新疆北部弧-盆转化体系下铁氧化物-铜-金矿床的流体演化特征:来自卤族元素和稀有气体同位素的证据

东准噶尔北缘和东天山雅满苏带是中国新疆北部地区两个重要的晚古生代铁氧化物-铜-金矿化潜力区,以老山口、乔夏哈拉和黑尖山矿床作为典型矿床代表。研究表明两区域的铁氧化物-铜-金矿床均产出于盆地闭合的弧盆转化体系下,且具有明显的铁、铜-金两阶段矿化。卤族元素和稀有气体同位素作为可靠的流体示踪剂,被应用于探究这一特定构造环境下的铁氧化物-铜-金矿床的流体演化和矿床成因。结果显示老山口、乔夏哈拉和黑尖山矿床的成矿流体具有明显的混合流体端员特征:(1)岩浆流体端员,主要参与黑尖山矿床磁铁矿阶段,I/Cl、Br/Cl和⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar比值分别为(16.3~18.0)×10^-6、(1.03~1.06)×10^-3和352~437;(2)海水表源蒸发成因盐卤水端员,主要参与老山口矿床铜-金矿化阶段,I/Cl、Br/Cl和⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar比值分别为(77.1~87.7)×10^-6、(1.53~1.80)×10^-3和672~883;(3)蒸发岩溶解或者深度水-岩反应成因的盐卤水/沉积岩地层水端员,主要参与到老山口、乔夏哈拉矿床的磁铁矿阶段以及黑尖山、乔夏哈拉矿床的铜-金矿化阶段,综合I/Cl、Br/Cl和⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar比值分别为(477~26 301)×10^-6、(0.39~1.28)×10^-3和288~510。明显的多阶段矿化和铜-金矿化阶段以非岩浆富Ca高盐度卤水为主的特征与世界范围内的IOCG型矿床极为相似,表明新疆北部的铁氧化物-铜-金矿床应为IOCG型矿床。     

Modelling distribution of marine benthos from hydroacoustics and underwater video

Broad-scale mapping of marine benthos is required for marine resource management and conservation. This study combines textural derivatives based on bathymetry from multibeam hydroacoustics with underwater video observations to model and map sessile biota between 10- and 60-m water depth over 35 km² in Point Addis Marine National Park (MNP), Vic., Australia. Classification tree models and maps were developed for macroalgae (all types, mixed red algae, Ecklonia, and rhodoliths) and sessile invertebrates (all types, sponges, and ascidians). Model accuracy was tested on 25% of the video observation dataset reserved from modelling. Models fit well for most macroalgae categories (correct classification rates of 67–84%), but are not as good for sessile invertebrate classes (correct classification rates of 57–62%). The poor fit of the sessile invertebrate models may be the combined result of grouping organisms with different environmental requirements and the effect of false absences recorded during video interpretation due to poor image quality. Probability maps, binary single-class maps, and multi-class maps supply spatially explicit, detailed information on the distribution of sessile benthic biota within the MNP and provide information at a landscape-scale for ecological investigations and marine management.     

Buruanga peninsula and Antique Range: Two contrasting terranes in Northwest Panay,Philippines featuring an arc–continent collision zone

Alternating chert–clastic sequences juxtaposed with limestone blocks, which are units typical of accretionary complexes, constitute the Buruanga peninsula. New lithostratigraphic units are proposed in this study: the Unidos Formation (Jurassic chert sequence), the Saboncogon Formation (Jurassic siliceous mudstone–terrigenous mudstone and quartz‐rich sandstone), the Gibon Formation (Jurassic(?) bedded pelagic limestone), the Libertad Metamorphics (Jurassic–Cretaceous slate, phyllite, and schist) and the Buruanga Formation (Pliocene–Pleistocene reefal limestone). The first three sedimentary sequences in the Buruanga peninsula show close affinity with the ocean plate stratigraphy of the North Palawan terrane in Busuanga Island: Lower–Middle Jurassic chert sequences overlain by Middle–Upper Jurassic clastics, juxtaposed with pelagic limestone. Moreover, the JR5–JR6 (Callovian to Oxfordian) siliceous mudstone of the Saboncogon Formation in the Buruanga peninsula correlates with the JR5–JR6 siliceous mudstone of the Guinlo Formation in the Middle Busuanga Belt. These findings suggest that the Buruanga peninsula may be part of the North Palawan terrane. The rocks of the Buruanga peninsula completely differ from the Middle Miocene basaltic to andesitic pyroclastic and lava flow deposits with reefal limestone and arkosic sandstone of the Antique Range. Thus, the previously suggested boundary between the Palawan microcontinental block and the Philippine Mobile Belt in the central Philippines, which is the suture zone between the Buruanga peninsula and the Antique Range, is confirmed. This boundary is similarly considered as the collision zone between them.     

