Determination of Carbon,Hydrogen, Nitrogen and Sulfur in Geological Materials Using Elemental Analysers

This article describes a series of methods developed for the determination of total carbon (C_Total), organic carbon (C_org), hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. The following elemental analysers were used: LECO model RC‐412 for the determination of organic carbon, total carbon and hydrogen; LECO model CS‐200 for the determination of total carbon and sulfur; LECO model TN‐400 for the determination of nitrogen; and LECO model TruSpec CHNS for the determination of organic carbon, total carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulfur. Uncertainty and limits of detection and quantification were calculated for each method, as well as the running costs to define the most effective instrument for each material and each analyte. Accuracy was checked by the application of the Sutarno–Steger test. Finally, a compilation of the results obtained in the determination of C_Total, C_org, H, N and S in forty‐nine reference materials is presented.     

Tracing the emerald origin by oxygen isotope data: the case of Sandawana,Zimbabwe

Given the wide range of oxygen isotopic composition of emerald from all over the world (δ¹⁸O between +6.2 and +24.7‰), the δ¹⁸O_V-SMOW values of emeralds from the Sandawana mines in Zimbabwe (δ¹⁸O‰=+6.6 to +8.0), are relatively constant, among the lowest ever measured. These consistently low values can be explained by host-rock buffering in a very narrow emerald-bearing reaction zone between ultrabasic greenstones (metamorphosed komatiites) and albitised pegmatites. δ¹⁸O values of Sandawana emeralds overlap those of emeralds from Brazil, Austria, Australia and Madagascar, a fact indicating that, in these cases, oxygen isotope composition alone is not sufficient to determine the geographic origin of commercially available emeralds. However, stones with overlapping δ¹⁸O values may eventually be identified using a combination of physical properties, inclusion characteristics and chemical composition. To cite this article: J.C. Zwaan et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Lower Carboniferous post-orogenic granites in central-eastern Sierra de Velasco,Sierras Pampeanas,Argentina: U–Pb monazite geochronology,geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotopes

The central-eastern part of the Sierra de Velasco (Sierras Pampeanas, NW Argentina) is formed by the large Huaco (40 × 30 km) and Sanagasta (25 × 15 km) granite massifs and the small La Chinchilla stock (2 × 2 km). The larger granites intrude into Ordovician metagranitoids and crosscut Devonian (?) mylonitic shear zones, whereas the small stock sharply intrudes into the Huaco granite. The two voluminous granites are biotitic-muscovitic and biotitic porphyritic syeno- to monzogranites. They contain small and rounded tonalitic and quartz-dioritic mafic microgranular enclaves. The small stock is an equigranular, zinnwaldite- and fluorite-bearing monzogranite. The studied granites are silica-rich (SiO₂ >70%), potassium-rich (K₂O >4%), ferroan, alkali-calcic to slightly calk-alkalic, and moderately to weakly peraluminous (A/CNK: 1.06–1.18 Huaco granite, 1.01–1.09 Sanagasta granite, 1.05–1.06 La Chinchilla stock). They have moderate to strong enrichments in several LIL (Li, Rb, Cs) and HFS (Nb, Ta, Y, Th, U) elements, and low Sr, Ba and Eu contents. U–Pb monazite age determinations indicate Lower Carboniferous crystallization ages: 350–358 Ma for the Huaco granite, 352.7 ± 1.4 Ma for the Sanagasta granite and 344.5 ± 1.4 Ma for the La Chinchilla stock. The larger granites have similar ?Nd values between ?2.1 and ?4.3, whereas the younger stock has higher ?Nd of ?0.6 to ?1.4, roughly comparable to the values obtained for the Carboniferous San Blas granite (?1.4 to ?1.7), located in the north of the sierra. The Huaco and Sanagasta granites have a mainly crustal source, but with some participation of a more primitive, possibly mantle-derived, component. The main crustal component can be attributed to Ordovician peraluminous metagranitoids. The La Chinchilla stock derives from a more primitive source, suggesting an increase with time in the participation of the primitive component during magma genesis. The studied granites were generated during a post-orogenic period in a within-plate setting, possibly as a response to the collapse of the previous Famatinian orogen, extension of the crust and mantle upwelling. They are part of the group of Middle Devonian–Lower Carboniferous granites of the Sierras Pampeanas. The distribution and U–Pb ages of these granites suggests a northward arc-parallel migration of this mainly post-orogenic magmatism with time.     

~(40)/Ar~(39)Ar Ages of Auriferous Quartz Veins from the Fengyang and Zhangbaling Regions and Their Geological Significance

1IntroductionAuriferousquartzveinsarecommonintheFengyangandZhangbalingregionsofAnhuiProvinceandtheyconstitutetheRongdu ,Zhuding ,Dagongshan ,MaoshanandShangchenggolddepositsandalotofgoldperspectives .TheRb SrisochronagesofalterationmineralsfromtheRongduandDagongshangolddepositsare (10 9.0± 4 .4 )Maand (15 3.76± 11.2 )Ma ,respectively (Dongetal .,1995 ) .Thereisalargedifferenceinagebetweenthetwogolddeposits ,butitcanbeseenthatthegolddepositswereformedinLateJurassictoEarlyCretaceous .A…     

三峡库区坡耕地退耕与粮食安全的空间分异

坡耕地退耕还林还草作为生态环境建设的一项重要措施，已在全国逐步开展。坡耕地退耕使耕地数量减少，并影响到退耕地区粮食产量减少，尤其在坡耕地分布集中、交通不便地区的尤为突出。本文利用GIS技术对三峡库区坡耕地空间分布进行了分析，探讨了三峡库区坡耕地退耕后粮食安全隐患产生的原因，初步揭示了粮食供需矛盾的空间差异，并结合交通便利状况，划分粮食安全区、警戒区，危机区等三种不同类型的区域。     

