Sandstone weathering processes damaging prehistoric rock paintings at the Albarracin Cultural Park, NE Spain

The rock paintings in cliff-foot caves of the Albarracin Cultural Park are known as some of the most important evidences of the Levantine prehistoric art of Spain (8000–3000 BP). The paintings are on sandstone (Buntsandstein facies) of Triasic age, which may develop intense weathering. The analysis of the variables controlling the weathering indicate that salt and wetting-drying weathering are responsible for granular disintegration and flaking, which lead to rock painting deterioration.     

The role of saline solution properties on porous limestone salt weathering by magnesium and sodium sulfates

Saline solution properties, viscosity in particular, are shown to be critical in salt weathering associated with sodium and magnesium sulfate crystallization in porous limestone. The crystallization of sodium and magnesium sulfate within a porous limestone has been studied at a macro- and microscale using different techniques, including mercury intrusion porosimetry, environmental scanning microscopy and X-ray computed tomography. Such analysis enabled the visualization of the crystallization process in situ, and at high magnification, yielding critical information as to where and how salts crystallize. Sodium sulfate decahydrate (mirabilite) tends to crystallize in large pores as euhedral micron-sized crystals formed at low supersaturation near to the surface of the stone. In contrast, magnesium sulfate heptahydrate (epsomite) tends to precipitate as anhedral wax-like aggregates formed at high supersaturation and distributed homogeneously throughout the stone pore system filling large and small pores. While the former crystallization behavior resulted in scale formation, the latter led to crack development throughout the bulk stone. Ultimately, the contrasting weathering behavior of the two sulfates is explained by considering differences in flow dynamics of solutions within porous materials that are mainly connected with the higher viscosity of magnesium sulfate saturated solution (7.27 cP) when compared with sodium sulfate saturated solution (1.83 cP). On the basis of such results, new ways to tackle salt weathering, particularly in the field of cultural heritage conservation, are discussed.     

贵州碳酸盐岩红色风化壳次生石英的裂变径迹测年研究

贵州位于青藏高原东南缘,由于缺乏沉积记录其新生代的地质演化历史还不很明晰,而广泛分布于云贵高原的碳酸盐岩红色风化壳可能蕴涵着重要的地质演化信息.本文对贵州多个原位碳酸盐岩红色风化壳中产出的晶体形态较好的石英进行了裂变径迹方法测年.结果显示,石英的裂变径迹年龄数据呈现出较大的变化范围,从 1 Ma到 25 Ma,且远远地小于其三叠纪和寒武纪的母岩年龄;结合贵州 25 Ma到 1 Ma的区域地质演化历史,裂变径迹年龄值可以排除石英来源于母岩碎屑、成岩过程的次生形成以及火山活动产生的热水沉淀或交代形成的可能性,而只能推断为该晶体形态较好的石英于碳酸盐岩风化作用产生的富硅流体中沉淀形成;各剖面石英的年龄值与新生代的青藏高原夷平期、华南红土期、贵州构造稳定期乃至世界范围内的风化气候期有着良好的对应关系,说明次生石英裂变径迹测年具有很好的可行性和可靠性.     

The influence of petrophysical properties on the salt weathering of porous building rocks

The influence of pore structure, water transport properties and rock strength on salt weathering is evaluated by means of a thorough rock characterisation and a statistical analysis. The pore structure was described in terms of its porosity, pore size distribution (quantified by mean pore radius) and specific surface area, density and water transport was characterised by means of water permeability (saturated flow) and capillary imbibition (unsaturated flow); whilst the rock strength test was carried out using uniaxial compressive strength, compressional and shear wave velocities, dynamic elastic constants and waveform energy and attenuation were obtained from the digital analysis of the transmitted signal. A principal component analysis and a stepwise multiple regression model was carried out in order to examine the direct relationships between salt weathering and petrophysical properties. From the principal component analysis, two main components were obtained and assigned a petrophysical meaning. The first component is mostly linked to mechanical properties, porosity and density whereas the second component is associated with the water transport and pore structure. Salt weathering, quantified by the percentage of weight loss after salt crystallisation, was included in both principal components, showing its dependence on their petrophysical properties. The stepwise multiple regression analysis found that rock strength has a predominant statistical weight in the prediction of salt weathering, with a minor contribution of water transport and pore structure parameters.     

