Tree-Ring-Based Spring Temperature Patterns over the Past Four Centuries in Western Himalaya

A network of 12 tree-ring width chronologies of Himalayan cedar (Cedrus deodara) from the western Himalayan region, India, has been used to reconstruct mean spring (March–May) temperature variations back to A.D. 1600. The most conspicuous feature of the temperature reconstruction is the long-term cooling trend since the late 17th century that ended early in the 20th century. The warmest 30-yr mean for the 20th century was recorded during 1945–1974. However, this warming, in the context of the past four centuries is well within the range of natural variability, since warmer springs of greater magnitude occurred in the later part of the 17th century (1662–1691).     

东喜马拉雅构造结石榴角闪岩变质作用P-T-t轨迹:相平衡模拟与锆石年代学

东喜马拉雅构造结南迦巴瓦杂岩由多种类型的高级变质岩组成,包括片岩、片麻岩、大理岩、石榴角闪岩和基性麻粒岩。石榴角闪岩呈透镜状产出在片麻岩中,可见不连续分布的规模不等的浅色体。石榴角闪岩由石榴石、角闪石、黑云母、斜长石、石英、金红石、钛铁矿和榍石组成,石榴石变斑晶可见由浅色矿物组成的"白眼圈"。岩相学、矿物化学和相平衡模拟表明石榴角闪岩经历了一条顺时针型的P-T演化轨迹,可划分为两个阶段:(Ⅰ)升温升压的进变质阶段,由石榴石和斜长石斑晶记录,峰期矿物组合为石榴石+角闪石+黑云母+斜长石+石英+金红石+钛铁矿。运用石榴石变斑晶边部和斜长石变斑晶边部成分在视剖面图上的投点确定出峰期温压条件为~11.5kbar、790℃,达到了高压麻粒岩相条件,并经历了部分熔融,产生至少9%的熔体;(Ⅱ)降温降压的退变质阶段,由石榴石边部"白眼圈"冠状体记录。运用平均温压法计算冠状体中黑云母+斜长石+角闪石+石榴石组合的形成温压条件为~7kbar、~750℃。该阶段金红石消失,熔体结晶,并与早期矿物发生回反应。在石榴石角闪岩的锆石中获得了从29.2Ma到10.2Ma的连续变质年龄。由于锆石通常在熔体结晶过程中生长,因此确定该组年龄代表石榴石角闪岩退变质年龄。本文和以前的研究结果表明,南迦巴瓦杂岩中的高温和中温麻粒岩相亚单元具有相似的降温降压P-T轨迹,但高温单元具有较高的变质压力条件,表明其俯冲到了更大的深度。     

A 352-year record of summer temperature reconstruction in the western Tianshan Mountains,China, as deduced from tree-ring density

Three robust tree-ring density chronologies were developed for the western Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China. The chronologies were significantly correlated and form a regional chronology (GLD). The GLD had significant and positive correlations with temperature of warm seasons. Based on this relationship, the mean minimum temperatures of May to August were reconstructed using the GLD chronology for the period AD 1657 to 2008. The temperature reconstruction exhibited temperature patterns on interannual to centennial timescales, and showed that the end of the 20th century is the warmest period in the past 352 years. The reconstructed temperature variation has a teleconnection with large-scale atmospheric–oceanic variability and captures long- and broad-scale regional climatic variations.     

Occurrence of Cordaitales from lower Gondwana sediments of Ib-River Coalfield, Orissa, India: An Indian scenario

