Tephra isochrons and chronologies of colonisation

This paper demonstrates the use of tephrochronology in dating the earliest archaeological evidence for the settlement of Iceland. This island was one of the last places on Earth settled by people and there are conflicting ideas about the pace and scale of initial colonisation. Three tephra layers, the Landnám (‘land-taking’) tephra layer (A.D. 877 ± 1), the Eldgjá tephra (A.D. 939) and the recently dated V-Sv tephra (A.D. 938 ± 6) can be found at 58% of 253 securely-dated early settlement sites across the country. The presence of the tephras permits both a countrywide comparison, and a classification of these settlement sites into pre-Landnám, Landnám and post-Landnám. The data summarised here for the first time indicate that it will be possible to reconstruct the tempo and development of the colonisation process in decadal resolution by more systematically utilising the dating potential of tephrochronology.     

The first tephra evidence for a Late Glacial explosive volcanic eruption in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF), northeast China

A 5 mm thick tephra layer has been identified in the lacustrine sediments of Moon Lake in the Arxan-Chaihe volcanic field (ACVF) in Greater Khingan Mountains (NE China). The visible tephra layer is clearly revealed as a distinct peak in magnetic susceptibility measurements. The tephra layer consists mainly of brown vesicular glass shards and minor amounts of plagioclase, olivine and clinopyroxene. Major and minor element analysis has been carried out on the glass shards and plagioclase minerals. Glass shards show low concentrations of K₂O, similar to the eruptive products derived from post-Miocene volcanoes of the ACVF. The plagioclase phenocrysts in both lava and tephra from ACVF, and in the tephra recorded in Moon Lake are labradorites. During the Late Pleistocene to Holocene, there were also extensive explosive eruptions in the nearby Nuominhe volcanic field (NVF). Volcanic rocks from the ACVF are easily distinguished from those derived from the NVF, having distinctly different K₂O concentrations. This compositional variation is likely the result of different magmatic processes operating in the ACVF and NVF. Radiocarbon dating on organic materials from the lacustrine sediments dates the tephra layer to ca. 14,200 cal yrs BP, which implies that it was generated by a previously unknown Late Pleistocene explosive eruption in the ACVF. These results, for the first time, give a direct tephra record in this area, and suggest that identification of further tephra and/or cryptotephra in local sedimentary basins such as crater lakes of scoria cones and maars will be significant for dating the Late Pleistocene to Holocene volcanic eruptions and will help to establish a detailed record of the volcanic activity in the ACVF. The newly discovered tephra layer also provides a dated tephrochronological marker layer, which will in future studies provide a means to synchronise local sedimentary records of the climatically variable Late Glacial.     

Middle and late Pleistocene glaciations in the Campo Felice Basin (central Apennines, Italy)

The present paper refers to research conducted in the tectonic-karst depression of Campo Felice in the central Apennines (Italy), in which glacial, alluvial and lacustrine sediments have been preserved. Stratigraphic interpretations of sediments underlying the Campo Felice Plain are based on evidence obtained from nine continuous-core boreholes. The boreholes reach a depth of 120 m and provide evidence of five sedimentation cycles separated by erosion surfaces. Each cycle is interpreted as an initial response to a mainly warm stage, characterized by low-energy alluvial and colluvial deposition, pedogenesis, and limited episodes of marsh formation. In turn, a mainly cold stage follows during which a lake formed, and glaciers developed and expanded, leading to deposition of glacial and fluvioglacial deposits. The chronological framework is established by eleven accelerator mass spectrometer ¹⁴C ages and three ³⁹Ar-⁴⁰Ar ages on leucites from interbedded tephra layers. These age determinations indicate five glacial advances that respectively occurred during marine oxygen isotope stages 2, 3-4, 6, 10 and 14.     

