Nature of mantle source contributions and crystal differentiation in the petrogenesis of the 1.78 Ga mafic dykes in the central North China craton

Circa 1.78 Ga mafic dyke swarms and some coeval volcanic associations constitute a Large Igneous Province in the central North China craton. The 1st generation of dykes intruded at ca. 1780 Ma and is chemically delineated into 3 groups: the LT Group is gabbroic and has low-Fe–Ti contents, acting as parental magma; the NW Group is high in Fe–Ti-contents and doleritic with an iron-enriched trend; whereas the EW Group is doleritic to andesitic and crystallized from relict siliceous liquids with a silica-enriched trend. They have an EM-I type source and record integral magmatic processes. These include contamination of lithospheric material and assimilation of crustal melts with in-situ crystallization in a magma chamber (the LT Group) and fractional crystallization in magma channels (the NW Group) and even with additional alteration (the EW Group). The 2nd generation is slightly younger (ca. 1760 Ma) and scarcely distributed. It has high-Fe–Ti contents, originated from a mixing source of DM and EM-I types. The dykes could be associated with a palaeo-plume: the 1st generation represents lower mantle melts generated from the plume head, whereas the 2nd generation records extra melts from asthenosphere entrained by the plume tail.     

Circulation induced by subglacial discharge in glacial fjords: Results from idealized numerical simulations

The flow caused by the discharge of freshwater underneath a glacier into an idealized fjord is simulated with a 2D non-hydrostatic model. As the freshwater leaves horizontally the subglacial opening into a fjord of uniformly denser water it spreads along the bottom as a jet, until buoyancy forces it to rise. During the initial rising phase, the plume meanders into complex flow patterns while mixing with the surrounding fluid until it reaches the surface and then spreads horizontally as a surface seaward flowing plume of brackish water. The process induces an estuarine-like circulation. Once steady-state is reached, the flow consists of an almost undiluted buoyant plume rising straight along the face of the glacier that turns into a horizontal surface layer thickening as it flows seaward. Over the range of parameters examined, the estuarine circulation is dynamically unstable with gradient Richardson number at the sheared interface having values of <1/4. The surface velocity and dilution factors are strongly and non-linearly related to the Froude number. It is the buoyancy flux that primarily controls the resulting circulation with the momentum flux playing a secondary role.     

Spatial distribution and vertical migrations of fish larvae communities off Northwestern Iberia sampled with LHPR and Bongo nets

The spatial distribution and diel vertical migration of fish larvae were studied in relation to the environmental conditions off NW Iberia during May 2002. Larvae from 23 families were identified, the most abundant were the Clupeidae, Gobiidae, Callionymidae, Blenniidae, Sparidae and Labridae. Sardina pilchardus was the most abundant species, mean concentrations 1 order of magnitude higher than the other fish larvae species. Larval horizontal distribution was mainly related to upwelling-driven circulation, resulting in an offshore increase of larval abundance while the vertical distribution was closely associated to the Western Iberia Buoyant Plume. Despite this general trend, taxon-specific relationships between the distribution of larvae and environmental variables were observed, and temperature was an important regressor explaining the distribution of most taxa. A comparison between ichthyoplankton samples collected alternatively with the LHPR and Bongo nets resulted in captures of larvae ≈1 order of magnitude higher for the LHPR, probably related to its higher towing speed. The spatial distribution and relative composition of larvae were also different for both nets, although the most frequent/abundant groups were the same. A fixed station sampled for 69-h showed diel vertical migrations performed by the larvae, with the highest larval concentrations occurring at surface layers during the night and most larvae being found in the neuston layer only during that period.     

Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India: Crustal and lithospheric structures and its flexure

Long wavelength gravity anomalies over India were obtained from terrestrial gravity data through two independent methods: (i) wavelength filtering and (ii) removing crustal effects. The gravity fields due to the lithospheric mantle obtained from two methods were quite comparable. The long wavelength gravity anomalies were interpreted in terms of variations in the depth of the lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) and the Moho with appropriate densities, that are constrained from seismic results at certain points. Modeling of the long wavelength gravity anomaly along a N–S profile (77°E) suggest that the thickness of the lithosphere for a density contrast of 0.05 g/cm³ with the asthenosphere is maximum of ∼190 km along the Himalayan front that reduces to ∼155 km under the southern part of the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins increasing to ∼175 km south of the Satpura Mobile belt, reducing to ∼155–140 km under the Eastern Dharwar craton (EDC) and from there consistently decreasing south wards to ∼120 km under the southernmost part of India, known as Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT).The crustal model clearly shows three distinct terrains of different bulk densities, and thicknesses, north of the SMB under the Ganga and the Vindhyan basins, and south of it the Eastern Dharwar Craton (EDC) and the Southern Granulite Terrain (SGT) of bulk densities 2.87, 2.90 and 2.96 g/cm³, respectively. It is confirmed from the exposed rock types as the SGT is composed of high bulk density lower crustal rocks and mafic/ultramafic intrusives while the EDC represent typical granite/gneisses rocks and the basement under the Vindhyan and Ganga basins towards the north are composed of Bundelkhand granite massif of the lower density. The crustal thickness along this profile varies from ∼37–38 km under the EDC, increasing to ∼40–45 km under the SGT and ∼40–42 km under the northern part of the Ganga basin with a bulge up to ∼36 km under its southern part. Reduced lithospheric and crustal thicknesses under the Vindhyan and the Ganga basins are attributed to the lithospheric flexure of the Indian plate due to Himalaya. Crustal bulge due to lithospheric flexure is well reflected in isostatic Moho based on flexural model of average effective elastic thickness of ∼40 km. Lithospheric flexure causes high heat flow that is aided by large crustal scale fault system of mobile belts and their extensions northwards in this section, which may be responsible for lower crustal bulk density in the northern part. A low density and high thermal regime in north India north of the SMB compared to south India, however does not conform to the high S-wave velocity in the northern part and thus it is attributed to changes in composition between the northern and the southern parts indicating a reworked lithosphere. Some of the long wavelength gravity anomalies along the east and the west coasts of India are attributed to the intrusives that caused the breakup of India from Antarctica, and Africa, Madagascar and Seychelles along the east and the west coasts of India, respectively.     

地幔对流的实验研究:非立柱状幔柱和地幔涡旋

地幔对流的物理模拟实验结果表明 ,在地幔介质和温度非均匀分布的复杂条件下 ,热卷流 (地幔柱 )往往由立柱状转变为非立柱状 (含斜柱状、涡旋状等 )。在忽略科里奥利力的情况下 ,板块的下插和滞积下沉、岩石圈根的存在以及地幔介质粘度的非均匀分布等都可能构成不同形状的障碍 -导流体 ,导致地幔的涡旋运动。软流圈中的水平涡旋环带属于对数螺线型 ,环带旋转半径及线速度逐渐减小 ,最终在旋转中心处下沉 ,而旋转角速度大致保持恒定     

Predicting plume meandering and averaging time effects on mean and fluctuating concentrations in atmospheric dispersion simulated in a water channel

Plume meandering and averaging time effects were measured directly using a high spatial resolution, high frequency, linescan laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) technique for measuring scalar concentrations in a plume dispersing in a water channel. Post-processing of the collected data removed time dependent background dye levels and corrected for attenuation across the laser beam to produce accurate measurements over long sample times in both a rough surface boundary-layer shear flow and shear free grid-generated turbulent flow. The data were used to verify the applicability of a meandering plume model for predicting the properties of mean and fluctuating concentrations. The centroid position of the crosswind concentration profile was found to have a Gaussian probability density function and the instantaneous plume spread about the centroid fluctuated log-normally. A modified travel-time power law model for averaging time adjustment was developed and compared to the widely used, but much less accurate, 0.2 power-law model.     

一次飞机播撒吸湿性焰剂试验的微物理探测浅析

2011年夏季,北京市人工影响天气办公室组织了吸湿性焰剂的飞机播撒试验,选取八达岭长城西北的淡积云作为催化对象.试验期间,使用装备了云探测设备的运12飞机进行播撒及云微物理探测.在6月1日的试验中,运用差异化策略分别对不同的淡积云实施了催化,探测发现云中出现了符合暖云增雨概念模型的微物理反应.随后在晴空区实施了烟羽探测试验,通过在吸湿性焰剂烟羽区的穿刺飞行,获得了正在扩散的吸湿性焰剂的粒子谱,了解了播撒后扩散区的微物理特征.     

