Composition and sources of extractable organic matter from a sediment core in Lake Kivu,East African rift valley

Lake Kivu is a gas-charged East African rift lake with currently anoxic bottom water. The extractable compounds and residual organic matter of a short sediment core have δ¹³C values typical of lacustrine microbial detritus. The total extracts consist primarily of polar compounds such as n-alkanoic acids, hydroxyalkanoic acids, triterpenoids, steroids and monosaccharides, with minor amounts of n-alkanes and n-alkanols. These tracer compounds and δ¹³C values indicate that the organic matter in the surficial and deeper sedimentary record was dominated by bacterial sources. The sapropelic sediment between these horizons contains organic matter from primarily algal with lesser bacterial input. Terrestrial organic markers are minor in all samples. The major fractions of the compounds in the total extracts were oxidized in the upper water column prior to transit through the anoxic bottom water to sedimentary deposition. The sapropelic horizon may reflect lake water turnover with ventilation or hydrothermal activity and consequently increased algal blooms.     

Microcrystalline sphalerite in resin globules suspended in Lake Kivu,East Africa

The origin and chemical nature of micron-sized spheres found as suspended particles in Lake Kivu are examined. It can be shown that the hollow spheres, with a wall thickness of 500 Å, consist of a complex polymeric resinous material which has little functionality, except for hydroxyl groups. The spheres arise in the process of degassing of water samples at depth. Tiny gas bubbles, about 1 micron in size, act as scavengers of dissolved resinous material. The newly created resinous membrane promotes the selective coordination of zinc dissolved in the water column. In the prevailing H₂S regime, formation of sphalerite crystals in induced. The size range of the crystals, 5 to 50 Å, corresponds to 1 to 10 unit cells and suggests that the resinous membrane also acts as a template in sphalerite growth processes. The sources of the zinc and dissolved gases (CO₂, CH₄, H₂S) are hydrothermal springs seeping from the lake bottom into the basin. Water discharge is substantial; about 100 years are required to fill the lake to its present level (ca. 550 km³ water). The average Kivu water contains 2 ppm zinc. Thus, 1 million tons of zinc are contained in Lake Kivu in the form of sphalerite.

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Zusammenfassung Harzkügelchen von etwa 1 Durchmesser treten in suspendierter Form im Kivusee auf. Die Kügelchen sind hohl und besitzen eine äußere Membrane von rund 500 Å Dicke. Sie sind das Ergebnis von Entgasungsvorgängen die sich in einer Wassertiefe von mehreren hundert Metern abgespielt haben. Die Oberfläche kleiner Gasblasen diente als Kristallisationszentrum für die im Wasser gelösten Harze, die ihrerseits eine selektive Koordinierung von gelöstem Zink bewirkten. Die Anwesenheit von H₂S führte zur Bildung von Zinkblende mit Kristallgrößen zwischen 5 und 50 Å. Gase (CO₂, CH₄, H₂S) und Zink entstammen salinaren hydrothermalen Lösungen, die im Gefolge vulkanischer Tätigkeit dem Seeboden auch heute noch entweichen. Der Durchschnittsgehalt von Zink im Kivusee beträgt 2 ppm, was mehr als einer Million Tonnen an Zink für den Gesamtsee entspricht.

     

Lake Shala: Water chemistry,mineralogy and geochemistry of sediments in an Ethiopian Rift lake