洛阳龙门石窟围岩风化特征研究

对洛阳龙门石窟围岩风化特征及风化作用影响因素进行调查研究,指出目前围岩风化作用主要为生物风化和物理风化作用,并进一步对其风化机理进行了探讨。以往研究结果认为风化作用主要类型为物理风化作用,本文研究表明,目前由于西山山顶植被的不断发育,随着植被根须机械破坏作用及植被腐殖质分解的产物引起岩体解离的生物化学破坏作用日益加剧,生物风化作用亦已成为风化破坏主要影响因素,应引起有关部门注意。     

广西中酸性岩浆岩风化区风化矿床类型及成矿作用研究

广西区内139个主要风化矿床(点)中有近4成集中分布于中酸性岩浆岩风化区。新近纪以来新构造运动活跃,东亚季风盛行产生了湿热气候,致使近2.0×105 km 2不同时代、不同岩性的中酸性岩浆岩广泛出露并遭受强烈风化,大面积的厚层风化壳在低山丘陵地貌景观区得以保存,这为风化矿床的发育提供了得天独厚的气候、地质、构造和地貌等条件。广西中酸性岩浆岩风化作用形成的矿床主要包括残积型(以钛铁砂矿为代表)、淋积型(以离子吸附型稀土矿为代表)和残余型(以高岭土矿和膨润土矿为代表)三个类型。这些不同类型的风化矿床在成矿条件上表现出显著的母岩专属性和风化环境偏在性,二者联合约束了风化矿床的成矿作用及成矿类型。风化过程中复杂的水岩反应(淋积作用、残积作用和残余作用)是导致中酸性岩浆岩风化形成各类矿床的内在机制。     

Depositional environment and OSL chronology of the Homeb silt deposits, Kuiseb River, Namibia

Previous studies suggest that the Homeb silts of the Kuiseb valley, Namibia (i) accumulated in a dune-dammed lake, (ii) are end-point deposits, (iii) represent an aggrading river bed, and (iv) are slackwater deposits. Thus, they have been used alternatively as evidence of past drier conditions or past wetter conditions. Lithostratigraphic analysis of two sediment sequences at Homeb indicates sedimentation by aggradation of the Kuiseb River triggered by a transition from an arid to humid climate. OSL ages for the sequences were obtained by the SAR protocol on aliquots of 9.6-mm and 4.0-mm diameter and on single grains. Four-millimeter aliquot minimum ages closely approximate the single-grain minimum ages and are younger than 9.6-mm aliquot minimum and central ages. Based on these results, the small-aliquot (4-mm) approach appears to provide ages comparable to those obtained by the more laborious and time-consuming single-grain method. Minimum ages indicate rapid deposition of the Homeb Silts in at least two episodes centered at 15 ka and 6 ka during climate transitions from arid to humid. Flash floods eroded the valley fills during slightly more arid conditions.     

Chemical and physical weathering in a hot‐arid,tectonically active alluvial system of Anza Borrego Desert,California

Investigation of chemical and physical weathering of bedrock and alluvial sediment in the Anza Borrego Desert, California, sheds light on weathering processes in hot‐arid systems and clarifies interpretations of climate from alluvial sediment. All of the alluvial sediment in the study area emanates from Cretaceous tonalite of the Peninsular Range, enabling exploration of the effects of external variables – climate, transport distance and tectonics – on the physical and chemical properties of the sediment. Chemical weathering in this area is dominated by plagioclase alteration observed in both bedrock outcrops and sediment, evinced most clearly by changes in the Eu anomaly. Biotite chemical weathering, manifested by interlayer K⁺ loss, is not evident in bedrock, but clearly observed in the sediment. Despite the weak intensity of chemical weathering (Chemical Index of Alteration = 56 to 62), fine‐grained (<63 μm) sediment displays a clear weathering trend in A–CN–K space and contains up to 25% clay minerals. Physical abrasion and grain‐size reduction in biotite during transport predominates in the sediment, whereas physical (insolation) weathering affecting bedrock is inferred from estimates of differential thermal expansion of mineral phases in response to extreme temperature changes in the study area. Chemical alteration and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area both increase within the active Elsinore fault zone at the distal end of the depositional transect, reflecting tectonic‐induced fracturing and associated accelerated weathering. Extensive fracturing, together with a more humid Pleistocene climate, probably facilitated in situ bedrock weathering, preceding arid alluvial deposition in the Holocene. This study demonstrates that both climate and tectonic processes can affect chemical and physical weathering, resulting in alteration of plagioclase, leaching of K⁺ from biotite in the sediment and formation of clay minerals, even in hot, arid systems.     

