Early J2 basalts in SE China: Incipience of large-scale late Mesozoic magmatism

Magmatism in SE China was dormant during 204–180 Ma, but was reactivated in 180–170 Ma (early J₂), and then became more and more intensive towards the end of early Cretaceous. The small-scale early J₂ magmatism is the incipience to long-term and large-scale magmatism in this region. A near east-west (EW) trend volcanic belt was distributed across south Hunan, south Jiangxi and southwest Fujian was formed during early J₂ time. Along this belt from the inland toward the coast, the lithology of basalts changes from alkali into tholeiite, and the amount of erupted volcanic rocks and the proportions of rhyolites coexisting with the basalts increase. On the basis of geochemical characteristics of these basalts, we infer that the melting degree of source rocks and the extent of fractional crystallization and crustal contamination all increased whereas the depth of mantle source decreased from the inland to the coast, which led to the variations of geological characteristics of the volcanic belt. In early J₂, the western spreading Pacific plate began to subduct underneath SE China continental block, reactivating near EW trend deep fault that was originally formed during the Indosinian event. The stress of the western spreading Pacific plate and the extent of asthenosphere upwelling increased from the inland to the coast, which is consistent with the generation and evolution of early J₂ basalts.     

Carbon pools and fluxes in the China Seas and adjacent oceans

The China Seas include the South China Sea, East China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea. Located off the Northwestern Pacific margin, covering 4700000 km~2 from tropical to northern temperate zones, and including a variety of continental margins/basins and depths, the China Seas provide typical cases for carbon budget studies. The South China Sea being a deep basin and part of the Western Pacific Warm Pool is characterized by oceanic features; the East China Sea with a wide continental shelf, enormous terrestrial discharges and open margins to the West Pacific, is featured by strong cross-shelf materials transport; the Yellow Sea is featured by the confluence of cold and warm waters; and the Bohai Sea is a shallow semiclosed gulf with strong impacts of human activities. Three large rivers, the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Pearl River, flow into the East China Sea, the Bohai Sea, and the South China Sea, respectively. The Kuroshio Current at the outer margin of the Chinese continental shelf is one of the two major western boundary currents of the world oceans and its strength and position directly affect the regional climate of China. These characteristics make the China Seas a typical case of marginal seas to study carbon storage and fluxes. This paper systematically analyzes the literature data on the carbon pools and fluxes of the Bohai Sea,Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea, including different interfaces(land-sea, sea-air, sediment-water, and marginal sea-open ocean) and different ecosystems(mangroves, wetland, seagrass beds, macroalgae mariculture, coral reefs, euphotic zones, and water column). Among the four seas, the Bohai Sea and South China Sea are acting as CO_2 sources, releasing about0.22 and 13.86–33.60 Tg C yr~(-1) into the atmosphere, respectively, whereas the Yellow Sea and East China Sea are acting as carbon sinks, absorbing about 1.15 and 6.92–23.30 Tg C yr~(-1) of atmospheric CO_2, respectively. Overall, if only the CO_2 exchange at the sea-air interface is considered, the Chinese marginal seas appear to be a source of atmospheric CO_2, with a net release of 6.01–9.33 Tg C yr~(-1), mainly from the inputs of rivers and adjacent oceans. The riverine dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) input into the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea are 5.04, 14.60, and 40.14 Tg C yr~(-1),respectively. The DIC input from adjacent oceans is as high as 144.81 Tg C yr~(-1), significantly exceeding the carbon released from the seas to the atmosphere. In terms of output, the depositional fluxes of organic carbon in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and South China Sea are 2.00, 3.60, 7.40, and 5.92 Tg C yr~(-1), respectively. The fluxes of organic carbon from the East China Sea and South China Sea to the adjacent oceans are 15.25–36.70 and 43.93 Tg C yr~(-1), respectively. The annual carbon storage of mangroves, wetlands, and seagrass in Chinese coastal waters is 0.36–1.75 Tg C yr~(-1), with a dissolved organic carbon(DOC) output from seagrass beds of up to 0.59 Tg C yr~(-1). Removable organic carbon flux by Chinese macroalgae mariculture account for 0.68 Tg C yr~(-1) and the associated POC depositional and DOC releasing fluxes are 0.14 and 0.82 Tg C yr~(-1), respectively. Thus, in total, the annual output of organic carbon, which is mainly DOC, in the China Seas is 81.72–104.56 Tg C yr~(-1). The DOC efflux from the East China Sea to the adjacent oceans is 15.00–35.00 Tg C yr~(-1). The DOC efflux from the South China Sea is 31.39 Tg C yr~(-1). Although the marginal China Seas seem to be a source of atmospheric CO_2 based on the CO_2 flux at the sea-air interface, the combined effects of the riverine input in the area, oceanic input, depositional export,and microbial carbon pump(DOC conversion and output) indicate that the China Seas represent an important carbon storage area.     

