Chemical and Isotopic Characteristics of the Kuroko‐Forming Volcanism

The Miocene northeast Honshu magmatic arc, Japan, formed at a terrestrial continental margin via a stage of spreading in a back‐arc basin (23–17 Ma) followed by multiple stages of submarine rifting (19–13 Ma). The Kuroko deposits formed during this period, with most forming during the youngest rifting stage. The mode of magma eruption changed from submarine basalt lava flows during back‐arc basin spreading to submarine bimodal basalt lava flows and abundant rhyolitic effusive rocks during the rifting stage. The basalts produced during the stage of back‐arc basin spreading are geochemically similar to mid‐ocean ridge basalt, with a depleted Sr–Nd mantle source, whereas those produced during the rifting stage possess arc signatures with an enriched mantle source. The Nb/Zr ratios of the volcanic rocks show an increase over time, indicating a temporal increase in the fertility of the source. The Nb/Zr ratios are similar in basalts and rhyolites from a given rift zone, whereas the Nd isotopic compositions of the rhyolites are less radiogenic than those of the basalts. These data suggest that the rhyolites were derived from a basaltic magma via crystal fractionation and crustal assimilation. The rhyolites associated with the Kuroko deposits are aphyric and have higher concentrations of incompatible elements than do post‐Kuroko quartz‐phyric rhyolites. These observations suggest that the aphyric rhyolite magma was derived from a relatively deep magma chamber with strong fractional crystallization. Almost all of the Kuroko deposits formed in close temporal relation to the aphyric rhyolite indicating a genetic link between the Kuroko deposits and highly differentiated rhyolitic magma.     

Geochronology of the Xihuashan Tungsten Deposit in Southeastern China: Constraints from Re–Os and U–Pb Dating

Xihuashan tungsten deposit is one of the earliest explored tungsten deposits in southeastern China. It is a vein type deposit genetically associated with the Xihuashan granite pluton. Here we report new dating and zircon geochemistry results. Re–Os isotopic dating for molybdenite intergrowth with wolframite in the oldest generation of the Xihuashan pluton yielded an isochron age of 157.0 ± 2.5 Ma (2σ). Zircon U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) dating shows that the pluton crystallized at 155.7 ± 2.2 Ma (2σ). This age is similar to the molybdenite Re–Os age for the ore deposit within error. This, together with published data, suggests that the major W(Mo)‐Sn mineralization occurred between 160–150 Ma in southeastern China. These deposits constitute a major part of the magmatic‐metallogenic belt of eastern Nanlin. The lower Re content in molybdenite of the Xihuashan tungsten deposit shows crustal origin for the ore‐forming material. The limited direct contributions from the subducting slab for the tungsten mineralization in the Nanling region suggest a change of the style of the paleo‐Pacific plate beneath southeastern China.     

滇西哀牢山老王寨金矿床控矿构造样式

哀牢山金矿带是我国最重要的新生代造山型金矿带,老王寨金矿床是该矿带中已发现规模最大的金矿床。该矿床中金矿化的产出受NW向九甲-安定断裂和NWW向老王寨-营盘山背斜联合控制,金矿体定位于老王寨-营盘山背斜两翼NW-NWW向层间接触带或脉岩与地层交界面等构造薄弱部位的左行剪切逆断裂带中。成矿前,区域NNE-SSW向挤压构造应力场导致轴向NWW的老王寨-营盘山背斜形成,背斜形成晚期在其两翼形成NW-NWW向的次级断裂。成矿作用过程中,在NEE-SWW向挤压构造背景下,NWW向老王寨-营盘山背斜的转折端和两翼呈背驮式叠瓦状排列的NW-NWW向左行剪切逆断裂为有利容矿空间。之后,构造体制转变为近SN向挤压,形成少量NE向左行剪切断裂,对已有NW向矿体略有破坏。走滑断裂是哀牢山造山带最具特色的构造型式,也是区域最重要的控矿构造样式,在老王寨金矿床主要体现为控制金矿化产出的NW-NWW向左行剪切逆断裂大规模发育于NWW向老王寨-营盘山背斜构造的两翼,对应于区域构造动力体制转换晚期,印度与欧亚大陆斜碰撞导致的区域大规模走滑断层最发育时期。     

2008年1月一次强雨雪过程的诊断分析

采用NCEP1°×1°客观再分析资料和常规观测资料,对2008年1月25—29日发生在长江中下游地区的强雨雪过程进行诊断分析,结果表明,低空急流与强雨雪有着密切关系,强雨雪的发生需具备一定的温度条件以及水汽场与动力场的耦合机制。对强雨雪过程的湿Q矢量诊断分析表明,700hPa湿Q矢量辐合区以及850hPa锋生函数正值区与强雨雪区对应较好,对雨雪天气的发生有着很好的指示意义。湿位涡特征分析表明,此次强雨雪过程发生在层结稳定的大气中且垂直涡度发展较强。     

Runoff and sediment yield from land under various uses in a Mediterranean mountain area: long‐term results from an experimental station

