Characteristics of diamondiferous Plio-Pleistocene littoral deposits within the palaeo-Orange River mouth, Namibia

The Orange River, the principal conduit transporting diamonds from hinterland sources to the Namibian coast in post-Cretaceous times, is characterised by an extreme wave dominated delta that has given rise to a progression of coarse rudaceous littoral deposits preserved onshore for > 150 km north of the mouth. Under the long-lived, prevailing vigorous wave, wind and northward longshore drift regimes, the Orange River outfall has been reworked into, amongst others, a series of economically viable, diamondiferous Plio-Pleistocene onshore gravel beach deposits. These placers comprise spits and barrier beaches in the proximal reach within the palaeo-Orange River mouth that, after ca. 5 km northwards, merge into extensive but narrow linear beaches that, in turn after ca. 70 km, give way to pocket beaches. Gravel and diamond size decreases northwards away from the ancestral Orange River mouth. The linear and pocket beach types have considerably higher diamond content but lower average diamond stone size than the two proximal units that are characterised by low diamond grade but comparatively large average diamond size. Given the risk of delineating low grade alluvial diamond deposits accurately, we present here sedimentological reconstructions of the subtidal, intertidal and supra-tidal facies that constitute the spit and barrier beach sequences, based largely on face mapping of exploration trenches and open-cast, mine cuts, as well as the results of large tonnage, sampling campaigns. Diamond distribution is also linked convincingly to basic littoral processes that were operational within the palaeo-Orange River mouth during the complex transgression that gave rise to the + 30 m package in Plio-Pleistocene times. In both the spit and barrier beach settings, the intertidal deposits prove to be the most promising targets whereas the subtidal sediments are the least economic. The constant raking associated with coarse, cobble–boulder-sized gravel foreshore deposits in an energetic micro-tidal wave regime increased the average diamond stone size in the intertidal deposits to 1 to 2 carats per stone (cts/stn), but the lack of fixed trapsites (no competent footwall within the palaeo-Orange River mouth at that level) prohibited the accumulation of substantially enriched diamondiferous gravels. Consequently, grades of only 1.5 to 6 carats per 100 tons (cpht) are realised. The highest grades (2 to 6 cpht) are found in the landward-facing, intertidal beach deposits on the spits where gentle reworking in that sheltered environment had somewhat enriched and preserved the diamond content. Significantly, the low average stone size of ca. 0.5 cts/stn in this lower energy setting probably reflects that of the general diamond population available at that time. In contrast, the sand-rich subtidal deposits in the spit sequence return the lowest grades (0.1 to 0.5 cpht), similar to those in the slightly younger, subtidal transgressive boulder lags of the barrier beaches. However, the stone size in the spit subtidal sediments is also low (0.1 to 0.5 cts/stn) due to the highly mobile, fine-grained character of those deposits, whereas that in the subtidal transgressive lag is large (2 to 3 cts/stn) as a result of the local, semi-permanent turbulence associated with the boulder-sized clasts in these gravel sheets. Diamond distribution is therefore also influenced by littoral facies and associated beach types, in addition to the spatial and temporal parameters that have already been documented for the onshore marine placers of the southern Namibian coast.     

纳米比亚欢乐谷地区白岗岩型铀矿矿物特征研究

本文通过系统的岩矿鉴定和电子探针分析,对纳米比亚欢乐谷地区白岗岩型铀矿的矿物特征进行了详细的研究.该地区铀的赋存形式以独立铀矿物为主,少量以类质同像形式存在于钍矿物中.铀矿物的主要种类有:晶质铀矿、钍铀矿、铀石、铀钍石、钛铀矿、沥青铀矿、硅钙铀矿和钒钾铀矿等,其中,晶质铀矿、钍铀矿和钛铀矿等原生铀矿物约占69％,而反应边状铀石、铀钍石、沥青铀矿、钒钾铀矿和硅钙铀矿等次生铀矿物约占31％.由此可见,该区铀矿化主要表现为原始岩浆的分异作用与后期热液改造作用的相互叠加,其热液改造程度不大,仅使铀发生内部再分配.     

