能源地缘政治视角下中国与中亚—俄罗斯国际能源合作模式

中亚与俄罗斯油气资源丰富,是中国未来开展国际油气资源合作,实现油气进口多元化和能源运输安全的重要战略区域。从俄罗斯、美国、中国以及中亚自身的战略需求方面刻画中亚地区大国博弈的能源地缘政治格局及其演变,并对中国与俄罗斯、中亚各国的能源合作特征进行详细分析。研究发现:中国与中亚各国之间的能源合作进展顺利,并呈现出多元化的发展趋势,已从单纯的油气贸易向油气产业的上下游进行拓展,但是中国与俄罗斯的合作因地缘政治战略、价格因素等一波三折,乌克兰危机之后,双方合作出现新的战略机遇。针对在中亚能源合作可能遇到的大国地缘政治博弈、俄罗斯的政策不确定性、中亚各国的局部冲突以及可能存在的资源国有化和来自国际石油公司的剧烈竞争,提出未来中国可以采取贷款换资源合作模式、双向合作模式与中亚国家石油公司联合经营模式、探索上海合作组织框架内的油气资源供求一体化模式以及油气经贸一体化合作模式,以尽可能地降低能源合作风险。     

Total concentration,speciation and mobility of potentially toxic elements in soils around a mining area in central Iran

The current study was designed to investigate the extent and severity of contamination as well as the fractionation of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni) in minesoils and agricultural soils around a Pb–Zn mine in central Iran. For this purpose, 20 agricultural soils and eight minesoils were geochemically characterized. Results showed that minesoils contained elevated concentrations of As (12.9–254 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (1.2–55.1 mg kg⁻¹), Pb (137–6239 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (516–48,889 mg kg⁻¹). The agricultural soils were also polluted by As (5.5–57.1 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (0.2–8.5 mg kg⁻¹), Pb (22–3451 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (94–9907 mg kg⁻¹). The highest recorded concentrations for these elements were in soils influenced directly by tailing ponds. Chromium, Cu and Ni content in agricultural soils (with average value of 74.1, 34.6 and 50.7 mg kg⁻¹, respectively) were slightly higher than the minesoils (with average value of 54.5, 33.1 and 43.4 mg kg⁻¹, respectively). Sequential extraction data indicated that there were some differences between the speciation of PTEs in soil samples. In the agricultural soils, Zn and Cd were mainly associated with carbonate bound fraction, As and Pb with reducible fraction, Cu with oxidisable fraction and Cr and Ni with residual phase. With respect to mobility factor values, Zn and Cd in the agricultural soils have been found to be the most mobile while As mobility is negligible. Also, the mobility factor of As, Cd and Pb in agricultural soils adjoining tailing ponds was high. In minesoil sample Cd was most abundant in the carbonate form, whereas other studied elements were mainly present in the reducible and residual fractions; therefore, despite the high total concentrations of As, Pb and Zn in the minesoils, the environmental risk of these elements was low. Based on the obtained data, a portion of Cu, Cr and Ni input was from agricultural activities.     

Middle Jurassic continental to marine transition in an extensional tectonics context: the Genna Selole Fm depositional system in the Tacchi area (central Sardinia,Italy)

In Eastern Sardinia during the early Middle Jurassic, Alpine Tethys opening triggered the rise of a temporary tectonic high. The high collapsed rapidly, was fragmented into separate blocks, and subsequently covered by continental, transitional, and finally shallow marine deposits forming a narrow depositional system comprising the Genna Selole Fm. Present‐day exposures in the southern part of the palaeo‐high allow the sedimentological evolution of the transgressive cover sequence to be ascertained. Initial terrestrial deposits comprise alluvial fan deposits located at the mouths of palaeovalleys. These pass into braid‐deltas and in the coastal areas located between adjacent valleys mouths, palustrine and coastal plain tidally‐influenced environments developed. These environments interfingered laterally and passed seaward into a transitional, siliciclastic to carbonate tidal environment. With the collapse of the tectonic high, the continental to transitional environments were transgressed with deposition of marine carbonates. A comparison with similar coeval deposits of the W‐Mediterranean domain has been undertaken. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolution of Irruputuncu volcano,Central Andes,northern Chile

