Soil moisture potential and water content in the unsaturated zone within the arid Ejina Oasis in Northwest China

Three soil profiles were selected in the Ejina Oasis, northwest China, to determine water content profiles and evolution of soil moisture potentials in the unsaturated zone within the arid area. The total soil moisture potentials have been monitored for about 3 months in 2001 at different depths in the soil profiles. The occurrence and movement of water in the unsaturated zone was analyzed using the zero flux plane (ZFP) method. It is shown that convergent ZFPs and divergent ZFPs may occur at depths between 0.5 and 3.0 m, and that the depth of the ZFPs was controlled by the root zone of plants growing on the land surface. Profiles of the total soil moisture potentials were observed to be coincident with those of the water contents at the three experimental sites. The total soil moisture potential showed a slight increasing trend and the ZFPs tend to vanish from summer to winter as the water extraction by roots decreased. Evapotranspiration through vegetation has an important bearing on the water content and the total potential in the unsaturated zone.     

Mudstones of the Tanqua Basin, South Africa: an analysis of lateral and stratigraphic variations within mudstones, and a comparison of mudstones within and between turbidite fans

Permian deep‐water mudstones in the Tanqua Basin, South Africa, have been studied using geochemical and spectral gamma ray techniques. The mudstones occur as thick sequences between sand‐rich submarine fans, but also occur as thinner mud‐rich units within each fan. The interfan mudstones are interpreted to have accumulated during transgression and the consequent period of relatively high sea‐level, while the submarine fans and their intrafan mudstones were deposited during regression and relatively low sea‐level. Geochemical analyses revealed systematic differences between interfan and intrafan mudstones because the two types of mudstones have slightly different source lithologies. Differences between the two types of mudstone suggest that changes in relative sea‐level played a role in controlling exposure of sediment source areas. There are geochemical signals that display systematic stratigraphic trends within both interfan and intrafan mudstones. These are best explained by gradual denudation, exposure and weathering of different lithologies within a single sediment source area. Both interfan and intrafan mudstones have uniform geochemical signals along the flow direction except for the relative amount of uranium. It is most likely that the basinward increase in uranium in the mudstones is the result of reduced clastic dilution of uranium‐bearing pelagic fallout.     

Geochronology and petrogenesis of the post-orogenic Cu–Ni sulfide-bearing mafic–ultramafic complexes in Jilin Province, NE China

Northeastern (NE) China is a well-documented example of a collisional zone characterized by widespread post-orogenic granites and mafic–ultramafic complexes. Based on a study of the Hongqiling and Piaohechuan Cu–Ni sulfide-bearing mafic–ultramafic complexes in central Jilin province, we present geological, petrological, geochemical and geochronological data which indicates their post-orogenic origin.The Hongqiling complex comprises pyroxenite, olivine websterite, lherzolite, gabbro and leucogabbro. Zircon U–Pb SHRIMP analyses on a leucogabbro of the Hongqiling complex yield a weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb–²³⁸U age of 216±5 Ma. The Piaohechuan complex is composed of gabbro, pyroxenite and dolerite, exposed as dikes. A plagioclase-bearing pyroxenite has a U–Pb zircon weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb–²³⁸U age of 217±3 Ma, identical to that of the Hongqiling complex. These ages are coeval with the emplacement of A-type granites in the area, but slightly younger than the regional metamorphism (240 Ma) and syn-orogenic granitic magmatism (246±4 Ma). This suggests that these mafic–ultramafic complexes are post-orogenic in origin. The age data also indicated a short period of lithospheric stabilization of about 30 Ma after cessation of orogenic activity.Geochemical investigation indicates that the primary mafic magma was a lithospheric mantle-derived basalt resulting from the upwelling of asthenosphere due to lithospheric delamination during post-orogenic processes. The magmatic source was contaminated by a small amount of crustal material, and subsequent crystal fractionation resulted in the Cu–Ni mineralization.The widespread occurrence of mafic–ultramafic complexes in the Xing'an–Mongolian Orogenic Belt of NE China and in the Altay–Tianshan–Junggar Orogenic Belt of Northern Xinjiang indicates that mafic intrusions are an important magmatic suite that evolved during post-orogenic processes. Portions of this mafic magma could have underplated the lower crust, and served as the heat source for associated late-stage granitic magmas.     

