Methane-induced dolomite “chimneys” on the Kuroshima Knoll, Ryukyu islands, Japan

The Kuroshima Knoll is about 26 km south of Ishigaki Island in the southern part of the Ryukyu Arc. The area is considered to be the source area of “The 1771 Yaeyama Earthquake Tsunami”, which was due to the submarine landslide caused by an earthquake. It has been cleared from some investigations using “Dolphin 3K” and “Shinkai 2000” that there are large-scale dead Calyptogena colonies, many gravels of fallen dolomite chimneys and carbonates on the top of the Knoll [Matsumoto, T., Uechi, C., Kimura, M., 1997; Machiyama, H., Matsumoto, T., Matsumoto, R., Hattori, M., Okano, M., Iwase, R., Tomaru, H., 2001b.]. Carbonates of Kuroshima Knoll have various shapes and macroscopic textures. These have been classified into 4 types; shell crust (pavement), chimney, burrow, and nodule. It is clear that all chimney and burrow carbonates are composed of dolomite, while shell curst and nodule are composed of calcite, sometimes both calcite and dolomite. These carbonates are considered to have been formed by cold seep, because they are characterized by the light carbon isotopic ratio (semi-biogenic) and the heavy oxygen isotopic ratio. This suggests that methane hydrate layers develop under this survey area and the water that has the heavy oxygen and the light carbon isotopic ratio is derived from the dissociation of methane hydrate.     

The Atmospheric Oxidation of the HS Radical: Reaction with NO2

The atmospheric reaction between HS and NO₂ was theoretically investigated at 298 K and 1 atm of pressure. Our results show that the first reaction step will lead to the formation of HSNO₂ or HSONO, spontaneously and exothermically. HSONO easily decomposes into HSO + NO. On the other hand, HSNO₂ can hardly dissociate in the reactants, and its isomerization to other adducts is much hindered. Production of HNO + SO and SNO + OH was found to be unfavorable. Thus, the main products would be HSO + NO and HSNO₂, and new investigations focusing on the atmospheric fate of HSNO₂ are suggested. A general discussion of the fate of HS under atmospheric conditions is presented. Recent investigations indicate that NO₂, O₂ and N₂O should be the most important oxidants of HS, while the O₃ influence will not be significant.     

Bioelectricity generation and remediation of sulfide contaminated tidal flat sediment

A dramatic decrease in the catch of shellfish has been observed due to the high amount of Acid Volatile Sulfide(AVS) in the tidal flats in Japan.In the current study,an evaluation of simultaneous bioelectricity generation and remediation of sulfide contaminated tidal flat sediment has been done.The sediment samples collected from Tokyo Bay and Yamaguchi Bay,Japan,have been used in the laboratory test.A 2 L cylindrical shaped Sediment Microbial Fuel Cell(SMFC) has been used to evaluate the remediation of both sediment samples in the laboratory.Three different electrode materials carbon felt,carbon fiber and bamboo charcoal were used in the experiments to compare their efficiency to reduce the AVS from the sediment and generate bioelectricity.It was observed that the AVS reduction was higher at 5 cm depths for the Tokyo Bay sediment(100%) compared to the Yamaguchi Bay sediment(60%).The larger grain size for the Tokyo Bay sediment was the probable reason for this.The maximum voltage was around 100 and80 mV for Tokyo Bay and Yamaguchi Bay,respectively.     

Determination of the Platinum-Group Elements and Gold in Twenty Rock Reference Materials by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) after Pre-Concentration by Nickel Sulfide Fire Assay

The platinum-group elements (PGE) and gold have been determined in twenty international rock reference materials by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after pre-concentration by a nickel sulfide fire assay. It was possible to achieve determination limits for a 50 g sample that ranged from 1 pg g^-1 (Rh) to 23 pg g^-1 (Au). Compared to published certified and recommended values for rock reference materials, the trueness of the method was found to be good. However, in some cases we observed large deviations for all elements in the sub 10 ng g^-1 range within individual reference sample splits. Our results show that the PGE and Au are inhomogeneously distributed in the reference materials analysed here, where they are present in low concentrations, using 50 g test portions.     

The use of meiofauna as an indicator of benthic organic enrichment associated with salmonid aquaculture

Sediment chemistry and meiofaunal samples were collected in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, to examine the relationship between sediment variables and meiofauna diversity across near- and far-field gradients surrounding several finfish aquaculture operations. The sediment variables examined consisted of free sulfide concentrations, redox potential (E(NHE)), organic content, and sediment grain size. A strong trend between sediment texture and organic content was observed across all sampling locations, which reflected a wide range of sediment types (sand-silt) that exist within the Broughton Archipelago. The abundance of certain meiofaunal groups (kinorhynchs, crustaceans, polychaetes) declined in an asymptotic fashion with increasing free sulfide concentrations, an indicator of benthic organic enrichment. Within these relationships, low meiofaunal abundances occurred in fine sediments associated with higher organic contents. Although other groups (nematodes, foraminifera) showed a slight decline in abundance with increasing organic enrichment, a high amount of variability in abundance was observed at high free sulfide concentrations, rendering these groups not suitable as indicators of organic enrichment. This study reports both horizontal and vertical trends in meiofaunal distributions relative to free sulfide concentrations. The abundance of nematode and crustacean taxa decreased with sediment depth as well as increasing sulfide concentration, while polycheate abundance increased with increasing free sulfide concentration. The ratio of nematodes to copepods was also shown to represent the degree of organic loading associated with aquaculture operations and its application as an indicator of benthic impact is discussed.     