A laser probe Ar/Ar and INAA investigation of four Apollo granulitic breccias

Infrared laser probe ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology, instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and analytical electron microscopy have been performed on four 0.5 × 1.0 × 0.3 cm polished rock tiles of Apollo 16 and 17 granulitic breccias (60035, 77017, 78155, and 79215). Pyroxene thermometry indicates that these samples were re-equilibrated and underwent peak metamorphic sub-solidus recrystallization at 1000-1100 °C, which resulted in homogeneous mineral compositions and granoblastic textures.⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data from this study reveal that three samples (60035, 77017, and 78155) have peak metamorphic ages of ∼4.1 Ga. Sample 79215 has a peak metamorphic age of 3.9 Ga, which may be related to Serenitatis basin formation. All four samples contain moderately high concentrations of meteoritic siderophiles. Enhanced siderophile contents in three of the samples provide evidence for projectile contamination of their target lithologies occurring prior to peak metamorphism.Post-peak metamorphism, low-temperature (<300 °C) events caused the partial resetting of argon in the two finer-grained granulites (60035 and 77017). These later events did not alter the mineralogy or texture of the rocks, but caused minor brecciation and the partial release of argon from plagioclase. Interpretation of the low-temperature data indicates partial resetting of the argon systematics to as young as 3.2 Ga for 60035 and 2.3 Ga for 77017. Cosmic ray exposure ages range from 6.4 to ∼339 Ma.Our results increase the amount of high-precision data available for the granulitic breccias and lunar highlands crustal samples. The results demonstrate the survival of pre-Nectarian material on the lunar surface and document the effects of contact metamorphic and impact processes during the pre-Nectarian Epoch, as well as the low-temperature partial resetting of ages by smaller impact events after 3.9 Ga.The mineralogy and chemical composition of these rocks, as well as exhumation constraints, indicate that the source of heat for metamorphism was within kilometers of the surface via burial beneath impact-melt sheets or hot ejecta blankets.     

Metamorphic fluid origins in the Osborne Fe oxide–Cu–Au deposit,Australia: evidence from noble gases and halogens

The Osborne iron oxide–copper–gold (IOCG) deposit is hosted by amphibolite facies metasedimentary rocks and associated with pegmatite sheets formed by anatexis during peak metamorphism. Eleven samples of ore-related hydrothermal quartz and two pegmatitic quartz–feldspar samples contain similarly complex fluid inclusion assemblages that include variably saline (<12–65 wt% salts) aqueous and liquid carbon dioxide varieties that are typical of IOCG mineralisation. The diverse fluid inclusion types present in each of these different samples have been investigated by neutron-activated noble gas analysis using a combination of semi-selective thermal and mechanical decrepitation techniques. Ore-related quartz contains aqueous and carbonic fluid inclusions that have similar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values of between 300 and 2,200. The highest-salinity fluid inclusions (47–65 wt% salts) have calculated ³⁶Ar concentrations of approximately 1–5 ppb, which are more variable than air-saturated water (ASW = 1.3–2.7 ppb). These fluid inclusions have extremely variable Br/Cl values of between 3.8 × 10⁻³ and 0.3 × 10⁻³, and I/Cl values of between 27 × 10⁻⁶ and 2.4 × 10⁻⁶ (all ratios are molar). Fluid inclusions in the two pegmatite samples have similar ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values of ≤1,700 and an overlapping range of Br/Cl and I/Cl values. High-salinity fluid inclusions in the pegmatite samples have 2.5–21 ppb ³⁶Ar, that overlap the range determined for ore-related samples in only one case. The fluid inclusions in both sample groups have ⁸⁴Kr/³⁶Ar and ¹²⁹Xe/³⁶Ar ratios that are mainly in the range of air and air-saturated water and are similar to mid-crustal rocks and fluids from other settings. The uniformly low ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values (<2,200) and extremely variable Br/Cl and I/Cl values do not favour a singular or dominant fluid origin from basement- or mantle-derived magmatic fluids related to A-type magmatism. Instead, the data are compatible with the involvement of metamorphic fluids that have interacted with anatectic melts to variable extents. The ‘metamorphic’ fluids probably represent a mixture of (1) inherited sedimentary pore fluids and (2) locally derived metamorphic volatilisation products. The lowest Br/Cl and I/Cl values and the ultra-high salinities are most easily explained by the dissolution of evaporites. The data demonstrate that externally derived magmatic fluids are not a ubiquitous component of IOCG ore-forming systems, but are compatible with models in which IOCG mineralisation is localised at sites of mixing between fluids of different origin. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.     

