http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987110000307

The Polar Urals region of northern Russia is well known for large chromium (Cr)-bearing massifs with major chromite orebodies, including the Centralnoye I deposit in the Ray-Iz ultramafic massif of the Ural ophiolite belt. New data on platinum (Pt)-group elements (PGE), geochemistry and mineralogy of the host dunite shows that the deposit has anomalous iridium (Ir) values. These values indicate the predominance of ruthenium–osmium–iridium (Ru–Os–Ir)-bearing phases among the platinum-group mineral (PGM) assemblage that is typical of mantle-hosted chromite ores. Low Pt values in chromites and increased Pt values in host dunites might reflect the presence of cumulus PGM grains. The most abundant PGM found in the chromite is erlichmanite (up to 15 μm). Less common are cuproiridsite (up to 5 μm), irarsite (up to 4–5 μm), and laurite (up to 4 μm). The predominant sulfide is heazlewoodite, in intergrowth with Ni–Fe alloys, sporadically with pentlandite, and rarely with pure nickel. Based on the average PGE values and estimated Cr-ore resources, the Centralnoye I deposit can be considered as an important resource of PGE.     

Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds: Distribution, Lithostratigraphy and Paleoenvironments

Cretaceous oceanic red beds (CORBs) represented by red shales and marls, were deposited during the Cretaceous and early Paleocene, predominantly in the Tethyan realm, in lower slope and abyssal basin environments. Detailed studies of CORBs are rare; therefore, we compiled CORBs data from deep sea ocean drilling cores and outcrops of Cretaceous rocks subaerially exposed in southern Europe, northwestern Germany, Asia and New Zealand. In the Tethyan realm, CORBs mainly consist of reddish or pink shales, limestones and marlstones. By contrast, marlstones and chalks are rare in deep-ocean drilling cores. Upper Cretaceous marine sediments in cores from the Atlantic Ocean are predominantly various shades of brown, reddish brown, yellowish brown and pale brown in color. A few red, pink, yellow and orange Cretaceous sediments are also present. The commonest age of CORBs is early Campanian to Maastrichtian, with the onset mostly of oxic deposition often after Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs), during the early Aptian, late Albian-early Turonian and Campanian. This suggests an indicated and previously not recognized relationship between OAEs, black shales deposition and CORBs. CORBs even though globally distributed, are most common in the North Atlantic and Tethyan realms, in low to mid latitudes of the northern hemisphere; in the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean in the mid to high latitudes of the southern hemisphere; and are less frequent in the central Pacific Ocean. Their widespread occurrence during the late Cretaceous might have been the result of establishing a connection for deep oceanic current circulation between the Pacific and the evolving connection between South and North Atlantic and changes in oceanic basins ventilation.     

Snow cover estimation from MODIS and Sentinel-1 SAR data using machine learning algorithms in the western part of the Tianshan Mountains

Obtaining the spatial distribution of snow cover in mountainous areas using the optical image of remote sensing technology is difficult because of cloud and fog. In this study, the object-based principle component analysis–support vector machine(PCA–SVM) method is proposed for snow cover mapping through the integration of moderateresolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) snow cover products and the Sentinel-1 synthetic aperture radar(SAR) scattering characteristics. First, derived from the Sentinel-1 A SAR images, the feature parameters, including VV/VH backscatter, scattering entropy, and scattering alpha, were used to describe the variations of snow and non-snow covers. Second, the optimum feature combinations of snow cover were formed from the feature parameters using the principle component analysis(PCA) algorithm. Finally, using the optimum feature combinations, a snow cover map with a 20 m spatial resolution was extracted by means of an object-based SVM classifier. This method was applied in the study area of the Xinyuan County, which is located in the western part of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, China. The accuracies in this method were analyzed according to the data observed at different experimental sites. Results showed that the snow cover pixels of the extraction were less than those in the actual situation(FB1=93.86, FB2=59.78). The evaluation of the threat score(TS), probability of detection(POD), and false alarm ratio(FAR) for the snow-covered pixels obtained from the two-stage SAR images were different(TS1=86.84, POD1=90.10, FAR1=4.01;TS2=56.40, POD2=57.62, FAR2=3.62). False and misclassifications of the snow cover and non-snow cover pixels were found. Although the classifications were not highly accurate, the approach showed potential for integrating different sources to retrieve the spatial distribution of snow covers during a stable period.     

