Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb in the water column and sediments of the Ob-Irtysh Rivers, Russia

Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb were determined in filtered water, suspended particulate matter, and bottom sediments from a 2000 km section of the Ob and Irtysh Rivers. Dissolved Cd, Cr, Cu and Ni concentrations are similar to, or higher than, results from other Russian Arctic and large world river-estuaries. Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb in suspended particulate matter are generally comparable to results from other Russian Arctic and large world rivers and estuaries. Comparison of trace metal ratios in crustal material and suspended particulate matter and bottom sediment suggests that the source of Cr, Cu and Ni is continental weathering. Particulate Cd and Pb are elevated relative to their crustal abundance, suggesting a source of these metals to the Ob-Irtysh in addition to continental weathering.     

Hydrocarbons in the water, particulate matter, seston, and bottom sediments of the White Sea in the late summer

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were studied in water, filtration and separation particulate matter, seston, and bottom sediments with the aim to determine their concentrations and origin and compare them with the concentrations of lipids and C_org (August 2006). The effect of anthropogenic hydrocarbons was identified mostly in the Northern Dvina mouth area and in the apex of Dvina Bay. In other parts of the sea, natural compounds dominate in all examined objects, since anthropogenic hydrocarbon cannot pass through the Northern Dvina-the White Sea geochemical barrier. The low temperatures in the high-latitude water areas are shown not to reduce the rate of diagenetic processes in the sedimentary strata.     

Continental drift,plateau uplift,and the evolutions of monsoon and arid regions in Asia,Africa, and Australia during the Cenozoic

Monsoon and arid regions in the Asia-Africa-Australia(A-A-A) realm occupy more than 60% of the total area of these continents. Geological evidence showed that significant changes occurred to the A-A-A environments of the monsoon and arid regions, the land-ocean configuration in the Eastern Hemisphere, and the topography of the Tibetan Plateau(TP) in the Cenozoic. Motivated by this background, numerical experiments for 5 typical geological periods during the Cenozoic were conducted using a coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation model to systemically explore the formations and evolutionary histories of the Cenozoic A-A-A monsoon and arid regions under the influences of continental drift and plateau uplift. Results of the numerical experiments indicate that the timings and causes of the formations of monsoon and arid regions in the A-A-A realm were very different. The northern and southern African monsoons existed during the mid-Paleocene, while the South Asian monsoon appeared in the Eocene after the Indian Subcontinent moved into the tropical Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, the East Asian monsoon and northern Australian monsoon were established much later in the Miocene. The establishment of the tropical monsoons in northern and southern Africa, South Asia, and Australia were determined by both the continental drift and seasonal migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone(ITCZ), while the position and height of the TP were the key factor for the establishment of the East Asian monsoon. The presence of the subtropical arid regions in northern and southern Africa,Asia, and Australia depended on the positions of the continents and the control of the planetary scale subtropical high pressure zones, while the arid regions in the Arabian Peninsula and West Asia were closely related to the retreat of the Paratethys Sea. The formation of the mid-latitude arid region in the Asian interior, on the other hand, was the consequence of the uplift of the TP.These results from this study provide insight to the important roles played by the earth's tectonic boundary conditions in the formations and evolutions of regional climates during geological times.     

Copper,zinc, cadmium,nickel, iron and manganese in the Southern Bight of the North Sea

Ni, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Fe were determined in water and suspended matter samples and Mn in suspended matter samples from the Southern Bight region of the North Sea. Four distinct areas, comprising the Rhine estuary, the Dutch coastal waters, the centre of the Bight, and the English coastal water can be distinguished on the basis of the distribution of the trace metals. The total concentrations of all metals were high in the Rhine estuary, decreased in a seaward direction to reach very low values, comparable to continental shelf water, in the centre of the Bight, and increased again towards the English coast. Elevated concentrations of dissolved Cu, Ni, Cd and Zn near the English coast are not only due to river inputs. Over the entire region, the fraction of Cd, Ni and Zn in solution was consistently more important than the fraction in the suspended particulate phase. In contast, the fraction of Fe and Mn in the solid phase was consistently greater than the fraction in solution. Total concentrations of Fe, Mn and Cu are more dictated by the suspended particulate matter concentration than Cd, Ni and Zn.     