Seasonality of bedrock weathering chemistry and CO2 consumption in a small watershed, the White River, Vermont

The draw down of CO₂ from the atmosphere during mineral weathering plays a major role in the global budget of this greenhouse gas. Silicate minerals remove twice the CO₂ of carbonate minerals per mole of calcium in runoff during weathering. Bedrock weathering chemistry was investigated in the White River watershed of northeastern USA to investigate whether there are seasonal differences in carbonate and silicate weathering chemistry. Geographic Information Systems analyses of bedrock geology were combined with major element concentrations in river waters to gain an understanding of the consistency of mineral weathering during three seasons. The percent of carbonate mineralogy comprising the bedrock in tributaries of the White River varied from less than 5% to 45% by area. A mass balance calculation using major element concentrations in waters was applied to estimate the seasonal relationships between bedrock geology and bicarbonate flux. In all tributaries and the main stem of the White River the highest calculated percent of bicarbonate from carbonate mineral weathering was measured in the late fall. The results suggest that carbonate and silicate bedrock weathering processes are seasonally controlled. Thus single season sampling could not accurately represent an entire year's geochemical budget. In the White River, water samples obtained solely during the summer would consistently underestimate the total yearly source of bicarbonate from carbonate bedrock weathering. The same sample set would also provide data that would lead to an underestimation of the yearly atmospheric CO₂ draw down by bedrock weathering in the watershed. For example at four of the seven locations studied there was an almost two-fold difference between summer and spring calculated atmospheric CO₂ consumption rates.     

Granular titanite from the Roter Kamm crater in Namibia: Product of regional metamorphism,not meteorite impact

Accessory minerals with so-called granular texture have risen in importance as geochronological tools for U-Pb dating of meteorite impact events. Grain-scale recrystallization, typically triggered by a combination of high-strain deformation and post-impact heating, can create a polycrystalline microstructure consisting of neoblasts that expel radiogenic Pb, which are thus ideal for isotopic dating. While granular domains in zircon and monazite from shocked rocks have been demonstrated to preserve impact ages, few U-Pb dating studies have been conducted on granular microstructures in titanite (CaTiSiO₅). Here we report the occurrence of granular-textured titanite from ～2020 Ma granite basement rock exposed in the rim of the 4–5 Ma Roter Kamm impact structure in Namibia. Orientation mapping reveals two microstructurally distinct titanite populations: one consisting of strained/deformed grains, and the other consisting of grains that comprise aggregates of strain-free neoblasts. In situ U-Pb geochronology on 37 grains shows that most grains from both titanite populations yield indistinguishable U-Pb dates of ca. 1025 Ma, consistent with the observed microstructures forming during the Mesoproterozoic Namaqua Orogeny. Only four grains preserved older age domains, recording ca. 1875 Ma Paleoproterozoic metamorphism. Two significant observations emerge: (1) none of the analyzed titanite grains yield the 2020 Ma igneous crystallization age previously established from zircon in the same sample, and (2) no age-resetting was detected that could be attributed to the 4 to 5 Ma Roter Kamm impact event. Despite the similarity of the neoblastic microstructure to minerals from other sites with an established impact provenance, the granular texture and near-complete Pb-loss in titanite from Roter Kamm granite instead records a Paleo- to Mesoproterozoic polymetamorphic history, rather than Miocene age shock-related processes. These results highlight the critical importance of grain-scale context for interpretation of U-Pb data in granular titanite, and the potential for misinterpreting inherited (pre-impact) microstructures as impact-related phenomenon in target rocks with a complex geological history.     

渤海莱州湾晚第四纪底栖有孔虫分布特征及其地质意义

通过对渤海莱州湾GK138、GK111及GK95孔的255个沉积物样品中的有孔虫定量统计分析,共鉴定出底栖有孔虫15属32种。根据底栖有孔虫的丰度和分异度等分布特征和AMS14C和光释光（OSL）测年结果,揭示晚第四纪以来研究区共发育3套海相地层,分别是中更新世晚期的第三海相层、晚更新世的第二海相层和全新世的第一海相层,通过与全球海面变化曲线对比,发现其与MIS7、MIS5和MIS1阶段的高海面有良好的对应关系。样品的Q型聚类及主成分分析划分出3组代表不同沉积环境的有孔虫化石组合,第III化石组合带为中更新世晚期海侵的产物,为河口-滨岸浅海环境。第Ⅱ化石组合为晚更新世海侵的产物,为潮间带-潮下带沉积环境,第I化石组合带为潮上带-潮间带沉积环境。海相地层顶、底板高程和厚度的分析结果显示中更新世晚期至晚更新世期间发生过不同期次、不同强度的构造活动,而进入全新世以后构造活动相对减弱。     

