Progress and perspective on frontiers of geobiology

Geobiology is a new discipline on the crossing interface between earth science and life science,and aims to understand the interaction and co-evolution between organisms and environments.On the basis of the latest international achievements,the new data presented in the Beijing geobiology forum sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013,and the papers in this special issue,here we present an overview of the progress and perspectives on three important frontiers,including geobiology of the critical periods in Earth history,geomicrobes and their responses and feedbacks to global environmental changes,and geobiology in extreme environments.Knowledge is greatly improved about the close relationship of some significant biotic events such as origin,radiation,extinction,and recovery of organisms with the deep Earth processes and the resultant environmental processes among oceans,land,and atmosphere in the critical periods,although the specific dynamics of the co-evolution between ancient life and paleoenvironments is still largely unknown.A variety of geomicrobial functional groups were found to respond sensitively to paleoenvironmental changes,which enable the establishment of proxies for paleoenvironmental reconstruction,and to play active roles on the Earth environmental changes via elemental biogeochemical cycles and mineral bio-transformations,but to be deciphered are the mechanisms of these functional groups that change paleoenvironmental conditions.Microbes of potential geobiology significance were found and isolated from some extreme environments with their biological properties partly understood,but little is known about their geobiological functions to change Earth environments.The biotic processes to alter or modify the environments are thus proposed to be the very issue geobiology aims to decipher in the future.Geobiology will greatly extend the temporal and spatial scope of biotic research on Earth and beyond.It has great potential of application in the domains of resource exploration and global change.To achieve these aims needs coordinative multidisciplinary studies concerning geomicrobiology and related themes,database and modeling of biogeochemical cycles,typical geological environments,and coupling of biological,physical,and chemical processes.     

Mineral weathering and element cycling in soil-microorganism-plant system

Soil is an essential part of the critical zone,and soil-microbe-plant system serves as a key link among lithosphere,biosphere,atmosphere and hydrosphere.As one of the habitats with the richest biodiversity,soil plays a critical role in element biogeochemistry on the earth surface(weathered crust).Here we review the soil biological processes that are relevant to mineral weathering,element cycling,and transformation,with an emphasis on rock weathering mediated by soil microbes,plant root and the rhizosphere.     

The Río Tinto Basin, Spain: Mineralogy, sedimentary geobiology, and implications for interpretation of outcrop rocks at Meridiani Planum, Mars

Exploration by the NASA rover Opportunity has revealed sulfate- and hematite-rich sedimentary rocks exposed in craters and other surface features of Meridiani Planum, Mars. Modern, Holocene, and Plio-Pleistocene deposits of the Río Tinto, southwestern Spain, provide at least a partial environmental analog to Meridiani Planum rocks, facilitating our understanding of Meridiani mineral precipitation and diagenesis, while informing considerations of martian astrobiology. Oxidation, thought to be biologically mediated, of pyritic ore bodies by groundwaters in the source area of the Río Tinto generates headwaters enriched in sulfuric acid and ferric iron. Seasonal evaporation of river water drives precipitation of hydronium jarosite and schwertmannite, while (Mg,Al,Fe³⁺)-copiapite, coquimbite, gypsum, and other sulfate minerals precipitate nearby as efflorescences where locally variable source waters are brought to the surface by capillary action. During the wet season, hydrolysis of sulfate salts results in the precipitation of nanophase goethite. Holocene and Plio-Pleistocene terraces show increasing goethite crystallinity and then replacement of goethite with hematite through time. Hematite in Meridiani spherules also formed during diagenesis, although whether these replaced precursor goethite or precipitated directly from groundwaters is not known. The retention of jarosite and other soluble sulfate salts suggests that water limited the diagenesis of Meridiani rocks.Diverse prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms inhabit acidic and seasonally dry Río Tinto environments. Organic matter does not persist in Río Tinto sediments, but biosignatures imparted to sedimentary rocks as macroscopic textures of coated microbial streamers, surface blisters formed by biogenic gas, and microfossils preserved as casts and molds in iron oxides help to shape strategies for astrobiological investigation of Meridiani outcrops.     

Geobiological processes of the formation of lacustrine source rock in Paleogene

Gypsum-salt rocks and coccolith calcareous shale are widely deposited in the lower part of the Paleogene Shahejie Formation in the Dongying Sag,Shandong Province.The gypsum-salt rock is believed to be formed during the earlier deposition in salt lake,while the overlying coccolith shale in saline lake with relatively low salinity.By comparing the lake environment and lacustrine microbial communities between ancient and recent lakes,cyanobacteria are regarded as the main representative of productivity during the formation of gypsum-salt strata series,with the annual productivity of 1500-2000 gC m-2 yr-1.Based on the research of ultramicrofossils in the calcareous shale,coccolith is considered as the main contributor to the productivity during the formation of calcareous shale.On the basis of statistic data of sedimentary rates,shale laminations,and coccolith fossils in each lamination,the quantitative value of productivity is calculated,with the annual productivity of 2250-3810gC m-2 yr-1(averagely 3120 gC m-2 yr-1).Statistic data of large amount of pyrite framboids indicate that the lower water column was persistently in sulfidic or anoxic conditions during the deposition of gypsum-salt strata series,but it changed to be dysoxic when the coccolith calcareous shale was deposited.Both of these water conditions are favorable for the preservation of organic matter.It is estimated that the organic carbon burial efficiency of the Lower Paleogene salt lakes and saline lakes of Dongying Depression is about 10%-15%,which is calculated and analyzed using the multi-parameter geobiological model.     

