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Improved methods for the extraction of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an essential and economically important polyunsaturated fatty acid, are urgently required. However, lipid extraction rates using food-grade solvents such as ethanol are usually low. To improve the ethanol-based extraction rate, and to elucidate the relevant mechanisms, we used cellulase and laccase to treat powdered Nannochloropsis, one of the most promising microalgal sources of EPA. Cellulase and laccase synergistically increased lipid yields by 69.31% and lipid EPA content by 42.63%, by degrading the amorphous hemicellulose and cellulose, improving crystallinity, and promoting the release and extraction of lysodiacylglyceryltrimethylhomoserine. Scanning electron microscopy showed that cell morphology was substantially altered, with cell-wall rupture, loss of cell boundaries, and the release of intracellular substances. In conclusion, Nannochloropsis lipid yields may be directly linked to cell-wall hemicellulose structure, and enzymatic treatment to alter this may improve lipid yields.

Geothermal systems in terrains affected by polyphase deformation have reservoirs with a 3D geometry that is always difficult to predict. In this paper we describe a fossil exhumed geothermal system exposed in eastern Elba Island that developed in a polyphase folded and faulted setting, which can help us to understand how geothermal fluids circulate in geological bodies with inherited structures. Geothermal circulation at Elba allowed the deposition of Fe-ore deposits (haematite/magnetite and pyrite) and altered rock volumes, which represent tracers of the palaeo-fluid flow. Normal and oblique-slip faults dissected a polyphase folded metasiliciclastic succession and produced a secondary permeability in the range of 5 × 10−13 to 5 × 10−16 m2. From the permeable fault zones acting as feeder conduits, geothermal fluids permeated the hydraulically connected metasiliciclastic rock bodies previously deformed by two generations of folds. Geothermal fluids followed the already defined geometry, thus giving rise to apparent folded mineralized levels. Fluid migration into the metasiliciclastic rocks was possible due to their chemical aggression, which favoured the dissolution and reprecipitation of quartz, and Fe-oxide and sulphide deposition. Renewed fluids maintained their chemical properties (pH value and temperature, mostly). This conclusion provides inputs for reconstructing geothermal conceptual models and evaluating the geothermal potentiality of exploitable areas developing in similar geological settings.

Post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration in granite can significantly alter accessory minerals thereby mobilizing rare-earth elements (REEs). This study focuses on the effects of post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration in Mayong granite in northeast India. The whole rock total REE content of Mayong granite (A-type) ranges from 242 to 2067 ppm (avg. 732 ppm; median 533.78 ppm) which is significantly high compared to average granite. The presence of allanite, titanite, and bastnaesite in alteration textures suggests that there has been secondary alteration of the rock. These minerals are typically formed through processes such as hydrothermal alteration, indicating that the rock has been subjected to changes in its chemical composition. To assess the impact of post-magmatic fluid-induced alteration on accessory phases and possible REE remobilization, we evaluate REE distribution in alteration textures observed in Mayong granite in northeast India. We examine how hypogene alteration affected the Ce-enriched accessory minerals allanite, bastnaesite and titanite in Mayong granite. Allanite, bastnaesite and titanite display a LREE-enriched chondrite-normalized REE pattern. Textural features and mineral compositions suggest the alteration of Mn-poor allanites into bastnaesite and fluorapatite, mediated by a CO 2 and F-rich hydrothermal fluid. Precipitation of REE-poor but Ti-enriched titanite at the expense of REE-rich, Ti-poor titanite suggests REE mobilization from primary REE-enriched titanite. Mn-poor nature of allanite, whole-rock compositions and stable mafic mineral assemblage all suggest low to intermediate f O 2 conditions of crystallization having ilmenite series A-type affinity. These characteristics collectively demonstrate the impact of low-temperature hydrothermal alteration of the granite and highlight the significance of such processes for REE remobilization. Graphical abstract Alteration textures of subhedral to euhedral allanites, bastnaesite, titanite, fuorapatite and quartz phases

