Developing Africa’s energy mix

Africa is growing rapidly both in terms of population size and economically. It is also becoming increasingly clear that fossil fuels impose a high price on society through local environmental pollution and Africa’s particular vulnerability to climate change. At the same time, Africa has an excellent renewable energy potential and prices for renewable energy are reaching the price range of fossil fuels. Comparing results from state-of-the-art Integrated Assessment Models we find different options for achieving a sustainable energy supply in Africa. They have in common, however, that strong economic development is considered compatible with the 2°C climate target. Taking both challenges and appropriate solutions into account, some models find that a complete switch to renewable energy in electricity production is possible in the medium term. The continental analysis identifies important synergy effects, in particular the exchange of electricity between neighbouring countries. The optimal energy mix varies considerably between African countries, but there is sufficient renewable energy for each country. The intermittency and higher capital intensity of renewable energy are important challenges, but proven solutions are available for them. In addition, we analyse the political economy of a sustainable energy transition in Africa.

Key policy insights

• An almost complete shift towards renewable energy (RE) is considered feasible and affordable in Africa.

• By 2050, electricity generation could be sourced largely from solar, wind and hydro power.

• Prices for RE in Africa are now within the price range of fossil fuels, partly due to the excellent RE potential.

• The optimal energy mix varies strongly between countries, but RE is sufficiently available everywhere.

• Addressing intermittency is possible, but requires investments and cooperation on the grid.

     

江西阳储岭两期岩浆活动与钨成矿作用的关系：来自黑云母地球化学的证据

阳储岭斑岩型W-Mo矿床位于江南造山带中部,是华南地区最早发现的斑岩型钨钼矿床。已探明WO₃资源储量6.13万吨(平均品位0.2%),Mo资源储量1.69万吨(平均品位0.03%～0.06%),其成矿作用与中生代花岗质岩浆活动密切相关。区内发育早期花岗闪长岩和晚期二长花岗斑岩,钨矿体以细脉状和浸染状产于二长花岗斑岩体内,而花岗闪长岩内未见矿化。两期岩浆活动与钨成矿的关系尚不明确,制约其含矿差异性的因素尚不清楚。本文以花岗闪长岩和二长花岗斑岩中的黑云母为研究对象,对比研究两类岩浆结晶分异程度、氧逸度、岩浆流体卤素浓度,探讨其对钨成矿的制约。黑云母主量元素分析结果显示,阳储岭两类岩浆岩均为壳源,但显著不同于S型花岗岩的Mg/(Fe+Mg)和Al^VI值,指示其具有I型花岗岩的特征。黑云母的微量元素信息显示,相对于花岗闪长岩中的黑云母(类型一),二长花岗斑岩中的黑云母(类型二)显示低的K/Rb、Nb/Ta比值,高的Rb、Cs、Nb和Ta含量,表明其分异程度较花岗闪长岩更高,更有利于钨的富集。两类黑云母所指示的岩浆氧逸度均在NNO缓冲线附近,表明其母岩...     

Cerium and Ytrium in apatite as records of magmatic processes: Insight into fractional crystallization,magma mingling and fluid saturation

Apatite is a versatile mineral crystallizing at different stages of silicic magma evolution. Its composition may record that of magma, but could also be affected by interaction with fluids. The focus of this study is the well-recognized magma mingling process that was previously detected using plagioclase composition and in this study complementary record is sought in apatite. The apatite was analysed in two dioritic enclaves (primitive and hybrid) and host quartz monzonite, which is an igneous rock emplaced at ca. 340 Ma in mylonitized Góry Sowie gneisses (NE Bohemian Massif). The apatite was analysed in-situ by microprobe that allowed for chemical characterization of different apatite populations in quartz monzonite and analyses of thin acicular apatite in the enclaves. Apatite population in the quartz monzonite was chemically distinct from that in both enclave types and characterized by higher Y and lower Ce contents, such values are usually typical for peraluminous magmas. As such, the apatite transfer from felsic to mafic magma should be well recorded in apatite composition, which was not the case. Monzonite apatite composition was not commonly observed in the hybrid enclave despite massive plagioclase transfer and only rare resorbed cores with low Ce and Y contents were present. However, such low Ce and Y cores crystalized at the latest stage of apatite crystallization in the quartz monzonite, whereas the plagioclase transfer was an early episode. Therefore, we conclude that apatite transfer was limited during mingling and the apatite composition in the quartz monzonite is best explained by an early Cl-Ce-rich fluid removal and then fractional crystallization, while apatite in the primitive enclave is affected only by fractional crystallization. Altogether, Ce and Y composition of apatite is a valuable tool to record diverse magmatic processes such as fluid removal and precipitation from fluid in addition to fractionation of different REE phases and should be further explored.     

