39ar white mica dates spanning 420 to 385 ma encompassing previous estimates of the timing of the entire metamorphic cycle these data suggest that ar is heterogeneously distributed both within grains and between grains on the cm to sub mm scale in all samples and imply restricted ar transport and inefficient removal during the metamorphic cycle open system zero grain boundary ar concentration behaviour is an inherent assumption in the commonly applied closure temperature formulation but unless this can be demonstrated linking 40ar 39ar ages to temperature is no longer trivial the high spatial and chronological precision afforded by uv laser ablation mean that intra grain ar concentration distributions may be used to assess open vs closed system behaviour the data presented here suggest that open system behaviour cannot be assumed in metamorphic systems even those in which the pressure temperature and time conditions in theory allow for efficient diffusion during the metamorphic cycle high spatial resolution 40ar 39ar data and robust comparison with numerical models of open system behaviour provide the greatest future potential for unravelling the complexities of metamorphic exhumation timescales

coesite in clinopyroxene in the caledonides and its implications for geodynamics coesite is reported for the first time from the caledonide orogen it occurs as inclusions in clinopyroxene in the dolomite eclogite at grytting norway and provides valuable new evidence to support the hypothesis of extremely high pressure 30 kbar in certain norwegian eclogites this finding has implications for the geodynamics and kinetics of the concepts of microscale intracrystalline tectonic overpressure and of macroscale local or regional tectonic overpressure and for the hypotheses of subduction and obduction involving a more than 100km vertical component of transport

plagioclase in the skaergaard intrusion part 1 core and rim compositions in the layered series the anorthite content of plagioclase grains xan in 12 rocks from the layered series of the skaergaard intrusion has been studied by electron microprobe typically 30 core and 70 rim analyses per thin section mean core compositions vary continuously from an66 at the base of the layered series lza to an32 30 at the top on the other hand crystal rims are of approximately constant composition an50 1 from the lza to the lower middle zone mz above the mz core and rim compositions generally overlap profiles across individual plagioclase grains from the lower zone show that most crystals have an external zone buffered at xan 50 1 the simplest explanation for these features is that during postcumulus crystallization in the lower zone interstitial liquids passed through a density maximum this interpretation is consistent with proposed liquid lines of descent that predict silica enrichment of the liquid associated with the appearance of cumulus magnetite

exhuming norwegian ultrahigh pressure rocks overprinting extensional structures and the role of the nordfjord sogn detachment zone 1 the nordfjord sogn detachment zone nsdz is widely cited as one of the primary structures responsible for the exhumation of norwegian ultra high pressure uhp rocks here we review data from the considerable volume of research describing this shear zone and compile a strikeparallel cross section along the nsdz from the solund basin in the south to the soroyane uhp domain in the north this cross section highlights several previously unrecognized patterns revealing a shear zone with top to the west asymmetric fabrics that 1 initiated at amphibolite facies 2 overprints metamorphic breaks and tectonostratigraphic contacts and 3 has a gradational continuum of muscovite cooling ages these patterns constrain the kinematic evolution of the nsdz and suggest a new three step model for the exhumation of norwegian u hp rocks the initial stages of exhumation were characterized by the rise of crustal rocks from u hp depths to the base of the crust by buoyancydriven mechanisms not specified in this paper mantle exhumation was followed by top to thewest normal sense displacement within a broad noncoaxial ductile shear zone near the base of the crust that overprinted tectonostratigraphic contacts formed previously during mantle exhumation in the final stages of crustal exhumation top w brittleductile detachments soled into and partially excised this ductile shear zone dropping the devonian basins into contact with rocks of varying tectonostratigraphic levels this new interpretation of the nsdz is significant as it accounts for the extreme crustal excision observed in western norway using three sequentially overprinting structures active at different stages of uhp rock exhumation citation johnston s m b r hacker and t b andersen 2007 exhuming norwegian ultrahigh pressure rocks overprinting extensional structures and the role of the nordfjord sogn detachment zone tectonics 26 tc5001

fabric development during exhumation from ultrahigh pressure in an eclogite bearing shear zone western gneiss region norway abstract petrofabrics and trace element thermobarometry of deformed quartzofeldspathic gneiss and associated coesite bearing eclogite in the salt mylonite zone western gneiss region norway document a pressure temperature deformation path from ultrahigh pressure to amphibolite facies conditions the salt mylonite zone is dominated by quartzofeldspathic gneiss with a strong foliation and lineation coesite bearing eclogite within the shear zone contains a foliation and lineation defined by elongate omphacite consistent with that of the host gneiss suggesting that gneiss and eclogite were deformed in the same kinematic framework in eclogite omphacite preserves ls to l type crystallographic preferred orientation and quartz preserves prism fabrics that developed in quartz near coesite quartz transition conditions the quartzofeldspathic gneiss in the mylonite zone records prism and rhomb slip in quartz and reverse zoning in plagioclase higher ca rims consistent with re equilibration during decompression the ti concentration in quartz in gneiss is higher than that in quartz in eclogite suggesting that quartz recrystallized at a lower pressure in the gneiss ti in quartz thermobarometry of rutile bearing eclogite and titanite bearing gneiss indicates equilibration at t 750 c and t

