Evidence for freeze–thaw events and their implications for rock weathering in northern Canada

Discussions regarding weathering in cold environments generally centre on mechanical processes and on the freeze–thaw mechanism in particular. Despite the almost ubiquitous assumption of freeze–thaw weathering, unequivocal proof of interstitial rock water actually freezing and thawing is singularly lacking. Equally, many studies have used the crossing of 0 °C, or values close to that, as the basis for determining the number of ‘freeze–thaw events’. In order to assess the weathering regime at a site in northern Canada, temperatures were collected at the surface, 1 cm and 3 cm depth for sets of paving bricks, with exposures both vertical and at 45°, orientated to the four cardinal directions. Temperature data were collected at 1 min intervals for 1 year. These data provide unequivocal proof for the occurrence of the freezing and thawing of water on and within the rock (freeze–thaw events). The freeze event is evidenced by the exotherm associated with the release of latent heat as the water actually freezes. This is thought to be the ?rst record of such events from a ?eld situation. More signi?cantly, it was found that the temperature at which freezing occurred varied signi?cantly through the year and that on occasion the 1 cm depth froze prior to the rock surface. The change in freeze temperature is thought to be due to the chemical weathering of the material (coupled with on‐going salt inputs via the melting of snowfall), which, it is shown, could occur throughout the winter despite air temperatures down to ?30 °C. This ?nding regarding chemical weathering is also considered to be highly signi?cant. A number of thermal stress events were also recorded, suggesting that rock weathering in cold regions is a synergistic combination of various chemical and mechanical weathering mechanisms. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

化学腐蚀下砂岩三轴细观损伤机理及损伤变量分析

利用CT识别技术对化学腐蚀下的砂岩进行了三轴加载全过程的即时扫描试验，得到了在不同级荷载作用下砂岩的压密、微裂纹萌生、扩展和破裂的CT图像和CT数，分析了砂岩损伤演化的细观机理。同时，建立了一个基于化学腐蚀影响和CT数的损伤变量模型。     

安徽铜陵矿集区海底喷流沉积体系的流体包裹体微量元素对比

铜陵矿集区与铜-金(多金属)矿床有关的热液活动主要有两大体系。即与海西期海底喷流沉积有关的热液体系和与矽卡岩矿化有关的燕山期岩浆热液体系。查明这两类热液体系的流体包裹体特征对区域找矿和矿床成因研究都有实际意义。在包裹体岩相学研究基础上，应用ICP-MS技术和热爆提取方法，研究了新桥、冬瓜山、峙门口、铜官山、朝山等矿床具代表性的热液石英中流体包裹体的微量元素、稀土元素特征。结果表明，两类热液体系在流体包裹体特征上有较大的区别，在流体的微量元素和稀土元素特征方面也很不相同。海底喷流沉积体系的热液石英中流体包裹体与岩浆热液体系的相比。稀土总量较高，LREE／HREE比值较大，δEu不明显。且Mo／(W Sn)比值较高，反映流体中成矿物质的深源特征；Ga／T1、Rb／Cs大。Zr／Hf低，也不同于岩浆热液体系。     

豫西济源谭庄组河流沉积中的Stipsellus遗迹组构

豫西济源盆地上三叠统谭庄组下段为曲流河沉积。本文通过描述和分析谭庄组河流沉积特征，划分了4种不同河流沉积组合类型，识别出Stipsellus遗迹组构，并发现该遗迹组构常与曲流河沉积物伴生，可作为此类沉积的典型生物遗迹标志。其中，Stipsellus sp．A代表发育在河漫滩较浅水体下或潮湿的软底细粒沉积物中的一种遗迹组构类型；Stipsellus sp．B则代表发育在曲流砂坝上部的男一种遗迹组构类型。     

磷对金刚石增强型硬质合金复合齿性能的影响

在金刚石增强型硬质合金复合齿基体中添加不同量红磷，可降低复合齿烧结温度，实现低温活化烧结。研究表明：添加0．3％(ωB)P的复合齿基体性能最好，采用化学镀Ni-P合金添加P和球磨添加0．1％P的方式，复合齿超硬部分的磨耗比和复合齿的抗冲击功优于单纯通过球磨添加0．3％P的超硬复合齿。为了实现金刚石增强型硬质合金复合齿的低温活化烧结，磷元素最优的添加方式是化学镀结合球磨的添加方式。     

Mantle Xenoliths from the Southeastern Slave Craton: Evidence for Chemical Zonation in a Thick, Cold Lithosphere

