Quartz luminescence sensitivity from sediment versus bedrock in highly weathered soils of the Piedmont of North Carolina,south-eastern USA

Deeply weathered soils cover most of the Piedmont physiographic province of the south-eastern United States of America (USA). These soils have traditionally been inferred to derive from weathered bedrock, but recent work (e.g. Ferguson et al., 2019) suggests that deposited sediments are more prevalent than recognized. Distinguishing sediment from weathered bedrock is integral to understanding critical-zone processes and overall Quaternary landscape evolution, yet the well-developed, red, clay-dominated Ultisols of this temperate and humid region mask differences between transported from non-transported material. Our goal is to determine if optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods can distinguish quartz sand from allochthonous (e.g. transported sediment) versus autochthonous (e.g. in situ weathered bedrock) material in soil-profile and core samples from the Redlair Observatory in southwestern North Carolina, USA. Here, we turn to OSL sensitivity and linear-modulated OSL (LM-OSL) to observe the intensity or lack thereof of the fast-decay luminescence component (most light-sensitive signal) in quartz grains from soil horizons and crystalline bedrock-derived saprolite. We find that quartz grains sampled from in situ weathered bedrock as well as from saprolotized clasts of rock have weak luminescence properties and are not dominated by a fast-decay luminescence component. In contrast, quartz grains from transported sediment (e.g. mobile regolith; colluvium; alluvium) contain sensitive grains with more dominant fast components. These results suggest that quartz luminescence sensitivity can be a tool to differentiate between in situ weathered bedrock and similar looking mobile regolith and colluvium over-printed by soil development.     

中国典型有机污染场地土层岩性和污染物特征分析

目前我国存在大量待修复场地,其分布具有一定的规律性和区域性,场地地层系统结构复杂、渗透性空间异质性显著,污染物种类复杂。总结场地典型土层结构和典型污染物有助于有针对性地开展修复技术的研发。为此,本文收集并整理了全国136处有机污染场地相关资料,对其地域性、地层及污染物特征总结如下:目前我国已经开展调查与修复的有机污染场地主要集中在京津冀和沪宁杭地区;有机污染场地土层基本都含有黏土等低渗透介质,而且都具有非均质性,其中67%场地土层有强非均质性;沪宁杭地区场地土层渗透性总体低于京津冀和辽中南地区,此外我国京津冀和辽中南地区场地调查深度(20.3 m)总体大于沪宁杭地区(12.8 m);我国有机污染场地地下水中最常见的有机污染物种类为氯代溶剂,依次为氯代烷烃类(场地数量占比84%)、氯代苯类(场地数量占比46%)和氯代烯烃类(场地数量占比33%);最常见的3种氯代溶剂依次为二氯乙烷、一氯苯和三氯甲烷。     

Quality Control and Evaluation of the Observed Daily Data in the North American Soil Moisture Database

The North American Soil Moisture Database (NASMD) was initiated in 2011 to assemble and homogenize in situ soil moisture measurements from 32 observational networks in the United States and Canada encompassing more than 1800 stations. Although statistical quality control (QC) procedures have been applied in the NASMD, the soil moisture content tends to be systematically underestimated by in situ sensors in frozen soils, and using a single maximum threshold (i.e., 0.6 m3 m-3) may not be sufficient for robust QC because of the diverse soil textures in North America. In this study, based on the in situ soil porosity and North American Land Data Assimilation System phase 2 (NLDAS-2) Noah soil temperature, the simple automated QC method is revised to supplement the existing QC approach. This revised QC method is first validated based on the assessment at 78 of the Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) stations where the manually checked data are available, and is then applied to all stations in the NASMD to produce a more strict quality-controlled dataset. The results show that the revised automated QC procedure can flag the spurious and erroneous soil moisture measurements for the SCAN stations, especially for those located in high altitudes and latitudes. Relative to station measurements in the original NASMD, the quality-controlled data show a slightly better agreement with the manually checked soil moisture content. It should be noted that this quality-controlled dataset may be over-flagged for some valid soil moisture measurements due to potential errors of the soil temperature and soil porosity data, and validation in this study is limited by the availability of benchmark soil moisture data. The updated QC and additional validation will be desirable to boost confidence in the product when high-quality data become available in the future.     

Review and Prospect of the Study on Soil Wind Erosion Process

Soil wind erosion processes include mechanical process and dynamic changes of the factors affecting soil wind erosion, as well as the corresponding changes of wind erosion rate. The former is rich in experimental and theoretical researches that have clearly defined the process of particle starting, transporting and settling. The latter focuses on the dynamic changes of various wind erosion factors and the response of soil wind erosion rate to the change of the factors, of which systematic research of which is very limited. The difficulties in research of soil wind erosion process include: ①Dynamic parameterization of wind erosion factors; ②Observation and quantitative expression of the dynamic changes of wind erosion factors; ③Scaling problem of wind erosion process; ④Prediction ability of wind erosion models. At present, it is urgent to carry out the following work on soil wind erosion. The first is to establish standard wind erosion observation field in typical regions to obtain continuous and complete data of wind erosion in the field; the second is to study the saturation path of wind sand flow to solve scale problem; and the third is to construct a wind erosion model with solid theoretical foundation and fully consider both mechanical process of soil wind erosion and dynamic changes of the factors.     

