Sediment penetration depths of epi- and infaunal ostracods from Lake Geneva (Switzerland)

Many (palaeo-)environmental parameters can be deduced from ecological and chemical analyses of ostracods. However, the specific ecology of each taxon has a great impact on its reaction to changing environmental conditions. As a consequence, each taxon records these changes differently. The mean penetration depth (MPD) and relative individual abundances have been documented along sediment depth profiles for the dominant sub-littoral to profundal species of ostracods in western Lake Geneva, Switzerland, and this data can be used to estimate their preferential habitat in terms of sediment depths. Isocypris beauchampi, Limnocytherina sanctipatricii, Cypria ophtalmica forma lacustris at 13-m water depths, Limnocythere inopinata, and a winter generation of Herpetocypris reptans have the shallowest habitat preferences at the study sites (MPDs of 0.45, 0.48, 0.49, 0.60, and 0.81cm, respectively). These results suggest that these populations may be regarded as being preferentially epifaunal forms. Populations of Cytherissa lacustris (MPDs of 0.61, 0.73, and 0.82cm at 13-, 33-, and 70-m water depths, respectively), Cypria ophtalmica forma lacustris at 70m (MPD=0.96cm), Fabaeformiscandona caudata (MPD=0.99cm), and a summer generation of Herpetocypris reptans (MPD=1.03cm) were identified as being infaunal. Candona neglecta is the species that was found the deepest in the sediment of Lake Geneva, with MPDs of 0.65, 1.22, and 1.30cm at 13-, 33-, and 70-m water depths, respectively. Information on the sediment texture and oxygen concentrations inferred from the analyses of sediment pore water suggest that the oxygen content of the sediment pore water is not the only dominant parameter controlling the differences in ostracod sediment penetration depths observed among the different sites, but that they might also be influenced by the sediment ‘softness,' which itself depends on grain size, water content, and the abundance of organic matter in sedimen

Stable isotope ecology of Miocene large mammals from Sandelzhausen, southern Germany

The carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope composition of enamel from teeth of large Miocene herbivorous mammals from Sandelzhausen (MN5, late Early/early Middle Miocene) in the North Alpine foreland basin, were analyzed to infer diet and habitat. The mean enamel δ13C value of −11.4±1.0‰ (n=53) for the nine taxa analyzed (including proboscideans, cervids, suids, chalicotheres, equids, rhinocerotids) indicates a pure C3 plant diet for all mammals. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of ~0.710 higher than those from teeth of the western Molasse Basin (0.708-0.709) seem to indicate preferential feeding of the mammals in the northeastern Molasse Basin. The sympatric herbivores have different mean δ13C and δ18O values which support diet partitioning and/or use of different habitats within a C3 plant ecosystem. Especially the three sympatric rhinoceroses Plesiaceratherium fahlbuschi, Lartetotherium sansaniense, and Prosantorhinus germanicus show clear partitioning of plants and/or habitats. The palaeomerycid Germanomeryx fahlbuschi was a canopy folivore in moderately closed environments whereas Metaschizotherium bavaricum (Chalicotheriidae) and P.germanicus (Rhinocerotidae) were browsers in more closed forest environments. The horse Anchitherium aurelianense was probably a more generalized feeder than assumed from its dental morphology. The forest hog Hyotherium soemmeringi has the highest δ13C and lowest δ18O value of all analyzed taxa, possibly related to a frugivorous diet. Most taxa were water-dependent browsers that record meteoric water δ18O values of about −5.6±0.7‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW). Using a modern-day mean annual air temperature (MAT)-$$\delta^{18} {\text{O}}_{{{\text{H}}_{ 2} {\text{O}}}}$$ relation a MAT of 19.3±1.5°C can be reconstructed for Sandelzhausen. A Gomphotherium subtapiroideum tusk serially sampled for δ18O values does not record a clear pattern of seasonality. Thus most taxa were C3 browsers in a forested and humid floodplain environment in the Molasse Basin, which experienced a warm-temperate to subtropical climate and possibly low seasonalit

