华北地台东北缘西岔地区金多金属矿成矿地质体年代学、地球化学及成矿动力学

西岔地区金多金属矿位于华北地台东北缘。研究区经历了太古宙结晶基底的形成,元古宙"辽吉洋"的构造演化,中生代早期遭受古亚洲洋最终闭合的影响,中-新生代又有滨太平洋构造域的叠加与改造,造就了复杂的构造格局,同时也记录了丰富的成矿信息。为厘清区内多金属矿成矿时代与成矿动力学背景,本文对研究区不同成矿地质体开展了锆石LA-ICPMS U-Pb测年和全岩地球化学研究。结果表明:(1)具有条带状贱金属矿化的荒岔沟组变粒岩锆石年龄为2157Ma,其形成与辽吉洋洋壳俯冲产生的强烈海底火山喷发密切相关,在火山喷发的间歇期形成了条带状矿化的火山-沉积岩;(2)正岔矽卡岩型铅锌矿的成矿地质体(正岔岩体)由具有埃达克属性的高镁闪长岩和低镁花岗岩组成,形成于晚三叠世(2243～2185Ma),是古亚洲洋闭合和持续碰撞造山导致的加厚下地壳拆沉作用的产物,暗示华北地台北缘岩石圈规模有限的减薄和克拉通破坏的起始时间可能为晚三叠世;(3)西岔金银矿的成矿地质体西岔正长斑岩的锆石U-Pb年龄将西岔金银矿的成矿时代限定在～1211Ma。结合前人研究成果,认为西岔金银矿的形成与古太平洋板块俯冲后伸展作用相关。     

藏南冲巴雍错淡色花岗岩体热年代学及其对藏南拆离系和亚东裂谷构造活动时限的制约

藏南拆离系和亚东裂谷是藏南地区重要的伸展构造,与青藏高原的隆升和生长密切相关,其新生代以来的构造热-年代学研究,对探讨高原的生长过程和大陆变形动力学具有重要意义。本文对西藏南部亚东地区的冲巴雍错花岗岩进行了U-Pb定年和低温热年代学分析,结果表明,岩体自22Ma侵位后经历了5个不同的冷却阶段：18~15.6Ma期间岩体的冷却速率为125℃/Myr;15.6~11Ma期间,平均冷却速率约94℃/Myr;11~7Ma期间,平均冷却速率约24℃/Myr;7~3Ma平均冷却速率约5℃/Myr;3Ma以后平均冷却速率约为14℃/Myr。因岩体位于藏南拆离系内,又被亚东断层切过,认为藏南拆离系的活动时限为22~11Ma,亚东正断层的起始活动时间为11Ma,且热历史模拟结果显示岩体在~3Ma发生了快速冷却,可能指示了亚东裂谷的一次强烈活动。     

Water balance variability in the confined Aba’ala limestone graben at the western margin of the Danakil depression,northern Ethiopia

Marginal grabens are major development corridors in Ethiopia, and need to be understood for proper assessment of the hydrological budget. This study investigates the water balance of the Aba’ala graben (553 km²) in the period 2015–2016 under the challenge of data scarcity. We measured the rainfall and river discharge in order to analyse the runoff components of the graben. The rainfall volume in the Aba’ala graben showed erratic behaviour, which led to rapid flood runoff of the major river into the graben bottom. The average annual inflow and outflow of the graben bottom for the period 2015–2016 amounted to 364 and 254 hm³, respectively. However, flood runoff and evapotranspiration had a marked effect on water availability. Water storage took 36% of the water inflow into the graben bottom. Sustainable water management could reduce the temporal variation of the water storage in Aba’ala graben.     

An object-based image analysis approach to assess irrigation-water consumption from MODIS products in Ethiopia

