http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711100106X

Reconstruction of the Neoproterozoic supercoutinent Rodinia shows near neighbour positions of the South Indian Cratons and Western Australian Cratons.These cratonic areas are characterized by extensive...     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711200031X

Upper Paleozoic coal measures in the Ordos Basin consist of dark mudstone and coal beds and are important source rocks for gas generation.Gas accumulations include coal-bed methane（CBM）, tight gas and conventional gas in different structural areas.CBM accumulations are mainly distributed in the marginal area of the Ordos Basin,and are estimated at 3.5×10¹² m³.Tight gas accumulations exist in the middle part of the Yishan Slope area,previously regarded as the basin-centered gas system and now considered as stratigraphic lithologic gas reservoirs.This paper reviews the characteristics of tight gas accumulations:poor physical properties(porosity < 8%,permeability < 0.85×10^-3μm²),abnormal pressure and the absence of well-defined gas water contacts.CBM is a self-generation and selfreservoir, while gas derived from coal measures migrates only for a short distance to accumulate in a tight reservoir and is termed near-generation and near-reservoir.Both CBM and tight gas systems require source rocks with a strong gas generation ability that extends together over wide area.However,the producing area of the two systems may be significantly different.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300090X

The Khami group within the petroliferous Zagros Basin of Iran includes the Surmeh, Hith, Fahliyan, Gadvan and Dariyan formations. The Dariyan Formation, previously known as Orbitolina limestone is very signif-icant as a reservoir rock in the Zagros Basin. In this study, the age of the Dariyan Formation is examined based on biostratigraphic and paleontological investigations. 236 m of Dariyan Formation sediments in the sections at Kuh-e Rahmat （north） and Nour-Abad （west） of Iran were selected to study its biostratigraphy. According to the lithostratigraphic investigations, the Dariyan Formation in these sections is subdivided into three： lower, middle and upper, which include thin-bedded to medium-bedded and massive lime-stone. Micropaleontologic study of the Dariyan Formation has led to the recognition of two biozones in the Nour-Abad area and one biozone in the Kuh-e Rahmat stratigraphic column. Diagnostic foraminifera in these sections are as follows： Globigerinel oides algerianus Cushman and Ten Dam, Globigerinelloides fer-reolensis Moullade, Globigerinelloides maridalensis （Bolli）, Globigerinelloides paragottisi Verga and Permoli Silva, Hedbergel a aptiana Bartenstein, Hedbergel a excelsa Longoria, Hedbergel a luterbacheri Longoria, Hedbergella occulta Longoria, Hedbergella ruka （Banner et al.）, Hedbergella similis Longoria, Hedbergella trocoidea （Gandolfi）, Muricohedbergella delrioensis （Carsey）, Pseudoplanomalina cheniourensis Sigal, Con-icorbitolina conica d＇Archiac, Iraqia sp., Mesorbitolina parva Douglass, Mesorbitolina pervia Douglass, Meso-rbitolina ovalis Gorog and Arnaud-Vanneau, Mesorbitolina subconcava Leymerie, Mesorbitolina texana （Roemer）, Mesorbitolina ovalis-pervia Cherchi and Schroeder, Debarina hahounerensis Fourcade et al., Marssonel a trochus （d＇Orbigny）, Nezzazata sp., Orbitolina sp., Textularia sp.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711400005X

Recalling some of the most important events and persons during his education and career, the author sketches his growth from a young engineer, educated in the sanctuary of solid state reactions, to an involved fully devoted scientific career for the study of fluids in the deep Earth. Most important in this respect was the discovery of C02 inclusions in granulites, which triggered years of discussion on fluid- absent or fluid-assisted granulite metamorphism. To some extent, this debate is a continuation of the former granite controversy, but it shows also how the famous battle of ＂soaks against pontiffs＂ could have been easily avoided.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711400070X

