Variations in carbon and oxygen isotope ratios as a possible guide to ore

Contour maps showing variations in carbon and oxygen isotope ratios may be useful as a guide to ore. Previous literature suggests that the isotopic composition of carbon is related to the environment in which it is deposited. Sedimentary syngenetic ore deposits are also related to the depositional environment in which they occur and should therefore be related to the isotopic composition of the carbon deposited along with the ore. Although metamorphism may obscure palaeontological and stratigraphic indicators of environment, the isotopic composition of organic carbon appears to be unaffected by it. Previous literature suggests that variations in oxygen isotopes can be used also as a guide to certain epigenetic ore deposits.

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Zusammenfassung Isotopenverteilungskarten sind nützliche Hilfsmittel bei der Erzprospektion. In der Literature wird auf die Abhängigkeit der Isotopen-Zusammensetzung vom Ablagerungsmilieu aufmerksam gemacht. Sedimentäre syngenetische Erzlagerstätten sind ohne Zweifel vom Ablagerungsmilieu abhängig. Es liegt deshalb nahe, die Isotopen-Zusammensetzung des darin enthaltenen Kohlenstoffs mit derjenigen der erzbildenden chemischen Elemente zu vergleichen. Obwohl metamorphe Prozesse paläontologische und stratigraphische Prozesse verwischen können, scheint die Isotopen-Zusammensetzung davon unbeeinflußt zu bleiben. Als Hilfsmittel können weiterhin die in der Literatur beschriebenen Isotopenverhältnisse des Sauerstoffs herangezogen werden.

     

半干旱—干旱地区以钙积层为采样介质的隐伏金矿地球化学勘查

在隐伏金矿的地球化学勘查中,常用的采样介质包括岩石、水系沉积物、土壤、植物和地气等.近几十年,澳大利亚在半干旱—干旱地区以钙积层作为隐伏金矿床地球化学勘查的采样介质,并取得了成功.本文对以钙积层作为隐伏金矿地球化学勘查采样介质的理论和勘查进展进行总结,其勘查理论基础是土壤剖面中金-钙高度相关性,其成因机理较合理地解释为...     

Excessive reliance on afforestation in China's arid and semi-arid regions: Lessons in ecological restoration

Afforestation is a primary tool for controlling desertification and soil erosion in China. Large-scale afforestation, however, has complex and poorly understood consequences for the structure and composition of future ecosystems. Here, we discuss the potential links between China's historical large-scale afforestation practices and the program's effects on environmental restoration in arid and semi-arid regions in northern China based on a review of data from published papers, and offer recommendations to overcome the shortcomings of current environmental policy. Although afforestation is potentially an important approach for environmental restoration, current Chinese policy has not been tailored to local environmental conditions, leading to the use of inappropriate species and an overemphasis on tree and shrub planting, thereby compromising the ability to achieve environmental policy goals. China's huge investment to increase forest cover seems likely to exacerbate environmental degradation in environmentally fragile areas because it has ignored climate, pedological, hydrological, and landscape factors that would make a site unsuitable for afforestation. This has, in many cases, led to the deterioration of soil ecosystems and decreased vegetation cover, and has exacerbated water shortages. Large-scale and long-term research is urgently needed to provide information that supports a more effective and flexible environmental restoration policy.     

An improved methodology of the modern analogues technique for palaeoclimate reconstruction in arid and semi-arid regions