Subduction tectonics vs.plume tectonics——Discussion on driving forces for plate motion

Plate tectonics describes the horizontal motions of lithospheric plates,the Earths outer shell,and interactions among them across the Earths surface.Since the establishment of the theory of plate tectonics about half a century ago,considerable debates have remained regarding the driving forces for plate motion.The early"Bottom up"view,i.e.,the convecting mantledriven mechanism,states that mantle plumes originating from the core-mantle boundary act at the base of plates,accelerating continental breakup and driving plate motion.Toward the present,however,the"Top down"idea is more widely accepted,according to which the negative buoyancy of oceanic plates is the dominant driving force for plate motion,and the subducting slabs control surface tectonics and mantle convection.In this regard,plate tectonics is also known as subduction tectonics."Top down"tectonics has received wide supports from numerous geological and geophysical observations.On the other hand,recent studies indicate that the acceleration/deceleration of individual plates over the million-year timescale may reflect the effects of mantle plumes.It is also suggested that surface uplift and subsidence within stable cratonic areas are correlated with plumerelated magmatic activities over the hundred-million-year timescale.On the global scale,the cyclical supercontinent assembly and breakup seem to be coupled with superplume activities during the past two billion years.These correlations over various spatial and temporal scales indicate the close relationship and intensive interactions between plate tectonics and plume tectonics throughout the history of the Earth and the considerable influence of plumes on plate motion.Indeed,we can acquire a comprehensive understanding of the driving forces for plate motion and operation mechanism of the Earth's dynamic system only through joint analyses and integrated studies on plate tectonics and plume tectonics.     

Anomalous strontium and lead isotope signatures in the off-rift Öræfajökull central volcano in south-east Iceland: Evidence for enriched endmember(s) of the Iceland mantle plume?

The currently active off-rift central volcano Öræfajökull in south-east Iceland sits unconformably on much older (10–12 Ma) and eroded crust. The composition of recent volcanics ranges from basalt to rhyolite, but the series is more sodic alkaline than the common rift zone tholeiitic suites. In this study we present Sr, Nd, Pb and O isotopic data for a suite of Öræfajökull samples. The complete suite shows typical mantle values for oxygen isotopes. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (average of 15 SAMPLES=0.703702) of the modern Öræfajökull rocks (basalts as well as rhyolites) are much higher than observed so far for any other Icelandic rocks. The ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios (average=0.512947; n=15) are lower than for rift rocks, but similar to rocks of the off-rift Snæfellsnes volcanic zone. Furthermore, the Öræfajökull rocks are enriched in the ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb isotope ratios compared to Icelandic rift basalts. The enriched nature of the suite indicates that Öræfajökull samples a source component that has characteristics common with EM2 type mantle. Furthermore, it is concluded that the silicic rocks of Öræfajökull formed by fractional crystallization from mafic melts rather than by partial melting of older crust.     

Recent Advance in the Interior Structure and Dynamics of Venus

Venus is similar to the Earth in size， mass， composition and distance to the sun. However， Venus has neither plate tectonics nor dynamo that exists on the Earth. The lithosphere of Venus is very thick based on its topography and gravity. The admittance and correlation between Venusian geoid and topography are very high， suggesting that they are strongly influenced by the internal dynamical process of Venus. Analyses show that there may be 10 Hawaii-like mantle plumes in Venusian mantle. Data from Venus Express has shown evidence for recent active volcanism among several of these plumes. The distribution of impact craters on Venus shows that Venusian surface has a young age and the age is averaged about 500 Ma， suggesting that Venus may have experienced a global resurfacing event. However， whether this resurfacing is catastrophic or equilibrium is still under debate. It is also unclear whether Venus had plate tectonics in the past， is it always in stagnant lid regime， or might it have an entirely different mode？In general， the style of mantle convection on Venus is quite different from that of the Earth which is manifested by the plate tectonics. Here we reviewed the main observations including gravity， topography and surface tectonics which provide constrains on the interior structure and dynamics of Venus， and recent advance in the interior structure and dynamics of Venus. This review aims to provide new insights into the interior dynamics of Venus.