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

mantle phase changes and deep earthquake faulting in subducting lithosphere inclined zones of earthquakes are the primary expression of lithosphere subduction a distinct deep population of subduction zone earthquakes occurs at depths of 350 to 690 kilometers at those depths ordinary brittle fracture and frictional sliding the faulting processes of shallow earthquakes are not expected a fresh understanding of these deep earthquakes comes from developments in several areas of experimental and theoretical geophysics including the discovery and characterization of transformational faulting a shear instability connected with localized phase transformations under nonhydrostatic stress these developments support the hypothesis that deep earthquakes represent transformational faulting in a wedge of olivine rich peridotite that is likely to persist metastably in coldest plate interiors to depths as great as 690 km predictions based on this deep structure of mantle phase changes are consistent with the global depth distribution of deep earthquakes the maximum depths of earthquakes in individual subductions zones and key source characteristics of deep events

slab detachment during continental collision influence of crustal rheology and interaction with lithospheric delamination abstract collision between continents can lead to the subduction of continental material if the crust remains coupled to the downgoing slab a large buoyancy force is generated this force slows down convergence and promotes slab detachment if the crust resists to subduction it may decouple from the downgoing slab and be subjected to buoyant extrusion we employ two dimensional thermo mechanical modelling to study the importance of crustal rheology on the evolution of subduction collision systems we propose simple quantifications of the mechanical decoupling between lithospheric levels and the potential for buoyant extrusion of the crust the modelling results indicate that a variable crustal rheological structure results in slab detachment delamination or the combination of both mechanisms a strong crust provides coupling at the moho low and remains coherent during subduction low it promotes deep subduction of the crust 180 km and slab detachment exhumation occurs in coherent manners via eduction and thrusting slab detachment triggers the development of topography 4 5 km close to the suture a contrasting style of collision occurs using a weak crustal rheology mechanical decoupling at the moho high promotes the extrusion of the crust high disabling slab detachment ongoing shortening leads to buckling of the crust and development of topography on the lower plate collisions involving rheologically layered crust allow decoupling at mid crustal depths this structure favours both the extrusion of upper crust and the subduction of the lower crust such collisions are successively affected by delamination and slab detachment topography develops together with the buoyant extrusion of crust onto the foreland and is further amplified by slab detachment our results suggest that the occurrence of both delamination apennines and slab detachment himalayas in orogens may indicate differences in the initial crustal structure of subducting continental plates in these regions

high temperature overprint in u hpm rocks exhumed from subduction zones a product of isothermal decompression or a consequence of slab break off slab rollback abstract this paper presents and discusses petrological observations from high to ultrahigh pressure u hp metamorphic terrains in relation to existing geophysical and numerical models for subduction and exhumation processes in orogenic belts the interpretations are mostly based on observations from gneiss terrains bearing abundant bodies mafic meta eclogite and ultramafic garnet peridotite and pyroxenite exposed in collisional orogens the inclusions and compositional zoning of minerals are considered to be first order information that is needed to constrain pt paths of hp uhp rocks and reconstruct the related geodynamic models for subduction and exhumation of crustal and mantle rocks the bohemian massif of the european variscides is used as the basis for a model example to explain these processes but u hp rocks from various other terrains are taken into consideration to discuss available pt paths in relation to proposed subduction and exhumation rates of u hp rocks based on geophysical and geochronological data primarily information used in this respect include textural relations and preserved prograde zoning in minerals from many u hp rocks which reveal that a relatively cool geothermal gradient typical of subduction zones tended to prevail during the prograde and peak pressure segments of pt paths prior to initiation of exhumation and may have continued even with cooling if exhumation rates were rapid the commonly applied interpretation of isothermal decompression during exhumation is critically appraised considering whether a simple thermal relaxation and radiogenic heating during exhumation is responsible for formation of post peak pressure retrograde mineral assemblages and textures observed in u hp rocks we go on to consider whether this can satisfactorily explain the often pervasive medium pressure high temperature metamorphic re equilibration of u hp rocks or whether an additional external source of heat is a better explanation we conclude that the commonly observed high temperature metamorphic overprint exhibited by u hp rocks occurs mostly after rocks have been exhumed from the subduction channel and have reached normal crustal positions when mantle upwelling resulting from slab breakoff delamination or slab rollback takes place at the onset of continent continent collision we also explore contrasting pt trajectories for mantle rocks that have been entrained into crustal material during their subduction or exhumation pt paths of mantle and subducted crustal rocks tend to converge as mantle rocks impinge upon the cooler subduction zone and once entrained share a common evolution that depends on the exhumation mechanism and rate considering all of the data presented in this work we conclude that the diverse polyphase metamorphic evolution exhibited by u hp terrains embodied in the pt paths of hp and uhp rocks has important consequences for reconstructing their changing thermal regimes and provides important constraints for geodynamic models involving subduction and the transition to collision

partial transformation of gabbro to coesite bearing eclogite from yangkou the sulu terrane eastern china an ultra high pressure uhp metamorphic slab at yangkou beach near qingdao in the sulu region of china consists of blocks of eclogite facies metagabbro metagranitoid ultramafic rock and mylonitic orthogneisses enclosed in granitic gneiss a gradational sequence from incipiently metamorphosed gabbro to completely recrystallized coesite eclogite formed at ultra high pressures was identified in a single 30 m block metagabbro is preserved in the core whereas coesite eclogite occurs along the block margins the metagabbro contains an igneous assemblage of pl aug opx qtz bt ilm ti mag it shows relict magmatic textures and reaction coronas fine grained garnet developed along boundaries between plagioclase and other phases primary plagioclase broke down to ab ky ms zo grt amp augite is rimmed by sodic augite or omphacite whereas orthopyroxene is rimmed by a corona of cum act and omp qtz layers or only omp qtz in transitional rocks augite and orthopyroxene are totally replaced by omphacite and the lower pressure assemblage ab ky phn zo grt coexists with domains of omp jd70 73 ky phn in pseudomorphs after plagioclase both massive and weakly deformed coesite bearing eclogites contain omp ky grt phn coe qtz rt and preserve a faint gabbroic texture coesite inclusions in garnet and omphacite exhibit limited conversion to palisade quartz some intergranular coesite and quartz pseudomorphs after coesite also occur assemblages of the coronal stage transitional and uhp peak occurred at about 540 50 c at c 13 kbar 600 800 c at 15 25 kbar and 800 850 c at 30 kbar respectively garnet from the coronal through the transitional to the eclogite stage rocks show a decrease in almandine and an increase in grossular pyrope components garnet in low grade rocks contains higher mno and lower pyrope components the growth textures of garnet within pseudomorphs after plagioclase or along grain boundaries between plagioclase and other phases are complex the application of garnet zoning to estimate p t should be carried out with caution some garnet enclosing quartz aggregates as inclusions shows radial growth boundaries these quartz aggregates as well as other primary and low p phases persisted metastably at uhp conditions due to sluggish reactions resulting from the lack of fluid during prograde and retrograde p t evolution

the pyrope coesite rocks and their country rocks at parigi dora maira massif western alps detailed petrography mineral chemistry and pt path both the coarse and fine grained varieties of the partly coesite bearing pyrope quartzites their interlayered jadeite kyanite rocks and the biotite phengite gneiss country rock common to all of them were subjected to detailed petrographic and textural studies in order to determine the sequence of crystallisation of their mineral constituents which were also studied analytically by microprobe prior to pyrope and coesite growth the mg rich metapelites were talc kyanite chlorite rutile ellenbergerite schists which upon continued prograde metamorphism developed first pyrope megacrysts in silica deficient local environments at the expense of chlorite talc kyanite and subsequently the smaller pyrope crystals with coesite inclusions from reacting talc kyanite based on geobarometrically useful mineral inclusions as well as on experimentally determined phase relations a prograde pt path simplified for water activity 1 is constructed which passes through the approximate pt conditions 16 kbar and 560 c 29 kbar and 720 c and finally up to 37 kbar at about 800 c where the mg rich metapelite was a pyrope coesite rock with phengite kyanite and talc still present during the retrograde path pyrope was altered metasomatically either into phlogopite kyanite quartz or at a later stage to chlorite muscovite quartz both assemblages yield pt constraints the latter about 7 9 kbar 500 600 c the country rock gneisses have also endured high pressures of at least 15 kbar but they provide mostly constraints on the lowest portion of the uplift conditions within the greenschist facies about 5 kbar 450 c microprobe data are presented for the following minerals pyrope ellenbergerite dumortierite unusually mgti rich jadeite vermiculite formed after na phlogopite paragonite and for several generations of phengite chlorite talc phlogopite dravite and glaucophane in the high pressure rocks as well as for biotite chlorite phengites epidote garnet albite and k feldspar in the country rock gneisses an outstanding open problem identified in this study is the preservation of minerals as inclusions within kyanite and pyrope beyond their pt stability limits