大陆漂移、高原隆升与新生代亚-非-澳洲季风区和干旱区演化

亚-非-澳洲季风区和干旱区的面积约占这三大洲陆地总面积的60%以上.基于新生代以来亚-非-澳洲季风和干旱环境以及东半球海陆分布和青藏高原等地形显著变化的地质事实,利用全球海-气耦合模式开展新生代5个特征地质时期气候模拟试验,系统探讨了新生代亚-非-澳洲季风区和干旱区形成演化及其受大陆漂移和高原隆升的影响.结果表明,亚-非-澳洲季风区和干旱区形成的时间和原因明显不同.北非与南非季风在古新世中期已经存在,南亚次大陆季风在始新世印度大陆移入北半球热带后开始出现,而东亚和澳大利亚北部季风在中新世才建立.北非、南非、南亚和澳大利亚热带季风的建立是大陆漂移的位置和热带辐合带季节性迁移共同决定的,而青藏高原的位置和高度则是东亚季风建立的关键因素.北非、南非、亚洲和澳大利亚副热带干旱区的存在取决于大陆的位置和行星尺度副热带高压的控制,阿拉伯半岛和西亚干旱区的发展与区域尺度海陆变迁,特别是古特提斯海的退缩密切相关,而亚洲内陆中纬度干旱区的形成则是青藏高原隆升的结果.这一研究揭示了地球构造边界条件在地质时期区域气候环境形成演化中的重要作用.     

Massive and brecciated dikes in the McDougall and Despina faults, Noranda, Quebec, Canada

The McDougall and Despina faults of the central Noranda volcanic complex cut subaqueous volcanic rocks in the Archean Abitibi greenstone belt. Rhyodacitic dikes occupy the faults, along with lesser amounts of andesitic, dioritic and a mixed basaltic-rhyodacitic dike. There are two types of rhyodacitic dikes, one massive the other brecciated. Massive dikes are homogeneous and spherulitic; brecciated dikes are dominated by curved, angular fragments with a few vesicles. Both occur either alone or together in the faults. Where the two occur together they are commonly interlayered in concentric layered lobes.The faults are interpreted as fissures for pulses of nonexplosive rhyodacitic lava. Many intrusive pulses interacted with an external fluid which occupied the faults. This interaction resulted in brecciated, glassy margins and massive, crystalline pulse interiors. Magma/fluid interaction is thus invoked as the mechanism responsible both for dike brecciation and the concentric layering. The dikes are considered as intrusive analogs of extrusive rhyolitic lobe lava observed in Iceland and in Noranda.     

The emplacement of acid magma in the epizone,and the relationship with ignimbrites,in North Queensland,Australia

There is an aggregate outcrop of 12,000 square miles of Permian-Triassic acid igneous rocks inland from Cairns and Townsville, North Queensland. The rocks consist of ignimbrite and rhyolite, which are structurally and magmatically related to three high-level intrusions the Herbert River, Esmeralda, and Elizabeth Creek Granites. Most of the igneous rocks intrude the Precambrian Georgetown Inlier, but some of them intrude along a fractured zone on the junction of the Inlier and the shelf zone of the adjacent Palaeozoic Tasman Geosyncline. The Upper Palaeozoic — Triassic igneous period consists of two main epochs, both consisting of granite, ignimbrite, and rhyolite. In both epochs granite intrudes the comagmatic and coeval ignimbrite and rhyolite. Rapid horizontal movement of granitic magma through the epizone and major fracturing of the crust are postulated to explain the widespread intrusion of the granite. The granitic magma was probably initially generated 5 miles below the surface of the crust by partial melting of the sediments at the base of the Tasman Geosyncline. Epeirogenic movement in the Precambrian Inlier area formed sheet-like fractures, which provided channels for rapid horizontal movement of the granitic magma. This magma was emplaced along the fractured marginal zone of the Inlier to form a thick sill-like body of granite — the Herbert River Granite — in the first epoch. Magma for the second epoch was derived from melting of the lower part of the granite of the first epoch. Renewed fracturing of the Inlier area formed cauldron subsidence areas and rift, which were quicly filled with rhyolite and ignimbrite. In these collapsed areas the granitic magma crystallized as the Elizabeth Creek and Esmeralda Granites under an insulating cover of about 1,000 feet of rhyolite and ignimbrite.     