Middle Devonian-Tournaisian rocks and biota on Hainan Island, South China

On the basis of new paleontological data,the sequence and distributions of the Middle Devonian-Tournaisian rocks on Hainan Island have been sorted out for the first time.The Devonian rocks include the Middle Devonian Jinbo Formation and the Upper Devonian Changjiang Formation,which are distributed in northwestern Hainan Island.The Jinbo Formation is represented by631 m of littoral facies deposits,and was intruded by the Yanshanian granite in the base.The presence of chitinozoans Eisenackitina caster,Funsochitina pilosa,and Lagenochitina amottensis indicates the Givetian in age.The Changjiang Formation is made up of 140 m of neritic facies rocks,and contains the Famennian conodonts Palmatolepis gracilis sigmoidalis,Polygnathus germanus,and corals Cystophrentis kalaohoensis.The Devonian-Tournaisian transition beds,the lower part of the Jishi Formation,are composed of 61–129 m sandstone and siltstone,with gastropods Euomphalus spp.and brachiopods,and marked by conglomerate with the underlying Devonian rocks.The middle-upper part of the Tournaisian Jishi Formation consists of 100–251 m clastic and carbonate rocks,containing abundant corals Pseudoularinia irregularis,conodonts Siphonodella isosticha,trilobites Weberiphillipsia linguiformis,and brachiopods.On the basis of the occurrence of Xinanosprifer flabellum and Homotoma sp.,the Nanhao Formation in southern Hainan Island is now regarded as the Lower Silurian,instead of the previously designated Lower Carboniferous.It is confirmed that no Carboniferous rocks occurred in the area south to the Gancheng-Wanning Fault.     

地震前兆含义,科学问题与研究途径的研讨

地震前兆的研究已经取得了很大的进展,地震前兆的复杂性引起了广泛的关注,对地震预报、有关科学问题和探索途径的研究现状及其前景有各种评价。文章认为由于一些科学问题没有解决,尽管对中缅边境１９９５年７月连７．３级地震作出了成功预报,经验性预报有一定的局限性,文中讨论了广义地震前兆和狭义地震前兆,广义地震前兆包含二类前兆：场兆和源兆;而狭义前兆仅指后者。大陆震例前兆的系统研究证实了广义地震前兆的存在,然而     

汶川8.0级地震前后地壳垂直形变浅析

2008年5月12日发生了汶川8.0级特大地震,震中所在区域曾处在中国地震局第二监测中心水准测量监测范围内,后来由于种种原因在地震前没有再进行跟踪监测.地震后,依据中国地震局(2008年5月14日)"汶川8.0级地震强化观测方案"任务要求,对位于南北地震带的3条跨断裂水准剖面实施了强化观测,获得了宝贵的震后观测资料.     

地震前兆复杂性成因机理研究的讨论（二）：地震前兆复杂性成因机理

针对前兆复杂性的种种表现,作从震源、构造应力场、断裂力学、前兆监测等方面探讨了前兆复杂性产生的可能原因。认为前兆复杂性是客观存在的,与共性一起构成前兆的二重性,因此在研究前兆时,既要研究共性,也要研究复杂性,才能更好地掌握或认识前兆。同时从复杂性中再寻求普遍性,进一步完善孕震理论和开发新的分析预报方法;造成前兆复杂性的根本原因是孕震的物理力学过程的复杂性,其中包括地质构造、孕震环境、动力学过程、     

