Trace element geochemistry of coesite-bearing eclogites from the Roberts Victor kimberlite, Kaapvaal craton

Trace element characteristics of seven coesite-bearing eclogitic xenoliths from the Roberts Victor kimberlite demonstrate that this suite of eclogites originated as gabbroic cumulates in oceanic crust that was subsequently subducted. All but one of the garnets show positive Eu anomalies, accompanied by a flat heavy rare earth pattern, which is atypical of garnet, but characteristic of plagioclase, arguing for a considerable amount of plagioclase in the protoliths. Forward modelling of the accumulation of liquidus minerals from primitive komatiitic, picritic, and basaltic liquids suggests that at least some of the eclogite protoliths were not derived from basaltic parental liquids, whereas derivation from either komatiitic or picritic liquids is possible. The reconstructed eclogite bulk rocks compare favourably with oceanic gabbros from ODP hole 735B (SW Indian Ridge), even to the extent that oxygen isotopic systematics show signs of low-temperature seawater alteration. However, the oxygen isotope trends are the reverse of what is expected for cumulates in the lower section of the oceanic crust. These new findings show that δ¹⁸O values in eclogitic xenoliths, despite being sound indicators for their interaction with hydrothermal fluids at low pressure, do not necessarily bear a simple relationship with the inferred oceanic crustal stratigraphy of the protoliths.     

自适应海洋观测

“自适应海洋观测”指固定或移动的海洋观测平台能够根据海洋环境和信号的变化,自主调节测量和运行参数,获取最关键的海洋信息.自主水下航行器运用自适应检测和采样技术,在研究上升流锋面等实验中显示出前所未有的观测准确度和效率.一个海洋观测系统的综合效能,取决于固定平台和移动平台的功能互补以及自适应观测能力的增强.     

加拿大海王星:科学、运行、管理

加拿大海王星是世界最大的海底缆接科学观测网,于2009年开始运行.它连接了位于不同水深和不同海洋地质环境的大批观测仪器,把数据连续不断地通过互联网传给科学家和大众.海王星的建立是为了推动地震过程和大地构造、海底地下流体、海洋生物与气候变化、深海生态系统、工程和信息科学等五大科学命题的研究.为最大程度地推动国际合作,加速科学发展步伐,它的系统使用完全开放,数据全部免费公开,这在科学史上前所未见.这种全方位、全开放的复杂庞大的科研系统需要高超的管理方法和优良的学术环境.     

西北太平洋Ms≥7.8级强震影响我国月季降水场的过程分析

地震与气候变化的关系现已成为一个研究热点.本文根据地球流体力学的长波理论,研究了强震地热涡的长波运动特性;分析了西太平洋M_s≥7.8级强震与我国月降水场的对应关系.研究结果表明,与强震相伴的地热涡尺度超过850 km时,它会向西退行,从而影响我国月季降水场的相应演变.利用上述结果,对2007年我国汛期降水分布进行了预报,实况证明此方法可行.     

Thermal history of the Rio Muni (West Africa)–NE Brazil margins during continental breakup

