Carbonatites and ultrabasic-alkaline rocks of the maimecha-kotui region, N. Siberia

The structural position, geology, petrography, petrochemistry, and petrogenesis of one of the world's greatest carbonatite provinces situated in North Siberia are recorded. Three groups of Late Permian-Early Triassic magmatites are briefly discussed: effusives, dikes, and intrusives of complex central type. Carbonatite and congenetic rocks are related to kimberlites, but are genetically unrelated to tholeiitic basalts and trachybasalts. The genetic development and diagnostic features of ultrabasic-alkaline rocks and carbonatites are formulated.     

Improved spatial resolution for U-series dating of opal at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA, using ion-microprobe and microdigestion methods

Two novel methods of in situ isotope analysis, ion microprobe and microdigestion, were used for ²³⁰Th/U and ²³⁴U/²³⁸U dating of finely laminated opal hemispheres formed in unsaturated felsic tuff at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, proposed site for a high-level radioactive waste repository. Both methods allow analysis of layers as many as several orders of magnitude thinner than standard methods using total hemisphere digestion that were reported previously. Average growth rates calculated from data at this improved spatial resolution verified that opal grew at extremely slow rates over the last million years. Growth rates of 0.58 and 0.69 mm/m.y. were obtained for the outer 305 and 740 μm of two opal hemispheres analyzed by ion microprobe, and 0.68 mm/m.y. for the outer 22 μm of one of these same hemispheres analyzed by sequential microdigestion. These Pleistocene growth rates are 2 to 10 times slower than those calculated for older secondary calcite and silica mineral coatings deposited over the last 5 to 10 m.y. dated by the U-Pb method and may reflect differences between Miocene and Pleistocene seepage flux. The microdigestion data also imply that opal growth rates may have varied over the last 40 k.y. These data are the first indication that growth rates and associated seepage in the proposed repository horizon may correlate with changes in late Pleistocene climate, involving faster growth during wetter, cooler climates (glacial maximum), slower growth during transition climates, and no growth during the most arid climate (modern). Data collected at this refined spatial scale may lead to a better understanding of the hydrologic variability expected within the thick unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain over the time scale of interest for radioactive waste isolation.     

Isotopic Composition of Dissolved Carbonates Meromictic Soda Lake Doroninskoe(Eastern Transbaikalia,Russia)

正1 Introduction Meromictic soda Lake Doroninskoe localized in the intermountain area,filled with continental sediments of the Mesozoic,in the upper basin of the river Amur.Coordinates of its location are N51°14'42"E112°14'40",     

A workflow for Sustainable Development Goals indicators assessment based on high-resolution satellite data

ABSTRACT

For evaluating the progresses towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a global indicator framework was developed by the UN Inter-Agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goals Indicators. In this paper, we propose an improved methodology and a set of workflows for calculating SDGs indicators. The main improvements consist of using moderate and high spatial resolution satellite data and state-of-the-art deep learning methodology for land cover classification and for assessing land productivity. Within the European Network for Observing our Changing Planet (ERA-PLANET), three SDGs indicators are calculated. In this research, harmonized Landsat and Sentinel-2 data are analyzed and used for land productivity analysis and yield assessment, as well as Landsat 8, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1 time series are utilized for crop mapping. We calculate for the whole territory of Ukraine SDG indicators: 15.1.1 – ‘Forest area as proportion of total land area’; 15.3.1 – ‘Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area’; and 2.4.1 – ‘Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture’. Workflows for calculating these indicators were implemented in a Virtual Laboratory Platform. We conclude that newly available high-resolution remote sensing products can significantly improve our capacity to assess several SDGs indicators through dedicated workflows.     

High-grade iron ore at Windarling, Yilgarn Craton: a product of syn-orogenic deformation, hypogene hydrothermal alteration and supergene modification in an Archean BIF-basalt lithostratigraphy

