The Late Quaternary vegetational and climatic history of Easter Island

Easter Island occupies an exceptionally isolated position in the south Pacific Ocean. It is entirely volcanic, and is famous for its giant statues. Late Quaternary sediments have been investigated in three craters: Rano Raraku, Rano Aroi and Rano Kao, giving a continuous record over the past 30 Ka. Pollen records indicate that the island was formerly forested. Palynological and sedimentological evidence suggests a Late Pleistocene climate slightly cooler and drier than the present. Deforestation by people occurred mainly between 1200 and 800 yr BP. This may have led to an ecological disaster and to the decline of the megalithic civilization. The depauperation of the present native flora owes more to human activity than to isolation.     

Petrology and geochemistry of Easter Island

Easter Island has developed around three volcanoes—Poike, an older (3 m.y.) strato-volcano, Rano Kau, a caldera, and the fissure complex of Terevaka and its associated cones. The lavas show a wide compositional spread from tholeiites and olivine tholeiites to hawaiites, mugearites, benmoreites, trachytes and rhyolites (comendites). Hawaiite is by far the most abundant rock type and trachytes and rhyolites are relatively rare. Intermediate and acid rocks are concentrated in the southwestern part of the island on or around Rano Kau.The basaltic rocks, which are plagioclase-phyric or aphyric, are transitional hypersthenenormative types characterized by high contents of Fe, Ti and Zr but low K and Mg. The Poike basalts are marginally lower in Zr, Nb, Y and Zn compared with those of the younger volcanoes, but the trachytes from this centre show anomalously high concentrations of Rb, Zr and Nb.The island's youngest flow, the Roiho basalt, is an olivine tholeiite with distinctly more alkaline affinities: it is olivine-microphyric with relatively high contents of Mg, Ni and K.The study was initiated whilst this author was at Department of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Oxford.     

Drought, vegetation change, and human history on Rapa Nui (Isla de Pascua, Easter Island)

Stratigraphic records from lake sediment cores and slope deposits on Rapa Nui document prehistoric human impacts and natural environmental changes. A hiatus in sedimentation in Rano Raraku suggests that this lake basin dried out sometime after 4090-4410 cal yr BP and refilled only decades to centuries before AD 1180-1290. Widespread ecosystem changes caused by forest clearance by Polynesian farmers began shortly after the end of this drought. Terrestrial sections show a chronology of burning and soil erosion similar to the lake cores. Although changing sediment types and shifts in the pollen rain suggest that droughts occurred earlier in the Holocene, as yet there is no evidence for droughts occurring after AD 1180-1290. The timing of the agricultural colonization of Rapa Nui now seems well established at ca. AD 1200 and it was accompanied by rapid deforestation that was probably exacerbated by the island's small size, its droughty climate, and the rarity of primeval fires. Detailed records of a large interval of Rapa Nui's ecological history remain elusive due to the drought hiatus in the Rano Raraku sediment record. We find no evidence for a “rat outbreak impact” on Rapa Nui's vegetation preceding anthropogenic forest clearance.     

Durability assessment of the Ala?at? tuff (Izmir) in western Turkey

Ala?at? tuff has been used extensively as a source of building stone for outdoor and indoor decorations since the historical times in and around the tourist town of Ala?at? (western Turkey). The use of the Alacati tuff in buildings has been made compulsory by the Ala?at? municipality, for preserving the historical appearance of the buildings, after 2005 in Ala?at?. It has been noticed that, evident deteriorations developed in tuff surfaces of the stone buildings and garden walls within 5?C6?years of their emplacement. Durability properties of the Ala?at? tuff are evaluated by determining the mineralogical, chemical, and physico-mechanical properties of the fresh tuff samples obtained from the only operative quarry in the area. Ageing tests such as Na₂SO₄ and MgSO₄ salt crystallization, freezing?Cthawing, and wetting?Cdrying were conducted on the fresh tuff samples to assess their durability. Additionally, the durability of the tuff is also evaluated by determining its average pore diameter, saturation coefficient, wet-to-dry strength ratio, static rock and slake-durability indices. Fresh Ala?at? tuff has high porosity and low unit weight and strengths and are classified to be very poor to moderately durable stone based on the test results of different durability assessment methods. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses have also been carried out on the deteriorated tuff samples collected from the surfaces of the stone buildings to determine the effect of weathering on tuff and the test results have been compared with those of the fresh tuff samples. There is no major difference observed between the mineralogy and chemistry of the fresh and weathered tuff samples thus, it has been concluded that physical weathering has been dominant in the area in deterioration of tuff.     

