VizualAge, a new computer software tool for analysing U-Pb data obtained by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry, was developed. It consists of a data reduction scheme (DRS) for Iolite (a general mass spectrometry data analysis tool) as well as visualisation routines. In addition to the U/Pb and Th/Pb ages calculated by Iolites U-Pb geochronology DRS, VizualAge also calculates 207Pb/206Pb ages and common Pb corrections for each time-slice of raw data. Importantly, VizualAge allows one to display a live concordia diagram for visualising data on such a diagram as an integration interval is being adjusted. This provides instantaneous feedback regarding discordance, uncertainty, error correlation and common Pb. Several zircon data sets were used to illustrate how the live concordia could be used as a powerful inspection tool, revealing a single analysis to consist of zones of concordance, metamict areas, as well as inherited cores or younger overgrowths. VizualAge also constructs histograms, conventional and Tera-Wasserburg type concordia diagrams, as well as 3D U-Th-Pb and total U-Pb concordia diagrams. The precision and accuracy of data reduced with VizualAge are demonstrated with examples of the Plesovice, Temora-2 and Penglai zircon reference materials. Data for zircon from the Long Lake Batholith (Wyoming craton) were used to illustrate how VizualAge calculated common Pb corrections and helped to expose as yet unexplained difficulties with accurately determining 204Pb.

VizualAge: A Novel Approach to Laser Ablation ICP‐MS U‐Pb Geochronology Data Reduction

The configuration of Greater Gondwana—Evidence from LA ICPMS, U–Pb geochronology of detrital zircons from the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic of Southeast Asia and China

Oxygenic photosynthesis evolved at least 2.4 Ga; all oxygenic organisms use the ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase (Rubisco)–photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle (PCRC) rather than one of the five other known pathways of autotrophic CO2 assimilation. The high CO2 and (initially) O2-free conditions permitted the use of a Rubisco with a high maximum specific reaction rate. As CO2 decreased and O2 increased, Rubisco oxygenase activity increased and 2-phosphoglycolate was produced, with the evolution of pathways recycling this inhibitory product to sugar phosphates. Changed atmospheric composition also selected for Rubiscos with higher CO2 affinity and CO2/O2 selectivity correlated with decreased CO2-saturated catalytic capacity and/or for CO2-concentrating mechanisms (CCMs). These changes increase the energy, nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, zinc and manganese cost of producing and operating Rubisco–PCRC, while biosphere oxygenation decreased the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus and iron. The majority of algae today have CCMs; the timing of their origins is unclear. If CCMs evolved in a low-CO2 episode followed by one or more lengthy high-CO2 episodes, CCM retention could involve a combination of environmental factors known to favour CCM retention in extant organisms that also occur in a warmer high-CO2 ocean. More investigations, including studies of genetic adaptation, are needed.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstb.2011.0212

Algal evolution in relation to atmospheric CO2: carboxylases, carbon-concentrating mechanisms and carbon oxidation cycles

Characteristics of cold seeps at different geologic settings are the subject of this review primarily based on results of the Research Consortium SFB 574. Criteria are drawn from examples on the erosive convergent margin off Costa Rica, the accretionary margin off Chile supplemented by examples from the transform margin of the Golf of Cadiz and the convergent Hikurangi margin off New Zealand. Others are from well-studied passive margins of the Black Sea, the Golf of Mexico, the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the South China Sea. Seeps at all settings transport water and dissolved compounds to the ocean through the seafloor by different forcing mechanism and from different depths of the submerged geosphere (10s of meters to 10s of km). The compounds sustain oasis-type ecosystems by providing bioactive reductants sulfide, methane and hydrogen. Hereby, the interaction between fluid composition, flux rates and biota results in a diagnostic hydrocarbon–metazoan–microbe–carbonate association; currently, well over 100 active sites are known. The single most important reaction is microbially mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane with secondary reactions involving S-biogeochemistry and carbonate mineral precipitation. Seep fluids and their seafloor manifestations provide clues as to source depth, fluid–sediment/rock interaction during ascent, lifetime and cyclicity of seepage events but less so on the magnitude of return flow. At erosive margins, Cl-depleted and B-enriched fluids from clay dehydration provide criteria for source depth and temperature. The upward material flow generates mud volcanoes at the seafloor above the projected location of dehydration at depth. At accretionary margins, fluids are derived from more shallow depths by compaction of sediments as they ride on the incoming oceanic plate; they are emitted through thrust faults. At highly sedimented margins, organic-rich and evaporite-containing strata (when present) determine the final fluid composition, by emitting characteristically gas hydrate-derived methane, brine-associated non-methane hydrocarbons or leached elements and their isotopes (Li, δ7Li, B, Ba) from host sediments. Smectite–illite transformation and associated Cl-depletion from release of interlayer water is a pervasive process at these margins. Rare earth element pattern in conjunction with redox-sensitive metals retained in seep carbonates indicate whether or not they precipitated in contact with oxic bottom water or suboxic fluids; clear environmental characterization, though, currently remains inconclusive. More deeply sourced fluids as in transform margins may be characterized by their 87Sr/86Sr ratios from interaction with oceanic crustal rocks below. Quantification of flow and reliable estimates of total volatile output from fore-arcs remain a challenge to seep research, as does understanding the role of geologically derived methane in the global methane cycle.

/pdf/marine-cold-seeps-and-their-manifestations-geological-30ua5m6ro2.pdf

Marine cold seeps and their manifestations: geological control, biogeochemical criteria and environmental conditions

As part of the 2007 Marnaut cruise in the Sea of Marmara, an investigation of the pore fluid chemistry of sites along the Main Marmara Fault zone was conducted. The goal was to define the spatial relationship between active faults and fluid outlets and to determine the sources and evolution of the fluids. Sites included basin bounding transtensional faults and strike-slip faults cutting through the topographic highs. The basin pore fluids are dominated by simple mixing of bottom water with a brackish, low-density Pleistocene Lake Marmara end-member that is advecting buoyantly and/or diffusing from a relatively shallow depth. This mix is overprinted by shallow redox reactions and carbonate precipitation. The ridge sites are more complex with evidence for deep-sourced fluids including thermogenic gas and evidence for both silicate and carbonate diagenetic processes. One site on the Western High displayed two mound structures that appear to be chemoherms atop a deep-seated fluid conduit. The fluids being expelled are brines of up to twice seawater salinity with an exotic fluid chemistry extremely high in Li, Sr, and Ba. Oil globules were observed both at the surface and in cores, and type II gas hydrates of thermogenic origin were recovered. Hydrate formation near the seafloor contributes to increase brine concentration but cannot explain their chemical composition, which appears to be influenced by diagenetic reactions at temperatures of 75°C–150°C. Hence, a potential source for fluids at this site is the water associated with the reservoir from which the gas and oil is seeping, which has been shown to be related to the Thrace Basin hydrocarbon system. Our work shows that submerged continental transform plate boundaries can be hydrologically active and exhibit a diversity of sources and processes.

http://www.crpg.cnrs-nancy.fr/spip.php?action=acceder_document&arg=585&cle=eac18654601e7335cd6510ca5a2527253d41ebb5&file=pdf%2F2090.pdf

T. Zitter

Papers

Pore fluid chemistry of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Sea of Marmara: A diversity of sources and processes

Gas emissions and active tectonics within the submerged section of the North Anatolian Fault zone in the Sea of Marmara

Sedimentological and Geochemical Characteristics of Turbidites Related to Earthquake Activity in the Sea of Marmara