Sedimentology of coexisting travertine and tufa deposits in a mounded geothermal spring carbonate system,Obruktepe, Turkey

The recent discoveries of deeply buried Cretaceous reservoir bodies in the Atlantic Ocean revealed that relationships between the distribution of spring carbonate deposits and faults are poorly understood. The well‐exposed Quaternary deposits at Obruktepe (Denizli Basin, Turkey) provide an opportunity to reconstruct the three‐dimensional sedimentary architecture of such a system. Integration of sedimentological, lithofacies and geochemical analyses reveals complexity in the lateral relationships between sedimentary environments, faults and geothermal spring carbonates. Five environmental systems are distinguished based on the lithofacies analysis: (i) vent; (ii) smooth slope; (iii) travertine‐terrace; (iv) tufa‐barrage; and (v) flood systems. Encrusting, baffling and settling sedimentary processes are reflected in data acquired at several scales, from lithofacies observations to the morphology and arrangement of geobodies, together with microfabrics and stable carbon and oxygen isotope data. Mean values of +4·9‰ δ¹³C and −8·74‰ δ¹⁸O Vienna PeeDee Belemnite reflect geothermal circulation of springwaters. The environmental distribution and lithofacies indicate a lateral continuum between travertine and tufa deposits within this hot spring system. This finding supports two depositional models in which water flow variation is the main control on both CaCO₃ precipitation and the resulting formation of travertine and tufa. The proposed models address the factors responsible for the development of these complex mound‐shaped carbonate spring deposits, and how they are related to fluid circulation at depth and in association with faults.     

Petrography and textural development of inorganic and biogenic lithotypes in a relict barite tufa deposit at Flybye Springs, NT, Canada

A relict mound of Holocene barite (BaSO₄) tufa underlies the Flybye Springs, a small, barium‐rich, cold sulphur spring system in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The tufa is composed of relatively pure barite with ≤0·34 wt% Ca²⁺ and ≤0·77 wt% Sr²⁺. The mound is made up of coated bubble, raft, undulatory sheet, stromatolitic, coated grain and detrital conglomerate barite tufa. Although previously unreported in barite, these lithotypes are akin to facies found in many carbonate spring deposits. Raft and ooid‐coated grain tufa was formed via ‘inorganic’ barite precipitation in spring water ponds and tributaries where rapid oxidation of sulphide to sulphate established barite supersaturation. Undulatory sheet tufa may have formed by the reaction of dissolved barium with sulphate derived from the oxidation of extracellular polysaccharide‐rich colloidal sulphur films floating in oxygenated, barite‐saturated spring water ponds. Coated bubble, oncoid‐coated grain and stromatolitic tufa with filamentous microfossils was formed in close association with sulphur‐tolerant microbes inhabiting dysoxic and oxygenated spring water tributaries and ponds. Adsorption of dissolved barium to microbial extracellular polysaccharide probably facilitated the development of these ‘biogenic’ lithotypes. Detrital conglomerate tufa was formed by barite cementation of microdetrital tufa, allochthonous lithoclasts and organic detritus, including caribou hair. Biogenic textures, organic artefacts and microfossils in the Flybye barite tufa have survived diagenetic aggradational recrystallization and precipitation of secondary cements, indicating the potential for palaeoecological information to be preserved in barite in the geological record. Similarities between the Flybye barite tufa and carbonate spring deposits demonstrate that analogous textures can develop in chemical sedimentary systems with distinct mineralogy, biology and physiochemistry.     

Shoreline tufa and tufaglomerate from Pleistocene Lake Bonneville,Utah, USA: stable isotopic and mineralogical records of lake conditions,processes, and climate