We document the thermal record of breakup of the conjugate Rio Muni (West Africa) and NE Brazil margins using apatite fission track analysis, vitrinite reflectance data and stratigraphic observations from both margins. These results permit determination of the timing of four cooling episodes, and the temperature of samples at the onset of each episode. All samples are interpreted to have experienced higher temperatures in the geological past due to i) elevated basal heatflow (palaeogeothermal gradient in Rio Muni-1 well decaying from 58 °C/km during the Mid Cretaceous to 21.5 °C/km in the Late Cenozoic) and ii) progressive exhumation from formerly greater burial depth. A well constrained history of changing palaeogeothermal gradient allows for much more precise quantification of the thickness of eroded section (exhumation) than if a constant heatflow is assumed. Cooling episodes identified from the palaeotemperature data at 110–95 Ma (both margins) and 85–70 Ma (Rio Muni only) coincide with major unconformities signifying, respectively, the cessation of rifting (breakup) and compressional shortening that affected the African continent following the establishment of post-rift sedimentation (drift). The interval between these separate unconformities is occupied by allochthonous rafts of shallow-water carbonates recording gravitational collapse of a marginal platform. The rift shoulder uplift that triggered this collapse was enhanced by local transpression associated with the obliquely divergent Ascension Fracture Zone, and thermal doming due to the coeval St Helena and Ascension Plumes. The data also reveal a c.45–35 Ma cooling episode, attributed to deep sea erosion at the onset of Eo-Oligocene ice growth, and a c.15–10 Ma episode interpreted as the record of Miocene exhumation of the West African continental margin related to continent-wide plume development. Integration of thermal history methods with traditional seismic- and stratigraphy-based observations yields a dynamic picture of kilometre-scale fluctuations in base level through the breakup and early drift phases of development of these margins. Major unconformities at ocean margins are likely to represent composite surfaces recording not only eustasy, but also regional plate margin-generated deformation, local ‘intra-basinal’ reorganization, and the amplifying effect of negative feedbacks between these processes.     

Martian mantle mineralogy investigated by the Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd systematics of shergottites

Chemical heterogeneities in the Martian mantle are believed to result from the crystallization of a magma ocean in the first 100 million years of its history. Shergottite meteorites from Mars are thought to retain a compositional record of such early differentiation and the resulting mineralogy at different depths. The coupled ¹⁷⁶Lu–¹⁷⁶Hf and ¹⁴⁷Sm–¹⁴³Nd isotope systematics in 9 shergottites are used here to investigate these issues. Three compositional groups in the shergottites display distinct isotope systematics. One group, commonly termed as depleted, is characterized by positive ¹⁷⁶Hf_i from + 46.2 to + 50.4 and ¹⁴³Nd_i from + 36.2 to + 39.1. Another, termed as enriched, has negative ¹⁷⁶Hf_i = − 16.5 to − 13.2 and ¹⁴³Nd_i = − 7.0 to − 6.5. The third group is intermediate between the depleted and enriched groups with positive ¹⁷⁶Hf_i = + 30.0 to + 33.4 and ¹⁴³Nd_i = + 16.9. Together, they describe mixing curves between ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, Lu/Hf, and Sm/Nd, implying that they sample two distinct sources in the Martian mantle. All shergottites are characterized by (Sm/Nd)_source < (Sm/Nd)_sample, but (Lu/Hf)_source > (Lu/Hf)_sample. This decoupling can be explained by two successive partial melting episodes in the depleted shergottite source and localized in the Martian upper mantle. The genesis of shergottites can be modeled using non-modal equilibrium partial melting in a source initially composed of 60% olivine, 21% clinopyroxene, 9% orthopyroxene, and 10% garnet, with degrees of partial melting of 8.8% and 3.9%, respectively, for the two successive events. The enriched end-member of the shergottite mixing curve is best modeled by late-stage quenched residual melt resulting from the crystallization of a magma ocean. The depleted shergottite source may be modeled as a mixture of cumulates and residual melt, as convection in the Martian magma ocean is expected to reduce the incompatible trace element heterogeneity in the final solidified layers. Consequently, equilibrium crystallization is preferred to model the crystallization of the Martian magma ocean. The models that best explain the shergottite data are those where the magma ocean is at a depth of at least 1350 km in Mars.     

面向2024年后的中国引领的国际大洋钻探计划管理与运行机制思考

历经53年的发展,国际大洋钻探计划从DSDP(Deep-sea Drilling Program)到IODP(International Ocean Discovery Program),在机构设置、运行机制、管理模式等方面积累了丰富的经验,并得到世界各国的认可.长期以来,通过参与并成为该计划的正式成员国,我国在科学研...     

