Discovery of Borax-bearing Mirabilite Beds in Dong Co, Northern Tibet, and Its Palaeoclimatic Significance

The authors investigated lacustrine chemical sediments on terrace-I of Dong Co-a salt lake in the interior of the northern Tibetan Plateau and firstly discovered borax and a complete sedimentary section with five pure mirabilite beds. According to the sedimentary characteristics of rhythmic layering, palaeotemperatures for the formation of the cold-phase mineral-mirabilite-at the profiles and 14C dating, the authors applied the theory and method of comparative salinology in the study of the history of the palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment of Dong Co in the early and middle Holocene and drew the conclusion that the salt lake had experienced the following climatic evolution: the warm and moist stage (>8470 a BP and possibly to 10500 a BP)→cold and dry stage (8470-8170 a BP)→warm and moist stage (8170-7590 a BP)→stage of repeated climatic oscillations (7590-7400 a BP, alternation of three dry oscillations and three moist oscillations in a generally cold climatic background)→cold and dry stage (7400-6     

Geophysical Surveys over Karst Recharge Features,Illinois,USA

Karst aquifers supply a significant fraction of the world's drinking water. These types of aquifers are alsohighly susceptible to pollution from the surface with recharge usually occurring through fractures and solution openings at the bedrock surface. Thickness of the protective soil cover, macropores and openings within the soil cover, and the nature of the weathered bedrock surface all influence infiltration. Recharge openings at the bedrock surface, however, are often covered by unconsolidated sediments, resulting in the inadvertent placement of landfills, unregulated dump sites, tailing piles, waste lagoons and septic systems over recharge zones. In these settings surface geophysical surveys, calibrated by a few soil cores, could be employed to identify these recharge openings, and qualitatively assess the protection afforded by the soil cover. In a test of this hypothesis, geophysical measurements accurately predicted the thickness of unconsolidated deposits overlying karstic dolomite at a site ab     

Gold—depleted Zone and Its Metallogenic Significance,Yinshan Ore Field,Jiangxi Proveince,China

Based on gold analyses of 213 samples of the Shuangqiaoshan Group in an area of 225km^2 with the Yinshan polymetallic ore district as the center, a depleted zone of gold is recognized around the ore district, suggesting that the Shuangqiaoshan Group may be a source bed for gold .Discus-sions were given concerning the alteration-mineralization features of the Yinshan deposit, the ore-controlling mechanism of the NE-trending fault zone and promising targets for further ore pros-pecting.     

A Large Dinosaur Assemblage has been Discovered in Pu’an, Yunyang County, Chongqing, China

<正>In June 2017,the Chongqing Municipal Government and Chinese scientists announced the discovery of a world-class dinosaur assemblage in Pu'an,a town of Yunyang County.Chongqing.This group of skeletons was buried in the Jurassic Ziliujing Formation Da'anzhai member and the lower and upper members of the Shaximiao Formation.The Da'anzhai member of the Ziliujing Formation is mainly bioclastic shale interbedded with thin     

Facies analysis and depositional environments of the Oligocene–Miocene Asmari Formation, Zagros Basin, Iran

The Asmari Formation(a giant hydrocarbon reservoir)is a thick carbonate sequence of the Oligocenee Miocene in the Zagros Basin,southwest of Iran.This formation is exposed at Tang-e-Lendeh in the Fars interior zone with a thickness of 190 m comprising medium and thick to massive bedded carbonates.The age of the Asmari Formation in the study area is the late Oligocene(Chattian)eearly Miocene(Burdigalian).Ten microfacies are defned,characterizing a gradual shallowing upward trend;the related environments are as follows:open marine(MF 8e10),restricted lagoon(MF 6e7),shoal(MF 3e5),lagoon(MF 2),and tidal fat(MF 1).Based on the environmental interpretations,a homoclinal ramp consisting of inner and middle parts prevails.MF 3e7 are characterized by the occurrence of large and small porcelaneous benthic foraminifera representing a shallow-water setting of an inner ramp,infuenced by wave and tidal processes.MF 8e10,with large particles of coral and algae,represent a deeper fair weather wave base of a middle ramp setting.     