structure and 40ar 39ar thermochronology of an ultrahigh pressure transition in western norway abstract the nordfjord region of western norway hosts an archetypal subducted crustal section underpinned by ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogite overlain by devonian sediments and cored by a crustal scale extensional shear zone structural mapping reveals two distinct displacement zones that played different roles during the formation and exhumation of this section 1 the sandane shear zone is a nw dipping amphibolite facies high strain zone near the base of the eclogite bearing crust that separates allochthonous units from underlying crystalline basement it may have originated during early thrusting but was overprinted by top to the west extensional fabrics at lower crustal depths 2 structurally above this the nordfjord sogn detachment zone is a top to the west amphibolite to greenschist facies detachment shear zone within allochthonous units that defines the upper boundary of the eclogitized crust and was responsible for exhumation through at least mid crustal depths muscovite 40 ar 39 ar ages suggest that amphibolite facies deformation below the nordfjord sogn detachment was mostly finished by c 397 ma whereas muscovite ages from the deeper parts of the uhp domain indicate that it cooled after 390 ma during exhumation through the middle crust west directed stretching was accompanied by north south folding late sinistral transpressional faulting in the middle to upper crust truncated the earlier folds and shear zones supplementary material complete 40 ar 39 ar data and a summary geological map of the nordfjord region are available at http www geolsoc org uk sup18460

cold subduction and the formation of lawsonite eclogite constraints from prograde evolution of eclogitized pillow lava from corsica a new discovery of lawsonite eclogite is presented from the lancone glaucophanites within the schistes lustres nappe at defile du lancone in alpine corsica the fine grained eclogitized pillow lava and inter pillow matrix are extremely fresh showing very little evidence of retrograde alteration peak assemblages in both the massive pillows and weakly foliated inter pillow matrix consist of zoned idiomorphic mg poor 0 8 wt mgo garnet omphacite lawsonite chlorite titanite a local overprint by the lower grade assemblage glaucophane albite with partial resorption of omphacite and garnet is locally observed garnet porphyroblasts in the massive pillows are mn rich and show a regular prograde growth type zoning with a mn rich core in the inter pillow matrix garnet is less manganiferous and shows a mutual variation in ca and fe with fe enrichment toward the rim some garnet from this rock type shows complex zoning patterns indicating a coalescence of several smaller crystallites matrix omphacite in both rock types is zoned with a rimward increase in xjd locally with cores of relict augite numerous inclusions of clinopyroxene lawsonite chlorite and titanite are encapsulated within garnet in both rock types and albite quartz and hornblende are also found included in garnet from the inter pillow matrix inclusions of clinopyroxene commonly have augitic cores and omphacitic rims the inter pillow matrix contains cross cutting omphacite rich veinlets with zoned omphacite si rich phengite si 3 54 apfu ferroglaucophane actinolite and hematite these veinlets are seen fracturing idiomorphic garnet apparently without any secondary effects pseudosections of matrix compositions for the massive pillows the inter pillow matrix and the cross cutting veinlets indicate similar p t conditions with maximum pressures of 1 9 2 6 gpa at temperatures of 335 420 c the inclusion suite found in garnet from the inter pillow matrix apparently formed at pressures below 0 6 0 7 gpa retrogression during initial decompression of the studied rocks is only very local late veinlets of albite glaucophane without breakdown of lawsonite indicate that the rocks remained in a cold environment during exhumation resulting in a hairpin shaped p t path

microdiamond in high grade metamorphic rocks of the western gneiss region norway three grains of microdiamond were recovered from high grade gneiss exposed in the western gneiss region norway identification and characterization of the diamond grains by raman and infrared spectroscopy indicate the presence of substitutional impurities of h and n primary fluid inclusions in garnet and quartz in the diamond bearing rock demonstrate the evolution of metamorphic volatile fluids from reduced n 2 co 2 compositions during the peak phase of metamorphism to n 2 ch 4 h 2 o bearing compositions during retrograde metamorphism compatible geologic petrologic and fluid composition data imply a metamorphic origin for the microdiamonds if so the metamorphic and fluid conditions recorded by the microdiamonds and gneissic host may be applicable to microdiamond investigations in other high pressure regionally metamorphosed orogens