Influence of livestock soil eutrophication on floral composition in the Pyrenees mountains

Livestock behaviour in the Pyrenees includes free grazing and a long resting period that provokes the accumulation of dung and urine in some places,so-called camping areas. The aims of this study were （i） to analyze any change in floral composition,and in nutritional and chemical contents of plants in a livestock camping area; and （ii） to relate the floral composition with soil chemical properties. In a linear transect,five sampling zones were established,from the centre of the camping area to the surrounding Nardus stricta-dominant pasture. The above ground plant biomass and the topsoil were sampled in each zone with 6 replicates per zone. Plant species were classified and weighed to calculate above ground biomass,nutritional and chemical contents,and Shannon diversity and evenness indices. Additionally,soils were sampled in two periods,at the beginning and at the end of grazing period. Soil available nutrients （nitrate,ammonium,phosphorus,potassium,calcium and magnesium）,total nitrogen,organic carbon and pH were measured.
Plant chemical contents （protein,lignin and others） were significantly related to the proportions of grasses,legumes and other plants; so,the protein content is positively correlated with legumes plant biomass while lignin content is negatively correlated with grasses. Both plant and soil nutrients increased linearly towards the centre of the camping area. However,the relationship among plant species richness,diversity and evenness relative to its position along the studied transect was bell-shaped. From the outskirts to the centre of the camping area,plants with low nutrient demand were progressively replaced by those with medium and high nutrients demand and by pioneers.
Nardus stricta-dominant pasture has low plant diversity and plant nutrient content as well as a poor soil nutrient availability. The presence of the camping area introduced patches with more soil nutrients and new species in the large spatial scale. However at a small spatial scale,the strong soil nutrien     

Gas Sources of Natural Gas Hydrates in the Shenhu Drilling Area, South China Sea: Geochemical Evidence and Geological Analysis

The Shenhu gas hydrate drilling area is located in the central Baiyun sag, Zhu Ⅱ depression, Pearl River Mouth basin, northern South China Sea. The gas compositions contained in the hydrate-bearing zones is dominated by methane with content up to 99.89% and 99.91%. The carbon isotope of the methane (δ13C1 ) are 56.7‰ and 60.9‰, and its hydrogen isotope (δD) are 199‰ and 180‰, respectively, indicating the methane from the microbial reduction of CO2 . Based on the data of measured seafloor temperature and geothermal gradient, the gas formed hydrate reservoirs are from depths 24-1699 m below the seafloor, and main gas-generation zone is present at the depth interval of 416-1165 m. Gas-bearing zones include the Hanjiang Formation, Yuehai Formation, Wanshan Formation and Quaternary sediments. We infer that the microbial gas migrated laterally or vertically along faults (especially interlayer faults), slump structures, small-scale diapiric structures, regional sand beds and sedimentary boundaries to the hydrate stability zone, and formed natural gas hydrates in the upper Yuehai Formation and lower Wanshan Formation, probably with contribution of a little thermogenic gas from the deep sedments during this process.     

Implications of dredging induced changes in sediment particle size composition for the structure and function of marine benthic macrofaunal communities

A meta-analysis approach was used to assess the effect of dredging induced changes in sediment composition, under different conditions of natural physical disturbance, for the structure and function of marine benthic macrofaunal communities. Results showed the sensitivity of macrofaunal communities increased as both the proportion of gravel increased and the level of natural physical disturbance decreased. These findings may be explained by the close association of certain taxa with the gravel fraction, and the influence of natural physical disturbance which, as it increases, tends to restrict the colonisation by these species. We conclude that maintaining the gravel content of surface sediments after dredging and, where practicable, locating extraction sites in areas of higher natural disturbance will minimise the potential for long-term negative impacts on the macrofauna.     

High efficiency of heavy metal removal in mine water by limestone

The removal of Cd, Cu, Ni and Zn from dilute mine water by using several geological materials including pure limestone, sand, carbonaceous limestone and brecciated limestone was performed on a laboratory scale. The results showed that to add geological materials in combination with sodium carbonate injection would notably enhance the efficiency of heavy metal removal to varying degrees. Pure limestone was found the best one among the four materials mentioned above for removing heavy metals from mine water. The removal efficiencies of pure limestone when it is ground as fine as 30–60 meshes are 58.6% for Cd, 100% for Cu, 47.8% for Ni, and 36.8% for Zn at 20°C. The optimum pH is about 8.9 to 9.1. The mechanism of higher effective removal, perhaps, is primarily due to co-precipitation under the control of calcite-related pH value. According to this research, Na₂CO₃ injection manners, including slug dosing and drip-wise, seemed to have little impact on the efficiency of heavy metal removal.     

