Hydrothermal Redistribution of Rare—Earth Elements in Pingxiang Dacite,Guangxi

Distribution of the rare-earth elements (REE) in dacite has been studied so as to get a better understanding of the migration behavior of REE during alteration. Both unaltered and altered samples were collected in an unpolluted area of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southwest China. The REE concentrations were analyzed by ICP-MS. It is concluded that the REE were enriched during dacite alteration in varying degrees. The chondrite-normalized REE patterns of altered samples approximately maintain the characteristics of unaltered samples. However, if we normalize the REE concentrations of altered samples with unaltered dacite, fractionation of REE will appear. The LREE are more enriched than HREE in all altered samples with the LREE possibly precipitated as carbonate minerals. Both positive and negative Eu anomalies exist. Enrichment, immobility and depletion are noticed for the element Lu. Heavy mineral alteration, difference in stability constant between carbonate LREE and HREE complexes, downward migration of weathering fluid and microenvironment change may be responsible for the fractionation of REE in the altered dacite.     

中条山西南段与变基性岩有关的铜矿地质特征及成因浅析

与变基性岩有关的铜矿 ,是在中条山西南段新发现的一种新的铜矿类型 ,其形成是在原始基性岩浆侵入或喷发作用形成的矿源岩或矿化体基础上 ,经过区域变质和印支 -燕山期构造 -岩浆热液的改造加富而成 ,其成因应属与变基性岩有关的变质 -热液改造型铜 (镍、铁 )矿床。     

吉林省大横路铜、钴矿床地质特征及控矿因素

大横路地区出露地层主要为元古界老岭群大栗子组和珍珠门组的低绿片岩相 -高绿片岩相到低角闪岩相的变质岩系 ,北部有少量英云闪长岩 -奥长花岗岩和表壳岩残块。侵入岩主要以燕山期基性 -中基性为主。铜钴矿床产于含碳绢云千枚岩中 ,矿体长 36 0～ 140 0m ,宽 95～ 80 0m ,厚 3～ 10 8.7m ,呈层状、似层状、分枝状 ,矿石以浸染状为主 ,次为脉状、网脉状。矿床属多期多成因类型 ,主要受大栗子组地层、北东向断裂构造和变质作用控制 ,并有岩浆热液的叠加。     

Gold Mineralization and Occurrence of Sinter in the Hoshino Area, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Abstract. Several epithermal gold deposits occur in the Hoshino area, which is located in the western end of the late Cenozoic Hohi volcanic zone, north‐central Kyushu, Japan. The area is characterized by intermediate to felsic extrusive rocks of Pliocene age. In the Hoshino area, the shallow manifestation of the hydrothermal activity is exposed on the surface. Several outcrops of sinter are still preserved on the top of hydro thermally altered volcanic rocks, and high‐grade gold‐bearing quartz veins occur on the surface at lower levels. The hydrothermal alteration resulted into well‐developed alteration zones. The zonal alteration pattern, primarily of near‐neutral pH type, is characterized by the outer smectite zone of a lower temperature, and the inner mixed layer minerals zone of a higher temperature. Quartz vein‐related or fracture‐controlled alteration, is represented by the occurrence of interstratified illite/smectite and K‐feldspar, suggesting a potassium‐enriched alteration. The mineralization in the Hoshino area is recognized on the surface by the occurrence of gold‐bearing quartz veins distributed mainly in the mixed layer minerals zone. The fracture system related to the gold mineralization is mainly characterized by NW‐SE trend. The alteration pattern and the mineralogical composition of the veins suggest that the mineralizing fluids had near‐neutral pH and the mineralization is of low‐sulfidation‐type. Fluid inclusion data and textures observed in quartz veins indicate that gold precipitated during boiling. The chemical composition of quartz veins shows that high‐grade gold‐bearing quartz veins are characterized by higher content of Al₂O₃, K₂O and Rb. Several outcrops of silica‐sinters are distributed on the top of the mixed layer minerals zone. Although their structures are not very well preserved, because of later silicification, the Hoshino sinters still show characteristic textures identical to those observed in modern sinters, such as the presence of plant fossil incorporated into the sinters, the strongly developed depositional laminations and the columnar structures perpendicular to the depositional surfaces. Quartz is the only silica mineral constituting the Hoshino sinters presently. The conversion of amorphous silica into quartz was probably governed by higher temperatures resulting from later hydrothermal activity. This later hydrothermal activity is reflected by the intense silicification affecting mainly the lower parts of the sinters and also by the presence of quartz veins cutting the sinters. The distribution of sinters in the Hoshino area is very significant. The presence beneath the sinters of concealed high‐grade gold‐bearing quartz veins should be highly considered and exploration work is strongly suggested.     