Shoreline carbonate deposits of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville record the conditions and processes within the lake, including the evaporative balance as well as vertical and lateral chemical and isotopic gradients. Tufas (swash‐zone) and tufaglomerates (cemented, subaqueous colluvium or beachrock) on multiple, well‐developed shorelines near the Silver Island Range, Utah, also present an opportunity to examine physicochemical lake processes through time. Three shorelines are represented by carbonate deposits, including the 23–20 ka Stansbury stage, 15–14.5 ka Bonneville stage, and 14.5–14 ka Provo stage. Mean δ¹⁸O_VSMOW values of all three shorelines are statistically indistinguishable ( ～ 27 ± 1‰), when a few Bonneville samples of unusual composition are neglected. However, differences in primary carbonate mineralogy indicate that the correspondence is an artefact of the different fractionation factors between calcite or aragonite and water. Second, in order to sustain a much smaller, shallower lake during the colder Stansbury stage, the climate must have also been relatively dry. Third, δ¹⁸O values in tufa are higher than tufaglomerate by ～ 0.5‰, consistent with greater evaporative enrichment of lake water in the swash zone. Fourth, mean δ¹³C values for the Provo, Stansbury and Bonneville shorelines (4.4, 5.0 and 5.2‰, respectively) show that carbon species were dominated by atmospheric exchange, with the variations produced by differences in the oxidation of organic matter. Comparisons of shoreline carbonates with deep‐lake marls of the same approximate age indicate that shoreline carbonate was much higher in δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values (both ～ 2.5‰) during Bonneville time, whereas isotopic differences were minor (both ～ 1‰) in Stansbury time. In particular, the Bonneville stage may have sustained large vertical or lateral isotopic gradients due to evaporative enrichment effects on δ¹⁸O values. In contrast, the lake during the much shallower Stansbury stage may have been well mixed. Differences in the primary mineralogy (Stansbury and Bonneville, aragonite > calcite; Provo, calcite > aragonite) reflect profound differences in lake chemistry in terms of open versus closed‐basin lakes. The establishment of a continuous outlet during Provo time probably reduced the Mg²⁺/Ca²⁺ ratio of lake water. Curiously, regardless of primary mineralogy, tufaglomerate cements are enriched in Na⁺ and Cl^? and depleted in Mg²⁺ relative to capping tufa of the same age. This probably reflects vital or kinetic effects in the swash zone (tufa). We suspect that ‘abiotic’ effects may have been important in the dark pore space of developing tufaglomerate, where the absence of light suppressed photosynthesis. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

团簇同位素的基本原理与地质应用*

团簇同位素指的是含有2个及2个以上的重同位素结合在一起形成的同位素体。团簇同位素的数值定义为同位素体的相对丰度偏离随机分布状态的程度。测量该相对丰度较低的同位素体需要高精度的质谱仪,难点在于利用同位素组成已知的参考气体和不同同位素组成的加热气体,以获得绝对参考体系下的数值。团簇同位素体的相对丰度非常低,但是具有非常独特的物理和化学性质。比如碳酸盐矿物中¹³C¹⁸O¹⁶O的丰度对温度具有敏感性,而与矿物的全岩同位素以及矿物形成时期的流体性质无关,因此可以利用测量的碳酸盐团簇同位素来获得矿物的生长温度,再利用矿物的氧同位素(δ¹⁸O),根据传统的氧同位素温度计原理,可以进一步获得矿物的生长流体(水)的氧同位素。目前,团簇同位素温度计已经在古气候(温度)重建、古高度恢复、碳酸盐岩的成岩作用以及甲烷的成因分析等方面得到了广泛应用。评估深埋高温过程引起的C-O化学键重置对碳酸盐团簇同位素的影响、测试仪器产生对团簇同位素的非线性误差校正、以及其他丰度更低的团簇同位素体或大分子的团簇同位素的测量,是下一步的研究方向。     

云南白水台钙华景区的水化学和碳氧同位素特征及其在古环境重建研究中的意义

采用水化学仪器自动记录、现场滴定和样品碳氧稳定同位素测试相结合等方法,对云南中甸白水台钙华景区的水化学和碳氧稳定同位素特征进行了综合分析。主要结论是:形成白水台钙华的泉水具有很高的钙和重碳酸根离子浓度,相应地,泉水的CO₂分压显著高于土壤生物成因所能产生的CO₂分压。结合泉水出露的地质条件及其碳稳定同位素特征(^δ13C=-1.23‰)的分析,进一步发现,高CO₂分压主要与深部地热成因的CO₂有关,而非原来普遍认为的“是温暖湿润气候的产物”。可见,白水台钙华属于热成因类钙华。由此,根据白水台不同时代钙华氧稳定同位素组成的差异,对钙华形成时的水温进行了计算。结果发现自白水台钙华形成以来,水温变化高达11℃,即从最老(<35万年)钙华形成时的21℃降至现在的10℃。这可能与本地区强烈抬升导致的气温降低有关,也可能反映出地热对水温的影响在降低。此外,本文对用热成因类钙华进行古环境重建研究中值得注意的问题也做了讨论。这些问题包括放射性碳测年中“死碳”(来自深部碳酸盐碳和深部CO₂)的干扰及由深源CO₂和CO₂自水中逸出导致的钙华¹³C富集,后者在利用类似热成因碳酸盐沉积的^δ13C进行古植被重建时也是必须考虑的问题     

