Lipid biogeochemistry of Phormidium and Microcoleus mats

A study on the predominant sources of organic matter and the main diagenetic processes in two different cyanobacterial mats from evaporite-controlled environments was performed. Fatty acids, hydrocarbons, alcohols, ketones and aldehydes were anlyzed in selected millimetre and submillimetre core sections. The changes in lipid composition were evaluated by comparison with the vertical distributions of the populations observed by optic microscopy and with the lipid patterns of enrichment cultures of species such as cyanobacteria, diatoms, purple bacteria, sulphate-reducers and methanogens obtained from the mats.The cyanobacteria Phormidium valderianum and Microcoleus chthonoplastes are the predominant primary producers, and occur almost as monocultures in the respective top layers. However, these mat-forming organisms only leave minor features in the solvent-extractable lipid sedimentary record. The predominant fatty acid distributions parallel the composition observed in the enrichment cultures of purple bacteria and appear mixed with acids characteristic of heterotrophic eubacteria such as sulphate-reducers. The concentrations of these lipids are, however, 5–10 times lower than the cyanobacterial acids from the top layer. De novo heterotrophic eubacterial synthesis is also observed in cases such as the highly branched isoprenoid eicosenes, the major hydrocarbon in the deep layers (>2 mm) of the Phormidium mat. Other major diagenetic changes involve dehydration and hydrogenation. These two processes take place concurrently under anoxic conditions and have been observed among the sterols and the isoprenoid alcohols. Significant amounts of 5ß(H)-stanols were observed in the more reducing sections where molecular indicators of methanogenic bacteria were also found.     

Polar constituents of organic matter rich marls from evaporitic series of the Mulhouse basin

A suite of marl samples from the evaporitic series of the Mulhouse basin (France; Lower Oligocene) was studied for its biomarker content, in particular its polar constituents. Novel series of 3-carboxyalkyl steranes and 15-oxo triaromatic ketones were identified by synthesis. The 3-carboxyalkyl steranes probably originate from highly polar precursors yet unreported in living organisms. Our data suggest that micro-algae could be the major source of these compounds which seem to be indicators of high algal input rather than characteristic of evaporitic environments. The 15-oxo triaromatic ketones could be oxidation products of triaromatic steroid hydrocarbons formed during diagenesis, although their formation during work-up procedure could not be excluded.     

Geomorphologic approach for modelling the surface features of arid environments in a model of dust emissions: application to the Sahara desert

Abstract

Mineral dust emissions from arid regions are influenced by the surface features encountered in the source regions. These surface features control both the erosion threshold and the intensity of the dust flux. Recently, a soil-derived dust emission scheme has been designed in order to provide an explicit representation of the mineral dust accounting for the influence of the surface features on the dust emissions. This physical scheme has been validated with micro-scale field measurements. Its large scale application has required the development of additional relations to estimate the input parameters from more accessible data: the mean height and the covering rate of the roughness elements and the min-eralogical soil type. The determination of these surface data has been based on a geomorphologic approach which describes the surface features of arid areas in a 1 × l° grid. Inside each square degree, up to five different areas characterised by different surface features have been distinguished. However, these areas have not been located inside the square degree. Each area can be constituted by several combined surface features, including roughness, vegetation, granulometry. Five main types of landscapes and eight main types of surface features have been distinguished. This approach is based on the combination of various data, mainly topographical, geological maps and climatological analysis. In addition to the problem of scale transfer, the main constraints to obtain a quantitative assessment are the confidence level of the existing data and the number of parameters to document. On the opposite, with this method, the fine scale required by the dust modelling can be separated from the scale accessible by the mapping approach, of the order of the square degree. This method can also be easily improved by aggregating new data and can be extended to other deserts. An example of application is given for the north-west of the Algerian Sahara where the method has been elaborated. The data provided by the modelling of the surface have been used to simulate dust emissions for 1990, 1991 and 1992 over the central and western Sahara. Over these three years, the mean annual dust emission is about 760 Mt-year^?1 Although a significant interannual variability exists (mainly due to changes in the wind pattern), the most intensive emissions remain quite constant in terms of location. The percentage of agreement with satellite observations higher than 0.7 is 74 %, but only 32 % when using a model having a single threshold function for dust emission (i.e. the same surface feature for the whole Sahara) (cf. later Marticorena et al., 1997). © 2000 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS     

松辽盆地北部上白垩统油页岩地球化学特征及沉积环境初探

松辽盆地北部上白垩统油页岩属中一差油页岩;有机质类型以Ⅰ型为主,Ⅱ.型为辅,处于低成熟一成熟阶段.生物标记化合物都含有丰富的正构烷烃、类异戊二烯型烷烃、萜类化合物和甾类化合物.正构烷烃呈前高后低的单峰型分布,nC₂₃、nC₂₇为主峰碳,重烃组份占绝对优势,OEP值为1.02～6.63,具有明显的奇碳数优势.Pr/Ph比值为0.13～1.37,多数小于0.6,具植烷优势,伽马蜡烷含量较高,油页岩沉积环境为咸化还原环境且盐度较高.萜烷丰度顺序为五环三萜烷>三环萜烷,三环萜烷中C₂₀、C₂₁和C₂₃,丰度相对较高,且C₂₀、C₂₁和C₂₃多呈倒“V”形分布,C₂₃相对富集.甾类化合物主要成份为规则甾烷C₂₇、C₂₈和C₂₉,ααα20RC₂₇、C₂₈和C₂₉甾烷多数呈几乎对称的“V”形分布,C₂₉ >C₂₈ >C₂₇.甾萜烷分布特征反映其原始有机母质构成中既有丰富的菌藻类等低等水生生物,又有一定比例的陆生高等植物混合输入.     

综合测井资料在研究新疆吐哈盆地十红滩铀矿区地层岩性及沉积环境中的应用

本文阐述了吐哈盆地十红滩铀矿区岩石地球物理参数特征，并利用综合测井资料深人研究了地层划分、岩性识别，进行了沉积环境分析，对可地浸砂岩型铀矿找矿具有重要的意义。