Genesis of monazite and Y zoning in garnet from the Black Hills, South Dakota

The paragenesis of monazite in metapelitic rocks from the contact aureole of the Harney Peak Granite, Black Hills, South Dakota, was investigated using zoning patterns of monazite and garnet, electron microprobe dating of monazite, bulk-rock compositions, and major phase mineral equilibria. The area is characterized by low-pressure and high-temperature metamorphism with metamorphic zones ranging from garnet to sillimanite zones. Garnet porphyroblasts containing euhedral Y annuli are observed from the garnet to sillimanite zones. Although major phase mineral equilibria predict resorption of garnet at the staurolite isograd and regrowth at the andalusite isograd, textural and mass balance analyses suggest that the formation of the Y annuli is not related to the resorption-and-regrowth of garnet having formed instead during garnet growth in the garnet zone. Monazite grains in Black Hills pelites were divided into two generations on the basis of zoning patterns of Y and U: monazite 1 with low-Y and -U and monazite 2 with high-Y and -U. Monazite 1 occurs in the garnet zone and persists into the sillimanite zone as cores shielded by monazite 2 which starts to form in the andalusite zone. Pelites containing garnet porphyroblasts with Y annuli and monazite 1 with patchy Th zoning are more calcic than those with garnet with no Y annuli and monazite with concentric Th zoning. Monazite 1 is attributed to breakdown of allanite in the garnet zone, additionally giving rise to the Y annuli observed in garnet. Monazite 2 grows in the andalusite zone, probably at the expense of garnet and monazite 1 in the andalusite and sillimanite zones. The ages of the two different generations of monazite are within the precision of chemical dating of electron microprobe. The electron microprobe ages of all monazites from the Black Hills show a single ca. 1713 Ma population, close to the intrusion age of the Harney Peak Granite (1715 Ma). This study demonstrates that Y zoning in garnet and monazite are critical to the interpretation of monazite petrogenesis and therefore monazite ages.     

Giant swarms of Precambrian mafic dikes and potential diamond resources of ancient platforms

By the examples of the Siberian Platform and Canadian Shield, it is shown that spatial juxtaposition of Phanerozoic diamond-bearing kimberlite fields with giant swarms of Precambrian mafic dikes is caused by both systematic and incidental events. The first of these include (1) origination of mantle plumes and associated lenses of high-temperature mantle melting in the subequatorial “hot belt” of the early Earth, (2) formation of magma chambers that generated mafic dikes in these asthenospheric lenses, (3) shear stress, and (4) ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism of igneous and country rocks. As a result, the association of diamond-bearing high-density mafic and ultramafic rocks was formed under favorable thermal and fluidal conditions. These processes occurred first in the embryonic (multiplate) Neoarchean tectonic setting at a depth of 40–60 km (present-day elevation marks) and then at a deeper (100–150 km) level during the transition to the Proterozoic true plate tectonics. These processes left behind giant swarms of Precambrian mafic dikes, as well as structurally and genetically related deep-seated morphological and density anomalies. The relatively high position of two lithospheric units of diamond-bearing rocks, each underlain by a thick layer of the cold mantle, prevented these units from thermal and mechanical erosion during subsequent plate-tectonic stages characterized by deeper location of asthenospheric layers. The occurrence of clusters of Phanerozoic diatremes in ancient giant swarms of mafic dikes, as well as the enrichment of pipes in xenogenic diamond-bearing material derived from different levels of the tectonically delaminated lithosphere, may be attributed to incidental events that controlled the fertility of a relatively small number of kimberlite pipes.     

Secular variations of the upper crust composition: Implication of geochemical data on the Upper Precambrian shales from the Southern Urals western flank and Uchur-Maya region

In the mid-1980s, it was concluded based on geochemical study that Th, Sc, La concentrations and ratios Th/Sc, La/Sc and Eu/Eu* did not wary significantly in the post-Archean time. It was impossible to judge about compositional variations of upper crust during the Riphean and Vendian, because data of that time characterized a limited number of samples from the post-Archean basins of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic. Considered in this work are variations of Eu/Eu*, LREE/HREE, Th/Sc, and La/Sc ratios in Upper Precambrian fine-grained siliciclastic rock of the Southern Urals western flank (Bashkirian meganticlinorium) and Uchur-Maya region (Uchur-Maya plate and Yudoma-Maya belt). As is established, only the Eu anomaly in the studied siliciclastic rocks is practically identical to this parameter of the average post-Archean shale. Three other parameters plot on the Riphean-Vendian variation curves with positive and negative excursions of diverse magnitude, which do not coincide always in time. It is assumed that these excursions likely mark stages of local geodynamic activity, destruction of pre-Riphean cratons, and progressing recycling of sedimentary material during the Riphean.     