Jiang, W., Guiot, J., Chu, G., Wu, H., Yuan, B., Hatté, C. & Guo, Z. 2009: An improved methodology of the modern analogues technique for palaeoclimate reconstruction in arid and semi-arid regions. Boreas , 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00115.x. ISSN 0300-9483.
This study presents an improved method of the plant functional type modern analogues technique (PFT-MAT) in which environmental proxies and a moisture index (α, i.e. ratio of actual evapotranspiration to potential evapotranspiration) are used to constrain the selection of modern analogues. The method is tested using high-resolution, precisely dated palaeorecords (pollen, Pediastrum and δ¹⁸O of authigenic carbonate) from Lake Bayanchagan, northern China. The unconstrained and constrained PFT-MAT produces general agreement for Holocene climate changes, with a wet period between 11 000 and 5500 cal. yr BP and a warm interval between 11 000 and 8000 cal. yr BP. However, there are significant differences in the details of their reconstruction. The constrained PFT-MAT generally yields smaller error bars for the reconstructed climate parameters than the unconstrained PFT-MAT. In addition, three prominent climatic events are identified from the constrained reconstructions; namely, a cold event around 8400 cal. yr BP and two warm events around 6000 and 2000 cal. yr BP, which is consistent with other regional palaeoclimatic records. Our data show that changes in tree components correlate well with α variations during the entire Holocene, with the highest tree components and highest α values between 8000 and 5500 cal. yr BP, indicating the dominant role of α in the growth of trees in northern China rather than single temperature or precipitation. The improved PFT-MAT is therefore an efficient method for quantitative reconstructions of palaeoclimate in arid and semi-arid regions.     

干旱、半干旱地区蒙古扁桃种子萌发对土壤水分和播种深度的响应特征

蒙古扁桃种子在4%~16%的各含水量条件下, 出苗率高达96%~98%且差异不显著(P>0.05), 在4%~13%的土壤含水量下, 发芽指数、活力指数、平均出苗日数极显著高于16%含水量下的值(P<0.01), 其种子萌发最适宜的土壤含水量为4%~13%. 随土壤含水量的升高, 苗高增加, 根冠比和壮苗指数降低, 根长、幼苗生长量、干物质积累量先升高后降低, 幼苗生长最适宜的土壤含水量为7%~16%; 较低的土壤水分下可以提高幼苗的抗旱性, 有利于培育壮苗. 随播种深度的增加, 出苗率下降, 平均出苗日数增加, 出苗速率放缓, 保证全苗的最适宜播深为0~1 cm, 保证壮苗的最适宜播深为1~3 cm. 种子萌发形成的幼苗为子叶留土型双子叶植物幼苗.     

Magnesite abundance as a guide to gold mineralization associated with ultramafic flows, Timmins area

Altered komatiitic flows of the Tisdale Group locally contain secondary calcite, dolomite or magnesite, where alteration intensity and bulk-rock composition are favourable. Talc is present only in the least carbonatized samples and does not coexist with quartz and magnesite. Magnesite is present only in carbonatized ultramafic komatiitic flows (> 20 wt.% MgO) containing at least 18 wt.% loss on ignition (> 14 wt.% CO₂). Magnesite abundance increases with increasing loss on ignition and ) whole-rock ratio. Altered flows having magnesite to dolomite weight precent ratios exceeding 70 occur in proximity to mineable concentrations of gold and define surface-exploration targets 500 m in diameter.The spatial association of gold with the more magnesian ultramafic komatiitic flows arises in part because of the reactive nature of olivine-rich rocks in the presence of CO₂-bearing aqueous hydrothermal fluids, and possibly because the most magnesian ultramafic flows occur in proximity to an eruptive vent area where the likelihood of rock-fluid interaction is greatest because of the local structural regime.Talc-magnesite—quartz assemblages are present in some ultramafic dykes which cut the older Deloro Group volcanic rocks; the apparent absence of gold in these rocks may be attributed to the higher formation temperature of the talc-bearing, relative to the talc-free, magnesite-quartz assemblages.     

Pleistocene chemical weathering history of Asian arid and semi-arid regions recorded in loess deposits of China and Tajikistan