We investigated the relationships among slab geometry,obliquity,and the thermal regime associated with the subduction of oceanic plates using a three-dimensional(3D) parallelepiped thermal convection model.Various models with convex and concave slab shapes were constructed in the numerical simulation,and the temperature and mantle flow distributions were calculated.The results revealed that when the slab dip angle increases,or the obliquity of subduction becomes steeper,the interplate temperature decreases remarkably.Cooler(warmer) zones on the plate interface were identified from the modeling where there was a larger(smaller) subduction angle.Consequently,the interplate temperature distribution is partly controlled by the true subduction angle(TSA),which is a function of the slab dip angle and the obliquity of subduction.The rate of change of the interface temperature for the TSA was10-50 ℃(10°TSA 20°) at depths ranging from(TSA- 10) × 5 km to 60 +(TSA- 10) × 5 km for a flat slab after a subduction history of 7 Myrs.The along-arc slab curvature affects the variation in TSA.The slab radius also appeared to influence the radius of induced mantle flow.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711500122X

The Quaternary volcanic province of Payenia is located in southern Mendoza and northern Neuquén provinces of Argentina and is characterized by a dominant basaltic composition. The volcanic province covers an area larger than 40,000 km2 and its origin and evolution has been the center of several studies.In this study we analyzed gravity data together with more accurate volcanic volumes calculations in order to investigate the subsurface structure of the Payenia volcanic province. The volume of material was calculated using digital elevation models and geographic information system(GIS) techniques to estimate the volume of material erupted and then, with those values, make an estimation of the intrusive material that could be located within the crust. The results of the calculations were compared with different 2D-sections constructed to model the gravity data and compare with the observed satellite gravity. After evaluating different models which have been generated to match both: the observed gravity data and the subsurface material calculated, we discuss those that best fit with observation. The results clearly indicate that the lithosphere is attenuated below the region.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711500078X

Low-temperature thermochronology is a widely used tool for revealing denudation histories of mountain ranges.Although this technique has been applied mainly to continental orogens,such as the European Alps,Himalayas,and Andes,recent technological development of low-temperature thermochronology has made it applicable to a wider variety of mountain ranges with various sizes and tectonic histories.The Japanese Islands comprise young and active island arcs,where an early stage of mountain range formation is observed.Numerous attempts have been made to constrain the uplift and denudation histories of the mountains in the Japanese Islands using geologic,geomorphologic.or geodetic methods.However,the number of thermochronometric attempts has been limited primarily due to the small amount of total denudation since the initiation of the uplift.In this review paper,we introduce the tectonic and geomorphic settings of the mountain ranges in the Japanese Islands,and discuss previous attempts to estimate uplift or denudation of the Japanese mountains using methods other than thermochronology.Furthermore,we discuss problems of the thermochronometric applications in revealing denudation histories of the Japanese mountains.Finally,we present a case study of the Kiso Range in central Japan and discuss the current effectiveness and applicability of low-temperature thermochronology to the Japanese mountainous areas.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711500095X

Pseudosection modelling is rapidly becoming an essential part of a petrologist's toolkit and often forms the basis of interpreting the tectonothermal evolution of a rock sample,outcrop,or geological region.Of the several factors that can affect the accuracy and precision of such calculated phase diagrams, "geological" uncertainty related to natural petrographic variation at the hand sample- and/or thin section-scale is rarely considered.Such uncertainty influences the sample's bulk composition,which is the primary control on its equilibrium phase relationships and thus the interpreted pressure-temperature(P-T) conditions of formation.Two case study examples-a garnet-cordierite granofels and a garnet-staurolite-kyanite schist-are used to compare the relative importance that geological uncertainty has on bulk compositions determined via(1) X-ray fluorescence(XRF) or(2) point counting techniques.We show that only minor mineralogical variation at the thin-section scale propagates through the phase equilibria modelling procedure and affects the absolute P-T conditions at which key assemblages are stable.Absolute displacements of equilibria can approach ±1 kbar for only a moderate degree of modal proportion uncertainty,thus being essentially similar to the magnitudes reported for analytical uncertainties in conventional thermobarometry.Bulk compositions determined from multiple thin sections of a heterogeneous garnet-staurolite-kyanite schist show a wide range in major-element oxides,owing to notable variation in mineral proportions.Pseudosections constructed for individual point count-derived bulks accurately reproduce this variability on a case-by-case basis,though averaged proportions do not correlate with those calculated at equivalent peak P-T conditions for a whole-rock XRF-derived bulk composition.The main discrepancies relate to varying proportions of matrix phases(primarily mica) relative to porphyroblasts(primarily staurolite and kyanite),indicating that point counting preserves small-scale petrographic features that are otherwise averaged out in XRF analysis of a larger sample.Careful consideration of the size of the equilibration volume,the constituents that comprise the effective bulk composition,and the best technique to employ for its determination based on rock type and petrographic character,offer the best chance to produce trustworthy data from pseudosection analysis.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711400036X

