Reef exploration in the East Sengkang Basin,Sulawesi, Indonesia

Reconnaissance seismic shot in 1971/72 showed a number of well defined seismic anomalies within the East Sengkang Basin which were interpreted as buried reefs. Subsequent fieldwork revealed that Upper Miocene reefs outcropped along the southern margin of the basin. A drilling programme in 1975 and 1976 proved the presence of shallow, gas-bearing, Upper Miocene reefs in the northern part of the basin. Seismic acquisition and drilling during 1981 confirmed the economic significance of these discoveries, with four separate accumulations containing about 750 × 10⁹ cubic feet of dry gas in place at an average depth of 700 m. Kampung Baru is the largest field and contains over half the total, both reservoir quality and gas deliverability are excellent. Deposition in the East Sengkang Basin probably started during the Early Miocene. A sequence of Lower Miocene mudstones and limestones unconformably overlies acoustic basement which consists of Eocene volcanics. During the tectonically active Middle Miocene, deposition was interrupted by two periods of deformation and erosion. Carbonate deposition became established in the Late Miocene with widespread development of platform limestones throughout the East Sengkang Basin. Thick pinnacle reef complexes developed in the areas where reef growth could keep pace with the relative rise in sea level. Most reef growth ceased at the end of the Miocene and subsequent renewed clastic sedimentation covered the irregular limestone surface. Late Pliocene regression culminated in the Holocene with erosion. The Walanae fault zone, part of a major regional sinistral strike-slip system, separates the East and West Sengkang Basins. Both normal and reverse faulting are inferred from seismic data and post Late Pliocene reverse faulting is seen in outcrop.     

Late Quaternary vegetation changes around Lake Rutundu,Mount Kenya,East Africa: evidence from grass cuticles,pollen and stable carbon isotopes

Woody, subalpine shrubs and grasses currently surround Lake Rutundu, Mount Kenya. Multiple proxies, including carbon isotopes, pollen and grass cuticles, from a 755‐cm‐long core were used to reconstruct the vegetation over the past 38 300 calendar years. Stable carbon‐isotope ratios of total organic carbon and terrestrial biomarkers from the lake sediments imply that the proportion of terrestrial plants using the C₄ photosynthetic pathway was greater during the Late Pleistocene than in the Holocene. Pollen data show that grasses were a major constituent of the vegetation throughout the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The proportion of grass pollen relative to the pollen from other plants was greatest at the last glacial maximum (LGM). Grass cuticles confirm evidence that C₄ grass taxa were present at the LGM and that the majority followed the cold‐tolerant NADP‐MEC₄ subpathway. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

△T球体异常的三元解释法

在△Ｔ异常解释课题中，一个新的角度参量─—视磁化特征角的拟定，最大限度地简化了球体磁场表达式。从而才有可能通过特殊解法，给出了球体磁场的极值与拐点公式。作者据此建立了四种不受正常场制约、仅需异常的局部持征曲线即可全面解释三度异常的解释方法。屏障分解、叠加判别、三元迭代的设计，为解释三度体叠加异常给出了简单而易行的途径。     

NEMERTEANS OF ZHOUSHAN ISLANDS, EAST CHINA SEA COAST,CHINA Ⅰ.ENOPLA: DISTROMATOPHYNCHOCOELA: MONOSTILIFERA: EMPLECTONEMERTIDAE

Two nemerteans of the Zhoushan Islands, Paranemertes sinensis sp. nov. and P. peregrina, are reportedin this paper. P. sinensis sp. nov. has the body wall longitudinal musculature anteriorly divided,numerous eyes grouped into four clusters, two pairs of cephalic furrows, rhynchocoel 1/3 to 1/2 of fullbody length, cephalic glands well developed and posteriorly extending beyond the cerebral ganglia.precerebral septum absent, cerebral sense organs situated in front of brain, three pairs of nephridiopores,and 17-18 proboscis nerves.     

Reconstruction of the climate in the Tianmu Mountain area, Zhejiang Province, in the last 160 years by ? 13C sequence of tree ring α-cellulose

Based on cross-dating tree rings from the Tianmu Mountain, Zhejiang Province, the tree rings α-cellulose δ 13C time series was measured. By spectrum analysis, the variation of tree-ring δ13C sequence shows a quasi periodicity of 4.4 years, which is coincident with the standard cycle of El Nino. After removing the long-term decrease trend of the δ13C variation related to atmospheric CO2 concentration, the response of the δ13C to climate elements was analyzed using meteorology data from a nearby weather station. The results suggest that there is a distinct relativity between high-frequency variation of tree ring δ 13C series and seasonal climate parameters, e.g. Temperature and precipitation, with a significant time-lag effect. In addition, the high frequency also reflects the strength change of the East Asian Monsoon. The multiple regression method was employed to reconstruct the historical climate, and to analyze the climate change and trend in the last 160 years in the northern Zhejiang Province.     

