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The Bafoussam area in western Cameroon is part of the central Cameroon Volcanic Ligne (CVL). This study presents the mineralogy, major and trace element compositions, Sr-Pb-Hf isotopes, and new K–Ar geochronological data about mafic and felsic volcanic rocks. These rocks belong to two different series: A transitional series made of basalts, basaltic andesite, and trachytes and an alkaline mafic series with basalts, hawaiites, and basanites. New age data show that the transitional series belongs to the oldest part of the CVL and was emplaced between 47 and 35 Ma. The alkaline volcanism is younger, with ages ranging from 10 to 4.5 Ma. Magmatic evolution in both series is accomplished through a fractional crystallization process, with the removal of olivine and clinopyroxene, while plagioclase does not seem to be a major crystallizing phase. All the samples are enriched in incompatible trace elements, but the rocks from the alkaline series have more fractionated REE patterns and high Nb content compared to the transitional mafic lavas. Alkaline lavas have lower initial 87Sr/86Sr and higher 176Hf/177Hf and Pb isotopic ratios than the transitional lavas. Low La/Nb and high 87Sr/86Sri ratio are among chemical characteristics that show that some samples from the transitional series have interacted with a crustal component during their evolution in the crust. They cannot be used for discussing the mantle source of the volcanic rocks from this series. Trace elements show that primary magmas for both series formed in a garnet-bearing mantle source, with higher partial melting degrees (3–5%) for the transitional magmas than for the alkaline magmas (< 2.5%). Combining trace elements and isotopic ratios, we show that the Bafoussam lavas formed from two different mantle sources. Transitional magmas formed from a pyroxenite-bearing enriched mantle with low Pb isotopic composition. This mantle source is present in all the oldest lavas from the CVL. Alkaline magmas formed from an HIMU-like mantle source, different from the Mt Cameroon HIMU mantle source. The depleted asthenospheric mantle is not involved in the Bafoussam magmatism and the two mantle sources are probably located in the lithospheric mantle, in agreement with recent geophysical models presenting the CVL as a consequence of the partial melting of the lithospheric mantle in response to edge convection along the margin of the Congo craton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some volcanic rocks from Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo contain highly oxidized olivine crystals. These olivines crystals are made of two phases, dark olivine on backscattered electron images of pure forsterite composition and grey Mg-poor areas made of olivine and iron-rich oxides. Calculation of the initial composition confirms that they are primary olivine with late separation of two different olivine compositions. Pure forsterite is enriched in SiO2 but contains lower amounts of CaO than Fe-rich areas, in agreement with expected partitioning of these elements related to the composition of the olivine. Iron-rich oxides formed around or inside the olivine crystals during the separation process and confirm a highly oxidized environment during their evolution. We propose that this separation occurred during subsolidus recrystallization under high fO2 conditions of the olivine crystals after cooling of the volcanic rocks. It provides evidences for circulation of iron-rich fluids or gas inducing deuteritic processes occurring in the large volcanic cone of the Nyiragongo, in relation with the presence of a shallow magma chamber connected to a large and permanent lava lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The famous circular structure of Richat, sometimes referred to as "the eye of Africa", is located in the northwestern part of the Taoudeni basin, in the central part of the Mauritanian Adrar plateaus. It is expressed at the surface as a slightly elliptical depression, about 40 km in diameter, marked by concentric ridges of Proterozoic-Lower Paleozoic sediments. Its origin as resulting from either a meteorite impact or a deep magmatic intrusion has been long debated. Modelling of high-resolution airborne magnetic data as well as satellite gravity data reinforces the intrusion hypothesis. Geophysical modelling has been calibrated by determinations of rock properties from various types of magmatic lithologies sampled in the field. The three complementary types of geophysical data allow us to image at various scales and depths the buried structures of the Richat magmatic complex, to determine the areas most affected by hydrothermal