Minerogenic Theory of the Superlarge Lop Nur Potash Deposit, Xinjiang, China

Located in the eastern part of the Tarim basin, Xinjiang, the Lop Nur was an ultimate water catchment area of the Tarim basin during the Quaternary. Through nearly ten years of investigation and research, the authors have found a superlarge brine potash deposit in the Luobei subbasitv—a secondary basin of the Lop Nur depression. The deposit has been mined now. On that basis, the authors propose new theories on the genesis of the potash rock deposit. In the tectonic and geomorphologic contexts, the Tarim basin lies in a “high mountain-deep basin” environment. At the beginning of the Quaternary, influenced by the neotectonic movement, the Lop Nur evolved into a “deep basin” in the Tarim basin. At the end of the middle Pleistocene, neotectonic migration began to take place in the interior of the Lop Nur and a new secondary deep basin—the Luobei subbasin—formed gradually. Despite its small area, it is actually the deepest subbasin in the Lop Nur depression, where brines of the Lop Nur Salt Lake gather and evaporate, thus providing materials for the formation of a superlarge brine potash rock deposit. With respect to the phenomenon of brine concentration and change with deepening of the lake, the authors propose a model of “high mountain-deep basin” tectonic migration for potash concentration. In the sedimentological context, the honeycomb-shaped voids developed in glauberite rock in the subbasin are good space for potash-rich brine accumulation. Study indicates that the deposition of glauberite requires recharge of calcium-rich water.In the Tarim area the calcium-rich water might come from deep formation water or oilfield water, and the river water recharging the Lop Nur Salt Lake was rich in sulfate radicals and other components; in addition, the climate in the area was very dry and the brine evaporated steadily, thus resulting in deposition of substantial amount of glauberite, potash accumulation in intercrystal brine and final formation of the potash deposit. Generally, potash formation in a salt lake undergoes a three-stage process of “carbonates→sulfates (gypsum and glauberite)→chlorides (halite etc.)”, but in the study area there only occurred a two-stage process of “carbonates→sulfates (gypsum and glauberite)”. The authors call this new geological phenomenon the “two-stage potash formation” model. In conclusion, the superlarge Lop Nur potash deposit is the result of combined “high mountain-deep basin” tectonism and “two-stage potash formation”.     

The Cretaceous Songliao Basin: Volcanogenic Succession, Sedimentary Sequence and Tectonic Evolution, NE China

The Songliao basin (SB) is a superposed basin with two different kinds of basin fills. The lower one is characterized by a fault-bounded volcanogenic succession comprising of intercalated volcanic, pyroclastic and epiclastic rocks. The volcanic rocks, dating from 110 Ma to 130 Ma, are of geochemically active continental margin type. Fast northward migration of the SB block occurred during the major episodes of the volcanism inferred from their paleomagnetic information. The upper one of the basin fill is dominated by non-marine sag-style sedimentary sequence of siliciclastics and minor carbonates. The basin center shifted westwards from the early to late Cretaceous revealed by the GGT seismic velocity structure suggesting dynamic change in the basin evolution. Thus, a superposed basin model is proposed. Evolution of the SB involves three periods including (1) Alptian and pre-Aptian: a retroarc basin and range system of Andes type related to Mongolia-Okhotsk collisional belt (MOCB); (2) Albian to Companian: a sag-like strike-slip basin under transtension related to oblique subduction of the Pacific plate along the eastern margin of the Eurasian plate; (3) since Maastrichtian: a tectonic inverse basin under compression related to normal subduction of the Pacific plate under the Eurasian plate, characterized by overthrust, westward migration of the depocenter and eastward uplifting of the basin margin.     

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.     

