粤西大降坪黄铁矿床硫、铅同位素组成初步研究

大降坪黄铁矿床是产于云开隆起中段偏北震旦系海相碎屑岩-细碎屑岩中的层状硫化物矿床,矿床成因和海底喷气热水沉积作用有关,局部经受了后期热液的叠加改造。黄铁矿的δ~(34)S值在-25.55‰—+21.07‰之间,与矿石及黄铁矿中的有机碳含量呈反比。从条带状细粒黄铁矿到块状粗粒黄铁矿,亦即从南到北,硫同位素组成从富轻硫变为富重硫。条带状矿石的铅同位素组成与矿体围岩一致,为富放射成因上地壳源铅,块状矿石铅同位素组成较均一,三组铅同位素比值较条带状矿石略低,为原始沉积的矿石铅与热液带来基底混合岩铅的混合铅。     

江西省金溪—南城湿合岩和花岗岩的岩石地球化学及同位素地球化学研究

在研究金溪—南城变质混合岩带中混合岩、花岗岩的矿物岩石学基础上,详细研究了它们的Nd、Sr、Pb、O同位素组成.混合岩、花岗岩初始钕同位素组成(143Nd/144Nd)i=0.511689～0.511853,在εNd-T图中位于该地区结晶基底变粒岩、片岩Nd同位素演化域上方,褶皱基底绢云千枚岩Nd同位素演化线下方;初始锶同位素组成(     

湖北徐家山锑矿床铅同位素组成与成矿物质来源探讨

徐家山锑矿床位于湖北省通山县境内,矿体赋存于上震旦统灯影组和陡山沱组地层中.对采自该矿的辉锑矿进行了系统的铅同位素测定.结果表明,在徐家山矿区范围内存在两组明显不同的铅同位素组成:A组206Pb/204Pb为18.874～19.288,207Pb/204Pb为 15.708～15.805, 208Pb/204Pb为38.642～39.001, 为高放射性成因铅;B组以低放射性成因铅为特征,其同位素组成206Pb/204Pb为17.882～18.171,207Pb/204Pb为15.555～15.686,208Pb/204Pb为37.950～38.340.对应地,相关参数也明显不同,如单阶段模式年龄,A组为负值或极小的正值,而B组为636～392 Ma.铅同位素组成与某些相关参数(Δγ与Δβ、V1与V2)之间呈明显线性正相关关系.根据铅构造模式和矿石铅同位素的Δγ-Δβ成因分类图解等综合分析,A组辉锑矿的铅主要来源于赋矿围岩--震旦系海相碳酸盐岩,B组主要来源于赋矿围岩的下伏基底碎屑岩--中元古界冷家溪群浅变质岩系.研究结果不支持前人沉积-改造成因的观点,成矿物质是多来源的,部分成矿物质来自基底地层.     

东天山康古尔金矿床成矿物源的同位素地球化学特征

康古尔金矿床属晚古生代火山岩区剪切带蚀变岩型金矿。同位素地球化学研究表明,矿石中铅为正常铅,热液系统硫同位素组成为陨石硫型,矿石中碳、钕同位素组成具深源特征,同时矿石与火山岩围岩中的Ｓｉ、Ｓｒ、Ｓ、Ｐｂ等同位素组成相近,说明成矿物质主要来自矿体围岩———火山岩,晚期有少量来自矿区附近的侵入岩。铅、锶同位素组成反映成矿过程中也有少量壳源物质的加入。     

江西相山铀矿田成矿物质来源的Nd、Sr、Rb同位素证据

对相山大型火山岩型铀矿田中邹家山和沙洲铀矿床及其赋矿围岩（碎斑熔岩及次花岗闪长斑岩）进行了Nd、Sr、Pb同位素研究。结果表明：成矿期萤石的εNd(t)值（－6．7～-8．3）和初始^87Sr/^86Sr比值（0．7145－0．7207）与赋矿围岩的εNd(t) 值（－6．2～－9．4）和初始^87Sr/^86Sr比值（0．7121－0．7192）相似。在εNd(t)-tl图上，成矿期萤石数据点的投影域与赋矿围岩的基本吻合，均落在相山元古宙基底演化域范围内。成矿期黄铁矿的铅组成在^206Rb/^204Pb-^207Pb/^204Pb关系图上呈线性分布，而火山岩的铅同位素组成位于此相关线低值一端。利用异常铅线的斜率及成矿年龄计算出富铀体质体的形成年龄为144Ma，这与赋矿围岩的成岩年龄（135－140Ma)接近。因此，相山铀矿田成矿物质主要来自富铀的火山－侵入杂岩,而火山－侵入杂岩则是由类似于地表出露的元古宙基底变质岩部分熔融形成的。由引可见，相山铀矿田的成矿物质主要来源于地壳。     