深层水泥土搅拦桩在软土地基处理中的应用

通过对深层水泥土搅拌桩的加固机理及复合地基承载力性状的简要分析,根据国家现行规范,结合具体地基处理工程实例,对深层水泥搅拌桩在软土地区地基加固处理中的方案选择、设计、施工及检测中的常见技术要点作初步探讨。     

Geochemistry of the Uintjiesberg kimberlite, South Africa: petrogenesis of an off-craton, group I, kimberlite

The Uintjiesberg kimberlite diatreme occurs within the Proterozoic Namaqua–Natal Belt, South Africa, approximately 60 km to the southwest of the Kaapvaal craton boundary. It is a group I, calcite kimberlite that has an emplacement age of 100 Ma. Major and trace element data, in combination with petrography, are used to evaluate its petrogenesis and the nature of its source region. Macrocryst phases are predominantly olivine with lesser phlogopite, with very rare garnet and Cr-rich clinopyroxene. Geochemical variation amongst the macrocrystic samples (Mg# 0.85–0.87, SiO₂=27.0–29.3%, MgO=26.1–30.5%, CaO=10.9–13.5%) is shown to result from 10% to 40% entrainment and partial assimilation of peridotite xenoliths, whereas that shown by the aphanitic samples (Mg# 0.80–0.83, SiO₂=19.1–23.0%, MgO=17.9–23.9%, CaO=16.5–23.7%) is consistent with 7–25% crystal fractionation of olivine and minor phlogopite. Changing trajectories on chemical variation diagrams allow postulation of a primary magma composition with 25% SiO₂, 26% MgO, 2.3% Al₂O₃, 5%H₂O, 8.6% CO₂ and Mg#=0.85.

Forward melting models, assuming 0.5% melting, indicate derivation of the primary Uintjiesberg kimberlite magma from a source enriched in light rare earth elements (LREE) by 10× chondrite and heavy REE (HREE) by 0.8–2× chondrite, the latter being dependent on the proportion of residual garnet. Significant negative Rb, K, Sr, Hf and Ti anomalies present in the inferred primary magma composition are superimposed on otherwise generally smooth primitive mantle-normalized trace element patterns, and are inferred to be a characteristic of the primary magma composition. The further requirement for a source with chondritic or lower HREE abundances, residual olivine with high Fo content (Fo₉₄) suggests derivation from a mantle previously depleted in mafic melt but subsequently enriched in highly incompatible elements prior to kimberlite genesis. These requirements are interpreted in the context of melting of continental lithospheric mantle previously enriched by metasomatic fluids derived from a sublithospheric (plume?) source.     

Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres and their relation to the North Atlantic Alkaline Province

Geological mapping and diamond exploration in northern Quebec and Labrador has revealed an undeformed ultramafic dyke swarm in the northern Torngat Mountains. The dyke rocks are dominated by an olivine-phlogopite mineralogy and contain varying amounts of primary carbonate. Their mineralogy, mineral compositional trends and the presence of typomorphic minerals (e.g. kimzeyitic garnet), indicate that these dykes comprise an ultramafic lamprophyre suite grading into carbonatite. Recognized rock varieties are aillikite, mela-aillikite and subordinate carbonatite. Carbonatite and aillikite have in common high carbonate content and a lack of clinopyroxene. In contrast, mela-aillikites are richer in mafic silicate minerals, in particular clinopyroxene and amphibole, and contain only small amounts of primary carbonate. The modal mineralogy and textures of the dyke varieties are gradational, indicating that they represent end-members in a compositional continuum.

The Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres are characterized by high but variable MgO (10–25 wt.%), CaO (5–20 wt.%), TiO₂ (3–10 wt.%) and K₂O (1–4 wt.%), but low SiO₂ (22–37 wt.%) and Al₂O₃ (2–6 wt.%). Higher SiO₂, Al₂O₃, Na₂O and lower CO₂ content distinguish the mela-aillikites from the aillikites. Whereas the bulk rock major and trace element concentrations of the aillikites and mela-aillikites overlap, there is no fractional crystallization relation between them. The major and trace element characteristics imply related parental magmas, with minor olivine and Cr-spinel fractionation accounting for intra-group variation.

