黔西南卡林型金矿床与区域古油藏的关系:来自流体包裹体气相组成和沥青拉曼光谱特征的证据

黔西南地区是世界第二大卡林型金矿床集中区,同时也发育有大量古油藏,二者空间关系密切,但是否具有成因联系目前尚不清楚且存在较大争议。本文报道该区典型金矿床与成矿有关的热液矿物中流体包裹体的气相组成和高品位金矿石中沥青的激光拉曼光谱分析结果,以探讨含有机质流体与金成矿作用之间的关系。研究表明,虽然含砷富金黄铁矿、石英、方解石、萤石和雄黄等热液矿物形成于不同的成矿阶段,但其中流体包裹体的有机气相组分种类、含量及相对比例整体较为一致,表明成矿流体中的有机络离子团在成矿作用过程中没有发生明显的分解或重组,进而说明黔西南卡林型金矿成矿作用过程中有机质并未以有机络离子团的形式对金进行有效搬运或其搬运金的能力非常有限。在N2/Ar-CO2/CH4流体来源判别图解中,各蚀变矿物中的流体包裹体气相组成主要落在循环的大气降水区域,经大气水区域向岩浆流体区域延伸,整体上构成一条非常好的线性分布趋势,暗示成矿流体可能起源于深部岩浆但在演化过程中有大量循环大气水的加入。水银洞金矿床的1件石英样品偏离上述趋势线并向有机流体方向偏移,可能反映了流体迁移过程中有机质的加入。该区金矿床的矿石中均不同程度地发育浸染状沥青,不同矿床中沥青的激光拉曼光谱特征基本一致,说明该区金矿床中的沥青具有相同成因。根据沥青激光拉曼光谱特征地质温度计反演计算的成矿早阶段流体温度为317~336℃,明显高于区域古地温温度(160~250℃)以及区域古油藏的流体包裹体均一温度(73~175℃),说明该区卡林型金矿床的成矿热源与区域古地温无关。对区域地质及近年来地球物理与地球化学最新成果的综合分析表明,该区卡林型金矿床可能是叠加在区域古地温场之上的深部岩浆活动远端低温热液成矿作用的产物,与金矿床空间关系密切的有机质可能为来自先存古油藏并沿控矿构造发生逃逸的油气物质裂解产物,金成矿与区域古油藏之间不存在成因联系。     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of late Holocene raised strandplain sequences adjacent to Lakes Michigan and Superior, Upper Peninsula, Michigan, USA

This study evaluates the accuracy of optically stimulated luminescence to date well-preserved strandline sequences at Manistique/Thompson bay (Lake Michigan), and Tahquamenon and Grand Traverse Bays (Lake Superior) that span the past ∼4500 yr. The single aliquot regeneration (SAR) method is applied to produce absolute ages for littoral and eolian sediments. SAR ages are compared against AMS and conventional ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Modern littoral and eolian sediments yield SAR ages <100 yr indicating near, if not complete, solar resetting of luminescence prior to deposition. Beach ridges that yield SAR ages <2000 yr show general agreement with corresponding ¹⁴C ages on swale organics. Significant variability in ¹⁴C ages >2000 cal yr B.P. complicates comparison to SAR ages at all sites. However, a SAR age of 4280 ± 390 yr (UIC913) on ridge77 at Tahquamenon Bay is consistent with regional regression from the high lake level of the Nipissing II phase ca. 4500 cal yr B.P. SAR ages indicate a decrease in ridge formation rate after ∼1500 yr ago, likely reflecting separation of Lake Superior from lakes Huron and Michigan. This study shows that SAR is a credible alternative to ¹⁴C methods for dating littoral and eolian landforms in Great Lakes and other coastal strandplains where ¹⁴C methods prove problematic.     

Magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for coal ash pollution within riverbed sediments in a watershed with complex geology (southeastern USA)

A study of near surface sediments from the Dan River (southeastern USA) was conducted to assess the use of magnetic properties as proxies of coal ash after a recent spill. The watershed geology is diverse and potentially contributes magnetic minerals to riverbed sediment from diabase dikes in the Dan River Triassic Basin and from granitic gneiss outside the basin. Coal ash is heterogeneous, including aluminosilicate spheres, amorphous particles and carbonaceous rods and lacy particles. The magnetic fraction of ash from the failed storage pond is up to 17 wt% and is mostly composed of black spheres with maghemite and magnetite. Ash was detected in riverbed sediment from quiet water settings such as inside of meander bends, the confluence of tributary streams and near islands between the spill site and 20 miles downstream in the Schoolfield Reservoir, Danville, VA. The strong magnetic signal is detected above background in riverbed samples and is strongly positively correlated with total ash; elevated low field magnetic susceptibility (χ _LF) is evident in samples with ≥ 12% ash content. Anhysteretic remanent magnetization and hysteresis parameters delineate native sediment, ash-bearing sediment, and diabase dikes. Between 20 and 70 miles downstream of the spill site, ash concentrations were either buried or too low due to dilution with native sediment to be detected with χ _LF in riverbed samples.     