云南老寨湾金矿床成矿物质来源探讨

为探讨老寨湾金矿床的成矿物质来源,分析矿床成矿地质特征分析研究,岩矿石的稀土微量元素地球化学特征以及S、Pb同位素组成特征分析研究,结果显示,围岩、贫矿石和富矿石微量元素比值蛛网图型式基本一致,推断矿石中的Au主要来源于围岩。富矿石稀土总量低,正铕异常,其形成与岩浆热液作用有关。矿石硫同位素组成稳定,无塔式分布,δ34 S值为3.001‰~7.800‰,属混合硫。矿石铅同位素组成稳定,为正常铅,通过铅同位素图解可判断矿石铅主要来源于上地壳。     

西藏甲岗雪山钨钼矿床成矿流体及成矿物质来源

甲岗雪山钨钼矿床位于西藏自治区申扎县境内,是西藏首例云英岩型钨矿床,关于该矿床的研究对探讨区域成矿机制和指导找矿都具有重要意义.成矿作用与矿区内的二长花岗岩紧密相关,矿体主要产于岩体内部和紧邻岩体的围岩中.矿体的类型包括云英岩型和石英脉型,矿石多呈细脉状或者浸染状产在云英岩或云英岩化二长花岗岩体内部,少量呈大脉状产于围岩地层中.为了研究该矿床成矿流体及成矿物质的来源,挑选云英岩型矿体和石英脉型矿体中的黑钨矿、石英进行H、O同位素测试,挑选金属硫化物进行S、Pb同位素测试.结果显示,黑钨矿δ18OV-SMOW(‰)值集中在3.7~4.7;石英的δ18O水值为2.0‰~4.3‰,δD值为-131‰^-84‰,表明成矿流体主要来源于脱气后的岩浆水,可能混入了极少量大气降水.矿石硫化物δ34S的值为+2.2‰^+5.3‰,表明硫来自岩浆;硫化物的206Pb/204Pb、207Pb/204Pb、208Pb/204Pb值分别为18.582 2~18.797 1、15.671 7~15.760 6、39.462 5~39.501 2,进一步表明成矿物质铅主要来源于中拉萨地体前寒武纪变质基底部分熔融产生的岩浆,可能有少量来自围岩地层.     

黔西罐子窑铅锌矿床Pb同位素研究及地质意义

罐子窑铅锌矿床位于川、滇、黔铅锌成矿区东缘,矿体赋存于上泥盆统-下石炭统的白云质灰岩和白云岩中,呈似层状或陡倾斜脉状产出。在分析该矿床成矿地质条件的基础上,系统研究了矿石和围岩的Pb同位素组成特征,探讨了成矿时代与成矿物质来源。研究结果表明,该矿床矿石Pb同位素组成稳定,属于正常普通铅,利用H-H法计算获得了矿脉铅的主模式年龄150~169 Ma。研究表明该矿石Pb模式年龄应该代表矿床成矿年龄,反映Pb主成矿期在燕山期,燕山期NE向断裂(带)控制着本区铅锌矿体(点)的分布。同位素示踪结果显示本区矿石Pb同位素具有多来源特征,不同时代的碳酸盐岩围岩和基底岩石均为罐子窑铅锌矿床提供了成矿物质。综合研究认为,川、滇、黔铅锌成矿区内铅锌成矿具有多阶段、多旋回性,构造与同位素年代学均揭示,该成矿区存在较大规模的燕山期铅锌成矿作用,在今后的找矿研究工作中应当充分重视。     