microdiamond on areskutan confirms regional uhp metamorphism in the seve nappe complex of the scandinavian caledonides metamorphic diamond in crustal rocks provides important information on the deep subduction of continental crust here we present a new occurrence of diamond within the seve nappe complex snc of the scandinavian caledonides on areskutan in jamtland county sweden microdiamond is found in situ as single and composite diamond carbonate inclusions within garnet in kyanite bearing paragneisses the rocks preserve the primary peak pressure assemblage of ca mg rich garnet phengite kyanite rutile with polycrystalline quartz surrounded by radial cracks indicating breakdown of coesite calculated p t conditions for this stage are 830 840 c and 4 1 4 2 gpa in the diamond stability field the ultrahigh pressure uhp assemblage has been variably overprinted under granulite facies conditions of 850 860 c and 1 0 1 1 gpa leading to formation of ca mg poor garnet biotite plagioclase k feldspar sillimanite ilmenite quartz this overprint was the result of nearly isothermal decompression which is corroborated by ti in quartz thermometry chemical th u pb dating of monazite yields ages between 445 and 435 ma which are interpreted to record post uhp exhumation of the diamond bearing rocks the new discovery of microdiamond on areskutan together with other evidence of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism uhpm within gneisses eclogites and peridotites elsewhere in the snc provide compelling arguments for regional at least 200 km along strike of the unit uhpm of substantial parts of this far travelled allochthon the occurrence of uhpm in both rheologically weak gneisses and strong lithologies eclogites peridotites speaks against the presence of large tectonic overpressure during metamorphism

quantifying the ph vital effect in the temperate zooxanthellate coral cladocora caespitosa validation of the boron seawater ph proxy boron isotopic and elemental systematics are used to define the vital effects for the temperate shallow water mediterranean coral cladocora caespitosa the corals are from a range of seawater ph conditions pht 7 6 to 8 1 and environmental settings 1 naturally living colonies harvested from normal ph waters offshore levanto 2 colonies transplanted nearby a subsea volcanic vent system and 3 corals cultured in aquaria exposed to high 700 atm and near present day 400 atm pco2 levels b ca compositions measured using laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry la icpms show that boron uptake by c caespitosa cultured at different pco2 levels is independent of ambient seawater ph being mainly controlled by temperature dependent calcification in contrast the boron isotope compositions 11bcarb of the full suite of corals determined by positive thermal ionisation mass spectrometry ptims shows a clear trend of decreasing 11bcarb from 26 7 to 22 2 with decreasing seawater ph reflecting the strong ph dependence of the boron isotope system the 11bcarb compositions together with measurements of ambient seawater parameters enable calibration of the boron ph proxy for c caespitosa by using a new approach that defines the relationship between ambient seawater ph phsw and the internally controlled ph at the site of calcification phbiol c caespitosa exhibits a linear relationship between phsw and the shift in ph due to physiological processes ph phbiol phsw giving the regression phclad 4 80 0 52 phsw for this species we further apply this method ph phsw to calibrate tropical species of porites acropora and stylophora reported in the literature the temperate and tropical species calibrations are all linearly correlated r2 0 9 and the biological fractionation component ph between species varies within 0 2 ph units our ph phsw approach provides a robust and accurate tool to reconstruct palaeoseawater phsw for both temperate and tropical corals further validating the boron fractionation factor b3 b4 1 0272 determined experimentally by klochko et al 2006 and the boron isotope ph proxy both of which have been the foci of considerable debate

the non tropical coral cladocora caespitosa as the new climate archive for the mediterranean high resolution weekly trace element systematics abstract high resolution weekly laser ablation icp ms trace element analyses b sr u mg ba are reported for the scleractinian coral cladocora caespitosa collected from the northern adriatic sea geochemical ratios sr ca b ca mg ca u ca ba ca were measured in a 38 mm long 10 years growth external coralline portion wall region and generally exhibit a close relationship with the in situ measured weekly fortnightly data on sea surface temperature sst available for the last 6 years in particular b ca ratios tuned to fine scale variations in sst show a high degree of correlation r 0 856 n 136 with sst and indicate that coral calcification only occurs above a minimum temperature threshold of 14 16 c in addition the ranges of trace element variability are larger than those typically recorded in tropical corals consistent with the large seasonal variations in sst of the adriatic this study thus demonstrates the feasibility of extracting and exploiting high resolution geochemical records from non tropical corals such as c caespitosa as a proxy for sst