alteration and finally to elaborate a kinematic model for its emplacement. We emphasize that (1) the Richat intrusion is characterized by the presence of two important circular magnetic signals that coincide with gabbroic ring dykes partly exposed at the surface, (2) its overall circular structure rests above a deep mafic (gabbroic) body, (3) the upwelling of magma at the surface has been facilitated by the presence of concentric faults and (4) the central zone of the complex recorded intense hydrothermal alteration. This case study aims to provide insights for similar types of magma-induced ring structures observed worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Eastern Futuna Volcanic Zone (SEFVZ; 50 km × 80 km) is located in the NW of the Lau back-arc basin at the northern boundary of the Futuna and YAO microplates. Fatu Kapa is an area (∼15 km × 10 km) of diffuse volcanic activity at the center of the SEFVZ and at the intersection of two volcanic axes with the Futuna fracture zone. At this place, the volcanic, tectonic, and hydrothermal activities are enhanced. The most differentiated volcanic series of the whole Futuna region are found in the Fatu Kapa area. Based on major and trace element data, four groups of volcanic rocks are distinguished in the Fatu Kapa area. The main groups form a well-defined transitional suite from basalts to andesitic and dacitic lavas that display enrichments in Zr, Cl and heavy rare earth elements. The most mafic lavas of this group are extracted from an Indian-type depleted mantle mixed with a component with trace element and isotopic characteristics similar to the nearby Samoa mantle plume. There is no evidence of subduction input. Petrological modelling shows that the mafic melts of the main group (Group 1A) evolve towards trachyandesites through fractional crystallization coupled with assimilation of 10 % of a Cl-rich and Th-poor melt generated by low-degree (≤2 %) partial melting of a hydrothermally altered basaltic crust. Rocks of Groups 1B(a) and 1B(b) were then generated by mixing of a mafic melt from Group 1A with a melt obtained by partial melting of andesitic and hydrothermally altered wallrock in shallow magma chambers. Extremely high Cl concentrations can be explained by assimilation of interstitial K- and Cl-rich brines in the pore water of the hydrothermally altered volcanic rocks before melting of these rocks. This is in good agreement with unusual extension of the Fatu Kapa hydrothermal area and indicates that, in the north of the Lau basin, the microplate boundaries are privileged zones to generate a complex felsic magmatism within areas of widespread hydrothermal alteration. Our study confirms the importance of assimilation and fractional crystallization and mixing processes in generating high-silica lavas in back-arc environments decoupled from subduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first K-Ar geochronological and geochemical data (major and trace elements, as well as Sr, Nd, Pb, and Hf isotopes) on volcanic rocks from the Fotouni lavas in the central part of the Cameroon volcanic line (CVL). Two distinct compositional groups can be discriminated: alkaline and transitional lavas. The alkaline series ranges in composition from basanite and basalt to hawaiite and formed 14 to 3 Ma ago while the transitional series ranges from basalt and trachybasalt to basaltic trachyandesite and formed 47 to 38 Ma ago. All samples display trace element patterns dominated by light rare-earth element enrichments compared to heavy rare-earth elements. The alkaline samples have (87Sr/86Sr)i ranging from 0.70292 to 0.70340, εNd = 3.45 to 5.98, ɛHf = 1.95 to 5.63, and relatively radiogenic Pb isotopic compositions: 206Pb/204Pb = 19.891–20.592; 207Pb/204Pb = 15.639–15.693; 208Pb/204Pb = 39.566–40.044. Transitional basalts are characterized by relatively radiogenic Sr and unradiogenic Nd, Hf, and Pb: (ɛNd)i = − 10.82 to + 3.43; ɛHf = − 14.00 to + 3.13; 206Pb/204Pb = 18.0716 to 18.9274; 207Pb/204Pb = 15.532 to15.704; 208Pb/204Pb = 37.8141 to 39.4735. Several geochemical characteristics indicate that the transitional lavas have interacted with the continental crust while alkaline lavas did not suffer significant amounts crustal contamination. Both transitional and alkaline lava series can be explained by mixing between two mantle components: an enriched component and a HIMU-like component. These two mantle sources are probably located within the lithospheric mantle and are different from both the Saint Helena and the Mont Cameroon mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Holocene (12–8.2 cal ka) deglaciation and pulsed warming was associated in Iceland with two major