The INQUA Loess Commission as a Central European Enterprise

The International Union of Quaternary Research (INQUA) organized the study and consideration of the Quaternary Period (the last 2.6 million years in Earth’s history) via a set of commissions, sub-commissions, working groups, projects and programmes. One of the most successful and best records was the Loess Commission (LC) which functioned assub-commission and then commission from 1961 to 2003, resulting in 40 years of useful activity. The history of the LC can be divided into three phases: 1, from 1961–1977 when the President was Julius Fink; 2, from 1977–1991, with President Marton Pecsi; 3, from 1991–2003 with Presidents An Zhi-Sheng and Ian Smalley. Fink, from Vienna, and Pecsi, from Budapest, gave the LC a distinctly Central European aspect. The nature of loess in Central Europe influenced the nature of the LC but the settings for phases 1 and 2 were quite distinct. Phase 1 was a small scale academic operation, carried out in German. As phase 2 began in 1977 the scope expanded and Central Europe became a base for worldwide loess studies. where the LC language changed to English. Phase 2 was run from a National Geographical Institute and demonstrated a different approach to loess research, although the basic programmes of continent-wide mapping and stratigraphy remained the same. The Commission benefited from this change of style and emphasis. In phase 3 the administration moved away from Central Europe but the Finkian ethos remained solid.     

Mantle peridotites from the Western Pacific

We review petrographical and petrological characteristics of mantle peridotite xenoliths from the Western Pacific to construct a petrologic model of the lithospheric mantle beneath the convergent plate boundary. The peridotite varies from highly depleted spinel harzburgite of low-pressure origin at the volcanic front of active arcs (Avacha of Kamchatka arc and Iraya of Luzon–Taiwan arc) to fertile spinel lherzolite of high-pressure origin at the Eurasian continental margin (from Sikhote-Alin through Korea to eastern China) through intermediate lherzolite–harzburgite at backarc side of Japan island arcs. Oxygen fugacity recorded by the peridotite xenoliths decreases from the frontal side of arc to the continental margin. The sub-arc type peridotite is expected to exist beneath the continental margin if accretion of island arc is one of the important processes for continental growth. Its absence suggests replacement by the continental lherzolite at the region of backarc to continental margin. Asthenospheric upwelling beneath the continental region, which has frequently occurred at the Western Pacific, has replaced depleted sub-cratonic peridotite with the fertile spinel lherzolite. Some of these mantle diapirs had opened backarc basins and strongly modified the lithospheric upper mantle by metasomatism and formation of Group II pyroxenites.     

The Holocene expansion of grassland in northern Europe reconstructed from molluscan assemblages

From the synthesis of the malacological data collected from 12 sites in the large flood‐plain of the Seine basin, three main environmental stages have been reconstructed. During the first half of the Holocene, forest environments are prevalent (Seine 1). As early as c. 6.5 cal. ka BP, the first evidence of woodland clearance is observed (Seine 2) and, from c. 3.4 cal. ka BP, the lowlands were largely cleared of trees and are dominated by grassland (Seine 3). This three‐stage development of environmental conditions is consistent with the environmental developments reconstructed from molluscan successions in England, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Our results highlight anthropogenic disturbance as the key factor in the openness of the Holocene landscape and pinpoint the period between c. 3.6 and c. 2.8 cal. ka BP as a transitional phase of this large‐scale environmental change.     

The chemical composition of medieval wood ash glass from Central Europe

Medieval wood ash glass classified as 6 early medieval wood ash glasses, 17 wood ash glasses, 5 early wood ash lime glasses, 7 wood ash lime glasses and 9 mixed alkali glasses has been analyzed by microprobe and ICP-mass spectrometry on 61 elements. Their calcium oxide to potassium oxide ratio (CaO/K₂O) increases from early to late medieval glasses according to an increase of the proportion of twigs in the bulk amount of wood (logs plus twigs). Twigs because of their relatively large proportion of bark contain more calcium than wood logs. The ratio CaO/K₂O of the glasses from not yet evaluated excavations can be used for dating. The observation that the 25 minor elements Be, Sc, V, Cr, Ge, Y, Nb, REE (La to Lu), Ta, W and Bi occur in almost equal concentrations in the five subtypes of wood ash glass makes it highly probable that these elements were introduced into the starting mixtures of the glasses by means of quartz from quartz-rich sand with heavy minerals. The majorities of the wood ash glasses contain so-called europium anomalies within the group of rare-earth elements (REE). Their Eu concentrations normalized to those of the Continental Earth's Crust are lower than the normalized samarium and gadolinium concentrations. These Eu anomalies are apparently inherited from the granitic source of quartz in the upper Continental Earth's Crust. Soda ash and soda lime glass as the other major types in the history of glass contain no Eu anomaly. Therefore a different source of quartz has caused this important element constellation for these glass types. The elements K, Cu, Rb and S are physiologically separated from Ca, P, Mn, Sr and B during the growth of the wood and bark, respectively, in the trees. Different sources of the metals Cu and Co were used for colouring the glasses of our report.     

