Microthermometric measurement of fluid inclusions and its constraints on genesis of PGE-polymetallic deposits in Lower Cambrian black rock series, southern China

Systematic microthermometric measurements of fluid inclusions in the PGE-polymetallic deposits hosted in the Lower Cambrian black rock series in southern China were performed, and the results suggest: (1) there exist two types of fluid inclusions. TypeⅠis of NaCl-H2O system with low-medium salinity, and its homogenization temperatures (Th) and salinities are 106.9- 286.4℃ and ( 0.8- 21.8) wt%NaCl eq. respectively; TypeⅡ is of CaCl2-NaCl-H2O system with medium-high salinities, and its homogenization temperatures and salinities range from 120.1℃ to 269.6℃ and ( 11.4- 31.4) wt%NaCl eq., respectively. The typeⅡ fluid inclusions have been discovered for the first time in this kind of deposits; (2) two generations of ore-forming fluids were recognized. Characteristics of fluid inclusions in the PGE-polymetallic ores and carbonate-quartz stockworks in the underlying phosphorites are almost of no difference, they may represent ore-forming fluids at the main metallogenic stage. The peak value of homogenization temperature of those fluid inclusions is about 170℃, while their salinities possess a remarkable bimodal distribution pattern with two peak values of (27-31) wt%NaCl eq. and (4-6) wt%NaCl eq. On the contrary, fluid inclusions in the carbonate-quartz veins in the hanging wall may represent ore-forming fluids at the post-metallogenetic stage. The homogenization temperatures and the peak values of salinities are mostly 130-170℃ and (12-14) wt%NaCl eq., respectively; (3) nobel gas isotopic composition analyses in combination with the microthermometric measurements of fluid inclusions suggest that the ore-forming fluids at the main metallogenetic stage were probably derived from mixing of basinal hot brines with the CaCl2-NaCl-H2O system and seawater with the NaCl-H2O system; (4) in the Early Cambrian, the basinal hot brines were trapped in the Caledonian basins, which were distributed along the southern margin of the Yangtze Craton, and where giant thick sediments were accumulated, and expelled and migrated laterally along the strata because of the pressure caused by overlying sediments. The basinal hot brines absorbed Ni, Mo, V, PGE from the surrounding rocks and were transformed into ore-bearing hydrothermal fluids with the CaCl2-NaCl-H2O system and medium-high salinities, then ascended along faults and mixed with seawater of the NaCl-H2O system, and finally PGE-polymetallic deposits or occurrences were formed in the black rock series.     

Geochemical Information Indicating the Water Recharge to Lakes and Immovable Megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert

1 Introduction The Badain Jaran Desert, located in western Inner Mongolia, China, has a unique landscape containing 144 lakes (72 of which are still watery) with a total water area of about 23 km2, and the world’s highest stationary sand dunes with a height between 200 m and 500 m. Much attention has been paid to the water recharge of the desert in the past decade. Investigations on the resources of water system there have been performed continuously since the early 1990s, which lead to th…     

Sedimentation rates in the Wanggang salt marshes, Jiangsu

1 IntroductionLand-ocean interaction in coastalzone is one of the key m atters of the International G eosphereand Biosphere Program (IG BP). The key problem s of the second phase in the next decadeinclude the m aterial cycle, the system evolution process …     

The effects of land use on runoff and soil nutrient losses in a gully catchment of the hilly areas： implications for erosion control

1 Introduction Soiland waterlossisoneofthe worldwide environm entalissuesthreatening sustainable land use in semiarid areas.However,soiland water loss is highly variable in space and time,and its variability resultsfrom m any factorsoperating ata wide ran…     

Gas accumulation from oil cracking in the eastern Tarim Basin: A case study of the YN2 gas field

Oil and gas exploration in eastern Tarim Basin, NW China has been successful in recent years, with several commercial gas accumulations being discovered in a thermally mature to over-mature region. The Yingnan2 (YN2) gas field, situated in the Yingnan structure of the Yingjisu Depression, produces gases that are relatively enriched in nitrogen and C₂₊ alkanes. The δ¹³C₁ (−38.6‰ to −36.2‰) and δ¹³C₂ values (−30.9‰ to −34.7‰) of these gases are characteristic of marine sourced gases with relatively high maturity levels. The distributions of biomarkers in the associated condensates suggest close affinities with the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks which, in the Yingjisu Sag, are currently over-mature (with 3–4%Ro). Burial and thermal maturity modeling results indicate that paleo-temperatures of the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician source rocks had increased from 90 to 210 °C during the late Caledonian orogeny (458–438 Ma), due to rapid subsidence and sediment loading. By the end of Ordovician, hydrocarbon potential in these source rocks had been largely exhausted. The homogenization temperatures of hydrocarbon fluid inclusions identified from the Jurassic reservoirs of the YN2 gas field suggest a hydrocarbon emplacement time as recent as about 10 Ma, when the maturity levels of Middle–Lower Jurassic source rocks in the study area were too low (<0.7%Ro) to form a large quantity of oil and gas. The presence of abundant diamondoid hydrocarbons in the associated condensates and the relatively heavy isotopic values of the oils indicate that the gases were derived from thermal cracking of early-formed oils. Estimation from the stable carbon isotope ratios of gaseous alkanes suggests that the gases may have been formed at temperatures well above 190 °C. Thus, the oil and gas accumulation history in the study area can be reconstructed as follows: (1) during the late Caledonian orogeny, the Cambrian–Lower Ordovician marine source rocks had gone through the peak oil, wet gas and dry gas generation stages, with the generated oil and gas migrating upwards along faults and fractures to form early oil and gas accumulations in the Middle–Upper Ordovician and Silurian sandstone reservoirs; (2) since the late Yanshanian orogeny, the early oil accumulations have been buried deeper and oil has undergone thermal cracking to form gas; (3) during the late Himalayan orogeny, the seals for the deep reservoirs were breached; and the gas and condensates migrated upward and eventually accumulating in the relatively shallow Jurassic reservoirs.     