Lake Shala, the deepest lake in the internal Galla lakes basin of the Ethiopian Rift, fills a depression in Pleistocene volcanic rocks. Its sodium-bicarbonate (-chloride) water (salinity 16 g/l) is remarkably low in earth alkalines and sulphate. Stratification is indicated by different ion concentrations in the surface and bottom waters and by a thermocline in a water depth of 50–70 m. Hot soda springs emerging on the shores of Lakes Shala and Langano are believed to be derived from a hot saline underground reservoir recharged by meteoric waters. The ion composition of the hot spring waters is uniform and matches that in the Galla Lakes except for total salinities. Anomalous heavy metal concentrations are lacking in lake and hot spring waters. Sediments of Lake Shala belong to an extremely fine-grained group of deposits. They are poorly sorted and the lateral distribution of the grain sizes does not follow the normal scheme for aquatic depositional environments. A belt, 50–100 m below lake level containing the finest-grained sediments, separates the shallow periphery of the lake bottom from the deep center, both characterized by coarser-grained deposits. The sediments consist of a large portion of glassy components. A poorly cristallized smectite is most abundant in the clay mineral group. The components of the sand fraction are quartz, feldspar, glass particles and occasionally calcite. Nickel, cobalt and lead are depleted in the Lake Shala sediments compared with the averages of shales. Iron, manganese and zinc are relatively high. Silver, cadmium and some of the rare earth elements are enriched by factors of > 5.     

A model for the deep structure of the East African rift system from simultaneous inversion of teleseismic data

Simultaneous inversion of teleseismic data results in a model for the western branch of the East African Rift system between 1°S and 10°N characterized by a 35 km crust and thin high-velocity lid, overlying a channel possessing both low S and low P velocities (4.47 and 7.69 km/sec, respectively). A strong reflector at 140 km depth marks the boundary to high-velocity material (4.67 and 8.44 km/sec, respectively).The eastern branch has a crustal thickness of 40 km and is characterized by low S velocities, 4.43 km/sec in the lid to a depth of 78 km, 4.09–4.21 km/sec in a channel which extends to 161 km depth. The S velocities remain relatively low at greater depths, but cannot be precisely determined because of the limited resolution.We have interpreted these and other geophysical data as due to a diapiric intrusion of material with a high pyroxene content and possibly with some low-density eclogite, coming from the mesosphere. A mushroom of this rock has stalled below the western branch at about 55 km below the surface and is cooling. The diapirism in the eastern branch has broken through to the surface. The mantle of the African shield to the west of the Rift shows seismic velocities which indicate that it is depleted in basaltic components.     

Spatial variability of volcanic features in early‐stage rift settings: the case of the Tanzania Divergence,East African rift system

Close relationships between deformation and volcanism are well documented in relatively late evolutionary stages of continental rifting, whereas these are poorly constrained in less mature rifting stages. To investigate the control of inherited structures on faulting and volcanism, we present a statistical analysis of volcanic features, faults and pre‐rift fabric in the Tanzania Divergence, where volcanic features occur extensively in in‐rift and off‐rift areas. Our results show that in mature rift sectors (Natron), magma uprising is mostly controlled by fractures/faults responding to the far‐field stress, whereas the distribution of volcanism during initial rifting (Eyasi) is controlled by inherited structures oblique to the regional extension direction. Off‐rift sectors show a marked control of pre‐rift structures on magma emplacement, which may not respond to the regional stress field. Thus, the use of off‐rift magmatic features as stress indicators should take into account the role of pre‐existing structures.     

Erosion of lithospheric mantle beneath the East African Rift system: geochemical evidence from the Kivu volcanic province