Negative Ce Anomaly in the Indian Banded Iron Formations: Evidence for the Emergence of Oxygenated Deep-Sea at 2.9-2.7 Ga

Abstract: Major and rare earth element contents are reported for Late Archean banded iron formations (BIFs) in the Bababudan Group of the Dharwar Craton, South India. The BIFs are mostly composed of SiO₂ (average1ρ = 54.88.1 wt%) and Fe₂O₃* (44.38.2 wt%). The Al₂O₃ and TiO₂ contents are remarkably low, suggesting that detrital components were starved during the BIF deposition. The BIFs have a LREE-enriched pattern with a relatively high (La/Yb)_N (6.644.07). Total REE concentrations (RE) vary from 5.2 to 65.3 ppm. The REE patterns are characterized by the presence of a very large negative Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce*: 0.13-0.83) and a positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*: 0.96-2.45). The Eu/Eu* decreases and (La/Yb)_N increases with a increase of RE. These correlations of REE indices are similar to those of modern hydrothermal iron-rich sediments near a mid-ocean ridge (MOR). Greenstones associated with the BIFs have MORB-like geochemical features. These geochemical and geological lines of evidence indicate that the depositional site of the BIFs was remote from a continent and/or island arc and that the BIFs were in situ hydrothermal sediments near a MOR. A striking negative Ce anomaly in the BIFs indicates that oxygenated deep-sea environments emerged at 2.9-2.7 Ga. The existence of contemporaneous Mn deposits in the Dharwar Craton supports this assertion. Our scenario of oxygen in the Earth's surface of the Late Archean is different from long-held notion that the atmosphere and ocean were persistently anoxic throughout the Archean.     

Genesis of chlorine and sulphur in fumarolic emissions at Vulcano Island (Italy): assessment of pH and redox conditions in the hydrothermal system

Chlorine- and sulphur-bearing compounds in fumarole discharges of the La Fossa crater at Vulcano Island (Italy) can be modelled by a mixing process between magmatic gases and vapour from a boiling hydrothermal system. This allows estimating the compounds in both endmembers. Magma degassing cannot explain the time variation of sulphur and HCl concentrations in the deep endmember, which are more probably linked to reactions of solid phases at depth, before mixing with the hydrothermal vapours. Based on the P–T conditions and speciation of the boiling hydrothermal system below La Fossa, the HCl and S_tot contents in the hydrothermal vapours were used to compute the redox conditions and pH of the aqueous solution. The results suggest that the haematite–magnetite buffer controls the hydrothermal fO₂ values, while the pH has increased since the end of the 1970s. The main processes affecting pH values may be linked to Na–Ca exchanges between evolved seawater, feeding the boiling hydrothermal system, and local rocks. While Na is removed from water, calcium enters the solution, undergoes hydrolysis and produces HCl, lowering the pH of the water. The increasing water–rock ratio within the hydrothermal system lowers the Ca availability, so the aqueous solution becomes less acidic. Seawater flowing towards the boiling hydrothermal brine dissolves a large quantity of pyrite along its path. In the boiling hydrothermal system, dissolved sulphur precipitates as pyrite and anhydrite, and becomes partitioned in vapour phase as H₂S and SO₂. These results are in agreement with the paragenesis of hydrothermal alteration minerals recovered in drilled wells at Vulcano and are also in agreement with the isotopic composition of sulphur emitted by the crater fumaroles.     