Efficient water-resource management is essential with regard to food security, growing populations and climate change. This is especially important for low- and middle-income (LMC) countries where food is often locally produced by traditional smallholder farming. Detailed knowledge of the spatio-temporal distribution of irrigation-water consumption provides valuable information to anticipate local food shortages and water scarcity as a result of climate variability. Yet, adequate techniques to quantify irrigation-water consumption at field level over large areas are lacking. Irrigation estimates generally have a coarse resolution making them inadequate for field-level assessments.This study developed a remote-sensing-based approach to quantify spatio-temporal patterns of irrigation-water consumption at field level using the MODIS evapotranspiration product (MOD16A2) and existing land-use maps on the spatio-temporal distribution of irrigated agriculture. Object-based image analysis was used to establish local evapotranspiration differences between irrigated and rainfed fields on a monthly basis, which are the irrigation-water consumption rates of the irrigated fields. This novel method was applied to a study area in the Central Rift Valley in Ethiopia where smallholder farming is dominant and only a few large-scale farms are present. Comparison with irrigation-water-consumption values of a local irrigation scheme showed that the monthly temporal dynamics were captured quite well, but lower values were calculated compared to the scheme's field data. Comparison with two validated remote-sensing based studies in Africa showed good agreement as irrigation-water-consumption estimates were in the same order of magnitude. Irrigation-water consumption follows the temporal rainfall pattern, i.e. irrigation practices intensify with increased water availability. Surface water is commonly used for irrigation in the study area.Our study shows that smallholder practices have a lower irrigation-water consumption compared to modern large-scale farms by approximately a factor 3. Irrigation-water consumption in the area is considerable, especially during the dry season. On average 32 % of excess water (precipitation – evapotranspiration) is consumed for irrigation. For smallholder irrigation and large-scale irrigation specifically this is 28 % and 63 % respectively.The object-based approach presented here is an operational mapping method for field-level irrigation-water-consumption over large areas. MOD16A2 is a global open-source readily-available evapotranspiration product used here although an evapotranspiration product with a higher spatial resolution might be preferred. Our approach can provide irrigation-water-consumption estimates over large areas in data-poor regions, which will increase the understanding of spatio-temporal patterns of smallholder irrigation and provide information to optimize water use.     

Mapping irrigated agriculture in complex landscapes using SPOT6 imagery and object-based image analysis – A case study in the Central Rift Valley,Ethiopia –

Irrigation infrastructure development for smallholder farmers in developing countries increasingly gains attention in the light of domestic food security and poverty alleviation. However, these complex landscapes with small cultivated plots pose a challenge with regard to mapping and monitoring irrigated agriculture. This study presents an object-based approach to map irrigated agriculture in an area in the Central Rift Valley in Ethiopia using SPOT6 imagery. The study is a proof-of-concept that the use of shape, texture, neighbour and location information next to spectral information is beneficial for the classification of irrigated agriculture. The underlying assumption is that the application of irrigation has a positive effect on crop growth throughout the field, following the field's borders, which is detectable in an object-based approach. The type of agricultural system was also mapped, distinguishing smallholder farming and modern large-scale agriculture. Irrigated agriculture was mapped with an overall accuracy of 94% and a kappa coefficient of 0.85. Producer's and user's accuracies were on average 90.6% and 84.2% respectively. The distinction between smallholder farming and large-scale agriculture was identified with an overall accuracy of 95% and a kappa coefficient of 0.88. The classifications were performed at the field level, since the segmentation was able to adequately delineate individual fields. The additional use of object features proved essential for the identification of cropland plots, irrigation period and type of agricultural system. This method is independent of expert knowledge on crop phenology and absolute spectral values. The proposed method is useful for the assessment of spatio-temporal dynamics of irrigated (smallholder) agriculture in complex landscapes and yields a basis for land and water managers on agricultural water use.     

Reactivation of intrabasement structures during rifting: A case study from offshore southern Norway

Pre-existing structures within crystalline basement may exert a significant influence over the evolution of rifts. However, the exact manner in which these structures reactivate and thus their degree of influence over the overlying rift is poorly understood. Using borehole-constrained 2D and 3D seismic reflection data from offshore southern Norway we identify and constrain the three-dimensional geometry of a series of enigmatic intrabasement reflections. Through 1D waveform modelling and 3D mapping of these reflection packages, we correlate them to the onshore Caledonian thrust belt and Devonian shear zones. Based on the seismic-stratigraphic architecture of the post-basement succession, we identify several phases of reactivation of the intrabasement structures associated with multiple tectonic events. Reactivation preferentially occurs along relatively thick (c. 1 km), relatively steeply dipping (c. 30°) structures, with three main styles of interactions observed between them and overlying faults: i) faults exploiting intrabasement weaknesses represented by intra-shear zone mylonites; ii) faults that initiate within the hangingwall of the shear zones, inheriting their orientation and merging with said structure at depth; or iii) faults that initiate independently from and cross-cut intrabasement structures. We demonstrate that large-scale discrete shear zones act as a long-lived structural template for fault initiation during multiple phases of rifting.     