土壤侵蚀链内细沟浅沟切沟流动力机制研究

通过模拟降雨试验的方法,系统研究了细沟流流速与流量、水深与流量、流速与水深及阻力系数与雷诺数之间的关系,雨强与坡度对细沟流水力特性的影响,不同细沟流流型、流态及水动力要素作用下的侵蚀特点,并对浅沟与切沟流的水动力特性及侵蚀规律进行了初步探讨.研究结果对于揭示土壤侵蚀链内不同侵蚀方式下的水沙流动力学机制,以及土壤侵蚀演化规律具有重要意义.     

Middle to Late Holocene glacial variations, periglacial processes and alluvial sedimentation on the higher Apennine massifs (Italy)

The major climatic variations that have affected the summit slopes of the higher Apennine massifs in the last 6000 yr are shown in alternating layers of organic matter-rich soils and alluvial, glacial and periglacial sediments. The burial of the soils, triggered by environmental-climatic variations, took place in several phases. For the last 3000 yr chronological correlations can be drawn between phases of glacial advance, scree and alluvial sedimentation and development of periglacial features. During some periods, the slopes were covered by vegetation up to 2700 m and beyond, while in other phases the same slopes were subject to glacial advances and periglacial processes, and alluvial sediments were deposited on the high plateaus. Around 5740-5590, 1560-1370 and 1300-970 cal yr B.P., organic matter-rich soils formed on slopes currently subject to periglacial and glacial processes; the mean annual temperature must therefore have been higher than at present. Furthermore, on the basis of the variations in the elevation of the lower limit reached by gelifraction, it can be concluded that the oscillations in the minimum winter temperatures could have ranged between 3.0°C lower (ca. 790-150 cal yr B.P.) and 1.2°C higher (ca. 5740-5590 cal yr B.P.) than present minimum winter temperatures. During the last 3000 yr the cold phases recorded by the Calderone Glacier advance in the Apennines essentially match basically the phases of glacial advance in the Alps.     

Peridotitic diamonds from Namibia: constraints on the composition and evolution of their mantle source

About half the diamonds studied from the Cenozoic placer deposits along the Namibian coast belong to the peridotitic suite. The peridotitic mantle source is heterogeneous ranging from lherzolitic to strongly Ca depleted (down to 0.24 wt.% CaO in garnet) and shows large variations in Cr/Al ratio, illustrated by very low to very high Cr₂O₃ contents in garnet (2.6–17.3 wt.%). The Cr-rich end of this range includes exceptionally high Cr₂O₃ contents in Mg-chromite (70.7 wt.%) and clinopyroxene (3.6 wt.%). Garnet-olivine thermometry appears to indicate two groups, one that equilibrated at temperatures between 1200 and 1220°C and a second between 960 and 1100°C. Combined estimates of pressure and temperature based on garnet-orthopyroxene pairs indicate a large variance in geothermal gradients, corresponding to 38–42 mW/m² surface heat flow.

The trace-element composition of peridotitic garnet inclusions (determined by SIMS) also indicates large diversity. Two principal groups, corresponding to different styles of metasomatic source enrichment, are recognized. The first group ranges from extremely LREE_N-depleted patterns, through trough-shaped REE_N to sinusoidal patterns with the position of the first peak gradually moving from the LREE_N to the MREE_N. This series of REE patterns is interpreted to reflect a range of metasomatic agents with decreasing LREE/HREE. Only in the case of the two garnets with REE_N peaking at Sm–Eu is this process connected with enrichment in Zr, without significant introduction of Y and Ti. The metasomatism responsible is interpreted as reflecting percolation of CHO-fluids through harzburgite under sub-solidus conditions. A second group of garnets shows an increase from LREE_N–MREE_N and almost flat (lherzolitic garnet) to moderately declining MREE_N–HREE_N at super-chondritic levels. This second style of metasomatism is caused by an agent carrying HFSE and showing only moderate enrichment in LREE over HREE, which points towards silicate melts.     

