Holocene changes in precipitation seasonality in the western Mediterranean Basin: a multi‐species approach using δ13C of archaeobotanical remains

Precipitation has been of utmost importance in shaping the evolution of landscapes and human settlements in the Mediterranean. However, information on seasonal precipitation patterns through the Holocene is scarce. This study attempts to quantify the evolution of seasonal precipitation in the East Iberian Peninsula (5000 BC to AD 600) based on the carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) of archaeobotanical remains. Data on Holm oak, Aleppo pine and small‐grain cereals were combined, and precipitation was inferred from models relating present‐day records to the δ¹³C of modern samples. Subsequently, charred grains were used as a proxy for ancient moisture during April–May, whereas oak and pine charcoals provided complementary rainfall estimates for September–December and January–August, respectively. The results reveal aridity changes throughout the Holocene in the western Mediterranean. Past spring–summer precipitation was consistently higher than at present. In contrast, autumn and early winter precipitation showed stronger fluctuations, particularly during the first millennium BC, and often exhibited values below those of the present. The high contribution of autumn precipitation to the annual water budget, typical of the present Mediterranean climate, was definitively established at the beginning of the current era. This study shows how a combination of species holding complementary environmental signals can contribute to a wider knowledge of local precipitation dynamics. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluid behaviors from the seismogenic region of Longmenshan fault zone,eastern Tibetan PlateauSCIEI北大核心CSCD

震间期、同震期和震后期流体对断裂带物质的强度和运动性质起到重要作用。前人已识别出断裂带浅部区域流体对断层的弱化以及矿物沉淀导致的断层愈合,然而对于断裂带深部流体的研究鲜有报道。为深入了解孕震区流体行为以及地震成核过程中流体对断层的影响,本文以龙门山断裂带的映秀-北川断裂南段虹口乡八角庙村附近碎裂岩滑动带中石英和方解石脉为研究对象,通过对断裂带脉体的显微构造、碳氧同位素和主量元素含量等分析,开展地震相关脉体的特征结构、流体来源和矿物沉淀环境的研究。结果表明,碎裂岩主滑移带由颜色结构不同的三层断层泥和细小的方解石条带组成,在主滑动带边部和上盘碎裂岩中则分别发育了指示震间期、同震期和震后期三个阶段断层活动的脉体:(1)沿阶步生长的纤维状方解石脉和拉伸型柱状颗粒方解石脉;(2)断层泥楔入脉;(3)近等粒状方解石脉以及具有横向竞争生长结构的非等粒状方解石脉和石英脉。它们分别代表了震间期封闭的还原环境下的微滑动、同震外源高压流体注入以及震后开放的氧化环境至还原环境下的矿物沉淀。碳氧同位素结果表明主滑动带和碎裂岩方解石脉δ^(18)O V-PDB值为-20.5‰~-20.3‰,低于围岩碳酸钙胶结物,表明方解石脉具有大气水来源特征。方解石沉淀温度结合地温梯度表明方解石脉的形成深度大于4km,与碎裂岩形成深度及龙门山断裂带震源深度一致。该地区方解石脉和石英脉的研究深化了关于龙门山断裂带孕震区流体行为的理解,并且对进一步认识震间期、同震期和震后期断层的强度变化机制具有重要意义。     

Development of crystallographic preferred orientations by nucleation and growth of new grains in experimentally deformed quartz single crystals

Deformation experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of dynamic recrystallisation on crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) development. Cylindrical samples of natural single crystals of quartz were axially deformed together with 1 vol.% of added water and 20 mg of Mn₂O₃ powder in a Griggs solid medium deformation apparatus in different crystallographic orientations with compression direction: (i) parallel to <c>, (ii) at 45° to <c> and 45° to <a> and (iii) parallel to <a>. The experiments were performed at a temperature of 800 °C, a confining pressure of 1.2 GPa, a strain rate of  10^− 6 s^− 1, to bulk finite strains of  14–36%. The deformed samples were analysed in detail using optical microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Two different microstructural domains were distinguished in the deformed samples: (i) domains with undulatory extinction and deformation lamellae, and (ii) domains with new recrystallised grains. Within the domains of undulatory extinction, crystal-plastic deformation caused gradual rotations of the crystal lattice up to  30° away from the host orientation. New recrystallised grains show a strong CPO with c-axis maxima at  45° to the compression direction. This is the case in all experiments, irrespective of the initial crystallographic orientation. The results show that c-axes are not continuously rotated towards the new maxima. The new grains thus developed through a mechanism different from subgrain rotation recrystallisation. New grains have a subeuhedral shape and numerous microcavities, voids, fluid channels and fluid inclusions at their grain boundaries. No host control is recorded in misorientation axes across their large angle grain boundaries. New grains might have been created by nucleation from solution in the μm-scale voids and microfractures. The CPO most likely developed due to preferred growth of the freshly precipitated grains with orientations suitable for intracrystalline deformation at the imposed experimental conditions.     