This study presents new major and trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic results for a suite of Miocene–Recent mafic lavas from the Kivu volcanic province in the western branch of the East African Rift. These lavas exhibit a very wide range in chemical and isotopic characteristics, due to a lithospheric mantle source region that is heterogeneous on a small scale, probably <1 km. The chemical and isotopic variations are mostly geographically controlled: lavas from Tshibinda volcano, which lies on a rift border fault on the northwestern margin of the province, have higher values of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, (La/Sm)_n, Ba/Nb, and Zr/Hf than the majority of Kivu (Bukavu) samples. The range of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr at Tshibinda (0.70511–0.70514) overlaps some compositions found in the neighboring Virunga province, while Bukavu group lavas include the lowest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70314) and highest _Nd (+7.6) yet measured in western rift lavas. The Tshibinda compositions trend towards a convergence for Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic values among western rift lavas. Among Kivu lavas, variations in ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd correlate with those for certain incompatible trace element ratios (e.g., Th/Nb, Zr/Hf, La/Nb, Ba/Rb), with Tshibinda samples defining one compositional extreme. There are covariations of isotopic and trace element ratios in mafic lavas of the East African Rift system that vary systematically with geographic location. The lavas represent a magmatic sampling of variations in the underlying continental lithospheric mantle, and it appears that a common lithospheric mantle (CLM) source is present beneath much of the East African Rift system. This source contains minor amphibole and phlogopite, probably due to widespread metasomatic events between 500 and 1000 Ma. Lava suites which do not show a strong component of the CLM source, and for which the chemical constraints also suggest the shallowest magma formation depths, are the Bukavu group lavas from Kivu and basanites from Huri Hills, Kenya. The inferred extent of lithospheric erosion therefore appears to be significant only beneath these two areas, which is generally consistent with lithospheric thickness variations estimated from gravity and seismic studies.     

The structure of the lithosphere beneath the Eastern rift, East Africa, deduced from gravity studies

A compilation of all published and unpublished gravity data for the Eastern rift between latitudes 1°N and 5°S is presented. The Bouguer anomaly map reveals that the shape of the negative regional anomaly associated with the rift is approximately two-dimensional, striking east of north, of width 350 ± 50 km and amplitude500 ± 100 g.u. relative to the background value of−1300 ± 100 g.u. to the west. The regional anomaly is interpreted in terms of an upward thinning of the lithosphere and replacement by low-density asthenosphere. This model is different from previous interpretations in that major lithospheric thinning is restricted to the region of the Eastern rift affected by the domal uplift and does not extend beneath the Lake Victoria region to the west. The gravity and seismic models are compatible if the anomalous upper mantle (asthenospheric part), beneath the rift, is in a state of partial melt. A consequence of the revised regional anomaly is that it reduces previous amplitude estimates of the axial positive residual anomaly within the rift by at least 50% and generates negative anomalies over the rift shoulders in areas covered by Cenozoic volcanics. These negative anomalies are considered to be caused by the low density of the surface volcanics. Within the rift, elongated negative anomalies of amplitude 100–350 g.u. are associated with sedimentary basins and are attributed to low-density sediments up to 3 km thick. The positive residual anomaly along the axis of the rift can be interpreted in terms of either a dyke injection zone less than 15 km wide or by a dense infill body about 2.5 km thick. The positive anomaly is shown to be confined to the volcanic province of the Eastern rift and has its southern termination in the Magadi—Natron area, just north of where the Kenya rift valley changes to block faulting in N. Tanzania. This termination coincides with a change in the spatial distribution of the seismic and geothermal activity.     

Crustal structure of the East African Rift zone

A review of seismological data on the crustal structure of the East African Rift zone is presented. The only refraction line is that along the Gregory Rift, which indicates a 7.5 km/sec refractor which is presumed to be the Moho. The bulk of data is provided by surface-wave dispersion studies. Some preliminary measurements of crustal and sub-Moho velocities using the University of Durham array at Kaptagat in Kenya are included.

There is now a growing body of evidence that the crust is generally of shield type over the whole rift zone. The exception is along the axis of the Gregory Rift, where a low-velocity Moho and some crustal modification is apparent. This is presumably the result of magma intrusions and suggests some crustal separation along this section of the rift. Sub-Moho velocities are probably normal outside the rifts themselves, though anomalously low upper-mantle velocities are to be associated with rifting. There is firm evidence for thinning of the lithosphere along the eastern branch of the rift. A cross-section of the Gregory Rift which is consistent with the current data is presented.     

