Geochemical investigation and characterisation of Neogene sediments from Valjevo-Mionica Basin (Serbia)

Sediments from the Valjevo-Mionica Basin of Neogene age were investigated in this study using different geochemical methods. The results of the inorganic part analyses suggest that during genesis of the sediments, the contents of Na₂O, B and As changed the most, which indicates that genesis of the investigated sediments was followed by climate changes and volcanic activity. The quantity of other macro- and microelements did not vary significantly. Investigations of the organic substance showed that it is native organic matter, which has been preserved to a significant extent, formed predominantly of algal precursor organisms, which provided good quality, deposited under reducing conditions and that it is at a low maturity level. As it has been established that genesis of the investigated sediments was mostly affected by an arid climate with more intensive salinity, the aim of this study, was also to identify the processes which were the most affected by the change in salinity, as well as biomarkers which are the most sensitive to this change. The results led to the conclusion that the salinity increase in the depositional environment had a primary effect on the preservation of the organic substance and the formation of the mineral searlesite. In addition, it was noticed that besides the Sq/nC₂₆ ratio, the parameters nC₁₇/nC₂₇, CPI and Ph/nC₁₈, are also significantly sensitive to salinity change in a depositional environment in case of immature organic substance deposited under reducing conditions.     

Geographical distribution of arsenic in sediments within the Rio Conchos Basin,Mexico

Arsenic (As) content of sediments from the Rio Conchos and Rio San Pedro in northern Mexico were measured to determine if this toxic metalloid had accumulated to unsafe levels to humans and aquatic life. The spatial distribution of As in each of the six clusters of river and arroyo sediments was analyzed to determine variations with respect to background levels and to infer about potential As sources and sinks. In the northern part of the study area, background concentrations varied little throughout the area and concentrations in river sediments were close to background levels. In the southern part, however, the content of As in arroyo sediment contained a wider range of values and anomalous concentrations. The latter could be traced in part to the presence of mine tailings. As concentrations were below the limit in all studied river stretches and thus do not pose an immediate threat to the river environment, but As content in reservoir sediments exceeded the guideline values. Reservoirs seem to act as a sink for As, warranting closer observation and monitoring.     

Geochemical hazard evaluation of sulphide-rich iron mines: The Rio Marina district (Elba Island,Italy)

Rio Marina mining district (Elba Island) is characterised by hematite + pyrite ore association and was exploited for iron till 1981, leaving waste rock dumps of several millions m³. The effect of open pit mining activity in this site is to produce acid mine drainage (AMD) processes leading to environmental pollution, testified by all the sampled waters (Giove stream, drainage channels, superficial pools and settling basin) which have pH values ranging from 2.08 to 3.35 and heavy metal concentrations that reach 903.16 mg/l for Fe, 45.02 mg/l for Mn, 10.08 mg/l for Zn and 1.75 mg/l for Cu. In the present work a space and time related approach to geochemical hazard evaluation was applied. The geochemical hazard is mainly related to high heavy metal concentration, acid mine drainage processes development and topographic setting. As all these parameters are related in space, hazard evaluation was performed by geostatistical methods. Fifty-four earth material samples (residual soils, waste rocks or debris materials) were collected in a central aligned 100 m mesh square grid. These were analysed for major elements by XRF, for Cu, Pb, Zn by ICP-AES and for AMD potential following the AMIRA procedure. The concentration of heavy metals was compared with Italian law limits. The overlap of Cu, Pb and Zn content maps show that at least one of these heavy metals exceed law limits in all the area. The AMD test results show that more than 50% of samples have a positive NAPP (Net Acid Producing Potential) that could reach 258.9 kg H₂SO₄/t. According to the obtained data, three main geochemical hazard classes were established and their distribution in the mining area was assessed. About 51% of the mining area surface belongs to the major hazard class, where AMD process occurs, about 49% belongs to an intermediate hazard class, where AMD process could occur only if certain conditions are met. Finally, the persistence of the AMD process in the Rio Marina area was evaluated on the basis of yearly rainfall, mining waters pH and NAPP values. A complete leaching of the first 0.25 m of the earth materials can retain the current environmental conditions for several centuries.     