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ47) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

The reconstruction of past diagenetic conditions in sedimentary basins is often under‐constrained. This results from both the analytical challenge of performing the required analyses on the minute sample amounts available from diagenetic mineral phases and the lack of tracers for some of the diagenetic parameters. The carbonate clumped isotope thermometry (Δ₄₇) opens new perspectives for unravelling the temperatures of diagenetic phases together with the source of their parent fluids, two parameters that are otherwise impossible to constrain in the absence of exploitable fluid inclusions. Here is reported the study of a large number of sedimentary and diagenetic carbonate phases (from Middle Jurassic reservoirs of the Paris Basin depocentre) by combining detailed petrographic observations with a large number of Δ₄₇ data (n  > 45) on a well‐documented paragenetic sequence, including calcite and dolomite burial cements. The data reveal carbonate crystallization at temperatures between 29°C and 98°C from fluids with δ ¹⁸O_water values between −7‰ and +2‰, in response to the progressive burial and uplift of the Paris Basin, throughout 165 Myr of basin evolution. Coupled with the time–temperature evolution previously estimated from thermal maturity modelling, these temperatures allow determining the timing of four successive cementation episodes. The overall data set indicates a history of complex water mixing with a significant contribution of hypersaline waters from the Triassic aquifers migrated upward along faults during the Cretaceous subsidence of the basin. Subsequent large‐scale infiltrations of meteoric waters induced a dilution of these pre‐existing brines in response to the Paris Basin uplift in the Tertiary. Overall, the data presented here allow proposing an integrated approach to characterize the cementation events affecting the studied carbonate reservoir units, based on temperature, oxygen isotope composition and salinity of the parent fluids as well as on petrographic grounds.     

Carbon and Oxygen Isotopic Composition of Surface‐Sediment Carbonate in Bosten Lake (Xinjiang,China) and its Controlling Factors

Bosten Lake is a mid-latitude lake with water mainly supplied by melting ice and snow in the Tianshan Mountains. The depositional environment of the lake is spatially not uniform due to the proximity of the major inlet and the single outlet in the western part of the lake. The analytical results show that the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of recent lake sediments is related to this specific lacustrine depositional environment and to the resulting carbonate mineralogy. In the southwestern lake region between the Kaidu River inlet and the Kongqi River outlet, carbon isotope composition (δ13C) values of the carbonate sediment (?1‰ to ?2‰) have no relation to the oxygen isotope composition of the carbonate (δ18O) values (?7‰ to ?8‰), with both isotopes showing a low variability. The carbonate content is low (<20%). Carbonate minerals analyzed by X-ray diffraction are mainly composed of calcite, while aragonite was not recorded. The salinity of the lake water is low in the estuary region as a result of the Kaidu River inflow. In comparison, the carbon and oxygen isotope values are higher in the middle and eastern parts of the lake, with δ13C values between approximately +0.5‰ and +3‰, and δ18O values between ?1‰ and ?5‰. There is a moderate correlation between the stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, with a coefficient of correlation r of approximately 0.63. This implies that the lake water has a relatively short residence time. Carbonate minerals constitute calcite and aragonite in the middle and eastern region of the lake. Aragonite and Mg–calcite are formed at higher lake water salinity and temperatures, and larger evaporation effects. More saline lake water in the middle and eastern region of the lake and the enhanced isotopic equilibrium between water and atmospheric CO2 cause the correlating carbon and oxygen isotope values determined for aragonite and Mg–calcite. Evaporation and biological processes are the main reasons for the salinity and carbonate mineralogy influence of the surface-sediment carbonate in Bosten Lake. The lake water residence time and the CO2 exchange between the atmosphere and the water body control the carbon and oxygen isotope composition of the carbonate sediment. In addition, organic matter pollution and decomposition result in the abnormally low carbon isotope values of the lake surface-sediment carbonate.     