Water–rock interaction during the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field, Liaoning, China

In the process of steam stimulation exploitation of viscous crude oil, the injected water, at high temperature and under high pressure, reacts intensively with the host rock. This kind of water–rock interaction in Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field was studied on the basis of analysis of water composition changes, laboratory experiments, mineral saturation indices analysis, and mass balance calculation. Compared with the injected water, the changes of the composition of discharged water are mainly the distinct decrease of pH, Na⁺, SiO₂ and Cl⁻, as well as the increase of K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, SO ₄ ²⁻ and HCO ₃ ⁻ . Laboratory experiments under field conditions showed: the dissolution sequence of minerals quantitatively is quartz>potassium feldspar>albite, and the main change of clay minerals is the conversion of kaolinite to analcime. Mass balance calculation indicated during the process of steam stimulation, large quantities of analcime are precipitated with the dissolution of large amounts of quartz, kaolinite, potassium feldspar, and CO₂. These results correlated very well with the experimental results. The calculated results of Liaohe Shuguang Oil Field showed that during the steam stimulation for viscous crude oil, the amounts of minerals dissolved (precipitated) are huge. To control the clogging of pore spaces of oil reservoirs, increased study of water–rock interaction is needed.     

中国大气本底观测发展概述

中国早期的大气本底观测网建设起步于上世纪80年代初，并于10a后基本建成。目前，中国气象局、中国科学院在原有观测站的基础上各自建设和发展着自己下属的大气本底观测网络。全球大气观测网给出了一整套开展大气本底观测的技术标准，各国均予以严格遵循。20多年来，中国大气本底观测工作在基础数据积累以及观测标准制定等方面取得了较大进展，与此相关的科学研究也取得了长足进步。最后对中国大气本底观测发展过程中存在的一些问题进行了探讨。     

Dissolved trace elements in river water: spatial distribution and the influencing factor, a study for the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China

Twenty-nine water samples were collected from different river channels of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China. An inductively coupled plasma-mass spectromonitor (ICP-MS) was used to measure concentrations of the trace elements in these samples. The results suggest that the average concentrations of rare earth elements in river water show an increasing trend from the West River, the North River, the rivers of the Pearl River Delta, and the Shenzhen River to the East River. Relatively high concentrations of heavy metals appear in the East River, the rivers of the Pearl River Delta and the Shenzhen River, while the West River and the North River have relatively low heavy metal concentrations. Trace element concentrations in samples collected near urban or industrial areas are much higher than those of samples collected from distant areas, away from urban and industrial areas. After natural conditions, human activities have significant influence on the trace element concentrations in river water. This trace element concentration’s spatial distribution in the river water from the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is actually an integrated effect of natural conditions and human activity.     

Formation of iron-containing colloids by the weathering of phyllite

The formation of colloids during the weathering of phyllite was investigated by exposing ground phyllite to Milli-Q water. Secondary mineral colloids of 10¹–10² nm were detected in significant concentrations. At pH of about 8.5, the solution concentration of these colloids reached up to 10 mg/L (however, acidification to pH 4.0 prevented the formation of the colloids). The mineralogical composition of the secondary mineral colloids is assumed to be a mixture of ferrihydrite, manganese oxyhydroxides, aluminosilicates, amorphous Al(OH)₃ and gibbsite with possible additions of iron silicates and␣iron-alumino silicates. The colloids were stable over longer periods of time (at least several weeks), even in the presence of suspended ground rock. Direct formation of iron-containing secondary mineral colloids at the rock–water interface by the weathering of rock material is an alternative to the well-known mechanism of iron colloid formation in the bulk of water bodies by mixing of different waters or by aeration of anoxic waters. This direct mechanism is of relevance for colloid production during the weathering of freshly crushed rock in the unsaturated zone as for instance crushed rock in mine waste rock piles. Colloids produced by this mechanism, too, can influence the transport of contaminants such as actinides because these colloids have a large specific surface area and a high sorption affinity.     

Vertical distribution and water solubility of phosphorus and heavy metals in sediments of the St. Lucie Estuary, South Florida, USA

Accumulation and distribution of heavy metals and phosphorus in sediments impact water quality. There has been an increasing concern regarding fish health in the St. Lucie Estuary, which is related to increased inputs of nutrients and metals in recent decades. To investigate vertical changes of contaminants (P, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn) in sediments of the St. Lucie Estuary in South Florida, 117 layer samples from six of the 210 to 420 cm depth cores were analyzed for their total and water-soluble P and heavy metals, clay, total Fe, Al, K, Ca, Mg, Na, and pH. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used in two sets of analytical data (total and water-soluble contaminant concentrations) to document changes of contaminants in each core of sediments. The PCA of total contaminants and minerals resulted in two factors (principal components). The first and second factors accounted for 61.7 and 17.2 % of the total variation in all variables, and contrast indicators associated with contaminants of P, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn and accumulation of Fe and Al oxides, respectively. The first factor could be used for overall assessment of P and heavy metal contamination, and was higher in the upper 45–90 cm than the lower depths of each core. The concentrations of P and heavy metals in the surface layers of sediments significantly increased, as compared with those in the sediments deeper than 45–90 cm. The PCA of water-soluble contaminants developed two factors. The second factor (Cu–P) was higher in the upper than the lower depths of the sediment, whereas the highest score of the first factor (Cd–Co–Cr–Ni–Pb–Zn–Mn) occurred below 100 cm. The water-soluble Cu and P concentrations were mainly dependent on their total concentrations in the sediments, whereas the water-soluble Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Mn concentrations were mainly controlled by pH.