Early Cretaceous adakitic granites in the Northern Dabie Complex, central China: Implications for partial melting and delamination of thickened lower crust

To date, few adakitic rocks have been reported in direct association with contemporary intra-continental extensional structures, which has cast doubt on genetic models involving partial melting of the lower crust. This study presents Early Cretaceous (143-129 Ma, new Sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U-Pb ages) adakitic granites, which are directly associated with a contemporary metamorphic core complex (i.e., the Northern Dabie Complex in the Dabie area). These granites exhibit relatively high Sr contents, negligible to positive Eu and Sr anomalies, high La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios, but very low Yb and Y contents, similar to subducted oceanic crust-derived adakites. They are also characterized, however, by very low MgO or Mg^# and Ni values, and Nd-Sr isotope compositions (ε_Nd(t) = −14.6 to −19.4 and (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i = 0.7067-0.7087) similar to Triassic continent-derived eclogites subducted in the Dabie-Sulu Orogen. Additionally, late granitic dikes in the adakitic intrusions exhibit low Sr contents, clearly negative Eu and Sr anomalies, low La/Yb and Sr/Y ratios, but relatively high Yb and Y contents, similar to 118-105 Ma granites in the Northern Dabie Complex. Based on composition and geochronology data of Neoproterozoic amphibolites and orthogneisses, Triassic high- to ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks, and Early Cretaceous mafic-ultramafic intrusive rocks, and the constraints provided by experimental melt data for tonalites, metabasaltic rocks and eclogites, we suggest that the adakitic granites were most probably generated by partial melting of thickened amphibole or rutile-bearing eclogitic lower crust as a consequence of Triassic-Middle Jurassic subduction and thrusting. The late dikes probably originated from plagioclase-bearing intermediate granulites. Moreover, we suggest that late Mesozoic delamination or foundering of thickened eclogitic lower crust is also a more plausible mechanism for the petrogenesis of Early Cretaceous mafic-ultramafic intrusive rocks in the Dabie area, and probably involved partial melting of a mixed source comprising eclogitic lower crust that had delaminated or foundered into upper lithospheric or asthenospheric mantle peridotite. Asthenospheric upwelling in response to post-collisional delamination of lithospheric mantle was likely to have provided the heat source for the Cretaceous magmatism.     

天山北部石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb岛弧玄武质岩：对中亚造山带显生宙地壳增生与铜金成矿的意义

新疆天山北部地区存在有石炭纪的埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合，并且其中许多岩石与铜（金）矿床伴生（如达巴特、阿希、土屋-延东、赤湖，等等）。埃达克岩富钠、高Sr但亏损Y与Yb，无明显Eu-正Eu异常以及正Sr异常与Nb、Ti亏损。高镁安山（闪长）岩是本次研究首次报道的，这些岩石无明显Eu-正Eu异常以及Nb、Ti亏损，普遍具有高的MgO和Cr、Ni含量，其中阿希金矿区一些样品类似于日本西南新生代Setouchi弧火山岩带中的赞岐岩类。富Nb玄武质岩富钠贫钾，具有微弱负．正Ba、Nb和Ti异常以及高的Nb／La比值，不同于大多数正常岛弧玄武岩。天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩具有高的8Nd（t）（＋3．4-＋9．0）和低的（^87Sr／^86Sr）i（0．7032—0．7043）。富Nb玄武质岩具有变化的εNd（t）（＋3．6-＋11．6）和（^87Sr／^86Sr）；（0．7007—0．7067）。我们的研究表明，天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合可能是“埃达克岩交代的岛弧岩浆岩系列”。埃达克岩最有可能由石炭纪北天山洋的年轻洋壳在俯冲过程中熔融形成。另外，俯冲板片产生的熔体以及所释放的少量流体在上升过程中可能交代地幔楔橄榄岩或与其发生反应：一方面，触发地幔楔橄榄岩发生熔融形成富Nb岛弧玄武质岩；另一方面，地幔组分迅速进入到板片熔体中，导致其地幔组分增加，乃至形成高镁安山岩。因此，天山北部地区石炭纪埃达克岩-高镁安山岩-富Nb玄武质岩组合表明：（1）天山北部地区石炭纪可能为岛弧环境而非裂谷环境；（2）天山地区石炭纪的地壳生长可能以侧向增生为主；（3）除了亏损地幔之外，俯冲洋壳的熔融可能也在地壳的生长中发挥了重要的作用；（4）俯冲板片产生的埃达克质岩浆具有高的氧逸度，而其与地幔楔橄榄岩的强烈相互作用将导致地幔中的金属硫化物分解，成矿金属元素进入到岩浆中。这可能是新疆北部铜金矿化与一些埃达克岩、高镁安山（闪长）岩或富Nb岛弧玄武质岩密切共生的基本原因。     

西藏高原南部雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区地壳电性结构研究

为了探测西藏高原南部雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区地壳浅部和深部构造沿东西和南北方向的变化特征,在雅鲁藏布江缝合带地区布设了三条南北向剖面(错那—墨竹工卡、亚东—雪古拉、吉隆—措勤),采用超宽频带大地电磁测深方法进行了地壳、上地幔电性结构探测研究,发现该区主要电性结构特征为：1. 雅鲁藏布江缝合带附近表层发育大规模的高阻体,岩体延伸最深达30km以上,是冈底斯花岗岩体的反映. 2. 雅鲁藏布江缝合带的南部有小规模的良导体,在其下方和北侧发育有大规模良导体. 3. 沿剖面从南往北壳内普遍发育良导体,各良导体主体间是不连续的,规模逐渐增大,总体北倾,在缝合带附近产状较陡. 4. 在雅鲁藏布江缝合带附近良导体由西往东规模逐渐增大,导电性逐渐变好,相对雅鲁藏布江在剖面上的位置逐渐南移. 这些重要的电性特征可能是印度板块向北俯冲所形成的,深部大规模的良导体特征沿东西向的差异可能是板块碰撞引起物质沿东西向运移作用的结果.     