巴楚-伽师Ms6.8地震地磁异常特点分析

通过分析、比较1996--2003年喀什地震台站记录到的新疆伽师及附近地区发生的多次6级地震的地磁前兆异常特征，发现在这几组地震活动过程中喀什地震台的地磁表现出不同的异常特征，说明与地震破裂特征有更深层次的相关性，且地磁响应比异常和总强度差值异常在一定程度上反映了台站周围小范围的震源区介质电性结构的变化。巴楚-伽师6．8级地震前地磁异常特征并不十分突出，有别于1996—1998年伽师强震群震前地磁异常量较丰富的特点。     

Post-depositional modification of NO-3 in snow layers at EastAntarctica and at the headwater of ürumqi River

Acidic species, such as Nitrate, in polar snow and firn layers are “reversibly” deposited, and are sufficiently volatile to undergo significant postdepositional exchange between snow/firn and the atmosphere. Through comparison of the snowpit and snowpack nitrate concentrations from central East Antarctica and the headwater of ürumqi River, we conclude that the nitrate peaks in the uppermost surface snow layers in central Antarctica are not related to an atmospheric signal and must account for post-depositional effects. Such effects, however, are not found in the surface snowpack nitrate profiles from the headwater of ürumqi River. Two reasons may account for the post-depositional difference. At first, nitrate in the polar snow and firn layers appears to be hydrated ion, which can be taken up by the atmosphere, while at the headwater of ürumqi River it seems mainly as mineral ion, which assembles the behavior of aerosol-derived species that are “irreversibly” deposited and do not undergo significant post-depositional exchange with the atmosphere. Secondly, the chemical features of the snow and ice on the Antarctica are mainly determined by wet deposition, to the contrary, dry deposition is more significant at the headwater of lUrumqi River than that on the East Antarctic Plateau.     

Formation of Fe-oxyhydroxides from the East Pacific Rise near latitude 13°N:Evidence from mineralogical and geochemical data

The mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of Fe-oxyhydroxide samples from one dredge station (long. 103°54.48'W, lat. 12°42.30'N, water depth 2655 m) on the East Pacific Rise near lat 13°N were analyzed by XRD, ICP-AES, and ICP-MS. Most Fe-oxyhydroxides are amorphous, with a few sphalerite microlites. In comparison with Fe-oxyhydroxides from other fields, the variable ranges in the chemical composition of Fe-oxyhydroxide samples are very narrow; their Fe, Si, and Mn contents were 39.90%, 8.92%, and 1.59%, respectively; they have high Cu (0.88%―1.85%) and Co (65×10?6―704×10?6) contents, and contain Co Cu Zn Ni> 1.01%. The trace-element (As, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ba, Sr) and major-element (Fe, Ca, Al, Mg) contents of these samples are in the range of hydrothermal sulfide from the East Pacific Rise near 13°N, reflecting that this type of Fe-oxyhydroxide constitutes a secondary oxidation product of hydrothermal sulfide. The Fe-oxyhydroxide samples from one dredge station on the East Pacific Rise near 13°N are lower in ΣREE (5.44×10?6―17.01×10?6), with a distinct negative Ce anomaly (0.12 ― 0.28). The Fe-oxyhydroxide samples have similar chondrite-normalized rare-earth-element (REE) patterns to that of seawater, and they are very different from the REE composition characteristics of hydrothermal plume particles and hydrothermal fluids, showing that the REEs of Fe-oxyhydroxide are a major constituent of seawater and that the Fe-oxyhydroxides can become a sink of REE from seawater. The quick settling of hydrothermal plume particles resulted in the lower REE content and higher Mn content of these Fe-oxyhydroxides, which are captured in part of the V and P from seawater by adsorption. The Fe-oxyhydroxides from one dredge station on the East Pacific Rise near 13°N were formed by secondary oxidation in a low temperature, oxygenated environment. In comparison with the elemental (Zn, Cd, Pb, Fe, Co, Cu) average content of hydrothermal sulfide samples from the East Pacific Rise near 13°N, the Zn, Cd, and Pb contents of the Fe-oxyhydroxides are lower, and their Fe, Co, and Cu contents are higher.     

The periodic variations of the core drift rate: global and zonal motions (Mitteilung des Zentralinstituts für Physik der Erde,Nr. 1746)

Toroidal zonal motions at the top of the Earth's core were computed from the observed secular variation and investigated with regard to their time dependence. Previously derived results for a pure westward drifting core could be re-examined. Additionally, the well-known 66.7 years period was found to be an oscillation of the zonal velocity field of third degree. With respect to periodic constituents, the total magnetic core-mantle coupling torque according to the zonal motions is comparable with that derived for a pure westward drifting core. Some differences in period lengthes and amplitudes do not remove previously stated differences between the spectra of the magnetic and mechanical torques on principle.     

Multidimensional statistical technique for detection of low contrast geochemical anomalies

In this article we propose an advanced technique for detecting low contrast geochemical anomalies using a set of features. There are three principal elements in this technique: (1) a statistical measure of the contrast of the anomaly, denoted as τ; (2) selection of a background population; and (3) reduction of the dimensionality of the feature space. In the frame of the model, which describes the statistical distribution of geochemical background as a multidimensional normal distribution of logarithms of concentrations, the index, τ, is a powerful test statistic for the hypothesis of abnormality of an observation. Maps of τ anomalies can be rigorously interpreted on the basis of statistical inferences. Under all equal conditions this technique allows the detection of geochemical anomalies with at least the same contrast (if the chemical elements in a background population are correlated, then even the better) as using selective extractions of metals from soil or other techniques for data processing. The advantages of the proposed technique are demonstrated both theoretically and on examples of rare-metal and copper–nickel mineral deposits.