Porosity, permeability, and fluid flow in the Yellowstone geothermal system, Wyoming

Cores from two of 13 U.S. Geological Survey research holes at Yellowstone National Park (Y-5 and Y-8) were evaluated to characterize lithology, texture, alteration, and the degree and nature of fracturing and veining. Porosity and matrix permeability measurements and petrographic examination of the cores were used to evaluate the effects of lithology and hydrothermal alteration on porosity and permeability. The intervals studied in these two core holes span the conductive zone and the upper portion of the convective geothermal reservoir. Variations in porosity and matrix permeability observed in the Y-5 and Y-8 cores are primarily controlled by lithology. Y-8 intersects three distinct lithologies: volcaniclastic sandstone, perlitic rhyolitic lava, and non-welded pumiceous ash-flow tuff. The sandstone typically has high permeability and porosity, and the tuff has very high porosity and moderate permeability, while the perlitic lava has very low porosity and is essentially impermeable. Hydrothermal self-sealing appears to have generated localized permeability barriers within the reservoir. Changes in pressure and temperature in Y-8 correspond to a zone of silicification in the volcaniclastic sandstone just above the contact with the perlitic rhyolite; this silicification has significantly reduced porosity and permeability. In rocks with inherently low matrix permeability (such as densely welded ash-flow tuff), fluid flow is controlled by the fracture network. The Y-5 core hole penetrates a thick intracaldera section of the 0.6-Ma Lava Creek ash-flow tuff. In this core, the degree of welding appears to be responsible for most of the variations in porosity, matrix permeability, and the frequency of fractures and veins. Fractures are most abundant within the more densely welded sections of the tuff. However, the most prominent zones of fracturing and mineralization are associated with hydrothermal breccias within densely welded portions of the tuff. These breccia zones represent transient conduits of high fluid flow that formed by the explosive release of overpressure in the underlying geothermal reservoir and that were subsequently sealed by supersaturated geothermal fluids. In addition to this fracture sealing, hydrothermal alteration at Yellowstone appears generally to reduce matrix permeability and focus flow along fractures, where multiple pulses of fluid flow and self-sealing have occurred.     

Nutrient flux, uptake, and transformation in a spring-fed stream in the Missouri Ozarks, USA

We examined nutrient flux, uptake, and transformation along a spring-fed stream in the Ozark region of Missouri, USA, over the year 2006. Water in Mill Creek originates from several springs, with a single spring contributing over 90% of the stream discharge during much of the year of study. Soluble reactive phosphate concentrations were usually low (<10 μg L⁻¹) along Mill Creek, but peaked during high discharge. Concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were relatively high in the spring water, mainly as nitrate, but usually declined across a small pond and the 10-km length of Mill Creek. During low flows in summer and early autumn, the stream removed over 300 μg L⁻¹ of DIN over its 10-km length, or about 80% of the initial amount. DIN retention along the stream, as a percentage of the DIN upstream, was related mainly to discharge, with higher flows having much higher DIN concentrations. The net uptake rate of DIN uptake was 0.91 μg m⁻² s⁻¹ in the stream during summer baseflow. The uptake rate declined downstream for different reaches and was closely related to DIN concentration. In experimental channels, uptake by epilithic algae was one significant sink for nitrate-N in Mill Creek. In 2006, inorganic nutrient export during a single day after a spring storm was similar to export during 40–100 days of low flow conditions in summer and early autumn. Our results suggest that significant nutrient retention can occur during baseflow periods via biological uptake, whereas substantial export occurs during high flow conditions.     

Characteristics and environmental significance of Ca, Mg, and Sr in the soil infiltrating water overlying the Furong Cave, Chongqing, China

This paper explores the influence of the local meteoric conditions,the overlying soil on the concentrations of Ca,Mg,and Sr,and the ratios of Mg/Ca,Sr/Ca,and Mg/Sr in soil infiltrating water(SIW).An in situ monitoring program was carried out above the Furong Cave throughout 2010 to collect data on SIW,monthly temperature and rainfall,and the geochemical composition and granularity of soils.The discharge of SIW responded quickly to the local rainfall,and its residence time was the primary factor affecting the Ca,Mg,and Sr content of the SIW.The high concentrations of Ca,Mg,and Sr in the SIW during April should be attributed primarily to the prolonged residence of SIW in the soil during the local dry seasons of winter and early spring.The maximum Mg/Sr ratio also occurred in April.The ratio of Mg/Ca in SIW is positively correlated with prolonged residence time and with high temperatures,which do not strongly affect the ratio of Sr/Ca.The Mg/Ca ratio was lowest when the Sr/Ca ratio was highest because plant metabolism increased the absorption of Ca and Mg,but not Sr,and also because higher temperatures enhanced the dissolution of Mg more than that of Sr.These different responses of Mg and Sr to temperature increases resulted in high Mg/Sr ratios during July and August.     