generations of jökulhlaups around the Vatna ice-cap (Vatnajökull), at ca 11.4–11.2 cal ka and ca 10.4–9.9 cal ka, and major tephra emissions from the Grímsvötn and Bárðarbunga subglacial volcanoes. The earliest flood events were recorded inland during the Middle Younger Dryas and their deposits were overlain by the Early Preboreal Vedde Ash (11.8 cal ka). The first Holocene flood events (ca 11.4–11.2 cal ka) are issued from a glacial advance. The second, and major, set of floods was partly driven by the Erdalen cold events and advances (10.1–9.7 10Be ka) initially issued from the Bárðarbunga (10.4, 10.1–9.9 ka) and Grímsvötn volcanoes (Saksunarvatn tephra complex, ca. 10.2–9.9 cal ka). These floods were also fed by the residual glacio-isostatic depressions below the Vatnajökull that enabled the storage of meltwaters in large subglacial lakes or aquifers until ca. 9.3 cal ka. This storage was enhanced by ice-damming and permafrost, especially during the twinned Erdalen events. Due to the glacio-isostatic rebound, the general slope was nearly flat, and the valley was partly filled with sediments until ca 10.8 cal ka. Temporary lacustrine deposits in this valley resulted from the very broad splay of waters as for the ca 11.2 cal ka and ca 10.1–9.9 cal ka flood, due to regional permafrost. These floods had a potential duration of several months as they were mostly fed by climate-driven meltwater. The maximal volume evacuated by these events did not greatly exceed 1 × 106 m3 s−1 from the flood-affected transverse profile of the valleys that remain partly filled with sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southern Iceland is one of the main outlets of the Icelandic ice sheet and is subject to seismicity of both tectonic and volcanic origins along the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). A sedimentary complex spanning Marine Isotopic Stage 6 (MIS 6) to the present includes evidence of both activities. It includes a continuous sedimentary record since the Eemian interglacial period, controlled by a rapid deglaciation, followed by two marine glacioisostasy-forced transgressions, separated by a regression phase connected to an intra-MIS 5e glacial advance. This record has been constrained by tephrostratigraphy and dating. Analysis of this record has provided better insights into the interconnectedness of hydrology and volcanic and tectonic activity during deglaciations and glaciations. Low-intensity earthquakes recurrently affected the water-laid sedimentation during the early stages of unloading, accompanying rifting events, dyke injection, and fault reactivations. During full interglacial periods, earthquakes were significantly less frequent but of higher magnitude along the SISZ, due to stress accumulation, favored by low groundwater levels and more limited magma production. Occurrence of volcanism and seismicity in Iceland is commonly related to rifting events. Subglacial volcanic events seem moreover to have been related to stress unlocking related to limited or full unloading/deglaciation events. Major eruptions were mostly located at the melting margin of the ice sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Geochemical studies of long-lived volcanic complexes are crucial for the understanding of the nature and composition of the subduction component of arc magmatism. The Pichincha Volcanic Complex (Northern Andean Volcanic Zone) consists of: (1) an old, highly eroded edifice, the Rucu Pichincha, whose lavas are mostly andesites, erupted from 1,100 to 150 ka; and (2) a younger, essentially dacitic, Guagua Pichincha composite edifice, with three main construction phases (Basal Guagua Pichincha, Toaza, and Cristal) which developed over the last 60 ka. This structural evolution was accompanied by a progressive increase of most incompatible trace element abundances and ratios, as well as by a sharp decrease of fluid-mobile to fluid-immobile element ratios. Geochemical data indicate that fractional crystallization of an amphibole-rich cumulate may account for the evolution from the Guagua Pichincha andesites to dacites. However, in order to explain the transition between the Rucu Pichincha andesites and Guagua Pichincha dacites, the mineralogical and geochemical data indicate the predominance of magma mixing processes between a mafic, trace-element depleted, mantle-derived end-member, and a siliceous, trace-element enriched, adakitic end-member. The systematic variation of trace element abundances and ratios in primitive samples leads us to propose that the Rucu Pichincha magmas came from a hydrous-fluid metasomatized mantle wedge, whereas Guagua Pichincha magmas are related to partial melting of a siliceous-melt