Glacial to Holocene climate changes in the SE Pacific. The Raraku Lake sedimentary record (Easter Island, 27°S)

Easter Island (SE Pacific, 27°S) provides a unique opportunity to reconstruct past climate changes in the South Pacific region based on terrestrial archives. Although the general climate evolution of the south Pacific since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is coherent with terrestrial records in southern South America and Polynesia, the details of the dynamics of the shifting Westerlies, the South Pacific Convergence Zone and the South Pacific Anticyclone during the glacial–interglacial transition and the Holocene, and the large scale controls on precipitation in tropical and extratropical regions remain elusive. Here we present a high-resolution reconstruction of lake dynamics, watershed processes and paleohydrology for the last 34 000 cal yrs BP based on a sedimentological and geochemical multiproxy study of 8 cores from the Raraku Lake sediments constrained by 22 AMS radiocarbon dates. This multicore strategy has reconstructed the sedimentary architecture of the lake infilling and provided a stratigraphic framework to integrate and correlate previous core and vegetation studies conducted in the lake. High lake levels and clastic input dominated sedimentation in Raraku Lake between 34 and 28 cal kyr BP. Sedimentological and geochemical evidences support previously reported pollen data showing a relatively open forest and a cold and relatively humid climate during the Glacial period. Between 28 and 17.3 cal kyr BP, including the LGM period, colder conditions contributed to a reduction of the tree coverage in the island. The coherent climate patterns in subtropical and mid latitudes of Chile and Eastern Island for the LGM (more humid conditions) suggest stronger influence of the Antarctic circumpolar current and an enhancement of the Westerlies. The end of Glacial Period occurred at 17.3 cal kyr BP and was characterized by a sharp decrease in lake level conducive to the development of major flood events and erosion of littoral sediments. Deglaciation (Termination 1) between 17.3 and 12.5 cal kyr BP was characterized by an increase in lake productivity, a decrease in the terrigenous input and a rapid lake level recovery, inaugurating a period of intermediate lake levels, dominance of organic deposition and algal lamination. The timing and duration of deglaciation events in Easter Island broadly agree with other mid- and low-latitude circum South Pacific terrestrial records. The transition to the Holocene was characterized by lower lake levels. The lake level dropped during the early Holocene (ca 9.5 cal kyr BP) and swamp and shallow lake conditions dominated till mid Holocene, partially favored by the infilling of the lacustrine basin. During the mid- to late-Holocene drought phases led to periods of persistent low water table, subaerial exposure and erosion, generating a sedimentary hiatus in the Raraku sequence, from 4.2 to 0.8 cal kyr BP. The presence of this dry mid Holocene phase, also identified in low Andean latitudes and in Patagonian mid latitudes, suggests that the shift of storm tracks caused by changes in the austral summer insolation or forced by “El Niño-like” dominant conditions have occurred at a regional scale. The palm deforestation of the Easter Island, attributed to the human impact could have started earlier, during the 4.2–0.8 cal kyr BP sedimentary gap. Our paleoclimatic data provides insights about the climate scenarios that could favor the arrival of the Polynesian people to the island. If it occurred at ca AD 800 it coincided with the warmer conditions of the Medieval Climate Anomaly, whereas if it took place at ca AD 1300 it was favored by enhanced westerlies at the onset of the Little Ice Age. Changes in land uses (farming, intensive cattle) during the last century had a large impact in the hydrology and limnology (eutrophication) of the lake.     