世界盐湖卤水型锂矿特征、分布规律与成矿动力模型

卤水锂矿在世界探明的锂矿总资源量中占比达65%,由于其易于开采,成本较低,其锂盐产品占总锂盐产品的75%左右。世界卤水锂矿主要产于现代盐湖,这些盐湖分布于世界三大高原:中国青藏高原、南美西部安第斯高原和北美西部高原,形成了三大盐湖卤水锂成矿区。中国青藏高原盐湖主要包括西藏中北部和柴达木盆地盐湖,卤水锂(LiCl)资源量为2330万t;南美西部安第斯高原盐湖,涵盖玻利维亚、智利和阿根廷盐湖,锂(Li₂O)资源量为2300万t;北美西部高原盐湖卤水锂矿(Li₂O)资源量为550万t。同时,中国华南地区在中生代晚期可能也是高原环境,高原地貌孕育了大量盐湖,并形成了一些富锂卤水矿。这些高原的形成与隆升都起因于板块俯冲及陆陆碰撞:南美安第斯高原和北美西部高原是太平洋板块向美洲板块俯冲-增生造山形成的,中国青藏高原是印度板块向欧亚板块俯冲-陆陆碰撞形成的,而中国华南古高原则可能与古太平洋板块向亚洲大陆俯冲作用有关。板块俯冲及陆陆碰撞作用,一方面形成高原地貌,挡住了来自大洋的水汽,从而导致高原内部降水减少,形成干旱气候,引发强烈蒸发作用;洋壳俯冲至上地幔之...     

Rapid recharge of fresh water to the halite‐hosted brine aquifer of Salar de Atacama,Chile

We document, analyse, and interpret direct and rapid infiltration of precipitation to the southern margin of the Salar de Atacama halite‐hosted brine aquifer during two intense precipitation events in 2012–2013. We present physical, geochemical, and stable and radioactive isotope data to detail this influx of water. The two events differ distinctly in the mechanisms of recharge. The 2012 event did not produce direct precipitation onto the salar surface, while the 2013 event did. Both events are recorded by abrupt changes in head in observation wells along the halite aquifer margin. Spatially distributed water levels rose by over 30 cm during the larger 2013 event consistent with remotely sensed observations of surface water extent. The lithium concentration and stable isotopic composition of water indicate dilution of brine and dissolution of salt with fresh water. Tritium measurements of precipitation, surface water, and groundwater all indicate modern influx of water to the halite aquifer along the southern margin. We extend these observations by examining the response of the halite aquifer as a whole to precipitation events during the period of 2000–2010. This study suggests that local recharge to the aquifer during sporadic precipitation onto the halite nucleus is an important component of the modern water budget in this hyper‐arid environment. The rapid dissolution and salinization along the southern margin of the salar halite nucleus are aided by such precipitation events contributing a modern fresh water component to the water budget of the economically valuable lithium‐rich brine. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymmetry analysis of geologic homologues on both sides of the strait of gibraltar

Asymmetric relationships in allochthonous units on both sides of the Strait of Gilbraltar (Spain-Morocco) are analyzed by the graphical technique of Gower (1977). The spatial patterns in the rock distributions of these units are shown to be homologous, thus supporting the hypothesis that both sequences derive from the same tectonic episodes.     

The enormous Chillos Valley Lahar: an ash-flow-generated debris flow from Cotopaxi Volcano, Ecuador

 The Chillos Valley Lahar (CVL), the largest Holocene debris flow in area and volume as yet recognized in the northern Andes, formed on Cotopaxi volcano's north and northeast slopes and descended river systems that took it 326 km north–northwest to the Pacific Ocean and 130+ km east into the Amazon basin. In the Chillos Valley, 40 km downstream from the volcano, depths of 80–160 m and valley cross sections up to 337 000 m² are observed, implying peak flow discharges of 2.6–6.0 million m³/s. The overall volume of the CVL is estimated to be ≈3.8 km³. The CVL was generated approximately 4500 years BP by a rhyolitic ash flow that followed a small sector collapse on the north and northeast sides of Cotopaxi, which melted part of the volcano's icecap and transformed rapidly into the debris flow. The ash flow and resulting CVL have identical components, except for foreign fragments picked up along the flow path. Juvenile materials, including vitric ash, crystals, and pumice, comprise 80–90% of the lahar's deposit, whereas rhyolitic, dacitic, and andesitic lithics make up the remainder. The sand-size fraction and the 2- to 10-mm fraction together dominate the deposit, constituting ≈63 and ≈15 wt.% of the matrix, respectively, whereas the silt-size fraction averages less than ≈10 wt.% and the clay-size fraction less than 0.5 wt.%. Along the 326-km runout, these particle-size fractions vary little, as does the sorting coefficient (average=2.6). There is no tendency toward grading or improved sorting. Limited bulking is recognized. The CVL was an enormous non-cohesive debris flow, notable for its ash-flow origin and immense volume and peak discharge which gave it characteristics and a behavior akin to large cohesive mudflows. Significantly, then, ash-flow-generated debris flows can also achieve large volumes and cover great areas; thus, they can conceivably affect large populated regions far from their source. Especially dangerous, therefore, are snow-clad volcanoes with recent silicic ash-flow histories such as those found in the Andes and Alaska. Received: 28 April 1997 / Accepted: 19 August 1997