Loading effect of a self-consistent equilibrium ocean pole tide on the gravimetric parameters of the gravity pole tides at superconducting gravimeter stations

The gravimetric parameters of the gravity pole tide are the amplitude factor δ, which is the ratio of gravity variations induced by polar motion for a real Earth to variations computed for a rigid one, and the phase difference κ between the observed and the rigid gravity pole tide. They can be estimated from the records of superconducting gravimeters (SGs). However, they are affected by the loading effect of the ocean pole tide. Recent results from TOPEX/Poseidon (TP) altimeter confirm that the ocean pole tide has a self-consistent equilibrium response. Accordingly, we calculate the gravity loading effects as well as their influence on the gravimetric parameters of gravity pole tide at all the 26 SG stations in the world on the assumption of a self-consistent equilibrium ocean pole tide model. The gravity loading effect is evaluated between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 2006. Numerical results show that the amplitude of the gravity loading effect reaches 10⁻⁹ m s⁻², which is larger than the accuracy (10⁻¹⁰ m s⁻²) of a SG. The gravimetric factor δ is 1% larger at all SG stations. Then, the contribution of a self-consistent ocean pole tide to the pole tide gravimetric parameters cannot be ignored as it exceeds the current accuracy of the estimation of the pole tide gravity factors. For the nine stations studied in Ducarme et al. [Ducarme, B., Venedikov, A.P., Arnoso, J., et al., 2006. Global analysis of the GGP superconducting gravimeters network for the estimation of the pole tide gravimetric amplitude factor. J. Geodyn. 41, 334–344.], the mean of the modeled tidal factors δ_m = 1.1813 agrees very well with the result of a global analysis δ_CH = 1.1816 ± 0.0047 in that paper. On the other hand, the modeled phase difference κ_m varies from −0.273° to 0.351°. Comparing to the two main periods of the gravity pole tide, annual period and Chandler period, κ_m is too small to be considered. Therefore, The computed time difference κ_L induced by a self-consistent ocean pole tide produces a negligible effect on κ_m. It confirms the results of Ducarme et al., 2006, where no convincing time difference was found in the SG records.     

Optimizing fixed observational assets in a coastal observatory

Proliferation of coastal observatories necessitates an objective approach to managing of observational assets. In this article, we used our experience in the coastal observatory for the Columbia River estuary and plume to identify and address common problems in managing of fixed observational assets, such as salinity, temperature, and water level sensors attached to pilings and moorings. Specifically, we addressed the following problems: assessing the quality of an existing array, adding stations to an existing array, removing stations from an existing array, validating an array design, and targeting of an array toward data assimilation or monitoring.     

Buruanga peninsula and Antique Range: Two contrasting terranes in Northwest Panay,Philippines featuring an arc–continent collision zone

Alternating chert–clastic sequences juxtaposed with limestone blocks, which are units typical of accretionary complexes, constitute the Buruanga peninsula. New lithostratigraphic units are proposed in this study: the Unidos Formation (Jurassic chert sequence), the Saboncogon Formation (Jurassic siliceous mudstone–terrigenous mudstone and quartz‐rich sandstone), the Gibon Formation (Jurassic(?) bedded pelagic limestone), the Libertad Metamorphics (Jurassic–Cretaceous slate, phyllite, and schist) and the Buruanga Formation (Pliocene–Pleistocene reefal limestone). The first three sedimentary sequences in the Buruanga peninsula show close affinity with the ocean plate stratigraphy of the North Palawan terrane in Busuanga Island: Lower–Middle Jurassic chert sequences overlain by Middle–Upper Jurassic clastics, juxtaposed with pelagic limestone. Moreover, the JR5–JR6 (Callovian to Oxfordian) siliceous mudstone of the Saboncogon Formation in the Buruanga peninsula correlates with the JR5–JR6 siliceous mudstone of the Guinlo Formation in the Middle Busuanga Belt. These findings suggest that the Buruanga peninsula may be part of the North Palawan terrane. The rocks of the Buruanga peninsula completely differ from the Middle Miocene basaltic to andesitic pyroclastic and lava flow deposits with reefal limestone and arkosic sandstone of the Antique Range. Thus, the previously suggested boundary between the Palawan microcontinental block and the Philippine Mobile Belt in the central Philippines, which is the suture zone between the Buruanga peninsula and the Antique Range, is confirmed. This boundary is similarly considered as the collision zone between them.