Comparisons of Three Methods to Determine the Vertical Stratification of Pore Fluids

Three methods were used to investigate the possibility of vertical stratification of the pore fluid in an aquifer. The wells available for the study were fully screened and had a 5cm disturbed annulus around them. The first method used a pump with a straddle packer to isolate a short section of the secreened interval. A tracer test demonstrated that most of the pumped sample came from the well bore, presumably by piping through the disturbed. annulus. The second method used induction logs to measure the formation electrical conductivity as a function of depth. Due to the presence of clays and an inability to obtain porosity information, it was not possible to determine the pore fluid electrical conductivity using induction logs. A third method, dilution sampling, was developed that used a straddle packer to isolate a segment of the well screen. A tracer was injected into the packed-off segment, and the tracer concentration in the well was monitored. The tracer was removed from the packed-off segment by dilution and advection by ground water. When the tracer was completely removed from the packed-off segment, the fluid in the segment was considered to be representative of the adjacent pore fluid. Only the dilution sampling method determined unambiguously that the pore fluid was not stratified.     

Geochemistry of the Batang Group in the Zhaokalong Area,Yushu, Qinghai: Implications for the Late Triassic Tectonism in the Northern Sanjiang Region,China

The Batang Group in the Zhaokalong area not only hosts an important Fe-Cu polymetallic deposit but also reveal important insights for the Late Triassic tectonism in the northern Sanjiang region. In order to delineate the tectonic setting and evolutionary process of the paleo arc-basin system, geochemical studies on the Batang Group strata have been carried out. The results suggest that andesite in the Zhaokalong area mainly belongs to the tholeiite series and is characterized by obvious fractionation of LREE and HREE, enrichment in LILE and depletion in HFSE, and a distinctly elevated δ~(34)SCDT average of 10.5‰. The sandstone is classified as lithic sandstone, which is also characterized by obvious fractionation of LREE and HREE, as well as weak negative Ce and Eu anomalies. The limestone displays positive Eu anomalies, with δ~(13)CPDB ranging from-1.3‰ to 4.4‰ and δ~(18) OSMOW ranging from 14.6‰ to 22.5‰. These results indicate that the andesite has a dual signature of both arc andesite and rift volcanic rocks, whereas the sandstone may be formed in an active continental margin, and the limestone could be deposited in a weak oxidizing shallow sea. The sandstone in the Zhaokalong area represents sedimentation in a platform slope facies, corresponding to the main stage of the Jinshajing oceanic basin subduction during the middle period of Late Triassic. The continental arc volcanic activity resulted from subsequent strengthened subduction, forming the andesite in the North Qiangtang backarc basin. Afterwards, the limestone was formed after the cessation of magmatic activity. The information gleaned from the Batang Group strata helped constrain the evolution of the paleo-Jomda island arc and Jinshajiang oceanic subduction in the Late Triassic.     

