Pyroclastic density currents resulting from the interaction of basaltic magma with hydrothermally altered rock: an example from the 2006 summit eruptions of Mount Etna,Italy

After 16 months of quiescence, Mount Etna began to erupt again in mid-July 2006. The activity was concentrated at and around the Southeast Crater (SEC), one of the four craters on the summit of Etna, and eruptive activity continued intermittently for 5 months. During this period, numerous vents displayed a wide range of eruptive styles at different times. Virtually all explosive activities took place at vents at the summit of the SEC and on its flanks. Eruptive episodes, which lasted from 1 day to 2 weeks, became shorter and more violent with time. Volcanic activity at these vents was often accompanied by dramatic mass-wasting processes such as collapse of parts of the cone, highly unusual flowage processes involving both old rocks and fresh magmatic material, and magma–water interaction. The most dramatic events took place on 16 November, when numerous rockfalls and pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were generated during the opening of a large fracture on the SE flank of the SEC cone. The largest PDCs were clearly triggered explosively, and there is evidence that much of the energy was generated during the interaction of intruding magma with wet rocks on the cone’s flanks. The most mobile PDCs traveled up to 1 km from their source. This previously unknown process on Etna may not be unique on this volcano and is likely to have taken place on other volcanoes. It represents a newly recognized hazard to those who visit and work in the vicinity of the summit of Etna.     

Elemental composition of PM2.5 and PM10 at Mount Gongga in China during 2006

In order to investigate the chemical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols in a regional background site, PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were collected at Mount Gongga Station once a week in 2006. The concentrations of fifteen elements including Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, V, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Ag, Ba, Tl, and Pb were detected by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP-MS). The results showed that Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Fe were the major components of elements detected in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, occupied 89.5% and 91.3% of all the elements. Crustal enrichment factor (EF) calculation indicated that several anthropogenic heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Ag, Tl, Pb) were transported long distances atmospherically. The concentrations of all elements (except Na) measured in PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ in spring and winter were higher than those in summer and autumn. The backward air mass trajectory analysis suggests that northeast India may be the source region of those pollutants.     

珠峰地区雨季对流层大气的特征分析

利用2007年7月中国科学院珠穆朗玛峰综合观测站的边界层塔、无线电探空和风温廓线仪观测资料,分析了珠穆朗玛峰地区雨季低层大气风温湿等特征.珠峰地区雨季近地层风速、风向、温度等有明显的日变化.近地层风的日变化有两个很明显的阶段,00:00～14:30受谷风的影响而刮偏北风,14:30～24:00受冰川风的影响以偏南风为主.白天的冰川风比夜间的谷风要强些.中午13:30在600m以下存在强水平风速垂直切变,这可能是珠峰地区发生降雨的重要原因之一.低空急流在夏季比较常见.对流层平均降温率为0.685K/100m.低层大气的相对湿度一般有两个峰值高度,最大值在4000m以下,第二峰值高度不固定,到16000m以后相对湿度超不过10%.各层大气的风速风向差别较大.     

旅游活动对九华山风景区大型土壤动物群落影响

土壤动物是旅游活动对风景区生态系统影响最敏感的环境因素之一,也是旅游生态环境影响研究的重点。在九华山风景区6条主要游道附近选取了8条取样样带,样带设置与游道相垂直。每条样带按照距游道距离的不同设置4个取样样方,每个样方取枯枝落叶层并以5cm为一个层垂直向下取4层土样,用手拣法和网筛法拾取大型土壤动物。共捕获大型土壤动物2076头,隶属于3门8纲27个类群。运用多样性H′指数、集聚度等指标对不同样带和样方的不同土层中捕获的大型土壤动物类群和数量进行对比分析,结果表明:(1)九华山风景区大型土壤动物受到旅游活动的影响明显,旅游活动量越大土壤动物捕获量越少;(2)由近游道向远离游道的水平方向上大型土壤动物的类群和数量呈现递增规律;(3)在垂直分布上土壤动物向表层集聚明显,游憩活动的影响导致大型土壤动物类群和数量的表层聚集度由近游道样方向远离游道样方逐渐增大;(4)旅游活动量与各游道不同样方的捕获量呈现出不同的相关性。     

