Identification of mercurian volcanism: Resolution effects and implications for MESSENGER

Abstract— The possibility of volcanism on Mercury has been a topic of discussion since Mariner 10 returned images of half the planet's surface showing widespread plains material. These plains could be volcanic or lobate crater ejecta. An assessment of the mechanics of the ascent and eruption of magma shows that it is possible to have widespread volcanism, no volcanism on the surface whatsoever, or some range in between. It is difficult to distinguish between a lava flow and lobate crater ejecta based on morphology and morphometry. No definite volcanic features have been identified on Mercury. However, known lunar volcanic features cannot be identified in images with similar resolutions and viewing geometries as the Mariner 10 dataset. Examination of high‐resolution, low Sun angle Mariner 10 images reveals several features which are interpreted to be flow fronts; it is unclear if these are volcanic flows or ejecta flows. This analysis implies that a clear assessment of volcanism on Mercury must wait for better data. MESSENGER (MErcury: Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, Ranging) will take images with viewing geometries and resolutions appropriate for the identification of such features.     

A Strontium and Neodymium Isotopic Investigation of the Fongen--Hyllingen Layered Intrusion, Norway

The Fongen—Hyllingen Intrusion, situated 60 km SE of Trondheim,Norway, is a synorogenic layered mafic intrusion of Caledonianage . The intrusion is divided into four evolutionary stages based on cryptic variations: StageI—a basal reversal; Stage II—unchanged mineral chemistryor slight normal evolution; Stage III—a gradual regression;Stage IV— a strong normal fractionation trend Magma replenishmentdominated during most of the crystallization, i.e. during StagesI, II and III Replenishing magma was more dense than resident,evolved magma, and continuing influx eventually caused a compositionallystratified magma column to form. Cryptic lateral variation isan important feature in the southern part of the complex andformed by in situ crystallization from a stratified magma alongan inclined floor, where modal layering formed parallel to thecrystallization front. Initial Sr- and Nd-isotopic ratios inthe cumulates vary as a result of assimilation of country rockand subsequent mixing between uncontaminated, replenishing magmaand contaminated, resident magma. The parental magma had a moderatelydepleted isotope composition, relative to Bulk Earth, with _Nd=584and Sr_i=070308, whereas the main contaminant was a partialmelt of metapelitic country rock with _Nd=-874 and Sr_i=07195(Sr_i is the initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr). Sr_i in the analysed cumulatewhole-rock samples ranges from 070308 to 070535 and initial_Nd ranges from. 158 to 584. There is a strong correlationbetween mineralogical composition and isotopic trends in mostof the cumulates: the most primitive samples are the least contaminated,as reflected by relatively high ed and low Sr,, and more evolvedsamples have progressively lower eNi and higher Sry A gradualregression of several hundred metres thickness characterizesStage III; stratigraphically upwards mineral compositions becomemore primitive and isotope compositions more depleted (higher_Nd and lower Sr_i), implying a process of. progressive mixing-inof replenishing, primitive and uncontaminated magma. Magma influxin Stage III took place by fountaining, whereas magma additionwas more tranquil in the earlier stages. The fountaining influxentrained resident, relatively evolved and contaminated magma,resulting in a hybrid magma which ponded at the floor. Duringprolonged magma addition with concomitant crystallization, thelowermost magma layer was replaced by progressively more primitivehybrid magma, creating a gradual regression in the crystallizingcumulate sequence. A detailed two-dimensional study revealslateral variations in mineral compositions both at the baseand top of Stage III, whereas lateral variations in Sr- andNd-isotopic compositions are present at the top, but not atthe base. This implies that the lowest crystallizing part ofthe magma column was essentially isotopically homogeneous, butcompositionally stratified, before influx in Stage III. Isotopicgradients in the magma were strong close to the roof, wheremost of the assimilation occurred, and decreased downwards,merging into isotopically homogeneous magma. This stratifiedsystem was destroyed by turbulent mixing between replenishingand resident magma during fountaining influx in Stage III, anda new stratification was established with both an isotopic anda compositional gradient. After the final influx, crystallizationcontinued in an essentially closed system, in which the remainingmagma column eventually became homogenized, as magma layersmixed when their densities converged owing to release of buoyant,residual liquid during fractional crystallization. Corresponding author     