In this study we analyzed runoff and sediment yield from land under various traditional and current land uses in Mediterranean mountain areas, using long‐term data from an experimental station in the Aísa Valley, Central Spanish Pyrenees. Monitoring at this station has provided 20 years of data that can help explain the hydrological and geomorphological changes that have been observed at larger spatial scales, and also the changes that have occurred to some of the most characteristic landscapes of the Mediterranean middle mountains. In spite of the problems associated with the use of small experimental plots, the results obtained are consistent with other studies in the Mediterranean region, and confirm the strong influence of land use changes on runoff generation and sediment yield. The results indicate that: (i) cereal cultivation on steep slopes (both alternating cereal cultivation and fallow on sloping fields and shifting agriculture on the steepest slopes) represents a major problem for soil conservation. This explains the occurrence throughout the Mediterranean mountains of many degraded hillslopes, which show evidence of sheet wash erosion, rilling, gullying and shallow landsliding; (ii) farmland abandonment has led to a marked reduction in runoff and sediment yield as a consequence of rapid plant recolonization, particularly by dense shrubs; (iii) the natural transformation of abandoned fields into grazing meadows has reduced runoff and sediment yield. Land use trends in the Mediterranean mountains are mainly characterized by generalized farmland abandonment and a decrease in livestock pressure. From a hydrological and geomorphological point of view the main consequences have been a reduction in overland flow from the hillslopes, and a reduction in sediment sources, with differences up to one order of magnitude in sediment yield from dense shrub cover and grazing meadow areas compared with areas under shifting agriculture. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A simple model accounting for the uptake,transport, and deposition of wind‐eroded mineral particles in the hyperarid coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile

As previously observed in marine sediments collected downwind of African or South American continental sources, recent studies of sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay in north Chile (23°S) show a laminated structure in which the amount of particles of aeolian origin and their size create significant differences between the layers. This suggests inter‐annual to inter‐decadal variations in the strength of the local southerly winds responsible for (1) the erosion of the adjacent hyperarid surface of the Mejillones Pampa, and (2) the subsequent transport of the eroded particles towards the bay. A simple model accounting for the vertical uptake, transport, and deposition of the particles initially set into motion by wind at the surface of the pampa is proposed. This model, which could be adapted to other locations, assumes that the initial rate of (vertical) uptake is proportional to the (horizontal) saltation flux quantified by means of White's equation, that particles are lifted to a height (H), increasing with the magnitude of turbulence, and that sedimentation progressively removes the coarsest particles from the air column as it moves towards the bay. In this model, the proportionality constant (A) linking the vertical flux of particles with the horizontal flux, and the injection height (H) control the magnitude and size distribution of the deposition flux in the bay. Their values are determined using the wind speed measured over the pampa and the size distribution of particles collected in sediment traps deployed in the bay as constraints. After calibration, the model is used to assess the sensitivity of the deposition flux to the wind intensity variations. The possibility of performing such quantitative studies is necessary for interpreting precisely the variability of the aeolian material in the sediment cores collected at the bottom of Mejillones Bay. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strong ground motion record selection for the reliable prediction of the mean seismic collapse capacity of a structure group

How to select a limited number of strong ground motion records (SGMRs) is an important challenge for the seismic collapse capacity assessment of structures. The collapse capacity is considered as the ground motion intensity measure corresponding to the drift‐related dynamic instability in the structural system. The goal of this paper is to select, from a general set of SGMRs, a small number of subsets such that each can be used for the reliable prediction of the mean collapse capacity of a particular group of structures, i.e. of single degree‐of‐freedom systems with a typical behaviour range. In order to achieve this goal, multivariate statistical analysis is first applied, to determine what degree of similarity exists between each selected small subset and the general set of SGMRs. Principal Component analysis is applied to identify the best way to group structures, resulting in a minimum number of SGMRs in a proposed subset. The structures were classified into six groups, and for each group a subset of eight SGMRs has been proposed. The methodology has been validated by analysing a first‐mode‐dominated three‐storey‐reinforced concrete structure by means of the proposed subsets, as well as the general set of SGMRs. The results of this analysis show that the mean seismic collapse capacity can be predicted by the proposed subsets with less dispersion than by the recently developed improved approach, which is based on scaling the response spectra of the records to match the conditional mean spectrum. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

关于直播水稻观测方法问题的探讨

根据湖北江夏国家农业气象观测一级站在最近几年水稻观测中实际遇到的情况以及调查发现,直播水稻已形成不推而广的迅猛发展趋势,作为农业气象观测已不可回避地会遇到直播水稻的生育进程观测问题。由于种植方式的改变,大田植株分布形式也发生了根本的变化,仅以传统的移栽水稻制定的现行《农业气象观测规范》已无法处理好直播水稻的观测问题。为此,笔者依据《农业气象观测规范》,结合实际观测经验,分析直播水稻与移栽水稻的差异以及由此引出的新问题,提出了新的观测处理方法,以供同行探讨。     

A Common Reference Material for Cadmium Isotope Studies – NIST SRM 3108

Research into natural mass‐dependent stable isotope fractionation of cadmium has rapidly expanded in the past few years. Methodologies are diverse with MC‐ICP‐MS favoured by all but one laboratory, which uses thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS). To quantify the isotope fractionation and correct for instrumental mass bias, double‐spike techniques, sample‐calibrator bracketing or element doping has been used. However, easy comparison between data sets has been hampered by the multitude of in‐house Cd solutions used as zero‐delta reference in different laboratories. The lack of a suitable isotopic reference material for Cd is detrimental for progress in the long term. We have conducted a comprehensive round‐robin assay of NIST SRM 3108 and the Cd isotope offsets to commonly used in‐house reference materials. Here, we advocate NIST SRM 3108 both as an isotope standard and the isotopic reference point for Cd and encourage its use as ‘zero‐delta’ in future studies. The purity of NIST SRM 3108 was evaluated regarding isobaric and polyatomic molecular interferences, and the levels of Zn, Pd and Sn found were not significant. The isotope ratio ¹¹⁴Cd/¹¹⁰Cd for NIST SRM 3108 lies within ～ 10 ppm Da^?1 of best estimates for the Bulk Silicate Earth and is validated for all measurement technologies currently in use.