The Torngat ultramafic lamprophyres have a Neoproterozoic age and are spatially and compositionally closely related with the Neoproterozoic ultramafic lamprophyres from central West Greenland. Ultramafic potassic-to-carbonatitic magmatism occurred in both eastern Laurentia and western Baltica during the Late Neoproterozoic. It can be inferred from the emplacement ages of the alkaline complexes and timing of Late Proterozoic processes in the North Atlantic region that this volatile-rich, deep-seated igneous activity was a distal effect of the breakup of Rodinia. This occurred during and/or after the rift-to-drift transition that led to the opening of the Iapetus Ocean.     

Geological setting and chemistry of kimberlite clan rocks in the Dharwar Craton, India

Diamond exploration in India over the past decade has led to the discovery of over 80 kimberlite-inferred and lamproite-related intrusions in three of the four major Archean cratons that dominate the subcontinent. These intrusions are Proterozoic (1.1 Ga), and are structurally controlled: locally (at the intersections of faults); regionally (in a 200 km wide, 1000 km long diamond corridor); and globally (in the reconstructed supercontinent of Rodinia). The geochemistry of 57 samples from 13 intrusions in the southern Dharwar Craton of Andhra Pradesh has been determined by XRF spectrometry. The bodies are iron-rich with mg#=50–70 and are neither archetypal kimberlites nor ideal lamproites; this may be the underlying reason that conventional exploration techniques have thus far failed to locate the primary sources of India's historically famous diamonds. The two major fields of kimberlite-clan rocks (KCR) in the Dharwar Craton, Wajrakur and Narayanpet, are separated by a NW–SE trending, transcontinental (Mumbai-Chennai) gravity lineament. About 80% of intrusions in Wajrakur are diamondiferous, but diamonds have not yet been reported in Narayanpet. The gravity anomaly may mark the boundary of an architectural modification in the keel of the sub-continental lithosphere, a suggestion that is supported by differences in kimberlite mineralogy, chemistry, mantle xenoliths, structural setting and crustal host rocks.     

Vegetation dynamics during the late Pleistocene in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil, based on carbon isotopes in soil organic matter

The study place is in the Barreirinhas region, Maranhão State, northeastern Brazil. A vegetation transect of 78 km was studied among four vegetation types: Restinga (coastal vegetation), Cerrado (woody savanna), Cerradão (dense woody savanna), and Forest, as well as three forested sites around Lagoa do Caçó, located approximately 10 km of the transect. Soil profiles in this transect were sampled for δ¹³C analysis, as well as buried charcoal fragments were used for ¹⁴C dating. The data interpretation indicated that approximately between 15,000 and ∼9000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., arboreal vegetation prevailed in the whole transect, probably due to the presence of a humid climate. Approximately between ∼9000 and 4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., there was the expansion of the savanna, probably related to the presence of drier climate. From ∼4000-3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. to the present, the results indicated an increase in the arboreal density in the area, due to the return to a more humid and probably similar climate to the present. The presence of buried charcoal fragments in several soil depths suggested the occurrence of palaeofires during the Holocene. The vegetation dynamic inferred in this study for northeastern Brazil is in agreement with the results obtained in areas of Amazon region, based on pollen analysis of lake sediments and carbon isotope analysis of soil organic matter (SOM), implying than similar climatic conditions have affected these areas during the late Pleistocene until the present.     

A model of Cs activity profile for soil erosion studies in uncultivated soils of Mediterranean environments

A model to simulate ¹³⁷Cs profiles in soils during the time in which they are being eroded is proposed. The model uses one parameter to characterize the cesium transference in the soil and another to express the erosion rate. To test the model, ¹³⁷Cs profiles of stable and eroded soils were collected at sampling sites located on semi-arid and temperate slopes in the Central Ebro basin, Spain. The ¹³⁷Cs profiles, corresponding to uncultivated soils with natural vegetation cover, were simulated using this model. The ¹³⁷Cs inventories and profiles calculated with the model are very similar to those measured experimentally, and thus it is possible to calculate soil erosion rates in physiographically diverse Mediterranean environments.