Banded iron formation (BIF)-hosted iron ore deposits in the Windarling Range are located in the lower greenstone succession of the Marda–Diemals greenstone belt, Southern Cross domain, Yilgarn Craton and constitute a total hematite–martite–goethite ore resource of minimum 52 Mt at 60 wt.% Fe (0.07 P). Banded iron formation is interlayered with high-Mg basalts at Windarling and precipitated during episodes of volcanic quiescence. Trace element content and the rare earth element (REE) ratios Y/Ho (42 to 45), Sm/Yb (1.5), together with positive La and Gd anomalies in ‘least-altered’ hematite–magnetite–metachert–BIF indicate the precipitation from Archean seawater that was fertilised by hydrothermal vent fluids with a basaltic HREE-Y signature. Hypogene iron ore in sub-greenschist facies metamorphosed BIF formed during three distinct stages: ore stage 1 was a syn- to post-metamorphic, syn-D₁, Fe–Ca–Mg–Ni–Co–P–REE metasomatism that produced local Ni–REE-rich Fe–dolomite–magnetite alteration in BIF. Hydrothermal alteration was induced by hot fluid flow controlled by brittle–ductile reactivation of BIF-basalt margins and crosscutting D₁ faults. The Ni–Co-rich content of dolomite and a shift in REE ratios in carbonate-altered BIF towards Archean mafic rock signature (Y/Ho to 31 to 40, Sm/Yb to 1 to 2 and Gd/Gd* to 1.2 to 1.4) suggest that high-Mg basalts in the Windarling Range were the primary source of introduced metals. During ore stage 2, a syn-deformational and likely acidic and oxidised fluid flow along BIF-basalt margins and within D₁ faults leached carbonate and precipitated lepidoblastic and anhedral/granoblastic hematite. High-grade magnetite–hematite ore is formed during this stage. Ore stage 3 hydrothermal specular hematite (spcH)–Fe–dolomite–quartz alteration was controlled by a late-orogenic, brittle, compressional/transpressional stage (D₄; the regional-scale shear-zone-related D₃ is not preserved in Windarling). This minor event remobilised iron oxides, carbonate and quartz to form veins and breccia but did not generate significant volumes of iron ore. Ore stage 4 involved Mesozoic(?) to recent supergene oxidation and hydration in a weathering environment reaching down to depths of ～100 to maximum 200 m below surface. Supergene ore formation involved goethite replacement of dolomite and quartz as well as martitisation. Important ‘ground preparation’ for supergene modification and upgrade were mainly the formation of steep D₁ to D₄ structures, steep BIF/basalt margins and particularly the syn-D₁ to syn-D₂ carbonate alteration of BIF that is most susceptible to supergene dissolution. The Windarling deposits are structurally controlled, supergene-modified hydrothermal iron ore systems that share comparable physical, chemical and ore-forming characteristics to other iron ore deposits in the Yilgarn Craton (e.g. Koolyanobbing, Beebyn in the Weld Range, Mt. Gibson). However, the remarkable variety in pre-, syn- and post-deformational ore textures (relative to D₁ and D₂) has not been described elsewhere in the Yilgarn and are similar to the ore deposits in high-strain zones, such as of Brazil (Quadrilátero Ferrífero or Iron Quadrangle) and Nigeria. The overall similarity of alteration stages, i.e. the sequence of hydrothermal carbonate introduction and hypogene leaching, with other greenstone belt-hosted iron ore deposits supports the interpretation that syn-orogenic BIF alteration and upgrade was crucial in the formation of hypogene–supergene iron ore deposits in the Yilgarn Craton and possibly in other Archean/Paleoproterozoic greenstone belt settings worldwide.     

Viability of pyrite pulled metabolism in the ‘iron-sulfur world’ theory: Quantum chemical assessment

The viability of pyrite-pulled metabolism in the ‘iron-sulfur world’ theory was assessed using a simple model of iron-nickel sulfide (Fe-Ni-S) surface and data obtained from quantum chemical calculations. We have investigated how the individual reactions in the carbon fixation cycle (carboxylic acids formation) on an Fe-Ni-S surface could have operated to produce carboxylic acids from carbon oxide and water. The proposed model cycle reveals how the individual reactions might have functioned and provides the thermodynamics of each step of the proposed pathway. The feasibility of individual reactions, as well the whole cycle was considered. The reaction of acetic acid production from CH₃SH and CO on an Fe-Ni sulfide surface was revealed to be endergonic with a few partial steps having positive Gibbs free energy. On the other hand, the pyrite formation was found to be slightly exergonic. The significance of the catalytic activity of transition metal sulfides in generation of acetic acid was shown. The Gibbs free energy values indicate that the acetic acid synthesis is unfavorable to proceed on the studied Fe-Ni-S model under simulated conditions. The importance of these results in terms of a primordial chemistry on iron-nickel sulfide surfaces is discussed.     

Thermal history of the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain,Nevada, USA

Secondary calcite, silica and minor amounts of fluorite deposited in fractures and cavities record the chemistry, temperatures, and timing of past fluid movement in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, the proposed site of a high-level radioactive waste repository. The distribution and geochemistry of these deposits are consistent with low-temperature precipitation from meteoric waters that infiltrated at the surface and percolated down through the unsaturated zone. However, the discovery of fluid inclusions in calcite with homogenization temperatures (T_h) up to ∼80 °C was construed by some scientists as strong evidence for hydrothermal deposition. This paper reports the results of investigations to test the hypothesis of hydrothermal deposition and to determine the temperature and timing of secondary mineral deposition. Mineral precipitation temperatures in the unsaturated zone are estimated from calcite- and fluorite-hosted fluid inclusions and calcite δ¹⁸O values, and depositional timing is constrained by the ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U ages of chalcedony or opal in the deposits. Fluid inclusion T_h from 50 samples of calcite and four samples of fluorite range from ∼35 to ∼90 °C. Calcite δ¹⁸O values range from ∼0 to ∼22‰ (SMOW) but most fall between 12 and 20‰. The highest T_h and the lowest δ¹⁸O values are found in the older calcite. Calcite T_h and δ¹⁸O values indicate that most calcite precipitated from water with δ¹⁸O values between −13 and −7‰, similar to modern meteoric waters.     

POSSIBLE HYDROGEOCHEMICAL PRECONDITIONS FOR KASHIN－BECK DISEASE IN TRANSBAIKALIA

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X-ray single-crystal and Raman study of knorringite,Mg3(Cr1.58Mg0.21Si0.21)Si3O12, synthesized at 16 GPa and 1,600 °C

The crystal structure of a knorringite-type compound, Mg₃(Cr_1.58Mg_0.21Si_0.21)Si₃O₁₂, synthesized in a multi-anvil press at P = 16 GPa and T = 1,600 °C, was refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data up to R = 2.36 % for 314 independent reflections. Garnet was found to be cubic and have space group Ia $\overline{3}$ d, with the unit cell parameters a = 11.5718 (1) Å, V = 1,549.54 (2) Å³. The knorringite crystal studied contains 21 mol% of majorite end-member. The structural characterization of knorringitic garnet is important because the study of its thermodynamic constants provides new constraints on thermobarometry of peridotitic garnet assemblages of the lowermost upper mantle. The Raman spectra of synthetic knorringite have been obtained for the first time.