Environmental geohydrochemistry and health of the high altitude population in Ladakh

Background： Radiographic signs of Pneumoconiosis found in farming Ladakhi despite absences of mines and industries were believed to be due to exposure to frequent dust storms and domestic fire pollutions. Seasonal Koilonychia （spoon nail） occurring predominantly in farming women in absences of iron deficiency anaemia was thought to arise from exposure to water made alkaline by weathering of hornblende minerals. The relation of these health conditions to environmental geohydrochemistry is postulated as the source of irrigation water in the affected population originates from glaciers in trans-Himalaya range of sedimentary geology and steep landscape favouring flushing of silica/silicate containing silts. Methods and results： Survey in two central Ladakh villages revealed radiographic evidence of silicosis in all middle aged women and half in middle aged men. In a large-scale study of 3105 subjects aged over 30 years from three villages; 101 （22.5%） of the 449 radiographed showed signs of pneumoconiosis （ILO 1980 criteria） including eggshell calcification of hilar gland and progressive massive fibrosis. Indoor dust analyzed using Philips 400T electron microscope with energy dispersive analysis system attached showed SiO2 levels upto 53.27% with particle size of 0.5 to 5.0 microns and the concentration during cooking period in the worst affected area was 7.495 mg/m^3. Microscopy and histopathology from the subject was characteristic of pneumoconiosis. Analysis of the inorganic dust in the lung showed 40.2% muscovite, 37.3% quartz with the extracted dust wt 147.9 mg/gm of dry tissue. Prevalence of chronic cough with chronic phlegm and percentage of villagers with FEV1/FVC ratio of less than 65% rose with age. Of 70 subjects studied 19 women and 2 men had Koilonychia with incidence being highest in summer. Absence of seasonal Koilonychia in villages fed by water derived from northern mountain range glaciers with mainly igneous geology supports our hypothesis.     

Anomalous geochemical provenance and weathering history of Plio-Pleistocene glaciomarine fjord strata, Bardin Bluffs Formation, East Antarctica

Major and trace element chemical analyses of the Plio‐Pleistocene Bardin Bluffs Formation, on the margin of a major ice‐stream of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, yield an anomalous chemically altered sediment composition. The Bardin Bluffs Formation of the Pagodroma Group is one of the key deposits on the Antarctic continent recording glaciomarine sedimentation under open marine fjord conditions as recently as the Plio‐Pleistocene. In modern fjords occupied by outlet glaciers of ice sheets, the composition of fine‐grained terrigenous sediments approaches that of unweathered rock types exposed upstream. In the Bardin Bluffs Formation, average abundances of stable elements (Ti, Al, Zr) approach average upper crustal compositions and the element ratios are consistent with sediments with a cratonic source, implying glacial dispersal from a large shield area through the Lambert Glacier drainage system. Interestingly, the chemical index of alteration (CIA) of these sediments has values similar to those of average shales formed under conditions of chemical weathering. The sediments are particularly depleted in silicate Ca, which has been observed elsewhere in glacial muds sourced from pre‐glacial saprolites. The anomalous chemistry of the Bardin Bluffs Formation can be explained by a sequence of events, involving chemical weathering prior to glacial expansion and erosion. The presence of a remnant 1·5 m deep late Neogene weathering profile at the base of the Bardin Bluffs sequence corroborates this conclusion. Supply of large quantities of chemically weathered materials to Antarctic marginal basins requires at least partial deglaciation of the continent and was previously regarded as uncharacteristic for late Neogene Antarctica.     

Geochemistry and Origin of Ananai Stratiform Manganese Deposit in the Northern Chichibu Belt, Central Shikoku, Japan

Abstract. Major and trace element contents are reported for Permian manganese ore and associated greenstone from the Ananai manganese deposit in the Northern Chichibu Belt, central Shikoku, Japan. The manganese deposit occurs between greenstone and red chert, or among red chert beds. Chemical compositions of manganese ore are characterized by enrichments in Mn, Ca, P, Co, Ni, Zn, Sr and Ba, and negative Ce and positive Eu anomalies relative to post-Archean average Australian Shale (PAAS). Geochemical features of the manganese ore are similar to those of modern submarine hydrother-mal manganese deposits from volcanic arc or hotspot setting. In addition, geochemical characteristics of the greenstone closely associated with the Ananai manganese deposit are analogous to those of with-in plate alkaline basalt (WPA). Consequently, the Ananai manganese deposit was most likely formed by hydrothermal activity related to hotspot volcanism in the Panthalassa Ocean during the Middle Permian. This is the first report documenting the terrestrially-exposed manganese deposit that was a submarine precipitate at hotspot.     