Variability patterns of the annual frequency and timing of low streamflow days across the United States and their linkage to regional and large‐scale climate

Low‐flow events can cause significant impacts to river ecosystems and water‐use sectors; as such, it is important to understand their variability and drivers. In this study, we characterise the variability and timing of annual total frequency of low‐streamflow days across a range of headwater streams within the continental United States. To quantify this, we use a metric that counts the annual number of low‐flow days below a given threshold, defined as the cumulative dry days occurrence (CDO). First, we identify three large clusters of stream gauge locations using a Partitioning Around Medoids (PAM) clustering algorithm. In terms of timing, results reveal that for most clusters, the majority of low‐streamflow days occur from the middle of summer until early fall, although several locations in Central and Western United States also experience low‐flow days in cold seasons. Further, we aim to identify the regional climate and larger scale drivers for these low‐streamflow days. Regionally, we find that precipitation deficits largely associate with low‐streamflow days in the Western United States, whereas within the Central and Eastern U.S. clusters, high temperature indicators are also linked to low‐streamflow days. In terms of larger scale, we examine sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies, finding that extreme dry years exhibit a high degree of co‐occurrence with different patterns of warmer SST anomalies across the Pacific and Northern Atlantic Oceans. The linkages identified with regional climate and SSTs offer promise towards regional prediction of changing conditions of low‐streamflow events.     

Coastal seas as a context for science teaching: a lesson from Chesapeake Bay

Lessons that employ authentic environmental data can enhance the ability of students to understand fundamental science concepts. This differs from traditional "environmental education" in that school curricula need not set aside time for educators to teach only environmental topics. Rather, the "environment" is used to advance student learning in science and technology. The success of this approach depends on programs that encourage scientists to communicate more effectively with teachers at all education levels. The expanding diversity of research and monitoring activities on the world's marine waters constitutes an outstanding potential education resource. Many of these projects involve remote sensing with sophisticated instrumentation and employ Internet technology to compile measurements, interpret data using graphs and satellite imagery, and share the results among scientific colleagues and the general public alike. Unfortunately, these resources, which constitute a much shortened path between research findings and textbook presentation, are seldom interpreted for use by K-12 educators. We have developed an example that uses the Chesapeake Bay as a paradigm to demonstrate how such interpretation can assist educators in teaching important principles in physical oceanography and marine ecology. We present this example using PowerPoint to conduct a virtual tour of selected Internet sources. Our example begins with the conceptual "salt wedge" circulation model of Chesapeake Bay as a partially mixed estuary. Teachers have the opportunity to explore this model using salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen data taken from a research vessel platform during summer professional development programs. This source of authentic data, originally obtained by teachers themselves, clearly demonstrates the presence of a picnocline and deep-water anoxia. Our lesson plan proceeds to interpret these data using additional Internet-based resources at increasing scales of time and space. The "salt wedge," picnocline, and anoxia are examined using graphics derived from data taken by researchers using "ScanFish," a towed instrument that samples temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen at a resolution of only a few meters vertically and horizontally. The seasonal dynamics of these parameters at a given location are interpreted using biweekly monitoring data obtained as part of the state-federal Chesapeake Bay Program. The influence of annual variations in freshwater input is examined using stream flow data from US. Geological Survey gauging stations. Satellite remote sensing images from the TOPEX/Poseidon project are used to show how El Ni?o and La Ni?a events in the mid-Pacific affect the Chesapeake Bay system via rainfall on its watershed. Finally, the life cycle of the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is presented to show how an estuarine organism has adapted to this truly unique and dynamic coastal environment.     

Can Water Vapour Raman Lidar Resolve Profiles of Turbulent Variables in the Convective Boundary Layer?