evolution of shallow crustal thermal structure from subduction to collision an example from taiwan we study crustal thermal evolution by examining heat flow patterns along a convergent boundary from a young subduction zone to a more structurally mature collision zone more than 8000 km of seismic profiles covering an offshore region of 45 000 km 2 in southern taiwan show widespread bottom simulating reflectors bsrs we derived 1107 bsr based heat flows before combining 42 additional published offshore thermal probe data and 86 on land heat flow data to document the shallow forearc thermal structures from the subduction zone to the collision zone in the subduction zone the geothermal gradient ranges mostly within 30 80 c km and decreases toward the arc due to slab cooling intensive dewatering at the toe sediment blanketing topographic effects and other processes the geothermal gradient ranges mostly from 30 to 90 c km in the collision zone and increases instead of decreases toward the arc possibly caused by exhumation erosion topographically induced ground water circulation and some upper mantle processes related to collision heat flow in the collision zone ranges from 80 to 250 mw m 2 the high heat flow in the collision zone correlates with a shallower seismicity zone and high seismic attenuation while the lower heat flow in the subduction zone might allow the earthquakes to rupture to greater depth the heat flow increases along the topographic high from subduction to collision zone due to increasing geothermal gradients and higher thermal conductivities of the exhumed basement rocks this heat flow variation may generate an artificial exhumation rate pattern if a conventional 30 c km geothermal gradient was used in fission track studies

eclogite facies rocks of the monotonous unit clue to variscan suture in the moldanubian zone bohemian massif abstract the formation and exhumation of variscan high to ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks from the moldanubian zone in the bohemian massif are the subject of controversy regarding their unclear relationship to possible subduction zones in this paper we present the results of a petrological study of eclogites that occur together with serpentinites within amphibolite facies gneisses in the moldanubian zone east of the tepla barrandian block more than 100 bodies of retrogressed eclogite and serpentinite follow an approximately 250 km long sw ne trending zone in the central part of the bohemian massif together with surrounding gneisses the eclogites share a medium to low pressure amphibolite facies metamorphism p t conditions estimated for the eclogite facies stage indicate a relatively low temperature geothermal gradient similar to those observed in the saxothuringian zone which occurs north and northwest of the tepla barrandian block the presence and distribution of eclogites and comparison of their p t and age data with hp uhpm rocks in other units in the bohemian massif allow us to constrain the variscan suture which straddles the se of the tepla barrandian block the existence of this suture in relation to available geotectonic models and its possible continuation through other allochthonous units along the european variscan belt are discussed

seasonal mesoscale and submesoscale eddy variability along the north pacific subtropical countercurrent abstractlocated at the center of the western north pacific subtropical gyre the subtropical countercurrent stcc is not only abundant in mesoscale eddies but also exhibits prominent submesoscale eddy features output from a high resolution ogcm simulation and a gridded satellite altimetry product are analyzed to contrast the seasonal stcc variability in the mesoscale versus submesoscale ranges resolving the eddy scales of 150 km the altimetry product reveals that the stcc eddy kinetic energy and rms vorticity have a seasonal maximum in may and april respectively a weak positive vorticity skewness without seasonal dependence and an inverse forward kinetic energy cascade for wavelengths larger shorter than 250 km in contrast the submesoscale resolving ogcm simulation detects that the stcc eddy kinetic energy and rms vorticity both appear in march a large positive vorticity skewness with strong seasonality and an intense inverse kinetic energy cascade whose short wave cutoff migrates seaso

accretion rate of cosmic spherules measured at the south pole micrometeorites are terrestrially collected extraterrestrial particles smaller than about 1 mm which account for most of the mass being accreted to the earth1 2 compared with meteorites micrometeorites more completely represent the earth crossing meteoroid complex3 4 and should include fragments of asteroids comets mars and our moon as well as pre solar and interstellar grains3 6 previous measurements of the flux of micrometeoroids that survive to the earth s surface have large uncertainties owing to the destruction of particles by weathering7 8 9 inefficiencies in magnetic collection or separation techniques7 8 9 low particle counts10 11 poor age constraint7 8 9 12 13 or highly variable concentrating processes12 13 here we describe an attempt to circumvent these problems through the collection of thousands of well preserved and dated micrometeorites from the bottom of the south pole water well which supplies drinking water for the scott amundsen station using this collection we have determined precise estimates of the flux and mass distribution for 50 700 m cosmic spherules melted micrometeorites allowing for the expected abundance of unmelted micrometeorites14 in the samples our results indicate that about 90 of the incoming mass of submillimetre particles evaporates during atmospheric entry our data indicate the loss of glass rich and small stony spherules from deep sea deposits7 8 and they provide constraints for models describing the survival probability of micrometeoroids15 16

the leonard award address presented 1996 july 25 berlin germany the elemental composition of stony cosmic spherules five hundred stony cosmic spherules collected from deep sea sediments polar ice and the strato sphere have been analyzed for major and some minor element composition typical spherules are products of atmospheric melting of millimeter sized and smaller meteoroids the samples are small and modified by atmospheric entry but they are an important source of information on the composition of asteroids the spherules in this study were all analyzed in an identical manner and they provide a sampling of the solar system s asteroids that is both different and less biased than provided by studies of conventional meteorites volatile elements such as na and s are depleted due to atmospheric heating while siderophiles are depleted by less understood causes the refractory nonsiderophile elements appear not to have been significantly dis turbed during atmospheric melting and provide important clues on the elemental composition of millimeter sized meteoroids colliding with the earth typical spherules have cm like composition that is distinctively different than ordinary chondrites and most other meteorite types we assume that c type asteroids are the primary origin of spherules with this composition type s asteroids should also be an important source of the spherules and the analysis data provide constraints on their composition a minor fraction of the spher ules are melt products of precursor particles that did not have chondritic elemental compositions the most common of these are particles that are dominated by olivine the observed compositions of spherules are in consistent with the possibility that an appreciable fraction of the spherules are simply chondrules remelted during atmospheric entry

subduction kinematics and dynamic constraints the kinematics of subduction zones shows a variety of settings that can provide clues for dynamic understandings two reference frames are used here to describe the simple 2d kinematics of subduction zones in the first the upper plate is assumed fixed whereas in the second frame upper and lower plates move relative to the mantle relative to a fixed point in the upper plate u the transient subduction hinge h can converge diverge or be stationary similarly the lower plate l can converge diverge or be stationary the subduction rate vs is given by the velocity of the hinge h minus the velocity of the lower plate l vs vh vl the subduction rate 1 increases when h diverges and 2 decreases when h converges combining the different movements at least 14 kinematic settings can be distinguished along the subduction zones variable settings can coexist even along a single subduction zone as shown for the 5 different cases occurring along the apennines subduction zone apart from few exceptions the subduction hinge converges toward the upper plate more frequently along e or ne directed subduction zone whereas it mainly diverges from the upper plate along w directed subduction zones accompanying backarc extension before collision orogen growth occurs mostly at the expenses of the upper plate shortening along e ne directed subduction zones whereas the accretionary prism of w directed subduction zones increases at the expenses of the shallow layers of the lower plate the convergence shortening ratio is 1 along e or ne directed subduction zones whereas it is 1 along accretionary prisms of w directed subduction zones backarc spreading forms in two settings along the w directed subduction zones it is determined by the hinge divergence relative to the upper plate minus the volume of the accretionary prism or in case of scarce or no accretion minus the volume of the asthenospheric intrusion at the subduction hinge since the volume of the accretionary prism is proportional to the depth of the decollement plane the backarc rifting is inversely proportional to the depth of the decollement on the other hand along e or ne directed subduction zones few backarc basins form e g aegean andaman and can be explained by the velocity gradient within the hangingwall lithosphere separated into two plates when referring to the mantle the kinematics of subduction zones can be computed either in the deep or in the shallow hotspot reference frames the subduction hinge is mostly stationary being the slab anchored to the mantle along w directed subduction zones whereas it moves w or sw ward along e or ne directed subduction zones surprisingly along e or ne directed subduction zones the slab moves out of the mantle i e the slab slips relative to the mantle opposite to the subduction direction kinematically this subduction occurs because the upper plate overrides the lower plate pushing it down into the mantle as an example the hellenic slab moves out relative to the mantle i e sw ward opposite to its subduction direction both in the deep and shallow hotspot reference frames in the shallow hotspot reference frame upper and lower plates move westward relative to the mantle along all subduction zones this kinematic observation casts serious doubts on the slab negative buoyancy as the primary driving mechanism of subduction and plate motions w directed subduction zones rather provide about 2 3 times larger volumes of lithosphere re entering into the mantle and the slab is pushed down this opposite behavior is consistent with the down dip extension seismicity along e ne directed subduction zones and the frequent down dip compression along the w directed subduction zones subduction kinematics shows that plate velocity is not dictated by the rate of subduction along the w directed subduction zones the rate of subduction is rather controlled i by the hinge migration due to the slab interaction with the easterly trending horizontal mantle wind along the global tectonic mainstream ii by the far field plate velocities and iii by the value of negative buoyancy of the slab relative to the country mantle alternatively e ne nne directed subduction zones have rates of sinking chiefly determined i by the far field velocity of plates and ii by the value of negative buoyancy of the slab relative to the country mantle along this type of subduction the subduction hinge generally advances e ne ward toward the upper plate decreasing the subduction rate but it moves w sw ward relative to the mantle all this indicates that subduction zones have different origin as a function of their geographic polarity and the subduction process is more a passive feature rather than being the driving mechanism of plate motions a rotational component combined with mantle density and viscosity anisotropies seems more plausible for generating the global tuning in the asymmetry of subduction zones

