An information systems approach to the preservation of biological diversity

Abstract

Although biological diversity has emerged in the 1980s as a major scientific and political issue, efforts at scientific assessment have been hampered by the lack of cohesive sets of data. We describe, in concept, a comprehensive national diversity information system, using geographical information system (GIS) techniques to organize existing data and improve spatial aspects of the assessment. One potential GIS analysis, to identify gaps in the network of nature reserves for California, is discussed in greater detail. By employing an information systems approach, available data can be used more effectively and better management strategies can be formulated.     

Modelling uncertainty in natural resource analysis using fuzzy sets and Monte Carlo simulation: slope stability prediction

The techniques of fuzzy logic and Monte Carlo simulation are combined to address two incompatible types of uncertainty present in most natural resource data: thematic classification uncertainty and variance in unclassified continuously distributed data. The resultant model of uncertainty is applied to an infinite slope stability model using data from Louise Island, British Columbia. Results are summarized so as to answer forestry decision support queries. The proposed model of uncertainty in resource data analysis is found to have utility in combining different types of uncertainty, and efficiently utilizing available metadata. Integration of uncertainty data models with visualization tools is considered a necessary prerequisite to effective implementation in decision support systems.     

华北燕山带:构造、埃达克质岩浆活动与地壳演化(英文)

埃达克质火成岩在中国东部,包括燕山带是很常见的,一般认为它们是下地壳不均匀的镁铁质岩石及/或富集的上地幔岩石在高压(≥1.5 GPa)下部分熔融的结果。在燕山带内埃达克岩浆的形成有一个很长的时间(约190～80 Ma),然而岩浆活动的峰期却与约170～130 Ma间有基底岩石卷入的陆壳收缩期相一致。尽管埃达克质岩浆活动的历史很长,但那种把岩浆活动与岩石圈的拆沉效应相联系的模式似乎是不适当的。在该带内,埃达克质与非埃达克质岩浆活动有一部分是同时的,而且在地理分布上也是相间的,这说明了在下地壳和上地幔岩石的部分熔融中成分是相当不均匀的。侏罗纪及白垩纪熔融作用的热源应当是与古太平洋板块俯冲相关的中生代板底垫托的玄武岩浆。除了局部例外,在燕山带,埃达克质岩浆活动的终结和碱性岩浆活动的开始约在130～120 Ma,在此时期收缩作用使东亚大达200万km~2以上的地区发生了NW—SE向的区域性伸展作用。强烈的地壳伸展仅局限于华北克拉通北缘分布的少数几个变质核杂岩中。陆壳的伸展减薄合理地解释了130～120 Ma间发生高压埃达克质熔融条件的终结,尽管还有局部年轻的埃达克火山活动(约120～80Ma)可以在伸展规模有限而厚的地壳依然存在的地区继续出现。燕山区早白垩世的碱性侵入体中的锆石不存在前寒武纪?     

索伦缝合带中的印支期伸展作用:中国内蒙古苏尼特左旗变质核杂岩(英文)

根据对内蒙古苏尼特左旗地区的野外研究 ,我们将以前描述的交其尔逆冲断层重新解释为一南倾的伸展拆离断层。该断层为一印支期变质核杂的主拆离断层 ,它叠加在缩短的阿尔泰和满洲里带间的晚古生代索伦缝合带上。变质核杂岩的组成要素包括 :下盘的古生代中期和二叠—三叠纪侵入体 (分别是宝底道和哈拉图岩体 ) ,交其尔拆离断层之下、叠加在下盘岩体上的糜棱岩状剪切带 ,拆离断层本身和上盘成分多变、构造复杂的古生代和元古宙岩石。从U Pb年龄为 2 5 2Ma的糜棱岩化哈拉图岩体中获得白云母 ,其40 Ar/ 3 9Ar冷却年龄为 2 2 4Ma和 2 0 8Ma ,而后伸展沉积的下、中侏罗统沉积在下盘之上 ,表明变质核杂岩形成于印支期 ,即晚三叠世至侏罗纪最早期。研究区内 ,北东东走向的交其尔拆离断层的伸展作用方向大致为 2 15°。这是索伦缝合带内首次发现的印支期伸展作用 ,结合分隔遥远的中国各地区 ,如大别—苏鲁缝合带、西藏高原羌塘变质带和东阿尔金山区近来报道的其它一些晚三叠—早侏罗世 (约 2 2 0～ 190Ma)沿韧性拆离断层的伸展作用实例 ,清楚表明东亚地区区域性印支期变形的性质有必要进行重新研究     

Origin of Phlogopite in Mantle Xenoliths from Kostal Lake, Wells Gray Park, British Columbia

Phlogopite has been recognized for the first time in ultramaficxenoliths from the Canadian Cordillera. The phlogopite-bearingxenoliths are hosted in post-glacial basanitoid flows and ejectaof the Kostal Lake volcanic center, British Columbia. The xenolithassemblage consists of 60% cumulate-textured wehrlites, and40% coarse-textured lherzolites, harzburgites, dunites, andolivine websterites. The phlogopite occurs: (1) as sub-euhedral grains along grainboundaries in dunite and lherzolite xenoliths; or (2) alongorthopyroxene lamellae exsolved from intercumulus clinopyroxenein the wehrlite xenoliths; or (3) as grains hosted in 10–100pm diameter fluid inclusions in clinopyroxene of all xenoliths.The phlogopites do not show any reaction relationships withother phases in any of the xenoliths studied. Phlogopites ina given xenolith have Mg/Mg + Fe²⁺ similar to that of coexistingolivine, clinopyroxene, and orthopyroxene. The partitioningof Fe and Mg between phlogopite and coexisting olivine and clinopyroxeneis similar to that observed in other phlogopite-bearing mantlexenoliths, and in high-pressure melting experiments on rockswith similar bulk compositions. This indicates that the phlogopitesin xenoliths from Kostal Lake have equilibrated with these coexistingphases. The occurrence of phlogopites in fluid inclusions containingNa, K, Cl, P, and S, suggests that incompatible element-enrichedhydrous fluids/melts fluxed this part of the upper mantle beneatheastern British Columbia. Metasomatism of the upper mantle beneathKostal Lake probably occurred prior to Quaternary alkaline magmatism(7550–400 B.P.) and after the initial volcanism whichformed the wehrlite cumulates (3–5 Ma). Metasomatism causedoverall oxidation of the upper mantle beneath this area butwas not responsible for the anomalously Fe-rich nature of somexenoliths from the Kostal Lake eruptive center.     