Application of singularity mapping technique to identify local anomalies using stream sediment geochemical data,a case study from Gangdese,Tibet, western China

Identifying geochemical anomalies from background is a fundamental task in exploration geochemistry. The Gangdese mineral district in western China has complex geochemical surface expression due to complex geological background and was chosen as a study area for recognition of the spatial distribution of geochemical elements and separating anomalies from background using stream sediment geochemical data. The results illustrate that weak anomalies are hidden within the strong variance of background and are not well identified by means of inverse distance weighted; neither are they clearly identified by the C–A method if this method is applied to the whole study area. On the other hand, singularity values provide new information that complements use of original concentration values and can quantify the properties of enrichment and depletion caused by mineralization. In general, producing maps of singularities can help to identify relatively weak metal concentration anomalies in complex geological regions. Application of singularity mapping technique in Gangdese district shows local anomalies of Cu are not only directly associated with known deposits in the central part of the study area, but also with E–W and N–E oriented faults in the north of the study area. Both types of anomalies should be further investigated for undiscovered Cu mineral deposits.     

Overbank sediments as appropriate geochemical sample media in regional stream sediment surveys for gold exploration in the savannah regions of northern Ghana

Conventional stream sediment sampling in which sediments are taken from the active channels during reconnaissance regional geochemical surveys in gold exploration has over the years failed to delineate prospective target zones in northern Ghana, where the relict is flat. Whereas the technique has been successful in the south western Ghana, which is characterised by moderate to high relief, generally the savannah north is associated with low relief, commonly with flat topographies and generally decoupled stream channels. Geochemical comparison of active stream and overbank sediments in this study demonstrate that active stream channels may contain contaminated materials of recent origin, but overbank sediments, except for the uppermost horizons, represent alluvial regolith of earlier depositional cycles over time. Based on gold value repeatability, composite samples taken from the overbank sediment layers were relatively less erratic and are considered to be an appropriate geochemical medium in delineating potential regional gold targets for follow up. The results show that overbank sediment sampling can be used as a cost-effective method to define broad anomalous zones; and the technique must be considered useful during reconnaissance geochemical surveys in the savannah regions.     

The origin of fluoride-rich groundwater in Mizunami area, Japan — Mineralogy and geochemistry implications

The aim of this paper was to explore new factors that might be reasons for the occurrence of fluoride-rich groundwater in the area around a construction site. During the construction of two deep shafts of the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) in Mizunami city, central Japan, a large quantity of groundwater with high fluoride concentration was charged into the shafts. Chemical investigation carried out during the excavation revealed that fluoride concentrations in the area around the MIU site greatly exceeded those prescribed by Japanese standards. Therefore, the origin of fluoride ion was experimentally investigated. Samples were collected from the core of a deep borehole drilled in the study area. The weathering - and alteration levels of the collected granites varied greatly. Granitic powders were used to measure fluoride content in the granitic rock mass. The fluoride content ranged between 200 and 1300 mg/kg. The powders were reacted with purified water for 80 days. The results of water–rock interaction showed granitic rock to be one of the main sources of fluoride-rich groundwater in Mizunami area. Fluoride concentrations in these solutions that were shaken for 80 days varied between 2 and 7 mg/l. This change may have occurred as a result of the spatial distribution of fluoride ions in the granite mass as evidenced by mineralogical analysis of fluoride content in several specimens. X-ray powder diffraction analysis of the rock before- and after the water–rock interaction tests manifested that the presence of fluorite mineral was relatively small compared to other minerals. The degree of weathering and alteration might be an additional factor causing dissolution of fluoride-rich minerals. However, it was difficult to interpret the change in fluorite composition by X-ray diffraction analysis.     