基于DRASTIC指标体系法的泰安市地下水脆弱性研究

地下水脆弱性评价是地下水保护工作的核心内容之一,针对泰安市的特点和区域特色,利用DRASTIC方法,选取地下水位埋深、净补给量、含水层介质类型、土壤介质类型、地形坡度、包气带介质类型以及含水层渗透系数7个参数为评价指标,对该地区的地下水脆弱性进行了定量评价,将泰安市地下水的脆弱性分为脆弱性高、较高、中等和低4个等级,并绘制了地下水脆弱性分区图,对该地区今后制订地下水资源管理、土地利用、环境保护及城市规划等政策措施具有较重要的参考指导作用。     

近20年来宜兴市域水稻土有机碳动态及其驱动因素

中国农业土壤有机碳的变化一直是国内外农业与全球气候变化研究中十分注意的问题。一些研究提示20世纪末以来我国水稻土尤其是太湖地区水稻土的有机碳储存出现了增长趋势。文章选择了2002年对江苏省宜兴市市域范围水稻土的61个土壤监测点进行系统采样和土壤分析,并与该市分别于1983年和1994年进行的土壤肥力调查结果相对比,从县市区域尺度分析、评价了近20年来太湖地区水稻土表土有机碳储存的变化。尽管20世纪80年代初以前土壤有机碳含量变化以下降为主,但20年来该市域内水稻土有机碳总体上呈上升趋势。统计表明,4个主要土属的表土有机碳密度的增幅以下序递增:湖白土(-2.80tChm²)<白土(10.36tChm²)<乌泥土(13.65tChm²)<黄泥土(14.97tChm²),因而全市74.2×103hm²水稻土表土的总有机碳库从1983年的1.37Tg增加到2002年的2.20Tg。该市水稻土的平均固碳速率达到0.5～0.8tChm²a,这种快速固碳作用与20世纪80年代以来土壤中氮素的富集、秸秆还田的推广和90年代以来该地区不断扩大的冬季休闲有关。目前该市水稻土的固碳潜力仍很大,太湖地区的高产高投入农业不能排除在碳固定上的积极意义。然而,这种快速固碳作用的土壤过程和机理值     

山东半岛冷流暴雪过程的个例分析

2008年12月4~5日,山东半岛出现了1次冷流暴雪过程,渤海上的辐合带对这次暴雪过程起到了重要的作用。本文利用观测资料和数值模式对这次过程进行了研究,探讨渤海辐合带的发展演变机制及对山东半岛冷流暴雪的影响,并分析了太行山脉对渤海辐合带的影响。结果表明,渤海上空生成的西北东南向的中尺度辐合带造成了以烟台-牟平-文登为中心的西北东南向的降雪带。太行山脉的阻挡作用使绕太行山的西北气流在太行山背风侧形成辐合,同时在低层大气存在1个暖脊,所以在渤海形成了1个西北东南向的辐合带。在西北风的水平平流和非地转风的作用下,渤海辐合带向东北移动,当渤海西北岸出现北风后,渤海辐合带西北部在北风的水平平流作用下向南移动,而渤海辐合带东南部在西北风水平平流和非地转风的作用下,继续向东北移动并与山东半岛北部的海岸锋辐合带合并增强,渤海辐合带西北和东南两部分移动方向的不同造成了辐合带的波动。渤海辐合带增强后登陆山东半岛,造成山东半岛西北东南向降雪带。对这次冷流暴雪个例的分析发现,太行山脉通过形成背风低压中尺度系统直接影响渤海上的中尺度辐合带的发展,而渤海辐合带与山东半岛北岸附近海岸锋的耦合使辐合加强,增强了降雪强度。     