The role of uncertainty in bedrock depth and hydraulic properties on the stability of a variably-saturated slope

We investigate the uncertainty in bedrock depth and soil hydraulic parameters on the stability of a variably-saturated slope in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We couple Monte Carlo simulation of a three-dimensional flow model with numerical limit analysis to calculate confidence intervals of the safety factor using a 22-day rainfall record. We evaluate the marginal and joint impact of bedrock depth and soil hydraulic uncertainty. The mean safety factor and its 95% confidence interval evolve rapidly in response to the storm events. Explicit recognition of uncertainty in the hydraulic properties and depth to bedrock increases significantly the probability of failure.     

纳米比亚欢乐谷地区白岗岩型铀矿成矿物质来源分析

本文对纳米比亚欢乐谷地区与铀成矿关系密切的白岗岩进行了系统的主量元素、微量元素及Sr-Nd同位素研究。结果表明,矿化白岗岩具有较高的SiO_2(68.81%~76.02%,平均值73.11%),富钾,A/CNK为0.96~1.07,平均值1.01,为亚碱性系列的准铝质-弱过铝质岩石。岩石富集轻稀土[LREE/HREE=2.53~7.71;(La/Yb)_N=2.14~10.40],Eu亏损中等,高Rb/Sr比值(2.03~5.50,平均值4.36),岩石同时富集Rb、Th、U、K及Pb等大离子亲石元素,亏损Ba、Nb、Ta及Sr等元素。岩石的初始~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr比值为0.73035~0.79345,ε_(Nd)(t)值为-13.5~-17.4,晶质铀矿的ε_(Nd)(t)值为-14.8~-16.5,两阶段Nd模式年龄为2.43~2.56Ga。元素和Sr-Nd同位素地球化学特征表明矿化白岗岩是在碰撞后的伸展构造环境中形成的,主成矿期的成矿物质来源于富铀的前达马拉基底;热液叠加改造期的铀可能来源于原生铀矿物本身。     

论小流域内泥石流物源的判别—以康定县子耳沟为例

小流域内松散碎屑物质的稳定性及储量可以作为泥石流沟判别的依据。本文以康定县子耳沟为例,通过对滑塌面积率、不良地质体长度比、流域内暴发泥石流的碎屑物量最低标准三个指数的计算,判定子耳沟流域内松散碎屑物质物源丰富且不稳定,泥石流暴发可能性大。这种方法的应用,可以指导泥石流的预报预警和防灾减灾工作,判别山区小流域暴发泥石流的易发程度及规模。     

Building a 3-D model of a flood basalt: an example from the Etendeka, NW Namibia

Flood basalts represent large outpourings of lavas which often cover, and interact with, sedimentary basins. For this reason areas with significant flood basalt cover are often targets for hydrocarbon exploration. Problems exist, however, when trying to image sediments and structures in offshore regions covered by basalts. Here we present preliminary 3-D models of the Etendeka flood basalt province from NW Namibia, which can act as an aid in understanding the internal and external architecture of the flood basalt cover. Satellite images, digital elevation models, measured geological logs, sections and maps, are used to create the geological model. Models are presented in 2 parts; 1) models created using topography with images such as Land Sat and geological maps draped over them, and 2) a 3-D model of key lava and sediment surfaces in the basin as defined by measured geological sections. Initial results show a palaeo-volcanic feature early in the flood basalt history which is onlapped by later Iavas. The modelling also allows a simple correction for post emplacement subsidence by assuming an original sub horizontal position for the first basin wide silicic flow unit.     