Sediment ingestion by worms and the production of bio-clays: a study of macrobiologically enhanced weathering and early diagenetic processes

The experiments reported here show that a range of early diagenetic clay minerals can develop within ingested sand in the guts of creatures at a rate that is at least 2 or 3 orders of magnitude greater than in an abiotic environment. Early diagenesis in marine environments may be strongly influenced by the occurrence of sediment ingestion and excretion by animals. Using a set of artificial marine experiments and the common lugworm Arenicola marina , it is shown that sediment ingestion by macrobiota represents a new way in which to precipitate clay minerals or 'bio-clays'. Significant quantities of clay minerals can be the product of biological interaction within sediment. Tanks were constructed with artificially layered sediment and natural seawater. The experiments were conducted at room temperature for a total duration of 9 months. The silicate material fed to the worms was an unweathered, and thus clay mineral-free, basalt from Iceland. Less than 2  μ m fractions from original, control and faecal samples were periodically analysed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Faecal casts underwent mineral alteration as denoted by loss of primary minerals, especially plagioclase. New minerals in faecal casts from the lugworms included, kaolinite, illite, quartz and possibly chlorite. Inorganic weathering of similar parent basalt would probably produce an identical mineral assemblage but many more times slowly than with the macrobiotic mechanism demonstrated here.     

Statistical empirical index of chemical weathering in igneous rocks: A new tool for evaluating the degree of weathering

Chemical weathering indices are useful tools in characterizing weathering profiles and determining the extent of weathering. However, the predictive performance of the conventional indices is critically dependent on the composition of the unweathered parent rock. To overcome this limitation, the present paper introduces an alternative statistical empirical index of chemical weathering that is extracted by the principal component analysis (PCA) of a large dataset derived from unweathered igneous rocks and their weathering profiles. The PCA analysis yields two principal components (PC1 and PC2), which capture 39.23% and 35.17% of total variability, respectively. The extent of weathering is reflected by variation along PC1, primarily due to the loss of Na₂O and CaO during weathering. In contrast, PC2 is the direction along which the projections of unweathered felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous rocks appear to be best discriminated; therefore, PC1 and PC2 represent independent latent variables that correspond to the extent of weathering and the chemistry of the unweathered parent rock. Subsequently, PC1 and PC2 were then mapped onto a ternary diagram (MFW diagram). The M and F vertices characterize mafic and felsic rock source, respectively, while the W vertex identifies the degree of weathering of these sources, independent of the chemistry of the unweathered parent rock.

The W index has a number of significant properties that are not found in conventional weathering indices. First, the W index is sensitive to chemical changes that occur during weathering because it is based on eight major oxides, whereas most conventional indices are defined by between two and four oxides. Second, the W index provides robust results even for highly weathered sesquioxide-rich samples. Third, the W index is applicable to a wide range of felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous rock types. Finally, the MFW diagram is expected to facilitate provenance analysis of sedimentary rocks by identifying their weathering trends and thereby enabling a backward estimate of the composition of the unweathered source rock.     