磐石茶尖岭上汪家地区金及多金属矿地质特征及其找矿前景

矿体受北西向断层破碎带控制,矿石类型为石英脉型,矿石矿物有褐铁矿、黄铁矿、磁黄铁矿、钛铁矿、黄铜矿、镍黄铁矿等;脉石矿物有石英、碳酸盐矿物等,其中石英为主,是金、银、铜镍矿物的主要载体矿物。最高品位:Au:1.17×10~(-6);Ag:54.4×10~(-6);Cu:0.33×10~(-2);Pb:0.94×10~(-2)。矿体围岩比较复杂,随着控矿断裂的延伸而穿切不同的围岩:绢云片岩、细砂岩、细粒闪长岩、闪长玢岩等,围岩蚀变类型有硅化、碳酸盐化、绢云母化等,其中硅化与金、银矿化关系密切。     

哀牢山南段长安金矿床成矿物质来源:来自S、Pb同位素的证据

哀牢山南段长安金矿床是三江造山带哀牢山成矿带南段大型矿床之一,就位于甘河断裂的脆性破碎带内,赋矿岩石以下奥陶统砂岩和碎屑岩为主。目前已知各地质体内黄铁矿的硫同位素δ34S值变化范围为-3.49‰～+3.57‰,峰值集中在+1‰～+3‰;矿石与其他围岩及岩浆岩脉的硫同位素组成的对比表明,成矿热液中硫最可能源自于地层,或者部分混染了喜山期岩浆热液中的硫。矿石铅同位素组成为:208Pb/204Pb=38.722～40.649,207Pb/204Pb=15.604～15.813,206Pb/204Pb=18.788～19.761。结果显示其变化范围相对较小,说明矿石相对富集放射成因铅;矿石铅来源于成熟度较高的上地壳,显示矿床铅更可能源自区内的白云岩、碎屑岩、粉砂岩等沉积岩类。蚀变岩和岩浆岩类的铅主要显示出造山带铅源特点,暗示矿石铅源与矿区内岩浆岩相关性较小,应主要来自赋矿围岩。区内新生代岩浆活动为矿床的进一步叠加富集提供了热源和部分成矿物质。     

Mountains,nations, parks,and conservation

Between 1985 and 1991, two new mountain protected areas (MTNPA) covering more than 35,000 km² and based on participatory management models — the Makalu-Barun National Park and Conservation Area, Nepal, and Qomolangma Nature Preserve, Tibet Autonomous Region — were successfully established through the collaborative efforts of Woodlands Mountain Institute and conservationists in China and Nepal. Characteristics common to both projects include the importance of establishing (1) effective rationales, (2) local support constituencies, (3) a senior advisory group, (4) a task force, (5) linkages between conservation and development, and (6) fund raising mechanisms. The lessons derived from the experiences of Woodlands Mountain Institute are of significant value to others in preserving MTNPA. Increased collaboration and communication between all interested in conservation, however, will remain a critical component for expanding mountain protected area coverage to throughout the world.     

Roles of xenomelts,xenoliths, xenocrysts,xenovolatiles, residues,and skarns in the genesis,transport, and localization of magmatic Fe-Ni-Cu-PGE sulfides and chromite