Global warming and climate change is one of the most extensively researched and discussed topical issues affecting the environment.Although there are enough historical evidence to support the theory that climate change is a natural phenomenon,many research scientists are widely in agreement that the increase in temperature in the 20 th century is anthropologically related.The associated effects are the variability of rainfall and cyclonic patterns that are being observed globally.In Southeast Asia the link between global warming and the seasonal atmospheric flow during the monsoon seasons shows varying degree of fuzziness.This study investigates the impact of climate change on the seasonality of monsoon Asia and its effect on the variability of monsoon rainfall in Southeast Asia.The comparison of decadal variation of precipitation and temperature anomalies before the 1970 s found general increases which were mostly varying.But beyond the 1970 s,global precipitation anomalous showed increases that almost corresponded with increases in global temperature anomalies for the same period.There are frequent changes and a shift westward of the Indian summer monsoon.Although precipitation is observed to be 70%below normal levels,in some areas the topography affects the intensity of rainfall.These shifting phenomenon of other monsoon season in the region are impacting on the variability of rainfall and the onset of monsoons in Southeast Asia and is predicted to delay for 15 days the onset of the monsoon in the future.The variability of monsoon rainfall in the SEA region is observed to be decadal and the frequency and intensity of intermittent flooding of some areas during the monsoon season have serious consequences on the human,financial,infrastructure and food security of the region.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711000037X

The tried and tested multianvil apparatus has been widely used for high-pressure and high-temperature experimental studies in Earth science. As a result, many important results have been obtained for a better understanding of the components, structure and evolution of the Earth. Due to the strength limitation of materials, the attainable multianvil pressure is generally limited to about 30 GPa (corresponding to about 900 km of the depth in the Earth) when tungsten carbide cubes are adopted as second-stage anvils. Compared with tungsten carbide, the sintered diamond is a much harder material. The sintered diamond cubes were introduced as second-stage anvils in a 6–8 type multianvil apparatus in the 1980s, which largely enhanced the capacity of pressure generation in a large volume press. With the development of material synthesis and processing techniques, a large sintered diamond cube (14 mm) is now available. Recently, maximum attainable pressures reaching higher than 90 GPa (corresponding to about 2700 km of the depth in the Earth) have been generated at room temperature by adopting 14-mm sintered diamond anvils. Using this technique, a few researches have been carried out by the quenched method or combined with synchrotron radiation in situ observation. In this paper we review the properties of sintered diamond and the evolution of pressure generation using sintered diamond anvils. As-yet unsolved problems and perspectives for uses in Earth Science are also discussed.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711200148X