partial melting of metapelites at ultrahigh pressure conditions greenland caledonides eclogite orthogneiss and by association metapelite from an island at 78 n in north east greenland experienced ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphism at approximately 970 c and 3 6 gpa at the end of the caledonian collision 360 350 ma hydrous metapelites contain abundant leucocratic layers and lenses composed of medium grained anhedral equigranular quartz antiperthitic plagioclase and k feldspar with minor small garnet and kyanite crystals leucosomes are generally parallel to the matrix foliation are interlayered with residual quartz bands anastomose around residual garnet and commonly cross cut micaceous segregations textures suggest that the leucosomes crystallized from a syntectonic melt but crystallized at the end of local high grade deformation the metapelite outcrop is 1 5 km from kyanite eclogites with confirmed coesite but the metapelites lack coesite and palisade textures diagnostic of coesite pseudomorphs they do contain highly fractured garnet megacrysts with polycrystalline quartz inclusions some surrounded by radial fractures and ti rich phengite inclusions that suggest the former presence of coesite polyphase inclusions in garnet contain reactants and products of the inferred dehydration melting reaction phe qtz ky kfs rt melt the reactants are thought to have been early inclusions of hydrous phases within garnet that melted and then crystallized new phases garnet surrounding these inclusions has patchy zoning with elevated ca consistent with experiments that produced similar patchy microstructures in garnet around inclusions with an unequivocal melt origin the peak uhp metamorphic assemblage in these rocks is inferred to have been phengite coesite garnet kyanite rutile fluid omphacite epidote phase diagrams indicate that dehydration melting of phengite in this assemblage would have occurred after decompression from peak pressure but still above the coesite to quartz transition unusual crown and moat like textures in garnet around some polycrystalline quartz inclusions are also consistent with the inference that melting took place at uhp conditions

geochronology and geochemistry of zircon from the northern western gneiss region insights into the caledonian tectonic history of western norway abstract the western gneiss region wgr of norway is divided by the more trondelag shear zone mtsz into a southern region that contains domains of caledonian ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic rocks 2 5 gpa and a northern area of similar caledonian aged rocks that record a maximum pressure reported thus far of 1 5 gpa although both regions contain similar lithologies primarily migmatitic quartzofeldspathic gneiss containing mafic lenses and structural relationship of basement rocks to infolded nappes this difference in maximum pressure implies a difference in tectonic history continental subduction south of the shear zone none to the north and raises questions about the role of the mtsz in the metamorphic history including exhumation of the wgr previous geochronology results indicated a difference in timing of peak metamorphism older in north younger in south in order to better understand the tectonic history of the northern wgr and the mtsz and in particular the late to post caledonian tectonic history u pb zircon geochronology and trace element abundances were obtained using the split stream laser ablation icpms technique from metabasaltic lenses and migmatitic quartzofeldspathic host rocks from the structurally lowest exposed region of the northern wgr roan peninsula basement as well as leucosomes from an intercalated portion of the seve nappe complex and a pegmatite in the mtsz zircon from roan gneiss and metabasite yield metamorphic ages of ca 410 406 ma and zircon from a variety of migmatite samples foliation parallel leucosome to dikes indicate melt crystallization at ca 410 to 405 ma the seve nappe leucosomes yield only early caledonian dates that cluster at ca 437 ma and ca 465 ma suggesting that the allochthons in this region did not experience or record the same scandian tectonic history as the basement rocks zircon from a weakly deformed pegmatite dike within the mtsz crystallized at ca 404 ma indicating that this shear zone was active during the end stages of high grade metamorphism in both the southern and northern wgr domains results of this study show that the northern and southern wgr experienced a coeval scandian metamorphic magmatic and deformation history despite a possible difference in maximum p t conditions

metastability of granulites and processes of eclogitisation in the uhp region of western norway the flatraket complex a granulite facies low strain enclave within the western gneiss region provides an excellent example of metastability of plagioclase bearing assemblages under eclogite facies conditions coesite eclogites are found 28 kbar unprecedented metastability of plagioclase and quartz is implied alternatively a tectonic break exists between the flatraket complex and uhp eclogites supporting the concept of a tectonic boundary to the uhp zone of the western gneiss region the distribution of eclogite and amphibolite facies metamorphic overprints demonstrates that the reactivity of the crust during deep burial and exhumation is strongly controlled by fluid availability and is a function of the protolith