Fluid inclusion characteristics of hematite-bearing quartz vein from the Daenam mine, Republic of Korea

The Daenam mine, which produced over 9250 tons of iron oxide ore from 1958 to 1962, is situated in the Early Cretaceous Yeongyang subbasin of the Gyeongsang basin. It consists of two lens-shaped, hematite-bearing quartz veins that occur along faults in Cretaceous leucocratic granite. The hematite-bearing quartz veins are mainly composed of massive and euhedral quartz and hematite with minor amounts of pyrite, pyrrhotite, mica, feldspar and chlorite.Fluid inclusions in quartz can be divided into three main types: CO₂-rich, CO₂–H₂O, and H₂O-rich. Hydrothermal fluids related to the formation of hematite are composed of either H₂O–CO₂–NaCl ± CH₄ (homogenization temperature: 262–455 °C, salinity <7 eq. wt.% NaCl) or H₂O–NaCl (homogenization temperature: 182–266 °C, and salinity <5.1 eq. wt.% NaCl), both of which evolved by mixing with deeply circulating meteoric water. Hematite from the quartz veins in the Daenam mine was mainly deposited by unmixing of H₂O–CO₂–NaCl ± CH₄ fluids with loss of the CO₂ + CH₄ vapor phase and mixing with downward percolating meteoric water providing oxidizing conditions.     

东濮凹陷桥口-白庙地区砂岩石英增生及其对流体活动的反映

对东濮凹陷下第三系储层砂岩石英增生边及其中的流体包裹体进行了鉴定和检测,结果表明东濮凹陷桥口-白庙地区共有3期石英增生现象,代表3期流体活动。第1期与第2期发生在盆地深陷期,当时埋深1700～3000m,年代28～37Ma,第3期增生边尚不能确定其形成条件,但可确定其形成于碳酸盐大规模交代石英颗粒之后。桥口地区第1期所代表的流体活动温度主要在110～115℃,第2期所代表的流体活动温度主要在130～135℃。白庙地区第1期所代表的流体活动温度主要在105～110℃,第2期所代表的流体活动温度主要在120～125℃。这3期流体活动的性质可能是粘土矿物转化过程中释放的晶格水通过泥岩的幕式压裂作用向砂岩中释放的结果。     

庐枞地区铀成矿规律探讨

庐枞地区铀与铁、铜等金属组成区域成矿系列，其成矿作用主要受区域性深大断裂及火山岩前“基底”断裂的控制，燕山期的岩浆活动及其演化是成矿的内在因素。铀矿化是岩浆演化晚阶段的产物。主要铀矿化类型为碱性岩外带型，铀矿化与石英正长岩的空间上相依、时间上相近、成因上相联。中侏罗统罗岭组是主要含矿层位、砂岩是含矿主岩、接触带构造是区内主要的控矿构造类型。富铀矿在区内占较大比例，具多来源、复成因、叠加成矿的特征。     

新疆特克斯河下游河段断层活动性研究

新疆特克斯河上拟修建的恰普其海电站和山口电站位于断裂构造发育、新活动强烈的天山地区。野外地质研究表明，工程区的5条主要断层在第四纪均有活动。对采自工程区的特克斯河断层和F_1断层上的各种断层岩样品，应用变形岩石显微构造分析法、石英颗粒表面形貌法和热释光测年法进行了综合分析测试，结果表明，早期沿断层部位发生过慢速率的韧性变形作用，后沿韧性变形带发生脆性破裂。断层主活动期在上新世末期到早更新世，断层活动时的差异应力为130MPa,以挤压为主。更新世以后，断层活动强度大大减弱，但仍有明显活动，断层最后一次较强烈活动的下限时代为晚更新世末或全新世初。为确保工程安全，在最后确定场址时应尽可能避开活断层，在工程设计上也应增加一定的安全措施。     