Quaternary loess-soil sequences in China and Tajikistan are valuable archives of the chemical weathering history for arid and semi-arid regions of Asia. The development of new proxies independent of grain size are vital to reconstruct the long-term chemical weathering history of eolian deposits. In this study, we analyze major elemental and Rb, Sr, and Ba concentrations of decarbonated residue from representative loess and soil units along a north-south transect on the Chinese Loess Plateau and compare these concentrations among different grain-size fractions. Results show that most of the elemental abundances and ratios vary considerably among different grain-size fractions for both loess and paleosols, indicating transport-driven compositional differentiation of minerals during subaerial transport. However, (CaO + Na₂O + MgO)/TiO₂ ratios show little variation among different size fractions for the loess-soil transect. Loess-soil sequences at Lingtai (northern China) and Chashmanigar (southern Tajikistan) for the past 1.50-1.77 Ma show lower (CaO + Na₂O + MgO)/TiO₂ ratios in soil units than in adjacent loess horizons, in good agreement with greater weathering intensity in soils than in loess units. The (CaO + Na₂O + MgO)/TiO₂ ratio of the decarbonated residue is therefore a reliable proxy for chemical weathering of loess deposits that is independent of grain size. The (CaO + Na₂O+MgO)/TiO₂ ratios of the Lingtai and Chashmanigar sections display a relatively regular oscillation within a narrow range in the early Pleistocene, and a rapid increase in average values and in variance from 0.85-0.6 Ma to the present, indicating lowered chemical weathering intensity in both the dust source regions and the depositional areas. This event may be causally related to the expansion of northern hemisphere ice and/or the regional tectonic uplift of high mountains in Asia since the mid-Pleistocene.     

Reformulated O correction of mass spectrometric stable isotope measurements in carbon dioxide and a critical appraisal of historic ‘absolute’ carbon and oxygen isotope ratios

Mass-spectrometric stable isotope measurements of CO₂ use molecular ion currents at mass-to-charge ratios m/z 44, 45 and 46 to derive the elemental isotope ratios n(¹³C)/n(¹²C) and n(¹⁸O)/n(¹⁶O), abbreviated ¹³C/¹²C and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O, relative to a reference. The ion currents have to be corrected for the contribution of ¹⁷O-bearing isotopologues, the so-called ‘¹⁷O correction’. The magnitude of this correction depends on the calibrated isotope ratios of the reference. Isotope ratio calibrations are difficult and are therefore a matter of debate. Here, I provide a comprehensive evaluation of the existing ¹³C/¹²C (¹³R), ¹⁷O/¹⁶O (¹⁷R) and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O (¹⁸R) calibrations of the reference material Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW) and CO₂ generated from the reference material Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) by reaction with 100% H₃PO₄ at 25 °C (VPDB-CO₂). I find , ¹⁸R_VSMOW/10⁻⁶ = 2005.20 ± 0.45, ¹³R_VPDB-CO2/10^-6= 11124 ± 45, and ¹⁸R_VPDB-CO2/10^-6=2088.37±0.90. I also rephrase the calculation scheme for the ¹⁷O correction completely in terms of relative isotope ratio differences (δ values). This reveals that only ratios of isotope ratios (namely, ¹⁷R/¹³R and ¹³R¹⁷R/¹⁸R) are required for the ¹⁷O correction. These can be, and have been, measured on conventional stable isotope mass spectrometers. I then show that the remaining error for these ratios of isotope ratios can lead to significant uncertainty in the derived relative ¹³C/¹²C difference, but not for¹⁸O/¹⁶O. Even though inter-laboratory differences can be corrected for by a common ‘ratio assumption set’ and/or normalisation, the ultimate accuracy of the ¹⁷O correction is hereby limited. Errors of similar magnitude can be introduced by the assumed mass-dependent relationship between ¹⁷O/¹⁶O and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotope ratios. For highest accuracy in the ¹³C/¹²C ratio, independent triple oxygen isotope measurements are required. Finally, I propose an experiment that allows direct measurement of ¹³R¹⁷R/¹⁸R.     

Dolomite compositions as a guide to epigenetic copper mineralization,Mount Isa Inlier,NW Queensland

Dolomites associated with copper mineralization have higher Fe contents and lower Mn/Fe ratios than their unmineralized equivalents. Over a wide stratigraphic interval and range of original depositional environments, copper-associated dolomite in the Proterozoic Mount Isa Inlier of NW Queensland has Mn/Fe0.11. Vein dolomite has a higher Fe content than its corresponding matrix; nevertheless the Mn/Fe ratio of the matrix is a good guide to the maximum Mn/Fe ratio for a dolomitic vein. Thus the simple determination of the Fe and Mn component in the dolomite of a rock gives information about the possible association with copper mineralization even when the rock itself is completely barren.     