南极月球陨石MIL05035矿物学、岩石学及演化历史

月球陨石MIL05035岩石类型上属于普通辉石低钛玄武岩,粗粒辉长结构,无角砾化。主要矿物为辉石(60.2%)、斜长石(27.3%)和橄榄石(6.05%),次要矿物为石英(4.36%)、钛铁矿(1.25%)和陨硫铁(0.84%),含极少量富Ti、Fe尖晶石和磷灰石,广泛发育由钙铁辉石+铁橄榄石+石英组成的后成合晶三相集合体。辉石颗粒具有明显的化学成分不均匀性和出溶片晶,核部相对贫铁钙富镁(Fs30.2-60.8Wo14.2-35.0),边部富铁钙贫镁(Fs47.5-64.9Wo22.8-44.3)。熔长石化斜长石具有微弱的成分环带,边部相对富碱金属元素(Ab9.3-12.3,Or0.31-1.03),核部则相反(Ab7.6-10.6,Or0.12-0.36),含有未熔长石化的残留斜长石。橄榄石具有粗晶橄榄石(Fa95.5-96.6)和后成合晶中细粒橄榄石(Fa88.9-93.5)两种产状。石英具有脉状、团块状和蠕虫状等产状:脉状石英大部分转变为二氧化硅玻璃,核部石英具有较宽的拉曼谱特征峰(448~502cm-1),证明其经历了冲击变质与退变质作用;团块状石英分布于粗粒橄榄石颗粒间或橄榄石与斜长石和辉石接触边界上,与斜长石构成充填结构;蠕虫状石英分布于细粒后成合晶中。粗粒辉石边部铁辉石和后成合晶中辉石成分的继承性、结构上的延续性、光学特征上的冲击暗化现象、与冲击熔脉结构上的相关性和后成合晶中发育与粗粒辉石方向几乎一致的解理等方面的证据,认为后成合晶可能由于铁辉石在冲击压力释放与温度降低后的退变质作用下分解形成。根据岩石矿物结构观察、成分分析和MELTS模拟表明该陨石母岩的岩浆演化过程可能为:母岩浆在温度降低后首先产生极少量钛铁尖晶石、其次是普通辉石和钙长石先后结晶;随着温度下降,贫钙铁普通辉石、铁钙铁辉石和铁普通辉石等在普通辉石边部大量结晶,钙长石边部分异结晶少量培长石或拉长石;随着温度继续下降,早期结晶的普通辉石析出易变辉石等出溶片晶,橄榄石在辉石和斜长石边部结晶;其后,钛铁矿和陨硫铁析出,石英沿橄榄石和钙长石等先结晶矿物裂隙充填。出露月表后强烈的冲击变质作用使斜长石几乎全部转变为熔长石、石英大部分转变为二氧化硅玻璃,并具有一系列面状变形,冲击熔脉发育,冲击变质程度至少为S5。本研究为月球的岩浆演化和冲击变质过程提供了重要证据。     

What is the Meaning of ‘Social Mix’? Shifting perspectives in planning and implementing public housing estate redevelopment

This paper unravels a variety of perspectives about the concept of social mix, drawing on a case study of the implementation of a redevelopment project in Melbourne. The first part provides a theoretical overview of two internationally predominant academic debates around policy interpretations of this concept, namely social mix as a means for promotion of social inclusion; and as a state-led form of gentrification. These two arguments are usually presented as one, with social inclusion and reductions of concentrations of disadvantage one side of the ‘social mix policy’ coin, and state-led gentrification the other. This paper contributes to the national and international literature on public housing estate regeneration and social mix policies through exploring the question of whether these two ideas about social mix were shared by different stakeholders as the ‘messy’ process of redevelopment unfurled. Interviews were conducted with public tenants, homeowners and homebuyers, private renters and local service providers at the Carlton Housing Estate to explore the diverse perspectives of various stakeholder groups as estate design and implementation shifted. The study identified that as a result of the global financial crisis and the developers exerting pressure on government there was a gradual move away from perceiving social mix as a policy tool for encouraging social inclusion at Carlton, between public housing tenants and private residents, towards a different form of social mix and inclusion. Contrary to intentions, the revised form of social mix at Carlton was perceived as a means to harness market capital and attract higher income residents to the inner city.     

The viscosity of hydrous dacitic liquids: implications for the rheology of evolving silicic magmas

The viscosity of a series of six synthetic dacitic liquids, containing up to 5.04 wt% dissolved water, was measured above the glass transition range by parallel-plate viscometry. The temperature of the 10¹¹ Pa s isokom decreases from 1065 K for the anhydrous liquid, to 864 K and 680 K for water contents of 0.97 and 5.04 wt% H₂O. Including additional measurements at high temperatures by concentric-cylinder and falling-sphere viscometry, the viscosity (η) can be expressed as a function of temperature and water content w according to: where η is in Pa s, T is temperature in K, and w is in weight percent. Within the conditions of measurement, this parameterization reproduces the 76 viscosity data with a root-mean square deviation (RMSD) of 0.16 log units in viscosity, or 7.8 K in temperature. The measurements show that water decreases the viscosity of the dacitic liquids more than for andesitic liquids, but less than for rhyolites. At low temperatures and high water contents, andesitic liquids are more viscous than the dacitic liquids, which are in turn more viscous than rhyolitic liquids, reversing the trend seen for high temperatures and low water contents. This suggests that the relative viscosity of different melts depends on temperature and water content as much as on bulk melt composition and structure. At magmatic temperatures, rhyolites are orders of magnitude more viscous than dacites, which are slightly more viscous than andesites. During degassing, all three liquids undergo a rapid viscosity increase at low water contents, and both dacitic and andesitic liquids will degas more efficiently than rhyolitic liquids. During cooling and differentiation, changing melt chemistry, decreasing temperature and increasing crystal content all lead to increases in the viscosity of magma (melt plus crystals). Under closed system conditions, where melt water content can increase during crystallization, viscosity increases may be small. Conversely, viscosity increases are very abrupt during ascent and degassing-induced crystallization.     

