Theory and Method of Mineral Resource Prediction Based on Synthetic Information

Metallogenic prognosis of synthetic information uses the geological body and the miaeral resource body as a statistical unit to interpret synthetically the information of geology, geophysics, geo-chemistry and remote sensing from the evolution of geology and puts all the information into one entire system by drawing up digitalized interpretation maps of the synthetic information. On such basis, differ-ent grades and types of mineral resource prospecting models and predictive models of synthetic informa-tion can be established. Hence, a new integrated prediction system will be formed of metallogenic prog-nosis (qualitative prediction), mineral resources statistic prediction (determining targets) and mlaeral resources prediction (determining resources amount).     

Rivers, chemical weathering and Earth's climate

We detail the results of recent studies describing and quantifying the large-scale chemical weathering of the main types of continental silicate rocks: granites and basalts. These studies aim at establishing chemical weathering laws for these two lithologies, describing the dependence of chemical weathering on environmental parameters, such as climate and mechanical erosion. As shown within this contribution, such mathematical laws are of primary importance for numerical models calculating the evolution of the partial pressure of atmospheric CO₂ and the Earth climate at geological timescales. The major results can be summarized as follow: (1) weathering of continental basaltic lithologies accounts for about 30% of the total consumption of atmospheric CO₂ through weathering of continental silicate rocks. This is related to their high weatherability (about eight times greater than the granite weatherability); (2) a simple weathering law has been established for basaltic lithologies, giving the consumption of atmospheric CO₂ as a function of regional continental runoff, and mean annual regional temperature; (3) no such simple weathering law can be proposed for granitic lithologies, since the effect of temperature can only be identified for regions displaying high continental runoff; (4) a general law relating mechanical erosion and chemical weathering has been validated on small and large catchments. The consequences of these major advances on the climatic evolution of the Earth are discussed. Particularly, the impacts of the onset of the Deccan trapps and the Himalayan orogeny on the global carbon cycle are reinvestigated. To cite this article: B. Dupré et al., C. R. Geoscience 335 (2003).     

An EFTEM/HRTEM high-resolution study of the near surface of labradorite feldspar altered at acid pH: evidence for interfacial dissolution-reprecipitation

Using an approach combining high-resolution and energy-filtered transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM and EFTEM), we have studied with Å to nm-spatial resolution the interfacial region that delimits the near-surface altered zone and non-altered labradorite feldspar after dissolution under acid pH conditions. The interface is characterized by extremely sharp and spatially coincident changes in structure and chemistry. The 500-nm-thick altered zone is depleted in interstitial cations (Ca, Na, K) and Al, a framework element, whereas it is enriched in H, O, and Si. Modeling H⁺-alkali interdiffusion within a 500-nm-thick altered zone shows that volume interdiffusion cannot reproduce the sharp chemical interfaces measured by EFTEM. Based on these new data, we propose that the near-surface altered zone is a result of interfacial dissolution-reprecipitation, and not of preferential leaching of cations and interdiffusion with H⁺. This implies an intrinsic dissolution process that is stoichiometric, where the breaking of bonds and release of interstitial cations and framework elements (Al, Si, and O) to solution occur contemporaneously at equal relative rates from the original fluid–mineral interface.     

Spectral and Multiscale Signal-to-Noise Thresholding of Spherical Vector Fields

The basic concepts of spectral and multiscale selective reconstruction of (geophysically relevant) vector fields on the sphere from error-affected data is outlined in detail. The reconstruction mechanism is formulated under the assumption that spectral as well as multiscale approximation is well-representable in terms of only a certain number of expansion coefficients at the various resolution levels. It is shown that spectral denoising by means of orthogonal expansions in terms of vector spherical harmonics reflects global a priori information of the noise (e.g., in form of a covariance tensor field), whereas multiscale signal-to-noise thresholding can be performed under locally dependent noise information within a multiresolution analysis in terms of spherical vector wavelets. An application of the multiscale formalism to Earth's magnetic field determination is presented.     