Continental rift evolution: From rift initiation to incipient break-up in the Main Ethiopian Rift, East Africa

The Main Ethiopian Rift is a key sector of the East African Rift System that connects the Afar depression, at Red Sea–Gulf of Aden junction, with the Turkana depression and Kenya Rift to the South. It is a magmatic rift that records all the different stages of rift evolution from rift initiation to break-up and incipient oceanic spreading: it is thus an ideal place to analyse the evolution of continental extension, the rupture of lithospheric plates and the dynamics by which distributed continental deformation is progressively focused at oceanic spreading centres.The first tectono-magmatic event related to the Tertiary rifting was the eruption of voluminous flood basalts that apparently occurred in a rather short time interval at around 30 Ma; strong plateau uplift, which resulted in the development of the Ethiopian and Somalian plateaus now surrounding the rift valley, has been suggested to have initiated contemporaneously or shortly after the extensive flood-basalt volcanism, although its exact timing remains controversial. Voluminous volcanism and uplift started prior to the main rifting phases, suggesting a mantle plume influence on the Tertiary deformation in East Africa. Different plume hypothesis have been suggested, with recent models indicating the existence of deep superplume originating at the core-mantle boundary beneath southern Africa, rising in a north–northeastward direction toward eastern Africa, and feeding multiple plume stems in the upper mantle. However, the existence of this whole-mantle feature and its possible connection with Tertiary rifting are highly debated.The main rifting phases started diachronously along the MER in the Mio-Pliocene; rift propagation was not a smooth process but rather a process with punctuated episodes of extension and relative quiescence. Rift location was most probably controlled by the reactivation of a lithospheric-scale pre-Cambrian weakness; the orientation of this weakness (roughly NE–SW) and the Late Pliocene (post 3.2 Ma)-recent extensional stress field generated by relative motion between Nubia and Somalia plates (roughly ESE–WNW) suggest that oblique rifting conditions have controlled rift evolution. However, it is still unclear if these kinematical boundary conditions have remained steady since the initial stages of rifting or the kinematics has changed during the Late Pliocene or at the Pliocene–Pleistocene boundary.Analysis of geological–geophysical data suggests that continental rifting in the MER evolved in two different phases. An early (Mio-Pliocene) continental rifting stage was characterised by displacement along large boundary faults, subsidence of rift depression with local development of deep (up to 5 km) asymmetric basins and diffuse magmatic activity. In this initial phase, magmatism encompassed the whole rift, with volcanic activity affecting the rift depression, the major boundary faults and limited portions of the rift shoulders (off-axis volcanism). Progressive extension led to the second (Pleistocene) rifting stage, characterised by a riftward narrowing of the volcano-tectonic activity. In this phase, the main boundary faults were deactivated and extensional deformation was accommodated by dense swarms of faults (Wonji segments) in the thinned rift depression. The progressive thinning of the continental lithosphere under constant, prolonged oblique rifting conditions controlled this migration of deformation, possibly in tandem with the weakening related to magmatic processes and/or a change in rift kinematics. Owing to the oblique rifting conditions, the fault swarms obliquely cut the rift floor and were characterised by a typical right-stepping arrangement. Ascending magmas were focused by the Wonji segments, with eruption of magmas at surface preferentially occurring along the oblique faults. As soon as the volcano-tectonic activity was localised within Wonji segments, a strong feedback between deformation and magmatism developed: the thinned lithosphere was strongly modified by the extensive magma intrusion and extension was facilitated and accommodated by a combination of magmatic intrusion, dyking and faulting. In these conditions, focused melt intrusion allows the rupture of the thick continental lithosphere and the magmatic segments act as incipient slow-spreading mid-ocean spreading centres sandwiched by continental lithosphere.Overall the above-described evolution of the MER (at least in its northernmost sector) documents a transition from fault-dominated rift morphology in the early stages of extension toward magma-assisted rifting during the final stages of continental break-up. A strong increase in coupling between deformation and magmatism with extension is documented, with magma intrusion and dyking playing a larger role than faulting in strain accommodation as rifting progresses to seafloor spreading.     