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

dynamics of slab rollback and induced back arc basin formation abstract we performed a numerical study to understand the dynamical mechanisms of back arc basin formation induced by slab rollback to this end we used two dimensional numerical models of an integrated plate mantle convection system with 410 and 660 km phase transitions retrograde slab migration occurs when the slab stagnates in the transition zone or when the deep section of the slab is vertical in both cases slab rollback occurs because the deep slab section obstructs the descending motion of the shallow slab section with an inclination buoyancy of the 660 km phase boundary acts as the obstructing force in the case of stagnant slab formation and an anchoring force against the horizontal motion works similarly in the case of vertical slabs to balance the horizontal component of the obstructing force a suction force at the plate boundary pulls the overriding plate toward the ocean back arc spreading is produced by means of slab rollback when the overriding plate with a weak area is fixed to the model boundary the back arc deformation becomes compressional when the overriding plate is freely movable despite trench retreat because the wedge mantle flow viscously drags the overriding plate toward the trench this implies that forces tending to actuate the overriding plate away from the trench are necessary to generate back arc extension even when trench retreat is generated by slab rollback

a family of frontal cyclones over the western atlantic ocean part ii parameter studies in this study a series of sensitivity experiments is performed to study the relative influence of latent heating surface friction and surface heat fluxes on the development of a family of frontal cyclones that occurred over the western atlantic ocean using the simulation presented in part i as a control run it is shown that dry dynamics determines the initiation and track of all the frontal cyclones and it accounts for about 59 of the deepening of a major frontal cyclone vorticity budget calculations reveal that in the absence of latent heating preexisting upper level cyclonic vorticity associated with a ring of potential vorticity provides the necessary forcing for the initiation and movement of the frontal cyclones whereas the low level thermal advection is responsible for a large portion of their amplifications as well as for their shallow circulations the impact of surface sensible and latent heat fluxes on the frontal cyclogenesis depends on the cyclones location with respect to the warm water surface in the absence of latent heating the surface fluxes have very weak impact through modifying the low level baroclinicity on the evolution and final intensity of the frontal cyclones when latent heating is allowed however the surface fluxes could result in more rapid cyclogenesis as a result of reduced static stability and increased moisture content in the maritime boundary layer the impact is as pronounced as the latent heating it is found that dry frontal cyclogenesis could still occur over a vast continental surface although it is the slowest moving and deepening system among all the sensitivity tests being conducted the results reveal that i the frontal cyclones in the present case are baroclinically driven in nature although they are markedly modulated by diabatic heating and surface fluxes and ii the rapid frontal cyclogenesis phenomena tend to occur more frequently over a warm ocean surface due to its associated weak surface friction and its generated weak static stability in the maritime boundary layer

first finding of microdiamond coesite and other uhp phases in felsic granulites in the moldanubian zone implications for deep subduction and a revised geodynamic model for variscan orogeny in the bohemian massif abstract heavy mineral fractions and polished thin sections from felsic granulites from the moldanubian zone of the bohemian massif were thoroughly studied by means of raman microspectroscopy combined with optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy the following phases were identified among others as inclusions in robust minerals such as garnet and zircon diamond characterized by an intense narrow peak at 1332 cm 1 was found in two inclusions in zircon they have a size of 5 m coesite identified by its very characteristic peak at 520 cm 1 was found in an inclusion in garnet together with quartz coesite has been almost completely transformed into quartz only minor coesite nano domains remain kumdykolite the orthorhombic polymorph of naalsi 3 o 8 characterized by strong peaks at 220 456 and 492 cm 1 occurs either as single crystals or as a part of multiphase inclusions in garnet and in zircon along with other mineral phases such as k feldspar phengite rutile moissanite sic exhibiting the characteristic raman bands at 767 788 and 969 cm 1 occurs as inclusions in garnet diamond and coesite are considered to have formed at the peak ultrahigh pressure metamorphic uhpm conditions kumdykolite has been proposed to be a metastable phase formed during rapid cooling from high temperature moissanite points to extremely reduced conditions during subduction to great depths the finding of uhp phases in felsic granulites in the moldanubian zone is clear evidence for subduction of crustal materials to mantle depths the garnet hosting the uhp phase inclusions usually preserves prograde compositional zoning this in combination with the uhpm mineral inclusions suggests that the felsic material should have passed uhp metamorphism at a low temperature gradient isothermal decompression the commonly accepted model at temperatures of 850 950 c would have substantially modified and homogenized the garnet composition eliminating any compositional zoning therefore the uhpm felsic rocks could have experienced only a short term granulite facies metamorphism after they were exhumed to crustal levels

middle ordovician chondrite in fossiliferous limestone from brunflo central sweden the few discoveries of fossil meteorites have been attributed1 to the ignorance about the appearance of meteorites among palaeontologists and other geologists who examine limestone quarries coal mines and other excavations in sedimentary rocks we now report the first find of a fossil stony meteorite in ordovician limestone the meteorite is a chondrite possibly an h chondrite and its terrestrial age is 463 myr the fine structural details of the chondrules are often extremely well preserved but the chemical composition and the mineralogy have changed dramatically chromite being the only primary mineral preserved the present major minerals are calcite barite a cr v phengite and a cobaltite group mineral

evolution of caledonian deformation fabrics under eclogite and amphibolite facies at vardalsneset western gneiss region norway the vardalsneset eclogite situated in the western gneiss region sw norway is a well preserved tectonite giving information about the deformation regimes active in the lower crust during crustal thickening and subsequent exhumation the eclogite constitutes layers and lenses variably retrograded to amphibolite and is composed of garnet and omphacite with varying amounts of barroisite actinolite clinozoisite kyanite quartz paragonite phengite and rutile the rocks record a five stage evolution connected to caledonian burial and subsequent exhumation 1 a prograde evolution through amphibolite facies t 490 63 c is inferred from garnet cores with amphibole inclusions and bell shaped mn profile 2 formation of l s tectonite eclogite t 680 20 c p 16 2 kbar related to the subduction of conti nental crust during the caledonian orogeny lack of asymmetrical fabrics and orientation of eclogite facies extensional veins indicate that the deformation regime during formation of the l s fabric was coaxial 3 formation of sub horizontal eclogite facies foliation in which the finite stretching direction had changed by approximately 90 disruption of eclogite lenses and layers between symmetric shear zones characterizes the dominantly coaxial deformation regime of stage 3 locally occurring mylonitic eclogites t 690 20 c p 15 1 5 kbar with top w kinematics may indicate however that non coaxial deformation was also active at eclogite facies conditions 4 development of a widespread regional amphibolite facies foliation t 564 44 c p 10 3 8 1 kbar quartz veins and development of conju gate shear zones indicate that coaxial vertical shortening and sub horizontal stretching were active during exhumation from eclogite to amphibolite facies conditions 5 amphibolite facies mylonites mainly formed under non coaxial top w movement are related to large scale movement on the extensional detachments active during the late orogenic extension of the caledonides the structural and metamorphic evolution of the vardalsneset eclogite and related areas support the exhumation model including an extensional detachment in the upper crust and overall coaxial deformation in the lower crust