Generation of hydrogen ions and hydrogen gas in quartz–water crushing experiments: an example of chemical processes in active faults

To understand the fundamental chemical processes of fluid–rock interaction during the pulverization of quartz grains in fault zones, quartz grains were crushed within pure water. The crushing experiments were performed batch style using a shaking apparatus. The crushing process induced a decrease in pH and an increase in hydrogen gas with increased shaking duration. The amount of hydrogen ions generated was five times larger than that of the hydrogen gas, which was consistent with the amount of Si radicals estimated from electron spin resonance measurements by Hochstrasser and Antonini (1972). This indicates that hydrogen gas was generated by consuming most of the Si radicals. The generation of hydrogen ions was most likely related to the presence of silanols on the newly formed mineral surface, implying a change of proton activities in the fluid after pulverization of quartz.     

Development of fluid conduits in the auriferous shear zones of the Hutti Gold Mine, India: evidence for spatially and temporally heterogeneous fluid flow

The gold mineralization of the Hutti Mine is hosted by nine parallel, N–S trending, steeply dipping, 2–10 m wide shear zones, that transect Archaean amphibolites. The shear zones were formed after peak metamorphism during retrograde ductile D₂ shearing in the lower amphibolite facies. They were reactivated in the lower to mid greenschist facies by brittle–ductile D₃ shearing and intense quartz veining. The development of a S₂–S₃ crenulation cleavage facilitates the discrimination between the two deformation events and contemporaneous alteration and gold mineralization. Ductile D₂ shearing is associated with a pervasively developed distal chlorite–sericite alteration assemblage in the outer parts of the shear zones and the proximal biotite–plagioclase alteration in the center of the shear zones. D₃ is characterized by development of the inner chlorite-K-feldspar alteration, which forms a centimeter-scale alteration halo surrounding the laminated quartz veins and replaces earlier biotite along S₃. The average size of the laminated vein systems is 30–50 m along strike as well as down-dip and 2–6 m in width.Mass balance calculations suggest strong metasomatic changes for the proximal biotite–plagioclase alteration yielding mass and volume increase of ca. 16% and 12%, respectively. The calculated mass and volume changes of the distal chlorite–sericite alteration (ca. 11%, ca. 8%) are lower. The decrease in δ¹⁸O values of the whole rock from around 7.5‰ for the host rocks to 6–7‰ for the distal chlorite–sericite and the proximal biotite–plagioclase alteration and around 5‰ for the inner chlorite-K-feldspar alteration suggests hydrothermal alteration during two-stage deformation and fluid flow.The ductile D₂ deformation in the lower amphibolite facies has provided grain scale porosities by microfracturing. The pervasive, steady-state fluid flow resulted in a disseminated style of gold–sulfide mineralization and a penetrative alteration of the host rocks. Alternating ductile and brittle D₃ deformation during lower to mid greenschist facies conditions followed the fault-valve process. Ductile creep in the shear zones resulted in a low permeability environment leading to fluid pressure build-up. Strongly episodic fluid advection and mass transfer was controlled by repeated seismic fracturing during the formation of laminated quartz(-gold) veins. The limitation of quartz veins to the extent of earlier shear zones indicate the importance of pre-existing anisotropies for fault-valve action and economic gold mineralization.     

On laboratory studies of grains from outside the solar system

An overview is given of the identified surviving presolar grains in primitive meteorites. Two of these phases are discussed in more detail: (a) Presolar silicon carbide, with special emphasis on heavy element isotopic compositions which trace the slow neutron capture process (s-process) of nucleosynthesis. It is argued that there are problems either with the grain or neutron capture cross section data or with current basic understanding of heavy element nucleosynthesis, (b) Presolar diamonds, where new developments are discussed concerning the origin of the (supernova) Xenon-HL component thought to be contained within them; in addition, arguments are presented in favor of diverse carrier phases for the various Xe components observed in diamond separates.