The Grønnedal-Ika Carbonatite-Syenite Complex, South Greenland: Carbonatite Formation by Liquid Immiscibility

The Grønnedal-Ika complex is dominated by layered nepheline syenites which were intruded by a xenolithic syenite and a central plug of calcite to calcite-siderite carbonatite. Aegirine-augite, alkali feldspar and nepheline are the major mineral phases in the syenites, along with rare calcite. Temperatures of 680-910°C and silica activities of 0·28-0·43 were determined for the crystallization of the syenites on the basis of mineral equilibria. Oxygen fugacities, estimated using titanomagnetite compositions, were between 2 and 5 log units above the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer during the magmatic stage. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of magmatic calcite in both carbonatites and syenites are characterized by REE enrichment (LaCN-YbCN = 10-70). Calcite from the carbonatites has higher Ba (∼5490 ppm) and lower HREE concentrations than calcite from the syenites (54-106 ppm Ba). This is consistent with the behavior of these elements during separation of immiscible silicate-carbonate liquid pairs. εNd(T = 1·30 Ga) values of clinopyroxenes from the syenites vary between +1·8 and +2·8, and εNd(T) values of whole-rock carbonatites range from +2·4 to +2·8. Calcite from the carbonatites has δ18O values of 7·8 to 8·6‰ and δ13C values of −3·9 to −4·6‰. δ18O values of clinopyroxene separates from the nepheline syenites range between 4·2 and 4·9‰. The average oxygen isotopic composition of the nepheline syenitic melt was calculated based on known rock-water and mineral-water isotope fractionation to be 5·7 ± 0·4‰. Nd and C-O isotope compositions are typical for mantle-derived rocks and do not indicate significant crustal assimilation for either syenite or carbonatite magmas. The difference in δ18O between calculated syenitic melts and carbonatites, and the overlap in εNd values between carbonatites and syenites, are consistent with derivation of the carbonatites from the syenites via liquid immiscibilit

Stable isotope compositions of the Penninic ophiolites of the Kõszeg-Rechnitz series

Abstract The ophiolitic rocks of the easternmost Penninic unit, the Kőszeg-Rechnitz series, were analyzed for their H, C and O stable isotope compositions. Serpentinite, gabbro, blueschist, talc deposits, ophicarbonates, as well as calcite and inclusion fluids from quartz segregation veins were analyzed in order to determine the effects of different metamorphic events on the stable isotope compositions. The oxygen isotope compositions have a wide range depending on rock type and locality. Gabbro and serpentinite of Bienenhütte (Bernstein Window) have preserved mantle-like δ18O values (5.9 to 6.3‰; all values are in ‰ relative to V-SMOW), whereas the serpentinite of Glashütten and Rumpersdorf (Kőszeg-Rechnitz Window) and the silicate minerals of the ophicarbonate rocks show a strong 18O-enrichment (up to 16.2‰). The 18O-enrichment may have been induced by low-temperature serpentinization or interaction with 18O-rich fluids that had been in equilibrium with sedimentary rocks. Contrary to the O isotope compositions, the H isotope compositions seem to be homogeneous in the entire series, with D values of −63 ± 7‰. Only some serpentinite rocks were depleted in D (down to −106‰), usually regarded as a result of interaction with meteoric water infiltrating during late-stage metamorphism. The meteoric water infiltration was rather limited, as even samples taken directly from slickensides within serpentinite bodies preserved isotopic compositions close to those of the bulk series. H and O isotope compositions of fluids mobilized in the metasedimentary rocks of the Penninic unit during the main metamorphic stage were determined by analyzing inclusion fluids and calcites in quartz-carbonate veins. The isotope compositions indicate interaction between these fluids and the ophiolite series, although relative deuterium enrichment has been preserved in the ophiolitic rocks. The strong D-enrichment characteristic for oceanic crust that has experienced high-temperature interaction with seawater was not detected. However, the H isotope compositions obtained for the Kőszeg-Rechnitz series indicate that subduction of the Penninic oceanic crust and the associated devolatilization may have been potentially responsible for mantle metasomatism, resulting in H isotope compositions of about −40‰, similar to the range determined from mantle-derived amphibole megacrysts (Demény et al. 2005). To conclude, the present dataset is discussed in the light of earlier studies on the formation of the Sopron leucophyllite