Partial melting during tectonic exhumation of a granulite terrane: an example from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica

Anatectic migmatites in medium- to low-pressure granulite facies metasediments exposed in the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica, contain leucosomes with abundant quartz and plagioclase and minor interstitial K-feldspar, and assemblages of garnet–cordierite–spinel–ilmenite–sillimanite. Qualitative modelling in the system K₂O–FeO–MgO–Al₂O₃–SiO₂–H₂O–TiO₂–O₂, in conjunction with various P–T calculations indicate that the high-grade retrograde evolution of the terrane was dominated by decompression from peak conditions of c. 7 kbar at c. 800 °C to 4–5 kbar at c. 750 °C. Extensive partial melting during decompression involved the replacement of biotite by the assemblage cordierite–garnet–spinel within the leucosomes. These leucosomes represent the site of partial melt generation, the cordierite–garnet–spinel–ilmenite assemblage representing the solid products and excess reactants from the melting reaction. The extraction and accumulation of this decompression-generated melt led to the formation of syntectonic pegmatites and extensive granitic plutons. Leucosome development and terrane decompression proceeded during crustal transpression, synchronous with upper crustal extension, during a progressive Early Palaeozoic collisional event. Subsequent retrograde evolution was characterized by cooling, as indicated by the growth of biotite replacing spinel and garnet, thin mantles of cordierite replacing spinel and quartz within metapelites, and garnet replacing orthopyroxene and hornblende within metabasites. P–T calculations on late mylonites indicate lower grade conditions of formation of c. 3.5 kbar at c. 650 °C, consistent with the development of late cooling textures.     

Intraplutonic Quench Zones in the Kap Edvard Holm Layered Gabbro Complex, East Greenland

The Kap Edvard Holm Layered Gabbro Complex is a large layeredgabbro intrusion (>300 km²) situated on the opposite sideof the Kangerdlugssuaq fjord from the Skaergaard Intrusion.It was emplaced in a continental margin ophiolite setting duringearly Tertiary rifting of the North Atlantic. Gabbroic cumulates, covering a total stratigraphic thicknessof >5 km, have a typical four-phase tholeiitic cumulus mineralogy:plagioclase, clinopyroxene, olivine, and Fe–Ti oxides.The cryptic variation is restricted (plagioclase An_81–51,olivine Fo_85–66, clinopyroxene Wo_43–41 En_46–37Fs_20–11) and there are several reversals in mineral chemistry.Crystallization took place in a low-pressure, continuously fractionatingmagma chamber system which was periodically replenished andtapped. Fine-grained (0•2–0•4 mm) equigranular, thin(0•5–3 m), laterally continuous basaltic zones occurwithin an {small tilde}1000 m thick layered sequence in theTaco Point area. Twelve such zones define the bases of individualmacrorhythmic units with an average thickness of {small tilde}80m. The fine-grained basaltic zones grade upwards, over a fewmetres, into medium-grained (>1 mm) poikilitic, olivine gabbrowith smallscale modal layering. Each fine-grained basaltic zoneis interpreted as an intraplutonic quench zone in which magmachilled against the underlying layered gabbros during influxalong the chamber floor. Supercooling by {small tilde}50C isbelieved to have caused nucleation of plagioclase, olivine,and clinopyroxene in the quench zone. The nucleation rate isbelieved to have been enhanced as the result of in situ crystallizationin a continuously flowing magma. The transition to the overlyingpoikilitic olivine gabbro reflects a decreasing degree of supercooling. Compositional variation in the Taco Point sequence is typicalfor an open magma chamber system: olivine (Fo_{77–68 5})and plagioclase cores (An_80–72) show a zig-zag crypticvariation pattern with no overall systematic trend. Olivinehas the most primitive compositions in the quench zones andmore evolved compositions in the olivine gabbro; plagioclasecores show the opposite trend. Although plagioclase cores arebelieved to retain their original compositions, olivines re-equilibratedby reaction with trapped liquid. Some plagioclase cores containrelatively sodic patches which retain quench compositions. Whole-rock compositions of nine different quench zones varyover a range from 10 to 18% MgO although the mg-number remainsconstant at {small tilde}0•78. The average composition(47•7% SiO₂, 13•3%MgO, 1•57% Na₂O+K₂O) is takenas a best estimate of the parental magma composition, and isequivalent to a high-magnesian olivine tholeiite. The compositionalvariation of the quench zones is believed to reflect burstsof nucleation and growth of olivine and plagioclase during quenching. Magma emplacement is believed to have taken place by separatetranquil influxes which flowed along the interface between alargely consolidated cumulus pile and the residual magma. Theresident magma was elevated with little or no mixing. At certainlevels in the layered sequence the magma drained back into thefeeder system; such a mechanism is referred to as a surge-typemagma chamber system.     