Modelling formation of complex topography by the seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Posidonia oceanica is a slow growing seagrass species that extends via growing rhizomes that grow only centimetres both horizontally and vertically each year. Posidonia oceanica forms topographically complex biogenic reefs of dead rhizome and sediments that are up to 4 m in height that are called “matte”. This study investigates the role of slow horizontal and vertical growth of rhizomes in the formation of topographic complexity in P. oceanica matte using agent-based modelling. The simulated infilling of landscapes by P. oceanica was run over 600 iterations (years) for 10 random starts of 150 agents each. Initial infilling rates were very slow and P. oceanica had limited cover after a century of growth. Growth accelerated after 100 years but plateaued after 400 years such that after 600 years only two-thirds of the landscape was occupied by P. oceanica. The pattern of spread of agents was initially random in direction but after larger patches were formed spread was radial from these patches. The seagrass landscape was initially highly fragmented with many small separate patches made up of a few agents each, with a Landscape Division index close to 1. Between 300 and 600 years Landscape Division declined sharply to 0.42, indicating patches had coalesced into larger more continuous meadows forming a less fragmented landscape. Perimeter to area ratio of seagrass patches declined exponentially from >1 to approximately 0.2 over 600 years of simulation. The matte developed from growth of patches and its greatest height occurred in more continuously occupied cells of the grid. The topography of the reef that occupied two-thirds of the landscape after six centuries of growth could be described as a pattern of channels between reef plateaus elevated 1–2 m above channels. These results demonstrate that development in P. oceanica meadows of three-dimensional structure, in the formation of biogenic reefs, can be explained by, and is an emergent property of, slow horizontal and vertical rhizome growth rates combined with the time it takes for the accumulation of rhizomes in any region of the landscape. As such, the model provides a parsimonious explanation for the development of complex matte topography.     

Impact of oil and gas vents and slicks on petroleum exploration in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Active petroleum vents and slicks have been identified in the deep water of the northern Gulf of Mexico using numerous techniques. The occurrence and distribution of these petroleum vents are strongly influenced by the local geological framework—especially the presence of vertical migration pathways into shallow sediments. Oil and gas vents may be more useful for establishing the existence of petroleum generation on a regional scale and for evaluating the gross properties of oil migrating in the subsurface than for appraising the exploration value of individual prospects. Knowledge about petroleum venting in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico has proven to be an important element of the successful exploration activities there.     

The reaction history of kyanite in high‐P aluminous granulites

Cathodoluminescence (CL) mapping of kyanite in high pressure, aluminous granulites from the central Grenville Province reveals internal structures that are linked to their metamorphic reaction history. In two samples, individual kyanite crystals are shown to be composite porphyroblasts comprising three distinct generations, defined by their CL intensity and Cr (±V, Ti, Fe and Ga) content, and each separated by resorbed interfaces. In contrast, a sub‐aluminous sample contains two types of kyanite, one as resorbed inclusions in garnet and another in the groundmass or replacing garnet. These textural variants of kyanite are interpreted within the framework of phase equilibria modelling. In P–T pseudosections, a first generation of kyanite, which is only present in the most aluminous samples, is potentially linked to staurolite breakdown, and its resorption is consistent with a subsequent increase in pressure. This kyanite represents the earliest remnant of prograde metamorphism identifiable in these rocks. The second generation, present in the porphyroblasts in the same samples and as inclusions in garnet in the sub‐aluminous sample, is interpreted to be the peritectic product of muscovite dehydration melting. Resorption of this kyanite is consistent with subsequent continuous dehydration melting of biotite, which is also inferred based on microstructural considerations. The final generation of kyanite, present as rims on the prograde kyanite porphyroblasts in aluminous samples and as part of the groundmass or replacing garnet in the sub‐aluminous rock, is interpreted to have grown during melt crystallization upon retrogression. The presence of retrograde kyanite implies that the melt crystallized over a wide range of temperatures, and provides an important constraint on the P–T conditions of the metamorphic peak and on the retrograde P–T path. CL mapping is crucial for identifying retrograde kyanite in aluminous samples, as it preferentially overgrows existing kyanite rather than replacing other prograde phases. The scarcity of kyanite in sub‐aluminous rocks allows retrograde kyanite to grow as discrete crystals that can be identified by optical microscopy. This work attests to the potential of unconventional tools such as CL imaging for deciphering the metamorphic history of rocks.