The International Commission on the History of Geological Sciences （INHIGEO） Symposium on the historical relationship between geology and religion

The 32nd INHIGEO Symposium was held between 28 July and 5 August 2007 in Eichstatt, northeast Bavaria. This part of Bavaria is celebrated for many things, not least its diverse Jurassic fossils. Amongst the latter, the most famous is one of the great ＂missing links＂ in paleontology, the feathered Archaeopteryx with its reptilian teeth. Equally renowned is the lithographic limestone from Solnhofen that was used to produce the early illustrations of Archaeopteryx along with other countless maps and figures in publications well known to historians of geology. It was fitting that the symposium theme was ＂The Historical Relationship of Geology and Religion＂.     

Thermochronology of the Longmen Shan seismic fault and its implications for faulting activities.SCIEI北大核心CSCD

中生代和新生代多期次的新老构造活动叠加造成了龙门山现今地震频发和复杂的构造格局。沿2008年汶川地震断裂带出露有多种断裂岩组合,为直接开展断裂带热年代学研究提供了重要素材。本研究首次尝试针对映秀-北川断裂带出露的假玄武玻璃开展^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar年龄的多重扩散域(MDD)模拟研究。与钾长石相似的阶梯状上升的年龄谱图表明假玄武玻璃同样具有开展MDD模拟的应用潜力。模拟结果显示,映秀-北川断裂带分别经历了~230Ma和~180Ma起始的构造热事件,对应青藏高原东缘中-晚三叠世统一的挤压造山运动和造山后的伸展垮塌。断裂带内新获得的断层角砾岩磷灰石裂变径迹(AFT)结果与上、下盘已有结果共同组成了较为完整的年龄-高程剖面,揭示出年龄拐点出现在~13Ma,位于~1100m的海拔高度,与热历史反演结果一致,对应映秀-北川断裂带的出露位置,直接证实断裂活动在中中新世以来龙门山的隆升过程中发挥了重要作用。进入中中新世以来,龙门山断裂带的快速剥蚀和地温梯度的显著降低很可能暗示了构造活动机制上的重要转变。     

The Global Stratotype Section and Point （GSSP） for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch （Quaternary System/Period） in the NGRIP ice core

The Greenland ice core from NorthGRIP （NGRIP） contains a proxy climate record across the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary of unprecedented clarity and resolution. Analysis of an array of physical and chemical parameters within the ice enables the base of the Holocene, as reflected in the first signs of climatic warming at the end of the Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 cold phase, to be located with a high degree of precision.     

The Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point （GSSP） for the base of the Cenomanian Stage, Mont Risou, Hautes-Alpes, France

Following the unanimous recommendation of the International Commission on Stratigraphy, the Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Cenomanian Stage is defined at a level 36 metres below the top of the Marnes Bleues Formation, a level that corresponds to the the first appearance of the planktonic foraminiferan Rotalipora globotruncanoides Sigal, 1948, on the south side of Mont Risou, east of Rosans, Haute-Alpes, France, where it can be placed in the context of a series of secondary marker levels based on nannofossils, planktonic foraminifera, ammonites,and an ornate δ^13C curve.     

Ultraviolet absorbance titration for the determination of conditional stability constants of Hg（Ⅱ） and dissolved organic matter

Strong interaction between natural dissolved organic matter （DOM） and Hg（Ⅱ） may influence the transport, conversion, toxicity and bio-validity of mercury in the environment. In this paper ultraviolet （UV） absorbance titration was employed for the first time for the determination of the conditional stability constants of Hg（Ⅱ） and （DOM）. With increasing Hg（Ⅱ） concentrations, the UV absorbance of fulvic acid, humic acid, and DOM in river increases progressively. By linear and non-linear model fitting, the conditional stability constants （lgK） of Hg（Ⅱ） and DOM were worked out to be 3.54-4.93 and 3.64-4.85, respectively. The results are consistent with those acquired by the typical fluorescence quenching titration method, with the maximum relative error of lgK being 2.6% and the average relative error being 0.2%. The UV absorbance titration method has the advantages of rapid determination, simple performance, and it will probably become a new approach to studying interactions between DOM and trace metallic ions.     

Experimental and petrological constraints on local-scale interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H2O-CO2-（K, Na）Cl fluids at middle-crustal conditions： Example from the Limpopo Complex, South Africa

Reaction textures and fluid inclusions in the～2.0 Ga pyroxene-bearing dehydration zones within the Sand River biotite-hornblende orthogneisses（Central Zone of the Limpopo Complex） suggest that the formation of these zones is a result of close interplay between dehydration process along ductile shear zones triggered by H₂O-CO₂-salt fluids at 750—800℃and 5.5—6.2 kbar.partial melting,and later exsolution of residual brine and H₂O-CO₂ fluids during melt crystallization at 650—700℃.These processes caused local variations of water and alkali activity in the fluids,resulting in various mineral assemblages within the dehydration zone.The petrological observations are substantiated by experiments on the interaction of the Sand River gneiss with the H₂O-CO-2-（K,Na）Cl fluids at 750 and 800℃and 5.5 kbar.It follows that the interaction of biotite-amphibole gneiss with H₂O-CO₂-（K.Na）Cl fluids is accompanied by partial melting at 750—800℃.Orthopyroxene-bearing assemblages are characteristic for temperature 800℃and are stable in equilibrium with fluids with low salt concentrations,while salt-rich fluids produce clinopyroxene-bearing assemblages.These observations arc in good agreement with the petrological data on the dehydration zones within the Sand River orthoeneisses.