A composite Fe,Ni‐FeS and enstatite‐forsterite‐diopside‐glass vitrophyre clast in the Larkman Nunatak 04316 aubrite: Origin by pyroclastic volcanism

Abstract– We studied the mineralogy, petrology, and bulk, trace element, oxygen, and noble gas isotopic compositions of a composite clast approximately 20 mm in diameter discovered in the Larkman Nunatak (LAR) 04316 aubrite regolith breccia. The clast consists of two lithologies: One is a quench‐textured intergrowth of troilite with spottily zoned metallic Fe,Ni which forms a dendritic or cellular structure. The approximately 30 μm spacings between the Fe,Ni arms yield an estimated cooling rate of this lithology of approximately 25–30 °C s^?1. The other is a quench‐textured enstatite‐forsterite‐diopside‐glass vitrophyre lithology. The composition of the clast suggests that it formed at an exceptionally high degree of partial melting, perhaps approaching complete melting, and that the melts from which the composite clast crystallized were quenched from a temperature of approximately 1380–1400 °C at a rate of approximately 25–30 °C s^?1. The association of the two lithologies in a composite clast allows, for the first time, an estimation of the cooling rate of a silicate vitrophyre in an aubrite of approximately 25–30 °C s^?1. While we cannot completely rule out an impact origin of the clast, we present what we consider is very strong evidence that this composite clast is one of the elusive pyroclasts produced during pyroclastic volcanism on the aubrite parent body ( Wilson and Keil 1991 ). We further suggest that this clast was not ejected into space but retained on the aubrite parent body by virtue of the relatively large size of the clast of approximately 20 mm. Our modeling, taking into account the size of the clast, suggests that the aubrite parent body must have been between approximately 40 and 100 km in diameter, and that the melt from which the clast crystallized must have contained an estimated maximum range of allowed volatile mass fractions between approximately 500 and approximately 4500 ppm.     

The fate of pyroclasts produced in explosive eruptions on the asteroid 4 Vesta

Abstract— We evaluate the consequences of explosive activity having taken place during volcanic eruptions on the differentiated asteroid 4 Vesta, which is the likely parent body of the howardite-eucrite-diogenite (HED) meteorites. For a wide range of magma volatile contents, we calculate the eruption speeds and subsequent trajectories of the pyroclastic magma droplets produced. By considering the size distribution and eruption speeds of the droplets, and the mass fluxes at which they are ejected, we show that, under all realistic circumstances, the droplets will have formed lava fountains that were extremely optically dense. As a result, virtually all of the droplets will have reached the surface having suffered a negligible amount of radiative cooling and will have coalesced into lava ponds feeding lava flows. Typically, <1% of the pyroclasts will have undergone enough cooling to allow them to accumulate into a recognizable fall deposit consisting of unwelded or partly welded volcanic glass beads. This result is consistent with the apparent absence of identifiable pyroclastic material in the HED (and other types of) differentiated meteorites.     

Geology in the Falkland Islands

In the next few years we are likely to hear and learn much about the offshore geology of the Falkland Islands as exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons begins. The offshore geology may become better known than the onshore, of which there has been little detailed investigation in the 200+ years since settlements were established. Here we outline the history of geological investigations and present information gathered during recent fieldwork.