The role of supergene sulphuric acid during weathering in small river catchments in low mountain ranges of Central Europe: Implications for calculating the atmospheric CO2 budget

The geochemistry of dissolved and suspended loads in river catchments of two low mountain ranges in Central Europe allows comparison of pertinent chemical weathering rates. Distinct differences in lithology, i.e. granites prevailing in the Black Forest compared to Palaeozoic sediments in the Rhenish Massif, provide the possibility to examine the influence of lithology on weathering. Here we determine the origin of river water using the stable isotope ratio δ¹⁸O_H2O and we quantify the geogenic proportions of sulphate from stable isotope ratios δ³⁴S_SO4 and δ¹⁸O_SO4. Particularly in catchments with abundant pyrite, determination of the geogenic amount of sulphate is important, since oxidation of pyrite leads to acidity, which increases weathering. Our results show that spatially averaged silicate weathering rates are higher for the river catchments Acher and Gutach in the Black Forest (10–12 t/km²/yr) compared to the river catchments of the Möhne dam and the Aabach dam in the Rhenish Massif (2–6 t/km²/yr). Correspondingly, the CO₂ consumption by silicate weathering in the Black Forest (334–395 × 10³ mol/km²/yr) is more than twice as high as in the Rhenish Massif (28–151 × 10³ mol/km²/yr). These higher rates for watersheds of the Black Forest are likely due to steeper slopes leading to higher mechanical erosion with respective higher amounts of fresh unweathered rock particulates and due to the fact that the sediments in the Rhenish Massif have already passed through at least one erosion cycle. Carbonate weathering rates vary between 12 and 38 t/km²/yr in the catchments of the Rhenish Massif. The contribution of sulphuric acid to the silicate weathering is higher in the catchments of the Rhenish Massif (9–16%) than in the catchments of the Black Forest (5–7%) due to abundant pyrite in the sediments of the Rhenish Massif. Three times higher long-term erosion rates derived from cosmogenic nuclides compared to short-term erosion rates derived from river loads in Central Europe point to three times higher CO₂ consumption during the past 10³ to 10⁴ years.     

黄河拉西瓦水电站坝区花岗岩风化研究

风化作用对于岩体工程地质性能的降低不言而喻。研究探讨重大水电工程岩石风化作用机理对于工程区岩体风化带划分、风化渐进性分析、表征岩体风化特征指标的选择及力学性质参数取值等具有重要意义。文章从风化作用本质、化学元素迁移、风化作用类型等角度,对拉西瓦水电站坝区花岗岩风化作用机理进行了探讨。结合本区气候演化、岩石性质、地形条件等综合分析认为:在浅表河谷范围内,风化形式以岩石胀缩作用和冰劈作用为主,而化学风化作用并不强烈。论文采用量化指标对岩体进行风化带划分,选取的定量指标有平硐纵波速度Vp、钻孔RQD、裂隙间距与单元面积节理数等。在此基础上,利用电站20余a来丰富详实的地质、物探、岩体测试等大量资料,采用定性分析与定量划分相结合的研究方法,对黄河拉西瓦坝基花岗岩体进行风化分带,得出坝基岩体风化带总体空间布局。     

北京怀柔云蒙山地区花岗岩风化过程的地球化学基因

地球化学基因是近两年提出的一种新的地球化学示踪技术,本文选择北京怀柔云蒙山地区两个邻近的花岗岩风化剖面(编号为B和C)来分析岩性地球化学基因和金矿化地球化学基因的属性特征.剖面B样品的化学蚀变指数CIA变化为51.3～58.9,WIG的范围为89.4～68.6,属于初始风化程度;剖面C样品的CIA变化为52.4～78....     

Impact of animal manure addition on the weathering of agricultural lime in acidic soils: The agent of carbonate weathering

Fertilization and aglime (agricultural lime) application, as important agricultural activities in acid soil, exert an influence on the fluxes of carbon both between and within ecosystems. Animal manure added to soil can elevate the soil CO2 and release organic acid due to microbial decomposition of the high organic matter content of animal manure. Additionally, the elevated CO2 can accelerate carbonate weathering in alkaline soil, such as lime soil. However, in acidic soil, it is unclear whether the chemical weathering of additive aglime can be quickened by the elevated CO2 due to animal manure addition. Thus, to ascertain the impact of animal manure addition on aglime weathering in acidic soil and to understand the weathering agent of aglime or underlying carbonate in the acidic soil profile, we established two contrasting profiles (control profile and manurial profile) in a cabbage-corn or capsicum-corn rotation in a field experiment site located in the HuaXi district of Guiyang, China, and buried carbonate rock tablets at different depths of soil profiles to calculate the dissolution rate of carbonate rock by monitoring the weights of the tablets. The results indicated that soil CO2 increased due to animal manure addition, but the rate of dissolution of the carbonate rock tablets was reduced, which was attributed to the increase in the pH in acidic soil after animal manure addition because the relationship between the dissolution rate of carbonate rock and soil pH indicated that the weathering rate of carbonate rock was controlled by pH and not by CO2 in acidic soil. Thus, the contribution of H+ ions (mainly exchangeable acid) in acid soil as a weathering agent to the weathering of underlying carbonate (and/or aglime) may lead to the overestimation of the CO2 consumption through chemical weathering at the regional/global scale using hydro-chemical methods.     

