Pliocene and late Pleistocene (MIS 5e) decapod crustaceans from Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago: Central Atlantic): systematics,palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography

The presence of decapod crustaceans in the Pliocene and Pleistocene (MIS 5e) fossil record of Santa Maria Island (Azores Archipelago) is herein reviewed. Our study raises the number of fossil decapods from this island from one species to 10 taxa (three for the Pliocene and seven for the Last Interglacial). Four of these 10 taxa are reported for the first time in the fossil record, worldwide. A new species of a mud shrimp is also described (Upogebia azorensis n. sp.). Our study suggests that the Plio–Pleistocene decapod assemblages of the Azores did not differ significantly from modern ones, being dominated by species that are today widespread across the Webbnesia ecoregion, the Mediterranean Sea, and the eastern Atlantic shores, including the Azores. As far as can be judged from the limited fossil record, apparently no tropical crab species with a Cabo Verdean/Senegalese provenance reached the Azores during windows of opportunity associated with Glacial Termination 2 or with the initial setting of the Last Interglacial period. This contribution increases the total number of marine taxa reported for the Pliocene and Pleistocene outcrops of Santa Maria Island to 218 and 155, respectively, highlighting the scientific relevance of its palaeontological heritage.     

Lamproitic Rocks from a Continental Collision Zone: Evidence for Recycling of Subducted Tethyan Oceanic Sediments in the Mantle Beneath Southern Tibet

Major and trace element, Sr–Nd–Pb isotope and mineralchemical data are presented for newly discovered ultrapotassiclavas in the Tangra Yumco–Xuruco graben in southern Tibet.The ultrapotassic lavas are characterized by high MgO, K₂O andTiO₂, low Al₂O₃ and Na₂O contents, and also have high molarK₂O/Al₂O₃, molar (K₂O + Na₂O)/Al₂O₃ and K₂O/Na₂O ratios. Theirhigh abundances of incompatible trace elements such as largeion lithophile elements (LILE) and light rare earth elements(LREE) reach the extreme levels typical of lamproites. The lamproitesshow highly radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0· 7166–0·7363) and unradiogenic ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0· 511796–0·511962), low ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (18· 459–18· 931),and elevated radiogenic ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (15· 6732–15·841) and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb (39· 557–40· 058) ratios.On the basis of their geochemical and isotopic systematics,the lamproites in south Tibet have a distinct magma source thatcan be differentiated from the sources of potassic lavas inthe east Lhasa and Qiangtang blocks. Their high Nb/Ta ratios(17· 10–19· 84), extremely high Th/U ratios(5· 70–13· 74) and distinctive isotope compositionsare compatible with a veined mantle source consisting of partialmelts of subducted Tethyan oceanic sediments and sub-continentallithospheric depleted mantle. Identification of the lamproitesand the delineation of their mantle source provide new evidencerelevant for models of the uplift and extension of the Tibetanplateau following the Indo-Asia collision. Metasomatism by partialmelts from isotopically evolved, old sediment subducted on theyoung Tethyan slab is an alternative explanation for PrecambrianNd and Pb model ages. In this model, differences in isotopiccomposition along-strike are attributed to differences in thetype of sediment being subducted, thus obviating the need formultiple metasomatic events over hundreds of million years.The distribution of lamproites, restricted within a north–south-trendinggraben, indicates that the initiation of east–west extensionin south Tibet started at 25 Ma. KEY WORDS: lamproites; subducted oceanic sediment; Tibetan active continental collision belt     

略论海陆成矿问题

地壳通过不均一性分异形成大陆型地壳和大洋型地壳, 陆核及地块的形成、大陆裂解与增生、洋壳的新生与消减、陆-陆碰撞拼接形成具有不同构造特征的海陆构造区。中国海陆构造演化经历了太古宙陆核形成、元古宙陆块形成、震旦纪至三叠纪联合大陆形成、中新生代联合大陆解体4个阶段, 形成北方(准噶尔—大兴安岭)、北部(塔里木—华北)、南部(扬子—华南)、南方(冈底斯—喜马拉雅), 东部(滨西太平洋)5个大陆及陆缘构造区。太古宙花岗绿岩带、元古宙裂谷(裂陷)带、显生宙大陆边缘是最重要的海陆成矿环境。海陆成矿有利因素的耦合对成矿至关重要, 而最佳耦合的机制及其发生在海陆构造区的时空位置是圈定有利成矿靶区、引导找矿突破的关键科学问题。     

藏南努日铜-钨-钼矿床晚白垩世石英闪长岩U-Pb定年及其地球化学特征

藏南努日矿床位于冈底斯成矿带南缘,前人获得的辉钼矿Re-Os同位素年龄为23 Ma,与明则和程巴矿床成矿时代一致,但矿区内至今未发现与矿化有关的成矿斑岩体。本文报道了努日矿区新发现的与矿化关系密切的石英闪长岩的地球化学特征,获得石英闪长岩的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄为93.42±0.76 Ma,与同一成矿带内桑布加拉和克鲁铜金矿成矿时代一致(90~93 Ma),表明矿区可能存在两期成矿事件。石英闪长玢岩的主量微量元素SiO_2含量为57.19%~58.23%,A1_2O_3含量为15.78%~16.03%,MgO含量为4.74%~5.32%,Mg~#指数为65.2~67.3;富集大离子亲石元素(Rb、Sr、Ba、U等)及轻稀土元素,亏损高场强元素,显示出埃达克岩特征。研究表明石英闪长玢岩形成于洋壳俯冲阶段的弧岩浆岩,洋壳熔融形成的母岩浆侵入近地表形成早期铜多金属矽卡岩矿化。晚白垩世成矿事件的发现进一步佐证了研究区存在两期矿化叠加事件,拓展了研究区找矿方向。     

