Revised seismic history of the El Pilar fault,Northeastern Venezuela,from the Cariaco 1997 earthquake and recent preliminary paleoseismic results

In light of the July 9, 1997, Cariaco earthquake, it is clearly understood now that damage in the city of Cumaná – located in northeastern Venezuela and frequently destroyed by the largest earthquakes since the first recorded event in 1530 – is strongly enhanced by poor soil conditions that, in turn, are responsible for site amplification and widespread earthquake-induced effects. Therefore, most previous macroseismic studies of historical earthquakes must be revaluated because those localized high-intensity values at Cumaná surely led to the misestimation of past epicenters. Preliminary paleoseismic results, gathered at three exploratory trenches dug across the surface break of the Cariaco 1997 earthquake in 1998, allow us to associate the 1684 earthquake with this recently ruptured fault segment that extends between the towns of San Antonio del Golfo and Río Casanay (roughly between the two gulfs of Cariaco and Paria, state of Sucre). Other major results from the reassessment of the seismic history of this fault are: (a) the 1766 event seems to have generated in a different source to the El Pilar fault because the size of the felt area suggests that it is an intermediate-depth earthquake; (b) damage to Cumaná produced by the 1797 event suggests that this was a local earthquake, perhaps equivalent to the 1929 earthquake, which ruptured for some 30 km just east of Cumaná into the Gulf of Cariaco; and (c) seismogenic association of the 1530 and 1853 earthquakes still remains unclear but it is very likely that these ruptures occurred offshore, as suggested by the rather large tsunami waves that both events have generated, placing their hypocenters west of Cumaná in the Cariaco Trough. This reassessment also sheds light into the El Pilar fault segmentation and the behavior of its seismogenic barriers through time.     

新疆东天山白石泉铜镍矿床基性-超基性岩体锆石U-Pb同位素年龄、地球化学特征及其对古亚洲洋闭合时限的制约

白石泉铜镍硫化物矿床位于中天山北缘,阿齐库都克-沙泉子断裂带南侧,产于同源侵入基性-超基性复式岩体中。采用锆石激光剥蚀法(LA-ICP-MS)获得矿化辉长岩中锆石U-Pb年龄为281．2±0．9Ma。辉长岩和橄榄岩的地球化学数据表明白石泉含矿杂岩体具高Mg特征。岩石富集大离子亲石元素(Rb、Ba、K、Sr)、LREE和高场强元素(U、Pb),而具有Ce负异常和亏损高场强元素(Th、Nb、Ta、Zr、Hf)的特征。这些表明白石泉含矿杂岩体具有幔源特征和岛弧岩浆特征。结合对白石泉岩体地质特征和区域地质背景的综合分析,本文推断白石泉岩体形成于岛弧环境或活动陆缘环境,即早二叠世期间在东天山地区还存在俯冲作用,因而古亚洲洋至少应在早二叠世晚期或以后才闭合。     

Hercynite–quartz-bearing granulites from Brejões Dome area, Jequié Block, Bahia, Brazil: Influence of charnockite intrusion on granulite facies metamorphism

In the present study, we describe and discuss the geology of aluminous–magnesian granulites and associated garnet-bearing charnockitic granulite from the Brejões Dome area, located in the Jequié Block, part of the São Francisco Craton in Bahia, Brazil. Investigation of metamorphic mineral assemblages allows the evaluation of P–T conditions for the formation of these rocks, and therefore to obtain constraints for the better understanding of the geological evolution of the area. We conclude that the rocks from the Brejões Dome area were formed under granulite facies conditions of low to intermediate pressure (5–8 kbar). Temperatures determined in samples of aluminous–magnesian granulites collected away from the dome are in the order of 850 °C, similar to those determined elsewhere in the southern part of the Itabuna–Salvador–Curaçá Orogen. However, samples of the same rock type collected close to the Brejões Dome are hercynite + quartz-bearing and record higher temperatures of about 900–1000 °C. It is suggested that the intrusion of the Brejões charnockite diapir was responsible for a local increase in temperature above the peak temperature of regional granulite metamorphism.     

