Mafic slab melt contributions to Proterozoic massif-type anorthosites.

Massif-type anorthosites, enormous and enigmatic plagioclase-rich cumulate intrusions emplaced into Earth's crust, formed in large numbers only between 1 and 2 billion years ago. Conflicting hypotheses for massif-type anorthosite formation, including melting of upwelling mantle, lower crustal melting, and arc magmatism above subduction zones, have stymied consensus on what parental magmas crystallized the anorthosites and why the rocks are temporally restricted. Using B, O, Nd, and Sr isotope analyses, bulk chemistry, and petrogenetic modeling, we demonstrate that the magmas parental to the Marcy and Morin anorthosites, classic examples from North America's Grenville orogen, require large input from mafic melts derived from slab-top altered oceanic crust.

Tracking long-distance atmospheric deposition of trace metal emissions from smelters in the upper Columbia River valley using Pb isotope analysis of lake sediments.

Heavy metal discharge from mining and smelting operations into aquatic ecosystems can cause long-term biological and ecological impacts. The upper Columbia River is highly contaminated with heavy metal wastes from nearby smelting operations in Trail, British Columbia, Canada, and to a lesser extent, Northport (Le Roi smelter), Washington, USA. Airborne emissions from the Trail operations were historically and are currently transported by prevailing winds down the Columbia River canyon, where particulate metals can be deposited into lakes and watersheds.