The Ib-River Coalfield in Orissa State is a part of Mahanadi Master Basin. Recent extensive investigations were conducted in this Coalfield to locate fossiliferous beds in the Lower Gondwana deposits and as a result a large cache of plant fossils were recovered from Lower Permian sediments (Barakar Formation) exposed in Jurabaga and Lajkura Collieries. The complete flora includes 23 genera representing nine orders viz., Lycopodiales, Equisetales, Sphenophyllales, Filicales, Cordaitales, Coniferales, Ginkgoales, Cycadales and Glossopteridales. Only the Cordaitales, represented by four genera i.e., Noeggerathiopsis, Cordaites, Euryphyllum and Kawizophyllum are discussed in this paper. Cordaitalean leaves are described for the first time from this coalfield; the remaining plant groups will be considered in a subsequent publication. Cordaitalean leaves attributable to Noeggerathiopsis hislopii, Noeggerathiopsis minor, Euryphyllum whittianum, Euryphyllum maithyi, Kawizophyllum dunpathriensis and Cordaites sp. constitute about 13.90% (111 specimens) of the total plant assemblage collected from this Coalfield. Of the cordaitaleans, N. hislopii is most abundant (47.75%; 53 specimens) followed by E. whittianum (40.54%; 45 specimens). A summary of the distribution of Cordaitales throughout the Indian Gondwana is also presented. Floristic composition varies stratigraphically at the two Barakar exposures (Lajkura and Jurabaga Collieries). Cordaitales are preserved only in the lowermost (4th) horizon (lower floral zone). Strata in these collieries have been assigned to the lower and upper Barakar Formation based on floristic content and an Early Permian (Artinskian) age is assigned.     

Characterisation of the seismological pattern in a slowly deforming intraplate region: Central and western France

We analyzed the seismicity of central and western France, using historical data, a compilation of all recorded earthquakes from 1962 to 2002 (4574 events, relocated), and all published focal mechanisms (119 focal solutions). The aim is to understand what are the causes of earthquakes and stress accumulation in a slowly deforming intraplate region. The distribution of earthquakes and focal mechanisms is first correlated with recognized faults, geological structures and tomographic images. Then, in order to better understand the distribution of hypocenters and seek deeper crustal sources for stress accumulation, Euler solutions are computed from the available Bouguer anomaly data. The analysis of the obtained pattern for heat flow values, provides a better understanding of the concentration of seismicity in some particular zones.Two different behaviors of this slowly deforming intraplate region are evidenced. One is linked to the presence of a hot spot under the Massif Central, the other to reactivation of the Hercynian structural heritage. Our results highlight that several possible sources for earthquake clustering can be invoked in central–western France.     

西准噶尔克拉赛勒克山和布克河组晚泥盆世化石的发现及其地层归属

西准噶尔地区广泛分布的和布克河组已被证明是洪古勒楞组的晚出异名,本文在西准噶尔克拉赛勒克山原划为下石炭统"和布克河组"的碎屑岩地层中发现了丰富的动、植物化石,包括:三叶虫Phacops sp.,菊石Manticoceras sp.,腕足类Tylothyris sp.,Aulacella sp.,"Mucrospirifer"sp.,Cyrtospirifer sp.,植物Leptophloeum rhombicum,Syringodendron sp.,Knorria sp.,其时代显示为晚泥盆世。根据岩性组合特征将其厘定为上泥盆统铁列克提组,而非"和布克河组"的替代名称洪古勒楞组。通过区域地质调查工作,证明了西准噶尔玛依力山地层小区内没有洪古勒楞组的分布,其晚泥盆世地层仅由铁列克提组组成,洪古勒楞组只分布在沙尔布尔提山地层小区,两个地层小区的界线为孟布拉克北侧至谢米斯台山南坡的深大断裂。晚泥盆世两个地层小区沉积分异明显,直到早石炭世早期才进入统一的盆地演化阶段,地层小区的分区性也随之消失。     

Two-stage collision-related extrusion of the western Dabie HP–UHP metamorphic terranes, central China: Evidence from quartz c-axis fabrics and structures