Stable carbon isotope characteristics of different plant species and surface soil in arid regions

The stable carbon isotope composition in surface soil organic matter (δ¹³Csoil) contains integrative information on the carbon isotope composition of the standing terrestrial plants (δ¹³Cleaf). In order to obtain valuable vegetation information from the δ¹³C of terrestrial sediment, it is necessary to understand the relationship between the δ¹³C value in modern surface soil and the standing vegetation. In this paper, we studied the δ¹³C value in modern surface soil organic matter and standing vegetation in arid areas in China, Australia and the United States. The isotopic discrepancy between δ¹³Csoil and δ¹³Cleaf of the standing dominant vegetation was examined in those different arid regions. The results show that the δ¹³Csoil values were consistently enriched compared to the δ¹³Cleaf. The δ¹³Cleaf values were positively correlated with δ¹³Csoil, which suggests that the interference of microorganisms and hydrophytes on the isotopic composition of surface soil organic matter during soil organic matter formation could be ignored in arid regions. The averaged discrepancy between δ¹³Csoil and δ¹³Cleaf is about 1.71%in Tamarix L. in the Tarim Basin in China, 1.50% in Eucalytus near Orange in Australia and 1.22% in Artemisia in Saratoga in the United States, which are different from the results of other studies. The results indicate that the discrepancies in the δ¹³C value between surface soil organic matter and standing vegetation were highly influenced by the differences in geophysical location and the dominant species of the studied ecosystems. We suggest that caution should be taken when organic matter δ¹³C in terrestrial sediment is used to extract paleovegetation information (C₃/C₄ vegetation composition), as the δ¹³C in soil organic matter is not only determined by the ratio of C₃/C₄ species, but also profoundly affected by climate change induced variation in the δ¹³C in dominant species.     

Sulphide geochemistry and wall rock alteration as a guide to mineralization, mammoth area, NW Queensland, Australia

Stratabound mineralization in the Mammoth area of NW Queensland occurs in steeply dipping, faulted Proterozoic arenites and dolomitic rocks overlying basic volcanics. Both syngenetic/diagenetic and epigenetic sulphides are present, with the latter divided into Mammoth- and South Mammoth II-styles. Syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite is distinguished from epigenetic pyrite by higher Co and Ni, and lower As, Mo, Sb and Tl contents. Chalcopyrite is the major copper sulphide associated with syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite and is characterized by low Ag, Bi, Mo, Ni and Tl contents relative to epigenetic chalcopyrite. No substantial wall rock alteration is associated with such sulphides. Disseminated syngenetic/diagenetic sulphides in the mine sequence may have induced deposition of epigenetic Cu mineralization, but alone, even when remobilized, do not reach economic grades.The four epigenetic Mammoth orebodies are all richer in chalcocite and bornite than syngenetic/diagenetic mineralization and have wall rock alteration characterized by alkali depletion and Fe enrichment in the zone between the ore and the fault considered the conduit for the hydrothermal ore-forming fluids. Pyrite associated with Mammoth-style mineralization has high As, Mo, Sb and Tl contents and was formed subsequent to the copper sulphides.Thick, essentially barren, pyritic sequences occur at South Mammoth II where the moderate As, high Mo, Sb and Tl contents reflect their hydrothermal origin but distinguish them from Mammoth-style pyrite. Their low As/Sb ratio and lack of wall rock alteration imply a lower temperature of formation than the Mammoth-style pyrite and possibly such mineralization represents the pre-ore stage of the Mammoth mineralizing hydrothermal system.An essential feature of economic Cu mineralization in NW Queensland is the operation of a hydrothermal system. As all such systems may not necessarily give rise to extensive wall rock alteration, use of the high As, Mo, Sb and Tl contents of hydrothermal pyrite can aid evaluation of mineralization intersected during drilling.     