metasomatized mantle. This temporal evolution implies a change from dehydration to partial melting of the slab, which may be associated with an increase in the geothermal gradient along the slab due to the presence of the subducted Carnegie Ridge at the subduction system. This work emphasizes the importance of studying arc-magma systems over long periods of time (of at least 1 million of years), in order to evaluate the potential variations of the slab contribution into the mantle source of the arc magmatism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the chemical composition of wet atmospheric precipitation samples on a daily and an intra-event timescales in Opme, an experimental meteorological station located near Clermont-Ferrand, France. The samples have been collected from November 2005 to October 2007. A total of 217 rainwater samples, integrated for 24 h, were collected and analyzed for pH, conductivity, Na+, K+, Mg2+, NH, Ca2+, Cl−, NO , SO , PO and HCO. The composition of the rainwater collected appeared to be controlled by the following potential sources: neutralisation process (association among calcium, ammonium with nitrate and sulphate), marine and terrestrial sources. In order to determine the role of long-range transport, the integrated events were classified according to four origins of air-masses: (1) West, (2) North and East, (3) South including Iberian and Italian Peninsulae and (4) local. This analysis allows identifying the source areas of the different association of elements defined. Although calcium is always dominant, total content of rainfall is variable and neutralisation process can be more or less efficient and specific. Rainout (long-range transport) and washout (below-cloud scavenging) were investigated through intra-event measurements of chemical species. Four rain-events have been selected according to the four classes of origins of air-masses. It appears that the first fractions are responsible for an important part of the chemical content of the whole event. Terrestrial species, locally emitted, induce the neutralisation process of acid species. Local meteorological conditions, such as wind’s speed and direction, play an important role as they could provoke recharges of the below cloud air column during the event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultramafic (lherzolites, metasomatized peridotites, harzburgites, websterites and clinopyroxenites) and mafic igneous (basalts, dolerites, diorites and gabbros) rocks exposed at the sea-floor along the West Iberia continental margin represent a rare opportunity to study the transition zone between continental and oceanic lithosphere. The igneous rocks are enriched in LREE, unlike North Atlantic MORB. A correlation between their 143Nd/144Nd isotopic composition and Ce/Yb ratio suggests that they originate from mixing between partial melts of a depleted mantle source similar to DMM and of an enriched mantle source which may reside within the continental lithosphere. Clinopyroxenes and amphiboles in the ultramafic rocks are LREE depleted and have flat HREE patterns with concentrations higher than those of abyssal peridotites. Clinopyroxenes in the harzburgites are less LREE depleted but have lower HREE concentrations. The clinopyroxenes in the Galicia Bank (GB) lherzolites have radiogenic Nd (143Nd/144Nd ranging from 0·512937 to 0·513402) and unradiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0·702100 to 0·702311) isotopic ratios similar to, or higher than, DMM (Depleted MORB Mantle) whereas the clinopyroxenes in the Iberia Abyssal Plain websterites have low-Nd isotopic compositions (143Nd/144Nd ranging from 0·512283 to 0·512553) with high-Sr isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0·704170 to 0·705919). Amphiboles in Galicia Bank lherzolites and diorites have Nd–Sr isotopic compositions (143Nd/144Nd from 0·512804 to 0·512938 and 87Sr/86Sr from 0·703243 to 0·703887) intermediate between those of the clinopyroxenes from the Galicia Bank and the Iberia Abyssal Plain, but similar to the clinopyroxenes in the 5100 Hill harzburgite (143Nd/144Nd = 0·512865 and 87Sr/86Sr = 0·703591) and to the igneous rocks (143Nd/144Nd ranging from 0·512729 to 0·513121 and 87Sr/86Sr ranging from 0·702255 to 0·705109). The major and trace element compositions of cpx in the Galicia Bank spinel lherzolites provide evidence for large-scale refertilization of the lithospheric upper mantle by MORB-like tholeiitic melts. The associated harzburgites did not undergo partial melting during the rifting stage, but, in earlier times, probably during, or even before, the Hercynian orogeny. Iberia Abyssal Plain websterites are interpreted as high-pressure