Most sulfide-rich magmatic Ni-Cu-(PGE) deposits form in dynamic magmatic systems by partial melting S-bearing wall rocks with variable degrees of assimilation of miscible silicate and volatile components, and generation of barren to weakly-mineralized immiscible Fe sulfide xenomelts into which Ni-Cu-Co-PGE partition from the magma. Some exceptionally-thick magmatic Cr deposits may form by partial melting oxide-bearing wall rocks with variable degrees of assimilation of the miscible silicate and volatile components, and generation of barren Fe ± Ti oxide xenocrysts into which Cr-Mg-V ± Ti partition from the magma. The products of these processes are variably preserved as skarns, residues, xenoliths, xenocrysts, xenomelts, and xenovolatiles, which play important to critical roles in ore genesis, transport, localization, and/or modification. Incorporation of barren xenoliths/autoliths may induce small amounts of sulfide/chromite to segregate, but incorporation of sulfide xenomelts or oxide xenocrysts with dynamic upgrading of metal tenors (PGE > Cu > Ni > Co and Cr > V > Ti, respectively) is required to make significant ore deposits. Silicate xenomelts are only rarely preserved, but will be variably depleted in chalcophile and ferrous metals. Less dense felsic xenoliths may aid upward sulfide transport by increasing the effective viscosity and decreasing the bulk density of the magma. Denser mafic or metamorphosed xenoliths may also increase the effective viscosity of the magma, but may aid downward sulfide transport by increasing the bulk density of the magma. Sulfide wets olivine, so olivine xenocrysts may act as filter beds to collect advected finely dispersed sulfide droplets, but other silicates and xenoliths may not be wetted by sulfides. Xenovolatiles may retard settling of – or in some cases float – dense sulfide droplets. Reactions of sulfide melts with felsic country rocks may generate Fe-rich skarns that may allow sulfide melts to fractionate to more extreme Cu-Ni-rich compositions. Xenoliths, xenocrysts, xenomelts, and xenovolatiles are more likely to be preserved in cooler basaltic magmas than in hotter komatiitic magmas, and are more likely to be preserved in less dynamic (less turbulent) systems/domain/phases than in more dynamic (more turbulent) systems/domains/phases. Massive to semi-massive Ni-Cu-PGE and Cr mineralization and xenoliths are often localized within footwall embayments, dilations/jogs in dikes, throats of magma conduits, and the horizontal segments of dike-chonolith and dike-sill complexes, which represent fluid dynamic traps for both ascending and descending sulfides/oxides. If skarns, residues, xenoliths, xenocrysts, xenomelts, and/or xenovolatiles are present, they provide important constraints on ore genesis and they are valuable exploration indicators, but they must be included in elemental and isotopic mass balance calculations.     

Parents,permission, and possibility: Young women,college, and imagined futures in Gujarat,India

This article advances critical geographies of youth through examining the spatiality implicit in the imagined futures of young women in rural India. Geographers and other scholars of youth have begun to pay more attention to the interplay between young people’s past, present, and imagined futures. Within this emerging body of scholarship the role of the family and peer group in influencing young people’s orientations toward the future remain underexamined. Drawing on eleven months of ethnographic fieldwork, my research focuses on a first generation of college-going young women from socioeconomically marginalized backgrounds in India’s westernmost state of Gujarat. I draw on the “possible selves” theoretical construct in order to deploy a flexible conceptual framework that links imagined post-educational trajectories with motivation to act in the present. In tracing the physical movement of these young women as they navigate and complete college, my analysis highlights the ways in which particular kinds of spaces and spatial arrangements facilitate and limit intra- and inter-generational contact, and the extent to which this affects young women’s conceptions of the future. I conclude by considering the wider implications of my research for ongoing debates surrounding youth transitions, relational geographies of age, and education in the Global South.     

Comparative study of As,Cd, Cu,Cr, Mg,Mn, Ni,Pb and Zn concentrations between sediment and water from estuary and port

The contents of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn have been determined in sediment and water samples from Valle de las Garzas estuary and Port Manzanillo (Colima, Mexico) using ICP-AES. The concentrations of these elements were used for a comparative study to determine the distribution of heavy metals and to evaluate which elements reflect natural or anthropogenic backgrounds. For this purpose, seven sampling points were selected: Four of them correspond to the lagoon, and three were situated in the port. Statistical analysis of the mineral content was assessed. Initially, data comparison was assessed by statistical tests for each variable. Principal component analysis was then applied considering the influence of all variables at the same time by obtaining the distribution of samples according to their scores in the principal component space. In this way, four studies were carried out: (1) study of sediments collected during the dry season; (2) study of sediments collected during the rainy season; (3) comparative study between sediments from rainy and dry season; and (4) study of water composition collected during rainy season. From the results of the performed analyses, it can be concluded that metals distribution pattern reflected natural and anthropogenic backgrounds (e.g., sediments from the lagoon, situated at the beginning of the rain channel, presented high contents of Zn and Cu, perhaps related to anthropogenic activities or the influence of igneous sediments).     