The western Dabie orogen (also known as the Hong'an block) forms the western part of the Dabie–Sulu HP–UHP belt, central China. Rocks of this orogen have been subjected to pervasive ductile deformation, and include numerous quartz schists and felsic mylonites cropping out in ductile shear zones. Quartz textures in these mylonites contain important clues for understanding the movement sense of late-collisional extrusion and exhumation of high-pressure–ultrahigh-pressure (HP–UHP) rocks from the lower crustal level to the upper crustal level during Middle Triassic and Early Jurassic. The orientation and distribution of quartz crystallographic axes were used to confirm the regional shear sense across the orogen. The asymmetry of c-axis patterns consistently indicates top-to-the-southeast thrusting across the orogen in early structural stages. Later stages of deformation show different senses of movement in northern and southern parts of the orogen, with top-to-the-northwest sinistral shearing recorded in rocks north of the Xinxian HP–UHP eclogite-facies belt, and top-to-the-southeast dextral shearing south of the same unit.Based on our study on quartz c-axis fabrics and marco- to micro-scale structures, simultaneous southeastward shearing within a large part of the orogen and normal faulting north of the Xinxian HP–UHP unit is explained by upward extrusion in early stages of deformation. The extrusion process has been attributed to syn- and late-collisional processes, accounting for some earlier deformation in the western Dabie orogen such as metamorphic sequences around the core of the Xinxian HP–UHP eclogite-facies unit. Much higher pressure of deformation is also indicated in the aligned glaucophane and omphacite from blueschist and eclogite in the field. An orogen-parallel eastward extrusion of the Xinxian HP–UHP eclogite-facies unit, however, occurred diachronously in later stages of deformation. Therefore, a tectonic model combining an early upward extrusion with a later eastward extrusion is presented. Two different stages and types of extrusion for exhumation of HP–UHP rocks are suitable to all of east central China. Geochronological data shows that the first, upward extrusion occurred during Middle Triassic, the second, eastward extrusion occurred during Late Triassic to Early Jurassic. These two extrusions are correlative with two stages of rapid exhumation of the Dabie HP–UHP rocks, respectively. These two-stage late-collisional (Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic) extrusion events bridge the gap between syn-collisional (Early to Middle Triassic) vertical extrusion and post-collisional (Cretaceous) eastward-directed lateral escape and provide vital clues to understanding the more detailed processes of exhumation of HP–UHP rocks.     

2021年5月21日漾濞MS6.4地震的发震断层及其破裂特征: 地震序列的重定位分析结果

据中国地震台网测定，2021年5月21日21时48分在云南省大理州漾濞县发生M_S6.4地震，及时查明此次地震的发震构造及震源破裂特征，可为认识该区孕震条件和判别未来强震危险性提供关键依据。采用双差定位方法对漾濞地震序列进行重新定位，得到3863次地震事件的精确震源位置。结果显示:漾濞地震序列整体呈北西—南东向分布，长约25 km；整体走向135°；M_S6.4主震震中位置为25.688°N，99.877°E；震源深度约9.6 km。综合地震序列深度剖面和震源机制解结果可知，发震断层应为北西走向、整体向西南方向陡倾的右旋走滑断层，倾角具有自北西向南东逐渐变缓的趋势。进一步分析地震序列的时空演化过程发现，该地震具有典型的"前震-主震-余震型"地震序列活动特点，其破裂过程主要包括3个阶段。破裂成核阶段:首先在发震断层10~12 km深度处相对脆弱部位产生小尺度破裂，之后失稳加速破裂，发生M_S5.6地震；主震破裂阶段:在构造应力场持续加载和周围小尺度破裂的共同影响下，促使浅部较高强度断层闭锁区破裂，形成M_S6.4主震；尾端拉张破裂阶段:主震破裂向东南扩展过程中，在东南端形成与之呈马尾状斜交的、具有正断性质的次级破裂，并产生M_S5.2余震。而且此次地震还在源区北东侧触发了北北东向的左旋走滑破裂。综合分析认为，漾濞地震是兰坪-思茅地块内部北西向草坪断裂在近南北向区域应力挤压作用下发生右旋走滑运动的结果，具有明显的新生断裂特征。近年来兰坪-思茅地块内部一系列中强地震的发生表明，青藏高原物质向东南持续挤出的过程中，遇到该地块的阻挡，正在导致地块内部早期断层贯通形成新的活动断裂。因此，川滇地块西南边界带上或相邻地块内部老断层的复活和新生断裂的产生是区域中强地震危险性分析评价中值得关注的重要课题，同时建议需重视未来该区中强地震进一步向东南和向北的迁移或扩展的可能性。