印尼塔里阿布岛铁矿项目岩心钻探施工技术

在印尼塔里阿布铁矿项目岩心钻探施工中,其地层既具有泥岩、页岩、粘土岩的遇水膨胀、坍塌,又有凝灰岩、火山灰岩的遇水溶解及硅化石英岩的“打滑”,以及粉状铁矿取心难的特点。易出现卡钻、粘钻等孔内事故。通过大胆的探索,形成了针对该地区岩心钻探施工的一套施工工艺,取得了良好的钻探技术效果。详细介绍了印尼塔里阿布岛铁矿项目岩心钻探施工技术。     

Pyroclastic rocks: another manifestation of ultramafic volcanism on Gorgona Island,Colombia

Tertiary ultramafic volcanism on Gorgona Island, Colombia, is manifested not only by komatiite flows, but also by a more voluminous sequence of tuff breccias, which is cut by comagmatic picrite dikes. The ultramafic pyroclastic rocks are chaotic to stratified mixtures of angular to subrounded glassy picritic blocks and a fine grained volcaniclastic matrix that consists primarily of plastically-deformed, glassy globules. The entire deposit is interpreted to have formed by an explosive submarine eruption of phenocryst-laden picritic magma. MgO contents of tuff breccias and picrite dikes range from 21 to 27 wt%. Relative to nearby komatiite flows, these rocks are MgO-rich, and FeO-, TiO₂- and Ni-poor. HREE concentrations are very low (N<0.2), indicating derivation from a more highly depleted mantle source region. Nd isotopic data suggest a cogenetic relationship between the picritic magma that formed the tuff breccia and associated dikes and that which produced the komatiite flows. Nevertheless Pb isotopic data as well as whole rock geochemistry preclude such a connection, either due to olivine fractionation/accumulation or to different degrees of partial melting. These ultramafic rock types crystallized from magmas which most likely were extracted from distinct mantle source regions.     

不同岩性火山岩孔隙度压力敏感性及其影响因素：以长岭断陷火山岩为例

为了解不同岩性火山岩孔隙度的压力敏感性,笔者选取长岭断陷安山岩、角砾凝灰岩和凝灰岩的代表性岩样,分别进行3.4、8.3、13.1、17.9、22.8、27.6、32.4、37.2 MPa多个覆压条件下的气体法孔隙度测量。结果表明,随着压力的增大,3种岩性岩样的孔隙度呈不同幅度的减小,幅度减小程度由大到小的岩性依次为凝灰岩、角砾凝灰岩、安山岩;说明凝灰岩的孔隙压力敏感性较强、角砾凝灰岩的孔隙压力敏感性居中、安山岩的孔隙压力敏感性最弱。经X射线衍射全岩分析、偏光显微镜下岩石薄片鉴定、高压压汞仪实验和基于CPMG脉冲序列的核磁共振实验分析显示,岩石组份、颗粒分选、孔径分布是影响孔隙压力敏感性的关键因素;塑性矿物体积分数越大、颗粒越小、孔径越小,相应孔隙度的压力敏感性越强。     

Alkali feldspar liquid equilibrium relationships in peralkaline oversaturated systems and volcanic rocks

A critical review of both experimental data and natural rock sequences allows a comparison of liquid lines of descent in peralkaline oversaturated systems. Available experimental data have been used to draw the liquidus surfaces and the fractionation curves in various planes including the alkali feldspar join. The thermal valley becomes steeper, the fractionation curves being channeled faster towards the thermal valley with increasing alkali-silica ratio. The slope of the thermal valley varies so that the higher the peralkalinity, the more sodic the most fractionated liquids. Rock series from Easter Island, Gran Canaria, Pantellaria Island, Boina (Afar), Fantale (Ethiopia) and Menengai (Kenya) in which there is good evidence for alkali feldspar fractionation, show that such variations do occur in nature. Factors other than the peralkalinity of the series, such as additional components and changes in the confining pressure are shown to affect the orientation and location of the thermal valley.     