Partition coefficients of Hf,Zr, and REE between zircon,apatite, and liquid

Concentration ratios of Hf, Zr, and REE between zircon, apatite, and liquid were determined for three igneous compositions: two andesites and a diorite. The concentration ratios of these elements between zircon and corresponding liquid can approximate the partition coefficient. Although the concentration ratios between apatite and andesite groundmass can be considered as partition coefficients, those for the apatite in the diorite may deviate from the partition coefficients. The HREE partition coefficients between zircon and liquid are very large (100 for Er to 500 for Lu), and the Hf partition coefficient is even larger. The REE partition coefficients between apatite and liquid are convex upward, and large (D=10–100), whereas the Hf and Zr partition coefficients are less than 1. The large differences between partition coefficients of Lu and Hf for zircon-liquid and for apatite-liquid are confirmed. These partition coefficients are useful for petrogenetic models involving zircon and apatite.     

Coprecipitation of Ti,Mo, Sn and Sb with fluorides and application to determination of B,Ti, Zr,Nb, Mo,Sn, Sb,Hf and Ta by ICP-MS

We examined the coprecipitation behavior of Ti, Mo, Sn and Sb in Ca–Al–Mg fluorides under two different fluoride forming conditions: at < 70 °C in an ultrasonic bath (denoted as the ultrasonic method) and at 245 °C using a Teflon bomb (denoted as the bomb method). In the ultrasonic method, small amounts of Ti, Mo and Sn coprecipitation were observed with 100% Ca and 100% Mg fluorides. No coprecipitation of Ti, Mo, Sn and Sb in Ca–Al–Mg fluorides occurred when the sample was decomposed by the bomb method except for 100% Ca fluoride. Based on our coprecipitation observations, we have developed a simultaneous determination method for B, Ti, Zr, Nb, Mo, Sn, Sb, Hf and Ta by Q-pole type ICP-MS (ICP-QMS) and sector field type ICP-MS (ICP-SFMS). 9–50 mg of samples with Zr–Mo–Sn–Sb–Hf spikes were decomposed by HF using the bomb method and the ultrasonic method with B spike. The sample was then evaporated and re-dissolved into 0.5 mol l^− 1 HF, followed by the removal of fluorides by centrifuging. B, Zr, Mo, Sn, Sb and Hf were measured by ID method. Nb and Ta were measured by the ID-internal standardization method, based on Nb/Mo and Ta/Mo ratios using ICP-QMS, for which pseudo-FI was developed and applied. When 100% recovery yields of Zr and Hf are expected, Nb/Zr and Ta/Hf ratios may also be used. Ti was determined by the ID-internal standardization method, based on the Ti/Nb ratio from ICP-SFMS. Only 0.053 ml sample solution was required for measurement of all 9 elements. Dilution factors of ≤ 340 were aspirated without matrix effects. To demonstrate the applicability of our method, 4 carbonaceous chondrites (Ivuna, Orgueil, Cold Bokkeveld and Allende) as well as GSJ and USGS silicate reference materials of basalts, andesites and peridotites were analyzed. Our analytical results are consistent with previous studies, and the mean reproducibility of each element is 1.0–4.6% for basalts and andesites, and 6.7–11% for peridotites except for TiO₂.     

Entropy,materials, and posterity

Materials and energy are the interdependent feedstocks of economic systems, and thermodynamics is their moderator. It costs energy to transform the dispersed minerals of Earth's crust into ordered materials and structures. And it costs materials to collect and focus the energy to perform work — be it from solar, fossil fuel, nuclear, or other sources. The greater the dispersal of minerals sought, the more energy is required to collect them into ordered states.But available energy can be used once only. And the ordered materials of industrial economies become disordered with time. They may be partially reordered and recycled, but only at further costs in energy. Available energy everywhere degrades to bound states and order to disorder — for though entropy may be juggled it always increases. Yet industry is utterly dependent on low entropy states of matter and energy, while decreasing grades of ore require ever higher inputs of energy to convert them to metals, with ever increasing growth both of entropy and environmental hazard.Except as we may prize a thing for its intrinsic qualities — beauty, leisure, love, or gold — low-entropy is the only thing of real value. It is worth whatever the market will bear, and it becomes more valuable as entropy increases. It would be foolish of suppliers to sell it more cheaply or in larger amounts than their own enjoyment of life requires, whatever form it may take. For this reason, and because of physical constraints on the availability of all low-entropy states, the recent energy crises is only the first of a sequence of crises to be expected in energy and materials as long as current trends continue.The apportioning of low-entropy states in a modern industrial society is achieved more or less according to the theory of competitive markets. But the rational powers of this theory suffer as the world grows increasingly polarized into rich, over-industrialized nations with diminishing resource bases and poor, supplier nations with little industry. The theory also discounts posterity, the more so as population density and percapita rates of consumption continue to grow. A new social, economic, and ecologic norm that leads to population control, conservation, and an apportionment of low-entropy states across the generations is needed to assure to posterity the options that properly belong to it as an important but voiceless constituency of the collectivity we call mankind.

