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1. Insights on Arc Magmatic Systems Drawn from Natural Melt Inclusions and Crystallization Experiments at P H2O   = 800 MPa under Oxidizing Conditions

   https://doi.org/10.1093/petrology/egae117  

   Andrys, Janine L; Cottrell, Elizabeth; Kelley, Katherine A; Waters, Laura E; Coombs, Michelle L (December 2024, Journal of Petrology)

   Abstract Whole rock compositions at Buldir Volcano, western Aleutian arc, record a strong, continuous trend of iron depletion with decreasing MgO, classically interpreted as a calc-alkaline liquid line of descent. In contrast, olivine-hosted melt inclusions have higher total iron (FeO*) than whole rocks and show little change in FeO* with decreasing MgO. To investigate this discrepancy and determine the conditions required for strong iron depletion, we conducted oxygen fugacity (ƒO2) buffered, water-saturated crystallization experiments at 800 MPa and ƒO2 = QFM + 1.6 ± 0.4 (1$$\sigma$$) (where QFM refers to the quartz-fayalite-magnetite buffer) on a high-Al, basaltic starting material modeled after a Buldir lava. Experimental conditions were informed by olivine-hosted melt inclusions that record minimum entrapment pressures as high as 570 MPa, >6 wt % H2O, and ƒO2 of QFM + 1.4 (±0.2), making Buldir one of the most oxidized and wettest arc volcanoes documented globally. The experiments produce melts with Si-enrichment and Fe-depletion signatures characteristic of evolved, calc-alkaline magmas at the lowest MgO, although FeO* remains roughly constant over most of the experimental temperature range. Experiments saturate CrAl-spinel and olivine at 1160°C, followed by clinopyroxene and Al-spinel at 1085°C, hornblende at 1060°C, and, finally, plagioclase and magnetite between 1040°C and 960°C. Hornblende crystallization, not magnetite, generates the largest increase in SiO2 and largest decrease in FeO* in coexisting melts. Compositions of melt inclusions are consistent with experimental melts and reflect crystallization of a basaltic parent magma at high PH2O. In contrast, the whole rock compositional trends are influenced by magma mixing and phenocryst redistribution and accumulation. The crystallization experiments and natural liquids (melt inclusions and groundmass glass) from Buldir suggest that for an oxidized, hydrous primary basalt starting composition, significant Fe depletion from the melt will not occur until intermediate to late stages of magma crystallization (< ~4.5 wt % MgO). We conclude that the Buldir whole rock trend cannot be reproduced by crystallization at arc-relevant oxygen fugacities and is not a true liquid line of descent, warranting caution when interpreting volcanic trends globally. 

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2. Simulated diagenesis of the iron-silica precipitates in banded iron formations

   https://doi.org/10.2138/am-2022-8758  

   Hinz, Isaac L.; Rossi, Leanne; Ma, Chi; Johnson, Jena E. (September 2023, American Mineralogist)

   Banded iron formations (BIF) are chemically precipitated sediments that can record Archean ocean geochemistry. BIFs are laminated silica- and iron-rich deposits that host a range of iron(II, III) minerals, including hematite, magnetite, siderite, greenalite, minnesotaite, and stilpnomelane. This diverse mineralogical assemblage reflects secondary mineralization reactions due to diagenesis and/or post-depositional alteration. While petrographic observations of BIFs sparingly contain the iron silicate greenalite, recent evidence of greenalite nanoparticles preserved in early-mineralizing BIF chert suggest this mineral was a primary phase in BIF progenitor sediments. Therefore, it is critical to investigate the formation and alteration of greenalite to constrain the Archean ocean environment and help unravel post-depositional processes. To examine how iron silicates precipitate and then crystallize and/or transform during diagenesis, we simulated these two processes under Archean ocean conditions. We first precipitated a poorly ordered Fe-rich serpentine with subsidiary ferrihydrite at neutral pH by performing in situ Fe(II) oxidation experiments at 25 °C in the presence of silica. Subjected to simulated diagenesis at 80 °C, the rudimentary Fe-phyllosilicate transformed into a crystalline phyllosilicate characterized as 30% cronstedtite and 70% greenalite accompanied by magnetite and persistent ferrihydrite. At temperatures ≤150 °C, we continued to observe ferrihydrite, increased magnetite formation, and elevated incorporation of Mg into the phyllosilicate as it further recrystallized into Mg-greenalite. Our findings demonstrate a possible formation mechanism of early silicates through partial Fe(II) oxidation and support petrographic observations that magnetite likely mineralizes during diagenesis. Additionally, we suggest that Mg contents in BIF iron phyllosilicates could serve as a tracer for diagenesis, with Mg signaling phyllosilicate-fluid interactions at elevated temperatures. Ultimately, our experiments help reveal how initial iron-silica coprecipitates are altered during diagenesis, providing novel insights into the interpretation of greenalite and magnetite in ancient BIF assemblages. 