The 2005 eruption of Sierra Negra volcano,Galápagos,Ecuador

Sierra Negra volcano began erupting on 22 October 2005, after a repose of 26 years. A plume of ash and steam more than 13 km high accompanied the initial phase of the eruption and was quickly followed by a ~2-km-long curtain of lava fountains. The eruptive fissure opened inside the north rim of the caldera, on the opposite side of the caldera from an active fault system that experienced an m_b 4.6 earthquake and ~84 cm of uplift on 16 April 2005. The main products of the eruption were an `a`a flow that ponded in the caldera and clastigenic lavas that flowed down the north flank. The `a`a flow grew in an unusual way. Once it had established most of its aerial extent, the interior of the flow was fed via a perched lava pond, causing inflation of the `a`a. This pressurized fluid interior then fed pahoehoe breakouts along the margins of the flow, many of which were subsequently overridden by `a`a, as the crust slowly spread from the center of the pond and tumbled over the pahoehoe. The curtain of lava fountains coalesced with time, and by day 4, only one vent was erupting. The effusion rate slowed from day 7 until the eruption’s end two days later on 30 October. Although the caldera floor had inflated by ~5 m since 1992, and the rate of inflation had accelerated since 2003, there was no transient deformation in the hours or days before the eruption. During the 8 days of the eruption, GPS and InSAR data show that the caldera floor deflated ~5 m, and the volcano contracted horizontally ~6 m. The total eruptive volume is estimated as being ~150×10⁶ m³. The opening-phase tephra is more evolved than the eruptive products that followed. The compositional variation of tephra and lava sampled over the course of the eruption is attributed to eruption from a zoned sill that lies 2.1 km beneath the caldera floor.     

东海对台风云娜的海洋响应

Many typhoons pass through the East China Sea(ECS) and the oceanic responses to typhoons on the ECS shelf are very energetic. However, these responses are not well studied because of the complicated background oceanic environment. The sea surface temperature(SST) response to a severe Typhoon Rananim in August 2004 on the ECS shelf was observed by the merged cloud-penetrating microwave and infrared SST data. The observed SST response shows an extensive SST cooling with a maximum cooling of 3°C on the ECS shelf and the SST cooling lags the typhoon by about one day. A numerical model is designed to simulate the oceanic responses to Rananim.The numerical model reasonably simulates the observed SST response and thereby provides a more comprehensive investigation on the oceanic temperature and current responses. The simulation shows that Rananim deepens the ocean mix layer by more than 10 m on the ECS shelf and causes a cooling in the whole mixed layer. Both upwelling and entrainment are responsible for the cooling. Rananim significantly deforms the background Taiwan Warm Current on the ECS shelf and generates strong Ekman current at the surface. After the typhoon disappears, the surface current rotates clockwise and vertically, the current is featured by near inertial oscillation with upward propagating phase.     

岩浆对热泉型金矿化作用的热影响

岩浆的余热为热泉型金矿化作用浅成热液循环系统提供热源,促使热液迁移循环并改变热液性质和状态。使近岩浆热液达到超临界的高温,为热泉型金矿化作用提供热力学条件。本文根据腾冲－梁河地热系统的特点及岩浆活动的一般特征,模拟计算了岩浆余热在热泉型金矿化作用中的演化过程。     

浙东早白垩世火山岩组合的地球化学及其成因研究

浙东早白垩世含中性岩的火山岩组合和双峰式火山岩组合的主量元素和微量元素特征对比研究表明，中性火山岩的地球化学特征明显受到伴生的基性和酸性火山岩的影响。它们的微量元素协变关系证实：中性火山岩是由基性岩浆和酸性岩浆混合形成的。双峰式火山岩具有与含中性岩的火山岩组合相类似的主量元素特征，但两者的微量元素特征相差较大。根据东南沿海在早白垩世时期的构造背景是由挤压向伸展拉张转变，以及各种元素具有不同的扩散速度，提出了浙东早白垩世火山岩组合的形成模式：若基性岩浆和酸性岩浆仅进行了部分微量元素的交换，没有来得及发生主量元素的交换，就在伸展拉张的构造背景下喷出地表，则形成双峰式火山岩组合；若基性岩浆与酸性岩浆在地壳深处共存的时间较长，发生一定程度的主量元素交换，则形成偏基性和偏酸性的中性岩浆，若进一步发生化学成分的交换，则可形成典型的安山质岩浆，喷出地表就形成含中性岩的火山岩组合。