Relationship between geoacoustic properties and chemical content of submarine polymetallic crusts from offshore Brazil

Abstract

Marine mining is the ocean’s new exploration frontier, and polymetallic crusts (PMCs) and ferromanganese nodules are considered a strategic resource for the future. Acoustic geophysical methods are a valuable tool for oceanic research and have been employed for several decades in the exploration of marine resources and environmental evaluations. The main objective of this work was to investigate the correlation between the chemical composition of PMCs from three different areas along the Brazilian continental margin and their physico-acoustic attributes (P-wave velocity, density and acoustic impedance). The results show that the geoacoustic properties of PMCs are correlated to their chemical composition. Measurements showed positive and negative trends between acoustic impedance and studied elements (Fe, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, W and Ni) according to the direction of measurement, indicting high anisotropy levels. Our study sheds initial light on the correlation between acoustic properties and metal content of PMCs. The study facilitates assessments of the acoustic responses of PMCs allowing more efficient prospection and exploitation compared to ship-board geophysical techniques that are too qualitative to identify PMCs. The results can contribute to determining the best procedures and techniques for more efficient future exploration of this resource.     

柴达木盆地北缘侏罗系展布规律新认识

依据柴达木盆地北部冷科 1井等钻井及大煤沟剖面等露头的生物地层研究成果 ,重新建立了柴达木盆地北缘地层系统 ,并标定了地震剖面 ,追踪出了中、下侏罗统的分布范围及厚度。研究结果表明 ,早侏罗世时柴达木盆地北缘为断陷沉积 ,各次凹地层沉积最厚 ,且利于烃源岩发育 ;中侏罗世时柴达木盆地北缘为早期断陷、后期坳陷 ,烃源岩厚度及分布范围较小。这一成果 ,为确定柴达木盆地北缘主力烃源岩展布 ,开展油气地质研究及确定下步勘探方向奠定了基础     

Hydrofluoric Acid‐Free Digestion of Geological Samples for the Quantification of Rare Earth Elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Optical Emission Spectrometry

Rare earth elements (REEs) are very important to technological development as well as to geochemical and environmental studies. In this work, hydrofluoric acid (HF) was replaced by condensed phosphoric acid (CPA) in the digestion of geological samples, and the quantification of REEs was performed by inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES). Six international reference materials (RMs), named DC86318, CGL 111, CGL 124, CGL 126, OKA‐2 and COQ‐1 and three Brazilian ore samples, named Araxá, Catalão and Pitinga were analysed. Only zircon and xenotime, which are potential REE‐bearing minerals, were not completely dissolved. Nevertheless, no REE associated with zircon was detected. The investigated digestion method presented many advantages: It was relatively fast (3 h), avoided fluoride precipitation, it was less hazardous because handling diluted H₃PO₄ is safer than HF, NH₄F or NH₄HF₂ aqueous solutions, it preserved the quartz fittings of the measurement equipment and the final solution contained lower levels of total dissolved solids than those produced by the fusion method.     

Assessing the control exerted by soil mineralogy in the fixation of potentially harmful elements in the urban soils of Lisbon,Portugal

The main purposes of this study are the textural, chemical and mineralogical characterization of the urban soils of Lisbon and the identification of probable relations between the several soil properties. The results are used to infer which soil properties control the superficial dispersion of potential harmful elements to human health. Soil sampling was carried out in 51 selected sites all through the city, under the criterion that such sites should be spaces usually frequented by children. The concentrations of 42 elements in the >2 mm soil size fraction were determined at a commercial laboratory in Canada (ActLabs, LTD), by ICP-MS/ICP-OES after an acid digestion with aqua regia. The soil mineralogy was determined by X-ray diffraction in the <2 and <62 μm size fractions. The results indicate that the urban soils have mainly a sandy texture and a main mineralogical assemblage of quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase and calcite. In terms of clay minerals, smectite, illite and kaolinite are the main clays in the soil. Smectite and illite show a dichotomy in their distribution, with the smectites prevailing in the soils of the volcanic complex of Lisbon, which are classified as being residual, and illite prevailing in the remaining soils, which are considered mainly as man-made soils. Smectite seems to exert an important role in the fixation of Ni and Cr. The results of the geochemical study show that Ni and Cr have concentrations above the soil guideline value established to the UK and pose a probable risk to human health.     