Wheat straw burning and its associated impacts on Beijing air quality

Based on MODIS images, large-scale flow field charts and environmental monitoring data, we thor- oughly analyzed the spatial distribution of wheat straw burning in North China, with focus on its envi- ronmental impacts on the air quality of Beijing and pollution transport paths. And we anatomized changes of air quality in Beijing under the impacts of pollution generated by wheat straw burning around. The results indicate that: (1) The North China Plain, a winter-wheat growing area, is the main source of pollutants induced by wheat straw burning in Beijing. The direction of south-west is the dominant heavy pollution transport path. (2) Impacts of wheat straw burning on air quality are mainly manifested by significantly increasing CO concentration. (3) Precursors of O3 generated by wheat straw burning, combining with favorable meteorological conditions, can induce increasing O3 concentration greatly. NO concentration will be greatly increased due to decreasing O3 concentration at night. (4) Atmospheric particles, especially the fine ones, from wheat straw burning exert considerable influ- ence on Beijing air quality. (5) Different contributions of wheat straw burning to pollutants are identified. Ratios of PM10/SO2, CO/SO2, etc., can be applied to indicate pollution extent of wheat straw burning. High ratios of PM10/SO2 and CO/SO2 show that the air quality was heavily impacted by wheat straw burning and these ratios can be employed as indicators of contribution of wheat straw burning to the degradation of Beijing air quality. (6) Randomness of wheat straw burning activities renders random outbreak of air pollution of this type. Regional and extensive wheat straw burning activities can cause serious air pollution event.     

中国大陆地震(M_s≥6.0)震中与其发震断层距离的统计分析及其在确定潜在震源区边界中的应用

本文通过中国大陆地震(M≥6.0)震中与其发震断层的距离的统计与分析,认为该距离的分布基本上符合正态分布特征,并经拟合计算得到中国东部和西部地区不同类型断层上不同震级档的地震震中距离分布的期望值和方差。根据正态分布随机变量的区间估计方法,讨论了统计分析的结果在潜在震源区边界的确定、以及边界的不确定性评价中的应用。     

Potential ecological risk of cadmium, lead and arsenic in agricultural black soil in Jilin Province, China

Potential ecological risk of cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) in agricultural black soil in Jilin Province, China was analyzed by the methods of risk assessment based on dose–effect relationships and ecological risk index. Heavy Cd-contamination occurred mainly around the coal mine region. The accumulation area for Pb appeared mostly in the suburbs and roadsides, whereas the higher As content was mainly found in the farmland of suburb and coal mine vicinity. In acute toxicity test, Cd, Pb and As in the soil had adverse effects on both roots and shoots growth in soybean with the greatest toxicity of arsenic and the least toxicity of lead at the same concentration levels. Exposed to Cd, Pb and As, the EC₅₀ (50% effective concentration) values for the growth of soybean root (shoot) were 212.59 (376.70), 528.53 (828.69) and 194.60 (299.03) mg/kg, respectively. Results of potential ecological risk index showed that soil contamination from Cd in some samples had very high potential ecological risk; Pb contamination for almost all sampling sites had moderate ecological risk; while soil contamination from As had low ecological risk. With the present accumulation rate, concentrations of Cd, Pb and As in agricultural black soil near coal mine would reach the threshold values in 68, 175 and 120 years, respectively.     

Relative pollen productivities of typical steppe species in northern China and their potential in past vegetation reconstruction

The Relative Pollen Productivities(RPPs)of common steppe species are estimated using Extended R-value(ERV)model based on pollen analysis and vegetation survey of 30 surface soil samples from typical steppe area of northern China.Artemisia,Chenopodiaceae,Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Asteraceae are the dominant pollen types in pollen assemblages,reflecting the typical steppe communities well.The five dominant pollen types and six common types(Thalictrum,Iridaceae,Potentilla,Ephedra,Brassicaceae,and Ulmus)have strong wind transport abilities;the estimated Relevant Source Area of Pollen(RSAP)is ca.1000 m when the sediment basin radius is set at 0.5 m.Ulmus,Artemisia,Brassicaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Thalictrum have relative high RPPs;Poaceae,Cyperaceae,Potentilla,and Ephedra pollen have moderate RPPs;Asteraceae and Iridaceae have low RPPs.The reliability test of RPPs revealed that most of the RPPs are reliable in past vegetation reconstruction.However,the RPPs of Asteraceae and Iridaceae are obviously underestimated,and those of Poaceae,Chenopodiaceae,and Ephedra are either slightly underestimated or slightly overestimated,suggesting that those RPPs should be considered with caution.These RPPs were applied to estimating plant abundances for two fossil pollen spectra(from the Lake Bayanchagan and Lake Haoluku)covering the Holocene in typical steppe area,using the"Regional Estimates of Vegetation Abundance from Large Sites"(REVEALS)model.The RPPs-based vegetation reconstruction revealed that meadow-steppe dominated by Poaceae,Cyperaceae,and Artemisia plants flourished in this area before 6500–5600 cal yr BP,and then was replaced by present typical steppe.