Cross crater is a 65 km impact crater, located in the Noachian highlands of the Terra Sirenum region of Mars (30°S, 158°W), which hosts aluminum phyllosilicate deposits first detected by the Observatoire pour la Mineralogie, L'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activitie (OMEGA) imaging spectrometer on Mars Express. Using high-resolution data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, we examine Cross crater's basin-filling sedimentary deposits. Visible/shortwave infrared (VSWIR) spectra from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) show absorptions diagnostic of alunite. Combining spectral data with high-resolution images, we map a large (10 km × 5 km) alunite-bearing deposit in southwest Cross crater, widespread kaolin-bearing sediments with variable amounts of alunite that are layered in <10 m scale beds, and silica- and/or montmorillonite-bearing deposits that occupy topographically lower, heavily fractured units. The secondary minerals are found at elevations ranging from 700 to 1550 m, forming a discontinuous ring along the crater wall beneath darker capping materials. The mineralogy inside Cross crater is different from that of the surrounding terrains and other martian basins, where Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates and Ca/Mg-sulfates are commonly found. Alunite in Cross crater indicates acidic, sulfurous waters at the time of its formation. Waters in Cross crater were likely supplied by regionally upwelling groundwaters as well as through an inlet valley from a small adjacent depression to the east, perhaps occasionally forming a lake or series of shallow playa lakes in the closed basin. Like nearby Columbus crater, Cross crater exhibits evidence for acid sulfate alteration, but the alteration in Cross is more extensive/complete. The large but localized occurrence of alunite suggests a localized, high-volume source of acidic waters or vapors, possibly supplied by sulfurous (H2S- and/or SO2-bearing) waters in contact with a magmatic source, upwelling steam or fluids through fracture zones. The unique, highly aluminous nature of the Cross crater deposits relative to other martian acid sulfate deposits indicates acid waters, high water throughput during alteration, atypically glassy and/or felsic materials, or a combination of these conditions.

The Central Iberian Zone (CIZ) hosts several mafic suites showing variable geochemical affinities and signatures evolving through time. To provide a better understanding of magmatic processes, possible sources and the temporal evolution of the mafic magmatism in the CIZ, this work presents new geochemical and geochronological data on mafic intrusions hosted by three structures: the Guadalmez syncline (GS), the Almadén syncline (AS) and the Codosera syncline (CS). According to the U-Pb dating on apatite, the alkaline dolerites from the GS and AS were emplaced during at least two events, the first one at the end of the Silurian, and the second one during the upper Devonian to Carboniferous. The mafic rocks from the CS present a transitional affinity and were emplaced during the Carboniferous, either as a single major event around 348±33Ma or as a series of discrete events between 359 ± 22 Ma and 332 ± 17 Ma. They are therefore associated with the first stages of the Variscan orogeny. The mafic suites of the AS and GS show no evidence of crustal contamination, whereas the rocks from the CS may have experienced slight crustal contamination. All studied rocks show an enrichment in LREE, high Gd/Yb>2.9 and Ti/Y>554 ratios; likely indicating the presence of residual garnet in the mantle source. Some of the mafic rocks in this study are contemporaneous with a mafic magmatic event already reported in the Armorican Massif. This allows us to propose the existence of a widespread mafic magmatic event that took place between the Upper Devonian to the Mississippian in both the Central Iberian Zone and in the Armorican Massif at around 360 Ma.

Interactions of hydrothermal and deformation processes in active fault zones are important in light of seismic and geothermal activities. This study investigates different tectonites of the Grimselpass breccia fault, a hydrothermally active strike-slip structure in the Central Alps (Switzerland). We combine microstructural and geochemical investigations to decipher the interaction of grain-size reduction and associated dilation (volume gain) during frictional deformation with geochemical processes such as mass gain via precipitation, grain growth and healing. Three types of tectonites were investigated in the fault zone: (1) cockade-bearing tectonites, (2) cataclasites and (3) fault gouges. They differ in terms of microstructure of clasts, mass and volume gain/loss, as well as type and degree of cementation. Clast size distributions show decreasing median values from low-strain cataclasites to high-strain cataclasites. Mass/volume gains are up to 20 %, with samples of smallest clast sizes often showing the highest mass gain. In the case of cockade-bearing tectonites large volume and mass gain occur. In particular, the precipitation of SiO2-rich cements is inferred to (i) reduce permeability and (ii) induce a gain in strength of the respective fault rocks. Location, timing and degree of healing directly control the fault architecture by deactivating fault strands from the circulation of hydrothermal fluids. In this case, new rupturing events are necessary to reactivate locked fault strands. Such feedback cycles of episodic deformation, mass/volume and clogging preserved hydrothermal circulation and deformation over the last 3.4 Ma, representing a process chain for the long-term preservation of orogenic hydrothermal systems.