Hydrothermal H?gbomite Associated with Vanadiferous-Titaniferous (V-Ti) Bearing Magnetite Bands in Bhakatarhalli Chromite Mine, Nuggihalli Greenstone Belt, Western Dharwar Craton, Karnataka, India

Hogbomite,a rare exotic mineral,is found to be associated with the vanadiferous-titaniferous （V-Ti） bearing magnetite bands at Bhakatarhalli,Nuggihaifi greenstone belt,western Dharwar Craton,India.We report on a second occurrence of hogbomite from the Dharwar craton in Karnataka,which is the sixth documented occurrence of this mineral from India.We evaluate the chemical characteristics of hogbomite and associated Fe-Ti-minerals in an attempt to identify its formation as a primary hydrothermal mineral in a metamorphosed magnetite layer.We report here the presence of hogbomite as a complex oxide of Fe,Mg,Al and Ti with accessory of Zn,V and Sn.Petrographic studies suggest the （V-Ti） bearing magnetite （Mt） contain spinel,hogbomite,chlorite,martite,ilmenite （Ⅱ） and minor amounts of diaspore.The hogbomite displays euhedral to subhedral textures,and is up to 250 μm along the grain boundaries of magnetite and ilmenite.In the samples studied,hogbomite is prismatic,irregular and elongated in shape.The genesis of hogbomite in veins between magnetite and ilmenite implies its precipitation from fluids without involving complicated reactions.Several models were proposed for the formation of hogbomite; however,the subject is still debatable.     

Pygostyle-like Structure from Beipiaosaurus (Theropoda, Therizinosauroidea) from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China

Pygostyle was previously considered as a unique structure of ornithothoracine birds, used to maneuver tail feathers. A similar structure from an oviraptorosaurian dinosaur was considered functionally associated with the rectrices as in birds. We report a pygostyle-like structure from a therizinosauroid dinosaur. The presence of filamentous integuments, but absence of rectrices, on the tail of this therizinosauroid, combined with other lines of evidence, suggests that the initial function of the pygostyle was not related to the rectrices.     

Four centuries of geological travel： The search for knowledge on foot, bicycle, sledge and camel

The greater ease of travel in the twentieth century led Raymond Priestley, geologist to Ernest Shackleton＇s 1907-1909 Antarctic expedition, in discussing a University of Melbourne geology excursion to the gold mining area of Daylesford in September 1937, to record： ＂the new method of doing geology with a motor bus while very efficient is not as energetic as the old. It is true we see as much in a day as we used to see in the old days in a week,     

REE Geochemistry of Skarns in the Tongshan Copper Deposit, Guichi, Anhui Province

This paper presents REE abundance pattern and REE geochemistry of granodiorite porphyry, skarns, as well as late hydrothermal alterations in the Tongshan copper deposit, Guichi County and, in the light of their similarities and variations, deals with the genesis of the skarns and the transformation process of the post-skarn hydrothermal alterations. On such a basis, the inference is drawn that the skarn-forming solution was produced by further fractionation of residual magma, thus belonging to a transitional fluid between residual magma and hydrothermal solution which, with the continuous variation of its components during the metasomatism, tended to become a hydrothermal solution.     

The chromite deposits associated with ophiolite complexes, Southeastern Desert, Egypt： Petrological and geochemical characteristics and mineralization

1 Introduction The association of massive Fe-Ni-Cu sulfides andchromite is a very unusual feature of podiformchromitites occurring in mantle tectonites of ophioliticcomplexes. It has only been described in theSoutheastern Desert, Egypt, where sulfides a…     

LA-ICP-MS U-Pb Zircon Dating for Felsic Granulite, Huangtuling Area, North Dabieshan: Constraints on Timing of Its Protolith and Granulite-Facies Metamorphism, and Thermal Events in Its Provenance

