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The beach-ridge sequence of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta borders a 300 km long section of the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. With around 500 beach ridges formed in the last 6500 years, the sequence is unsurpassed in the world in terms of numbers of individual ridges preserved, continuity of the record, and temporal resolution. We mapped and dated the most extensively accreted part of the sequence, linking six phases of accretion to river mouth reconfigurations and constraining their ages with 14C and OSL dating. The geomorphological and sedimentological reconstruction relied on lidar data, coring transects, GPR measurements, grain-size analyses, and chemical fingerprinting of volcanic glass and pumice encountered within the beach and dune deposits. We demonstrate that the beach-ridge complex was formed under ample long-term fluvial sediment supply and shorter-term wave- and aeolian-modulated sediment reworking. The abundance of fluvially supplied sand is explained by the presence of easily weatherable Los Chocoyos ignimbrites from the ca. 84 ka eruption of the Atitlán volcano (Guatemala) in the catchment of the Usumacinta River. Autocyclic processes seem responsible for the formation of ridge–swale couplets. Fluctuations in their periodicity (ranging from 6–19 years) are governed by progradation rate, and are therefore not indicative of sea level fluctuations or variability in storm activity. The fine sandy beach ridges are mainly swash built. Ridge elevation, however, is strongly influenced by aeolian accretion during the time the ridge is located next to the beach. Beach-ridge elevation is negatively correlated with progradation rate, which we relate to the variability in sediment supply to the coastal zone, reflecting decadal-scale precipitation changes within the river catchment. In the southern Mexican delta plain, the coastal beach ridges therefore appear to be excellent recorders of hinterland precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold has been a major economic asset for Suriname for more than a century. The long history of gold mining, concentrated in large parts of a greenstone belt in the northeast of the country, began with small-scale artisanal extraction activities and has recently seen the development of major open-pit operations. Despite the range of mining activities, Suriname's gold deposits and occurrences are under-explored from a scientific point of view. Primary gold mineralisations in the greenstone belt occur in multiple forms, and although their origin is commonly related to the Palaeoproterozoic Trans-Amazonian orogeny, the controls of ore formation in specific cases often remain obscure. This contribution presents an abridged overview of currently available information on the geological setting and characteristics for some of the main deposits where gold is extracted. In view of the consistent link between gold metallogeny and granitoid–greenstone belts in the northern Guiana Shield, the mineralised settings in Suriname are discussed in a regional context. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article investigates the origin of a rare occurrence of kyanite quartzites in the Palaeoproterozoic greenstone belt of Suriname. The rocks form elongated hills in the Bosland area, Brokopondo district, where they are associated with meta-sedimentary, meta-volcanic and granitic lithologies. Their mineral content and unusual Si- and Al-rich chemical composition are inferred to be the result of advanced argillic alteration of felsic volcanic tuffs and a later overprint by regional metamorphism up to lower amphibolite facies during the Trans-Amazonian orogeny. Structurally, the Bosland area seems centred within a contractional strike-slip duplex of a major dextral fault system. The alteration was probably associated with a high-sulphidation environment and involved significant to almost complete removal of alkali and alkaline earth elements. Pseudosection modelling and textures suggest that the precipitation–temperature (P–T) history of the kyanite quartzites started with shallow (<2kbar) hydrothermal alteration of the acidic tuffaceous volcanics, possibly in the andalusite stability field (T>350°C), and ended in peak metamorphic conditions in the kyanite–staurolite stability field (P>4kbar and T=500–650°C). Alteration events that preceded the peak of Trans-Amazonian metamorphism may be more common in the rock record of Suriname's greenstone belt, which lends support to the hypothesis that gold mineralisations in the region can be pre-orogenic. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: We present a comprehensive set of data on compositions of melt inclusions and earliest crystallized mineral phases from mafic lavas of Roccamonfina and Ernici, situated in a central sector of the string of Pliocene–Quaternary potassic volcanic centres along the Tyrrhenian border of peninsular Italy. Studied samples of mafic lavas (4.4–7wt.