We present the first data on the petrology of the mantle lithosphereof the Southeastern (SE) Slave craton, Canada. These are basedon petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical studies of mantlexenoliths in Pipe 5034 of the Cambrian Gahcho Kué kimberlitecluster. Major types of mantle xenoliths include altered eclogite,coarse garnet or spinel peridotite, and deformed garnet peridotite.The peridotites belong to the low-temperature suite and formedat T=600–1300°C and P= 25–80 kbar in a thick(at least 220–250 km), cool lithosphere. The SE Slavemantle is cooler than the mantle of other Archaean cratons andthat below other terranes of the Slave craton. The thick lithosphereand the relatively cool thermal regime provide favourable conditionsfor formation and preservation of diamonds beneath the SE Slaveterrane. Similar to average Archaean mantle worldwide, the SESlave peridotite is depleted in magmaphile major elements andcontains olivine with forsterite content of 91–93·5.With respect to olivine composition and mode, all terranes ofthe Slave mantle show broadly similar compositions and are relativelyorthopyroxene-poor compared with those of the Kaapvaal and Siberiancratons. The SE Slave spinel peridotite is poorer in Al, Caand Fe, and richer in Mg than deeper garnet peridotite. Thegreater chemical depletion of the shallow upper mantle is typicalof all terranes of the Slave craton and may be common for thesubcontinental lithospheric peridotitic mantle in general. Peridotiticxenoliths of the SE Slave craton were impregnated by kimberliticfluids that caused late-stage recrystallization of primary clinopyroxene,spinel, olivine and spinel-facies orthopyroxene, and formationof interstitial clinopyroxene. This kimberlite-related recrystallizationdepleted primary pyroxenes and spinel in Al. The kimberliticfluid was oxidizing, Ti-, Fe- and K-rich, and Na-poor, and introducedserpentine, chlorite, phlogopite and spinel into peridotitesat P < 35 kbar. KEY WORDS: kimberlite xenolith; lithosphere; mantle terrane; chemical zoning; thermobarometry; Slave craton     

Accurate U-Pb Age and Trace Element Determinations of Zircon by Laser Ablation-Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry

Various zircons of Proterozoic to Oligocene ages (1060-31 Ma) were analysed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Calibration was performed using Harvard reference zircon 91500 or Australian National University reference zircon TEMORA 1 as external calibrant. The results agree with those obtained by SIMS within 2s error. Twenty-four trace and rare earth elements (P, Ti, Cr, Y, Nb, fourteen REE, Hf, Ta, Pb, Th and U) were analysed on four fragments of zircon 91500. NIST SRM 610 was used as the reference material and ²⁹Si was used as internal calibrant. Based on determinations of four fragments, this zircon shows significant intra-and inter-fragment variations in the range from 10% to 85% on a scale of 120 μm, with the variation of REE concentrations up to 38.7%, although the chondrite-normalised REE distributions are very similar. In contrast, the determined age values for zircon 91500 agree with TIMS data and are homogeneous within 8.7 Ma (2 s ). A two-stage ablation strategy was developed for optimising U-Pb age determinations with satisfactory trace element and REE results. The first cycle of ablation was used to collect data for age determination only, which was followed by continuous ablation on the same spot to determine REE and trace element concentrations. Based on this procedure, it was possible to measure zircon ages as low as 30.37 0.39 Ma (MSWD = 1.4; 2 s ). Other examples for older zircons are also given.     

L'archivage des activités humaines par les neiges et glaces polaires : le cas du plomb

The investigation of the occurrence of lead in dated snow and ice from Greenland and Antarctica has played a major role in our understanding of the history of the pollution of the atmosphere of our planet by this metal. Such studies have however proved to be very demanding, mainly because of the extreme purity of polar snow and ice. Reliable measurements can be obtained only if ultra-clean and highly sensitive procedures are used, as pioneered by Clair Patterson. The Greenland data show evidence of large-scale pollution of the atmosphere of the Northern Hemisphere for lead as early as two millennia ago during Greco–Roman times, especially because of mining and smelting activities in southern Spain. It peaked at the end of the 1960s, with lead concentrations in snow about 200 times higher than natural values, before declining during recent times because of the fall in the use of leaded gasoline. Lead pollution in Antarctica was already significant at the end of the 19th century as a consequence of whaling activities, the traffic of coal-powered ships crossing the Cape Horn, and mining activities in South America, South Africa and Australia. After declining because of the opening of the Panama Canal, the great economic depression and World War II, it reached a maximum during the 1980s, with lead concentrations 20 times higher than natural values. Other studies focus on past natural variations of lead in ancient ice dated from the last climatic cycles. To cite this article: C. Boutron et al., C. R. Geoscience 336 (2004).     

Chemical forms of heavy metal contaminants in sediments of Miyun reservoir

The chemical forms, spatial distribution and sources of As, Hg, Cd, Pb and Zn in sediments of the Miyun reservoir were studied. The results of sequential extraction demonstrate that most of As, Pb and Zn were bound to the residual fraction, Hg was associated with the sulfide fraction while Cd was associated with the carbonate fraction and the residual fraction. On the vertical profiles the concentrations of the heavy metals in total and each fractions mostly decreased with increasing depths in sediments, suggesting that the heavy metals input from the upstream watershed increases yearly. Summation of the residual fraction, the sulfide fraction and the carbonate fraction accounts for 60.03%―85.60% of the total heavy metal contents in the sediments, which represent the geochemical background values of the elements and relate closely to soil erosion. Results of the main factor analysis show that most sediments of the reservoir come from the upstream soil erosion, the point source pollution and domestic waste. Moreover, the microbial activities taking place on the sediment-water interface are also one of the major factors to cause the increasing content of the organic matter fraction and the iron-manganese oxide fraction. Environmental change of the reservoir water could make the removability of the heavy metals increase, leading to the increase of their concentrations in pore water in sediments, and imperiling water quality of the reservoir.     

An invariance in the carbazoles of petroleum

A remarkable invariance in the ratio of 1,3-dimethylcarbazole （DMC） to 1,6-DMC was discovered in crude oils from the Pearl River Mouth Basin, South China Sea. The remarkably invariant ratio is kept at a constant of about unity regardless of their concentrations, sources or maturities for the sampies. In combination with the molecular structures of 1,3- and 1,6-DMCs, the invariance might indicate that the nitrogen compounds share a common precursor with a skeleton of 1-methylcarbazole and are formed through methylation at C3 and C6 with an essentially identical rate.