Sedimentological and palaeohydrological characterization of Late Pleistocene and Holocene tufa mound palaeolakes using trenching methods in the Spanish Pyrenees

Lakes developed in the inner depressions of tufa mounds are rare geomorphic features and still poorly understood. Sedimentation in this unusual type of endorheic lake with a very restricted catchment area is highly sensitive to environmental and hydrological changes. The Isona tufa mound complex, north‐eastern Iberian Peninsula, is associated with the discharge zone of a confined artesian aquifer and comprises 11 tufa mounds consisting of an annular rimstone enclosing a central depression filled with lake deposits. Data gathered from trenches excavated in four palaeolakes located within three different morphostratigraphic units permitted a precise analysis of the geometrical characteristics and stratigraphic relationships of the deposits and provided a sedimentation model for the Late Quaternary infilling of the spring‐fed lakes. The work illustrates that trenches allow a precise characterization of the stratigraphic arrangements, lateral facies changes and deformation structures, which are not apparent in studies relying solely on borehole records, and facilitate sampling for dating and geochemical analyses. The five sedimentary facies described represent different evolutionary stages of the lakes, including: (i) carbonate‐rich palustrine deposits probably related to periods with strong hydrological seasonality; (ii) massive highly bioturbated organic ooze; (iii) banded organic carbonate‐rich facies associated with an increase in the regional effective moisture; (iv) fine‐grained quartz‐rich aeolian/slope‐wash sediments; and (v) colluvial facies deposited following the desiccation of the lakes located at higher altitudes. Geochemical and sedimentological analyses of the lacustrine sequences provided information on the palaeohydrological evolution of the Isona tufa mound complex and the palaeoenvironmental conditions of the area over the last 28 ka. Radiometric dating suggests that deposition occurred simultaneously at ca 22 ka in palaeolakes situated at different elevations. A drop in the piezometric level prompted by the opening of springs at lower altitudes probably caused the deactivation of the upper springs and the desiccation of the lakes. Arid conditions prevailed in the area during the Late Glacial and the early Holocene (28·0 to 8·5 ka bp ). More humid conditions recorded from 8·5 to 4·2 ka and again since 1·7 ka are in accordance with palaeoenvironmental reconstructions available in the Western Mediterranean since the Last Glacial Maximum.     

Stable isotopic and elemental characteristics of recent tufa from a karstic Krka River (south‐east Slovenia): useful environmental proxies?

Tufa samples from 16 consecutive barrages along a 13 km section of the groundwater‐fed Krka River (Slovenia) were analysed for their petrographical, mineralogical, elemental and stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope composition, to establish their relation to current climatic and hydrological conditions. Waters constantly oversaturated with calcite and the steep morphology of the Krka riverbed stimulate rapid CO₂ degassing and subsequent tufa precipitation. The carbon isotope fractionation (Δ¹³C) between dissolved inorganic carbon and tufa in the Krka River evolves towards isotopic equilibrium being controlled by continuous CO₂ degassing and tufa precipitation rate downstream. The Δ¹³C increased from 1·9 to 2·5‰ (VPDB); however, since tufa precipitation rates remain similar downstream, the major controlling factor of carbon isotope exchange is most probably related to the continuous ¹²CO₂ degassing downstream leaving the carbon pool enriched in ¹³C. In the case of oxygen, the isotope fractionation (Δ¹⁸O) was found to be from 1·0 to 2·3‰ (VSMOW) smaller than reported in the literature. The observed discrepancies are due to different precipitation rates of calcite deposits because Krka tufas on cascades grow relatively faster compared to slowly precipitated calcite deposits in cave or stream pools. Due to non‐equilibrium oxygen isotope exchange between Krka tufa and water, the δ¹⁸O proxy showed from 1·2 to 8·2°C higher calculated water temperatures compared to measured water temperatures, demonstrating that δ¹⁸O proxy‐based temperature equations are not reliable for water temperature calculations of fast‐growing tufa on cascades. Because Mg is bound to the terrigenous dolomite fraction in the Krka tufa samples, the Mg/Ca was also found to be an unreliable temperature proxy yielding over up to 20°C higher calculated water temperatures.     