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

olivine in antarctic micrometeorites comparison with other extraterrestrial olivine abstract antarctic micrometeorite particles range from porous unmelted samples to completely melted spheres of approximately 175 particles examined twenty six contain 5 m or larger mg rich olivine with compositions similar to those found in unequilibrated meteorites electron probe analyses for minor elements show high levels of cr in micrometeorite olivine above those found in c3 and uoc olivines but closely matching levels found in c2 olivines very mg rich feo

influence of surrounding plates on 3d subduction dynamics 1 our 3d modelling study shows that the presence of lithospheric plates around a subducting plate has a significant influence on subduction dynamics in particular on trench retreat rate slab dip and lateral shortening of the subducting plate neighbouring plates prevent unrealistic plate behaviour with no need for complex rheologies because at the earth s surface plates form a continuous shell they should not be neglected

transient hot channels perpetrating and regurgitating ultrahigh pressure high temperature crust mantle associations in collision belts abstract two dimensional numerical modeling of early continental collision associated with subduction of the lithospheric mantle shows that the formation and exhumation of coesite and diamond bearing rocks metamorphosed at 700 to 900 c in the presence of dense supercritical silicate fluids and melts may be explained by a transient hot channel effect anomalously high temperature is caused by intense viscous and radiogenic heating in the channel composed of deeply subducted radiogenic upper crustal rocks especially sediments of passive margin origin and mantle rocks heating is associated with partial melting of crustal rocks caused by pervasive flow of aqueous fluids relieved by rapid dehydration deserpentinization of the overriding mantle lithosphere that has been hydrated during earlier subduction stages the channel penetrates the plate interface to the bottom of the lithosphere of the overriding plate 150 200 km and is characterized by metamorphic temperatures reaching 700 to 900 c low effective viscosity of rocks subsequent to increased temperature partial melting and fluid infiltration permits profound mixing of hydrated mantle and crustal rocks the hot channel exists only during early collision but rapidly produces large amounts of ultrahigh pressure high temperature rocks further collision closes the channel by squeezing rheologically weak partially molten buoyant rocks between the strong lithospheric mantles of the two colliding plates assemblages of complicated p t paths with repetitive loops characterize exhumation of ultrahigh pressure rocks in the convoluted flow pattern of the hot channel

parameterization of mixed layer eddies part i theory and diagnosis ageostrophic baroclinic instabilities develop within the surface mixed layer of the ocean at horizontal fronts and efficiently restratify the upper ocean in this paper a parameterization for the restratification driven by finite amplitude baroclinic instabilities of the mixed layer is proposed in terms of an overturning streamfunction that tilts isopycnals from the vertical to the horizontal the streamfunction is proportional to the product of the horizontal density gradient the mixed layer depth squared and the inertial period hence restratification proceeds faster at strong fronts in deep mixed layers with a weak latitude dependence in this paper the parameterization is theoretically motivated confirmed to perform well for a wide range of mixed layer depths rotation rates and vertical and horizontal stratifications it is shown to be superior to alternative extant parameterizations of baroclinic instability for the problem of mixed layer restratification two companion papers discuss the numerical implementation and the climate impacts of this parameterization

petrology and geochronology of eclogites from the western segment of the altyn tagh northwestern china abstract the eclogites from the western segment of the altyn tagh occur as lens or boundins within quartzofeldspathic gneisses or pelitic gneisses characterized by amphibolite facies parageneses the petrographic features and reaction textures testify to three main metamorphic stages 1 the peak eclogite facies stage p 15 kbar t 665 880 c 2 the granulitic facies stage p 11 14 kbar t 670 800 c and 3 the amphibolite facies stage p 6 3 9 5 kbar t 619 738 c during decompression the trace element rare earth element and sm nd isotopic data suggest that most of the eclogites have protolith features resembling transitional type t type mid ocean ridge basalt morb the well preserved eclogite was selected for sm nd and u pb isotopic dating the sm nd isotopic data yield a whole rock garnet omphacite isochron of 500 10 ma age the u pb isotopic measurement of zircons from the same eclogite shows that the four grain populations are near concordant and are well plotted on concordia giving a weighted mean age of 503 9 5 3 ma the two different geochronological methods yield a similar age which is interpreted as the peak metamorphic age of eclogites and reflects the existence of a mountain root related to continental subduction during early paleozoic moreover based on the comparison with similar rocks in the northern margin of the qaidam basin a displacement of 350 400 km for the altyn tagh fault have been estimated

scale selection of baroclinic instability effects of stratification and nongeostrophy abstract a simple two dimensional linear stability analysis is presented to study the characteristics of the scale selection and structure of baroclinic cyclogenesis effects of a realistic vertical thermal structure of the environment and the related nongeostrophic wind are investigated in detail both short mesoscale waves trapped in the lower layer with a small static stability and long waves extending throughout the column are unstable which supports blumen s results the integral constraints imply that the vertical structure of the stratification can provide an internal lid to confine the wave into the mixed layer nongeostrophic effects become important as richardson number decreases as pointed out by stone the scale of the most unstable eady s mode becomes sensitive to the change of shear unlike the geostrophic case the measure of the horizontal scale of the disturbance is the modified rossby radius of deformationwhere is the vertical shear and provides o ri correction to the conventio

divergence in subduction zones and exhumation of high pressure rocks eocene western alps abstract exhumation of high pressure rocks has long remained a controversial issue in the earth sciences in this article we analyze the tectono metamorphic stratigraphic and plate motion constraints from the western alps region providing new insights on exhumation mechanisms and tectonic evolution during the earliest orogenic stages eocene eclogites of the western alps form a 20 25 km wide belt on the upper plate side of the orogen eclogite belt exposed beneath extensional shear zones at the rear of a lower pressure accretionary wedge units of the eclogite belt show the youngest peak pressure assemblages within the subduction zone and experienced superfast tectonic exhumation since 45 40 ma the role of erosion was negligible during the whole of this stage eocene foreland basins remained starved and the massive arrival of axial belt detritus began well after exhumation was completed tectonic reconstructions based on fixed boundaries exhumation models e g channel flow and or implying fast erosion at the surface e g slab breakoff are thus not consistent with geological evidence in the lack of erosion exhumation through the overburden requires divergence within the subduction zone we demonstrate that this was not attained by rollback of the lower plate europe but was instead attained by nneward motion of the upper plate adria africa away from the western alps trench such motion induced localized extension within the weak portion of the upper plate at the rear of the accretionary wedge and allowed tectonic emplacement of the eclogite belt in the upper crust at rates much faster than subduction rates tectonic exhumation ceased in the oligocene when oblique divergence along the western alps traverse changed into oblique convergence the onset of slow erosional unroofing was synchronously recorded by pressure temperature paths in all major tectonic units of the western alps and by arrival of orogenic detritus in sedimentary basins this work demonstrates that divergence between upper plate and trench is a viable mechanism to exhume large and coherent eclogite units in continental subduction zones our exhumation model can be applied to other eclogite belts showing a similar exhumational record including the western gneiss region the dabie sulu and eastern papua new guinea

baroclinic instability and submesoscale eddy formation in weakly stratified oceans under cooling 1 numerical experiments with a three dimensional nonhydrostatic model have been performed to investigate baroclinic instability and submesoscale eddy formation in weakly stratified oceans under cooling two types of baroclinic instability can exist in a two layered ocean where the convectively formed deep mixed layer overlies the weakly stratified lower layer one rapidly develops in the mixed layer with short wavelengths shallow mode and the other occupies the whole ocean depth with long wavelengths deep mode when a background flow is deep the shallow mode develops first but the deep mode replaces it in several days in contrast only the shallow mode is excited in the mixed layer overlying the strongly stratified layer the linear stability analysis explains these results well despite active cooling subsequently formed eddies restratify the mixed layer and modify water density over the whole depth when a background flow is shallow baroclinic instability is confined to the mixed layer and produces a dipole of surface intensified cyclonic eddy and middepth intensified anticyclonic eddy both of which are of submesoscale 10 km the anticyclonic eddy consisting of convectively formed but weakly stratified water moves across the front to ventilate the deep layer where convection does not reach locally in this way density modification extends below the mixed layer surface cooling as well as baroclinicity enhances restratification of the mixed layer and density modification at depths by activating submesoscale eddy formation the results can explain the restratification of the deep mixed layer observed during a cooling season and the origins of submesoscale coherent vortices recently detected in polar oceans