滇西金宝山铂钯矿床S-Os同位素特征及其对成矿过程的制约

金宝山铂钯矿床位于扬子板块西缘,毗邻哀牢山造山带北段,是三江成矿带唯一的大型岩浆型铂族元素矿床。以往的研究中,金宝山岩体是否经历地壳混染存在较大争议,制约了对硫饱和机制和矿床成因的认识。前人对矿石中硫化物的S同位素的研究发现绝大部分δ~(34)S值位于1‰~2‰,表现为幔源特征,显示少量或无明显地壳混染作用。本文对含非常规硫化物组合(紫硫镍矿-黄铁矿-黄铜矿)的矿石展开了同位素研究,结合最新研究数据,利用质量平衡原理定量建立了R值(硅酸盐岩浆/硫化物)、百分百硫化物PGE含量和δ~(34)S之间的关系。富PGE矿石具有较高的R值(2000~10000)和PGE含量(如Ir百分百硫化物:2429×10~(-9)~10738×10~(-9)),并具有地幔特征的δ~(34)S范围(1‰~2‰),而贫PGE(如Ir百分百硫化物:449×10~(-9)~2017×10~(-9))的矿石R值较低(500~2000),表现出显著的地壳S同位素的特征(4.4‰~6.7‰)。此外,Re-Os同位素研究表明金宝山铂钯矿床相比一些富硫化物铜镍矿床(如力马河和杨柳坪)具有较低的γOs(21.9~60.5)和较高R值,是大量岩浆与硫化物反应导致的结果,表明其矿石γOs的高低并不能直接反应岩体的地壳混染程度。因此我们在利用S-Os同位素在研究岩浆型铜镍铂族元素矿床时需特别注意,虽然δ~(34)S和γOs的大小通常作为研究地壳混染作用的指示剂,但它们却往往受到矿床类型(铂钯矿床、铜镍矿床)以及矿石类型(富PGE矿石、贫PGE矿石)的影响。特别是对于高R值的铂族元素矿床,矿石呈现出接近幔源特征的δ~(34)S和γOs同位素值并不能排除其在形成的过程中没有地壳物质的加入,而应综合SrNd同位素以及微量元素地球化学特征综合判断是否发生了明显的地壳混染作用。     

塔里木东北缘早二叠世坡东铜镍硫化物矿床成矿特征与岩石成因

新疆北山坡北基性-超基性岩体位于塔里木板块东北缘,形成于早二叠世,赋存了坡一、坡十超大型铜镍硫化物矿床,以贫矿为主,赋存于橄榄岩相中。近年在坡一矿床东部勘探过程中,新发现了海绵陨铁状富矿,赋存于辉长苏长岩相中,命名为坡东铜镍硫化物矿床,为该区找矿对象提供了新的线索。坡北岩体的地质背景、岩石成因与成矿机制存在较大的争议,本研究在坡东矿床最新勘探钻孔中取得一系列样品,从年代学、岩石地球化学、同位素地球化学角度进行了系统剖析,对比坡一矿床的成岩成矿特征。发现坡东矿床中与成矿相关的辉长苏长岩相的全岩m/f值、εNd(t)值及橄榄石的Fo值明显低于坡一矿床,指示坡东矿床中赋矿岩相的岩浆演化程度相对较高,随着岩浆演化程度增高,地壳混染作用影响增强。岩石学与地球化学研究指示:坡东矿床是岩浆在地壳浅部发生分离结晶和地壳混染,岩浆达到硫化物饱和并发生硫化物熔离后成矿;坡一矿床是岩浆在深部发生橄榄石与铬尖晶石结晶,通过岩浆自身结晶分异导致硫化物饱和成矿。结合前人研究成果,提出坡北岩体的形成可能与～275Ma塔里木地幔柱事件有关,岩体的母岩浆来自亏损型地幔,具有OIB特征,地幔源区遭受了流体的交代作用。     

Landslide scar/soil erodibility mapping using Landsat TM/ETM+ bands 7 and 3 Normalised Difference Index: A case study of central region of Kenya