Geological applications potential of DEM,ETM+, and gravity data in arid and semi-arid regions with special reference to south Western Desert,Egypt

The study area comprises the southeastern part of the Western Desert of Egypt. The aims of the present study are to delineate the major surface and subsurface structures and to evaluate tectonic framework of the study area. Surface studies of the present work are based mainly on data from two different types of remote sensing systems: 15 cloud-free Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) images and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM data. The remote sensing data were used to recognize and extract geological lineaments by calculating and interpreting DEM derivatives, including shaded relief maps, slope maps, and traverse profiles. A Bouguer anomaly map (scale 1:500,000) was used to delineate a detailed picture of the subsurface structure in the study area. The analysis of surface data, including SRTM DEM and ETM+, was combined with subsurface data, including Bouguer anomaly map, and gave new insight into the tectonic and structure patterns of the study area.     

Minimum, maximum, and mean annual temperatures, relative humidity, and precipitation trends in arid and semi-arid regions of Iran

One of the most important scientific concerns of the last few decades is climate change, which is the result of a great many factors like global warming. Although a number of studies have been dedicated to understand the phenomenon of climate change, more attention is required to understand the potential effects of global warming on the ecosystems as well as on human life. The present study was designed to survey the trends of minimum, maximum and mean temperatures, relative humidity, and the time series of annual precipitation and 10-year moving average low-pass filter in the 13 synoptic weather stations of Iran’s arid and semi-arid regions during the last 55 years by using τ Kendall test. The analyses indicate a significantly increasing trend for the minimum and mean temperatures while a decreasing trend for the mean relative humidity in the arid and semi-arid regions, especially during the last few years up to the year 2000. Any clear increasing or decreasing trend was not found for the maximum temperature, while the precipitation did not show any increasing/decreasing trend for most of the surveyed stations. Further studies, with long-term programming, are recommended to be carried out to evaluate the climate change and its effects on such regions.     

修正Van Genuchten模型拟合干旱、半干旱地区遗址土颗分曲线的可靠性研究

不均匀系数、曲率系数在土力学中的应用很广,但对精确求解d_(10)、d_(30)、d_(60) 3个参数的方法研究较少。提出了一种修正Van Genuchten(MVG)方程描述颗分曲线。以Matlab编程语言中的cftool为拟合工具,以青海黄土、青海遗址土、甘肃遗址土和新疆遗址土等33组土为研究对象,对比拟合方程描述遗址土颗分曲线的效果,分析MVG模型中3个参数a、m、n对曲线的影响。结果表明:MVG模型在拟合33组土的颗分曲线时均具有较好的效果,相关系数2R(29)0.98;参数a导致曲线偏移并可以推测土粒中的最大粒径,参数m影响土中的各颗粒组分的比例,参数n影响曲线的斜率。提出的MVG方程能够精确地求解d_(10)、d_(30)、d_(60) 3个参数。     

Carbonate precipitation in artificial soils as a sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide

Turnover of C in soils is the dominant flux in the global C cycle and is responsible for transporting 20 times the quantity of anthropogenic emissions each year. This paper investigates the potential for soils to be modified with Ca-rich materials (e.g. demolition waste or basic slag) to capture some of the transferred C as geologically stable CaCO₃. To test this principal, artificial soil known to contain Ca-rich minerals (Ca silicates and portlandite) was analysed from two sites across NE England, UK. The results demonstrate an average C content of 30 ± 15.3 Kg C m⁻² stored as CaCO₃, which is three times the expected organic C content and that it has accumulated at a rate of 25 ± 12.8 t C ha⁻¹ a⁻¹ since 1996. Isotopic analysis of the carbonates gave values between −6.4‰ and −27.5‰ for δ¹³C and −3.92‰ and −20.89‰ for δ¹⁸O, respectively (against V-PDB), which suggests that a combination of carbonate formation mechanisms are operating including the hydroxylation of gaseous CO₂ in solution, and the sequestration of degraded organic C with minor remobilisation/precipitation of lithogenic carbonates. This study implies that construction/development sites may be designed with a C capture function to sequester atmospheric C into the soil matrix with a maximum global potential of 290 Mt C a⁻¹.     

