The impact of syn- and post-extension prograding sedimentation on the development of salt-related rift basins and their inversion: Clues from analogue modelling

Various studies have demonstrated the intrinsic interrelationship between tectonics and sedimentation in salt-related rift basins during extension as well as during their inversion by compression. Here, we present seven brittle–ductile analogue models to show that the longitudinal or transverse progradation of sediment filling an elongate extensional basin has a substantial impact on the growth of diapirs and their lateral geometrical variations. We use five extensional models to reveal how these prograding systems triggered diapir growth variations, from proximal to distal areas, relative to the sedimentary source. In the models, continuous passive diapir walls developed, after a short period of reactive–active diapiric activity, during syn-extensional homogeneous deposition. In contrast, non-rectilinear diapir walls grew during longitudinal prograding sedimentation. Both longitudinal and transverse post-extensional progradation triggered well-developed passive diapirs in the proximal domains, whereas incipient reactive–active diapirs, incipient roller-like diapirs, or poorly developed diapirs were generated in the distal domains, depending on the modelled sedimentary pattern. Two models included final phases of 6% and 10% shortening associated with basin inversion by compression, respectively, to discriminate compressional from purely extensional geometries. With the applied shortening, the outward flanks of existing diapir walls steepened their dips from 8°–17° to 30°–50°. Likewise, 6% of shortening narrowed the diapir walls by 32%–72%, with their fully closing (salt welds) with 10% of shortening. We compare our results with the distribution of salt walls and minibasins of the Central High Atlas diapiric basin in Morocco, which was infilled with a longitudinally prograding mixed siliciclastic and carbonatic depositional sequence during the Early–Middle Jurassic with a minimum thicknesses of 2.5–4.0 km.     

Reconstructing the tsunami record in Tirúa,Central Chile beyond the historical record with quartz-based SAR-OSL

The most recent high magnitude seismic events, e.g. the M_w 8.2 Iquique earthquake (April 1st, 2014) and the M_w 8.8 Maule earthquake (February 27th, 2010) are reminders of the pronounced vulnerability of the Chilean coast to the impact of natural hazards like earthquakes and tsunamis. Therefore it is crucial to understand the complex tsunami history of Chile which can be deciphered by studying the geological record of former tsunamis in the form of tsunami deposits.At the coastal locality of Tirúa (Central Chile) six distinct, successive tsunamigenic sand layers are intercalated in fine grained floodplain sediments. We present the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) analysis of quartz from samples of this sedimentological river marsh profile of 1.5 m depth.After the assessment of the applicability of OSL to these samples, it could be noted that despite of an expected low OSL sensitivity of the quartz from the South American Cordillera, most of the sampled quartz yielded a detectable natural signal. After performance tests according to the SAR-protocol, the measurements of the different tsunami sand layers were conducted with small (2.5 mm) aliquots of quartz with the preheat temperature 180 °C. The calculation of D_e was provided by applying both the central age and minimum age models. All samples are heterogeneous in their D_e distributions due to incomplete or absent significant bleaching during transport by tsunami. The resulting ages of the tsunami sediments yield an offset of nearly 200 years for CAM ages and less than 50 years for MAM ages, consequently favouring MAM ages for true burial age determination. In some tsunami sand layers and their surrounding river marsh sediments age inversions occur. They were caused by the initial deposition of well bleached sediments derived from beach and dunes followed by older sediments redeposited from beach and intertidal environments during tsunami flow. Despite the offset and age inversion six different tsunami events were dated in the Tirúa profile. Three of these events extend the historical record to pre-Columbian time with the oldest tsunami dated to over 1500 years before present.     

Food web and fish stock changes in central Chile: comparing the roles of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) predation,the environment,and fisheries

We analyzed recent food web and fish stock changes in the central Chile marine ecosystem, comparing the roles of jumbo squid (Dosidicus gigas) as predator, the environment, and fishing. To accomplish this we used food web modeling and the Ecopath with Ecosim software (EwE). The principal fish stocks have experienced wide decadal fluctuations in the past 30 years, including stock collapses of horse mackerel (Trachurus murphyi) and hake (Merluccius gayi), and there was a large influx of jumbo squid during the mid-2000s. We used two EwE models representing the food web off central Chile to test the hypothesis that predation by jumbo squid has been significant in explaining the dynamics of the main fishing resources and other species in the study area. Results indicate that predation by jumbo squid on fish stocks is lower than that of other predators (e.g. hake) and the fishery. Long-term fluctuations (1978–2004) in the biomass of the main fish stocks (as well as other components of the food web) seem to be related to fishing and to variation in primary production, rather than to predation by jumbo squid alone. Jumbo squid seems to play a role as predator rather than prey in the system, but its impacts are low when compared with the impacts of other predators and fishing. Therefore, we conclude that jumbo squid predation on its prey was not the primary force behind the collapse of important fish stocks off central Chile. Future efforts should be directed to better understanding factors that trigger sudden increases in jumbo squid abundance off central Chile, as well as modeling its trophic impacts.     

