Comparative Planetary Space Physics

It has been 60 years since the space physics as new branch of geophysics started to grow in 1957 when the space age was opened by a small satellite called sputnik. The knowledge of Earth and planetary space has been significantly extended and deepened, but the questions we are facing today are more challenging. A consensus reached is that we have to regard the Earth (planet) as an integrated system including all spheres from the inner core to the magnetosphere, and we should try to investigate some questions standing on the ground of interdisciplinary study, especially those questions related to Earth’s (planetary) evolution. Space environment as the outer part of a planetary system, commonly exists in all planets but also exhibits strong diversity. Here, we introduce the short history of basic ideas and methods of comparative study, the advantages on understanding of some issues of global scale, and the prospect from comparative perspective.     

Structural improvement of age-hardened gypsum-treated bauxite red mud waste using readily decomposable phyto-organics

Several years (7) after incidental lithification by added gypsum, the effect of crushing and phyto-organics on some physical properties of red mud wastes (RMW) was examined under laboratory conditions. It was hypothesized that mechanically breaking up the hardened masses would increase their permeability. However, on the contrary, crushing these rock-hard masses into <2-mm particles did not increase permeability. A phyto-organic treatment on the other hand greatly improved permeability of the crushed entities such that infiltration rates increased from 0 to 10 cm/h. After 24 weeks of incubation, the structure of the newly formed phyto-organically treated gypsum-hardened RMW aggregates was also substantially improved over that of the controls, as a >3-fold increase in resistance to disintegration during wet sieving was exhibited by the phyto-organically treated samples. The increase in water infiltration by combining crushing with phyto-organic applications was ascribed to a decrease in particle dispersion, creating more stable clay clusters, which in turn stabilized channels and pores. Conversely, it was concluded that the singular crushing of gypsum-hardened bauxite waste in the waste dumps is potentially wasteful and ineffective.     

云南锅底塘东邻唐家坝组＼“大老堡组”界线层型

“云南麻栗坡地区矿产远景调查”及与之匹配的“越北古陆北缘地质构造演化及其成矿效应研究”中,经实测剖面和填图扫面,以“岩石地层单位填图”的要义比照,测区晚寒武世及相涉延及早奥陶世早期的岩石地层单位序列宜为：唐家坝组＼“大老堡组”＼博菜田组。其中,“大老堡组”为新拟建增设单位,也导致相关临叠地层单位现在定义和分割界面的更新。介绍唐家坝组＼“大老堡组”界线层型及其层型界面所反映的沉积环境转换面属性,上、下邻叠岩层联合构成的标志层组合,是融地层学、沉积学为一体“’的优化挟择。     

岩石磁性与低温流体成矿作用关系探讨

大量研究表明 ,低温流体通过改变岩石中磁性矿物的组成而改变了岩石的磁化率和剩磁等磁性参数 ,利用岩石磁学和古地磁学的方法能够帮助区分不同时期和类型的流体事件。笔者认为流体对围岩的影响受岩石组织类型的控制 ,通过研究岩石组织类型可望了解磁性矿物转变和重磁化的机制。文章通过金矿围岩地球化学和磁性参数对比的实例分析 ,提出岩石组织内部磁场也可能对流体的成矿作用发生重要影响。流体在萃取围岩中有用元素或发生成矿物质聚集的同时也可能导致新的磁性矿物形成。在此过程中 ,磁性矿物的晶体生长以化学剩磁的方式记录下环境磁场 ,由此可以研究流体运移轨迹。     

数字地震观测中由台风产生的震颤信号分析

本文的工作源于我们在以宽频数字地震计和倾斜、重力仪开展对"慢地震"、"前驱波"等信号连续观测和分析的过程中,观测到不少异常的波动信号.在探讨这些异常信号的产生原因的研究中,发现其中一部分由热带气旋(台风)产生.     

塔里木盆地水汽含量的计算与特征分析

利用1976-2009 年塔里木盆地的和田、库车、若羌、喀什和民丰5 个探空站的实测资料计算了逐月平均水汽含量,并建立了与地面水汽压的关系式;利用这种关系式计算了盆地及周边地区28 个站水汽含量,进行了EOF分解,得出了水汽分布形式;分析了地表水汽压随高度的变化;对在盆地腹地及周边地区进行的GPS观测资料进行了水汽含量的反演,并与探空计算值进行了对比。结果表明：盆地内水汽含量有两个高值区,主要分布在盆地西部和北部的边缘地带,中心水汽含量在13~14 mm,均位于塔里木河干流、叶尔羌河流域、阿克苏河支流周围的绿洲地区。塔克拉玛干沙漠腹地是水汽的低值区中心,水汽含量仅为7~8 mm,塔中是所有站中水汽量最少的,由中心向外逐渐增加,在环塔里木盆地的西部、北部绿洲区达到最高,然后由于海拔高度的影响又逐渐减小。塔里木盆地地基GPS反演水汽数据与探空计算值存在良好的线性关系。     

Bristen granite: a highly differentiated,fluorite-bearing A-type granite from the Aar massif,Central Alps,Switzerland