% MgO) cover a wide spectrum of potassium levels, and represent magmas considered to be parental to the ultrapotassic leucite-bearing high-K series (HKS, 4–8wt.% K2O) and to shoshonitic (1.5–5%) and subalkaline (<1.5%) series, here collectively referred to as medium-low potassic series (M-LKS). Highly variable compositions of melt inclusions in olivine hosts (Fo=89–91.5) from single lava samples indicate that all parental magmas are composed of diverse collections of primary melts, consistent with extraction from heterogeneous vein-type mantle lithologies. Major and trace-element systematics provide evidence that primitive HKS and M-LKS magmas originated from separate domains and not through changes in the proportion of vein and wall-rock peridotite during progressive melting of a common source. We infer that parental HKS magmas are largely derived from the vein portion of a heterogeneous phlogopite (±amphibole±apatite) wehrlitic mantle. Contrasting major element, volatile and trace-element signatures of melt inclusions from medium-K lavas point to an amphibole-bearing wehrlitic source for shoshonitic magmas, probably with a subordinate role of phlogopite. Finally, a population of silica-undersaturated potassium-poor melt inclusions with extreme CaO/Al2O3 ratios (>1.2) and fluid-depleted signatures suggests that subalkaline magmas originate either from the same source following the exhaustion of amphibole, or from a separate wehrlitic–pyroxenitic (±apatite±carbonate?) assemblage. Our melt inclusion data are consistent with a mixed metasomatic imprint by siliceous potassium-rich and carbonate-rich (carbonatitic) potassium-poor melts. Siliceous melt components dominated in the HKS sources, but a minor group of potassium-poor melt inclusions in HKS samples, with compositions not represented by erupted products, carries trace-element signatures pointing to metasomatism by carbonatite-like melts. The melt inclusions show a general inverse relationship between fO2 and potassium enrichment, suggesting that primitive potassium-poor magmas are the most oxidized (NNO+0.5), whereas primitive HKS magmas have the lowest oxidation state (NNO−1.6). Mineral chemistry of (near-)liquidus assemblages varies systematically according to the signature of the primary melts from which they crystallized. Calcium contents of Mg-rich olivines and clinopyroxenes are unrelated to the calcium content of the melts but are higher in HKS than in M-LKS samples. Forsterite-rich olivines contain Cr-spinel inclusions with Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios that tend to be higher in M-LKS (0.58–0.80) than in HKS (0.48–0.67) samples. We infer that this parameter, particularly at the more elevated values, is predominantly controlled by the metasomatic veins, and does not necessarily reflect the (‘refractory’) nature of the pre-metasomatic peridotite component. We surmise that primitive HKS and M-LKS melts of Roccamonfina–Ernici are derived by lower degrees of partial melting of vein lithologies with a stronger metasomatic imprint of the carbonatitic component and more subordinate involvement of pristine wall-rock peridotite than their equivalents of the northern Roman Province. The distinctive HKS and M-LKS sources point to a layered vein-permeated mantle column. Melting possibly occurred in response to a heat pulse induced by exposure to hot asthenospheric mantle, facilitated by post-collisional slab tearing and shallow break-off. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The great variety and abundance of chert deposits in Archean terrains constitute one of the most unusual features that mark Earth's early geological history. Proposed explanations for their origin largely relying on field observations, trace element patterns, or oxygen isotope signatures have not yielded an encompassing model. Here we document silicon isotope systematics in cherts from 3.5-3.0 Ga units in the Pilbara Craton (Western Australia) as evidence of their formation by several distinct processes in Early Archean near-surface environments. Our δ30Si results, in combination with geochemical and mineralogical signatures and field relations, point to three end-member sources of silica derivation. One chert type is inferred to have originated through massive transformation of precursor material by silica added from sea water. At least 2‰ differences in δ30Si between the two other types, produced by direct chemical precipitation on the seafloor or in conduits, discriminate seawater from hydrothermal fluid as a source of silica. A virtually continuous Si isotope trend in cherts from this group is consistent with interaction between silica-carrying fluids at submarine vent systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halogen-rich volcanic fluids issued at the surface carry information on properties and processes operating in shallow hydrothermal systems. This paper reports a long-term record of Cl–Br concentrations and δ 37 Cl signatures of lake water and fumaroles from the active crater of Poás volcano (Costa Rica), where surface expressions of magmatic-hydrothermal activity have shown substantial periodic changes over the last decades. Both the hyperacid water of its crater lake (Laguna Caliente) and subaerial fumaroles show significant temporal variability in Cl–Br concentrations, Br/Cl ratios and δ 37 Cl, reflecting variations in the mode and magnitude of volatile transfer. The δ 37 Cl signatures of the lake, covering the period 1985–2012, show fluctuations between + 0.02 ± 0.06‰ and + 1.15 ± 0.09‰. Condensate samples from adjacent fumaroles on the southern shore, collected during the interval (2010–2012) with strong changes in gas temperature (107–763°C), display a much larger range from − 0.43 ± 0.09‰ to + 14.09 ± 0.08‰. Most of the variations in Cl isotope, Br/Cl and concentration signals can be attributed to interaction between magma-derived gas and liquid water in the volcanic–hydrothermal system below the crater. The δ 37 Cl were lowest and closest to magmatic values in (1) fumarolic gas that experienced little or no interaction with subsurface water and followed a relatively dry pathway, and (2) water that captured the bulk of magmatic halogen output so that no phase separation could induce fractionation. In contrast, elevated δ 37 Cl can be explained by partial scavenging and fractionation during subsurface gas–liquid interaction. Hence, strong Cl isotope fractionation leading to very high δ 37 Cl in Poás’ fumaroles indicates that they followed a wet pathway. Highest δ 37 Cl values in the lake water were found mostly in periods when it received a significant input from subaqueous fumaroles or when high temperatures and low pH caused HCl evaporation. It is concluded that combined monitoring of δ 37 Cl and Br/Cl in Laguna Caliente and adjacent fumaroles provides valuable information on activity in the subsurface hydrothermal system with significant relevance for volcanic surveillance of Poás. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background, Aims and Scope: Lakes developing in volcano craters can become highly acidic through the influx of volcanic gases, yielding one of the chemically most extreme natural environments on earth. The Kawah Ijen crater lake in East Java (Indonesia) has a pH < 0.3. It is the source of the extremely acidic and metal-polluted river Banyupahit (45 km). The lake has a significant impact on the river ecosystem as well as on a densely populated area downstream, where agricultural fields are irrigated with water with a pH between 2.5 and 3.5. The chemistry of the river water seemed to have changed over the past decade and the negative effect in the irrigation area increased. A multidisciplinary approach was used to investigate the altered situation and to get insight in the water chemistry and the hydrological processes influencing these alterations. Moreover, a first investigation of the effects of the low pH on ecosystem health and human health was performed., Methods: Water samples were taken at different sites along the river and in the irrigation area. Sampling for macroinvertebrates was performed at the same sites. Samples of soil and crop were taken in the irrigation area. All samples were analysed for metals (using ICP-AES) and other elements, and concentrations were compared to local and international standards., Results and Discussion: The river carries a very high load of SO4, NH4, PO4, Cl, F, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Al and other potentially toxic elements. Precipitation and discharge data over the period of 1980-2000 clearly show that the precipitation on the Ijen plateau influences water chemistry of the downstream river. Metal concentrations in the river water exceed the concentrations mentioned in Indonesian and international quality guidelines, even in the downstream river and the irrigation area. Some metal concentrations are extremely high, especially iron (up to 1,600 mg/l) and aluminium (up to 3,000 mg/l). The food-webs in the acidic parts of the river are highly underdeveloped. No invertebrates were present in the extremely acidic water and, at pH 2.3, only chironomids were found. This also holds true for the river water with pH 3.3 in the downstream area. Agricultural soils in the irrigation area have a pH of 3.9 compared to a pH of 7.0 for soils irrigated with neutral water. Decreased yields of cultivated crops are probably caused by the use of Al containing acidic irrigation water. Increased levels of metals (especially Cd, Co, Ni and Mn) are found in different foodstuffs, but still remain within acceptable ranges. Considering local residents' diets, Cd levels may lead to an increased risk for the human health. Fluoride exposure is of highest concern, with levels in drinking water exceeding guideline values and a lot of local residents suffering from dental fluorosis. CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: In short, our data indicate that the Ijen crater lake presents a serious threat to the environment as well as human health and agricultural production.