The Rössing Uranium Deposit: a product of late-kinematic localization of uraniferous granites in the Central Zone of the Damara Orogen, Namibia

The Rössing granite-hosted uranium deposit in the Central Zone of the Pan-African Damara Orogen, Namibia, is situated in the “SJ area” to the south of the Rössing Dome. The coincidence of a number of features in this area suggests that mineralization is closely linked to late-kinematic evolution of the Rössing Dome. These features include: (1) the rotation of the dome's long axis (trend of 017°), relative to the regional F₃ trend of 042°; (2) southward dome impingement, concomitant with dome rotation, producing a wedge-shaped zone of alkali-leucogranites, within which uranium mineralization is transgressive with respect to granites and their host lithologies; uranium mineralization and a high fluid flux are also confined to this arcuate zone to the south and south-east of the dome core and (3) fault modeling that indicates that the SJ area underwent late-D₃ to D₄ brittle–ductile deformation, producing a dense fault network that was exploited by leucogranites. Dome rotation and southward impingement occurred after a protracted period of transtensional tectonism in the Central Zone, from ca. 542 to 526 Ma, during which I- and S-type granites were initiated in a metamorphic core complex. Late-kinematic deformation involved a rejuvenation of the stresses that acted from ca. 600 to 550 Ma. This deformation overlapped with uranium-enriched granite intrusion in the Central Zone at 510 ± 3 Ma. Such late-kinematic, north–south transpression, which persisted into the post-kinematic cooling phase until at least 478 ± 4 Ma, was synchronous with left-lateral displacement along NNE-trending (“Welwitschia Trend”) shears in the vicinity of Rössing. Late-kinematic deformation, causing block rotation, overlying dome rotation and interaction of the more competent units of the Khan Formation with the Rössing Formation in the dome rim was pivotal in the localization of uranium-enriched granites within a highly fractured, high-strain zone that was also the site of prolonged/high fluid flux.     

Late Eocene Sporopollen and Paleoclimate, Paleoenvironment of the Yuanqu Basin, Shanxi

1.IntroductionTheYuanquBasinisoneoftheearliestst-UdiedCenozoicinlandbasinsinChina.Duetotheabun-dantmammalfossilsexcavatedfromthePaleogenestrataofthebasin,especiallythecompIeteandsuc-cessivestrataaswellasvariousabundantmammalfossilsofLateEocene,whichprovidesasufficientfoundationforthedeterminationofstratigraphicalage,itisregardedasaremarkablecriterionforcor-relationwithotherbasins.TheYuanquBasinIiesatthesouthemmarginoftheNofthChinaplatform,theFigurel.1ndexmapshowingthelocationoftheYuanqu…     

吉林省镇赉县西北沟井区上白垩统姚家组油砂矿水文地质条件分析

吉林省镇赉县西北沟井区上白垩统姚家组油砂矿局部构造不发育,矿床矿层埋藏在当地侵蚀基准面以下,区内分布有上部潜水和深部承压水,均为中等富水性含水层,前者补给来源为大气降水,后者为区域地下水径流补给,矿床水文地质条件属简单类型。     

内蒙古大青山煤田晚古生代砾岩的沉积特征

大青山煤田晚古生代地层中有 1 4层沉积砾岩。其中,晚石炭世地层中赋存 8层,二叠世 6层。通过对这些砾岩层的野外测量、室内岩矿鉴定等综合分析研究,查明晚石炭世的砾岩几乎全是稳定的单成分砾岩,石英砂岩和燧石质砾石的含量高达 93 %以上,砾石最大扁平面均向南倾,倾角在 5° - 1 0°之间,与砾岩伴生的粗粒石英砂岩发育大型低角度双向交错层理,萨胡环境判别参数等特征表明晚石炭世砾岩为滨海环境下的产物。二叠世的砾岩则主要是复杂成分的砾岩,尤其是早二叠世晚期及晚二叠世初期形成的 2层砾岩中砾石种类达 1 5种,以中酸性火山岩和火山碎屑岩砾石为主,并含较多量的变质岩和中酸性侵入岩砾石,砾岩层各种特征表明二叠世砾岩为河流相产物。大青山煤田晚古生代沉积砾岩的形成与北部造山带的隆升密切相关,它们是前陆盆地的沉积产物。     

Sea‐level rise,depth‐dependent carbonate sedimentation and the paradox of drowned platforms