Geochemical trends through time and lateral variability of diatom floras in the Pleistocene Olorgesailie Formation, southern Kenya Rift Valley

The Olorgesailie Formation (1.2-0.49 Ma) consists of fluvial and lacustrine rift sediments that have yielded abundant Acheulean artifacts and a fossil hominin (Homo cf. erectus). In testing prior understandings of the paleoenvironmental context, we define nine new geochemical zones. A Chemical Index of Alteration suggests increased catchment weathering during deposition of Members 1, 2, 7, 11, and 13. Biophile elements (Br, S) peak in M8-9 and lower M13 possibly reflecting increased input from soil erosion. REE data show that the Magadi Trachytes supplied most siliciclastic grains. Sixteen diatom stages indicate conductivities of 200-16,000 μS cm^− 1 and pH of 7.5-9.5 for five deep-water lakes, ten shallow lakes and sixteen wetlands. These results are compared with diatom data from other sections in the basin and show aquatic spatial variability over km-scale distances. Similar floras are traceable over several kilometers for M2, M3 and M9, indicating broadly homogeneous lacustrine conditions during these times, but diatoms in other members imply variable conditions, some related to local tectonic controls. This lateral and temporal variability emphasizes the importance of carrying out stratigraphic sampling at multiple sites within a basin in efforts to define the environmental context relevant to human evolution.     

Application of a spreadsheet hydrological model for computing the long-term water balance of Lake Awassa,Ethiopia

Abstract

The water balance of the closed freshwater Lake Awassa was estimated using a spreadsheet hydrological model based on long-term monthly hydrometeorological data. The model uses monthly evaporation, river discharge and precipitation data as input. The net groundwater flux is obtained from model simulation as a residual of other water balance components. The result revealed that evaporation, precipitation, and runoff constitute 131, 106 and 83 × 10⁶ m³ of the annual water balance of the lake, respectively. The annual net groundwater outflow from the lake to adjacent basins is 58 × 10⁶ m³. The simulated and recorded lake levels fit well for much of the simulation period (1981–1999). However, for recent years, the simulated and recorded levels do not fit well. This may be explained in terms of the combined effects of land-use change and neotectonism, which have affected the long-term average water balance. With detailed long-term hydrogeological and meteorological data, investigation of the subsurface hydrodynamics, and including the effect of land-use change and tectonism on surface water and groundwater fluxes, the water balance model can be used efficiently for water management practice. The result of this study is expected to play a positive role in future sustainable use of water resources in the catchment.     

Redefined crustal structure of the Buchan Rift,northeast Victoria: evidence from potential field modelling of newly acquired land-based gravity data

The Buchan Rift, in northeastern Victoria, is a north–south-trending basin, which formed in response to east–west crustal extension in the Early Devonian. The rift is filled mostly with Lower Devonian volcanic and volcaniclastic rock of the Snowy River Volcanics. Although the structure and geometry of the Buchan Rift and its major bounding faults are well mapped at the surface, a discrepancy exists between the surface distribution of the thickest rift fill and its expected potential field response. To investigate this variation, two new detailed land-based gravity surveys, which span the rift and surrounding basement rocks in an east–west orientation, have been acquired and integrated with pre-existing government data. Qualitative interpretation of the observed magnetic data suggests the highly magnetic rocks of the Snowy River Volcanics have a wider extent at depth than can be mapped at the surface. Forward modelling of both land-based gravity data and aeromagnetic data supports this interpretation. With the Snowy River Volcanics largely confined within the Buchan Rift, resolved geometries also allow for the interpretation of rift boundaries that are wider at depth. These geometries are unusual. Unlike typical basin inversions that involve reactivation of rift-dipping faults, the bounding faults of the Buchan Rift dip away from the rift axis and thus appear unrelated to the preceding rifting episode. Limited inversion of previous extensional rift faults to deform the rift-fill sequences (e.g. Buchan Synclinorium) appears to have been followed by the initiation of new reverse faults in outboard positions, possibly because the relatively strong igneous rift fill began to act as a rigid basement ramp during continued E–W crustal shortening in the Middle Devonian Tabberabberan Orogeny. Overthrusting of the rift margins by older sediments and granite intrusions of the adjacent Tabberabbera and Kuark zones narrowed the exposed rift width at surface. This scenario may help explain the steep-sided geometries and geophysical expressions of other rift basins in the Tasmanides and elsewhere, particularly where relatively mechanically strong basin fill is known or suspected.