西藏谢通门县雄村斑岩型铜金矿集区I号矿体的岩石地球化学特征:对成矿构造背景的约束

本文以雄村矿集区I号铜金矿体为研究对象,通过对含矿斑岩-含眼球状石英斑晶的角闪石英闪长玢岩、赋矿凝灰岩以及不含矿斑岩-角闪石英闪长玢岩的岩石地球化学研究,认为这三类岩石属钙碱性岩石系列,具有与岛弧火山岩相类似的地球化学特征,表现为Mg#值介于38～78(平均44),高钾、富铝,TiO2含量较低,相对富集LREE、LILE,亏损HREE、HFS,缺少Eu异常。结合雄村矿区I号矿体的成岩成矿时代以及岩石地球化学特征,认为I号矿体的成岩成矿事件应该发生于新特提斯洋壳向北俯冲于拉萨地块之下而形成的岛弧环境,火山/侵入岩可能是俯冲带的新特提斯洋壳释放出的流体交代楔形地幔区的EMI型富集地幔的产物。     

Isotopic constraints on the Easter Seamount Chain source

New isotopic data (Sr, Nd and Pb) for lavas from Easter and Salas y Gomez Islands, and nine seamounts along the length of the Easter Seamount Chain (ESC) to the east of these islands, exhibit a regular behavior that is consistent with two-component mixing between a MORB-like source and more enriched mantle (the Easter Plume source) characterized by relatively radiogenic Pb and unradiogenic Sr. Based on the linearity of mixing trends on the isotope diagrams, the plume source appears to have maintained approximately the same isotopic composition over the 20 to 30 Ma history of the Easter Plume sampled by the seamounts. In current nomenclature, the plume source resembles a mix of predominantly HIMU mantle with a small amount of EMI. The proportions of MORB and plume source mantle sampled by the lavas erupted along the ESC vary in a systematic way, with Easter Island and seamounts to the west containing larger fractions of the MORB component than Salas y Gomez Island and the older seamounts to the east. This variability is probably a reflection of the nearness to the spreading center, and therefore lithospheric thickness, at the time of volcanism Received: 27 April 1998 / Accepted: 11 December 1998     

论火山碎屑流和涌浪堆积的特征和成因模式：以浙东南沿海地区为例

本文根据野外地质特征、岩相学特征以及岩石化学和地球化学特征,将火山碎屑流和涌浪堆积归纳为三种不同的岩相组分,即次火山型熔结凝灰岩组合、涌浪型熔结凝灰岩组合和灰流型熔结凝灰岩组合。对这三种不同的岩相组合,特别是其中的熔结凝灰岩的各类特征分别进行了详细论述和相互对比,并在此基础上提出了一个火山碎屑流和涌浪堆积的综合成因模式。     

Welded tuff porosity characterization using mercury intrusion,nitrogen and ethylene glycol monoethyl ether sorption and epifluorescence microscopy