Xenotime in the Lower Buntsandstein of Central Europe: Evidence from cathodoluminescence investigation

Xenotime and zircon in heavy mineral separates of siliciclastic sediments can easily be distinguished by means of cathodoluminescence (CL). All shades of bright blue, yellow and grey to white colours have been reported for zircon while only bottle green to greenish yellow colours have been found in xenotime in heavy mineral separates of Lower Buntsandstein samples as well as in two samples from crystalline rocks from Bahia (Brazil) and the Karpaty Mts. (Slovakia). The CL-spectra of both minerals are commonly dominated by narrow emission bands of rare earth elements, especially Dy³⁺. The two different crystal lattices induce differences in the intensity ratios of the emission lines that are thought to be the reason for the different CL-colours. Additionally, intrinsic broad bands that may occur in the CL-spectra of zircon are missing in the xenotime spectra. The possibility to distinguish minerals with similar optical properties underlines the large potential of cathodoluminescence in sedimentary petrology.     

Evidence for a nitrogen flux directly derived from the European subcontinental mantle in the Western Eger Rift, Central Europe

In the Czech-German border region of the Vogtland and NW Bohemia (western Eger rift, Central Europe), chemical and isotopic compositions (C, N, He, Ar) of free gas from a thermal water escape (fluorite mine, Schönbrunn), two mineral springs (“Eisenquelle,” Bad Brambach; “Sprudel III,” Bad Elster) and a mofette (Bublak) located along an ∼40-km long traverse are reported. The gases of Bublak and Bad Brambach are CO₂-rich (>99 vol.%) and have δ¹³C values of −1.95 and −4.29‰, respectively. With distance from the center of CO₂ degassing (Bublak) the δ¹³C values decrease, most likely due to physico-chemical fractionation of CO₂ between gaseous and aqueous phases rather than to admixture of organic/biogenic CO₂. The δ¹⁵N values range between −3.2 and −0.6‰, compared to an upper mantle value of −4.0 ± 1.0‰. The four locations are characterized by ³He/⁴He ratios decreasing from 5.9 R_a in the center (Bublak) to 0.8 R_a in the periphery (Schönbrunn) and give evidence for mixing of He from a deep-seated magmatic source with a crustal source. The location with the highest ³He/⁴He ratio (5.9 R_a) is accompanied by the highest ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar (550). We argue that the nitrogen of the Bublak mofette gas is a mixture of predominantly atmospheric and mantle-derived components, whereas at the other three locations crustal nitrogen may also be present. The Bublak δ¹⁵N value of ≈−4.5 ± 1.0‰ represents the first free gas δ¹⁵N reference from the European subcontinental mantle (ESCM) and indicates that, in contrast to the ³He/⁴He ratios, the δ¹⁵N values are equal for ESCM and MORB, respectively.     

2018 Report from the Chinese Working Group of IGCP 608

正IGCP 608"Cretaceous ecosystems and their responses to paleoenvironmental changes in South to East Asia and the Western Pacific"was issued and supported by IGCP on 11March 2013.In this project,the spatial-temporal paleoenvironmental and paleoecosystem changes during the Cretaceous in the South to East Asia and Western Pacific region will be delineated on the basis of paleoproxy data and a diversified fossil record from wider areas and different locations.     