Hydrogeochemistry of Lake Turkana,Kenya: Mass balance and mineral reactions in an alkaline lake

Lake Turkana, in northwestern Kenya, is a closed-basin, alkaline (pH = 9.2) lake of moderate salinity (TDS = 2500 ppm). Principal ions are Na⁺, HCO^?₃ and CI^?. The lake is essentially polymictic in the northern basin and little compositional variation occurs in surface waters. The Omo River is the principal influent, providing some 80–90% of water input to the lake. Chloride has an apparent accumulation time of about 2500 years after accounting for burial of interstitial water.The bottom sediments are predominantly detrital and fine-grained, yet mineral-water reactions are very important for the geochcmical budget. Ca²⁺ is precipitated as calcite; Na⁺ is removed as an exchangeable cation on smectite; Mg²⁺ is probably incorporated into a Mg-silicate phase, most likely poorlycrystalline smectite, as it enters the lake water; K⁺ may be used in illite regradation. Cation exchange is a very important process in the mass balance of this lake. Over 40% of incoming Na is removed as an exchangeable cation. After cation exchange and interstitial water burial, Na has a response time of 2650 years, which compares favorably with that of chloride. These processes seem to occur rapidly within the water mass of the lake: other reactions may be important in regulating interstitial water compositions.Several changes occur in the upper 3m of sediment: interstitial-water pH drops to 8.3 and alkalinity increases slightly with depth, SO^2?₄ decreases slightly, and amorphous silica saturation is approached. These changes are a response to organic matter oxidation and the dissolution of unstable silicates rather than a reversal of reactions occurring in the lake water. High rates of sedimentation (up to 1 cm per year) may minimize the effects of diffusion between the interstitial waters and the lake water, although burial of interstitial water assumes considerable importance.     

Holocene lake development and glacial-isostatic uplift at Lake Skallen and Lake Oyako,Lützow-Holm Bay,East Antarctica: Based on biogeochemical facies and molecular signatures

The paleolimnology of two lakes which were isolated as a result of the crustal uplift during the late Holocene along the Soya Coast, Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica were studied. The focus was on temporal variations in the biogeochemical composition of sediment cores recovered from Lake Skallen at Skallen and Lake Oyako at Skarvsnes. Both sets of lake sediments record environmental changes associated with a transition from marine to lacustrine settings, as indicated by analyses of C and N contents, nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁵N), and major element concentrations. Changes in the dominant primary producers during the marine–lacustrine transition (marine diatom to cyanobacteria) at L. Skallen was clearly revealed by biogenic opal-A, diatom assemblages, and molecular signature from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis. Radiocarbon dating of acid-insoluble organic C suggested that the environmental transition from marine to fresh water occurred at 2940 ± 100 cal yr BP at L. Skallen and 1060 ± 90 cal yr BP at L. Oyako. Based on these data, a mean crustal uplift rate of 3.2 mm yr⁻¹ is inferred for the history of marine–lacustrine transition via brackish conditions. The geological setting causing glacio-isostatic uplift was the primary factor in controlling the transition event in sedimentary and biological facies.     

喜马拉雅造山带东段错那裂谷的地壳结构

喜马拉雅造山带由印度与欧亚大陆板块的陆陆碰撞而形成。为何在挤压造山的碰撞前缘形成代表垮塌的藏南裂谷系存在巨大的争议。回答这个问题需要对裂谷的地壳结构有一个全面的认识。各裂谷带的起始活动年代自西向东逐渐年轻。本研究选取喜马拉雅东部较为年轻的错那裂谷,利用密集台阵接收的远震数据,通过P波接收函数方法,揭示错那裂谷的精细地壳结构,进而通过地壳结构分析裂谷的形成。结果显示错那裂谷为全地壳尺度结构,裂谷下方莫霍面发生明显错断,且壳内结构侧向不连续发育显著。本研究表明裂谷的形成可能关联更大尺度的区域构造运动,单一的重力垮塌是否能形成地壳尺度的裂谷需要进一步研究。综合前人对藏南裂谷系区域的超钾岩和埃达克岩研究以及深部地球物理观测结果,推断因俯冲的印度板片撕裂导致软流圈物质上涌弱化了错那裂谷区域下地壳,并且结合研究区内喜马拉雅淡色花岗岩研究显示中上地壳也存在弱化现象。因此,结合本研究结果推测全地壳尺度裂谷的形成需要不同深度的地壳弱化。     