Fault-slip Triggering, Healing, and Viscoelastic Afterworking in Sediments in the Mexicali-Imperial Valley

—Crackmeter data from the southern tip of the Imperial fault in the Mexicali-Imperial Valley in northern Baja California, Mexico, show slip events that tend to group in episodes, or suites, that last over a few days, with months of quiescence between them. The events in these suites are apparently triggered and stopped by ground strain related to temperature changes. A characteristic decrease in peak extension velocities during the slip event suites indicates the presence of viscoelastic afterworking which contributes the strain necessary for succeeding events with diminishing driving stresses, and which can be roughly modeled as a series of Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic solids. Occurrence of very small events towards the end of the suites plus gaps between suites indicate that for the sediments significant fault healing requires a minimum of several days without slip.     

Archaea,the tree of life,and cellular evolution in eukaryotes

The early history of life harbours many unresolved evolutionary questions, none more important than the genomic origin and cellular evolution of eukaryotes. An issue central to eukaryote origin concerns the position of eukaryotes in the tree of life and the relationship of the host lineage that acquired the mitochondrion some two billion years ago to lineages of modern-day archaea. Recent analyses indicate that the host lineage branches within the Archaea, prompting the search for novel archaeal lineages that can improve our understanding of the cellular evolution of eukaryotes. Here we give a brief review of the studies on Archaea, the tree of life and the cellular evolution of eukaryotes, which is followed by an overview of recent progress fueled by new genomic technologies and recent status of archaeal research in China. Future directions for the study of early evolution are considered.     

The model of the depth variations in the properties and state of the rocks in the upper,middle, and lower continental crust of the Kola-Norwegian block,Kola Peninsula

Based on the experimental and calculated data, the model of depth variations in density, as well as the velocities of longitudinal (P) and transverse (S) waves, within the upper, middle, and lower crusts of the Kola-Norwegian block down to a depth of about 40 km is suggested. The variations in density and the velocities of the P- and S-waves are primarily caused by the changes in the mineral composition of the rocks. The relative reduction in the velocities of the P- and S-waves under the action of the increasing pressure and temperature in the depth interval from 5 to 37 km is estimated at ～2%.     

Thermal state, rheology and seismicity in the pannonian basin, Hungary

On the basis of data on crustal structure and terrestrial heat flow, a 3-D geothermal model for the lithosphere in the Pannonian basin, Hungary, has been calculated. This model, together with information on crustal composition, laboratory data on rock friction, and certain assumptions about fluid conditions and strain-rate levels within the lithosphere, has been used to construct a rheological model of the area.The results obtained show a layered rheological structure where an aseismic part of the crust is “sandwiched” between an upper and a lower seismogenic crustal layers. According to the proposed rheological model, seismic activity in the upper crust may be expected down to depths of 10–12 km, which is confirmed well by the observed depth distribution of seismicity. The model also predicts a lower crustal seismogenic layer down to 20–22 km. Because of infrequent occurrences of deep earthquakes and/or a generally small number of reliable hypocenter depth determinations in the study area, this seismogenic zone is less constrained by observations.The depth of the different rheologic horizons within the crust is governed mainly by thermal conditions. The lower boundary of both seismogenic layers appears isothermal. Brittle-ductile transition in the upper crust coincides with the ˜200 °C isotherm, while in the lower crust it coincides with the ˜ 375 °C isotherm. The lowermost crust and the upper mantle beneath Hungary show ductile behavior, thus the possibility of siesmic activity at these horizons can be excluded.     

古菌、生命树和真核细胞的功能演化

当前对早期生命演化过程的研究仍存在许多尚未解决的问题,其中以真核生物"基因组起源"和"细胞功能演化"最为重要,回答该问题的关键在于确定真核生物在生命树中的位置以及20亿年前获得线粒体的宿主与现代古菌之间的关系.最新研究认为真核生物是从属于古菌的一支,而新古菌的不断发现将进一步推动"真核细胞功能演化"的研究.文章先对有关"古菌"、"生命树"和"真核细胞功能演化"的研究进展及挑战进行梳理,之后单独总结了当前中国的古菌研究现状,最后从"宏基因组"、"生物信息学方法"和"古菌的分离培养"三方面对通过构建古菌系统发育推动生命演化研究提出展望.     