Information about the protolith of the Huangtuling granulite in North Dabieshan has been unavailable. The complex evolution history of the rock and its host basement must be further discussed. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating was conducted on three textural domains in zircon from a high-temperature, high-pressure felsic granulite in the Huangtuling area, North Dabieshan, Central China. The metamorphic growth-derived detrital zircon domain yields a 207Pb/206Pb age in the range of (2 493±54) -(2 500±180) Ma. The magmatic genesis-derived detrital zircon domain gives a 207Pb/206Pb age ranging from 2 628 Ma to 2 690 Ma, with an oldest 206Pb/238U age of (2 790±150) Ma. The metamorphic overgrowth or metamorphic recrystallization zircon domain yields a dicsordia with an upper intercept age of (2 044.7±29.3) Ma. Compositions of the mineral assemblage, major element geochemistry, and especially the complex interior texture of the zircon suggest that the prololith of the felsic granulite is of sedimentary origin. Results show that the protolith material of the granulite came from a provenance with a complex thermal history, i.e. ～2.8 Ga magmatism and ～2.5 Ga metamorphism, and was deposited in a basin not earlier than 2.5 Ga. The high-temperature and high-pressure granulite-facies metamorphic age was precisely constrained at (2.04±0.03) Ga, which indicates the granulite in Huangtuling area should be a relict of a Paleoproterozoic UHT (ultrahigh temperature) metamorphosed slab.     

The Petrology, Geochemistry, and Petrogenesis of E-MORB-type Mafic Rocks from the Guomangco Ophiolitic Mélange, Tibet

The Guomangco ophiolitic melange is situated in the middle part of the Shiquanhe- Yongzhu-Jiali ophiolitic melange belt （SYJMB） and possesses all the subunits of a typical Penrose- type ophiolite pseudostratigraphy. The study of the Guomangco ophiolitic melange is very important for investigating the tectonic evolution of the SYJMB. The mafic rocks of this ophiolitic melange mainly include diabases, sillite dikes, and basalts. Geochemical analysis shows that these dikes mostly have E-MORB major and trace element signatures; this is the first time that this has been observed in the SYJMB. The basalts have N-MORB and IAB affinities, and the mineral chemistry of harzburgites shows a composition similar to that of SSZ peridotites, indicating that the Guomangco ophiolitic melange probably originated in a back-arc basin. The Guomangco back-arc basin opened in the Middle Jurassic, which was caused by southward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean in central Tibet. The main spreading of this back-arc basin occurred during the Late Jurassic, and the basalts were formed during this time. With the development of the back-arc basin, the subducted slab gradually retreated, and new mantle convection occurred in the mantle wedge. The recycling may have caused the metasomatized mantle to undergo a high degree of partial melting and to generate E- MORBs in the Early Cretaceous. E-MORB-type dikes probably crystallized from melts produced by about 20%-30% partial melting of a spinel mantle source, which was metasomatized by melts from low-degree partial melting of the subducted slab.     

Exhalites Associated with Pb-Zn Mineralization in Devonian System and Their Prospecting Implications,Qinling,China

The exhalation origin of the ankerite-siliceous rocks associated with Pb-Zn mineralizations in the Devonian system of Qinling is discussed in the light of geologic setting,sedimentary-tectonic environment,lithological and chemical characteristics.On this basis,criteria for distinguishing them and their potential role as an indicator in prospecting are described.Ankerite-siliceous rocks are developed in the strata-bound Pb-Zn polymetallic belt in the Devonian system of Qinling.They are microcrystalline,dark grey and compact in appearance and are commonly carbonaceous,As a persistent ore-bearing horizon in the region,their genetic relation to the Pb-Zn deposits in generally accepted.However,a consensus has yet to be reached among geologists concerning their origein as a product of hydrothermal metasomtism at the late stage of sedimentation or as exhalite resulting from submarine exhalation.Accumulating evidence from direct observations on modern submarine hydrothermal systems strongly indicates that seafloor exhalation is a much more common geologic process than previously thought nd its metallogenic implications have long been overlooked.Characteristics of the ankerite-siliceous rocks as a product of exhalation and their significance as a guide in prospecting are described on the basis or geological setting,lithology,lithochemistry,REE,and isotopic and trace element features.     