Porosity of welded tuff from Snowshoe Mountain, Colorado, was characterized by mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), nitrogen sorption porosimetry, ethylene glycol monoethyl ether (EGME) gas phase sorption and epifluorescence optical microscopy. Crushed tuff of two particle-size fractions (1-0.3 mm and less than 0.212 mm), sawed sections of whole rock and crushed tuff that had been reacted with 0.1 N hydrochloric acid were examined. Average MIP pore diameter values were in the range of 0.01–0.02μm. Intrusion volume was greatest for tuff reacted with 0.1 N hydrochloric acid and least for sawed tuff. Cut rock had the smallest porosity (4.72%) and crushed tuff reacted in hydrochloric acid had the largest porosity (6.56%). Mean pore diameters from nitrogen sorption measurements were 0.0075–0.0187 μm. Nitrogen adsorption pore volumes (from 0.005 to 0.013 cm³/g) and porosity values (from 1.34 to 3.21%) were less than the corresponding values obtained by MIP. More than half of the total tuff pore volume was associated with pore diameters < 0.05μm. Vapor sorption of EGME demonstrated that tuff pores contain a clay-like material. Epifluorescence microscopy indicated that connected porosity is heterogeneously distributed within the tuff matix; mineral grains had little porosity. Tuff porosity may have important consequences for contaminant disposal in this host rock.     

Contributions to the mineral chemistry of Hawaiian rocks

Detailed examination of rhyodacite from a new locality on Kauaopuu Ridge, Oahu, Hawaii (the second occurrence of rhyodacite in the Hawaiian volcanic province) yields the following results and conclusions: i) Bulk composition, mineral content, texture, and geographic location indicate that the newly found rhyodacite is part of the Mauna Kuwale rhyodacite flow described by Macdonald (1940); ii) Mineral phases include plagioclase (An_53–23), biotite, orthopyroxene, Ti-rich hornblende, titaniferous magnetite, and ilmenite; iii) Groundmass glass, about 75% by volume, is similar in bulk composition to oceanic rhyolite such as that of Easter Island and Iceland; iv) Similarity in composition between rhyodacite groundmass glass, described here, and bulk composition of oceanic rhyolite from Easter Island and Iceland, suggests that the latter could conceivably have formed by crystal fractionation of a rhyodacitic magma.     

滇中易门地区约1.85Ga凝灰岩的厘定及其地质意义

在滇中易门-罗茨断裂带以西前人划分的昆阳群美党组中发现了大量的中酸性凝灰岩。采用锆石激光剥蚀法(LAICP-MS)对易门县铜厂一带的英安质凝灰岩、石英晶屑凝灰岩进行了年龄测定,获得锆石U-Pb年龄加权平均值为1842±26Ma(MSWD=7.6,n=29)和1860±25Ma(MSWD=2.5,n=11)。2件样品的锆石Th/U值为0.2～1.0,且均具清晰的振荡环带结构,为岩浆成因锆石。该套凝灰岩产于一套厚度超过1000m的火山-细碎屑岩组合中,其下发育厚约800m的黑色板岩-碳酸盐岩组合,表明滇中易门地区存在厚度超过2000m的古元古界。此年龄值与全球性的Columbia超大陆事件一致,所以,在进行Columbia超大陆重建时需要充分考虑扬子陆块的位置及意义。     

关于衢州古城墙通仙门凝灰岩砌块相对风化速度的研究

岩石风化速度历来受到工程地质学界和地貌学界的关注, 但由于岩石在自然条件下的风化速度很慢, 通常很难测到定量化的结果。为了研究衢州古城通仙门城台基座的凝灰岩砌块的相对风化速度, 作者利用与之相邻的石英砂岩水平砌块和它之间风化厚度的比较来估算凝灰岩相对于石英砂岩自明代筑城开始至今的相对风化速度, 得出平均风化速度为0.086mmA-1的结论。     

新疆鄯善县康古尔金矿带小尖山金矿地质特征及找矿标志

新疆鄯善县康古尔金矿带小尖山金矿位于星星峡谷带—旱山微板块中的雅满苏-红石山-黑鹰山晚古生代陆内裂谷带内康古尔金矿带的东部,产于苦水大断裂南侧的巨型韧性剪切带内,具有明显韧性剪切带控矿作用。矿体分为2类:蚀变岩型金矿、石英脉型金矿。矿区初步圈定了3条较具规模的蚀变岩型金矿体和2条石英脉型金矿体。其中,蚀变岩型金矿是主要矿床类型,赋存于安山质凝灰岩与英安质凝灰岩的接触带上安山质凝灰岩一侧,整个矿带受苦水断裂之次级韧性剪切带控制。通过综合分析,初步认为该区金矿属于与韧性剪切带有关的中—低温热液型金矿床,并总结了控矿构造、容矿岩石、岩浆岩、地球化学、热液蚀变等5个方面的找矿标志。     