“大洋板块地层”的重建与意义——以藏南仲巴地区为例

混杂岩是古增生楔存在的标志之一,一般由枕状玄武岩、灰岩、放射虫硅质岩、硅质页岩、砂岩等混乱无序组成。目前"大洋板块地层"(OPS)运用放射虫地层学方法对混乱的增生楔断片进行重建取得了良好效果,并清晰地展示了大洋板块俯冲和洋底物质连续增生的历史。在西藏仲巴地区填图过程中,结合放射虫年代学分析鉴定结果,以OPS重建的思路和理论作为指导,重建了仲巴地区混杂岩的大洋板块地层,并恢复了该区域特提斯洋在洋中脊大洋板块增生至消亡的岩石序列,自下而上分别为侏罗纪海山玄武岩、海山覆盖物侏罗系—白垩系碳酸盐岩、海山周围沉积的侏罗系—白垩系放射虫硅质岩和硅质页岩,以及海沟附近的白垩系陆源碎屑岩等,为特提斯洋大洋板块俯冲的方向、持续时间和古大地构造环境提供了信息。     

羌塘盆地双湖地区曲色组冷泉碳酸盐岩及其地质意义

羌塘盆地南部双湖地区曲色组地层发育大量碳酸盐岩结核,这些结核多呈丘状、椭球状、透镜状、似层状、脉状、树枝状产出。其物质组分主要为泥微晶碳酸盐矿物,少量粘土矿物、石英及草莓状、半自形黄铁矿等。草莓状黄铁矿平均粒径在5.0μm左右,内部可见葵花状构造。发育凝块状、气孔状和渗漏孔等特殊构造。产双壳类、菊石类、蠕虫状或树枝状生物及超微生物化石,生物密度极高。碳同位素明显负偏,硫同位素则明显正偏,其特征与现代海底天然气水合物的渗漏、释放所形成的冷泉碳酸盐岩机理一致,因而推测为古代海底天然气渗漏喷发形成。大量海底天然气泉口的存在,可能表明羌塘盆地双湖地区早侏罗世大洋缺氧事件与海底天然气水合物喷发存在极大关联。     

Oceanic climatology in the coupled model FGOALS-g2: Improvements and biases

The present study examines simulated oceanic climatology in the Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model, Grid-point Version 2 (FGOALS-g2) forced by historical external forcing data. The oceanic temperatures and circulations in FGOALS-g2 were found to be comparable to those observed, and substantially improved compared to those simulated by the previous version, FGOALS-g1.0. Compared with simulations by FGOALS-g1.0, the shallow mixed layer depths were better captured in the eastern Atlantic and Pacific Ocean in FGOALS-g2. In the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, the cold biases of SST were about 1°C–5°C smaller in FGOALS-g2. The associated sea ice distributions and their seasonal cycles were more realistic in FGOALS-g2. The pattern of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) was better simulated in FGOALS-g2, although its magnitude was larger than that found in observed data. The simulated Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) transport was about 140 Sv through the Drake Passage, which is close to that observed. Moreover, Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) was better captured in FGOALS-g2. However, large SST cold biases (>3°C) were still found to exist around major western boundary currents and in the Barents Sea, which can be explained by excessively strong oceanic cold advection and unresolved processes owing to the coarse resolution. In the Indo-Pacific warm pool, the cold biases were partly related to the excessive loss of heat from the ocean. Along the eastern coast in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the warm biases were due to overestimation of shortwave radiation. In the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean, the surface fresh biases were mainly due to the biases of precipitation. In the tropical Pacific Ocean, the surface fresh biases (>2 psu) were mainly caused by excessive precipitation and oceanic advection. In the Indo-Pacific Ocean, fresh biases were also found to dominate in the upper 1000 m, except in the northeastern Indian Ocean. There were warm and salty biases (3°C–4°C and 1–2 psu) from the surface to the bottom in the Labrador Sea, which might be due to large amounts of heat transport and excessive evaporation, respectively. For vertical structures, the maximal biases of temperature and salinity were found to be located at depths of >600 m in the Arctic Ocean, and their values exceeded 4°C and 2 psu, respectively.     

Low velocity shock-cloud encounters I.

Shocks propagating in the interstellar medium (ISM) play an important role in the life of molecular clouds. Through a theoretical study of interaction between clouds and shocks we can understand, for example, the density distribution of observed molecular clouds and the first steps of star formation. The only way to study of interaction in detail is via a numerical hydrodynamical simulation. In this paper we present the first results of a hydrocode which is able to follow the processes after the collision between the cloud and shock front.Our main theoretical result is that the chemical processes (e.g. H₂ dissociation) can affect the dynamical processes significantly. Global parameters of the cloud are calculated for the comparision of the simulation and the observations.     

The generation of ionization-shock front oscillations by a variable radiation flux

The effect of a time-varying radiation flux incident on an ionization front on the generation of ionization-shock front oscillations in the interstellar medium is analyzed analytically and numerically. We take into account both variations in the flux of ionizing radiation directly from the source that produces the ionization front and the absorption of energetic photons by the post-front plasma. Based on our calculations, we show that the time dependence of the radiation flux can be an additional factor (apart from small inhomogeneities in the interstellar medium) that contributes to the amplification of oscillations and to the kinetic energy input to the observed turbulent motions in H II regions.