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Zusammenfassung Rohstoffe und Energie sind die Grundlagen unseres ökonomischen Systems, das von den Gesetzen der Thermodynamik bestimmt wird. Es kostet Energie, um die auf der Erde verteilten Rohstoffe diesem System zuzuführen. Andererseits braucht man Rohstoffe, um die Energie nutzbar zu machen.Die verfügbare Energie kann nur einmal genutzt werden und das Material verbraucht sich. Verbrauchtes Material kann teilweise zur weiteren Nutzung zurückgeführt werden, das kostet wiederum Energie. Die verfügbare Energie nimmt überall ab, und einmal geschaffene Ordnung gerät wieder in Unordnung — das heißt, die Entropie des Systems nimmt ständig zu. Die Industrie ist jedoch abhängig von einem niedrigen Entropiezustand sowohl der Materie als auch der Energie.Je ärmer die Erze sind, um so höher wird die Energie sein, um sie in Metalle umzuwandeln, wobei die Entropie und die Belastung der Umwelt ständig zunimmt.Außer den Dingen, die wir wegen höherer ideeller Werte schätzen, ist eine niedrige Entropie der einzige realistische Wertmaßstab, und der wirkliche Wertzuwachs ist nur an einer höheren Entropie zu messen. Es ist unverantwortlich, Dinge, die eine höhere Entropie bedingen, billiger zu verkaufen oder in größerer Menge zu erzeugen, als unbedingt notwendig ist. Da wir dies heute in unserem Handeln nicht berücksichtigen, ist die derzeitige Energiekrise nur der Anfang einer Folge von Krisen, die Energie und Rohstoffe betreffen, solange wir nicht umdenken.Die Verteilung von niedriger Entropie in einer modernen Industriegesellschaft wird mehr oder weniger nach dem Prinzip der konkurrierenden Märkte erreicht. Das selbstregulierende System gerät jedoch mit zunehmender Polarisierung in reiche Industrienationen mit abnehmenden Ressourcen und armen Nationen mit geringer Industrialisierung in Unordnung. Dieses Prinzip berücksichtigt auch nicht die Nachwelt, vor allem wenn die Bevölkerungsdichte stetig zunimmt und die Konsumbedürfnisse anwachsen. Es sind neue soziale, ökonomische und ökologische Normen notwendig, die zur Populationskontrolle, zur Erhaltung der Umwelt und zu einem Zustand niedriger Entropie für zukünftige Generationen führen. Die nach uns kommenden Menschen haben ein Anrecht darauf.