Characterization of groundwater in the Ejina Basin, northwest China: hydrochemical and environmental isotopes approaches

To characterize the groundwater in the Ejina Basin,surface and groundwater samples were collected in May and October of 2002.On-site analyses included temperature,electrical conductance(EC),total alkalinity(as HCO 3) by titration,and pH.Chemical analyses were undertaken at the Geochemistry Laboratory of the Cold and Arid Region Environmental and Engineering Institute,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Lanzhou,China.The pH of the groundwater ranged from 7.18 to 8.90 with an average value of 7.72,indicating an alkaline nature.The total dissolved solids(TDS) of the groundwater ranged from 567.5 to 5,954.4 mg/L with an average of 1,543.1 mg/L and a standard deviation of 1,471.8 mg/L.According to the groundwater salinity classification of Robinove et al.(1958),47.4 percent of the samples were brackish and the remainder were fresh water.The ion concentration of the groundwater along the riverbed and near the southern margin of the basin were lower than those farther away from the riverbed.The groundwater in the study area was of Na +-HCO 3 type near the bank of the Heihe River and in the southern margin of the basin,while Na +-SO 4 2-Cl type samples were observed in the terminal lake region.In the desert area the groundwater reached a TDS of 3,000-6,000 mg/L and was predominantly by a Na +-Cl chemistry.Br/Cl for the water of Ejina Basin indicates an evaporite origin for the groundwater with a strongly depleted Br/Cl ratio(average 0.000484).The surface water was slightly enriched in Br/Cl(average 0.000711) compared with groundwater.The calculated saturation index(SI) for calcite and dolomite of the groundwater samples range from 0.89 to 1.31 and 1.67 to 2.67 with averaged 0.24 and 0.61,respectively.About 97 percent of the groundwater samples were kinetically oversaturated with respect to calcite and dolomite,and all the samples were below the equilibrium state with gypsum.Using isotope and hydrochemical analyses,this study investigated the groundwater evolution and its residence time.The groundwater content was mainly determi     

Water in coesite: Incorporation mechanism and operation condition,solubility and P-T dependence,and contribution to water transport and coesite preservation

A series of coesite,coexisting with or without a liquid phase,was synthesized in the nominal system SiO2-H2O at800-1450℃and 5 GPa.Micro-Raman spectroscopy was used to identity the crystalline phase,electron microprobe and LA-ICP-MS were employed to quantity some major and trace elements,and unpolarized FTIR spectroscopy was applied to probe the different types of hydrogen defects,explore water-incorporation mechanisms and quantify water contents.Trace amounts of A1 and B were detected in the coesite.Combining our results with the results in the literatures,we have found no positive correlation between the Al contents and the"Al"-based hydrogen concentrations,suggesting that previously proposed hydrogen-incorporation mechanism H^++Al^3+■Si^4+does not function in coesite.In contrast,we have confirmed the positive correlation between the B contents and the B-based hydrogen concentrations.The hydrogen-incorporation mechanism H^++B3^+■Si^4+readily takes place in coesite at different P-T conditions,and significantly increases the water content at both liquid-saturated and liquid-undersaturated conditions.For the SiO2-H2O system,we have found that type-Ⅰhydrogarnet substitution plays a dictating role in incorporating water into coesite at liquid-saturated condition,type-II hydrogarnet substitution contributes significantly at nearly dry condition,and both operate at conditions in between.The water solubility of coesite,as dictated by the type-Ⅰhydrogarnet substitution,positively correlates with both P and T,cH2O=-105(30)+5.2(32)×P+0.112(26)×T,with cH2O in wt ppm,P in GPa and T in℃.Due to its low water solubility and small fraction in subducted slabs,coesite may contribute insignificantly to the vertical water transport in subduction zones.Furthermore,the water solubility of any coesite in exhuming ultra-high pressure metamorphic rocks should be virtually zero as coesite becomes metastable.With an adequately fast waterdiffusion rate,this metastable coesite should be completely dry,which may have been the key factor to the partial preservation of most natural Coe.As a byproduct,a new IR experimental protocol for accurate water determination in optically anisotropic nominally anhydrous minerals has been found.Aided with the empirical method of Paterson(1982)it employs multiple unpolarized IR spectra,collected from randomly-orientated mineral grains,to approximate both total integrated absorbance and total integrated molar absorption coefficient.Its success relies on a high-level orientation randomness in the IR analyses.