protolith ages and exhumation histories of ultra high pressure rocks across the western gneiss region norway the timing of protolith formation ultrahigh pressure uhp subduction and subsequent exhumation for the ultrahigh pressure to high pressure units across the eastern part of the western gneiss region norway were assessed using u pb zircon th pb monazite and 40 ar 39 ar white mica ages u pb zircon ages from eclogites demonstrate that oceanic and continental allochthons were emplaced onto the baltica basement before the entire mass was subducted to ultra high pressure eclogites within the allochthons across the entire western gneiss region are caledonian and show a degree of zircon re crystallization that increases with peak pressure permitting the interpretation that the entire region underwent synchronous subduction 40 ar 39 ar white mica ages of 399 ma indicate that the eastern part of the western gneiss region had been exhumed to shallow crustal levels while uhp metamorphism was ongoing farther west indicating a westward dip to the slab the 40 ar 39 ar white mica ages also show a clear east to west gradient across the entire western gneiss region indicating that the western gneiss region rose diachronously to crustal levels from east to west between 399 and 390 ma

u pb dates and trace element geochemistry of zircon from migmatite western gneiss region norway significance for history of partial melting in continental subduction article i nfo thewesterngneissregion wgr norway isdominatedbymigmatiticgneissthatcontainsinclusionsofeclogite some of which contain evidence for ultrahigh pressure metamorphism to evaluate geochemical and age relation ships between host migmatite and eclogite we obtained la icp ms u pb dates and trace element analyses for zircon from a variety of textural types of leucosome from layer parallel to crosscutting zircon textures euhedral oscillatory and sector zone grains indicate a likely magmatic origin of the leucosomes caledonian u pb zircon dates from zircon rim and near rim regions are as old as 410 406 ma coeval with previously determined ages of high and ultrahigh pressure metamorphismof wgr eclogite trace elementanalysesobtained simultaneously with u pb dates indicate crystallization of zircon under garnet present conditions in the majority of leucosomes other zircons including those from crosscutting pegmatite yield younger ages as young as 385 ma coinciding with dates determined for amphibolite facies retrogression of eclogite trace element analyses suggest that these zircons grew under plagioclase present garnet absent conditions combined age and trace element data for leucosome zircons record the transition from high pressure garnet present plagioclase absent crys tallization to lower pressure plagioclase present crystallization if the euhedral zircons that yield ages coeval with peak or near peak uhp metamorphism represent crystallization from anatectic leucosomes these results combined with field and petrographic observations of eclogite migmatite relationships are consistent with the presence of partially molten crust in at least part of the wgr during continental subduction the decreased viscosity and increased buoyancy and strain weakening associated with partial melting may have assisted the rapid ascent of rocks from mantle to crustal depths

slow exhumation of uhp terranes titanite and rutile ages of the western gneiss region norway abstract u pb ages of titanite and rutile were obtained from the central western gneiss region norway to assess the style and timing of exhumation and cooling of the western gneiss uhp terrane approximately half of the titanite ages are concordant the majority of which yield a limited age range from 393 to 390 ma the other titanite data are discordant and define discordia arrays with upper intercept ages of either 938 ma or 1 6 ga and a lower intercept of 389 ma concordant rutile analyses range from 385 to 392 ma both titanite and rutile ages young wnw toward the core of the orogen and are 4 ma older than 40 ar 39 ar muscovite ages corresponding to a cooling rate of 90 c ma a well defined boundary between concordant and discordant titanite ages in combination with the wnw increasing p t gradient and the similarity between muscovite cooling ages in the east and eclogite ages in the west suggests that the wgr remained coherent throughout its exhumation history and was progressively unroofed from east to west a 390 2 0 8 ma titanite in the soroyane uhp domain indicates that exhumation occurred at a vertical rate of 7 mm yr for 12 ma these rates are slower than estimates from smaller uhp terranes but similar to other large uhp terranes suggesting that there may be fundamental differences in the mechanisms controlling the evolution of large uhp terranes that undergo protracted subduction and exhumation and smaller uhp terranes that undergo rapid subduction and exhumation