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3. Contribution of multidomain titanomagnetite to the intensity and stability of Mars crustal magnetic anomalies

   https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062032  

   Brachfeld, Stefanie; Cuomo, David; Tatsumi‐Petrochilos, Lisa; Bowles, Julie A; Shah, Deepa; Hammer, Julia (November 2014, Geophysical Research Letters)

   Abstract Two basalts with compositions relevant to the crusts of Mars and Earth were synthesized at igneous temperatures and held at 650°C for 21 to 257 days under quartz‐fayalite‐magnetitefO₂buffer conditions. The run products are germane to slowly cooled igneous intrusions, which might be a significant volumetric fraction of the Martian crust and carriers of magnetic anomalies in the Southern Highlands. Both basalts acquired intense thermoremanent magnetizations and intense but easily demagnetized anhysteretic remanent magnetizations carried by homogeneous multidomain titanomagnetite. Hypothetical intrusions on Mars composed of these materials would be capable of acquiring intense remanences sufficient to generate the observed anomalies. However, the remanence would be easily demagnetized by impact events after the cessation of the Mars geodynamo. Coercivity enhancement by pressure or formation of single domain regions via exsolution within the multidomain grains is necessary for long‐term retention of a remanence carried exclusively by multidomain titanomagnetite grains. 

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4. Data report: clay mineral assemblages in hemipelagic sediments entering the Sumatra subduction zone, IODP Sites U1480 and U1481, Expedition 362

   https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.proc.362.204.2020  

   Rosenberger, K.; Underwood, M.B.; Vrolijk, P.; Haines, S. (July 2020, Proceedings of the International Ocean Discovery Program)

   null (Ed.)

   This report documents the results of X-ray diffraction analyses of 132 mud and mudstone samples collected offshore Sumatra during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 362. The clay-size mineral assemblage consists of smectite, illite, chlorite, kaolinite, and quartz. The relative abundance of smectite at Site U1480 decreases downsection from a mean value of 33 wt% in Unit I to a mean of 19 wt% in Unit II; illite increases from a mean of 49 wt% to a mean of 59 wt%. Smectite in Unit III increases to a mean of 73 wt%, and illite decreases to a mean of 19 wt%. Mean values are subordinate (<16 wt%) for undifferentiated chlorite + kaolinite and <7 wt% for quartz in all units. A significant compositional discrepancy occurs between Subunit IIIA at Site U1480 (mean smectite = 64 wt%) and Unit III at Site U1481 (mean smectite = 36 wt%). At Site U1480, the expandability of illite/smectite mixed-layer clays increases downsection, which is opposite to the trend expected with burial diagenesis. The maximum value is 88% within smectite-rich samples from Unit III. Values of the illite crystallinity index are between 0.42Δ°2θ and 0.76Δ°2θ, with most data straddling the generic boundary between advanced diagenesis and anchimetamorphism. Illite (060) reflections yield bo values of 8.988 to 9.000, which are indicative of low phengite contents. Smectite (060) reflections display peak apex positions of 61.998°–61.798°2θ, which are consistent with the mineral structure of montmorillonite. The detrital illite fraction contains 46%–60% 2M1 polytype, and the remainder is 1M/1Md. 

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5. Red-green-bleached redox interfaces in the proximal Permian Cutler red beds: implications for regional fluid alteration

   https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1219966  

   Hullaster, Desiree P; Soreghan, Gerilyn S; Kukkadapu, Ravi K; Dumont, Brock S; Dee, Kato T; Elwood_Madden, Andrew S (November 2023, Frontiers in Earth Science)

   Siliciclastic strata of the Colorado Plateau attract attention for their striking red, green, bleached, and variegated colors that potentially record both early depositional and later diagenetic events. We investigated the proximal-most strata of the Paradox Basin, from their onlap contact with the Precambrian basement of the Uncompahgre Plateau to the younger Cutler strata exposed within 10 km of the Uncompahgre Plateau to attempt to understand the significance of the striking colors that occur here. These strata preserve a complex geology associated with buried paleorelief and sediment-related permeability variations at a major basin-uplift interface. Strata exposed within ∼1.5 km of the onlap contact exhibit a pervasive drab color in contrast to the generally red colors that predominate farther from this front. In-between, strata commonly host variegated red/green/bleached intercalations. Thin-section petrography, SEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and whole-rock geochemistry of samples representing different color variations from demonstrate that water–rock interactions charged the rocks with Fe(II) that persists primarily in the phyllosilicate fraction. Color variations reflect grain-size differences that allowed the reduction of fluids from regional fault and basement/fill contacts to permeate coarser-grained Cutler sediments. Hematite and chlorite occur in both red and green sediments but are absent in the bleached sediments. Pervasive hematite in both red and green layers suggests that sediments were hematite-rich before later alteration. Chlorite and smectite are elevated in green samples and inversely correlated with biotite content. Green coloration is generally associated with 1) coarser grain sizes, 2) spatial association with basement contacts, 3) elevated smectite and/or chlorite, 4) less total Fe but greater Fe(II)/Fe(III) primarily in the phyllosilicate fraction, and 5) uranium enrichment. The bleached coloration reflects the removal of pigmentary Fe(III) oxide, while the green coloration is due to the removal of pigmentary hematite and the abundance of Fe(II)-bearing phyllosilicates. Abundant mixed-layer and swelling clays such as smectite, illite/smectite, and chlorite/smectite (including tosudite) dominate the mineralogy of the clay fraction. These results are consistent with other studies demonstrating fault-associated fluid alteration in the Paradox Basin region. However, the pervasive greening was not observed in many of these studies and appears to reflect the unique aspects of the paleovalley system and the importance of biotite alteration to Fe(II)-bearing phyllosilicates. 

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