The Earth was born from a giant impact at 4.56 Ga. It is generally thought that the Earth subsequently cooled, and hence shrunk, over geologic time. However, if the Earth's convection was double-layered, there must have been a peak of expansion during uni-directional cooling. We computed the expansion-contraction effect using first principles mineral physics data. The result shows a radius about 120 km larger than that of the present Earth immediately after the consolidation of the magma-ocean on the surface, and subsequent shrinkage of about 110 km in radius within about 10 m.y., followed by gradual expansion of 11 km in radius due to radiogenic heating in the lower mantle in spite of cooling in the upper mantle in the Archean. This was due to double-layered convection in the Archean with final collapse of overturn with contraction of about 8 km in radius, presumably by the end of the Archean. Since then, the Earth has gradually cooled down to reduce its radius by around 12 km. Geologic evidence supports the late Archean mantle overturn ca. 2.6 Ga, such as the global distribution of super-liquidus flood basalts on nearly all cratonic fragments (>35 examples). If our inference is correct, the surface environment of the Earth must have undergone extensive volcanism and emergence of local landmasses, because of the thin ocean cover (3–5 km thickness). Global unconformity appeared in cratonic fragments with stromatolite back to 2.9 Ga with a peak at 2.6 Ga. The global magmatism brought extensive crustal melting to yield explosive felsic volcanism to transport volcanic ash into the stratosphere during the catastrophic mantle overturn. This event seems to be recorded by sulfur mass-independent fractionation (SMIF) at 2.6 Ga. During the mantle overturn, a number of mantle plumes penetrated into the upper mantle and caused local upward doming of by ca. 2–3 km which raised local landmasses above sea-level. The consequent increase of atmospheric oxygen enabled life evolution from prokaryotes to eukaryotes by 2.1 Ga, or even earlier in the Earth history.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711200028X

Most Phanerozoic oolites are marked by ooids with a diameter less than 2 mm.Observations on a Neoproterozoic oolite have resulted in a change of concept.The term "pisolite" that traditionally referred to oolites with a grain size of more than 2 mm,is now restricted to those coated carbonate grains formed by meteoritic freshwater diagenesis;oolites with a grain size of more than 2 mm are now defined as "giant".Particular unusual giant oolites within a set of oolitic-bank limestones with thicknesses of more than 40 m in the top part of the Lower Triassic(Induan) Daye(Ruiping) Formation at the Lichuan section in the western part of Hubei Province in South China,represent an important sedimentological phenomenon in both the specific geological period and the geological setting that is related to the end-Permian biological mass extinction.Like the giant oolites of the Neoproterozoic that represent deposits where oolites formed in a vast low-angle carbonate ramp at that special geological period,the Triassic Daye Formation at the study section are significant because they provide a comparative example to help understand the evolving carbonate world reflected by oolites,the origin of which is still uncertain. and they give insight into the sedimentation pattern of the desolate sea floor,which resulted from the mass extinction at the turn of the Permian into the Tnassic.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711300114X

正The Precambrian shields and associated suture zones of the globe preserve important records of continental growth and destruction,the formation and closure of ocean basins,and the early evolution of the Earth in terms of tectonics,resources,and environment.They also offer critical clues on the nature and style     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711100020X

Significant advances in regional groundwater flow modeling have been driven by the demand to predict regional impacts of human inferences on groundwater systems and associated environment.The wide availability of powerful computers,user friendly modeling systems and GIS stimulates an exponential growth of regional groundwater modeling.Large scale transient groundwater models have been built to analyze regional flow systems,to simulate water budget components changes,and to optimize groundwater developmen...     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711400022X

The governing factors that influence landslide occurrences are complicated by the different soil conditions at various sites.To resolve the problem,this study focused on spatial information technology to collect data and information on geology.GIS,remote sensing and digital elevation model(DEM) were used in combination to extract the attribute values of the surface material in the vast study area of SheiPa National Park,Taiwan.The factors influencing landslides were collected and quantification values computed.The major soil component of loam and gravel in the Shei-Pa area resulted in different landslide problems.The major factors were successfully extracted from the influencing factors.Finally,the discrete rough set(DRS) classifier was used as a tool to find the threshold of each attribute contributing to landslide occurrence,based upon the knowledge database.This rule-based knowledge database provides an effective and urgent system to manage landslides.NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index),VI(Vegetation Index),elevation,and distance from the road are the four major influencing factors for landslide occurrence.The landslide hazard potential diagrams(landslide susceptibility maps) were drawn and a rational accuracy rate of landslide was calculated.This study thus offers a systematic solution to the investigation of landslide disasters.