Katla volcano,Iceland: magma composition,dynamics and eruption frequency as recorded by Holocene tephra layers

The Katla volcano in Iceland is characterized by subglacial explosive eruptions of Fe–Ti basalt composition. Although the nature and products of historical Katla eruptions (i.e. over the last 1,100 years) at the volcano is well-documented, the long term evolution of Katla’s volcanic activity and magma production is less well known. A study of the tephra stratigraphy from a composite soil section to the east of the volcano has been undertaken with emphasis on the prehistoric deposits. The section records ∼8,400 years of explosive activity at Katla volcano and includes 208 tephra layers of which 126 samples were analysed for major-element composition. The age of individual Katla layers was calculated using soil accumulation rates (SAR) derived from soil thicknesses between ¹⁴C-dated marker tephra layers. Temporal variations in major-element compositions of the basaltic tephra divide the ∼8,400-year record into eight intervals with durations of 510–1,750 years. Concentrations of incompatible elements (e.g. K₂O) in individual intervals reveal changes that are characterized as constant, irregular, and increasing. These variations in incompatible elements correlate with changes in other major-element concentrations and suggest that the magmatic evolution of the basalts beneath Katla is primarily controlled by fractional crystallisation. In addition, binary mixing between a basaltic component and a silicic melt is inferred for several tephra layers of intermediate composition. Small to moderate eruptions of silicic tephra (SILK) occur throughout the Holocene. However, these events do not appear to exhibit strong influence on the magmatic evolution of the basalts. Nevertheless, peaks in the frequency of basaltic and silicic eruptions are contemporaneous. The observed pattern of change in tephra composition within individual time intervals suggests different conditions in the plumbing system beneath Katla volcano. At present, the cause of change of the magma plumbing system is not clear, but might be related to eruptions of eight known Holocene lavas around the volcano. Two cycles are observed throughout the Holocene, each involving three stages of plumbing system evolution. A cycle begins with an interval characterized by simple plumbing system, as indicated by uniform major element compositions. This is followed by an interval of sill and dyke system, as depicted by irregular temporal variations in major element compositions. This stage eventually leads to a formation of a magma chamber, represented by an interval with increasing concentrations of incompatible elements with time. The eruption frequency within the cycle increases from the stage of a simple plumbing system to the sill and dyke complex stage and then drops again during magma chamber stage. In accordance with this model, Katla volcano is at present in the first interval (i.e. simple plumbing system) of the third cycle because the activity in historical time has been characterized by uniform magma composition and relatively low eruption frequency.     

New physical characterization of the Fontana Lapilli basaltic Plinian eruption,Nicaragua

The Fontana Lapilli deposit was erupted in the late Pleistocene from a vent, or multiple vents, located near Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) and is the product of one of the largest basaltic Plinian eruptions studied so far. This eruption evolved from an initial sequence of fluctuating fountain-like events and moderately explosive pulses to a sustained Plinian episode depositing fall beds of highly vesicular basaltic-andesite scoria (SiO₂ > 53 wt%). Samples show unimodal grain size distribution and a moderate sorting that are uniform in time. The juvenile component predominates (> 96 wt%) and consists of vesicular clasts with both sub-angular and fluidal, elongated shapes. We obtain a maximum plume height of 32 km and an associated mass eruption rate of 1.4 × 10⁸ kg s⁻¹ for the Plinian phase. Estimates of erupted volume are strongly sensitive to the technique used for the calculation and to the distribution of field data. Our best estimate for the erupted volume of the majority of the climactic Plinian phase is between 2.9 and 3.8 km³ and was obtained by applying a power-law fitting technique with different integration limits. The estimated eruption duration varies between 4 and 6 h. Marine-core data confirm that the tephra thinning is better fitted by a power-law than by an exponential trend.     