Geochemistry of recent hydrothermal systems of Mendeleev Volcano （Kuril Islands） and surrounding waters

On the Kuril Islands there are 85 volcanoes, 39 of which are active. Hot springs and mud pots are wide spread in this area and have significant inputs on the chemical composition of the surrounding surface waters and environment. We present results of trace elements as well as data on H, O, S, and He isotope ratios for hydrothermal systems of the Mendeleev Volcano （Kunashir Island） and surrounding surface waters. Water and gas samples were taken from springs and holes as well as creeks and the Lesnaya River. Among the thermal water types, three main groups can be distinguished. The first group includes the waters, in which SO4^- ion predominant. The water temperature on the surface reaches 97℃, and TDS varies from a few g/L to 7 g/L. These waters are acid to superacid with pH values ranging 0.6 to 2.3. The second group is sodium-chloride waters. A maximum TDS is 14.2 g/L. The waters are neutral or alkaline; pH varies from 6.9 to 8.2. The third group is the sodium-chloride-sulfate-bicarbonate water. The Stolbovskie springs, located in the periphery of the Mendeleev Volcano are representative of this type. The pH of these waters is close to neutral. TDS is 1.9 g/L. They are rather the derivatives of sodium-chloride waters arisen from dilution of them by subsurface waters. The Kuslyi Creek and Lesnaya River are located near the Mendeleev Volcano. The most acid springs discharge into the Kislyi Creek as a result pH of this creek being 2.5, and contents of most elements rather high. For example, the contents of dissolved solids of Si, Fe, Al, Mn, Zn, in waters of the Kislaya Creek are 22.1, 8.1, 6.2, 1.29, and 0.28 mg/L, and correspondently. The water of the Lesnaya River, （Before the Kislyi Creek, pH is about 8 with TDS 102 mg/L, but after the Kuslyi Creek, pH decreases and the concentrations of chemical elements increase. Debit of the Kislayi Creek in summer season is about 370 L/sec. It means that every day only this small creek inputs in the Lesnay River about 706 kg of Si;     

Correct nomenclature for the Angadimogar pluton, Kerala, southwestern India

The proper usage of modal composition and geochemical classification of granitoids is discussed for assigning a proper nomenclature for the Angadimogar pluton, Kerala, southwestern India. This discussion is mainly aimed at addressing questions concerning the nomenclature of Angadimogar pluton (syenitevs. granite). Modal composition and whole-rock XRD data clearly show that the pluton exposed near Angadimogar is a quartz-syenite and its geochemistry is typical of a ferroan, metaluminous, alkali (A-type) granitoid     

Secular variations of the upper crust composition: Implication of geochemical data on the Upper Precambrian shales from the Southern Urals western flank and Uchur-Maya region

In the mid-1980s, it was concluded based on geochemical study that Th, Sc, La concentrations and ratios Th/Sc, La/Sc and Eu/Eu* did not wary significantly in the post-Archean time. It was impossible to judge about compositional variations of upper crust during the Riphean and Vendian, because data of that time characterized a limited number of samples from the post-Archean basins of Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctic. Considered in this work are variations of Eu/Eu*, LREE/HREE, Th/Sc, and La/Sc ratios in Upper Precambrian fine-grained siliciclastic rock of the Southern Urals western flank (Bashkirian meganticlinorium) and Uchur-Maya region (Uchur-Maya plate and Yudoma-Maya belt). As is established, only the Eu anomaly in the studied siliciclastic rocks is practically identical to this parameter of the average post-Archean shale. Three other parameters plot on the Riphean-Vendian variation curves with positive and negative excursions of diverse magnitude, which do not coincide always in time. It is assumed that these excursions likely mark stages of local geodynamic activity, destruction of pre-Riphean cratons, and progressing recycling of sedimentary material during the Riphean.     

黔西南高砷煤的元素地球化学特征

通过分析黔西南高砷煤的元素地球化学特征,探索高砷煤中微量元素、稀土元素的地球化学行为,从而揭示了高砷煤的形成机理。分析表明,高砷煤与非高砷煤在微量元素含量方面存在较大差异,金、汞、铊矿石与龙潭煤系中的砷具有同源性,龙潭煤系页岩与峨眉山玄武岩在稀土元素组成上具有继承性。     

基于MAPGIS建立地球化学图形-数据库

将建立地球化学图形-数据库过程分为已建立常规地球化学数据库和未建立常规地球化学数据库,其主要区别是采样点位是否具有地理位置坐标。以未建立常规地球化学数据库的情况为例,介绍了利用MAPGIS软件建立和管理地球化学图形-数据库的思路、过程和方法,并简单介绍了利用建立的图形数据库进行检索和地球化学专题图件制作的方法。     

黑龙江省中部森林沼泽区 超低密度深穿透地球化学调查采样介质的确定

通过对王水溶矿法与四酸溶矿法的对比,元素在泛滥平原A层、B层沉积物及水系沉积物中的分配,以及这3种介质圈定的异常对比等综合因素的研究,确定了泛滥平原A层沉积物是黑龙江省中部森林沼泽区开展超低密度深穿透地球化学调查的有效采样介质。