Magmatic-dominated fluid evolution in the Jurassic Nambija gold skarn deposits (southeastern Ecuador)

The Jurassic (approximately 145Ma) Nambija oxidized gold skarns are hosted by the Triassic volcanosedimentary Piuntza unit in the sub-Andean zone of southeastern Ecuador. The skarns consist dominantly of granditic garnet (Ad20-98) with subordinate pyroxene (Di46-92Hd17-42Jo0-19) and epidote and are spatially associated with porphyritic quartz-diorite to granodiorite intrusions. Endoskarn is developed at the intrusion margins and grades inwards into a potassic alteration zone. Exoskarn has an outer K- and Na-enriched zone in the volcanosedimentary unit. Gold mineralization is associated with the weakly developed retrograde alteration of the exoskarn and occurs mainly in sulfide-poor vugs and milky quartz veins and veinlets in association with hematite. Fluid inclusion data for the main part of the prograde stage indicate the coexistence of high-temperature (500°C to >600°C), high-salinity (up to 65wt.% eq. NaCl), and moderate- to low-salinity aqueous-carbonic fluids interpreted to have been trapped at pressures around 100-120MPa, corresponding to about 4-km depth. Lower-temperature (510-300°C) and moderate- to low-salinity (23-2wt.% eq. NaCl) aqueous fluids are recorded in garnet and epidote of the end of the prograde stage. The microthermometric data (Th from 513°C to 318°C and salinity from 1.0 to 23wt.% eq. NaCl) and δ18O values between 6.2‰ and 11.5‰ for gold-bearing milky quartz from the retrograde stage suggest that the ore-forming fluid was dominantly magmatic. Pressures during the early retrograde stage were in the range of 50-100MPa, in line with the evidence for CO2 effervescence and probable local boiling. The dominance of magmatic low-saline to moderately saline oxidizing fluids during the retrograde stage is consistent with the depth of the skarn system, which could have delayed the ingression of external fluids until relatively low temperatures were reached. The resulting low water-to-rock ratios explain the weak retrograde alteration and the compositional variability of chlorite, essentially controlled by host rock compositions. Gold was precipitated at this stage as a result of cooling and pH increase related to CO2 effervescence, which both result in destabilization of gold-bearing chloride complexes. Significant ingression of external fluids took place after gold deposition only, as recorded by δ18O values of 0.4‰ to 6.2‰ for fluids depositing quartz (below 350°C) in sulfide-rich barren veins. Low-temperature (<300°C) meteoric fluids (δ18Owater between −10.0‰ and −2.0‰) are responsible for the precipitation of late comb quartz and calcite in cavities and veins and indicate mixing with cooler fluids of higher salinities (about 100°C and 25wt.% eq. NaCl). The latter are similar to low-temperature fluids (202-74.5°C) with δ18O values of −0.5‰ to 3.1‰ and salinities in the range of 21.1 to 17.3wt.% eq. CaCl2, trapped in calcite of late veins and interpreted as basinal brines. Nambija represents a deep equivalent of the oxidized gold skarn class, the presence of CO2 in the fluids being partly a consequence of the relatively deep setting at about 4-km depth. As in other Au-bearing skarn deposits, not only the prograde stage but also the gold-precipitating retrograde stage is dominated by fluids of magmatic origi