Environmental Hazard of Capable Faults: The Case of the Pernicana Fault (Mt. Etna,Sicily

When dealing with hazard, the concept of fault capability (the probability of significant surface displacement in the near future) is more useful than the generic and often misleading concept of fault activity. The example of the Pernicana fault, located in the north-eastern flank of the Mt. Etna volcano is used here to illustrate the damage which can be expected in an urbanised area from a capable fault, in this case characterized by 'aseismic creep along part of its length. Along this fault, buildings, roads and other essential lifelines are being affected by slow, left-lateral displacement. The Pernicana fault is only one of a set of structures in the area whose movement, either connected to seismicity or not, is producing severe damage. First identified at the end of the last century, this source of hazard is, nevertheless, still poorly considered by planners and technicians. In Italy fault creep is quite rare outside the Etna region, but fault capability associated with strong earthquakes is relatively frequent, based on historical and palaeoseismological data, and is a feature that should be taken into account for hazard reduction programs.     

Chemical Composition of the Primitive Mantle Source of Peridotite Inclusions at Mount Lianshan, Liuhe County,Jiangsu Province

This paper presents a study of the major and trace element compositions of fresh mantle-derived spinel lherzolite and harzburgite inclusions from Cenozoic alkaline basalt in Mount Lianshan and Mount Panshi, Liuhe County, Jiangsu Province. An estimation is made of the contents of the major elements and some of the trace elements in the primitive mantle source region of the area, from which the authors have obtained MgO/Al2O3= 7.86. The contents of MgO and Al2O3 are also obtained as 37.58% and 4.78% respectively based on the correlation of MgO-Al2O3. Then, the contents of various elements in the primitive mantle are calculated using their regression equations with MgO, and the compositor) of the primitive mantle, a basic issue in geochemistry study, is discussed on that basis.     

Regional metamorphism and the alteration response of selected Silurian to Devonian mineral systems in the Nymagee area,Central Lachlan Orogen,New South Wales: a HyLogger™ case study

The southern Cobar Superbasin includes the Mount Hope, Cobar and Rast troughs and adjacent Winduck, Mouramba and Kopyje shelves. These stratotectonic units host a range of mineral systems within deformed upper Silurian to Lower Devonian rocks. Despite the metallogenic importance of the terrane the regional metamorphic- and alteration-related mineral assemblages have not been systematically described until now. Here, we present a study using the HyLogger? spectral scanner to systematically map changes in both background and alteration-related mineralogy for 14 mineral systems across the Nymagee area. The study found that, with the exception of the late diagenetic zone assemblages associated with the Winduck Shelf, the mineral assemblages for zones away from mineralisation are consistent with uniform sub- to lowest-greenschist facies metamorphic conditions, with no evidence for a regional, thermal field gradient across the basin. By contrast, proximal to mineralisation, there are significant changes in alteration-related mineral abundances and species reflecting elevated fluid temperatures. For several zones, including Browns Reef, Great Central, Hera, May Day, Nymagee and Shuttleton, there is a systematic change in chlorite composition from Fe- and/or Fe–Mg-chlorites to more Mg-rich varieties towards mineralisation. In addition, talc was noted for May Day, Mineral Hill and Shuttleton. The change in chlorite composition suggests that these ore-forming fluids were undersaturated with respect to iron. Furthermore, although present in discrete zones, carbonate alteration is not a dominant alteration type. However, at Manuka and Blue Mountain, the mineralisation is associated with carbonate-rich (calcite, ankerite, dolomite) units that have been dolomitised (Mg alteration) but not all dolomite-rich zones are mineralised. For Mineral Hill, there are systematic changes to mineral species/chemistry with observed data consistent with Parkers Hill being proximal to the centre of a mineralising system. The G and H Lode area (Southern Ore Zone) is slightly more distal whereas the Pearse deposit may represent a zone more distal again.