cumulates formed in the mantle. Their high Sm/Nd ratios (from 0·43 to 0·67) coupled with very low-Nd isotopic compositions are best explained by a two-stage history: formation of the cumulates from the percolation of enriched melts long before the rifting, followed by low-degree partial melting of the pyroxenites, accounting for their LREE depletion. This last event probably occurs during the rifting episode, 122 Myr ago. The isotopic heterogeneities observed in the ultramafic rocks of the Iberia margin were already present at the time of the rifting event. They reflect a long and complex history of depletion and enrichment events in an old part of the mantle, and provide strong arguments for a sub-continental origin of this part of the upper mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trachyte plugs from the Natash volcanic field have been precisely dated using in situ U-Pb geochronology on zircon grains at ~93 Ma. Available zircon ages thus suggest that the overall volcanic history at Natash was probably shorter than previously estimated based on Rb-Sr and K-Ar ages, which are more sensitive to element mobility. Basaltic flows and trachyte plugs were produced by a largely synchronous, Upper Cretaceous volcanic activity that occurred in the Natash area at the onset of the extensional fracturing that preceded and accompanied the doming of the Afro-Arabian Shield. Extraction and eruption of volumetrically dominant basalts from deeper lithospheric levels were ruled by major NW-SE strike-slip faults, whereas both major and subordinate fault systems activated by successive tectonic pulses favoured the ascent of more evolved melts (i.e. trachytes and rhyolites) from shallow-level magma chambers. The study revealed also the presence of zircon xenocrysts in some trachyte plugs associated or not to magmatic zircon. These xenocrysts have pre-Cambrian ages (~681 Ma) matching those of zircons from basement rocks in the area (~700 Ma) and were most probably incorporated during the emplacement of trachyte plugs at shallow depths. The strictly bimodal ages recorded by zircons suggest a very large time gap (> 500 Ma) between the end of the Pan-African Orogeny and the onset of new tectono-magmatic activity in the Natash area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The first centuries AD in the Mediterranean region have generally been associated with a warm, stable climate. High-resolution sedimentary archives sensitive to local environmental change are needed to switch from this general frame to the regional scale. Similarly to cave speleothems, laminated carbonate deposits can grow in the channels of aqueducts which transported water from karstic springs during the Roman period. The deposits of the aqueduct of Nîmes (SE France) are exceptional since they may represent several centuries of paleoenvironmental record with a seasonal resolution. δ18O, δ13C and trace elements were measured in three samples from this aqueduct. The comparison of the geochemical signals with the fine texture of the deposits evidenced the seasonal nature of the lamination observed. This allowed us to document the evolution of environment as recorded through the deposit for the period 50–275 AD. The concretions of the aqueduct of Nîmes document rather stable climatic conditions for the first three centuries AD, as well as a local vegetation change possibly linked to an increased in land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Miocene K-rich calc-alkaline magmatic rocks are exposed over a ~ 150 km2 area in Cap de Fer and West Edough, along the NE Algerian Mediterranean coast. They include andesitic pyroclastic and lava flows, small dioritic plutons, and large microgranodioritic intrusions that intrude and/or overlie Miocene sediments. New 40K-40Ar ages obtained on the igneous rocks range from 16.84 ± 0.58 to 12.91 ± 0.31 Ma and define three successive magmatic pulses at ~ 16.5, ~ 15, and ~ 13 Ma. These data are in good agreement with biostratigraphic data obtained on the Miocene marls that yielded Langhian (N8 biozone) to Late Langhian-Serravallian ages (N9-N10 biozones). This consistency suggests that the time span (~ 3.5 m.y.) deduced from K-Ar datings is not due to perturbations of the K-Ar clock; it is more likely related to long-lasting tectono-magmatic processes. According to the regional context ("no-slab" area), these processes result from the uprise of hot asthenospheric mantle through the tear generated by the detachment of the oceanic part of the African slab beneath the Algerian margin that triggered the partial melting of the overlying metasomatized lithospheric mantle of the Kabylides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]