Recycling and chemical weathering in tectonically controlled Mesozoic–Cenozoic basins of New Zealand

Sedimentation in molasse basins is controlled by tectonics, however, recycling and chemical weathering play a critical role in the compositional evolution of a sedimentary succession. The Cretaceous to Pliocene molasse deposits of Central Otago, New Zealand are excellent examples of tectonically related deposits that were governed by the effects of chemical weathering and recycling. Preserved in fault-controlled basins floored by flysch deposits of the Otago Schist, the clastic successions contain ubiquitous unconformities and lithofacies consistent with alluvial, fluvial and lacustrine depositional settings. Textural analysis of Central Otago sandstones establishes a general quartz enrichment and increased mixing of angular and well-rounded quartz varieties up-section, consistent with a history of sediment recycling. Rare earth element (REE) patterns, which reflect upper crustal compositions, are similar for the flysch-type Otago Schist (Permian–Early Cretaceous), a palaeo-weathering profile, and the overlying molasse deposits. The development of quartz arenites is also consistent with high degrees of chemical weathering, and erosion of the schist basement, which contains numerous quartz veins. Although recycling has occurred, SiO₂ and TiO₂ do not consistently show a negative correlation over time. This reflects erosion of previously deposited quartz-rich sediment and the Otago weathering profile, which produced an inverse stratigraphy. CIA values range from 52 for lithic-rich, coarse-grained sandstones and polymictic conglomerate matrices, to 93 for coarse-grained to pebble-rich quartz arenites. Individual samples were split into finer- and coarser-grained pairs (<2·5φ and 2·5 to −1φ) and were analysed separately. The results show that finer-grained samples contain higher REE abundances and less SiO₂, but the coarser-grained Miocene–Pliocene samples have higher CIA values than their finer-grained counterparts. These coarse-grained deposits are quartz-rich and plot erratically on tectonic discrimination diagrams, implying that using SiO₂-poor samples is more reliable for geochemical analysis. Overall, the petrographic and geochemical results indicate that the main factors controlling the composition of the Central Otago molasse deposits were source composition, chemical weathering and recycling. Studies of this nature can be conducted in Archaean tectonically controlled molasse basins that are affected by similar allocyclic factors.     

凝灰岩岩基风化带精细划分技术

正岩体风化带的划分是水利工程勘察重要的研究内容,提高岩基垂向上的精细识别对建基面的开挖、坝基防渗设计、坝基的稳定性和变形控制等方面具有重要意义(王旺盛等,2009;韩刚等,2011)。传统岩体风化程度的划分主要依据钻探过程中的人为感觉、现场岩样的直观判断以及室内的岩石物理力学试验等,在总结大量工程实践的前提下,可以说采用定性或半定量的判别手段在岩体划分中     

微生物对碳酸盐岩的风化作用

微生物-矿物相互作用可以促进许多表生生物地球化学反应过程,是表生地球化学研究的重要内容。通过综合岩石表面的微生物类群及其地质作用,分析碳酸盐岩微生物风化的各种现象,特别是微观尺度上的各种形态,阐述碳酸盐岩的微生物风化机制与风化产物,笔者提出微生物对碳酸盐岩风化的4种途径:(1)通过微生物在岩石表面和缝隙中生长,导致岩石表层发生生物溶蚀、生物磨蚀和生物钻孔作用,加速岩石风化进程;(2)微生物群体形成的钻孔网络可以增强岩石化学溶蚀的有效表面积并导致其表面强度减弱而促进机械侵蚀作用,微生物对周围岩石颗粒胶结结构的破坏、疏松作用也会导致岩石矿物颗粒的分解;(3)微生物的持水作用,微生物分泌的有机酸以及微生物呼吸所释放的CO2对岩表水分的酸化过程亦加速岩石矿物的分解;(4)微生物生长过程中从岩石内摄取营养元素和产生复杂的有机配体,能促进矿物元素的释放。文中提出在开展微生物对碳酸盐岩风化过程和机理研究的基础上,有必要引入微生物生物技术来综合开发本地低品位含钾磷矿产资源,加速岩溶地区山地土壤的形成与演化。     