四川大槽地区铂、钯地球化学异常源的示踪与镍矿体的发现

通过对四川大槽地区水系沉积物铂、钯异常源的示踪和查证,发现镍矿体中伴生的铂钯是水系沉积物中的铂钯源,通过土壤测量和岩石剖面测量,发现一镍矿体,平均镍含量为0.23%,铂 钯矿的最高品位0.4g/t,地表矿体已控制规模为130m宽,325m长,显示该地区具有较大的找矿远景。     

Ages of Detrital Zircon from Siliciclastic Successions South of the São Francisco Craton, Brazil: Implications for the Evolution of Proterozoic Basins

In this work we report ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb LA-ICPMS ages of 152 detrital zircons from lower greenschist facies quartzites from Proterozoic basin successions of the southern border of the São Francisco Craton, southern Minas Gerais State, Brazil. These are the intracratonic São João del Rei basin, the intraplate continental margin Andrelândia basin, and the Serra do Ouro Grosso sequence, developed on a crystalline basement older than 1.8 Ga, and deformed and metamorphosed during the Brasiliano Orogeny, ca. 0.59–0.50 Ga. The data constrain both the ages of the sources and the interval of sedimentation. The detrital zircons of the Serra do Ouro Grosso sequence were derived predominantly from the erosion of a Neoarchean crust, 2.5–2.8 Ga old, with only one grain showing a Paleoproterozoic age (2, 245±83 Ma) older than the Transamazonian event. Zircons extracted from a shelf quartzite of the lowermost sequence of the São João del Rei basin indicate derivation from the 1.8–2.2 Ga Transamazonian crust, with subordinate contribution from the 2.5–2.9 Ga Archean crust. The 1, 809±41 Ma age is interpreted as the maximum limit for sedimentation in this basin. The results confirm the regional correlation with the Espinhaço Rift successions. The zircons extracted from an autochthonous quartzite of the Andrelândia sequence yielded ages in the 1.0–2.2 Ga range, with a modal class at 1.2–1.3 Ga. Only two of the forty analyzed zircons yield Archean ages. The youngest zircon yields 1, 086±85 Ma. The zircons from the allochthonous quartzite yield ages between 1.0–2.7 Ga, with a modal class at 2.1–2.2 Ga. Only five of 45 analyzed grains yield Archean ages. The youngest zircon has an age of 1, 047±77 Ma. The results indicate that the detrital sediments deposited during the second marine flooding event of the Andrelândia sedimentation were mainly derived from the erosion of Mesoproterozoic and Paleoproterozic rocks. The 1, 047±77 Ma age is interpreted as the maximum depositional age for the described association.     

Geochemical Baselines of Nickel and Chromium in Various Surficial Materials in the Barents Region, NW Russia and Finland

The geochemical baselines of nickel and chromium were studied from the data produced by the Barents Ecogeochemistry project, a large international regional geochemical mapping exercise. The project surveyed major and trace element distributions in stream water, organic and mineralogically-modified soil horizons, and terrestrial moss in the northwestern part of Russia and in Finland. Other materials were collected during the pilot phase and later from thirty special sites. The results on respective materials by XRF, ICP-MS and ICP-AES showed that both geological and anthropogenic factors have an influence on the geochemical baseline concentrations of Ni and Cr in organic soil and stream water. The main explanation of the observed distribution patterns in terrestrial moss is human activity, but geological factors can also affect the baselines. The variation of geochemical baselines in the mineral-rich soil horizon depends only on variations in bedrock. The mineralogy of samples mainly controls the leachability properties of soil samples.     

An 8000-year record of vegetation, climate, and human disturbance from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador

An ∼8000-cal-yr stratigraphic record of vegetation change from the Sierra de Apaneca, El Salvador, documents a mid-Holocene warm phase, followed by late Holocene cooling. Pollen evidence reveals that during the mid-Holocene (∼8000-5500 cal yr B.P.) lowland tropical plant taxa were growing at elevations ∼200-250 m higher than at present, suggesting conditions about 1.0°C warmer than those prevailing today. Cloud forest genera (Liquidambar, Juglans, Alnus, Ulmus) were also more abundant in the mid-Holocene, indicating greater cloud cover during the dry season. A gradual cooling and drying trend began by ∼5500 cal yr B.P., culminating in the modern forest composition by ∼3500 cal yr B.P. A rise in pollen from weedy plant taxa associated with agriculture occurred ∼5000 cal yr B.P., and pollen from Zea first appeared in the record at ∼4440 cal yr B.P. Human impacts on local vegetation remained high throughout the late Holocene, but decreased abruptly following the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption of Volcán Ilopango at ∼1520 cal yr B.P. The past 1500 years are marked by higher lake levels and periodic depositions of exogenous inorganic sediments, perhaps indicating increased climatic variability.     