The Tabakoto gold deposit is part of the highly endowed west-Malian gold belt, which hosts several world-class deposits. Located in the Paleoproterozoic Kédougou-Kéniéba Inlier (KKI) of the West African Craton (WAC), the deposit is contained in Birimian metasedimentary rocks of the Kofi series that are intruded by magmatic dikes. The Tabakoto deposit is characterized by multiple overlapping stages of magmatic dike intrusions and hydrothermal alteration during distinct regional-scale deformation events. The metasedimentary rocks are characterized by a S0/1 foliation delineated by the alternation of metagreywacke and meta-argillite. This foliation is affected by upright folds with N-S trending axial planes marked by a S2 schistosity and cross-cut by conjugate steep-dipping dextral NE-SW and sinistral NW-SE trending faults. These structures record regional-scale E-W shortening, first associated with crustal thickening and then with N-S stretching, evolving from ductile to brittle deformation. The gold-bearing V2 quartz-pyrite veins developed in dikes and metasedimentary units, are parallel to the S2 schistosity of the DT2 deformation event. These veins contained reduced phases such as pyrrhotite, loellingite and scheelite as well as bismuth. The second gold-bearing V3a quartz-carbonate veins are located in the NE-SW and NW-SE trending faults of the DT3 deformation event. The latter veins are marked by sodic alteration followed by carbonate (i.e., dolomite-ankerite ± calcite ± siderite) and phyllic (i.e., chlorite-muscovite-sericite) alterations. In the quartz-pyrite veins, gold occurs as inclusions in pyrite, arsenopyrite, and pyrrhotite, whereas in quartz-carbonate shear veins, gold is present in microfractures cross-cutting pyrite and arsenopyrite and at the contact between grains of pyrite and arsenopyrite, and of arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite. The litho-structural and mineralogical features of the Tabakoto deposit portray a polyphase mineralization with (i) an intrusion-hosted orogenic gold system, where the metabaslatic to metarhyolitic dikes acted as suitable emplacement for fluids flow and (ii) a hydrothermal fluid circulation under ductile to brittle conditions.

The origin of Kiruna-type iron oxide–apatite ores is controversial, and debate presently centres on a ‘magmatic’ versus a ‘hydrothermal’ mode of formation. To complement recent investigations on the Grängesberg iron oxide–apatite ore deposit in the northwestern part of the Palaeoproterozoic Bergslagen ore province in central Sweden, we investigated the oxygen isotope composition of the host rocks of this large iron oxide–apatite ore body. As the metavolcanic and metagranitoid country rocks around the Grängesberg ore body either pre-date or are coeval with ore formation, they would be expected to record an extensive isotopic imprint if the ore body had formed by large-scale hydrothermal processes involving an externally sourced fluid. A direct magmatic formation process, in turn, would have produced localized alteration only, concentrated on the immediate vicinity of the ore body. Here, we test these two hypotheses by assessing the oxygen isotope variations in the host rocks around the main Grängesberg iron oxide–apatite ore body. We analysed oxygen isotopes in quartz from metavolcanic (n = 17) and metagranitoid host rocks (n = 14) from the vicinity of the ore body, and up to 2 km distance along and across the strike of the ore body. Remarkably, we find no significant variation in δ18O values with distance from the ore body, or any deviations in country rock δ18O from common magmatic and/or regional values. Only two samples show shifts to values more negative than the common magmatic range, indicating highly localized hydrothermal overprint only. As a large-scale, low-temperature hydrothermal origin of the ore body through voluminous fluid percolation would be expected to have left a distinct imprint on the oxygen isotope values of the country rocks, our results are more consistent with an ortho-magmatic origin for the Grängesberg iron oxide–apatite ore.