Landsat series multispectral remote sensing imagery has gained increasing attention in providing solutions to environmental problems such as land degradation which exacerbate soil erosion and landslide disasters in the case of rainfall events. Multispectral data has facilitated the mapping of soils, land-cover and structural geology, all of which are factors affecting landslide occurrence. The main aim of this research was to develop a methodology to visualize and map past landslides as well as identify land degradation effects through soil erosion and land-use using remote sensing techniques in the central region of Kenya. The study area has rugged terrain and rainfall has been the main source of landslide trigger. The methodology comprised visualizing landslide scars using a False Colour Composite (FCC) and mapping soil erodibility using FCC components applying expert based classification. The components of the FCC were: the first independent component (IC1), Principal Component (PC) with most geological information, and a Normalised Difference Index (NDI) involving Landsat TM/ETM+ band 7 and 3.The FCC components formed the inputs for knowledge-based classification with the following 13 classes: runoff, extreme erosions, other erosions, landslide areas, highly erodible, stable, exposed volcanic rocks, agriculture, green forest, new forest regrowth areas, clear, turbid and salty water. Validation of the mapped landslide areas with field GPS locations of landslide affected areas showed that 66% of the points coincided well with landslide areas mapped in the year 2000. The classification maps showed landslide areas on the steep ridge faces, other erosions in agricultural areas, highly erodible zones being already weathered rocks, while runoff were mainly fluvial deposits. Thus, landuse and rainfall processes play a major role in inducing landslides in the study area.     

Total concentration,speciation and mobility of potentially toxic elements in soils around a mining area in central Iran

The current study was designed to investigate the extent and severity of contamination as well as the fractionation of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni) in minesoils and agricultural soils around a Pb–Zn mine in central Iran. For this purpose, 20 agricultural soils and eight minesoils were geochemically characterized. Results showed that minesoils contained elevated concentrations of As (12.9–254 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (1.2–55.1 mg kg⁻¹), Pb (137–6239 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (516–48,889 mg kg⁻¹). The agricultural soils were also polluted by As (5.5–57.1 mg kg⁻¹), Cd (0.2–8.5 mg kg⁻¹), Pb (22–3451 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (94–9907 mg kg⁻¹). The highest recorded concentrations for these elements were in soils influenced directly by tailing ponds. Chromium, Cu and Ni content in agricultural soils (with average value of 74.1, 34.6 and 50.7 mg kg⁻¹, respectively) were slightly higher than the minesoils (with average value of 54.5, 33.1 and 43.4 mg kg⁻¹, respectively). Sequential extraction data indicated that there were some differences between the speciation of PTEs in soil samples. In the agricultural soils, Zn and Cd were mainly associated with carbonate bound fraction, As and Pb with reducible fraction, Cu with oxidisable fraction and Cr and Ni with residual phase. With respect to mobility factor values, Zn and Cd in the agricultural soils have been found to be the most mobile while As mobility is negligible. Also, the mobility factor of As, Cd and Pb in agricultural soils adjoining tailing ponds was high. In minesoil sample Cd was most abundant in the carbonate form, whereas other studied elements were mainly present in the reducible and residual fractions; therefore, despite the high total concentrations of As, Pb and Zn in the minesoils, the environmental risk of these elements was low. Based on the obtained data, a portion of Cu, Cr and Ni input was from agricultural activities.     

Multiple,isotopically heterogeneous plagioclase populations in the Bushveld Complex suggest mush intrusion

The Bushveld Complex and other layered intrusions show significant initial isotopic heterogeneity, both between and within co-existing cumulate minerals. Various processes have been proposed to account for this, including (i) intrusion of variably contaminated crystal mushes from deeper staging chambers, (ii) blending of semi-consolidated crystal mushes as a result of subsidence during cooling, (iii) variable infiltration of contaminants into a partially solidified crystal mush, (iv) density-driven mixing of minerals from isotopically distinct magma pulses, (v) contamination of crystals at the roof of the intrusion and mechanical incorporation of such contaminated crystals into the lower crystallisation front as a result of gravitational instability at the upper crystallisation front, and (vi) late-stage metasomatic processes. In order to assess the likely process(es) responsible for initial isotopic heterogeneities within the Bushveld Complex, we analysed core and rim domains of 12 plagioclase crystals from the Main and Upper zones of the Bushveld Complex for their Sr-isotopic compositions. The data show the presence of multiple, isotopically heterogeneous populations of plagioclase occurring within the same rocks. The data presented here are best explained through the intrusion of variably contaminated crystal mushes derived from a sub-compartmentalized, sub-Bushveld staging chamber that underwent different degrees of contamination with crustal rocks of the Kaapvaal craton.     

Available contents of potentially toxic elements in soils from the Eastern Amazon

Background Values of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in soils are typically obtained from total or pseudo-total contents, but not represent the fraction of these elements available for plant uptake due to the predominance of the stable forms. Available contents to plants, in turn, tend to be positively correlated with the potential risk of contamination of PTEs. In this study, we determined the available contents, extracted with Mehlich-III solution, of Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn in Oxisols and Ultisols in the state of Pará, Eastern Amazon, Brazil. Available contents ranged from low to very low when compared to soils from other Brazilian regions and from other countries. Contents of PTE were higher in Oxisols than in Ultisols, except for Cu and Ni. In the Oxisols, PTEs were positively correlated with clay content. However, PTEs were not correlated with soil pH, organic matter and cation exchange capacity. In the Ultisols, Ba, Cu, Pb, and Mn contents were significantly correlated with pH, while Ni contents were correlated with the contents of silt.