Mineralogy, geochemistry and genesis of kaolins from the Amazon region

The kaolin deposits of the Amazon region of Brazil are of lateritic origin, modified by subsequent reduced lacustrine and/or swamp environment. They are contemporaneous with lateritic bauxites found in the same region, all formed from aluminium silicate rocks. These are principally sedimentary rocks from the Cretaceous period (Itapecuru and Alter do Chão), but also include metamorphic and felsic volcanic rocks. After erosion of the upper part of these profiles they became locally a substratum for swampy and/or lacustrine environments mostly developed over the clayey saprolitic horizon where kaolin occurs. The saprolitic horizon is made up mainly of iron-mottled kaolinite which has been subject to an intense deferrification, which has increased the kaolin brightness and thickness. The kaolins are basically made up of well-crystallized kaolinite, quartz, sometimes illite-muscovite, anatase and hematite. In certain locations, crandallite-goyazite is also present. The deposits studied differ from each other in the mineral content levels, concentration of principal elements and in trace element distribution. The greatest quantity of quartz and, consequently SiO₂, is intrinsically related to the type of parent rock. Small sedimentary deposits occur in alluvial flood plains located not very far from the lateritic source.     

张全庄金矿元素地球化学特征及找矿意义

张全庄金矿是河北省一危机矿山.矿山多为采空区,矿脉中硫化物分布不均匀.矿脉的不同围岩为统一的元素地球化学整体.通过采取与矿脉等距近矿蚀变岩,研究这些蚀变岩中元素的带入带出特征,分析成矿规律,建立了张全庄金矿矿脉原生晕元素组合分带模式,即As、Sb、Ag等元素为头晕元素,Cu、Ag、Au、Pb、Zn等元素为矿中元素,Mo为尾晕元素.运用此模式对张全庄金矿进行深部成矿预测,成功地发现了新矿体.     

东海陆坡天然气水合物地震波特征研究

天然气水合物是在一定温度、压力条件下形成的烃类资源，富存于陆坡及深海区，是当今世界海洋地质学家研究的热点。该文根据多年积累的东海陆坡至冲绳海槽区的高分辨地震资料，分析研究了BSR的地震波特征，揭示该区具有天然气水合物的良好远景。     

Analyzing the spatial interactions between rainfall levels and flooding prediction in São Paulo

Rainfall is one of the primary triggers for many geological and hydrological natural disasters. While the geological events are related to mass movements in land collapse due to waterlogging, the hydrological ones are usually assigned to runoff or flooding. Studies in the literature propose predicting mass movement events as a function of accumulated rainfall levels recorded at distinct periods. According to these approaches, a two-dimensional rainfall levels feature space is segmented into the occurrence and non-occurrence decision regions by an empirical critical curve (CC). Although this scheme may easily be extended to other purposes and applications, studies in the literature need to discuss its use for flooding prediction. In light of this motivation, the present study is unfolded in (1) verifying that defining CCs in the rainfall levels feature space is a practical approach for flooding prediction and (2) analyzing how geospatial components interact with rainfall levels and flooding prediction. A database containing the rainfall levels recorded for flooding and non-flooding events in São Paulo city, Brazil, regarding the period 2015–2016, was considered in this study. The results indicate good accuracy for flooding prediction using only partial rain, which can be improved by adding physical characteristics of the flooding locations, demonstrating a direct correlation with spatial interactions, and rainfall levels.     

Vertical deformation partitioning across a collapsing large and hot orogen

Featuring 3 000-km-long large and hot orogen, the Mantiqueira Province provides a rare opportunity to study the process of gravitational collapse at mid to deep crustal levels. Distinct but contemporary (~500 Ma) post-collisional intrusions show structures and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabrics related to their emplacements, recording different flow patterns. In southern deep-seated intrusions, ellipsoidal-shaped roots with gabbroic-to-hybrid cores surrounded by granitic rocks show concentric patterns of AMS fabrics that cut across the NE-trending regional foliation. In contrast, northern intrusions, exposed as the upper sections of batholith-size bodies of coarse-grained granite emplaced at the shallow to mid-crust, show general NS-trending magnetic fabrics roughly parallel to strike of the orogen and the regional foliation of host rocks. These contrasting magnetic patterns from shallow to deeper crust suggest vertical magma migration from the overthickened orogenic core to be emplaced across its thinner stretched flanks during the gravitational collapse of the orogenic edifice.     

Paleoenvironmental dynamics in central-eastern Brazil during the last 23 000 years: tropical peatland record in the Cerrado biome

The Cerrado biome is the second largest in Brazil, but the evolution of the Cerrado during the late Quaternary is not yet fully known. This study identifies paleoenvironmental changes during the last 23 000 years, based on a tropical mountain peatland record, in the Serra do Espinhaço Meridional in central-eastern Brazil. A multi-proxy approach was used that involved palynological analysis, stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N), geochemistry, radiocarbon dating and multivariate statistics derived from a peatland core from Rio Preto (Minas Gerais state). The study reveals a very humid and cold climate during the late Pleistocene, with an increase in temperature and decrease in humidity at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition. During this period there was strong instability in the landscape (episodes of erosion). At the beginning of the Holocene there was a reduction in humidity with greater landscape stability. The current sub-humid climatic conditions seem to have been established in the mid-/late Holocene, with periods of landscape instability. Our findings agree with other Cerrado records that contradict previously established hypotheses, such as the Amazonian Refuge and the Pleistocene Arc.