raman confirmation of microdiamond in the svartberget fe ti type garnet peridotite western gneiss region western norway introductionvestiges of ultra high pressure meta morphism uhpm havebeenfoundincontinental and oceanic rocks of dif ferentorogensworldwide smith 1988 coleman and wang 1995 carswelland compagnoni 2003 indirectuhpmevidencecomesfromtheappli cation of geothermobarometric tech niques lappin and smith 1978 ravna krogh and paquin 2003 ap plied to uhpm mineral assemblagesand directly from mineralogical indi cators such as coesite diamond andmajoritic garnet chopin 1984 smith 1984 sobolev and shatsky 1990 do brzhinetskaya et al 1995 van roer mund and drury 1998 nasdala andmassonne 2000 mposkos andkosto poulos 2001 van roermund et al 2002 godard et al 2003 neverthe less the mechanisms responsible forthe formation preservation and exhu mation of uhpm rocksin orogens arestill not fully understood the volume and spatial distributionof uhpm rocks within uhpm terr anes including the observed contrastin metamorphic grade between rocksthat contain uhpm minerals andadjacent country rocks that do notcontain them have led to di erentexplanations concerning the origin emplacement and preservation ofthese rocks to explain the occur rence volume and areal extent ofuhpm rocks in the western gneissregion wgr the following mecha nisms that assume a continental sub duction scenario have been proposed a the existence of major and orminor post uhpm tectonic contactssuch as nappes and or tectonic mel anges e g lappin and smith 1978 smith 1984 1988 wain 1997 cuth bert et al 2000 terry and robinson 2003 2004 or b the presence of uids and or deformation leading todi erential prograde or retrogradereactions and di erences in reaction kinetics between rock types austr heim et al 1997 cuthbert et al 2000 wain et al 2001 carswell andcuthbert 2003 cuthbert and car swell 2003 hypotheses that do notnecessarily involve continental sub duction may involve local regional tectonic overpressure in rocks smith 1984 mancktelow 1993 petrini and podladchikov 2000 it isconsidered here that the volume andareal extent of uhpm domains withina single metamorphic terrain are thusimportant parameters to determine asthey can modify or identify the loca tions of inferred or observed tectoniccontacts the relations between uidsand uhpm and or the scales atwhich continental crust subductionor tectonic overpressure might act here we report raman data thatcon rm the previously reported butnot proven presence of microdia monds at the svartberget uhpmlocality in the wgr of norway vrijmoed et al 2006 micro diamond con rmation is consistentwith the results of vrijmoed et al 2006 that the volume and arealextent of the northern uhpm domainof the wgr fig 1 are considerablyexpanded eastwards and followingthe reasoning in the paragraph above the new microdiamond nding willput important constraints on themodels described above ultra high pressure metamorphismin the western gneiss regionthe wgr represents a window inthe scandinavian caledonides wherescandian reworked high grade gneis sic rocks of proterozoic age presum ably belonging to the baltic plate are exposed in addition variableamounts of metadolerites amphi abstract

dating of subduction and differential exhumation of uhp rocks from the central dabie complex e china constraints from microfabrics rb sr and u pb isotope systems abstract the correlation of deformation fabrics and metamorphic reactions with geochronologic data of uhp metamorphic rocks demonstrate that the multistage subduction and exhumation history of the central dabie complex requires rapid subduction and rapid initial exhumation moreover these data show that volume diffusion is not the major resetting mechanism of radiogenic isotope systems thus our age data do not simply reflect a thermal cooling history in the investigated section the maximum age for uhp is given by the 244 3 ma 2 u pb age of a pre uhp titanite phenocryst that survived uhp metamorphism and subsequent tectonometamorphic events a minimum age for uhp is set by the 238 1 ma 2 238 u 206 pb mineral isochron age of titanite and cogenetic epidote these minerals formed from local partial melts during ascent and their age suggests fast exhumation and emplacement in the middle crust in the period of ca 238 218 ma the uhp terrain records ht metamorphism local partial melting and extensive pervasive strain below the eclogite jd grt stability field exhumation was polyphase with a first phase of fast exhumation succeeded by episodes of ht metamorphism and concomitant deformation at deep mid crustal level between 238 and 218 ma slow exhumation related to the final emplacement of tectonic units along greenschist facies shear zones did not cease before ca 209 204 ma the resetting and homogenization of radiogenic isotope systems were aided by dissolution precipitation creep which was the dominant deformation mechanism in quartz feldspar rocks in combination with fluid influx

magnetism at depth a view from an ancient continental subduction and collision zone recent sophisticated global data compilations and magnetic surveys have been used to investigate the nature of magnetization in the lower crust and upper mantle two approaches to constraining magnetizations are developed providing minimum 0 01 si and maximum 0 04 si susceptibility estimates given some assumed thickness 15 km here these values are higher than are found in many continental rocks are there rocks deeper in the crust or upper mantle that are more magnetic than expected or are the model assumptions incomplete what is the magnetic behavior of deep crustal and upper mantle rocks when slightly cooler than the curie or neel temperatures of their magnetic minerals after being exhumed from locations of high grade metamorphism at greater depth different sets of equilibrium metamorphic minerals can be considered that would form under different conditions results on 1501 samples from the western gneiss region wgr norway mainly from mafic and ultramafic bodies subducted to depths of 60 200 km and temperatures of 750 up to 950 c at the very highest pressures show that rocks did not fully equilibrate to the dominant metamorphic facies conditions there is a large variation in petrophysical properties oxide minerals and mineral assemblages in wgr samples though they cannot explain the broad high amplitude deep seated anomalies measured in this region the presence of magnetite and exsolved titanohematite and hemo ilmenite in samples shows those magnetic phases are preserved even at eclogite facies conditions in part because complete eclogite facies equilibrium was rarely achieved