The Irruputuncu is an active volcano located in northern Chile within the Central Andean Volcanic Zone (CAVZ) and that has produced andesitic to trachy-andesitic magmas over the last ∼258 ± 49 ka. We report petrographical and geochemical data, new geochronological ages and for the first time a detailed geological map representing the eruptive products generated by the Irruputuncu volcano. The detailed study on the volcanic products allows us to establish a temporal evolution of the edifice. We propose that the Irruputuncu volcanic history can be divided in two stages, both dominated by effusive activity: Irruputuncu I and II. The oldest identified products that mark the beginning of Irruputuncu I are small-volume pyroclastic flow deposits generated during an explosive phase that may have been triggered by magma injection as suggested by mingling features in the clasts. This event was followed by generation of large lava flows and the edifice grew until destabilization of its SW flank through the generation of a debris avalanche, which ended Irruputuncu I. New effusive activity generated lavas flows to the NW at the beginning of Irruputuncu II. In the meantime, lava domes that grew in the summit were destabilized, as shown by two well-preserved block-and-ash flow deposits. The first phase of dome collapse, in particular, generated highly mobile pyroclastic flows that propagated up to ∼8 km from their source on gentle slopes as low as 11° in distal areas. The actual activity is characterized by deposition of sulfur and permanent gas emissions, producing a gas plume that reaches 200 m above the crater. The maximum volume of this volcanic system is of ∼4 km³, being one of the smallest active volcano of Central Andes.     

Distinct deformational history of two contrasting tectonic domains in the Chinese Altai: Their significance in understanding accretionary orogenic process

The Chinese Altai, a key component of the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is considered to be formed through multiple accretions of different terranes. However, the deformational histories of each terrane (tectonic domain), i.e. structural records before and after the accretion, are rarely studied, which has hindered our understanding of the accretionary processes. To fill the gap, a systematic macro- and microscopic structural analysis was carried out on two contrasting litho-tectonic units, i.e. the early Paleozoic low-grade Alegedayi Ophiolitic Complex (AOC) juxtaposed to the high grade Tarlang Granitic Massif (TGM). Selected rock samples were analyzed using zircon U–Pb isotopic dating to constrain the timing of polyphase deformation. Our structural and geochronological data suggest that the two litho-tectonic units were initially detached and located in different crustal levels and experienced distinct phases of deformation under contrasting P-T conditions. They were mutually accreted with each other in the early Devonian and jointly underwent a WNW-ESE-directed shortening deformational event (D₁) at ∼390 Ma. The change of tectonic regime was further enhanced by a subsequent NNE-SSW-directed shortening deformation (D₂) after ∼ 380 Ma. The shortening process ended before the crustal-scale sinistral strike-slip shearing deformation along the Erqis fault zone at 290 - 240 Ma. Results of this study provide solid field-based evidence for a model that the Chinese Altai initially underwent a nearly E–W-oriented subduction-accretional event in the middle Paleozoic, before it was reoriented to a nearly N–S-oriented convergence.     

Structural evolution of the Irtysh Shear Zone (northwestern China) and implications for the amalgamation of arc systems in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

The NW–SE Irtysh Shear Zone is a major tectonic boundary in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), which supposedly records the amalgamation history between the peri-Siberian orogenic system and the Kazakhstan/south Mongolia orogenic system. However, the tectonic evolution of the Irtysh Shear Zone is not fully understood. Here we present new structural and geochronological data, which together with other constraints on the timing of deformation suggests that the Irtysh Shear Zone was subjected to three phases of deformation in the late Paleozoic. D₁ is locally recognized as folded foliations in low strain areas and as an internal fabric within garnet porphyroblasts. D₂ is represented by a shallowly dipping fabric and related ∼ NW–SE stretching lineations oriented sub-parallel to the strike of the orogen. D₂ foliations are folded by ∼ NW–SE folds (F₃) that are bounded by a series of mylonite zones with evidence for sinistral/reverse kinematics. These fold and shear structures are kinematically compatible, and thus interpreted to result from a transpressional deformation phase (D₃). Two samples of mica schists yielded youngest detrital zircon peaks at ∼322 Ma, placing a maximum constraint on the timing of D₁–D₃ deformation. A ∼ NE–SW granitic dyke swarm (∼252 Ma) crosscuts D₃ fold structures and mylonitic fabrics in the central part of the shear zone, but is displaced by a mylonite zone that represents the southern boundary of the Irtysh Shear Zone. This observation indicates that the major phase of D₃ transpressional deformation took place prior to ∼252 Ma, although later phases of reactivation in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic are likely. The late Paleozoic deformation (D₁–D₃ at ∼322–252 Ma) overlaps in time with the collision between the Chinese Altai and the intra-oceanic arc system of the East Junggar. We therefore interpret that three episodes of late Paleozoic deformation represent orogenic thickening (D₁), collapse (D₂), and transpressional deformation (D₃) during the convergence between the Chinese Altai and the East Junggar. On a larger scale, late Paleozoic sinistral shearing (D₃), together with dextral shearing farther south, accommodated the eastward migration of internal segments of the western CAOB, possibly associated with the amalgamation of multiple arc systems and continental blocks during the late Paleozoic.     