松辽盆地早白垩世火山岩地球化学特征及其构造意义

松辽盆地早白垩世发育基性岩类的橄榄玄武岩、玄武岩,中性岩类的玄武安山岩、安山岩、粗安岩,酸性岩类的粗面岩、粗面英安岩、英安岩和流纹岩。早白垩世火山岩都具有大离子亲石元素(LILE)、轻稀土元素(LREE)相对富集的特征,并具有较低的(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i值和较高的(~(143)Nd/~(144)Nd)_i值。基性岩类Ce/Nb=1.92～8.31,Th/Nb=0.08～0.44,(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i=0.7031～0.7047,ε_(Nd)(t)=+1.7～+5.2;中性岩类Ce/Nb=3.70～15.80,Th/Nb=0.34～2.58,(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i=0.7040～0.7054,ε_(Nd)(t)=0～+3.0;酸性岩类Ce/Nb=4.29～15.80,Th/Nb=0.11～1.02,(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)_i=0.7038～0.7066,ε_(Nd)(t)=+1.0～+3.3。基性岩类岩浆主要来自被富集了的亏损地幔源的部分熔融,受混染程度很小;中性岩类岩浆源于年轻地壳组分被来自亏损地幔岩浆的再次部分熔融;酸性岩类浆岩可能主要来自源于亏损地幔的初生地壳部分熔融,并受到了上地壳的混染。晚侏罗世-早白垩世,由于蒙古-鄂霍次克洋关闭引发强烈的挤压造山后,发生的岩石圈拆沉作用致使来自亏损地幔的岩浆熔融上涌导致岩石圈主动伸展拉张,地表则表现出大规模的裂谷断陷作用和大范围的火山活动。这个阶段的伸展拉张以主动拉张为主。     

吉林小西南岔金-铜矿床成矿流体地球化学特征及矿床成因研究

小西南岔金-铜矿床产于海西期花岗闪长岩-石英闪长岩体之中,其矿化类型以石英大脉及石英细脉带型金-铜矿化为主,局部地段叠加发育有石英脉型辉钼矿化。流体包裹体研究结果表明,矿区金-铜矿脉及辉钼矿脉石英中均主要发育含NaCl子矿物三相、气相-富气相及气液两相三种类型的原生流体包裹体,同类包裹体均一温度、盐度等参数相近,显示两类矿化成矿流体具有相似的地球化学性质,氢-氧同位素研究结果反映它们均主要来源于岩浆热液。辉钼矿Re-Os同位素定年研究表明区内辉钼矿化主要发生于109Ma±,而金-铜矿脉石英的40Ar-39Ar同位素定年结果表明金-铜矿化则主要发生于123.35±0.8Ma。结合矿区已有的岩浆岩年代学研究成果,提出小西南岔矿区金-铜矿化主要与燕山晚期细粒(花岗)闪长岩活动有关,而辉钼矿化则与其后侵位的隐伏花岗斑岩活动有关的认识。     

季节变化和气象要素变化与呼吸道疾病关系及预防措施初探

根据钦州市2003年气象要素及该市某综合医院2003年患呼吸道疾病的门诊住院病例医疗统计资料,分析季节变化及气象要素变化与呼吸道疾病的关系,提出合理利用气象条件对呼吸道疾病采取的预防保健措施。     

P/Ca in coral skeleton as a geochemical proxy for seawater phosphorus variation in Daya Bay, northern South China Sea

The P/Ca ratio in coral skeletons is considered to be a direct proxy for the nutrient P in seawater. We examined the reliability of this proxy by analyzing P/Ca in a Porites coral collected from a eutrophic area in the northern South China Sea. P concentrations were significantly higher compared to previously reported values from pristine and open seas, corresponding to the elevated nutrients from the study site. We compared coral P/Ca against recent in-situ records of seawater P concentrations. Our results show that P/Ca was primarily a function of TP sw rather than PO₄sw, and that the signal of skeletal P included not only phosphate, but also organic phosphorus. Besides the form of skeletal P, sub-sampling and analytical procedures and the distinctive nutrient regime were the most reasonable explanations for our results. We suggest that total P in coral skeletons may be an efficient proxy for seawater P variations and associated phytoplankton dynamics in eutrophic environments.