application of ti in zircon and zr in rutile thermometers to constrain high temperature metamorphism in eclogites from the dabie orogen central china abstract ultrahigh pressure uhp eclogites from the northern dabie orogen central china underwent a complex metamorphic evolution during triassic continental deep subduction and subsequent exhumation the eclogites were strongly affected by multiple decompression and re crystallization processes during exhumation thus making the determination of peak metamorphic conditions particularly challenging the recently calibrated ti in zircon and zr in rutile thermometers provide new tools to estimate the peak and post peak temperatures rutiles within uhp mineral bearing domains of zircon have zr contents of 1030 4310 ppm and record a temperature range of 880 1080 c with a peak at 970 c rutiles within high pressure hp mineral bearing domains contain zr contents of 800 5800 ppm and define a temperature range of 780 1030 c with an average value of 873 c rutiles in granulite facies mineral bearing rims of zircon yield a temperature of 845 c in contrast rutile inclusions within garnet have lower zr contents of 100 800 ppm yielding lower temperatures of 600 850 c the uhp and hp mineral bearing mantle domains of zircon have ti contents of 2 15 97 8 ppm yielding ti in zircon temperatures of 620 1020 c ti contents in the rim domains of zircon are low 900 c for the uhp and hp domains of zircon therefore this study combined with the previously published data suggests that the eclogites in the region experienced a protracted high temperature ht metamorphic evolution from uhp eclogite facies to hp granulite facies metamorphic stages this long lived ht evolution coupled with slow cooling and partial melting may explain the rare preservation of uhp traces in the area hp uhp mineral inclusions in garnet and zircon experienced variable degrees of decompression breakdown or retrogression therefore also ti concentrations in zircons and zr concentrations in rutiles within garnet and zircon may have been strongly modified by re crystallization or partial melting as a result only few zircons record their actual crystallization temperatures in comparison the rutile inclusions in zircon generally define higher temperatures we therefore suggest that rutile inclusions in zircon are the most suitable candidates for ht estimates especially in strongly retrogressed eclogites

crystalline micrometeorites from greenland blue lakes their chemical composition mineralogy and possible origin among the different populations of cosmic particles found in the greenland cryoconites the irregular shaped population is probably the most interesting one because it provides direct information about the nature of small meteoroids that impact the earth petrographic and trace element analyses of this material reveal two main families labelled as coarse grained cg and fine grained fg which have respectively compact and porous structures we have restricted our study to the coarse grained particles which contain large relic minerals and thus are well adapted to the sem and microprobe analysis techniques we compare the mineralogical associations of 49 coarse grained particles to that of meteorites and find that a majority of them belong to the same population of mineral grains previously found in cm chondrites and a minority of ordinary chondrites

39ar 40ar dating of high pressure rocks from the ligurian alps evidence for a continuous subduction exhumation cycle abstract we present 39 ar 40 ar dating of phengite muscovite and paragonite from a set of mafic and metasedimentary rocks sampled from the high pressure hp metaophiolites of the voltri group western alps and from clasts in the basal layer conglomerates from the tertiary molasse which overlie the high pressure basement the white mica bearing rocks display peak eclogitic and blueschist facies parageneses locally showing complex greenschist facies replacement textures the internal discordance of age spectra is proportional to the chemical complexity of the micas high si phengites from eclogite clasts record a 39 ar 40 ar age of ca 49 ma for the eclogite stage and ca 43 ma for the blueschist retrogression phengites from a blueschist basement sample yield an age of ca 40 ma low si muscovite from a metasediment dates the formation of the greenschist paragenesis at ca 33 ma our data indicate that the analyzed samples reached high pressure conditions at different times over a time span of c a 10 ma subduction was continuing during exhumation and blueschist retrograde re equilibration of higher pressure eclogite facies rocks this process kept the isotherms depressed allowing the older hp rocks to escape thermal re equilibration our results added to literature data fit a tectonic model of a subduction exhumation cycle with different tectonic slices subducted at different times from early eocene until the eocene oligocene boundary

a family of frontal cyclones over the western atlantic ocean part i a 60 h simulation despite marked improvements in the predictability of rapidly deepening extratropical cyclones many operational models still have great difficulties in predicting frontal cyclogenesis that often begins as a mesoscale vortex embedded in a large scale parent cyclone system in this paper a 60 h simulation and analysis of a family of frontal cyclones that were generated over the western atlantic ocean during 13 15 march 1992 are performed using the pennsylvania state university national center for atmospheric research mesoscale model with a fine mesh grid size of 30 km although it is initialized with conventional observations the model reproduces well the genesis track and intensity of the frontal cyclones their associated thermal structure and precipitation pattern as well as their surface circulations as verified against the canadian meteorological centre analysis and other available observations it is shown that each frontal cyclone is initiated successively to the southwest of its predecessor in the cold sector first appearing as a pressure trough superposed on a baroclinically unstable basic state in the lowest 150 300 hpa then it derives kinetic energy from the low level available potential energy as it moves over an underlying warm ocean surface with weak static stability toward a leading large scale frontal zone and deepens rapidly by release of latent heat occurring in its own circulations one of the frontal cyclones originating in the cold air mass deepens 44 hpa in 42 h and overwhelms the parent cyclone after passing over the warm gulf stream water into the leading frontal zone these cyclones have diameters ranging from 500 to 1100 km as denoted by the last closed isobar and are spaced 1000 1400 km apart between their circulation centers during the mature stage they begin to establish their own cold warm frontal circulations once their first closed isobars appear thus distorting the leading large scale frontal structures and altering the distribution and type convective versus stratiform of precipitation it is found that the frontal cyclones accelerate and experience their central pressure drops as they move from high to low pressure regions toward the parent cyclone center and then they decelerate and fill as they travel away from the parent cyclone their spatial and temporal scales vertical structures as well as deepening mechanisms are shown to differ significantly from those typical extratropical cyclones as previously studied

strain localization as a key to reconciling experimentally derived flow law data with dynamic models of continental collision published strength profiles predict strength discontinuities within and or at the base of continental crust during compression we use finite element models to investigate the effect of strength discontinuities on continental collision dynamics the style of deformation in model crust during continued subduction of underlying mantle lithosphere is controlled by 1 experimental flow law data 2 the crustal geotherm 3 strain localization by erosion 4 strain softening and other localization effects in the absence of erosion and other factors causing strain localization numerical models with typical geothermal gradients and frictional ductile rheologies predict diffuse crustal deformation with whole scale detachment of crust from mantle lithosphere this prediction is at odds with earlier model studies that only considered frictional crustal rheologies and showed asymmetric focused crustal deformation without localization model deformation is not consistent with that observed in small collisional orogens such as the swiss alps this suggests that strain localization by a combination of erosion and rheological effects such as strain softening must play a major role in focusing deformation and that strength profiles derived under constant strain rates and uniform material properties cannot be used to infer crustal strength during collision dynamics

mixed layer instabilities and restratification abstract the restratification of the oceanic surface mixed layer that results from lateral gradients in the surface density field is studied the lateral gradients are shown to be unstable to ageostrophic baroclinic instabilities and slump from the horizontal to the vertical these instabilities which are referred to as mixed layer instabilities mlis differ from instabilities in the ocean interior because of the weak surface stratification spatial scales are o 1 10 km and growth time scales are on the order of a day linear stability analysis and fully nonlinear simulations are used to study mlis and their impact on mixed layer restratification the main result is that mlis are a leading order process in the ml heat budget acting to constantly restratify the surface ocean climate and regional ocean models do not resolve the scales associated with mlis and are likely to underestimate the rate of ml restratification and consequently suffer from a bias in sea surface temperatures and ml depths in a

shear deformation and eclogite formation within granulite facies anorthosites of the bergen arcs western norway the anorthosites of the bergen arcs contain two distinct metamorphic mineral assemblages which are stable under different p t conditions a granulite facies assemblage which equilibrated at t 800 900 c p 10 kbar is defined by the minerals plagioclase al rich diopside cpx i garnet gnt i scapolite orthopyroxene dark brown hornblende this assemblage is linked by corona structures to a primary magmatic mineralogy where coexistence of olivine and plagioclase limits the maximum crystallization pressure of the anorthosites to 8 kbar at 1200 c the anorthosites are transected by a series of fine grained shear zones in which the granulite facies assemblage is replaced by an eclogite mineralogy defined by omphacite cpx ii jd40 50 garnet kyanite epidote clinozoisite phengite quartz amphibole with plagioclase sometimes remaining in the marginal parts mineral compositions indicate equilibration conditions for the eclogite paragenesis of t 700 800 c p 16 19 kbar a series of textural and mineralogical changes which can be observed as the strain increases into the shear zones demonstrates that the eclogite mineralogy is formed at the expense of the granulite facies minerals during the early stages of shear zone development the eclogite mineralogy defines a strong mylonitic fabric which again is truncated by centimetres thick secondary shear zones containing clasts of both granulite and eclogite minerals these latter fine grained ultramylonites may be connected to uplift of this deep seated complex the eclogite shear zones are highly oblique to the granulite structures indicating that the eclogite shear zones formed under a new stress regime rb sr dating shows that the granulite facies assemblage formed in sveconorwegian time or earlier while minerals from shear zones define ages around 400 ma indicating a caledonian formation of the eclogites this work demonstrates the critical role of deformation in triggering metamorphic reactions whether the shear stress also was important in stabilizing the eclogite assemblages is not clear from the available data