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Résumé Matériaux et énergie sont les sources des systèmes économiques et sont régis par les lois de la thermodynamique. Il faut de l'énergie pour transformer les ressources minérales dispersées dans la croûte terrestre en matériaux et structures ordonnancées. Et il faut des matériaux pour receuillir et concentrer l'énergie, qu'elle soit solaire ou atomique, ou provienne de combustibles fossiles ou d'autres sources. Plus les minéraux recherchés sont dispersés et plus est côuteuse l'énergie pour leur donner une ordonnance.Or l'énergie disponsible ne peut être utilisée qu'une seule fois. Et les matériaux ordonnancés des économies industrielles se dégradent avec le temps. Ils peuvent être remis partiellement en état et recyclés, mais pour cela il faut de nouveau de l'énergie. Partout l'énergie disponible se dégrade et l'ordre devient désordre; -malgré toutes les jongleries possibles l'entropie augmente toujours.L'industrie dépend clairement d'états de basse entropie tant en ce qui concerne les matériaux que l'énergie, tandis que plus pauvres sont les minerais, plus; élevée est l'énergie à mettre en jeu pour en extraire les métaux, avec toujours augmentation à la fois de l'entropie et de la degradation des milieux.A l'exception de ce que nous apprécions pour leur valeur intrinsèque — la beauté, le loisir, l'amour ou l'or — la basse entropie est la seule chose de réelle valeur. Son prix est réglé par le marché, et sa valeur augmente au fur et à mesure que l'entropie s'accroît. Ceux qui en disposent seraient insensés de la vendre à bas prix ou en quantité supérieure à ce qu'exige leur propre niveau de vie. Pour cette raison, et à cause des contraintes physiques liées à la disponibilité en états de basse entropie, la récente crise d'énergie n'est, en ce qui concerne les matières premières et l'énergie, que la première d'une série de crises auxquelles il faut s'attendre aussi longtemps que se poursoit la marche actuelle des étènements.Dans les sociétés industrielles modernes, les approvisionnement en basse entropie s'effectuent plus ou moins conformément à la théorie de la concurrence des marchés. Cependant la rationalité de cette théorie se ressent de l'accentuation croissante de la polarisation, à l'échelle du monde, en nations riches, surindustrialisées, à ressources de base décroissantes, et en nations pauvres, sous-industrialisées, mais fournisseurs de resources-naturelles. De plus cette théorie ne tient pas compte de notre postérité, et ce, en face d'une densité de population et d'un taux de la consommation par tête d'habitant en augmentation continue.Nous avons donc besoin de nouvelles normes sociales, économiques et écologiques qui conduisent au contrôle de la population, à la conservation et à la répartition des états de basse entropie à travers les générations pour assurer à notre postérité les options qui leur riviennent de droit comme une constituante importante, mais encore muette, de la collectivité que nous appelons l'Humanité.

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Dedicated with appreciation to Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, distinguished economist, realist among cornucopians     

Models,validation, and applied geochemistry: Issues in science,communication, and philosophy

Models have become so fashionable that many scientists and engineers cannot imagine working without them. The predominant use of computer codes to execute model calculations has blurred the distinction between code and model. The recent controversy regarding model validation has brought into question what we mean by a ‘model’ and by ‘validation.’ It has become apparent that the usual meaning of validation may be common in engineering practice and seems useful in legal practice but it is contrary to scientific practice and brings into question our understanding of science and how it can best be applied to such problems as hazardous waste characterization, remediation, and aqueous geochemistry in general. This review summarizes arguments against using the phrase model validation and examines efforts to validate models for high-level radioactive waste management and for permitting and monitoring open-pit mines. Part of the controversy comes from a misunderstanding of ‘prediction’ and the need to distinguish logical from temporal prediction. Another problem stems from the difference in the engineering approach contrasted with the scientific approach. The reductionist influence on the way we approach environmental investigations also limits our ability to model the interconnected nature of reality. Guidelines are proposed to improve our perceptions and proper utilization of models. Use of the word ‘validation’ is strongly discouraged when discussing model reliability.     

Pebbles,Shapes, and Equilibria

The shape of sedimentary particles may carry important information on their history. Current approaches to shape classification (e.g. the Zingg or the Sneed and Folk system) rely on shape indices derived from the measurement of the three principal axes of the approximating tri-axial ellipsoid. While these systems have undoubtedly proved to be useful tools, their application inevitably requires tedious and ambiguous measurements, also classification involves the introduction of arbitrarily chosen constants. Here we propose an alternative classification system based on the (integer) number of static equilibria. The latter are points of the surface where the pebble is at rest on a horizontal, frictionless support. As opposed to the Zingg system, our method relies on counting rather than measuring. We show that equilibria typically exist on two well-separated (micro and macro) scales. Equilibria can be readily counted by simple hand experiments, i.e. the new classification scheme is practically applicable. Based on statistical results from two different locations we demonstrate that pebbles are well mixed with respect to the new classes, i.e. the new classification is reliable and stable in that sense. We also show that the Zingg statistics can be extracted from the new statistics; however, substantial additional information is also available. From the practical point of view, E-classification is substantially faster than the Zingg method.