The Magmatic to Hydrothermal Evolution of the Intrusive Mont Saint-Hilaire Complex: Insights into the Late-stage Evolution of Peralkaline Rocks

The Cretaceous Mont Saint-Hilaire complex (Quebec, Canada) comprises three major rock units that were emplaced in the following sequence: (I) gabbros; (II) diorites; (III) diverse partly agpaitic foid syenites. The major element compositions of the rock-forming minerals, age-corrected Nd and oxygen isotope data for mineral separates and trace element data of Fe-Mg silicates from the various lithologies imply a common source for all units. The distribution of the rare earth elements in clinopyroxene from the gabbros indicates an ocean island basalt type composition for the parental magma. Gabbros record temperatures of 1200 to 800°C, variable silica activities between 0·7 and 0·3, and fO2 values between −0·5 and +0·7 (log ΔFMQ, where FMQ is fayalite-magnetite-quartz). The diorites crystallized under uniform aSiO2 (aSiO2 = 0·4-0·5) and more reduced fO2 conditions (log ΔFMQ ~ −1) between ~1100 and ~800°C. Phase equilibria in various foid syenites indicate that silica activities decrease from 0·6-0·3 at ~1000°C to <0·3 at ~550°C. Release of an aqueous fluid during the transition to the hydrothermal stage caused aSiO2 to drop to very low values, which results from reduced SiO2 solubilities in aqueous fluids compared with silicate melts. During the hydrothermal stage, high water activities stabilized zeolite-group minerals. Fluid inclusions record a complex post-magmatic history, which includes trapping of an aqueous fluid that unmixed from the restitic foid syenitic magma. Cogenetic aqueous and carbonic fluid inclusions reflect heterogeneous trapping of coexisting immiscible external fluids in the latest evolutionary stage. The O and C isotope characteristics of fluid-inclusion hosted CO2 and late-stage carbonates imply that the surrounding limestones were the source of the external fluids. The mineral-rich syenitic rocks at Mont Saint-Hilaire evolved as follows: first, alkalis, high field strength and large ion lithophile elements were pre-enriched in the (late) magmatic and subsequent hydrothermal stages; second, percolation of external fluids in equilibrium with the carbonate host-rocks and mixing processes with internal fluids as well as fluid-rock interaction governed dissolution of pre-existing minerals, element transport and precipitation of mineral assemblages determined by locally variable parameters. It is this hydrothermal interplay between internal and external fluids that is responsible for the mineral wealth found at Mont Saint-Hilair

Potential influence of the chemical composition of water on the stable oxygen isotope composition of continental ostracods

Many studies in continental areas have successfully used the oxygen isotope composition of fossil ostracod valves to reconstruct past hydrological conditions associated with large changes in climate. Yet, ostracods are known to crystallise their valves out of isotopic equilibrium for oxygen and they generally have higher 18O contents compared to inorganic calcite grown at equilibrium under the same conditions. A review of vital offsets determined for continental ostracods indicates that vital offsets might change from site to site, questioning a potential influence of environmental conditions on oxygen isotope fractionation in ostracods. Results from the literature suggest that pH has no influence on ostracod vital offset. A re-evaluation of results from Li and Liu (J Paleolimnol 43:111-120, 2010) suggests that salinity may influence oxygen isotope fractionation in ostracods, with lower vital offsets for higher salinities. Such a relationship was also observed for the vital offsets determined by Chivas et al. (The ostracoda—applications in quaternary research. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, 2002). Yet, when results of all studies are compiled, the correlation between vital offsets and salinity is low while the correlation between vital offsets and host water Mg/Ca is higher, suggesting that ionic composition of water and/or relative abundance of major ions may also control oxygen isotope fractionation in ostracods. Lack of data on host water ionic composition for the different studies precludes more detailed examination at this stage. Further studies such as natural or laboratory cultures done under strictly controlled conditions are needed to better understand the potential influence of varying environmental conditions on oxygen isotope compositions of ostracod valve