我国中部六省产业集聚与扩散的空间计量

＂中部崛起＂战略给中部六省各地区的大发展带来了新的机遇。进入十二五时期,中部地区有必要总结之前发展过程中的经验,从产业结构调整和升级着手,掌握产业更新规律,尽可能规避经济发展中的不利因素,实现产业结构升级承托的区域经济跨越式可持续发展。本文收集整理了我国中部六省共88个地市2000年至2008年第二产业数据,采用LIS...     

中部省区制造业区域专业化分工与竞合关系演进

采用克鲁格曼区域分工指数和专业化指数对中部省区2000年,2004年和2008年的制造业区域专业化分工水平进行测度;进而通过构建竞合关系模型结合马尔可夫状态转移概率矩阵对中部省区间的竞合关系进行判断并对其演进态势进行探讨。中部省区间制造业专业化分工水平不断提升,但省际间区域分工的非均衡性较为显著,山西与各省区间的分工程度较高,提升速度较快;竞合关系分析显示山西与其它省区主要表现为强互补合作关系,而其它省区间则主要表现为竞争型区域经济关系,且竞合关系演进的两极分化态势明显。由此认为,优化区域产业分工格局,建立区域经济协调发展机制是加强中部地区经济合作,实现区域经济联动发展的重要举措。     

2009年夏季西太平洋台风路径和强度的多模式集成预报

基于TIGGE资料中的中国气象局、欧洲中期天气预报中心、日本气象厅和英国气象局等四个中心的2009年5月1日-8月31日台风预报资料,利用多模式集合平均、消除偏差集合平均和加权消除偏差集合平均等方法,对2009年8月1-31日预报期的西太平洋的台风路径和强度(中心气压)进行24～ 72 h预报时效的多模式集成预报,并对0907号台风“天鹅”和0908号台风“莫拉克”进行个例分析.结果表明:各中心对于不同时效的预报,预报技巧有明显差异.消除偏差集合平均与加权消除偏差集合平均显著地减小了预报误差,预报效果优于最好的单个中心预报和多模式集合平均.对于24 ～ 72 h预报,加权消除偏差集合平均方法始终表现出最好的预报性能.     

内蒙古锡林浩特乌拉苏太大石寨组火山岩年代学、地球化学特征及其地质意义

通过1∶5万区域地质调查,对中亚造山带南缘内蒙古锡林浩特乌拉苏太地区发育的大石寨组酸性火山岩进行了野外地质、岩石学、锆石U-Pb同位素年代学、地球化学等研究。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb同位素定年结果显示,该火山岩年龄为287.5±1.4Ma(MSWD=3.1),形成于早二叠世早期。岩石地球化学研究表明,大石寨组火山岩为一套中酸性火山岩,以高硅、富碱、高铝为特征,Ti、Mg、Fe、Ca等元素含量较低。微量元素总体含量较高,具有一致的配分曲线,Rb、Ba、Th、U、K、LREE等大离子亲石元素相对于Nb、Ta、HREE等高场强元素明显富集。稀土元素总量偏高,具有一致的右倾海鸥式配分型式。地球化学特征显示,该套火山岩具有岛弧火山岩的属性。结合大石寨组岩石学及地质学特征,大石寨组火山岩最可能形成于弧后扩张(或弧间)盆地,是早二叠世早期古亚洲洋闭合前洋壳俯冲消减作用的产物。     

Tectonic vs. gravitational morphostructures in the central Eastern Alps (Italy): Constraints on the recent evolution of the mountain range

Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) influence landscape development in tectonically active mountain ranges. Nevertheless, the relationships among tectonics, DSGSDs, and topography are poorly known. In this paper, the distribution of DSGSDs and their relationships with tectonic structures and active processes, surface processes, and topography were investigated at different scales. Over 100 DSGSDs were mapped in a 5000 km² sector of the central Eastern Alps between the Valtellina, Engadine and Venosta valleys. Detailed lineament mapping was carried out by photo-interpretation in a smaller area (about 750 km²) including the upper Valtellina and Val Venosta. Fault populations were also analysed in the field and their mechanisms unravelled, allowing to identify different structural stages, the youngest being consistent with the regional pattern of the ongoing crustal deformation. Finally, four DSGSD examples have been investigated in detail by geological and 2D geomechanical modelling.DSGSDs affect more than 10% of the study area, and mainly cluster in areas where anisotropic fractured rock mass and high local relief occur. Their onset and development is subjected to a strong passive control by mesoscopic and major tectonic features, including regional nappe boundaries as well as NW–SE, N–S and NE–SW trending recent brittle structures. The kinematic consistency between these structures and the pattern of seismicity suggests that active tectonics may force DSGSDs, although field evidence and numerical models indicate slope debuttressing related to deglaciation as a primary triggering mechanism.     

Syntectonic crustal melting and high-grade metamorphism in a transpressional regime, Variscan Massif Central, France

Hot collisional orogens are characterized by abundant syn-kinematic granitic magmatism that profoundly affects their tectono-thermal evolutions. Voluminous granitic magmas, emplaced between 360 and 270 Ma, played a visibly important role in the evolution of the Variscan Orogen. In the Limousin region (western Massif Central, France), syntectonic granite plutons are spatially associated with major strike–slip shear zones that merge to the northwest with the South Armorican Shear Zone. This region allowed us to assess the role of magmatism in a hot transpressional orogen. Microstructural data and U/Pb zircon and monazite ages from a mylonitic leucogranite indicate synkinematic emplacement in a dextral transpressional shear zone at 313 ± 4 Ma. Leucogranites are coeval with cordierite-bearing migmatitic gneisses and vertical lenses of leucosome in strike–slip shear zones. We interpret U/Pb monazite ages of 315 ± 4 Ma for the gneisses and 316 ± 2 Ma for the leucosomes as the minimum age of high-grade metamorphism and migmatization respectively. These data suggest a spatial and temporal relationship between transpression, crustal melting, rapid exhumation and magma ascent, and cooling of high-grade metamorphic rocks.Some granites emplaced in the strike–slip shear zone are bounded at their roof by low dip normal faults that strike N–S, perpendicular to the E–W trend of the belt. The abundant crustal magmatism provided a low-viscosity zone that enhanced Variscan orogenic collapse during continued transpression, inducing the development of normal faults in the transpression zone and thrust faults at the front of the collapsed orogen.     

Two Cu–Co sulfide phases and contrasting fluid systems in the Katanga Copperbelt, Democratic Republic of Congo

The Katanga Copperbelt is the Congolese part of the well-known Central African Copperbelt, the largest sediment-hosted stratiform Cu–Co province on Earth. Petrographic examination of borehole samples from the Kamoto and Luiswishi mines in the Katanga Copperbelt recognized two generations of hypogene Cu–Co sulfides and associated gangue minerals (dolomite and quartz). The first generation is characterized by fine-grained Cu–Co sulfides and quartz replacing dolomite. The second generation is paragenetically later and characterized by coarse-grained Cu–Co sulfides and quartz overgrown and partly replaced by dolomite. Fluid inclusion microthermometric data were collected from two different types of fluid inclusions: type-I fluid inclusions (liquid + vapor) in the quartz of the first generation and type-II fluid inclusions (liquid + vapor + halite) in the quartz of the second generation. The microthermometric analyses indicate that the fluids represented by type-I and type-II fluid inclusions had very different temperatures and salinities and were not in thermal equilibrium with the host rock.Petrographic and microthermometric data indicate the presence of at least two main hypogene Cu–Co sulfide phases in the Katanga Copperbelt. The first is an early diagenetic typical stratiform phase, which produced fine-grained sulfides that are disseminated in the host rock and frequently concentrated in nodules and lenticular layers. This phase is related to a hydrothermal fluid with a moderate temperature (115 to 220 °C, or less if reequilibration of inclusions has occurred) and salinity (11.3 to 20.9 wt.% NaCl equiv.). The second hypogene Cu–Co phase produced syn-orogenic coarse-grained sulfides, which also occur disseminated in the host rock but mainly concentrated in a distinct type of stratiform nodules and layers and in stratabound veins and tectonic breccia cement. This second phase is related to a hydrothermal fluid with high temperature (270 to 385 °C) and salinity (35 to 45.5 wt.% NaCl equiv.).A review of available microthermometric and ore geochronological data of the Copperbelt in both the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia supports the regional presence of the two Cu–Co phases proposed in our study. Future geochemical analyses in the Copperbelt should take into account the presence of, at least, these two Cu–Co phases, their contrasting fluid systems and the possible overprint of the first phase by the second one.