低温平衡ZnS-PbS-FeS-H_2S四组分体系的热力学分析

本文介绍了热力学相图在浅成低温热液硫化物矿床中的应用,并以三江地区金顶铅锌矿床中的矿物含量为例进行定量分析。一方面在相同温度下,浓度与矿物(组合)之间存在对应关系,并且一些矿物(组合)对应特定的酸碱条件,例如在400K和105Pa条件下,黄铁矿与方铅矿的组合在碱性环境下稳定,而方铅矿与闪锌矿的组合在酸性环境中稳定,且酸性条件下当lg[Pb2+]≥-11.29时,才开始出现方铅矿;另一方面对比了298.15K和400K条件下矿物共生组合的及介质pH值的变化情况,并得到400K条件下形成矿物或矿物组合所需离子的浓度更高。     

硫化铜矿生物浸出过程热力学研究

绘制了Cu-Fe-S-H2O体系在不同温度、反应物浓度条件下的E-pH图。通过分析比较发现,体系反应温度升高,有利于矿物溶解浸出反应的进行,反应物浓度应保持在一定的范围内,更有利于浸出反应的进行;热力学计算的反应物及产物在氧化浸出体系的变化与工业生产基本一致。     

Thioploca spp. sheaths as niches for bacterial and protistan assemblages

Sulfide oxidizing bacterial mats are common in regions of the continental shelves characterized by high primary production and the resultant oxygen minimum zone. These mats are made up of several species of Beggiatoa and/or Thioploca, which oxidize sulfide that is generated in the sediment. Thioploca spp. inhabit a large polysaccharide sheath that encompasses bundles of 1–20 filaments (trichomes), each ranging from 3 to 60 μm in diameter. This sheath has been shown to be a critical component of the autecology of Thioploca. Analysis of Thioploca from cold seeps in Monterey Bay using light and transmission electron microscopy identified new and diverse microbial assemblages associated with interstitial spaces between trichomes, inside the sheath. Small diameter, non‐vacuolate, filamentous prokaryotes were numerous. Amoebae, euglenozoa, ciliates and other protists of unknown affiliation were observed in sheaths. Most of the protists possessed food vacuoles and some protists showed ultrastructural evidence of endosymbionts. These observations suggest that Thioploca sheaths may serve as oases on the sea floor, providing nutritional and detoxification services to previously unrecognized microbial partners.     

西澳州Cattle Creek地区铜镍硫化物矿床成矿潜力探讨

西澳州Catlle Creek地区位于金伯利地块西缘霍尔斯克里克(Halls Creek)活动带上,附近发育有深大断裂。研究区内发现多处基性-超基性小岩体及岩脉且存在两处矿化点(带),存在两处1∶5万土壤地球化学甲类综合异常区,二者均主要由Cu、Ni、Au、Mo、Co等元素组成,多个浓集中心,异常套合较好,Cu、Ni的极大值均超过或接近边界品位,甚至工业品位,二者与矿化等信息套合良好。岩体中岩石样品主量元素特征显示其具有辉长岩-苏长岩的成矿专属性特征;在AFM图解上,岩石样品显示原始岩浆为高MgO拉斑玄武岩系列。微量元素原始地幔标准化蛛网图表明岩体岩浆演化过程中发生过明显的陆壳物质同化混染作用。稀土元素配分图反映出成岩过程中有相似的分异演化过程,并表明岩浆在演化过程中存在明显橄榄石分离结晶作用。研究区与萨凡纳矿床具有很高的可对比性,同时符合古大陆内小岩体成矿系统理论。表明研究区具较高的成矿潜力。     

金川铜镍硫化物矿床2号矿体铂族及亲铜元素地球化学特征

系统分析了金川Ⅱ号岩体中2号矿体西端、中部和东端的硫化物矿石中的铂族元素(PGE)和亲铜元素地球化学特征,以期探讨这些元素的空间变化规律及其成因,以及对金川矿床成矿过程的指示意义。研究结果表明:100%硫化物中,PGE(Ir、Ru、Rh、Pt、Pd)总体从西端到东端逐渐降低,且浸染状矿石和海绵陨铁状矿石的100%硫化物中PGE和亲铜元素含量的变化特征相似。表明金川2号矿体硫化物矿石的PGE和亲铜元素的含量主要受硫化物熔离作用的约束,硫化物熔体分离结晶和后期热液蚀变影响不明显。2号矿体浸染状矿石的100%硫化物中,PGE和亲铜元素含量总体低于1号矿体浸染状矿石的含量,但是前者西端的样品与后者东端的样品,上述元素特征相似,暗示二者是同一岩浆通道系统中硫化物熔离的产物,并且硫化物熔离形成2号矿体时具有比1号矿体低的R值,这也暗示了含矿岩浆是自1号矿体向2号矿体流动的。