Isotopic insights into smoothening of abandoned fan surfaces, Southern California

Cosmogenic nuclide concentrations measured on abandoned fan surfaces along the Mojave section of the San Andreas Fault suggest that sediment is generated, transported, and removed from the fans on the order of 30-40 kyr. We measured in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be, and in some cases ²⁶Al, in boulders (n = 15), surface sediment (n = 15), and one depth profile (n = 9). Nuclide concentrations in surface sediments and boulders underestimate fan ages, suggesting that ¹⁰Be accumulation is largely controlled by the geomorphic processes that operate on the surfaces of the fans and not by their ages.Field observations, grain-size distribution, and cosmogenic nuclide data suggest that over time, boulders weather into grus and the bar sediments diffuse into the adjacent swales. As fans grow older the relief between bars and swales decreases, the sediment transport rate from bars to swales decreases, and the surface processes that erode the fan become uniform over the entire fan surface. The nuclide data therefore suggest that, over time, the difference in ¹⁰Be concentration between bars and swales increases to a maximum until the topographic relief between bars and swales is minimized, resulting in a common surface lowering rate and common ¹⁰Be concentrations across the fan. During this phase, the entire fan is lowered homogeneously at a rate of 10-15 mm kyr⁻¹.     

河流阶地样品中石英纯化和宇宙核素~(10)Be和~(26)Al分离方法研究

经历反复埋藏暴露演化过程的河流阶地样品,难以用常规方法将原生宇宙核素10Be、26Al有效分离。本文在前人实验方法基础上,使用人工挑选、磁选仪分选及酸洗方法,分离样品中碳酸盐、含铁矿物及大气生成的10Be,进一步优化了石英提纯实验流程。结果表明:长度为9 cm、内径为1 cm的阴离子交换树脂装置匹配4 mol/L氢氟酸淋滤液,可将B、Mg、Ca、Cr、Fe、Mn、Ni、Ti和Be、Al有效分离,Be、Al回收率分别可达95.7%、85.7%。阳离子交换树脂能有效分离Be、Al,两元素回收率均达到85%。获得10Be/9Be和26Al/27Al流程空白分别为2.19×10-15和1.63×10-15。优化后的实验方法显著提高了河流阶地样品中原生宇宙核素10Be、26Al的纯化效率,且10Be/9Be和26Al/27Al流程空白数值与国内外实验室具有可比性。采用本方法获得了成都平原冲积物10Be、26Al暴露年龄分别是76.36±9.51 ka和69.44±14.13 ka,为评价龙门山前缘隐伏断裂构造特征和活动性提供了年代学依据。     

Kinetic control of staurolite–Al2SiO5 mineral assemblages: Implications for Barrovian and Buchan metamorphism

The distribution and textural features of staurolite–Al₂SiO₅ mineral assemblages do not agree with predictions of current equilibrium phase diagrams. In contrast to abundant examples of Barrovian staurolite–kyanite–sillimanite sequences and Buchan‐type staurolite–andalusite–sillimanite sequences, there are few examples of staurolite–sillimanite sequences with neither kyanite nor andalusite anywhere in the sequence, despite the wide (~2.5 kbar) pressure interval in which they are predicted. Textural features of staurolite–kyanite or staurolite–andalusite mineral assemblages commonly imply no reaction relationship between the two minerals, at odds with the predicted first development (in a prograde sense) of kyanite or andalusite at the expense of staurolite in current phase diagrams. In a number of prograde sequences, the incoming of staurolite and either kyanite, in Barrovian sequences, or andalusite, in Buchan‐type sequences, is coincident or nearly so, rather than kyanite or andalusite developing upgrade of a significant staurolite zone as predicted. The width of zones of coexisting staurolite and either kyanite, in Barrovian sequences, or andalusite, in Buchan‐type sequences, is much wider than predicted in equilibrium phase diagrams, and staurolite commonly persists upgrade until its demise in the sillimanite zone. We argue that disequilibrium processes provide the best explanation for these mismatches. We suggest that kyanite (or andalusite) may develop independently and approximately contemporaneously with staurolite by metastable chlorite‐consuming reactions that occur at lower P–T conditions than the thermodynamically predicted staurolite‐to‐kyanite/andalusite reaction, a process that involves only modest overstepping (<15°C) of the stable chlorite‐to‐staurolite reaction and which is favoured, in the case of kyanite, by advantageous nucleation kinetics. If so, the pressure difference between Barrovian kyanite‐bearing sequences and Buchan andalusite‐bearing sequences could be ~1 kbar or less, in better agreement with the natural record. The unusual width of coexistence of staurolite and Al₂SiO₅ minerals, in particular kyanite and andalusite, can be accounted for by a combination of lack of thermodynamic driving force for conversion of staurolite to kyanite or andalusite, sluggish dissolution of staurolite, and possibly the absence of a fluid phase to catalyse reaction. This study represents an example of how kinetic controls on metamorphic mineral assemblage development have to be considered in regional as well as contact metamorphism.     