Slope stability evaluation using Back Propagation Neural Networks

The Yudonghe landslide, located in western Hubei Province of China, consists of eastern and western subunits as well as a main landslide mass with upper and lower slip surfaces. As an important landslide close to Shuibuya Dam on the Qing River, its stability is crucial, as the slide might reactivate because of a change in ground-water level caused by filling of the Shuibuya Reservoir. Existing weakness zones, growth of ruptures, the downslope attitude of geologic strata, and water infiltration, which reduced the strength of rocks and soils, have been found to be the most important factors contributing to the Yudonghe landslide. With regard to the landslide processes, it can be noted that the original large-scale slide activity was due to erosion by the Qing River, the second sliding resulted from the fall of blocks from the head scarp, and the final activity was the growth of the eastern and western secondary slides. A base failure was the main type of slope movement, however, it was obvious that more than one sliding event occurred, as inferred from striations and fractures detected by microstructure analysis of soils along the failure surfaces. Slope instability was evaluated by the method of Back Propagation Neural Networks (BPNN), in which a four-layer BPNN model with five input nodes, two hidden layers, and two output nodes was constructed using a training data set of landslide samples throughout the Qing River area. The predicted results of this analysis showed that the factor of safety was 1.10, which indicates that the Yudonghe landslide is currently in a marginally stable condition.     

Land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River, northeast Qinghai-Xizang Plateau: classification and evaluation

Land degradation imposes a great threat to the world. It is not merely an environmental issue, but also a social and economic problem. Land desertification is among the main aspects of environment changes in the source region of the Yellow River. Previous studies focused on water resource utilization and soil erosion, but land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River even the whole Qinghai-Xizang Plateau received little attention. Based on the data obtained by field investigation and TM satellite images of 2000, this study provides the classification and evaluation information of the land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River. There are six types of land degradation in this region: water erosion in the northern mountains around the Gonghe Basin, sandy desertification in the Gonghe Basin and Upland Plain Area, aridization in the lower reaches, salinization in the Gonghe Basin, vegetation degradation in the intramontance basin and freezing and thawing erosion in the high mountains. The total degraded area is 34,429.6 km², making up 37.5% of the land in the study area. Finally, land degradation in the source region of the Yellow River was evaluated according to changes in the physical structure and chemical component of soils, land productivity, secondary soil salt and water conditions.     

利用地震属性研究准噶尔盆地西北缘拐19井区下侏罗统三工河组沉积环境

在准噶尔盆地西北缘，寻找岩性圈闭油气藏已是至关重要的问题。但人们几乎还是用常规的手段来寻找岩性油气藏，没有实质性进展。本文是以利用宽方位角采集的地震数据为基础，对数据进行高保真资料处理和参考标准层的层拉平解释。利用前人的区域地质研究成果和钻井解释成果对侏罗系的沉积环境进行了精细的描述，确定了拐19井区在下侏罗统三工河组的出油层段附近的沉积环境由湖泊相－三角洲前缘相－河流相－湖泊相的演化过程。利用地震属性解释的结果也能较好地反映目标区的沉积环境变迁，并且与区域地质、测井解释结果相吻合，为寻找油气提供了很好的依据。由此得出利用地震属性可以进行沉积环境变迁分析，为油田寻找岩性圈闭及油气藏做出贡献。     

江西贵溪盆地罗塘群沉积体系特征及其地质意义

早白垩世晚期江西贵溪盆地的控盆断裂活动加强,在盆地边缘的不同地带及盆地中心发育有不同的沉积体系,野外露头岩相特征和剖面的研究表明,贵溪盆地罗塘群主要发育有冲积扇体系、扇三角洲体系、辫状河三角洲体系、湖泊沉积体系及辫状河沉积体系,沉积体系特征主要受控于盆缘断裂活动,不同的沉积体系出现在盆地演化的不同阶段,并由不同的岩相组成.沉积体系的特征、分布及组合型式反映了陆相断陷红盆沉积相带窄、横向及纵向上相变快的特点.