Riparian alder fens — source or sink for nutrients and dissolved organic carbon? — 2. Major sources and sinks

Natural riparian forest wetlands are known to be effective in their ability to remove nitrate by denitrification and sediments with attached phosphorus via sedimentation. On the other hand, litter input and decomposition is a process of crucial importance in cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in a forest ecosystem.In this study we investigated the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the alder fen ecosystem through leaf litter and its decomposition and the removal capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus by measuring denitrification and sedimentation in the alder fen.We found an average input of leaf litter during fall 1998 of 226 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW with nutrient concentration of 0.17% P and 1.6% N. This means a yearly input of 0.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P and 3.6 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N. The decomposition of leaf litter using litter bags with small and large mesh size resulted in bags with macroinvertebrates (large mesh size) and without macroinvertebrates (small mesh size). After 57 days the litter bags with macroinvertebrates had a decomposition rate of 79%.Denitrification was measured in May and June of 1997 using the acetylene inhibition technique on intact soil cores and slurry-experiments. The average annual denitrification rate was 0.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N using data from the core experiments. The denitrification rate was higher after addition of nitrate, indicating that denitrification in the riparian alder fen is mainly controlled by nitrate supply.The sedimentation rate in the investigated alder fen ranged from 0.47 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW to 4.46 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW in 1998 depending on the study site and method we used. Sedimentation rates were lower in newly designed plate traps than in cylinder traps. The alder fen also showed lower rates than the adjacent creek Briese. Average phosphorus removal rate was 0.33 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P.Input sources for the surface water of the alder fen are sediment mineralization and decomposition of leaf litter; output sources are sedimentation and denitrification. This study showed that a nutrient input of 24.58 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ N, 8.8 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ P and 419 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ DOC into the surface water of the alder fen is possible. Alder fens cannot improve water quality of an adjacent river system. This is only true for a nearly pristine alder fen with the hydrology of 10 months flooded conditions and 2 months non-flooding conditions a year.     

Fracturation d'âge Aptien supérieur sur la bordure orientale de la plate-forme arabique (Haushi-Huqf,Oman)Aptian faulting (Shu'aiba Formation) on the eastern edge of the Arabian Platform (Haushi-Huqf,Oman)

In the Haushi-Huqf (Eastern Central Oman) as in other parts of the Arabian platform, a major sedimentary break is recorded between the Early Aptian carbonates (Shu'aiba Formation) and the Albian orbitolinid-rich marls (Nahr Umr Formation). The unconformity corresponds to a succession of events: (1) a brusque interruption of the regressive sequence of the Shu'aiba limestone (algae and small rudistid build-ups); (2) a stratigraphic gap related to the Late Aptian; (3) the development of a thick ferruginous crust (hardground) that covered the top surface of the Shu'aiba; the hardground is related to a forced flooding surface; (4) the Shu'aiba was rapidly drowned and buried under the Nahr Umr marls. Moreover, the Shu'aiba limestone was subject to faulting NW–SE-trending normal faults before lithification and formation of the ferruginous crust. The faulting episode is clearly dated: post-Early Aptian and pre-Albian. The signification of the faulting remains hypothetical. The syndiagenetic NW–SE normal faults may correspond to ‘en echelon’ faults, combined with transcurrent fault movements (for example the Haushi-Nafun Fault). The possible causes of these intra-platform transcurrent movements are discussed. To cite this article: C. Montenat, P. Barrier, C. R. Geoscience 334 (2002) 781–787.     

Straight river: its formation and speciality

Straight river is generally regarded as one of the typical river patterns in conventional classifications in terms of their channel plain landforms. However, very few straight patterns were found to be distributed in wider spatial and temporal spans in the self-adjusted fluvial rivers. Thus, the questions occur such as that is it possible for a channel takes on a stable straight pattern? What are the main factors controlling the processes of the river pattern formation and transformation from a straight to other patterns? Various theories and hypotheses including geomorphic threshold hypothesis, the extreme hypothesis on energy dissipation rate, the stability theory, etc. have been developed to explain the aforementioned questions, but none of them is sound for the explanation to the straight-river formation. From the modern fluvial plain patterns, the straight patterns are not as stable as other typical patterns which occurred in nature; from the historic records of the river sedimentation, no apparent evidence was found to support the stable straight river evolution. Based on the analysis of existing theories, observations, evolvement processes of the channel patterns in the experimental results, this paper concluded that the straight pattern should not be included as one of the typical patterns that are self-formed and developed. This study is of importance to understanding of the river pattern formation and transformation.