Seasonal and Interannual Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Coastal Cities of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal

The sea surface temperature (SST) variations play a veryimportant role in the genesis and maintenance of meteorological and oceanographic processessuch as monsoon depressions and subsequent floods, large-scale sea level fluctuationsand genesis of tropical cyclones. Many low lying coastal regions of South Asia are adjacentto river deltas and have large population. The dense population, poor economy and severalother socio-economic factors make these areas most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.Variability of sea surface temperature (SST) is importantas the duration and intensity of SST provide the basis for studies related to climatic changescenario. In this study an attempt has been made to estimate the recent SST trends in the coastalwaters of some cities, which lie on the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal. The annual andinterannual variability has also been studied. The SST variations have then been linkedwith the El Nino and La Nina events.The NOAA-NASA Pathfinder Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) SST fields from 1985-1998, created in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL), USA are used in this study. Here the quality of data is an important factor toobtain reliable estimates of Sea Surface Temperature (SST) trends and other related parameters.However, this is not possible with the conventional type data, due to low quality as wellas sparse data in the region. Though the satellite based SST climatologies have shorterobservation lengths, they can provide reliable estimates of recent SST variability overa large oceanic areas with sparse or no data.Increasing trend of SST is observed throughout all theseasons in the northern Arabian Sea extending from Oman to Karachi and Mumbai and furthersouth to Salalah and Colombo. However, in coastal islands stations further south ofIndia such as at Colombo the increment is not significant. Though the increasing trend in SSTduring winter is not significant, nevertheless it shows the increasing influence of coldspells on this Island. An interesting situation has been observed in the Bay of Bengal. On anaverage, increasing trends in the annual SST were observed in Visakhaputnam. But at thestations located in the northeastern part of Bay of Bengal, namely Hiron Point and Cox'sBazar reverse conditions are observed. In the Southern Bay of Bengal variations in SST isnot significant which reflects in the SST analysis of Chennai and Port Blair stations. Locationof these stations at lower latitudes (near by equator) probably is the reason for this insignificantchange. It has been found that the interannual mode of SST variations dominate the linear SSTtrends which is characterized by the El Nino Southern Oscillations (ENSO) scale cycle.     

Geoarchaeological evidence for multidecadal natural climatic variability and ancient Peruvian fisheries

Understanding the influence of natural climatic variability on modern fisheries is complicated by over a century of industrial fishing. Archaeological data provide unique opportunities for assessing precolonial and preindustrial fisheries. Records show that anchoveta-vs sardine-dominated fisheries correlate with 20th-century climate change in the Pacific Basin and are linked to multidecadal climatic variability. The “anchovy regime” is characterized by cooler conditions and lower frequency El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events, while the “sardine regime” is associated with warmer conditions and higher frequency ENSO. Fish remains excavated at Lo Demás, an Inca-period (ca. A.D. 1480–1540) fishing site at 13°25′S on the Peruvian coast, document a shift from an anchoveta-to a sardine-dominated fishery at about A.D. 1500. This shift correlates with records for increasing ENSO frequency at the same time. Middle and late Holocene sites have archaeofish assemblages that also suggest regime changes. Here we show that changes in fish regimes can result from natural variability and we support the potential role of archaeological assemblages in tracking multidecadal climate change in the Pacific Basin throughout the Holocene (0–11,500 cal yr B.P.).     

松花江流域水旱灾害发生规律及长期预报研究

以太阳活动为中心,以长期和超长期水文预报为目标,用数理统计分析方法,分析太阳黑子、埃尔尼诺事件(El Ni?o event)对松花江区域水文影响特征与其水、旱灾害发生的基本规律。揭示了“埃尔尼诺”和太阳活动11年周期的联系,把1810年～1991年间的太阳活动按强度划分为强弱两段,给出了强弱两段中事件产生不同水文影响的黑子数临界值,建立以黑子数为参数的“同年”水文计算的方程式。分析了1898年以来强弱两段中事件影响松花江流域发生水、旱灾害的规律性;用降水量为指标分析旱涝规律,揭示了降水量按磁周期时段呈丰、枯水周期性变化的规律。研究结果为长期水文预报提供了途径。