Hydrothermally altered rhyolite rocks in the Permian Donnersberg Formation of a geothermal borehole in the Northern Upper Rhine Graben (Germany) were investigated to find out answers for the low hydraulic conductivity of the rocks. The composition of clay minerals and the temperature of smectite–illite transformation were carried out using X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and polarized-light microscopy analyses. Clay mineral (CM) composition includes illite/muscovite (1M and 2M1 polytypes), illite–smectite interstratifications (IS-ml), smectite, and chlorite; and non-clay minerals such as quartz, feldspars, epidote, calcite, dolomite, and hematite were detected. The 2M1-polytype mica might be the only primary sheet silicates from the parent rocks, while the others occur as authigenic neo-formed CMs under heat flow and geothermal gradient. The development of CMs indicates different mechanisms of illitization and smectitization. Based on the texture, morphology, structure/polytype, and chemistry of rocks and minerals, in particular CMs, the study grouped the CM formation into three transformation processes: smectitization during magma cooling and possible contact metamorphisms with decreasing and low temperature, smectite illitization controlled by burial diagenesis and hydrothermal alteration, and illite smectitization followed exhumation and Cenozoic subsidence with decreasing temperature. The rhyolites were altered to all of the orders IS-R0, IS-R1, and IS-R3 by the dissolution-precipitation and layer-to-layer mechanisms. The first one supported small xenomorphic plates and flakes of 1Md, elongated particles of 1M, and pseudo-hexagonal forms of 2M1. The second one could lead to the platy particles of 1Md and 2M1 polytypes. The dominant temperature range for the transformation in the area has been 140–170 °C– ~ 230 °C.

The Kraków–Lubliniec tectonic zone (KLFZ) in southern Poland, which divides the Małopolska Block (MB) from the Upper Silesia Block (USB), is a portion of the SW margin of the Trans-European Suture Zone. Zircon U–Pb dating of a variety of igneous rocks (granodiorites, dacites, lamprophyre and diabase) from the subsurface Kraków–Lubliniec igneous belt along the KLFZ shows that magmatism spanned within a narrow time period (ca. 10 Ma) between 303.8 ± 2.2 and 292.7 ± 4.9 Ma. The earlier magmatism (303.8 ± 2.2–294.7 ± 2.3 Ma) was felsic calc-alkaline, and the contemporaneous or/and slightly later alkaline volcanism (294.4 ± 4.9–292.7 ± 4.9 Ma) was of mafic–intermediate composition. The felsic rocks (granitoids and dacitoids) are weakly peraluminous, medium to high K, moderate Mg# (0.39–0.46), weakly evolved and I-type rocks. Due to the intensive development of hydrothermal alteration, these rocks are commonly strongly altered and locally mineralized by porphyry and other types of Mo–Cu (W) ores that are closely related to the felsic magmatism in space and time. The zircon U–Pb dating yielded ages which are similar to the previously measured Re–Os ages of molybdenites from the KLFZ. Felsic magmatism at the Myszków Mo–Cu–W deposit yielded ages in the range 301.0 ± 2.1–295.9 ± 2.9 Ma. The youngest rocks dated are from the Mysłów area in the USB—volcanic alkaline rocks (lamprophyre and diabase) of shoshonitic character, with low Mg# (0.49 and 0.69, respectively) and Ni contents (< 62 ppm), indicative of a relatively juvenile magma composition. Inherited zircon cores, remnant detrital zircon from a sediment component in the source rocks, were dated to be ranging from ca. 2775 to 575 Ma. Inheritance of ca. 600 Ma (Cadomian basement) and ca. 1.40 Ga (Mesoproterozoic) is common in the rocks from both blocks, but those from the MB contain additional inheritance with dates of 2.78–2.67 and 2.05–1.92 Ga, both ages characteristic of zircon from the Svecofennian of northern Europe (Baltica). The inherited zircon from the youngest alkaline rocks provided evidence for Mesoproterozoic (ca. 1.55–1.44 and 1.09 Ga) and Palaeoproterozoic (1.96 Ga) thermal events in the USB, and its possible affinity to Avalonian cratonic crust as a source for its igneous protolith. U–Pb isotopic studies of zircons from KL igneous belt indicate its inherited signatures from the crustal sources and magma emplacements during the KLFZ wrenching which allowed channels and room for magma emplacement along the MB and USB in upper Carboniferous–lower Permian on SW margin of the East-European Craton. Mo–Cu (W) ore mineralization, associated with the ~ 300 Ma felsic magmatism, represents rather the product of decompression melting induced in the areas of decreased pressure, undergone in the regional wrench fault zones than the classic Mo–Cu porphyry-style mineralization.