寒旱环境草本植物根系护坡的时间尺度效应

为研究植物护坡效应的可持续性,选取芨芨草、细茎冰草、垂穗披碱草、赖草4种草本植物,分别对生长时间为1~4年的上述草本进行了野外现场拉拔试验。试验结果表明:4种草本其平均抗拔力、平均须根数、平均根径和平均根长随生长时间的增加,均呈增加趋势。芨芨草的平均抗拔力与生长时间之间存在显著幂函数关系,垂穗披碱草、细茎冰草和赖草之间均存在指数函数关系;4种草本的平均须根数与生长时间之间均存在较显著的对数函数关系;芨芨草的平均根径与生长时间之间呈显著的幂函数关系,垂穗披碱草和细茎冰草之间均呈指数函数关系,赖草的根径与生长时间之间呈对数函数关系;芨芨草的平均根长与生长时间之间呈显著的对数函数关系,细茎冰草和赖草之间均呈线性函数关系,垂穗披碱草的平均根长与生长时间之间呈幂函数关系。     

Ion microprobe analysis of oxygen isotope ratios in granulite facies magnetites: diffusive exchange as a guide to cooling history

Ion microprobe analysis of magnetites from the Adirondack Mountains, NY, yields oxygen isotope ratios with spatial resolution of 2–8 m and precision in the range of 1 (1 sigma). These analyses represent 11 orders of magnitude reduction in sample size compared to conventional analyses on this material and they are the first report of routinely reproducible precision in the 1 per mil range for analysis of ¹⁸O at this scale. High precision micro-analyses of this sort will permit wide-ranging new applications in stable isotope geochemistry. The analyzed magnetites form nearly spherical grains in a calcite matrix with diopside and monticellite. Textures are characteristic of granulite facies marbles and show no evidence for retrograde recrystallization of magnetite. Magnetites are near to Fe₃O₄ in composition, and optically and chemically homogeneous. A combination of ion probe plus conventional BrF₅ analysis shows that individual grains are homogeneous with ¹⁸O=8.9±1 SMOW from the core to near the rim of 0.1–1.2 mm diameter grains. Depth profiling into crystal growth faces of magnetites shows that rims are 9 depleted in ¹⁸O. These low ¹⁸O values increase in smooth gradients across the outer 10 m of magnetite rims in contact with calcite. These are the sharpest intracrystalline gradients measured to date in geological materials. This discovery is confirmed by bulk analysis of 150–350 m diameter magnetites which average 1.2 lower in ¹⁸O than coarse magnetites due to low ¹⁸O rims. Conventional analysis of coexisting calcite yields °¹⁸O=18.19, suggesting that bulk ¹⁸O (Cc-Mt)=9.3 and yielding an apparent equilibration temperature of 525° C, over 200° C below the temperature of regional metamorphism. Consideration of experimental diffusion data and grain size distribution for magnetite and calcite suggests two contrasting cooling histories. The data for oxygen in calcite under hydrothermal conditions at high P(H₂O) indicates that diffusion is faster in magnetite and modelling of the low ¹⁸O rims on magnetite would suggest that the Adirondacks experienced slow cooling after Grenville metamorphism, followed by a brief period of rapid cooling, possibly related to uplift. Conversely, the data for calcite at low P(H₂O) show slower oxygen diffusion than in magnetite. Modelling based on these data is consistent with geochronology that shows slow cooling through the blocking temperature of both minerals, suggesting that the low ¹⁸O rims form by exchange with late, low temperature fluids similar to those that infiltrated the rock to serpentinize monticellite and which infiltrated adjacent anorthosite to form late calcite veinlets. In either case, the ion microprobe results indicate that two distinct events are recorded in the post-metamorphic exchange history of these magnetites. Recognition of these events is only possible through microanalysis and has important implications for geothermometry.