Authigenic replacement of cyanobacterially precipitated calcium carbonate by aluminium‐silicates in giant microbialites of Lake Van (Turkey)

Studies of modern cyanobacterial mats and biofilms show that they can precipitate minerals as a consequence of metabolic and degradational activities paired with ambient hydrochemical conditions. This study looked at modern microbial mats forming giant, tower‐like, groundwater‐fed, calcareous microbialites in the world's largest, highly alkaline lake; Van Gölü (Lake Van), East Turkey. Results show that microbial systems play a role not only in carbonate precipitation but also in the formation of siliceous mineral phases. Transmitted light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and spectral observations revealed that, within the extracellular polymeric substances excreted by the mats abundant minute aragonite grains precipitated first in vivo. These minute grains were quickly succeeded and/or supplemented in the dead biomass of the cyanobacterial mat by authigenic Al–Mg–Fe siliceous phases. Silicon dioxide is available in large concentrations in the highly alkaline water of Lake Van. Divalent cations (Ca and Mg) are delivered to the microbialites mostly by groundwater springs. The precipitation of the fine‐grained siliceous phases is probably mediated by bacteria degrading the cyanobacterial biomass and complexing the excessive cations with their extracellular polymeric envelopes. The bacteria serve as nucleation centres for the subsequent precipitation of siliceous mineral phases. Generally, the biphasic (calcareous and siliceous) mineralization – characterizing Lake Van microbialites – is controlled by their interior highly dynamic hydrogeochemical situation. There, the dramatically different alkaline lake water and the Ca–Mg‐charged groundwater mix at various rates. The early diagenetic replacement of the in vivo aragonite by authigenic siliceous phases significantly increases the fossilization potential of the mat‐forming cyanobacteria. Lake Van and its giant microbialite tufa towers act as a model explaining the transformation of early diagenetic mineral phases observed in many modern and ancient carbonate marine deposits, particularly those influenced by diffusion of silica‐enriched and metal‐enriched pore waters from below the water–sediment interface.     

五氟化溴法测定硅酸盐及氧化物矿物氧同位素组成的影响因素研究

应用五氟化溴法(BrF5)测定硅酸盐及氧化物矿物的氧同位素组成,试剂纯化、样品预处理、环境湿度、反应器洁净程度以及实验质量控制是影响该法准确度的主要因素。为确定BrF5法最佳实验条件,提高分析精度,本文以国家标准物质为参考,对硅酸盐及氧化物矿物在不同焙烧温度下的氧同位素组成进行分析,并对实验环境湿度和反应器洁净程度对分析数据质量的影响进行了系统研究。实验确定了焙烧温度设置为650～750℃,可去除硅酸盐全岩样品中的炭质成分,避免了温度因素引起的同位素分馏;将实验环境相对湿度降低至50%RH,并在0. 5min内完成样品装填,可解决由于水汽造成δ18O值明显偏低的突出问题;对于新使用的反应器,或反应器在使用中有黄色物质脱落、内壁受到污染,及时进行氟化处理和清洗,可避免因氧气产率降低所引起的氧同位素分馏;反应器交替进行样品和标准物质CO2试样的制备,可对样品同位素数据的可靠性进行监测。对国家标准GBW04409的氧同位素组成进行测试,δ18O测试结果与推荐值一致,分析精度优于0. 1‰。以上途径有效控制了氧同位素分馏,提高了BrF5氧同位素分析方法的适用性。     

Calculation of the configurational entropy of Al, Si in layer silicates using the cluster variation method

Entropies of Al-Si in layer silicates have been calculated using a series of CVM approximations for the honeycomb lattice. The parameters of the models have been constrained by ²⁹Si NMR data. The results of low order approximations such as “pair” and “star” have been rejected because of their low accuracy at high Al/(Al+Si) ratios. Reasonably accurate results have been achieved with the help of the “hexagon” and “star-hexagon” approximations. Received: 31 October 1997 / Revised, accepted: 17 April 1998     