dynamics of double subduction numerical modeling abstract double subduction is a geodynamic process in which two plates following each other are synchronously subducted double subductions are known for both modern izu bonin marianas and ryukyu arcs and ancient west himalaya collision zone plate tectonics however our knowledge about this process is limited to conceptual schemes and some restricted analogue experiments in order to fill this gap we performed 2d numerical experiments using a coupled petrological thermomechanical approach based on finite differences and marker in cell techniques combined with thermodynamic database for the mantle we investigated the influence of convergence rate intermediate plate length activation volume of the mantle dislocation creep and age of the lithosphere based on these experiments we conclude that a subduction rates at two zones running in parallel differ and vary in time even when the total convergence rate remains constant supremacy of either subduction zone depends on physical parameters such as i relative rates of the plates ii slab ages and iii length of the middle plate b subduction dynamics of the double subduction system involves several processes unknown in simple subduction systems such as i eduction i e un subduction ii subduction re initiation iii subduction flip triggered by shallow slab breakoff and iv turn over of detached slabs to up side down attitudes c simulated tomographic structures related to slab propagation account for both penetration and non penetration of the 660 km discontinuity non penetration is favored by i low convergence rate ii faster relative movement of the overriding plate iii young age of the subducting slab and iv up side down turn over of detached slab

submesoscale activity over the argentinian shelf 1 submesoscale activity over the argentinian shelf is investigated by means of high resolution primitive equation numerical solutions these reveal energetic turbulent activity visually similar to the one occasionally seen in satellite images at scales o 5 km in fall and winter that is linked to mixed layer baroclinic instability the air sea heat flux responsible for i deepening the upper ocean boundary layer at these seasons and ii maintaining a cross shelf background density gradient is the key environmental parameter controlling submesoscale activity implications of submesoscale turbulence are investigated its mixing efficiency estimated by computing a diffusivity coefficient is above 30 m2 s 1 away from the shallowest regions aggregation of surface buoyant material by submesoscale currents occurs within hours and is presumably important to the ecosystem

influence of trench width on subduction hinge retreat rates in 3 d models of slab rollback subduction of tectonic plates limited in lateral extent and with a free trailing tail i e free subduction is modeled in a three dimensional 3 d geometry the models use a nonlinear viscoplastic rheology for the subducting plate and exhibit a wide range of behaviors depending on such plate characteristics as strength width and thickness we investigate the time evolution of this progressive rollback subduction measure the accompanying return flow in the upper mantle and quantify the plate kinematics due to the 3 d geometry flow is allowed to accompany slab rollback around the lateral edges of the slab the toroidal component as opposed to 2 d geometry where material is forced to flow underneath the slab tip the poloidal component a simple force balance is provided which relates the speed of backward trench migration to the resistive forces of generating flow and weakening the plate our results indicate most of the gravitational energy of the system i e the negative buoyancy of the subducting slab is converted into a toroidal flow 69 a much smaller amount goes into weakening the plate 18 and the remaining amount goes into driving flow parallel to displacement of the slab 13 for the trench widths w we investigate 1500 km a maximum trench retreat rate occurs for trenches 600 km wide which is attributed to the interaction between a plate of finite width and the induced flow which has a lengthscale in the horizontal direction these numerical results quantitatively agree with comparable 3 d laboratory experiments using analogue models with a purely viscous plate material schellart 2004a 2004b including correlations between increasing retreat rate with increasing plate thickness trench width for maximum retreat rate 500 km and estimated amount of slab buoyancy used to drive rollback induced flow 70 several implications for plate tectonics on earth result from these models such as rollback subduction providing a physical mechanism for ephemeral slab graveyards situated above the more viscous lower mantle and endothermic phase transition prior to a flushing event into the lower mantle mantle avalanche

on baroclinic instability over continental shelves testing the utility of eady type models abstractthis study examines the utility of eady type theories as applied to understanding baroclinic instability in coastal flows where depth variations and bottom drag are important the focus is

a numerical investigation of the gulf stream and its meanders in response to cold air outbreaks the three dimensional princeton ocean model is used to examine the modification of the gulf stream and its meanders by cold air outbreaks two types of gulf stream meanders are found in the model meanders on the shoreward side of the gulf stream are baroclinically unstable they are affected little by the atmospheric forcing because their energy source is stored at the permanent thermocline well below the influence of the surface forcing meanders on the seaward side of the stream are both barotropically and baroclinically unstable the energy feeding these meanders is stored at the surface front separating the gulf stream and the sargasso sea which is greatly reduced in case of cold air outbreaks thus meanders there reduce strength and also seem to slow their downstream propagation due to the southward ekman flow heat budget calculations suggest two almost separable processes the oceanic heat released to the atmosphere during these severe cooling episodes comes almost exclusively from the upper water column transport of heat by meanders from the gulf stream to the shelf though it is large does not disrupt the principal balance it is balanced nicely with the net heat transport in the downstream direction

diamond and coesite discovered in saxony type granulite solution to the variscan garnet peridotite enigma diamond and coesite were discovered in situ as inclusions in garnet kyanite and zircon in high pressure granulites from northern bohemian massif these continental crustal rocks were therefore subducted to depths of c 140 km which also explains their common association with mantle garnet bearing peridotites models involving crustal thickening for these high pressure granulites need to be significantly modified whole variscan belt with numerous hp granulite occurrences can represent a large ultrahigh pressure terrain

exhumation rates of high pressure metamorphic rocks in subduction channels the effect of rheology 1 exhumation of high pressure metamorphic rocks can take place with typical plate velocities of cm year this is consistent with a model of forced flow in a subduction channel the micro structural record of exhumed metamorphic rocks indicates that stresses are generally too low to drive deformation of the bulk material by dislocation creep according to a power law rheology instead deformation appears to be localized in low strength shear zones and is dominated by dissolution precipitation creep or fluid assisted granular flow implying a newtonian rheology 1d modeling shows that the effective rheology of the material in the subduction channel has a significant influence on the rate of exhumation when the subduction flux either equals or exceeds the return flux the maximum exhumation rate for newtonian behavior of the material is at least twice as high 1 3 of the subduction burial rate compared to that for power law creep 1 6 of the subduction burial rate

thermobarometry diffusion modelling and cooling rates of crustal garnet peridotites two examples from the moldanubian zone of the bohemian massif abstract different origins for crustal garnet peridotites are illustrated by two variscan bodies in adjacent tectonically juxtaposed terranes in the moldanubicum of the bohemian massif eastern moravia the nove dvory garnet peridotite contains lenses of eclogite and is allochthonous and allofacial with respect to surrounding gfohl gneiss the mohelno spinel garnet peridotite is devoid of eclogite and has concordant contacts with surrounding felsic granulite the bulk of the mohelno body is spinel peridotite and garnet occurs only along its margins where it has formed at the expense of spinel thermobarometry of mineral cores from garnet bearing assemblages yields values for nove dvory from 1195 c 54 6 kbar to 970 c 41 8 kbar and for mohelno from 1265 c 27 9 kbar to 1070 c 23 4 kbar the compositional zoning profiles in garnets at both localities are matched closely by diffusion modelling in which bilinear cooling rates are utilized at nove dvory initial cooling rates of 50 200 c ma are followed by slower rates of 10 50 c ma in contrast at mohelno an extremely rapid initial cooling rate of 1 c year was followed by one of 500 c ma an idealized tectonic model is proposed for the emplacement of the mohelno peridotite to account for its cooling history the predicted garnet zoning profiles that result from conductive cooling agree closely with the observed zoning profiles both peridotites were derived from the upper mantle the nove dvory body was emplaced from a deep fault zone into the crust as garnet peridotite and the mohelno body was emplaced as a hot slab of spinel peridotite in which garnet formed only along contacts as the body cooled into the garnet stability field

formation of spinels in cosmic objects during atmospheric entry a clue to the cretaceous tertiary boundary event abstract magnetic spinels produced by oxidation of extraterrestrial objects in the atmosphere have a composition distinct from terrestrial spinels they are characterized by a high iron oxidation state arising from crystallization under high oxygen fugacities and a high nickel concentration due to the relatively high abundance of this element in extraterrestrial material the iron oxidation state increases from micrometeorites to meteoroid ablation material and to impact generated products this reflects a progressive increase of the oxygen fugacity corresponding to decreasing altitudes of crystallization spinels found at the cretaceous tertiary boundary are similar to those that crystallized from meteoroid ablation material and impact generated products supporting the view that a collisional event did occur at the end of the cretaceous