中西非叠合裂谷盆地形成与演化

中西非叠合裂谷盆地是发育在前寒武系结晶基底之上的中-新生代多旋回陆内裂谷盆地, 以往的研究主要针对跨不同世代、不同性质原型盆地叠合构成的盆地, 但对于由多期裂谷活动形成的叠合裂谷盆地, 其叠合改造模式及其动力学机制研究尚不深入。本文基于近年来在中西非裂谷系油气勘探开发中获得的有关地质、地球物理和地球化学资料, 结合前人研究成果, 重点研究了中西非裂谷系盆地演化阶段、不同阶段原型盆地发育特征、多期叠合、改造类型、模式及其动力学背景。研究表明, 自冈瓦纳大陆裂解以来, 受非洲大陆周缘板块构造事件及西北非陆块、东北非陆块和中南非陆块间相对运动的影响, 中西非裂谷系盆地大致经历了早白垩世、晚白垩世、古近纪-新近纪三个构造演化阶段。早白垩世阶段断裂活动最为强烈, 是裂谷盆地主干断裂形成时期, 在不同构造部位发育了裂谷盆地、走滑-拉分盆地和坳拉谷盆地三类原型盆地, 盆地基底沉降速率最大, 地层沉积充填厚度大, 沉积体系均为陆相碎屑沉积, 奠定了裂谷盆地形成演化的基础; 晚白垩世阶段, 早白垩世原型盆地继承发展, 但盆地间裂谷发育程度差异性凸显, 沉积充填特征差异变大, 由早白垩世统一陆相沉积体系演变为海、陆相并存的沉积体系; 古近纪-新近纪阶段, 该裂谷系盆地发育变得更为复杂, 差异性进一步加剧, 裂谷作用、走滑作用和挤压反转作用在不同盆地同步发生, 期间可持续发育裂谷盆地或发生挤压反转和构造变形。根据三个阶段原型盆地在盆地性质、沉积充填、垂向叠加、构造变形等方面的差异, 将中西非叠合裂谷盆地划分为"继承叠合型"和"反转改造型"两类, 进一步划分为"早断型"、"继承型"、"叠加型"、"晚断Ⅰ型"、"晚断Ⅱ型"以及"裂谷盆地反转型"、"走滑-拉分盆地反转型"、"坳拉谷盆地反转型"八种, 并讨论了不同类型叠合盆地特征及其动力学背景。这些成果对于深化裂谷盆地形成演化地质认识, 指导在全球该类盆地中优选油气有利富集区和油气勘探均具有重要意义。     

武汉东湖的前世今生

东湖作为我国乃至世界第二大城中湖承载着武汉城市发展的历史脉络与精神内涵。本文从地质构造、气候演化、江湖相互作用和人类活动等方面对东湖的成因和演化进行了研究,认为东湖既是一个“构造湖”,又是一个“壅塞湖”,它的形成受多期构造运动叠加影响,印支运动至喜马拉雅运动过程中引起的褶皱变形、盆岭构造、凹陷盆地、大别山隆升等为东湖形成奠定了地质基础。东湖的形成与长江的关系密切,是中更新世以来地壳垂直升降和气候环境变化过程中江、湖相互作用的结果,最终在人类工程活动过程中形成现今的几何形态。不同时期的遥感影像显示出人类工程活动已成为不容忽视的地质营力,对东湖发展演化的影响无论是强度还是速度都远超自然地质营力作用,按照“山水林田湖草生命共同体”的理念开发利用和保护东湖是人类的唯一选择。