Assessment of surface air warming in northeast China, with emphasis on the impacts of urbanization

Based on homogenized land surface air temperature (SAT) data (derived from China Homogenized Historical Temperature (CHHT) 1.0), the warming trends over Northeast China are detected in this paper, and the impacts of urban heat islands (UHIs) evaluated. Results show that this region is undergoing rapid warming: the trends of annual mean minimum temperature (MMIT), mean temperature (MT), and mean maximum temperature (MMAT) are 0.40 C decade^?1, 0.32 C decade^?1, and 0.23 C decade^?1, respectively. Regional average temperature series built with these networks including and excluding “typical urban stations” are compared for the periods of 1954–2005. Although impacts of UHIs on the absolute annual and seasonal temperature are identified, UHI contributions to the long-term trends are less than 10% of the regional total warming during the period. The large warming trend during the period is due to a regime shift in around 1988, which accounted for about 51% of the regional warming.     

Evaluation of HadCM2 and Direct Use of Daily GCM Data in Impact Assessment Studies

This paper investigates two important aspects of methods used to explore possible effects of climatic changes on agricultural productivity on regional spatial scales. First, an evaluation of precipitation and near surface air temperature in two successive versions of the Hadley Centre General Circulation Model (GCM) has been performed to consider to what extent GCMs are capable of simulating the mean and variability of local climates. This is explored by comparing the output of an individual GCM grid box with three station observations. Several ancillary issues associated with the comparisons of observations of daily precipitation and model output that affect the statistical results are also discussed. Finally, daily data from the control and sulphate runs of the latest Hadley Centre GCM (HadCM2) have been used directly as input to the CERES-Wheat model, and the modelled yield distribution is compared to that produced with the historical data series. Our results imply that for this particular grid box covering the study region in central France, the daily raw data from HadCM2 experiment can be used directly to assess the potential impact of the greenhouse gas and sulphate aerosol radiative induced forcings and the associated climatic change on average regional winter wheat production. On the other hand, less confidence should be placed on their use regarding the estimation of future agricultural risk and variability assessment. Furthermore, a possibly more severe methodological problem that has arisen from our study is the inability of CERES-Wheat to simulate the waterlogging effects of excessive soil water on crop growth and development. Finally, we assess the potential impact of changing climate on regional winter wheat production by using the daily data from the sulphate integration up to the end of the 21st century.     

Tracer experiments with turbulently dispersed air ions

Unipolar air ions released into the wind constitute a tracer which can be measured with high resolution. An ion source produces a cloud with homogeneous charge density, insensitive to source strength, dependent on time since formation only. It is well suited for tracing concentration changes due to turbulence, less suited for cloud size tracing. A tight array of 8 sensors has been used to examine turbulently dispersed ions. High-resolution records are presented and discussed. The highest concentrations measured could be undiluted source material. The frequency distribution within a plume did not differ from that in a multitude of puffs. The distribution seems to be log-normal with a geometric standard deviation of about 2.45. The time resolution used corresponds to volume resolutions of 40, 225, and 650 cm³. Sample size had no apparent effect.     

Accurate Derivation of Total and Stratospheric Vertical Columns of NO2 from Ground-Based Zenith-Sky Measurements

A new method for retrieving the vertical profile of NO2 from ground-based measurements is applied to four months of measurements made at Aberdeen (57°N) during part of SESAME from November 1994 to April 1995. The retrieval method is shown to be an invaluable tool both for deriving the true NO2 vertical column and for removing the tropospheric contribution to the vertical column. This dramatically reduces the effects of tropospheric pollution in the observations and enables a more appropriate comparison with stratospheric 3-D model results. The comparison confirms the accuracy of the model's transport and its reactive nitrogen photochemistry, although there are some detailed discrepancies.     

Microbial fabrics of geyserites around hot spring pools in Daggyai,Tibet, China

The Daggyai geyserites serve as hosts for cesium deposits; however, their origin, whether by chemical deposition or biological formation, is a topic of debate. To decipher the origin of geyserites, the petrographic features of the geyserite samples were examined. The geyserites exhibited columnar laminated, planar laminated and spicular morphologies. Furthermore, they contained morphological and confocal microscopic evidence of the coccoid, bacilliform and filamentous microbes that formed them. Minor calcite and quartz crystals were found locally in the columnar laminated and spicular geyserites. Cyanobacteria tentatively assigned to the genus Calothrix dominated in the planar and columnar laminated geyserites, but were rare in the spicular geyserites. The results demonstrated that the microbes contributed to the Daggyai geyserite formation.     

Irish Carboniferous conodonts record maturation levels and the influence of tectonism, igneous activity and mineralization

Organic maturation patterns in the Lower Carboniferous of Ireland have been determined from conodont colour alteration indices (CAI) for some 750 localities. Onshore Ireland conodonts record increasing maturation in the Carboniferous rocks from the oil-window rocks of the north-east, southwards to the greenschist meta-argillite regime of the Munster Basin. In detail the Caledonoid trend has a marked influence in the Midlands, whilst in the south sharp variations in CAI are interpreted as being caused by thrusting of the Variscan Orogeny. In the south-east low maturities in the Wexford Half-graben indicate that the region was shielded from orogenic stresses, probably by the Leinster Massif. Igneous centres such as the Carlingford Complex and Croghan Hill produce local sites of increased palaeotemperature. Significant CAI variations have also been noted in proximity to major base-metal orebodies. The CAI results highlight north-east Ireland and the Wexford Half-Graben as areas with hydrocarbon potential.