Surface cracks—geomorphological indicators for late Quaternary halotectonic movements in Northern Germany

Loading and unloading effects of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet triggered halotectonic movements in Northern Germany. We present newly detected geomorphological features—termed surface cracks—which indicate a relation between ice sheet-induced salt movement and surface processes. As a part of the Central European Basin System, numerous Zechstein salt structures are abundant in the North German Basin. On the basis of high-resolution digital terrain data, more than 160 surface cracks were mapped in Northern Germany, which were grouped into 30 clusters. Almost all of the surface cracks occur above the top regions of Zechstein salt structures. The surface cracks can be several kilometres long, up to more than 20 m deep and more than 100 m wide. The comparison of the shape of the salt structures and the orientation of the cracks reveals a geometric dependency, indicating that the cracks preferably occur near the crest margins of the salt structures. Furthermore, 3D seismic data from two sites show that subsurface faults originating from salt movement exist beneath the surface cracks. We interpret the cracks as surface ruptures due to ice sheet-induced halotectonic movements. The cracks occur in a variety of Quaternary sediments and landforms. This indicates that widespread halokinetic movements occurred in the region after the last (Weichselian) deglaciation and likely before the thawing of the permafrost, possibly in a time frame from c. 30–20 ka until c. 15 ka.     

Ancient charcoal as a natural archive for paleofire regime and vegetation change in the Mayumbe,Democratic Republic of the Congo

Charcoal was sampled in four soil profiles at the Mayumbe forest boundary (DRC). Five fire events were recorded and 44 charcoal types were identified. One stratified profile yielded charcoal assemblages around 530 cal yr BP and > 43.5 cal ka BP in age. The oldest assemblage precedes the period of recorded anthropogenic burning, illustrating occasional long-term absence of fire but also natural wildfire occurrences within tropical rainforest. No other charcoal assemblages older than 2500 cal yr BP were recorded, perhaps due to bioturbation and colluvial reworking. The recorded paleofires were possibly associated with short-lived climate anomalies. Progressively dry climatic conditions since ca. 4000 cal yr BP onward did not promote paleofire occurrence until increasing seasonality affected vegetation at the end of the third millennium BP, as illustrated by a fire occurring in mature rainforest that persisted until around 2050 cal yr BP. During a drought episode coinciding with the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’, mature rainforest was locally replaced by woodland savanna. Charcoal remains from pioneer forest indicate that fire hampered forest regeneration after climatic drought episodes. The presence of pottery shards and oil-palm endocarps associated with two relatively recent paleofires suggests that the effects of climate variability were amplified by human activities.     

中天山造山作用的同位素年代分期

我们把近年来所获得的一些年龄数据以及前人已有的年龄数据与区域地层接触关系作了对比,发现二者有意想不到的一致性,据此将中天山造山作用划分为5期,年龄分别大约为452—439Ma,412—402Ma,355—345Ma,334—327Ma和315—289Ma。中生代还可能有3期构造热事件,年龄大约为226—200Ma,165—160Ma和83Ma,代表了中天山的后期演化。上述年龄数据主要是从中天山南缘断裂带构造岩中获得的,它与区域年龄一致,这说明沿中天山两条边界断裂的逆冲推覆可能是导致中天山造山带变形的基本方式和原因。     

Intracontinental orogenic transition: Insights from structures of the eastern Junggar Basin between the Altay and Tianshan orogens

Detailed subsurface structure of the eastern Junggar Basin is investigated using a large number of high-resolution two-dimensional reflection seismic profiles and well data. Our results reveal thrust faults, some of which are with strike-slip component, and fault-related folds dominating the subsurface structure of the study area. The thrust faults mainly show a divergent pattern towards the west and convergence towards the east. We divide these thrust faults and folds into three structural systems. The north thrust system, located in the north of the study area, is characterized by top-to-the southwest imbricate thrusts initiated from late Paleozoic. The central transpression system, dominating the central study area, mainly consists of thrust faults with visible strike-slip component, active from early Mesozoic until Cretaceous. The South thrust system includes top-to-the southeast thrusts in the southern part of the study area. The existence of these structural systems indicates that the eastern Junggar Basin underwent obvious intracontinental deformation in Mesozoic, probably due to the continuous convergence between the Altay and the Tianshan orogens after the main collision-accretion processes of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.