U–Pb ages of Neoarchean granitoids from the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA: implications for crustal evolution in the Archean Wyoming province

Zircons in basement rocks from the eastern Wyoming province (Black Hills, South Dakota, USA) have been analyzed by ion microprobe (SHRIMP) in order to determine precise ages of Archean tectonomagmatic events. In the northern Black Hills (NBH) near Nemo, Phanerozoic and Proterozoic (meta)sedimentary rocks are nonconformably underlain by Archean biotite–feldspar gneiss (BFG) and Little Elk gneissic granite (LEG), both of which intrude older schists. The Archean granitoid gneisses exhibit a pervasive NW–SE-trending fabric, whereas an earlier NE–SW-trending fabric occurs sporadically only in the BFG, which is intruded by the somewhat younger LEG. Zircon crystals obtained from the LEG and BFG exhibit double terminations, oscillatory zoning, and Th/U ratios of 0.6±0.3—thereby confirming a magmatic origin for both lithologies. In situ analysis of the most U–Pb concordant domains yields equivalent ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages (upper intercept, U–Pb concordia) of 2559±6 and 2563±6 Ma (both ±2σ) for the LEG and BFG, respectively, which constrains a late Neoarchean age for sequential pulses of magmatism in the NBH. Unzoned (in BSE) patches of 2560 Ma zircon commonly truncate coeval zonation in the same crystals with no change in Th/U ratio, suggesting that deuteric, fluid-assisted recrystallization accompanied post-magmatic cooling. A xenocrystic core of magmatic zircon observed in one LEG zircon yields a concordant age of 2894±6 Ma (±2σ). This xenocryst represents the oldest crustal material reported thus far in the Black Hills. Whether this older zircon originated as unmelted residue of 2900 Ma crust that potentially underlies the Black Hills or as detritus derived from 2900 Ma crustal sources in the Wyoming province cannot be discerned. In the southern Black Hills (SBH), the peraluminous granite at Bear Mountain (BMG) of previously unknown age intrudes biotite–plagioclase schist. Zircon crystals from the BMG are highly metamict and altered, but locally preserve small domains suitable for in situ analysis. A U–Pb concordia upper intercept age of 2596±11 Ma (±2σ) obtained for zircon confirms both the late Neoarchean magmatic age of the BMG and a minimum age for the schist it intrudes. Taken together, these data indicate that the Neoarchean basement granitoids were emplaced at 2590–2600 Ma (SBH) and 2560 Ma (NBH), most likely in response to subduction associated with plate convergence (final assembly of supercontinent Kenorland?). In contrast, thin rims present on some LEG–BFG zircons exhibit strong U–Pb discordance, high common Pb, and low Th/U ratios—suggesting growth or modification under hydrothermal conditions, as previously suggested for similar zircons from SE Wyoming. The LEG–BFG zircon rims yield a nominal upper intercept date of 1940–2180 Ma, which may represent a composite of multiple rifting events known to have affected the Nemo area between 2480 and 1960 Ma. Together, these observations confirm the existence of a Paleoproterozoic rift margin along the easternmost Wyoming craton. Moreover, the 2480–1960 Ma time frame inferred for rifting in the Black Hills (Nemo area) corresponds closely to a 2450–2100 Ma time frame previously inferred for the fragmentation of supercontinent Kenorland.     

东吴小筑园林植物应用评价

园林植物配置是园林植物应用的重要内容，对充分发挥园林功能和观赏特性具有重要作用。通过对东吴小筑入口、前庭小院、主景区、山林区、园路、出口等6个功能区园林植物水平配置的现状调查，分析了本景区园林植物的物种多样性、水平结构、垂直结构、色彩变化等特征。结果表明：东吴小筑园林景观营造中．植物配置显示出较高水准。在树种选择、树丛组合、层次搭配、空间组织、色彩表现、季相变化等方面的设计布局十分精细，对今后园林设计及园林绿化水平的提高具有较好的指导作用。     

青海湖南岸全新世黄土地球化学特征及气候环境意义

位于青藏高原东北部的青海湖是我国最大的内陆湖泊，通过湖相沉积进行湖区全新世环境演变研究已取得诸多成果。作者选择青海湖南岸黑马河有绝对年代控制的全新世黄土剖面，利用CaCO2、CaO、MgO和Sr元素组分以及氧、碳同位素等较为可靠的地球化学指标，尝试进行了湖区全新世黄土的分层，探讨了黄土堆积过程中的气候环境演变。结果表明，青海湖南岸的黄土按成土作用强度的不同可分为两层：上部为成土化较弱的黄土层；下部为成土化较高的古土壤层，其仍可进一步分为两个亚层。全新世湖区气候环境的波动在地球化学分布特征中有较强表现。     