corals at their latitudinal limits laser ablation trace element systematics in porites from shirigai bay japan the rapid analytical technique of laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry la icp ms was used to measure the trace elements b mg sr ba and u in a high latitude coral colony porites lobata taken from shirigai bay japan 32 n a wide range of sea surface temperatures ssts 14 5 28 c and upwelling events influenced this coral cold winter ssts caused a decrease and or cessation of skeletal extension measurements of u ca and sr ca indicate an approximately linear response to ssts above 18 c and a non linear response below 18 c mg ca and b ca measurements both showed annual cycles broadly consistent with sst variations but also exhibited intra annual fluctuations not associated with temperature suggesting that the incorporation of mg and b into the coral skeleton was not simply regulated by temperature it is shown that ba ca ratios provide a proxy for wind induced seasonal upwelling this is inferred from the strong correlations between the strength of zonal winds 1 month prior to the sst minimum and the ba ca maximum secondary upwelling events occurred during the summers of 1982 1987 1991 and 1992 these summers were cooler than average and were associated with el nino southern oscillation events

a major synmetamorphic early devonian thrust and extensional fault system in the mid norway caledonides relevance to exhumation of hp and uhp rocks

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

the middle to late devonian hoybakken detachment central norway 40ar 39ar evidence for prolonged late post scandian extension and uplift the regionally significant 0 5 2 km thick hoybakken detachment in central norway bounds the southern margin of the central norway basement window and exhibits a well developed top to the wsw fabric characteristic of late scandian devonian ductile extension 40 ar 39 ar data obtained from hornblende mica and k feldspar mineral separates of rocks collected in a transect through the hoybakken detachment yield well defined plateau and isochron mineral ages early devonian exhumation and cooling of the hoybakken detachment footwall is recorded by hornblende ages of 400 ma and mica ages of 390 ma the mylonitic fabric overlying the footwall records younger middle devonian mica crystallization ages of 384 381 ma that are among the youngest extensional ductile fabrics dated in the caledonides and suggest prolonged extensional activity on the hoybakken detachment after inferred cessation of ductile extension at 381 ma the rate of uplift and cooling was reduced and the footwall records late devonian to early carboniferous k feldspar ages of 371 356 ma prolonged extensional activity at hoybakken is compatible with recent u pb ages of deformed titanite crystals and established rb sr ages of white mica in shear related pegmatites both from the southwestern part of the fosen peninsula and 40 ar 39 ar ages of syn tectonic mica overgrowth from the adjacent hitra snasa fault together these ages suggest the onset of ductile extension soon after 401 ma and with the middle devonian crystallization ages determined here suggest that ductile extension on the hoybakken detachment had a duration of 11 20 ma the youngest age of 320 ma was obtained from a k feldspar in a cataclastic granite of the hoybakken detachment s hangingwall and is considered to date a phase of post scandian brittle deformation that overprinted the mylonitic shear fabric

ages of ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and protolith orthogneisses from the eastern dabie shan u pb zircon geochronology the dabie shan contains two rare geologic features one the occurrence of ultra high pressure metamorphic rocks peak p 2 7 gpa uhp in the east central part of this belt and two some of these uhp rocks are characterized by anomalously 18o depleted oxygen isotopic compositions geochronological data are presented that constrain the age of the uhp metamorphism the ages of protoliths and potentially the age of hydrothermal alteration believed to be responsible for the anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions the age of uhp metamorphism in the eastern dabie shan is dated at 218 5 1 7 ma using u pb in zircon separated from host gneisses this age is identical within uncertainty with a less precise age using u pb in zircon separated from uhp eclogite 225 5 3 6 ma and with previously published ages from uhp eclogites of the dabie shan map relationships strongly support an in situ as opposed to exotic orgin of the uhp eclogites in this region the identical ages of uhp metamorphism in the gneisses and eclogites provides additional support for this interpretation the age of the protolith gneisses is dated as 772 5 9 5 ma based on the upper intercept of the zircons which accords well with other dates of granitic gneisses in the qinling belt the association of mafic and felsic magmatism is interpreted to reflect rifting along the northern margin of the yangtze block at this time these upper intercept ages may date the hydrothermal circulation of 18o depleted meteoric water which gave rise to the anomalously 18o depleted uhp protoliths of the dabie shan and sulu region the coincidence of these protolith ages with the early sinian glaciation of south china is consonant with the suggestion that the highly anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions in this region date from this time the upper intercept age of the eclogite is imprecisely determined at 447 82 79 ma but is younger than the host gneisses and is not characterized by anomalous oxygen isotopic compositions