The seismogenic zone in the Central Costa Rican Pacific margin: high-quality hypocentres from an amphibious network

Transition from subduction of normal to thickened oceanic crust occurs in the central portion of the Costa Rican margin, where large interplate earthquakes (M ~ 7) and abundant interseismic seismicity have been associated with subduction of bathymetric highs. We relocated ~1,300 earthquakes recorded for 6 months by a combined on- and offshore seismological network using probabilistic earthquake relocation in a 3D P-wave velocity model. Most of the seismicity originated at the seismogenic zone of the plate boundary, appearing as an 18° dipping, planar cluster from 15 to 25–30 km depth, beneath the continental shelf. Several reverse focal mechanisms were resolved within the cluster. The upper limit of this interseismic interplate seismicity seems to be controlled primarily by the overlying-plate thickness and coherency, which in turn is governed by the erosional processes and fluid release and escape at temperatures lower than ~100 to 120 °C along the plate boundary. The downdip limit of the stick–slip behaviour collocates with relative low temperatures of ~150 to 200 °C, suggesting that it is controlled by serpentinization of the mantle wedge. The distribution of the interseismic interplate seismicity is locally modified by the presence of subducted seamounts at different depths. Unlike in northern Costa Rica, rupture of large earthquakes in the last two decades seems to coincide with the area defined by the interseismic interplate seismicity.     

西太平洋——我国深海科学研究的优先战略选区

西太平洋是我国实施由浅海向深海发展战略的必经之地.从国家需求的角度来看,西太平洋海底资源丰富、海洋环境复杂,是维护国家权益的焦点、保障国防安全的屏障;从科学前沿的角度来看,西太平洋发育有独特的沟弧盆构造体系和弧后盆地热液系统,存有海底板块运动的遗迹和众多海山生态系统,更是"大洋传送带"冷暖水系的转换区.科学有序地进入西...     

第二届全国地层委员会工作报告第二届全国地层委员会副主任程裕淇 (2000年5月26日上午)

主席、各位来宾、各位同志: 在国土资源部领导的大力支持下,第三届全国地层会议今天正式召开了!全国地层委员会是1959年在李四光、尹赞勋等老一辈地质科学家的倡导下,由地质部、国家科委、中国科学院、石油部、煤炭部、冶金部、建材部等有关部门及地质院校发起成立的,至今已有四十一年了.四十一年的实践证明,全国地层委员会的成立对促进我国地层学和地层工作的发展做出了突出的贡献.自1979年召开第二届全国地层会议以来,在原主管部门国家科委和挂靠单位地质部的领导与支持下第二届全国地层委员会团结全国地层工者,克服各种困难,做了大量工作.     

西太平洋深海沉积物古菌多样性分析

以提取并纯化的西太平洋深海沉积物DNA为模板,利用古菌PCR特异性引物扩增出样品中古菌的16S rDNA片段,构建其克隆文库,建立阳性克隆子RFLP(Restriction Fragment Length Polymor-phism)酶切图谱。据酶切图谱对所获得的90个克隆进行测序,并与数据库中的序列进行比对,从而进行古菌的多样性和系统发育分析。结果表明,沉积物中扩增的16S rDNA古菌序列分别来自泉古生菌(Crenarchaeota)和广古生菌(Euryarchaeota),以Marine Benthic Group B (11.8%)、Marine Benthic Group D (13.6%)、Marine Crenarchaeotic Group (68.69%)为主。少量序列为South African Gold Mine Euryarchaeotic Group (1.07%)、Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Euryarchaeotic Group (1.61%)、UIIB（1.25%）、VALIII（1.79%）、Marine Benthic Group E (0.18%)。以上结果表明西太平洋深海沉积物中有丰富多样的古菌群落。     

Oxygen consumption rates in pelagic sediments from the Central Pacific: First estimates from microelectrode profiles

Oxygen profiles in pelagic sediments from the Manganese Nodule Program calcareous and siliceous ooze sites (MANOP sites C and S) in the central Pacific Ocean were measured with microelectrodes and are used to predict oxygen consumption rates beneath the sediment-water interface. We explain possible artifacts which occur during sample recovery and argue that minimum estimates of 0.083 and 0.025 μ moles $\text{O}{}_2\text{cm}{}^2\text{day}$ (C and S, respectively) can be calculated from the data. These oxygen consumption rates are in good agreement with in situ respirometer measurements previously reported for comparable sediments in the north Pacific, but previous estimates based on modeling of pore water nitrate profiles at both sites are two to five times smaller than our minimum fluxes. The differences in oxygen fluxes calculated by the two methods are probably in part due to uncertainty in the assumptions inherent in the nitrate model. However, non-steady state fluctuations in particulate organic matter fluxes could also be a reason for the disparity.