南方NGS200应用实践中的若干问题

对南方NGS200在工程控制测量领域应用实践中的一些问题作了阐述，提出了一些见解和措施。     

Impacts of Previous Winter Kuroshio SSTA on Summer Rainfall in China

1. IntroductionAs well known, Kuroshio is a famous and strongwest boundary current in the North Pacific. It trans-fers enormous energy from the low latitudes to themid-high latitudes and releases huge heat flux to theatmosphere above (Hsiung, 1985). The variation ofKuroshio exerts great influence on weather and cli-mate in East Asian.During 1950-60s, Lü (1950, 1964) found that thewestern North Pacific SSTA had a close relation withsummer rainfall in China. In the 1970s, evidencesshowed…     

Studies on wind environment around high buildings in urban areas

High buildings or architectural complex in urban areas remarkably distort the urban surface wind fields. As the air flow approaches,local strong wind may appear around the buildings. The strong wind makes the pedestrians on sidewalks, entrances and terrace very uncomfortable and causes the pedestrian level wind environment problem. In this studies, hot-wire wind measurement, wind scouring in wind tunnel and numerical computation were carried out to evaluate the wind environment of tall buildings in the prevailing flow conditions in Beijing areas. The results obtained by three techniques were compared and mutually verified. The conclusions drawn from three approaches agree with each other. Also the advantages and limitations of each method were analyzed. It is suggested that the combination of different techniques may produce better assessment of wind environment around high buildings.     

Model identification for hydrological forecasting under uncertainty

Methods for the identification of models for hydrological forecasting have to consider the specific nature of these models and the uncertainties present in the modeling process. Current approaches fail to fully incorporate these two aspects. In this paper we review the nature of hydrological models and the consequences of this nature for the task of model identification. We then continue to discuss the history (“The need for more POWER‘’), the current state (“Learning from other fields”) and the future (“Towards a general framework”) of model identification. The discussion closes with a list of desirable features for an identification framework under uncertainty and open research questions in need of answers before such a framework can be implemented.     

Counting Beans: Agrobiodiversity,Indigeneity, and Agrarian Reform

In‐field conservation of locally domesticated crop varieties ameliorates agrobiodiversity losses, but the interaction among nationally regulated socioeconomic factors at the local scale tends to discourage this. Analyses of household surveys conducted in Ecuador demonstrate that state and nongovernmental institutions interact to discourage cultivation of locally domesticated varieties of beans (Phaseolus spp.). Land privatization, agricultural extension, and credit programs favor market production of introduced modern bean varieties, and locally domesticated varieties are noted for favorable nutrition, culinary, and agroecological qualities. Resolving disconnections between the market and social values for landrace beans may provide agrobiodiversity conservation opportunities.     

程裕淇主编《中国地层典》记失

文章列数了《中国地层典》5个方面的重要失误:不是中国地层名称全览性的工具书,急于采用处于争议中的术语,大量地层单位名称的出处因考证不到位而形成张冠李戴,采用的历史优先律不是国际共识,在编撰过程中建立新名称。文章用选出的泰山杂岩、滹沱系、秦岭片岩和仑山石灰岩4个名称为例说明《中国地层典》对其出处的考证不到位,进而论证《中国地层典》的诸多解释可信度低。文章严肃地指出“历史优先律”给中国地层学造成的不良后果:它破坏了地层命名法的标准性,颠倒了中国地层命名史,干扰了中国地层名称的管理。     

Analysis of pressuremeter geometry effects in clay using critical state models

The conventional interpretation methods of pressuremeter testing effectively approximate pressuremeter membranes as infinitely long. As a result, the effects of the two‐dimensional geometry of pressuremeters are ignored, leading to an overestimation of soil shear strength by pressuremeter testing, as demonstrated in several previous studies. This paper presents results of a numerical study of two‐dimensional geometry effects on self‐boring pressuremeter tests in undrained clay. The results are obtained using critical state soil models with an effective stress formulation. This is in contrast to most (if not all) existing studies on pressuremeter geometry effects, which were based on perfectly plastic soil models (e.g. Yu (Cavity expansion theory and its application to the analysis of pressuremeters. DPhil Thesis, The University of Oxford, 1990), Yeung and Carter (Proc. 3rd Int. Symp. on Pressuremeters, 1990), and Houlsby and Carter (Géotechnique, 1993; 43 (4):567–576)). The present study suggests that the overestimation of soil strength due to the neglect of finite pressuremeter length is significantly affected by the soil model used in the calculations. It is found that for clays with a high overconsolidation ratio (OCR) the strength overestimation predicted using critical state soil models could be considerably smaller than that predicted using perfectly plastic soil models. The main conclusion of this numerical study is that care must be exercised before directly applying any numerically determined pressuremeter geometry correction factors in practice. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.