The geobiological formation process of the marine source rocks in the Middle Permian Chihsia Formation of South China

The Chihsia Formation is one of the four sets of regional marine hydrocarbon source rocks from South China.In the past two decades,detailed geochemical and sedimentological studies have been carried out to investigate its origination,which have demonstrated that the high primary productivity plays a primary role in the deposition of sediments enriched in the organic matter.However,the mechanism of this high productivity and the path of the deposition and burial of the organic matter have always been a mystery.Based on the previous studies on the Shangsi Section in Guangyuan City,Sichuan Province,we proposed that the development of the equatorial upwelling due to the sea level rise is responsible for the relatively high productivity in the Chihsia Formation.The sea waters with high nutrient were transported by the sub-surface currents along the equator.High organic carbon flux was deposited on the deeper shelf,and then decomposed by bacteria,leading to the occurrence of anaerobic respiration.The metabolism of the microorganisms consumed the dissolved oxygen in waters,which was in favor of the preservation of the organic matter.This suggested geobiological model integrating with paleoclimatology,paleoceanography and geomicrobiology will help us to understand the causes of this particular sedimentary sequence.     

地震观测环境调查评估及监控

地震观测数据的准确性和连续性,不仅取决于观测仪器、观测方法和观测技术水平,在很大程度上还依赖于良好的地震观测环境。客观、全面地对地震台站的观测环境进行调查评估,并建立地震观测环境监控体系,对于观测数据的质量控制、地震预报水平的提高和地震行政执法均具有重要意义。     

Discussion on uncertainties，attenuation of ground motion and aseismic design criterion

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关于地震丛集特征、成因及临界状态的讨论

给出了研究地震临界丛集现象的最新方法,即时间变异诊断方法。讨论了不同类型的地震丛集活动特征和成因,结合中国大陆及邻区M≥ 8. 0大震序列和华北地区自1966年以来M≥6. 0地震序列,研究了丛集状态的自相似性及临界时间分支现象。对发震系统的内部时间给出了定义,并研究了地震丛集的非线性时间结构特征。研究认为: ① 事件的发生意味着系统现存的能量一次跳跃式的释放和状态的一次转换。只有当系统以某种足够随机方式动作时,系统状态才会转换,事件才会发生;② 涨落是系统状态的探测器,在临界状态时系统出现很大的涨落,时间变异系数W= 1。临界丛集是由系统内在随机性决定的,事件发生时间是随机地出现的,未来可能出现不止一次的W= 1的临界点;③ 相继发生的事件(M≥ M₀) 可以反映系统的演化过程和特征,丛集是系统演化过程中的有序性和无序性的综合反映;④ 事件丛集和丛集的事件具有自相似性和分形结构,也具有耗散系统的自组织和映射特点;⑤ 根据时间变异系数,系统内部时间(年龄),时间间隔与所经历时间非线性关系式以及映射和迭代方法可以用来预测未来地震趋势和未来M≥ M₀ 地震发生的可能时间点。     

长白山天池火山潜在喷发危险性讨论

根据吉林省新生代以来火山喷溢活动的时空演化历史，特别是全新世以来火山活动频民强度变化特征，以及现代喷发活动史记资料，结合１０多年火山动态观测数据，讨论了长白山天池潜在喷发的危险程度，认为其灾害性潜在喷发危险的时间尺度仍属于地质范畴。     

山西临汾地震台地电阻率异常分析与探讨

对山西临汾地震台地电阻率观测数据在临汾及其周边地区发生4．0级以上地震时的异常变化、异常形态进行了对比分析,认为,临汾中心地震台地电阻率对于捕捉该区地震前兆异常信息有积极的意义;对2008年4月以来临汾中心地震台地电阻率观测数据的变化情况、变化形态做了分析,其结果可为场源外区域地电异常的研究提供依据和参考。     

新疆黑孜断层现今活动特征研究及有关问题的讨论

在前人研究的基础上，用近年黑孜水库的形变测量资料重新计算了黑孜断层的微量位移，表明自1973年以来黑孜断层活动特征发生了变化，大致经历了4个阶段；其中第3个阶段有正断层特征，其余3个阶段属逆断层特征。水库大坝的修建及水库的蓄水对断层的现今活动具有重要影响，甚至改变了某个阶段断层活动的性状。地震活动对形变测量资料、断层活动也有一定程度的影响。     