新疆哈密沁城一带南华系青石峡组地质特征及意义

在哈密沁城青石峡一带原划为上石炭统居里得能组中解体出一套浅变质火山-沉积岩系,岩石组合为变玄武岩、阳起石片岩、变凝灰岩,变酸性凝灰岩、变火山灰凝灰岩、霏细岩、流纹岩、变岩屑砂岩、千枚岩等,为玄武岩-流纹岩组合,安山岩较少,具双峰式火山岩特征,为裂谷型火山岩组合.火山岩岩石化学特征为碱性玄武岩系列,钠质类型,成熟度低,与裂谷火山岩吻合,稀土元素分布型式为轻稀土富集型,δEu=0.88～0.98,为Eu平坦型,具幔源岩浆特性.微量元素比值蛛网图具大陆板内裂谷玄武岩特征.构造环境判别显示为大陆裂谷环境,具高原火山岩向裂谷演化特点.同位素Sm-Nd测量年龄为707～757 Ma,为早南华世.该套火山岩特征为裂解型的裂谷火山岩,并可与库鲁克塔格地区贝义西组对比,所以这套火山岩时代定为南华纪,新建下南华统青石峡组是古亚洲洋南华纪裂解时产物,为吐哈地块演化提供了新证据.     

三塘湖盆地马东地区卡拉岗组烃源岩特征与致密油意义

      凝灰岩致密油藏作为一种特殊的油藏类型,已受到高度关注,而烃源岩的质量对致密油藏形成起着至关重要的作用.为了研究新疆三塘湖盆地马朗凹陷石炭系火山岩油气藏成藏规律,本文在基本地质特征研究的基础上,通过岩石样品的岩石热解、干酪根碳同位素和饱和烃色质谱等分析测试,对马东地区卡拉岗组不同岩性烃源岩特征进行描述与评价.研究结果表明:凝灰质泥岩和白云质泥岩均具有一定生烃潜力,其中凝灰质泥岩生烃潜力大,有机质丰度高,总有机碳质量分数平均值大于２％,以Ⅱ型有机质为主;卡拉岗组烃源岩埋藏深度较小,镜质体反射率主要分布在０．５％~０．８％,总体上处于低熟—成熟阶段.纵向上各种岩性烃源岩与凝灰岩交错叠置,有利于形成源内自生自储型油藏,对卡拉岗组致密凝灰岩油藏的形成具有重要意义.     

晚三叠世火山活动对鄂尔多斯盆地长7优质烃源岩发育的影响

岩芯和露头剖面观察结果表明,鄂尔多斯盆地长7优质烃源层中广泛分布薄层和纹层状凝灰岩,薄层凝灰岩的SiO2含量介于49．37％-72．45％之间,以中、酸性为主。岩石薄片的镜下观察结果表明,常见晶屑凝灰岩、玻屑凝灰岩和双屑凝灰岩,并可见到呈有序结构（成分和粒度）的凝灰岩纹层,同期喷发、大气降落沉积特征明显。根据其岩石类型、主元素和微量元素组成、锆石U—Pb年龄等的对比,以及凝灰岩的平面分布特征判断,盆地内长7优质烃源层中的凝灰岩可能主要来自秦岭地区的同期火山喷发活动。扬子与华北陆块碰撞、秦岭造山的区域构造活动的活跃是引起长7最大湖泛的主要动力因素,为优质烃源岩发育提供了基本的地质条件,同期频繁的火山喷发活动与湖底热液活动等共同促进了优质烃源岩的大规模发育。