changes in ph in the eastern equatorial pacific across stage 5 6 boundary based on boron isotopes in foraminifera estimates of paleo ph for the eastern equatorial pacific ocean across the oxygen isotopic stage 5 6 boundary have been made based on the boron isotopic composition of planktonic orbulina universa and benthic mixed species foraminifera from core v19 28 the estimated deep ocean ph during the penultimate glacial period was about 0 3 0 1 ph units higher compared to the modern deep ocean this is consistent with previously estimated deep ocean ph changes across the stage l 2 boundary in the western equatorial pacific and tropical atlantic thus arguing against the possibility that the benthic foraminifera analyzed to estimate deep ocean ph changes have been significantly affected by anomalous local environment and or diagenesis the estimated changes in the deep ocean carbonate chemistry require a decoupling of several kilometers between the saturation horizon and the lysocline during the glacial periods though such a decoupling could be achieved by enhanced respiration co2 driven calcite dissolution in sediments during glacial periods it lacks support from the calcite sedimentary records the boron isotopic compositions of planktonic foraminifera on the other hand indicate no significant ph change in the eastern equatorial pacific surface ocean during the glacial interglacial transition this is inconsistent with an expected higher surface ocean ph during the glacial period due to lower atmospheric pco2 and is also in contrast with the previously estimated boron isotope based glacial interglacial ph change of 0 2 0 1 ph units in the western equatorial pacific and tropical atlantic the lack of change in eastern equatorial pacific surface ocean ph between glacial interglacial periods could be attributed to less nutrient utilization efficiency and or enhanced calcite production during glacial periods such a decrease in nutrient utilization efficiency and or increase in calcite production would lead to a greater disequilibrium between the pco2 of eastern equatorial pacific surface ocean and that of the atmosphere making this part of the ocean a greater source of co2 to the atmosphere during glacial periods compared to today

correlation of boron isotopic composition with ultrastructure in the deep sea coral lophelia pertusa implications for biomineralization and paleo ph using the crpg cnrs cameca 1270 ion microprobe facility we have measured boron isotopic compositions b 11 b 10 in different ultrastructural components of the deep sea aragonitic scleractinian coral lophelia pertusa we observe a systematic difference in b isotopic composition between the early mineralization zone emz and adjacent fibrous skeleton in emz the measured delta 11 b values are consistently low fibrous aragonite is characterized by systematically higher delta 11 b values but also displays b isotopic heterogeneity associated with specific growth bands in the calyx wall the magnitude of the observed b isotopic variations cannot be explained by changes in environmental conditions and is likely caused by biological processes involved in the biomineralization of new skeleton i e vital effects the observed b isotopic variations are opposite to the predictions of geochemical models for vital effects these models are based on the idea that stable isotopic fractionations including c and o in coral skeleton are driven by changes in ph of the fluid from which the skeleton is presumed to precipitate our data indicate that ph variations are not responsible for the observed stable isotopic fractionations geochemical models therefore do not provide an adequate framework within which to understand coral skeletal formation without a better understanding of these processes the use of b isotopic composition to reconstruct paleo ph variations in the oceans must be considered problematic at least as far as lophelia pertusa is concerned

atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration across the mid pleistocene transition the dominant period of pleistocene glacial cycles changed during the mid pleistocene from 40 000 years to 100 000 years for as yet unknown reasons here we present a 2 1 million year record of sea surface partial pressure of co2 pco2 based on boron isotopes in planktic foraminifer shells which suggests that the atmospheric partial pressure of co2 pco2 was relatively stable before the mid pleistocene climate transition glacial pco2 was approximately 31 microatmospheres higher before the transition more than 1 million years ago but interglacial pco2 was similar to that of late pleistocene interglacial cycles 450 000 years ago these estimates are consistent with a close linkage between atmospheric co2 concentration and global climate but the lack of a gradual decrease in interglacial pco2 does not support the suggestion that a long term drawdown of atmospheric co2 was the main cause of the climate transition

surface ocean ph response to variations in pco2 through two full glacial cycles abstract knowledge of past atmospheric pco 2 is important for evaluating the role of greenhouse gases in climate forcing ice core records show the tight correlation between climate change and pco 2 but records are limited to the past 900 kyr we present surface ocean ph and pco 2 data reconstructed from boron isotopes in planktonic foraminifera over two full glacial cycles 0 140 and 300 420 kyr the data co vary strongly with the vostok pco 2 record and demonstrate that the coupling between surface ocean chemistry and the atmosphere is recorded in marine archives allowing for quantitative estimation of atmospheric pco 2 beyond the reach of ice cores