镁铝对烧结矿中铁酸钙的矿物学特性影响

铁酸钙是高碱度烧结矿中的主要黏结相矿物,它的含量、结晶形态、化学成分及晶体结构等矿物学特性对烧结矿质量起着关键性作用,而烧结原料中各组分的含量直接影响着铁酸钙的生成。以Fe₃O₄、SiO₂、CaO、MgO、Al₂O₃的化学纯试剂为原料,在实验室进行微型烧结实验,运用XRD、偏光显微镜、电子探针等手段,定量分析研究了原料组分中MgO、Al₂O₃对烧结矿中铁酸钙的生成及其矿物学特性的影响。原料中MgO含量的增加对铁酸钙的生成有一定抑制作用,尤其在MgO含量为2.0%~3.0%时,烧结矿中铁酸钙含量明显减少,其晶体形态也从以板柱状和针状为主逐渐过渡为它形不规则状;原料中Al₂O₃的增加,对烧结矿中铁酸钙的形成具有促进作用,即随着Al₂O₃的增加铁酸钙含量呈明显增加趋势,且铁酸钙的形态也由以柱状和针状为主向板柱状变化。电子探针成分分析及矿物化学式计算结果表明,铁酸钙是由Fe₂O₃、CaO、SiO₂、Al₂O₃及MgO组成的复杂结晶体,其化学通式为Ca_2.60Mg_0.44Si_1.07Al_0.96Fe_8.92O₂₀。原料中MgO、Al₂O₃含量的变化,对铁酸钙的化学成分中Fe₂O₃/CaO摩尔分数比影响不大,均接近3∶2。上述研究结果对于深刻理解烧结工艺条件下铁酸钙晶相的晶体化学特征及其对烧结矿质量的影响具有重要指导意义。     

Cr and Al diffusion in chromite spinel: experimental determination and its implication for diffusion creep

Diffusion coefficients of Cr and Al in chromite spinel have been determined at pressures ranging from 3 to 7 GPa and temperatures ranging from 1,400 to 1,700°C by using the diffusion couple of natural single crystals of MgAl₂O₄ spinel and chromite. The interdiffusion coefficient of Cr–Al as a function of Cr# (=Cr/(Cr + Al)) was determined as D _Cr–Al = D ₀ exp {−(Q′ + PV*)/RT}, where D ₀ = exp{(10.3 ± 0.08) × Cr#^0.54±0.02} + (1170 ± 31.2) cm²/s, Q′ = 520 ± 81 kJ/mol at 3 GPa, and V* = 1.36 ± 0.25 cm³/mol at 1,600°C, which is applicable up to Cr# = 0.8. The estimation of the self-diffusion coefficients of Cr and Al from Cr–Al interdiffusion shows that the diffusivity of Cr is more than one order of magnitude smaller than that of Al. These results are in agreement with patterns of multipolar Cr–Al zoning observed in natural chromite spinel samples deformed by diffusion creep.     

Coastal Change in Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates): a Cartographic Analysis

The coastline of Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates, has three main constructional complexes: Jazirat al Hamra, Julfah, and Jazirat Hulaylah. Archival information, air photographs and maps dating back to 1819, enable the history of coastal change to be reconstructed. Jazirat al Hamra has been much affected by recent reclamation and harbour works, but appears to have been relatively stable. Jazirat Hulaylah also appears to have changed relatively little. However, the Julfah complex, which includes the harbour mouth for Ras Al Khaimah city, has shown very considerable change as a result of coastal breaching and spit growth and decay.     