Oxygen isotopic record of silicate alteration in the Shergotty—Nakhla—Chassigny meteorite Lafayette

Abstract— Samples from a suite of Shergotty—Nakhla—Chassigny (SNC) meteorites were analyzed for their O isotopic ratios by a modified version of the laser fluorination technique. Measured isotopic ratios (¹⁷O/¹⁶O and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O) from bulk samples of the Shergottites, EETA79001, Shergotty and Zagami; the Nakhlite Lafayette; and Chassigny are similar to those reported in the literature, as are those from olivine and pyroxene mineral separates from Lafayette. Iddingsite, a preterrestrial alteration product of Lafayette, was measured for the first time as a separate phase. Oxygen isotopic ratios increase with the percentage of iddingsite in a sample to a maximum δ¹⁸O of 14.4% for a ～90% separate. Based on these measurements, end-member iddingsite has a δ¹⁸O of 15.6%, which places it among other ¹⁸O-enriched secondary phases (carbonate and silica) observed in SNC meteorites. The relatively large difference in δ¹⁸O between iddingsite and the olivine and pyroxene it replaces (～11%) is typical of low-temperature alteration products. A range of crustal fluid δ¹⁸O values can be interpreted from the δ¹⁸O for end-member iddingsite, assuming isotopic equilibrium was achieved during low-temperature hydrous alteration (<100 °C; Treiman et al., 1993). The calculated range of values, ?15 to 5%, depends on many factors including: (1) the modal mineralogy of iddingsite, (2) potential isotopic exchange among other O-bearing phases such as host silicate and carbonate, and (3) exchange with evolved or exotic O reservoirs on Mars. Despite the lack of constraints, the calculated range is consistent with isotopic exchange, and possibly equilibria, among components of the CO₂-carbonate-iddingsite-H₂O system at low temperature. The SNC meteorite samples in this study have Δ¹⁷O values that are indistinguishable from bulk Mars (0.30%), except for a single, small sample of iddingsite that has an anomalous Δ¹⁷O of ～1.4%. While analytical difficulties make isotopic measurements for this sample problematic, the Δ¹⁷O is similar in direction to Δ¹⁷O reported for waters extracted from bulk samples of Lafayette (Karlsson et al., 1992). If the Δ¹⁷O for iddingsite is confirmed, it can be concluded that evolved or exotic fluids on Mars have contributed volatiles to the O reservoir from which iddingsite formed 130 to 700 Ma ago.     

Origin of hibonite-pyroxene spherules found in carbonaceous chondrites

Abstract— We have studied both of the known glass-free, hibonite-pyroxene spherules: MYSM3, from Murray (CM2), and Y17–6, from Yamato 791717 (CO3). They consist of hibonite plates (～2 wt% TiO^tot₂) enclosed in Al-rich pyroxene that has such high amounts of CaTs (CaAl₂SiO₆) component, up to ～80 mol%, that it must have crystallized metastably. Within the pyroxene, abundances of MgO and SiO₂ are strongly correlated with each other and are anticorrelated with those of Al₂O₃, reflecting an anticorrelation between the diopside and CaTs components of the pyroxene. In contrast with previous results for Type B fassaite, however, we do not observe an anticorrelation between MgO and TiO^tot₂, possibly reflecting different relative distribution coefficients for Ti³⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ in the aluminous pyroxene of the spherules from those found for fassaite in Type B inclusions. Previously described hibonite-silicate spherules have ²⁶Mg deficits but the present samples do not. Furthermore, the pyroxene in Y17-6 has excess ²⁶Mg, while the hibonite it encloses does not, indicating that the two phases either had different initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios or different initial ²⁶Mg/²⁴Mg ratios. The Ti isotopic compositions of the present samples are highly unusual: δ⁵⁰Ti = 103.4 ± 5.2%o in MYSM3 and -61.4 ± 4.1%0 in Y17-6, which are among the largest ⁵⁰Ti anomalies reported for any refractory inclusion. The textures suggest that hibonite crystallized first; but based on the calculated bulk compositions of both spherules, it is not the liquidus phase in either sample, which suggests that the hibonite in both samples is relict. The presence of ragged hibonite grains in MYSM3 and rounded hibonite grains in Y17-6 and a lack of isotopic equilibrium between pyroxene and hibonite support this conclusion. The spherules crystallized from liquid droplets that probably formed as a result of the melting of solid precursor grains that included hibonite. The heating events were too short and/or not hot enough to melt all the hibonite. The droplets cooled quickly enough that CaTs-rich pyroxene crystallized instead of anorthite. Based on the observed differences in isotopic composition, it is unlikely that the precursors of the present samples formed in the same reservoir as each other or as the previously described hibonite-silicate spherules, providing further evidence of the isotopic heterogeneity of the early solar nebula.