甘肃省文县阳山金矿带控矿构造特征及找矿方向

阳山金矿带位于扬子板块、松潘一甘孜地块和南秦岭地块交接的文县弧形构造带内,矿体赋存于泥盆系中统三河口组浅变质碎屑岩建造中。矿床受地层、构造及岩浆活动共同控制,构造是最主要的控矿因素,控制了岩浆活动、成矿流体运移、矿体定位及形态产状和围岩蚀变的分布。     

一个适用于描述中国大陆冬季气温变化的东亚冬季风指数

利用1951年1月-2007年2月的NCEP V1格点资料和中国台站观测资料,定义了一个冬季风环流指数(IEAWM),并分析其与中国冬季气温和东亚大气环流变化的联系.结果表明该指数能够很好地反映东亚冬季风系统各成员的变化,兼顾北方和南方的环流状况和东西部热力差异的影响,改进了原有冬季风指数大多针对单一的冬季风环流成员及对中国冬季气温变化反映能力的不足,能够很好地反映中国冬季平均气温的异常变化.分析表明,当该指数为正值时东亚冬季风偏强,对应着地面西伯利亚高压和高空东亚大槽均偏强,东亚地区对流层中层的高-低纬度之间的纬向风经向切变加强,有利于中高纬度冷空气向南侵入,导致中国大陆地区气温偏低,反之亦然.IEAWM的年代际变化表明东亚冬季风在1985年之前偏强,1985年之后明显偏弱,这与1985年之后中国冬季变暖是一致的.     

Using cryptotephras to extend regional tephrochronologies: An example from southeast Alaska and implications for hazard assessment

Cryptotephrochronology, the use of hidden, diminutive volcanic ash layers to date sediments, has rarely been applied outside western Europe but has the potential to improve the tephrochronology of other regions of the world. Here we present the first comprehensive cryptotephra study in Alaska. Cores were extracted from five peatland sites, with cryptotephras located by ashing and microscopy and their glass geochemistry examined using electron probe microanalysis. Glass geochemical data from nine tephras were compared between sites and with data from previous Alaskan tephra studies. One tephra present in all the cores is believed to represent a previously unidentified eruption of Mt. Churchill and is named here as the ‘Lena tephra’. A mid-Holocene tephra in one site is very similar to Aniakchak tephra and most likely represents a previously unidentified Aniakchak eruption, ca. 5300-5030 cal yr BP. Other tephras are from the late Holocene White River eruption, a mid-Holocene Mt. Churchill eruption, and possibly eruptions of Redoubt and Augustine volcanoes. These results show the potential of cryptotephras to expand the geographic limits of tephrochronology and demonstrate that Mt. Churchill has been more active in the Holocene than previously appreciated. This finding may necessitate reassessment of volcanic hazards in the region.     

陕西周至马鞍桥金矿床地质特征及成因分析

阐述了马鞍桥金矿区的地层、构造、岩浆岩特征，总结了金矿床矿体、矿石及化学成分的基本特点，分析了围岩、剪切构造带、中酸性岩体与金矿化的关系，认为马鞍桥金矿的成矿物质来源于围岩泥盆系罗汉寺岩群，成矿作用严格受脆性剪切变形变质带控制，剪切同期中酸性岩浆活动为含矿热液上升迁移和富集成主矿体提供了必要的热能。含矿热液与韧性剪切变质岩之间交代作用的强度是导致金的沉淀和富集形成金矿体的关键。矿床为韧性剪切带蚀变岩型金矿。     

金在黄铁矿表面沉淀机理的实验研究

为了研究金在黄铁矿表面沉淀的机理,于室温、常压,在氯化物溶液中进行了黄铁矿粉末吸附金的实验。在不同pH的溶液中,黄铁矿均可吸附金,而且pH值明显地影响吸附速率。扫描电镜观察表明,反应后黄铁矿粒表面有金晶体形成。XPS研究得知,黄铁矿光片与含金氯化物溶液反应后表面有A⁰存在;硫在反应初期为S⁰、S₂O₃^2-,随后转变为SO₄^2-,而铁成为Fe³⁺.黄铁矿中的Fe²⁺和S₂^2-是溶液中金的还原剂。金在黄铁矿表面沉淀可能涉及吸附、还原和晶体生长等过程。