Large tufa mounds,Searles Lake,California

Mounds that have formed around spring vents occur in a variety of environmental settings, many at sites generally difficult or inaccessible for sampling. In contrast, over 500 tufa mounds occur in the dry bed of Searles Lake, California. The mounds range from minor features to 45 m in height; most are 5 to 12 m high. These mounds, composed of calcite and aragonite, formed associated with spring vents in the Pleistocene lake bottom. Thus, analyses of these mounds in Searles Lake provide a model with regard to the origin and architecture of tufa mounds. The mounds consist of four distinctive tufa facies. The initial deposits consist of porous tufa, including the innermost (porous 1) and the outermost (porous 2) deposits, followed by nodular tufa, then columnar tufa, and laminated crusts. There are two simple sequences of tufa deposition. The first sequence is from porous 1 to nodular to laminated crusts and, finally, to porous 2. A second sequence consists of: porous 1 to columnar to laminated crusts and, lastly, to porous 2. Facies changes are a response to changes in environmental conditions from deep water (porous 1 facies) to an essentially dry lake phase (during and after the formation of laminated crusts facies), to deep water (porous 2 facies) and, at the present time, totally dry. The primary constituents that comprise the tufa deposits include thin laminae, pisoids, spherulites, peloids and stromatolite‐like crusts. On the microscopic scale, these constituents dominantly make up nano‐spheres, micro‐rods and rod‐like crystals, as well as other calcified bodies. These constituents are interpreted to be the calcified remains of bacterial bodies. These findings suggest that microbial participation in the construct of other mounds should be a major concern of investigation, both for terrestrial and extraterrestrial spring‐fed mounds.     

Clumped isotope thermometry of carbonatites as an indicator of diagenetic alteration

We measure the clumped isotopic signature of carbonatites to assess the integrity of the clumped isotope paleothermometer over long timescales (10⁷-10⁹ years) and the susceptibility of the proxy to closed system re-equilibration of isotopes during burial diagenesis. We find pristine carbonatites that have primary oxygen isotope signatures, along with a Carrara marble standard, do not record clumped isotope signatures lighter than 0.31‰ suggesting atoms of carbon and oxygen freely exchange within the carbonate lattice at temperatures above 250-300 °C. There is no systematic trend in the clumped isotope signature of pristine carbonatites with age, although partial re-equilibration to lower temperatures can occur if a carbonatite has been exposed to burial temperatures for long periods of time. We conclude that the solid-state re-ordering of carbon and oxygen atoms is sufficiently slow to enable the use of clumped isotope paleothermometry on timescales of 10⁸ years, but that diagenetic resetting can still occur, even without bulk recrystallization. In addition to the carbonatite data, an inorganic calibration of the clumped isotope paleothermometer for low temperature carbonates (7.5-77 °C) is presented and highlights the need for further inter-lab standardization.     

A new approach to geobarometry by combining fluid inclusion and clumped isotope thermometry in hydrothermal carbonates

This study presents a new approach to geobarometry by combining fluid inclusion and clumped isotope (Δ₄₇) thermometry on carbonate minerals. The offset between homogenisation temperatures of primary fluid inclusions with known composition and Δ₄₇ temperatures of the host mineral allows a direct estimation of the fluid pressure at the time of carbonate crystallisation. This new approach is illustrated via hydrothermal dolomite samples from the Variscan foreland fold‐and‐thrust belt in northern Spain. Clumped isotope analyses yield crystallisation temperatures (107–168°C) which are higher than homogenisation temperatures in corresponding samples (95–145°C). The calculated pressure values suggest that dolomitizing fluids were overpressured during formation of zebra dolomite textures, whereas lower pressures are obtained for dolomite cement from breccia textures. This new approach to geobarometry opens up the possibility of estimating the pressure of carbonate crystallisation and has potential applications in diagenesis, basin analysis, ore geology and tectonics.     

Using fossil spring deposits in the Death Valley region,USA to evaluate palaeoflowpaths

Spring deposits reveal the timing and environment of past groundwater discharge. Herein, however, the potential for fossil spring deposits to infer water sources and palaeoflowpaths through trace elements and stable and radiogenic isotopes is examined. Past discharge (70 to 285 ka) in the Tecopa Basin in the Death Valley region of southeastern California is represented by tufa deposits, including mounds, pools, cemented ledges and rare calcite feeder veins. δ¹⁸O values indicate that spring discharge was a mixture of far‐travelled (regional) water with a significant, and perhaps dominant contribution of local recharge on a nearby range front and alluvial pediment, rather than simply representing an elevated regional water table. δ¹³C values indicate regional water had a high TDS, whereas solute data imply low overall solute contents, consistent with dilution by a large component of local recharge. Radiogenic isotope data (U‐series, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) for tufa indicate that siliciclastic rocks (a regional aquitard) interacted with discharging water. To access this aquitard, regional flow was probably partitioned into a permeable north–south damage zone of a north–south range‐bounding fault along the foot of the Resting Spring Range, which ultimately controlled the location of groundwater discharge. Existing models for modern discharge in the Tecopa Basin, by contrast, call upon westward interbasin flow in carbonate rocks from the Spring Mountains through the intervening (and nearly perpendicular) Nopah and Resting Spring Ranges. Understanding the controls on regional groundwater flow is critical in this and other arid regions where water is, by definition, a scarce resource. Thus, although it is a case study, this report highlights a fruitful approach to palaeohydrology that can be widely applied. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