sm nd dating of spatially controlled domains of garnet single crystals a new method of high temperature thermochronology ganguly and tirone meteorit planet sci 36 2001 167 175 recently presented a method of determining the cooling rates of rocks from the difference between the core and bulk ages of a crystal as determined by a single decay system here we present the first application of the method using the core and bulk ages of garnet single crystals according to the sm nd decay system in two rock samples with contrasting cooling rates which can be constrained independently the samples belong to the metamorphic core complex valhalla british columbia and the mid crustal magmatic arc exposure of the salinian terrane california we have micro sampled the garnet crystals over specific radial dimensions and measured the nd isotopes of these small sample masses as ndo via solid source mass spectrometry to determine the sm nd age difference between the core and bulk crystals using a peak metamorphic p t condition of 8 1 kbar 820 30 c spear and parrish j petrol 37 1996 733 765 the core 67 3 2 3 ma and bulk 60 9 2 1 ma ages of the british columbian garnet sample yield a cooling rate of 2 13 c myr which is in very good agreement with the cooling rates that we have derived by modeling the retrograde fe mg zoning in the same garnet and assuming the same peak metamorphic p t condition considering earlier cooling rate data derived from closure temperature vs age relation of multiple geochronological systems spear and parrish j petrol 37 1996 733 765 a cooling rate of v15 20 c myr seems most reasonable for the valhalla complex diffusion kinetic analysis shows that the sm nd core age of the selected garnet crystal could not have been disturbed during cooling consequently the core age of the garnet crystal 67 3 2 3 ma corresponds to the peak metamorphic age of the valhalla complex the salinian sample on the other hand yields indistinguishable core 78 2 2 7 ma and bulk 77 9 2 9 ma ages as expected from its fast cooling history which can be constrained by the results of earlier studies the sm nd decay system in garnet has relatively high closure temperature usually s 650 c therefore the technique developed in this paper fills an important gap in thermochronology since the commonly used thermochronometers are applicable only at lower temperatures simultaneous modeling of the retrograde fe mg zoning in garnet spatially resolved sm nd ages of garnet single crystals and resetting of the bulk garnet sm nd age

diapiric exhumation of earth s youngest uhp eclogites in the gneiss domes of the d entrecasteaux islands papua new guinea abstract the woodlark rift in papua new guinea hosts the world s youngest 2 8 ma eclogite facies rocks and extensional deformation has played a key role in exhuming these u hp rocks at rates of 20 mm yr during the eocene papuan arc continent collision australian plate derived continental rocks were subducted to u hp depths there they remained for up to 30 m y until the pliocene when asthenospheric circulation ahead of the west propagating woodlark spreading ridge introduced heat and fluids this caused rocks to break away from the paleosubduction channel recrystallize in the eclogite facies and rise as rayleigh taylor instabilities the diapirs ascended adiabatically undergoing partial melting which lowered their viscosity and increased buoyancy u hp crust ponded near the moho at 2 4 ma thickening the crust to 40 km 11 kb domal uplifts emerged above sea level and these are still underlain by an unusually thick crust 26 km for a rift that has stretched by factor of 3 since 6 ma after ponding they acquired a flat lying foliation during amphibolite facies retrogression vertical shortening accompanied the gravitationally driven outflow of ponded lower crust the weak material was extended parallel to the rift margin thinning ductilely by w k 0 2 and was mechanically decoupled from and orthogonal to plate motion in the rift top e shear fabrics suggest that this flow was westward perhaps driven by isostatic stresses towards a strongly thinned rift corridor ahead of the woodlark spreading ridge at 100 c per m y and were mechanically incorporated into the rift s upper crust final exposure was by normal faulting and minor erosion such exhumation may also apply to other u hp terranes where less evidence for moho ponding is preserved

driving the upper plate surface deformation by slab rollback and mantle flow the relative contribution of crustal and mantle processes to surface deformation at convergent plate margins is still controversial conflicting models involving either extrusion mechanisms or slab rollback in particular were proposed to explain the surface strain and kinematics across the tethyan convergent domain here we present new high resolution 3d thermo mechanical numerical joint models of continental collision oceanic subduction and slab tearing which for the first time allow self consistent reproduction of first order tethyan tectonic structures such as back arc rifting and large scale strike slip faults accommodating continental escape these models suggest that mantle flow due to slab rollback and tearing can modulate the surface strain and kinematics by locally enhancing trench retreat and dragging the upper plate from below these results highlight the active role of the asthenospheric flow in driving the surface strain not only by modulating the vertical stresses and producing dynamic topography but also through sub horizontal motion we discuss the implications of these findings based on observations across the aegean anatolian and eastern indian eurasian domains though similar considerations may as well apply to other settings

behaviour of zircon in high grade metamorphic rocks evidence from hf isotopes trace elements and textural studies hf isotopic data of minerals in a mafic pyroxene granulite from the southern bohemian massif together with their major and trace element composition and petrological observations were used to decipher the metamorphic history and behaviour of zircon in the granulite the hf isotopic composition in the minerals was used to estimate whether the decompression reaction namely the consumption of garnet and rutile could have provided zr for the formation of newly grown metamorphic zircon the age of the decompression reaction indicated by the evolution of hf isotopes in garnet and orthopyroxene is between 333 and 331 ma i e ca 7 ma younger than the available u pb zircon ages from the moldanubian granulites and than the newly obtained 343 2 ma laser ablation icp ms u pb age of zircons the combination of bulk and in situ hf isotopic data major and trace element composition and petrological modeling of p t evolution revealed that the formation of zircons can not be related to the decompression phase of the evolution of the mafic granulites

diagenetically altered fossil micrometeorites suggest cosmic dust is common in the geological record abstract we report the discovery of fossil micrometeorites from late cretaceous chalk seventy six cosmic spherules were recovered from coniacian 87 1 ma sediments of the white chalk supergroup particles vary from pristine silicate and iron type spherules to pseudomorphic spherules consisting of either single phase recrystallized magnetite or fe silicide pristine spherules are readily identified as micrometeorites on the basis of their characteristic mineralogies textures and compositions both magnetite and silicide spherules contain dendritic crystals and spherical morphologies testifying to rapid crystallisation of high temperature iron rich metallic and oxide liquids these particles also contain spherical cavities representing weathering and removal of metal beads and irregular cavities representing vesicles formed by trapped gas during crystallization both features commonly found among modern antarctic iron type i type cosmic spherules on the basis of textural analysis the magnetite and fe silicide spherules are shown to be i type cosmic spherules that have experienced complete secondary replacement during diagenesis fossilization our results demonstrate that micrometeorites preserved in sedimentary rocks are affected by a suite of complex diagenetic processes which can result in disparate replacement minerals even within the same sequence of sedimentary beds as a result the identification of fossil micrometeorites requires careful observation of particle textures and comparisons with modern antarctic collections replaced micrometeorites imply that geochemical signatures the extraterrestrial dust are subject to diagenetic remobilisation that limits their stratigraphic resolution however this study demonstrates that fossil pseudomorphic micrometeorites can be recognised and are likely common within the geological record

35 ma old ultrahigh pressure metamorphism and evidence for very rapid exhumation in the dora maira massif western alps abstract ion microprobe shrimp data on zircons from various rock types of an ultrahigh pressure uhp metamorphic whiteschist type pyrope quartzite lens of the dora maira massif dmm consistently show domains giving a late eocene age of 35 4 1 0 ma which is taken as the age of uhp metamorphism these domains partially replace the older oscillatory zoning pattern of the zircons formed during primary magmatic crystallization at about 275 ma zircons of a metagranitic country rock next to the uhp metamorphic lens have these primary features best preserved all zircons measured also yield intermediate ages between 275 and 35 ma with a statistical concentration between 260 and 210 ma thus the uniformity of the initial zircon population both in the lens and the country rock evidences a common protolith that is a granite intruded during the late herynian while the intermediate ages are at least partly due to incomplete resetting of the zircons during uhp metamorphism those in the 260 210 ma range may be related to rifting episodes in the permotriassic the mg rich chemistry of the whiteschist lenses is due to local metasomatic alterations of the granite perhaps by fluids derived from evaporitic sediments dating as early as the permotriassic as well the more pervasive resetting of zircon ages during uhp metamorphism in the pyrope quartzite lenses is explained by the ubiquity of fluids and or melts produced during subduction by a series of dehydration reactions that occurred only in the more hydrous mg rich protoliths and not in their drier granitic neighborhood fission track ages determined partly on the same zircon samples yielding 29 9 1 4 ma mark the time when the uhpm unit had reached about 290 c at a shallow location within the crust thus exhumation over a vertical distance of about 120 km must have occurred within about 5 6 ma indicating an average uplift rate of about 20 24 km ma and an average cooling rate of about 85 100 c ma the radiometric data obtained do not lend any support to an eo alpine cretaceous subduction event so that deep subduction and immediately following exhumation all took place during early to mid tertiary time this scenario seems to apply to large portions of the western and central alps as well calling for drastic geodynamic reinterpretations of these parts of the alps