PETROGRAPHY, SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENT, SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY OF CHANG 6 MEMBER, JINGAN OILFIELD

1. Introduction The Ordos basin is a remnant inland basin on the western margin of the North China Plate and underwent several tectonic movements during its formation. There developed several assemblages of oil formation-reservoir-cover since Paleozoic. Of these, the Yanchang Formation (Upper Triassic) has important oil and gas reservoirs, especially in the Jingan Oilfield. Regional geology shows that, during the deposition of the Yanchang Formation (Upper Triassic), a huge inland lake …     

The distribution of trace elements and Sr isotopes across the coal and its partings in the Wyodak sea, Powder River Basin, Wyoming, USA

The spatial distribution of major, minor and trace elements in a coal basin is important for exploitation strategy and for the understanding of processes of coal formation and diagenesis. The 35400 km2 intermontane Powder River Basin, NW USA, is a major s…     

Geological Relationships Between the Intrusions,Country Rocks,and Ni-Cu-PGE Sulfides of the Kharaelakh Intrusion,Noril′sk Region:Implications for the Roles of Sulfide Differentiation and Metasomatism in Their Genesis

The Ni-Cu-platinum group element sulfide ore deposits of the Kharaelakh Intrusion,Noril′sk Region,Siberia,represent a large concentration of sulfides associated with a small differentiated intrusion formed at the edge of the Siberian Craton in the roots of the Siberian Trap flood basalt.The deposit is associated with an intrusion that occupies a flanking periclinal structure adjacent to the Noril′sk-Kharaelakh Fault.The intrusion is strongly differentiated and comprises taxitic gabbrodolerites,picritic gabbrodolerites,and gabbrodolerites within the main body which in turn forms a chonolith within a sheet-like intrusion that extends laterally to form extensive undifferentiated sills of gabbrodolerite.The intrusion substantially replaces the stratigraphy of the country rocks,and although it appears to have exploited the axis of structures developed in response to transtension,the intrusion has created space by both mechanical dilation of stratigraphy and magmatic replacement of pre-existing sedimentary rocks.The frontal lobes of the main intrusion have complex apophyses of gabrodolerite on a range of scales that demonstrate replacement of the sedimentary rocks and link to the development of an extensive metamorphic halo in the country rocks.This halo is much narrower over the main body of the intrusion,and these observations have implications for the thermal history of the intrusion.Mg-skarns and breccias are developed in the roof of the main body of the intrusion.Within the intrusion,the taxitic rocks contain vesicles and the blebby sulfides developed in the picritic and taxitic gabbrodolerites appear to have a linkage to volatile phases.Cuprous sulfide mineralization developed at the roof of the Kharaelakh Intrusion is associated with metamorphosed and skarn-bearing country rocks,and appears to have been generated by a combination of sulfide fractionation and associated metasomatism.The geological relationships appear consistent with a chonolith model for the development of the differentiated intrusion and mineralization,but the extent of metasmorphism of the country rocks appears to be related to the unusual thickness of gabbrodolerite apophyses at the flanks of the intrusion rather than metamorphism produced by the passage of mafic magma through the intrusion.Variations in disseminated sulfide compositions and metasomatic textures in the skarns are described,and a model is proposed which balances traditional views on the evolution of the magma conduits with the impact of magmatic fluids transported through the magma column(i.e.transmagmatic fluids).The importance of structures in controlling the nature of the conduit,and the resultant small intrusions with excess sulfide is a feature of many other Ni-Cu sulfide deposits including Voisey′s Bay,and it is suggested that the sulfides are more likely to have beentransported from depth into their final resting place rather than developed by in-situ equilibration of sulfide with fresh magma in the chonolith.