High-resolution water vapour measurements made by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Raman lidar operated at the Southern Great Plains Climate Research Facility site near Lamont, Oklahoma, U.S.A. are presented. Using a 2-h measurement period for the convective boundary layer (CBL) on 13 September 2005, with temporal and spatial resolutions of 10 s and 75 m, respectively, spectral and autocovariance analyses of water vapour mixing ratio time series are performed. It is demonstrated that the major part of the inertial subrange was detected and that the integral scale was significantly larger than the time resolution. Consequently, the major part of the turbulent fluctuations was resolved. Different methods to retrieve noise error profiles yield consistent results and compare well with noise profiles estimated using Poisson statistics of the Raman lidar signals. Integral scale, mixing-ratio variance, skewness, and kurtosis profiles were determined including error bars with respect to statistical and sampling errors. The integral scale ranges between 70 and 130 s at the top of the CBL. Within the CBL, up to the third order, noise errors are significantly smaller than sampling errors and the absolute values of turbulent variables, respectively. The mixing-ratio variance profile rises monotonically from ≈0.07 to ≈3.7 g² kg⁻² in the entrainment zone. The skewness is nearly zero up to 0.6 z/z _i , becomes −1 around 0.7–0.8 z/z _i , crosses zero at about 0.95 z/z _i , and reaches about 1.7 at 1.1 z/z _i (here, z is the height and z _i is the CBL depth). The noise errors are too large to derive fourth-order moments with sufficient accuracy. Consequently, to the best of our knowledge, the ARM Raman lidar is the first water vapour Raman lidar with demonstrated capability to retrieve profiles of turbulent variables up to the third order during daytime throughout the atmospheric CBL.     

Experimental implementation and verification of multi‐degrees‐of‐freedom effective force testing

This paper presents an experimental implementation and verification of multi‐degrees‐of‐freedom effective force testing (MDOF‐EFT). An experimental setup that consists of a two‐degrees‐of‐freedom structural system and two hydraulic actuators at the Johns Hopkins University was utilized in this study. First, experimental system identification was performed to develop compatible analytical models for the multi‐input and multi‐output systems. Dynamics of the control plant, that is, the valve‐to‐force relations, were modeled with a rational polynomial transfer function matrix and delay components. By using the analytical model, a centralized decoupling loop‐shaping force feedback controller was designed such that the forces are uncoupled and the loop transfer functions have desirable dynamic characteristics in the frequency domain. Then, a series of harmonic force and earthquake simulation tests were performed to assess capabilities and limitations of MDOF‐EFT. Experimental results showed that the dynamic forces in the two actuators were accurately controlled to provide tracking while the system was stable and robust for the entire period of the experiment. Furthermore, earthquake simulation tests with increased levels of the reference forces demonstrated the feasibility of MDOF‐EFT with highly nonlinear test structures. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Affordable Enteric Virus Detection Techniques Are Needed to Support Changing Paradigms in Water Quality Management

In light of water quality monitoring paradigms shifting to a more holistic approach, it is essential that environmental microbiologists embrace new methodological developments in clinical virology to create rapid, laboratory‐free methods for the identification of wastewater pollution. It is widely accepted that routine monitoring of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) does not adequately reflect human health risks associated with fecal pollution, especially risks posed by viruses. Enteric viruses are typically more resistant to wastewater treatment and persist longer in the environment than FIB. Furthermore, enteric viruses often have extremely low infectious doses. Currently, the incorporation of sanitary surveys, short‐term monitoring of reference pathogens, exploratory quantitative microbial risk assessments, and predictive ecological models is being championed as the preferred approach to water management. In addition to improved virus concentration methods, simple, point‐of‐use tests for enteric viruses and/or improved viral indicators are needed to complement this emerging paradigm and ensure microbial safety worldwide.

     

Enantioselectivity of polychlorinated biphenyl atropisomers in sediment and biota from the Turtle/Brunswick River estuary, Georgia, USA

To investigate the potential for enantioselective transformation and accumulation, the enantiomer distributions of seven polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) atropisomers were measured in the sediment and biota from a sub-tropical estuary heavily contaminated with Aroclor 1268, a technical mixture of highly chlorinated PCB congeners. Enantiomer fractions (EFs) of PCBs 91, 95, 136, 149, 174, 176, and 183 in marsh sediment, invertebrate, forage and predatory fish species, and bottlenose dolphins were determined. Non-racemic EFs greater than 0.75 were found in sediments for PCBs 136 and 174, likely the result of microbial dechlorination. Although enantiomer fractions in grass shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) mirrored those of sediment, fish species had EFs that differed significantly from sediment or grass shrimp. Similarly, bottlenose dolphins were also found to contain non-racemic quantities of PCBs 91, 136, 174, 176, and 183. Non-racemic EFs in these biota were likely a result of both uptake of non-racemic proportions of PCBs from the diet and enantioselective biotransformation.     

Optimal Technology R&D in the Face of Climate Uncertainty

This paper explores optimal near-term technology R&D in the face of uncertain damages caused by the buildup of greenhouse gases. The paper puts particular emphasis on understanding how optimal near-term R&D expenditures might vary based on the technologies pursued in the R&D program. The exploration is conducted in the context of varying impacts from R&D on the global abatement cost function. The R&D planning problem is considered first within a theoretical framework and is then pursued in a stylized application using the DICE model. The paper provides intuition into the circumstances under which near-term technology R&D might increase or decrease under uncertainty, thereby serving as a hedge against climate uncertainty.