A mathematical model of carbonate platform evolution is presented in which depth‐dependent carbonate growth rates determine platform‐top accumulation patterns in response to rising relative sea‐level. This model predicts that carbonate platform evolution is controlled primarily by the water depth and sediment accumulation rate conditions at the onset of relative sea‐level rise. The long‐standing ‘paradox of a drowned platform’ arose from the observation that maximum growth rate potentials of healthy platforms are faster than those of relative sea‐level rise. The model presented here demonstrates that a carbonate platform could be drowned during a constant relative sea‐level rise whose rate remains less than the maximum carbonate production potential. This scenario does not require environmental changes, such as increases in nutrient supply or siliciclastic sedimentation, to have taken place. A rate of relative sea‐level rise that is higher than the carbonate accumulation rate at the initial water depth is the only necessary condition to cause continuous negative feedbacks to the sediment accumulation rates. Under these conditions, the top of the carbonate platform gradually deepens until it is below the active photic zone and drowns despite the strong maximum growth potential of the carbonate production factory. This result effectively resolves the paradox of a drowned carbonate platform. Test modelling runs conducted with 2·5 m and 15 m initial sea water depths at bracketed rates of relative sea‐level rise have determined how fast the system catches up and maintains the ‘keep‐up’ phase. This is the measure of time necessary for the basin to respond fully to external forcing mechanisms. The duration of the ‘catch‐up’ phase of platform response (termed ‘carbonate response time’) scales with the initial sea water depth and the platform‐top aggradation rate. The catch‐up duration can be significantly elongated with an increase in the rate of relative sea‐level rise. The transition from the catch‐up to the keep‐up phases can also be delayed by a time interval associated with ecological re‐establishment after platform flooding. The carbonate model here employs a logistical equation to model the colonization of carbonate‐producing marine organisms and captures the initial time interval for full ecological re‐establishment. This mechanism prevents the full extent of carbonate production to be achieved at the incipient stage of relative sea‐level rise. The increase in delay time due to the carbonate response time and self‐organized processes associated with biological colonization increase the chances for platform drowning due to deepening of water depth (> ca 10 m). Furthermore this implies a greater likelihood for an autogenic origin for high‐frequency cyclic strata than has been estimated previously.     

江苏连云港地区滨海相软土地质特性研究

根据江苏连云港地区大量的工程地质勘察资料，就该区软土层的因类型、物理力学特性、室内试验问题、现场原位测试，特别是力学指标的确定进行了深入的探讨和分析，结果表明：室内试验确定连云港 地区软土力学指标误差大，有些指标与实际误差在2倍以上，常难以气氛。用十字板、CPT方法有较好的效果。     

The age and formation mechanisms of Late Triassic fissure deposits,Gloucestershire, England: Comments on Mussini,G. et al. (2020). Anatomy of a Late Triassic Bristol fissure: Tytherington fissure 2

In the Late Triassic the landscape NE of present-day Bristol, SW England was dominated by Carboniferous Limestone ridges and cuestas that became progressively buried by continental Mercia Mudstones and finally inundated during the Rhaetian marine transgression. Mussini et al. (2020) adopt the assertions of earlier collaborators back to Whiteside and Marshall (2008) that terrestrial vertebrate assemblages from sediments contained within karstic fissure systems in the former limestone ridges at Cromhall, Tytherington and elsewhere are restricted to the Rhaetian. We review and reject the sedimentological, stratigraphic, geomorphological and topographic arguments for this and reassert a long pre-Rhaetian (Norian) history for the vertebrate-bearing fissure systems at both Tytherington and Cromhall. We also reject the contemporaneous Rhaetian freshwater-seawater mixing zone dissolution model for the fissure systems adopted by Mussini et al. (2020) and reaffirm that the Tytherington and Cromhall fissures developed as conduit caves with a long Triassic history. Applying a new regional study of the Rhaetian transgressive surface, we also show that whilst the fissures at Cromhall remained sealed after the Norian, those at nearby Tytherington were re-exposed in the Late Rhaetian. Already partially filled with Norian sediments, the Tytherington fissures were subject to reworking on the seabed. Internal collapses, probably triggered by well documented repeated regional seismicity, led to the chaotic state of the Tytherington fills when downward moving Rhaetian marine components came to lie amongst and mix with earlier Norian terrestrial sediments. The vertebrate associations in the Tytherington fissures therefore contain a substantial Rhaetian input whilst those at Cromhall do not.