characteristics and mass distribution of extraterrestrial dust from the greenland ice cap extraterrestrial grains with sizes 50 m can now be extracted in large numbers from terrestrial sediments but their origins are still uncertain at least 99 of these grains have been thought to be spherules1 2 resulting from the melting of their parent bodies in the atmosphere which destroyed their mineralogical composition here we present analyses of extraterrestrial grains extracted from six samples of cryoconite3 black dust collected from the melt zone of the greenland ice cap in addition to families of grains never reported before we have found a surprisingly high abundance of unmelted chondritic fragments in which the nonvolatile component of the parent bodies has been well preserved the mass distribution of the grains is very similar to that of the micrometeorite flux at 1 au ref 4 indicating that most of the grains are micrometeorites and not ablation products of larger meteorites these results yield new constraints on the ablation of such greenland micrometeorites as well as guidelines for using them as glaciological and geological markers

retraction unaltered cosmic spherules in a 1 4 gyr old sandstone from finland micrometeorites submillimetre sized particles derived from asteroids and comets1 2 3 4 5 occur in significant quantities in deep sea sediments1 2 4 and the ice sheets of greenland6 7 and antarctica8 9 the most abundant micrometeorites are cosmic spherules3 which contain nickel rich spinels10 that were crystallized and oxidized during atmospheric entry therefore recording the oxygen content in the uppermost atmosphere10 11 12 but the use of micrometeorites for detecting past changes in the flux of incoming extraterrestrial matter and as probes of the evolution of the atmosphere has been hampered by the fact that most objects with depositional ages higher than 0 5 myr show severe chemical alteration2 here we report the discovery of unaltered cosmic spherules in a 1 4 gyr old13 14 15 sandstone16 17 red bed from finland from this we infer that red beds a common lithology in the earth s history may contain substantial unbiased populations of fossil micrometeorites the study of such populations would allow systematic research on variations in the micrometeorite flux from the early proterozoic era to recent times9 a time span of about 2 5 gyr and could help to better constrain the time when the atmospheric oxygen content was raised to its present level18 19 20

the fate of subducted continental margins two stage exhumation of the high pressure to ultrahigh pressure western gneiss region norway thermobarometry suggests that ultrahigh pressure uhp to high pressure hp rocks across the western gneiss region ponded at the moho following as much as 100 km of exhumation through the mantle and before exhumation to the upper crust eclogite across the c 22 000 km 2 study area records minimum pressures of c 8 18 kbar and temperatures of c 650 780 c one orthopyroxene eclogite yields an uhp of c 28 5 kbar and evidence of former coesite has been found c 50 km farther east than previously known despite this widespread evidence of uhp to hp thermobarometry of metapelite and garnet amphibolite samples reveals a surprisingly uniform supra barrovian amphibolite facies overprint at c 11 kbar and c 650 750 c across the entire area chemical zoning analysis suggests that garnet in these samples grew during heating and decompression presumably during the amphibolite facies event these data indicate that the norwegian uhp hp province was exhumed from mantle depths of c 150 km to lower crustal depths where it stalled and underwent a profound high temperature overprint the ubiquity of late stage supra barrovian metamorphic overprints suggests that large scale collisional uhp terranes routinely stall at the continental moho where diminishing body forces are exceeded by boundary forces significant portions of the middle or lower crust worldwide may be formed from uhp terranes that were arrested at the moho and never underwent their final stage of exhumation

submesoscale baroclinic instability in the bottom boundary layer abstractweakly stratified layers over sloping topography can support a submesoscale baroclinic instability mode a bottom boundary layer counterpart to surface mixed layer instabilities the instab

a mechanism for syn collisional rock exhumation and associated normal faulting results from physical modelling abstract properly scaled physical modelling of the subduction of continental lithosphere is performed with a three layer lithospheric model the model includes a strong upper crust a weak ductile lower crust and a strong mantle part the lithosphere is underlain by a low viscosity asthenosphere subduction is produced by a piston push force and the pull force from the mantle lithospheric layer which is slightly denser than the asthenosphere the results of the modelling are tested on the example of the himalayas in the experiments all lithospheric layers subduct into the mantle to a depth corresponding to 200 300 km in nature until the upper crustal layer fails in front of the subduction zone forming a first major thrust fault the mct in our interpretation of the himalayas underthrusting along this fault increases relief which upon reaching a height corresponding to several kilometres in nature is removed mechanically by a blade the blade is moved horizontally back and forth throughout the experiment this erosional unloading mechanism causes the previously subducted segment of the buoyant upper crust to slide upward over the weak lower crust at a rate comparable to the subduction rate the rise of the crustal slice accelerates displacement along the crustal thrust while producing a normal sense motion and exhumation of the material from great depth up to 40 50 km depending on the model parameters along the upper surface of the slice the rapid uplift of the crust then ceases and the orogenesis occurs further due to continuing underthrusting along the first major thrust at a certain stage the crust fails again producing a new major crustal thrust the mbt in the himalayas

lu hf garnet geochronology applied to plate boundary zones insights from the u hp terrane exhumed within the woodlark rift abstract high pressure and ultra high pressure u hp metamorphic rocks occur in many of the world s major orogenic belts suggesting that subduction of continental lithosphere is a geologically important process despite the widespread occurrence of these rocks relatively little is known about the timescales associated with u hp metamorphism this is because most u hp terranes are tectonically overprinted and juxtaposed against rocks with a different history an exception to this are the late miocene u hp metamorphic rocks found in active metamorphic core complexes mcc in the woodlark rift of southeastern papua new guinea this region provides a rare opportunity to study the garnet lu hf isotopic record of u hp metamorphism in a terrane that is not tectonically overprinted in order to constrain the timing of garnet growth relative to the history of u hp metamorphism and the evolution of the woodlark rift lu hf ages were determined in conjunction with measurements of lu and major element zoning for garnets from three metamorphic rocks garnets from the three samples yielded different ages that instead of recording the spatial and temporal evolution associated with a single metamorphic event provide information on the timing of three separate plate boundary events the youngest lu hf age determined was 7 1 0 7 ma for garnets in a late miocene coesite eclogite the age is interpreted to record the time when a garnet bearing partial melt of the mantle crystallized within subducted continental lithosphere at u hp conditions the young lu hf age from the coesite eclogite is in contrast to a 68 3 6 ma lu hf age obtained on large 1 2 cm garnet porphyroblasts from within the pleistocene amphibolite facies shear zone carapace bounding exposures of u hp rocks in the d entrecasteaux islands this older age records the growth of garnet in response to continental subduction and ophiolite obduction in the region north and east of australia during late mesozoic early cenozoic time in order to relate the u hp metamorphic rocks to the larger scale tectonic evolution of the woodlark rift a third lu hf age of 11 2 2 1 ma was determined for dynamically recrystallized garnet from the southeastern margin of the rift while the tectonic implications of the lu hf age from the southeastern rifted margin are not fully known this result suggests that the eastern and western parts of the woodlark rift might have a different metamorphic history the garnet lu hf results demonstrate that prior to rifting the woodlark rift underwent a complex history of metamorphism involving garnet growth and recrystallization the ability of the lu hf system to date late miocene garnet growth and at the same time preserve latest cretaceous garnets within pleistocene shear zones in the woodlark rift demonstrate that lu hf garnet geochronology is an essential component of investigations where the primary objective is documenting and understanding the full range of plate boundary processes recorded in metamorphic minerals

rates of fe mg mn and ca diffusion in garnet extraction of the thermal and chemical histories preserved by modified compositional zoning in garnet is compromised by large uncertainties in experimentally determined diffusion coefficients for principal divalent cations some of this uncertainty derives from long down temperature extrapolations but much of it arises from an inability to account accurately for large variations in diffusivity as a function of garnet composition numerical simulation of stranded diffusion profiles in partially resorbed natural garnets constrains diffusivities at low temperature and reveals a systematic dependence of diffusion rates on host garnet composition a comprehensive model incorporating a simple compositional dependence allows accurate prediction of diffusion rates for fe mg mn and ca for nearly all garnet compositions across the full range of geologically relevant temperatures pressures and oxygen fugacities

seismic consequences of warm versus cool subduction metamorphism examples from southwest and northeast japan warm and cool subduction zones exhibit differences in seismicity seismic structure and arc magmatism which reflect differences in metamorphic reactions occurring in subducting oceanic crust in southwest japan arc volcanism is sparse and intraslab earthquakes extend to 65 kilometers depth in northeast japan arc volcanism is more common and intraslab earthquakes reach 200 kilometers depth thermal petrologic models predict that oceanic crust subducting beneath southwest japan is 300 to 500 c warmer than beneath northeast japan resulting in shallower eclogite transformation and slab dehydration reactions and possible slab melting