2003年甘肃民乐-山丹6.1,5.8级地震发震构造及发震机制探讨

在总结甘肃民乐—山丹6．1级和5．8级地震现场考察资料的基础上,根据地震的发震特征,结合区域构造研究的最新成果,提出本次地震是位于大黄山隆起南缘的民乐—永昌隐伏断裂的民乐—大马营段与大黄山隆起西缘的童子坝河隐伏断裂共同作用的结果,其发震机制主要受大黄山隆起向南西推挤的影响,是隆起区上拱作用的结果。     

Discussion of recent papers on carbonated peridotite, bearing on mantle metasomatism and magmatism: response

The solidus temperature for peridotite-CO₂ drops sharply within a narrow temperature interval, with increasing pressure, to an invariant point where dolomite becomes stable at the solidus. This geometry presents a barrier to some volatile-charged magmas rising through the lithosphere, with many petrological applications. The phase relationships are based on results in the model system CaOMgOSiO₂CO₂, and peridotite-CO₂H₂O. Two published sets of experimental results for the solidus of amphibole-dolomite-peridotite are here interpreted in terms of the topology of the system peridotite-CO₂H₂O, with the conclusion that the two results yield quite different values for the pressure of the significant invariant point in peridotite-CO₂: 17 kbar or 27 kbar (equivalent to 30 km in the upper mantle). Better definition of this pressure, and clarification of the topology of the intersecting stability fields for dolomite, amphibole and phlogopite with the peridotite-vapor solidus, are essential for understanding magmatic and metasomatic processes in the lithosphere, and the petrogenesis of alkaline magmas and associated carbonatites.     

地震预测与预警探讨

通过对地震预测的自然属性和社会属性的分析,研究了针对自然属性的地震预测和针对社会属性的地震预测(预警)及两者之间的关系.针对自然属性的地震预测,只是根据对观测数据的分析和相关理论的研究,考虑现阶段对地震孕育、发生的认识,给出未来地震发生的规模、地点及时间,不考虑预测后果,目的是检验对地震的科学认识水平.而针对社会属性的地震预测,除依据地震自然属性的预测结果外,还要重点考虑地震预测的后果,除考虑地震预测本身的不确定性以外,还要考虑发布地震预报造成的影响,以及建(构)筑物和生命线工程的抗震能力等复杂因素,总之突出考虑地震预测的风险,目的是最大限度地减轻地震造成的灾害.本文对地震预测面临的科学挑战和社会挑战进行了一定的讨论,并对地震预警的含义和研究内容进行了初步的分析.     

皎口水库地震精定位、震源机制及发震机理探讨

利用双差定位法对宁波皎口水库2009—2021年地震进行重新定位,通过HASH方法计算了较大地震的震源机制解,基于精确定位后的地震震源位置分布、深度分布以及总体震源机制解特征,结合区域地质构造背景、库区地质条件以及水库水位变化,对发震构造及孕震机理进行探讨。结果表明,皎口水库2009—2012年地震序列与2018—2021年地震序列孕震机理相似,区域性断裂长兴—奉化可能为发震断层;库水通过断裂破碎带下渗,孔隙水压力扩散及库水对岩石的软化弱化长时间作用,造成断层面及其深部某些薄弱部位变为不稳定区域,最后在库水变化导致的加卸荷应力场作用下触发地震。     

浅析2016年1月14日谢通门震群

通过对2016年1月14日西藏谢通门震群所在区域的地质构造背景、历史震例、震源机制和震情序列等参数分析,对该震群发震构造和震群序列类型进行判定.认为该震群发生在历史地震相同走向的构造断层上,为前兆性震群,该地区周边发生中强地震发震可能性较大.     

浙江庆元苍岱银多金属矿成矿模式探讨与找矿方向

作者通过对浙江庆元苍岱矿区成矿地质背景和矿床地质特征的分析,参照区域典型矿床的勘查研究成果,建立了适合本区的受中生代火山机构控制的火山-次火山热液型银铅锌多金属矿成矿模式,对指导矿区下一步找矿具有重要意义。通过深入研究,指出放弃浅部金银,主攻深部铅锌多金属的找矿思路。提出在物探、化探和地质高精度综合剖面测量基础上,采用钻探进行深部验证的工作方法,对于指导矿区及区域内火山岩覆盖区的矿产勘查具用重要意义。     

山西临汾盆地中强地震与月球运动关系的探讨

从1977年至2000年间全球发生的M5.5以上的板块间地震中,收集了2 207次被称为"逆断层型"地震发生的地点、时间等记录资料,研究了这些地震与月球引力的关系,结果发现,地震发生的时间与潮汐对断层面的压力有很高的关联性,月球引力作用促使断层错位时,发生地震的次数较多.