The effect of gross primary production, net primary production and net ecosystem exchange on the carbon fixation by chemical weathering of basalt in northeastern Iceland

The overall objective of this study is to define and interpret the annual dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) flux in selected river catchments in North Eastern Iceland. The flux stems primarily from chemical weathering of basalt. The DIC flux out of the catchments is compared with the spatial distribution of the various vegetation communities and their gross primary production (GPP), net primary production (NPP) and net ecosystem exchange (NEE). There is no correlation between the DIC flux and the GPP, but one between DIC and NPP. The DIC flux is highly dependent on the NEE, which in turn is governed by the area extent of wetlands in these catchments. A variation by a factor 5 of the NEE results in a variation by a factor 2.8 in the river dissolved inorganic flux.     

模拟不同气候条件下碳酸盐岩风化作用的淋溶实验研究

通过模拟干热、湿热与干冷3种气候条件,以饱和CO2水作为淋溶液,对黔中岩溶区3条碳酸盐岩风化壳岩-土界面的岩粉层试样进行了淋溶实验(其中干热、湿热条件下淋溶到残余酸不溶物阶段),对淋出液的pH值以及主要造岩元素的浓度进行了动态分析。结果表明,碳酸盐岩风化壳岩-土界面由岩到土的转变过程中,伴随碳酸盐的溶蚀,酸不溶物已表现出明显的风化倾向。碳酸盐的溶蚀强度表现为干冷>干热>湿热的变化趋势。温度低,碳酸盐的溶解速率大;排水条件好,碳酸盐溶解释放的Ca、Mg易随风化流体排出体系。对于酸不溶物组分,淋溶实验中有:(1)K、Na、Mg、Si、P的载体矿物风化强度在干热条件下最大(至于Ca,由于方解石与白云石均是其主要的载体矿物,酸不溶物相中的Ca难以在淋出液中有效识别)。在干冷与湿热之间,K、Na、Mg等盐基离子的溶出能力大多表现为湿热>干冷,指示了温度对盐基离子释放强度的重要制约作用;而Si和P未表现出一致的变化趋势,可能源于淋溶体系微环境的差异。(2)Fe与Mn表现出弱迁移性。其中,Fe在干冷环境下淋出强度最弱,说明温度是制约含Fe矿物分解速率的重要因素。而Fe在干热与湿热之间,以及Mn在3种淋溶条件下,未呈现出一致的变化趋势。(3)Al和Ti在碳酸盐岩风化过程中表现出强烈的惰性。      

风化作用对铁陨石矿物学特征影响的探讨

本文对南丹IIICD铁陨石的矿物学特征进行了研究,并与同为铁陨石但化学分类不同的阿根廷IAB铁陨石和西伯利亚IIB铁陨石进行了对比,重点探讨了风化作用对铁陨石矿物学特征的影响.首先用偏光显微镜、静水称重、扫描电镜观察了样品的基本矿物学特征和微形貌特征,然后用振动式样品磁强计、X射线衍射与电子探针能谱半定量测试研究了样品的磁学性质、物相和化学组成.研究结果表明,南丹铁陨石在较强的自然风化作用下,光泽变弱为土状光泽,相对密度降低;风化产生的反铁磁性物质会使陨石的磁性下降;另外,样品表面物相组成也发生较大变化,以针铁矿(FeOOH)和磁铁矿(Fe₃O₄)等铁的次生矿物为主;但风化壳以下的矿物物相及化学成分均未发生明显变化,以Fe、Ni为主的铁纹石、镍纹石物相存在.