Oceanographic distributions of cadmium,zinc, nickel,and copper in the North Pacific

Vertical profiles of Cd, Zn, Ni, and Cu have been determined at three stations in the North Pacific and in the surface waters on a transect from Hawaii to Monterey, California. The distributions found are oceanographically consistent and provide a needed confirmation and extension of several recent studies on the marine geochemistries of these metals. Cadmium concentrations average 1.4 pmol/kg in surface waters of the central North Pacific and show a strong correlation with the labile nutrients, phosphate and nitrate, increasing to values of 1.1 nmol/kg at depths corresponding to the phosphate maximum. Zinc is depleted in surface waters of the central gyre to an average value of 0.07 nmol/kg and increases to a deep maximum of 9 nmol/kg exhibiting a strong correlation with the nutrient silicate. Nickel concentrations average 2.1 nmol/kg in surface central gyre waters and increase to a deep maximum of 11 nmol/kg. Nickel is best correlated with a combination of phosphate and silicate. Copper averages less than 0.5 nmol/kg in surface waters of the central North Pacific and increases gradually to values of 5 nmol/kg in bottom waters. The Cu profiles show evidence of intermediate and deep water scavenging. The involvement of these metals in the internal biogeochemical cycles of the sea is responsible for their distributions which are predictable on the basis of oceanographic parameters.     

Plinian-type eruptions in the medicine lake highland, california, and the nature of the underlying magma

Contemporaneous Plinian eruptions of rhyolite pumice from Glass Mountain and Little Glass Mountain during the last 1100 years B.P. were followed by extrusion of lava flows. 1.2 km of material was erupted and 10% by volume is tephra. All of the tephra deposits consist of very poorly sorted coarse ash and lapilli that are mostly pumice pyroclasts.Eruptive sequences, chemical composition and petrographic character of the rhyolites at Little Glass Mountain and Glass Mountain suggest that they came from the same magma body. The 1:9 ratio of tephra to lavas is typical of small silicic magma chambers. Eruption from a small chamber, 4–6 km deep, at vents 15 km apart is possible if magma rose along cone sheets with dips of 45–60°. The caldera rim and arcuate lines of vents near it may represent the surface expression of several concentric cone sheets.Pumice pyroclasts erupted at Glass Mountain and Little Glass Mountain may have formed in the following manner: (1) vesicle growth and coalescence beginning at 1–2 km depths; (2) elongation of the vesicles by flow within the cone sheets; (3) disruption of the vesiculated magma when it reached the surface by an expansion wave passing down through it; and (4) eruption of comminution products as pumice pyroclasts. Plinian activity at Little Glass Mountain and Glass Mountain continued until the volatile-rich top of the magma chamber had been depleted.     

Foreshocks and aftershocks of the M W = 7.1, 1992, earthquake in the Atrato region, Colombia

We study the October 18, M _W = 7.1, 1992 Atrato earthquake, and its foreshocks and aftershocks, which occurred in the Atrato valley, northwestern Colombia. The main shock was preceded by several foreshocksof which the M _W = 6.6, October 17 earthquacke was the largest. Inparticular, we examine foreshocks and aftershocks performing joint-hypocenter relocations using high quality Pn and Sn wave readingsfrom permanent regional networks. We observed a few hours prior to the main shock a sudden increase of foreshocks. Maybe this could be used as a predictor since foreshocks have been known for other major events in the region. Our locations align for 90 km with a trend of 5^° ±4^° in agreement with the Harvard CMT solution showing the faultplane trending 9^° to be the plane of rupture. In relation to theepicenter of the main shock, maximum intensities were located to thesouth, consistent with a rupture that traveled from north to south witha larger energy release in the south as suggested by an empirical Green'sfunction study (Li and Toksöz, 1993; Ammon et al., 1994). The boundarybetween the Panama and North Andes blocks has been placed close to thePanama-Colombia border as either a sharp boundary or a diffuse zone. TheAtrato earthquake, however, shows that the plate boundary between thePanama and North Andes microblocks is a diffuse deformation zone. Thiszone has a width of at least 2^° stretching from 78^°W to 76^°W. Quantification of earthquake moment release (during the past30 years) in this zone shows a similar amount of moment release in thewestern and eastern parts of this zone.