国际全球变化研究发展态势文献计量评价

-全球变化研究是国际上地球系统综合研究的重大跨学科研究领域。随着全球环境问题的日益突出，国际上先后组织发起了全球环境变化研究的四大科学计划WCRP、IGBP、IHDP、DIVERSITAS及其组成的地球系统科学联盟ESSP，开展对全球变化和地球系统科学的研究。当前，全球变化问题不仅是科学界关注和研究的问题，也是政治界、经济界都关注的重大问题。 科技文献能够反映科学前沿的发展动态。对SCIE和SSCI数据库收录的全球变化研究文献进行统计，从文献计量学的角度，分析国际全球变化研究领域的发展态势，了解中国全球变化研究的国际影响力。可以看出：国际上全球变化研究的论文数量一直呈增长趋势，以地球科学多学科、生态学、环境科学、自然地理学、植物学等学科领域为主。中国自2000年以来在该领域的发文数量增长较快，特别是中国科学院的发文量已进入国际前列，但中国在该研究领域尚缺少高影响力的论文。     

新生代深海冷水碳酸盐泥丘成因及IODP 307航次初步研究结果

记述了新生代深海冷水碳酸盐泥丘近期的9个重要研究事件;总结了冷水泥丘具有全球海洋(大陆斜坡为主)分布、形态各异、冷水枝状珊瑚构筑泥丘的特点;介绍了冷水泥丘形成的(地质流体渗流和微生物作用)内因及(海底牵引底流作用)外因两种主要观点.对2005年IODP 307航次实施的北大西洋Porcupine Seabight冷水泥丘大洋钻探工作初步成果进行了编译,公布了中国科学家在碳氧同位素方面的初步实验结果.实验结果显示上新世中期以来的2 Ma里冷水碳酸盐泥丘启动和发育过程中存在2次碳氧同位素偏移事件(Ⅰ和Ⅱ),碳氧同位素偏移事件Ⅰ与泥丘的启动相呼应,暗示北大西洋古海洋气候发生巨大变化,可能与北极冰盖极盛有关.     

Clumped-isotope geochemistry of carbonates: A new tool for the reconstruction of temperature and oxygen isotope composition of seawater

Clumped-isotope geochemistry deals with the state of ordering of rare isotopes in molecules, in particular with their tendency to form bonds with other rare isotopes rather than with the most abundant ones. Among its possible applications, carbonate clumped-isotope thermometry is the one that has gained most attention because of the wide potential of applications in many disciplines of the earth sciences. In particular, it allows reconstructing the temperature of formation of carbonate minerals without knowledge of the isotopic composition of the water from which they were formed. In addition, the O isotope composition of the waters from which they were formed can be calculated using the δ¹⁸O of the same carbonate sample. This feature offers new approaches in paleoclimatology for reconstructing past global geochemical cycles. In this contribution two applications of this method are presented. First the potential of a new analytical method of measurement of clumped isotopes on small samples of foraminifera, for high-resolution SST and seawater δ¹⁸O reconstructions from marine sediments is shown. Furthermore the potential of clumped isotope analysis of belemnites, for reconstructing seawater δ¹⁸O and temperatures in the Cretaceous is shown.     

Pleistocene geochemical stratigraphy of the borehole 1317E (IODP Expedition 307) in Porcupine Seabight,SW of Ireland: applications to palaeoceanography and palaeoclimate of the coral mound development