Marine biogeochemistries of Be and Al: A study based on cosmogenic10Be, Be and Al in marine calcite, aragonite, and opal

The geochemical behaviors of Be and Al in ocean waters have been successfully studied in recent years using natural, cosmogenic, radioactive¹⁰Be and²⁶Al as tracers. The present day dissolved concentrations and distribution of the stable and radioactive isotopes of Be and Al in ocean waters have revealed their short residence times and appreciable effects of exchange fluxes at the coastal and ocean-sediment interfaces. It follows that concentrations of these particle-active elements must have varied in the past with temporal changes in climate, biological productivity and aeolian flux of continental detritus to the oceans. We therefore investigated the feasibility of extending the measurements of Be and Al isotope concentrations in marine systems to the 10³–10⁶ y BP time scale. We report here the discovery of significant amounts of intrinsic Be and Al in marine foraminiferal calcite and coral aragonite, and of Al in opal (radiolarians) and aragonite (coral), which makes it possible to determine¹⁰Be/Be and²⁶Al/Al in oceans in the past. We also report measured¹⁰Be/⁹Be in foraminiferal calcite in Pacific Ocean cores, which reveal that the concentrations and ratios of the stable and cosmogenic isotopes of Be and Al have varied significantly in the past 30 ky. The implications of these results are discussed.     

基于烧失量与氧化铝含量关系的红土型三水铝土矿快速勘查

文章通过论述烧失量中的成分与氧化铝含量之间关系,建立了LOI与Al_2O_3的经验公式;经过在几内亚某红土型三水铝土矿地质勘探过程中实地验证,该经验关系公式合理。此方法具有较强的实践应用性,对类似条件的铝土矿床现场勘查评价具有一定的参考价值。     

Surface Acidity of Amorphous Aluminum Hydroxide

The surface acidity of synthetic amorphous AI hydroxide was determined by acid/base titration with several complementary methods including solution analyses of the reacted solutions and XRD characterization of the reacted solids. The synthetic specimen was characterized to be the amorphous material showing four broad peaks in XRD pattern. XRD analyses of reacted solids after the titration experiments showed that amorphous AI hydroxide rapidly transformed to crystalline bayerite at the alkaline condition （pH〉10）. The solution analyses after and during the titration Ksp=^aAl^3＋/aH^＋^3 ,was 10^10.3. The amount of consumption of added acid or base during the titration experiment was attributed to both the protonation/deprotonation of dissolved AI species and surface hydroxyl group. The surface acidity constants, surface hydroxyl density and specific surface area were estimated by FITEQL 4.0.     

Genesis and mineral transformations in Lower Cretaceous karst bauxites (NE Spain): climatic influence and superimposed processes

Four outcrops of Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) karst bauxites located in Teruel (NE Spain) were analysed to determine their mineral associations and genesis related to climatic palaeoweathering events and late superimposed kaolinization processes. The materials comprise metric‐sized pisolitic blocks embedded in a clay‐rich red groundmass. Fourteen samples were examined by X‐ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy and the major elements were analysed by inductively‐coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS). The samples are composed of kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite, and hematite as the main phases, with diaspore, boehmite, anatase, and rutile as accessory minerals. The results show a complex sequence of mineralogical and geochemical processes that transformed the parent rock into the current bauxite materials. The clay‐rich groundmass constitutes the lateritic parent material of the pisolitic bauxites. In the parent material authigenic kaolinite (e.g. vermicular kaolinite and kaolinite between cleavage sheets of pre‐existing mica) has been observed; Fe oxides formed subsequent to kaolinite. In the pisolitic bauxites, mineralogical and textural evidence indicates that bauxitization took place at the expense of previous kaolinite, with gibbsite post‐dating the other Al hydroxides. The pisolitic bauxites also show a more homogeneous chemical composition and a relative Ti, Al and Zr enrichment. The data are consistent with an intense palaeoweathering event during the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian) under tropical climatic conditions (warm and humid). Several stages probably took place during the bauxitization process, suggesting variations in water saturation conditions. Subsequent karst reactivation stages and related collapses were responsible for the present lithostructure of the deposits and allowed late kaolinization not related to climate to take place. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.