Mid-Infrared Spectro-Imaging Observations Of Comet Hale-Bopp

Comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) was observed with camiras, the Saclay mid-infrared camera, mounted on the Nordic Optical Telescope (Roque de los Muchachos, La Palma), from April 14th to April 25th, 1997. This observing run was part of the European campaign devoted to Hale-Bopp observations from the Canary Islands (PI R. West). camiras spectro-imaging capabilities, achieved with a Circular Variable Filter (of spectral resolution R ≈ 50), were used to obtain spectra of the comet in the N atmospheric window (8–13 μm) over a large field of view (52″ × 78″), at a spatial resolution of ∼1 arcsec. Data were also collected at shorter wavelengths (in the L and M bands). The silicate dust feature around 10 μm is clearly apparent in the data. The shape of the feature varies continuously according to the position in the field. A dust model developed at Saclay in the framework of β-Pictoris dust disk studies was used to interpret the observations. The presence of both olivine and pyroxene with a high degree of crystallinity is needed to account for the observations. A change in the size distribution of the grains allows to reproduce the spatial change of the silicate feature according to the position in the field. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

地幔中水的研究进展

地幔中的水水地地幔地球化学动力学、地球物理场有着重要的影响,而且对认识地内部挥发分的再循环以及整个行星地球的演化均有着关键性的科学意义。简要评述了一领域的研究进展,介绍了地幔中水的赋存状态,位置及其影响因素,并初步估算了地幔中水的含量     

A relationship between phonon conductivity and seismic parameter Φ for silicate minerals

Summary The relationship between the phonon conductivity at room temperature (K _N ) and the seismic parameter () for silicate minerals is suggested. The considerations are based on the Debye model of thermal energy transport phenomena in solids and on the seismic equation of state for silicates and oxides given byAnderson (1967). The semiempirical relationship is the formK _N = 0.43^0.82 where is in km²/s² andK _N in mcal/cm s K, and the empirical relationship isK _N =(0.528±0.006) –(8.18±2.11). The laboratory data on thermal and elastic properties for several silicates were taken fromHorai andSimmons (1970).     

Trace-element distributions in silicates during prograde metamorphic reactions: implications for monazite formation

To assess the petrogenetic relationship between monazite and major silicates during prograde metamorphism, REE were measured across coexisting zoned silicates in garnet through kyanite‐grade pelitic schists from the Great Smoky Mountains, western Blue Ridge terrane, southern Appalachians, to establish REE concentrations and distributions before and after the monazite‐in isograd, and to identify the role major silicates play in the formation of monazite. Results indicate significant scavenging of light rare‐earth elements (LREE) from silicates during the monazite‐in isograd reaction; however, the absolute concentration of LREE hosted in the silicates was insufficient to produce monazite in the quantity observed in these schists. Monazite must have formed mainly from either the dissolution of allanite or some other source of concentrated LREE (possibly adsorbed onto grain boundaries), even though direct evidence for allanite is lacking in a majority of the samples. Laser‐ablation ICP‐MS analyses and theoretical thermodynamic calculations show that monazite may have formed as a result of contributions from both allanite and major silicates. Allanite breakdown initially formed monazite, and monazite production drew LREE liberated from allanite, major silicates and possibly from crystal boundaries. In many rocks the reaction was further promoted by the staurolite‐in reaction, allowing for rapid, isogradic monazite growth.     

Geneses of Two Types of Mafic Rocks to Carry Placer‐Magnetite Ores in the Sanin Granitic Belt,SW Japan

Two types of mafic rocks from the central Sanin district, and their mafic minerals, were studied chemically and microscopically. They are classified into pyroxene‐containing gabbroid and hornblende–biotite quartz diorite. The gabbroid had higher color index but lower magnetite content; while the quartz diorite had lower color index, but higher magnetite content. The magnetite contents are also related to the amounts of hydrous mafic silicates. The gabbroic magma having pyroxene–amphibole assemblage, originated in the upper mantle, was considered essentially anhydrous, but became partly hydrous on the way to the site of solidification in the continental crust, and crystallized some magnetites with hypersthene and amphibole. The quartz dioritic magma was formed by partial melting of possibly subducting ocean‐floor basalts, once exposed to the sea‐floor then altered; thus the magmas became hydrous and oxidized originally, and precipitated abundant magnetite and hydrous mafic silicates from the early crystallization stage onward. Their weathered parts provided the most placer magnetite ores in the history.