西藏驱龙斑岩铜钼矿床中UST石英的发现:初始岩浆流体的直接记录

单向固结结构(UST)是浅成侵位的岩浆出溶过程中形成的一种特殊结构,一般由梳状石英与细晶(斑岩)岩交互生长而成,少数产于斑岩与围岩接触部位,其内的原生包裹体被认为是初始流体出溶的可靠记录.作者在西藏驱龙铜矿床中首次发现了具有单向固结结构的石英.研究表明,驱龙UST石英存在于后期侵位的二长花岗斑岩与花岗闪长岩的接触部位,部分为高温β石英;UST石英中原生包裹体的成分主要为高盐度液相,除石盐子矿物外,还含有硬石膏等其他子矿物.阴极发光及显微测温结果表明,初始流体的出溶发生在高温(t≥573℃)、高压(P≥150～200 MPa)条件下,出溶的流体为高温、高盐度[w(NaCkeq)为44.5%～58%]流体,同时还具有较高的氧逸度.因形成压力较高,判断UST石英不可能由较浅侵位的二长花岗斑岩岩枝冷凝出溶而形成,从而推测驱龙铜矿床深部存在着孕育成矿斑岩的大型岩基.     

秦岭造山带的印支运动及印支期成矿作用

秦岭碰撞造山经历了长期的板块构造的俯冲-碰撞的构造演化,于印支期最终完成对接拼合,形成了统一的中国大陆,并由此转入陆内变形。众多Au、Mo多金属矿床的同位素年龄资料表明,印支期是秦岭的重要成矿期,其成矿作用明显受到构造演化的控制,反映特定的地球动力学背景和作用过程。秦岭印支期成矿作用不仅是中国东部中生代成矿作用的先导和开始,奠定了中国东部中生代成矿大爆发的基础,而且为碰撞期和碰撞期后构造体制快速转换的研究提供了依据。重视秦岭以及中国印支期成矿作用的研究,对正确认识秦岭成矿带的区域成矿规律、造山带演化的深部动力学过程,建立符合中国和东亚实际的印支期成矿理论体系具有重要科学意义。     

冀北—辽西早白垩世沉积有机质特征与古气候环境演变

本文对冀北—辽西地区早白垩世沉积盆地富有机质沉积岩进行了初步有机地球化学分析研究。结果显示,冀北—辽西沉积盆沉积有机质特征在时间和空间上存在很大差异,代表白垩系早期沉积的滦平盆地大北沟组有机质丰度低,这不仅显示其所代表的沉积相带不利于有机质的聚集,也反映了当时生物不够繁盛;大店子组时期沉积相带发生了变化,有机质类型随着发生了变化,丰度有所增高,但总体上显示环境条件不利于生物的发育和繁盛。到了桥头组和义县组沉积岩有机质丰度大幅升高,表明生物界非常繁盛,古气候环境有利于有机质的大量生成和堆积,总体上反映了温湿的气候条件;但同时也存在较为频繁或交替性寒冷气候波动,具体的古气候环境状态尚需进一步深入研究。     

藏南白垩系黑-红层沉积岩有机质组成分布特征

对藏南江孜县床得剖面白垩系黑层和红层沉积岩进行的有机地球化学研究表明,黑层有机碳含量高于红层5～10倍,红层和黑层饱和烃主峰碳数分别为nC25和nC23;黑层和红层沉积有机质的母质来源都以水生植物和菌藻类等低等生物为主,陆源有机质的输入非常有限;但饱和烃的分布和主峰碳数的差异可能反映了有机母源物质在种群方面的差异,而这种差异可能主要是水体温度存在差异造成的,即红层发育时期水体温度可能高于黑层沉积时期.而在高温度条件下,水生生物和陆生植物的生长发育受到限制,造成原始有机质产率和有机质沉积保存量低可能是红层沉积岩形成的主要原因.     

Zircon U–Pb ages, Hf and O isotopes constrain the crustal architecture of the ultrahigh-pressure Dabie orogen in China

The crustal structure of the Dabie orogen was reconstructed by a combined study of U–Pb ages, Hf and O isotope compositions of zircons from granitic gneiss from North Dabie, the largest lithotectonic unit in the orogen. The results were deciphered from metamorphic history to protolith origin with respect to continental subduction and exhumation. Zircon U–Pb dating provides consistent ages of 751 ± 7 Ma for protolith crystallization, and two group ages of 213 ± 4 to 245 ± 17 Ma and 126 ± 4 to 131 ± 36 Ma for regional metamorphism. Majority of zircon Hf isotope analyses displays negative ε_Hf(t) values of − 5.1 to − 2.9 with crust Hf model ages of 1.84 to 1.99 Ga, indicating protolith origin from reworking of middle Paleoproterozoic crust. The remaining analyses exhibit positive ε_Hf(t) values of 5.3 to 14.5 with mantle Hf model ages of 0.74 to 1.11 Ga, suggesting prompt reworking of Late Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic juvenile crust. Zircon O isotope analyses yield δ¹⁸O values of − 3.26 to 2.79‰, indicating differential involvement of meteoric water in protolith magma by remelting of hydrothermally altered low δ¹⁸O rocks. North Dabie shares the same age of Neoproterozoic low δ¹⁸O protolith with Central Dabie experiencing the Triassic UHP metamorphism, but it was significantly reworked at Early Cretaceous in association with contemporaneous magma emplacement. The Rodinia breakup at about 750 Ma would lead to not only the reworking of juvenile crust in an active rift zone for bimodal protolith of Central Dabie, but also reworking of ancient crust in an arc-continent collision zone for the North Dabie protolith. The spatial difference in the metamorphic age (Triassic vs. Cretaceous) between the northern and southern parts of North Dabie suggests intra-crustal detachment during the continental subduction. Furthermore, the Dabie orogen would have a three-layer structure prior to the Early Cretaceous magmatism: Central Dabie in the upper, North Dabie in the middle, and the source region of Cretaceous magmas in the lower.     