Bristen granite is a body of fine-grained leucogranite occurring in the Gotthard rail base tunnel in the Central Alps. During construction of the tunnel, Bristen granite (Brgr) has been drilled along a 600 m long section. The aplite-granite belongs to the suite of Variscan granitoid intrusions of the Aar massif and contains a variety of accessory minerals typical of highly differentiated granites. Rock forming fluorite, partly enriched in yttrium (Y) and rare earth elements (REE), is intergrown with the late Y- and REE-bearing carbonate mineral synchysite. The granite contains a variety of Ti- and Y-REE-niobates, thorite, and zircon. Compared with the calc-alkaline central Aar granite (cAgr), Bristen granite is strongly depleted in Ti, P, Mg, Sr, and Ba and shows a remarkable enrichment in incompatible elements such as Rb, Th, U, Nb, Y, HREE and F. Bristen granite is the most evolved granitoid rock of the Aar massif. The composition of Brgr is typical of post-collisional reduced (ferroan) A-type granites. The Brgr melt formed in the lower crust and crystallized from a highly differentiated melt at the cotectic point in the quartz-feldspar system close to 100 MPa and 700 °C. The Brgr intruded as a small isolated stock pre-Variscan gneisses with sharply discordant contacts. The primary igneous host of Nb, Ta, Y, U, Th and REE is biotite in addition to minor amounts of allanite, and zircon. The presence of Y-REE-fluorite, synchysite, parisite and Y- and Ti-niobates and other REE-minerals can be related to reaction of igneous biotite and primary fluorite with hydrothermal fluids. The reaction is associated with alpine metamorphism, because Y-bearing fluorite and synchysite have been reported from Alpine fissures. The transformation of primary biotite to chlorite and muscovite released the heavy metal oxides under lower greenschist facies conditions that formed the Alpine diagnostic mineral stilpnomelane at about 300 °C.     

Chemical composition of rock-forming minerals and crystallization physicochemical conditions of the Middle Eocene I-type Haji Abad pluton,SW Buin-Zahra,Iran

The Haji Abad intrusion is a well-exposed Middle Eocene I-type granodioritc pluton in the Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic assemblage (UDMA). The major constituents of the investigated rocks are K-feldspar, quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, and minor Fe–Ti oxide and hornblende. The plagioclase compositions fall in the labradorite, andesine, and oligoclase fields. The amphiboles range in composition from magnesio-hornblende to tremolite–hornblende of the calcic-amphibole group. Most pyroxenes principally plot in the field of diopside. The calculated average pressure of emplacement is 1.9 kbar for the granodioritic rocks, crystallizing at depths of about 6.7 km. The highest pressure estimated from clinopyroxene geobarometry (5 kbar) reflects initial pyroxene crystallization pressure, indicating initial crystallization depth (17.5 km) in the Haji Abad granodiorite. The estimated temperatures using two-feldspar thermometry give an average 724 °C. The calculated average temperature for clinopyroxene crystallization is 1090 °C. The pyroxene temperatures are higher than the estimated temperature by feldspar thermometry, indicating that the pyroxene and feldspar temperatures represent the first and late stages of magmatic crystallization of Haji Abad granodiorite, respectively. Most pyroxenes plot above the line of Fe³⁺?=?0, indicating they crystallized under relatively high oxygen fugacity or oxidized conditions. Furthermore, the results show that the Middle Eocene granitoids crystallized from magmas with H₂O content about 3.2 wt%. The relatively high water content is consistent with the generation environment of HAG rocks in an active continental margin and has allowed the magma to reach shallower crustal levels. The MMEs with ellipsoidal and spherical shapes show igneous microgranular textures and chilled margins, probably indicating the presence of magma mixing. Besides, core to rim compositional oscillations (An and FeO) for the plagioclase crystals serve as robust evidence to support magma mixing. The studied amphiboles and pyroxenes are grouped in the subalkaline fields that are consistent with crystallization from I-type calc-alkaine magma in the subduction environment related to active continental margin. Mineral chemistry data indicate that Haji Abad granodiorites were generated in an orogenic belt related to the volcanic arc setting consistent with the subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust beneath the central Iranian microcontinent.     

Fragmentation during Rock Falls: Two Italian Case Studies of Hard and Soft Rocks

In recent years, rock fall phenomena in Italy have received considerable attention for risk mitigation through in situ observations and experimental data. This paper reports the study conducted at Camaldoli Hill, in the urban area of Naples, and at Monte Pellegrino, Palermo, Italy. The rocks involved are volcanic Neapolitan yellow tuff (NYT) in the former area and dolomitic limestone in the latter. Both rocks, even though with different strength characteristics, have shown a significant tendency towards rock fragmentation during run out. This behavior was first investigated by comparing the volumes of removable blocks on the cliff faces (V ₀) and fallen blocks on the slopes (V _f). It was assumed that the ratio V _f/V ₀ decreases with the distance (x _f) from the detachment area by an empirical law, which depends on a coefficient α, correlated with the geotechnical properties of the materials involved in the rock fall. Finally, this law was validated by observation of well-documented natural rock falls (Palermo) and by in situ full-scale tests (Naples). From the engineering perspective, consideration of fragmentation processes in rock fall modeling provides a means for designing low-cost mitigation measures.     

Raman spectroscopic study of K-lingunite at various pressures and temperatures

K-lingunite is a high-pressure modification of K-feldspar that possesses the tetragonal hollandite structure. Variations of the Raman spectra of K-lingunite were studied up to ~31.5 GPa at room temperature, and in the range 79–823 K at atmospheric pressure. The Raman frequencies of all bands were observed to increase with increasing pressure, and decrease with increasing temperature for K-lingunite. This behavior is in line with those observed for most of other materials. New sharp Raman bands appear at pressures greater than 13–15 GPa, suggesting a phase transition in K-lingunite with increasing pressure. The transition is reversible when pressure was released. The appearance of these new Raman bands may correspond to the phase transition revealed earlier at around 20 GPa by X-ray diffraction studies. Instead of transforming back to its stable minerals, such as orthoclase, microcline or sanidine, K-lingunite became amorphous in the temperature range 803–823 K at atmospheric pressure.