Stable isotopes and element compositions of the fine‐grained matrix were measured for IODP Expedition 307 Hole U1317E drilled from the summit of Challenger Mound in Porcupine Seabight, northeast Atlantic, to explore the palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic background to development of the deep‐water coral mound. The 155 m long mound section was divided into two units by an unconformity at 23.6 mbsf: Unit M1 (2.6–1.7 Ma) and Unit M2 (1.0–0.5 Ma). Results from 519 specimens show a difference in δ¹³C value between Unit M1 (?0.6‰ to ?5.0‰) and Unit M2 (?1.0‰ to 1.0‰), but such a distinct difference was not seen in δ¹⁸O values (1.0‰–2.5‰), CaCO₃ content (40–60 wt%), Sr/Ca ratio (2.0–8.0 mmol mol^?1), and Mg/Ca ratio (10.0–20.0 mmol mol^?1) through the mound. Positive δ¹⁸O and negative δ¹³C shifts at the mound base are consistent with the oceanographic changes in the northeast Atlantic at the beginning of the Quaternary. The positive δ¹³C regression in Unit M2 suggests a linkage to the mid Pleistocene intensified glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere. Warm Mediterranean Upper Core Water of Mediterranean Outflow Water, Eastern North Atlantic Water and cold Labrador Sea Water of North Atlantic Deep Water are key oceanographic features that cause spikes and shifts in stable isotope and element composition. However, the stable isotope values of the sediment matrix could not primarily record the glacial–interglacial eustatic/temperature change, but indirectly indicate current regimes of the intermediate oceanic layer where the coral mound grew. Similarly, elemental ratios and CaCO₃ content may not represent the productivity and temperature of surface sea water, respectively, but superpose the fractions from both surface and bottom water. It is concluded that palaeoceanographic change coupled to the Pleistocene glacial/interglacial cycles is a key control on the geochemical stratigraphy of the matrix sediments of the carbonate mound developed in Porcupine Seabight. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

层状钙华及其地球化学指标的古气候/环境意义

层状钙华作为高分辨率古气候环境重建记录已被国内外许多学者所关注.钙华的微层厚度、氧碳同位素组成和微量元素的含量都呈现出随季节变化的周期性特点.钙华年层的形成与方解石沉积速率或者微生物生长活性的季节变化有关;氧同位素组成的变化主要受温度和沉积水体的δ18O控制,但蒸发作用(尤其是在干旱区)也有重要影响;钙华的稳定碳同位素...     

Uranium-Series Dating of Carbonate (Tufa) Deposits Associated with Quaternary Fluctuations of Pyramid Lake, Nevada

Uranium-series dating of dense tufa deposited in a small cave, at former lake margins, and in large tufa mounds clarifies the timing of lake-level variation during the past 400,000 yr in the Pyramid Lake basin. A moderate-sized lake occasionally overflowed the Emerson Pass sill at elevation of 1207 m between ca. 400,000 and 170,000 and from ca. 60,000 to 20,000 yr B.P., as shown by²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ages of the cave samples,²³⁰Th-excess ages of tubular tufas, and average isochron-plot ages of shoreline-deposited tufas. (By comparison, modern Pyramid Lake is 50 m below this sill). There is a lack of tufa record during the intervening period from ca. 170,000 to 60,000 yr B.P. After ca. 20,000 yr, Pyramid Lake underwent abrupt changes in level and, based on previous¹⁴C ages, reached its highest elevation (ca 1335 m) at ca. 14,000 yr B.P. The youngest uranium-series ages are comparable with previously reported¹⁴C ages.     

Copper isotopes trace the evolution of skarn ores: A case study from the Hongshan-Hongniu Cu deposit,southwest China

Transition metal isotopes are sensitive geochemical tracers of ore genesis. Here we present MC-ICP-MS analytical data of Cu isotope compositions from the Hongshan-Hongniu Cu deposit in Yunnan province. The δ⁶⁵Cu values (δ⁶⁵Cu = [(⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu)_sample/(⁶⁵Cu/⁶³Cu)_NIST976 − 1] × 1000) of seven whole-rock quartz monzonite porphyries and twenty-two chalcopyrite samples from the skarn ore-bodies display relatively narrow ranges from −0.15‰ to 0.38‰ and from −0.02‰ to 0.77‰, respectively. The overlap of δ⁶⁵Cu values indicates a genetic relationship between the quartz monzonite porphyry and skarn ore-bodies. We also evaluate the spatial and temporal variations of Cu isotope compositions in the skarn ore-bodies by comparison with some well-documented porphyry deposits in the world. The quartz monzonite porphyry shows compositional zoning with the inner domain enriched in heavy Cu isotope and the skarn related to the porphyry depleted in heavy Cu isotope. The chalcopyrites that formed during the late stage of mineralization tend to be enriched in heavy Cu isotope, and this feature is analogous to porphyry deposits. The δ⁶⁵Cu values of the quartz monzonite porphyry show typical features of hypogene mineralization, suggesting a potential scope for deep exploration and development in this deposit.