Case history of controlling a landslide at Panluo open-pit mine in China

Controlling of landsides safely and economically is a great challenge to mine operators because landslides are major geological problems especially in open-pit mines. In this paper, a case history at Panluo open-pit mine is presented in detail to share the experiences and lessons with mine operators. Panluo open-pit mine is located in the southwestern Fujian province of China. It is the largest open-pit iron mine in the Fujian province and was planned in 1965 and is in full operation from 1978. In July 1990, an earthquake of magnitude 5.3 in Taiwan Strait and big rainstorms impacted the mine slope, causing tension cracks and rather large-scale failures, and forming a U-shaped landslide. Total potential volume was estimated to be up to 1.0 × 10⁶ m³. This directly threatened the mine production. In order to protect the mine production and the dwellers’ safety around, a dynamic comprehensive method was implemented including geotechnical investigations, in-situ testing and monitoring, stability analysis, and many mitigation and preventive measures. These measures slowed down the development and further occurrence of the landslide. The results showed that the landslides were still active, it was slowed with the control measures and moved rapidly with rainfall and mining down. However, no catastrophic accidents occurred and the pit mining was continued till it was closed at the elevation of 887 m in 2000. As a successful case of landslide control at an open-pit mine for 10 years, this paper reports the controlling measures in details. These experiences of landslide control may be beneficial to other similar mines for landslide control.     

Assessment of frozen-ground conditions for engineering geology along the Qinghai–Tibet highway and railway, China

The Qinghai–Tibet Highway and Railway (the Corridor) across the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau traverses 670 km of permafrost and seasonally frozen-ground in the interior of the Plateau, which is sensitive to climatic and anthropogenic environmental changes. The frozen-ground conditions for engineering geology along the Corridor is complicated by the variability in the near-surface lithology, and the mosaic presence of warm permafrost and talik in a periglacial environment. Differential settlement is the major frost-effect problem encountered over permafrost areas. The traditional classification of frozen ground based on the areal distribution of permafrost is too generalized for engineering purposes and a more refined classification is necessary for engineering design and construction. A proposed classification of 51 zones, sub-zones, and sections of frozen ground has been widely adopted for the design and construction of foundations in the portion of the Corridor studied. The mean annual ground temperature (MAGT), near-surface soil types and moisture content, and active faults and topography are most commonly the primary controlling factors in this classification. However, other factors, such as local microreliefs, drainage conditions, and snow and vegetation covers also exert important influences on the features of frozen ground. About 60% of the total length of the Corridor studied possesses reasonably good frozen-ground conditions, which do not need special mitigative measures for frost hazards. However, other sections, such as warm and ice-rich or -saturated permafrost, particularly in the sections in wetlands, ground improvement measures such as elevated land bridges and passive or proactive cooling techniques need to be applied to ensure the long-term stability of thermally unstable, thick permafrost subsoils, and/or refill with non-frost-susceptible soils. Due to the long-history of the construction and management of the Corridor by various government departments, adverse impacts of construction and operation on the permafrost environment have been resulted. It is recommended that an integrated, executable plan for the routing of major construction projects within this transportation corridor be established and long-term monitoring networks installed for evaluating and mitigating the impact from anthropogenic and climatic changes in frozen-ground conditions.     

Soil n-alkane δD vs. altitude gradients along Mount Gongga, China

The altitude effect on the isotopic composition of precipitation and its application to paleoelevation reconstruction using authigenic or pedogenic minerals have been intensively studied. However, there are still no studies on variations in biomarker δD along altitude transects to investigate its potential as a paleoelevation indicator, although it has been observed that δD of higher plant lipid may record changes in precipitation δD (δD_p). Here, we present δD values of higher plant-derived C₂₇, C₂₉, and C₃₁n-alkanes from surface soil along the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, China with great changes in physical variables and vegetation over a range from 1000 to 4000 m above sea level. The weighted-mean δD values of these n-alkanes (δD_wax) show significant linear correlations with predicted δD_p values (R² = 0.76) with an apparent isotopic enrichment (ε_wax-p) of −137 ± 9‰, indicating that soil δD_wax values track overall δD_p variation along the entire altitudinal transect. Leaf δD_wax is also highly correlated with mountain altitude by a significant quadratic relationship (R² = 0.80). Evapotranspiration is found declining with altitude, potentially lowering δD_wax values at higher elevations. However, this evapotranspiration effect is believed to be largely compensated by the opposing effect of vegetation changes, resulting in less varied ε_wax-p values over the slope transect. This study therefore confirms the potential of using leaf δD_wax to infer paleoelevations, and more generally, to infer the δD of precipitation.     

Church-based social capital, networks and geographical scale: Katrina evacuation, relocation, and recovery in a New Orleans Vietnamese American community

This research examines the role of social capital and networks to explain the evacuation, relocation, and recovery experiences of a Vietnamese American community in New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As the single largest community institution, the parish church’s complex bonding and bridging social capital and networks proved particularly critical in part because of its historically based ontological security. The process of evacuation, but especially relocation and recovery, was dependent on deploying co-ethnic social capital and networks at a variety of geographical scales. Beyond the local or community scale, extra-local, regional, and national scales of social capital and networks reproduced a spatially redefined Vietnamese American community. Part of the recovery process included constructing discursive place-based collective-action frames to successfully contest a nearby landfill that in turn engendered social capital and networks crossing ethnic boundaries to include the extra-local African American community. Engaging social capital and networks beyond the local geographical scale cultivated a Vietnamese American community with an emergent post-Katrina cultural and political identity.