A methane fuse for the Cambrian explosion: carbon cycles and true polar wander

The dramatic diversification of animal groups known as the Cambrian Explosion (evolution's ‘Big Bang’) remains an unsolved puzzle in Earth Science. The Vendian–Cambrian interval is characterized by anomalously high rates of apparent plate motion, interpreted as True Polar Wander (TPW), and by more than a dozen large, high-frequency perturbations in carbon isotopes that dwarf all others observed through the past 65 million years. We suggest that these biological, tectonic, and geochemical events are intimately related in the following fashion. First, tropical continental margins and shelf-slopes which formed during fragmentation of the supercontinent Rodinia accumulated massive quantities of isotopically-light organic carbon during Late Neoproterozoic time, as indicated by strikingly heavy isotope ratios in inorganic carbon during interglacial intervals. Second, an initial phase of Vendian TPW moved these organic-rich deposits to high latitude, where conditions favored trapping biogenic methane in layers of gas hydrate and perhaps permafrost. Continued sedimentation during Late Vendian time added additional hydrate/gas storage volume and stabilized underlying units until the geothermal gradient moved them out of the clathrate stability field, building up deep reservoirs of highly pressurized methane. Finally, a burst of TPW brought these deposits back to the Tropics, where they gradually warmed and were subjected to regional-scale thermohaline eddy variation and related sedimentation regime changes. Responding to the stochastic character of such changes, each reservoir reached a critical failure point independently at times throughout the Cambrian. By analogy with the Late Paleocene Thermal Maximum event, these methane deposits yield transient, greenhouse-induced pulses of global warming when they erupt. Temperature correlates powerfully with biodiversity; the biochemical kinetics of metabolism at higher temperature decrease generation time and maintain relatively rich and dense invertebrate populations. Repeated thermal pulses along with progressive disruption and alteration of global ocean circulation patterns by TPW could cause the increase in diversity that accompanied the radiation of metazoans. We suggest that a methane ‘fuse’ ignited the Cambrian Evolutionary Explosion.     

ENSO事件中纬向异常流反向与东西侧边界反射的联系

建立一个中等复杂程度的海-气耦合模式研究东、西边界反射,纬向平流项-u′(δ)(T+T′)/(δ)x在ENSO循环位相转换中的作用及东、西边界反射与纬向异常流(u′) 符号改变的关系.结果得到:u′超前Nio3区SSTA位相转变的原因是东、西边界反射造成的.Sverdrup 平衡时所产生的地转流(ur)与东、西边界反射所产生的地转流(ur)的方向在大部分时间里是相反的,同时ur与风应力强迫之间大约有9个月的滞后时间(Kelvin波从180°E出发经东边界反射产生的Rossby波到达180°E时间).在模式ENSO事件消亡过程中的某一时刻以后,边界反射产生的调整过程变为主要过程,u′主要由ur来决定,这样就造成了u′的反向先于Nio区SSTA的反向.它实际上是海洋的调整过程与风应力强迫之间滞后关系的一种反映.敏感性数值试验表明,取消东边界反射,耦合模式能够模拟ENSO循环,但其周期比控制试验的周期短一年(3年).取消-u′(δ)(T+T′)/(δ)x,耦合模式能够模拟ENSO循环,但其周期比控制试验的周期长2年(6年).     

天津气象塔风温梯度观测资料的统计特征

利用天津气象塔风温梯度观测资料对其统计特征及平均风温廓线的日变化规律进行了分析，特别是分析了稳定层结的风温廓线特征，还给出了几种典型天气的低层大气结构的个例分析。     

我国能源消费结构变化与气候特征

文章利用多项式法将气候耗能量从能源消费总量中分离出来，用统计分析的方法探讨了气候耗能量与气候因子之间的关系及其变化。研究表明：从20世纪50年代到80年代初期，旱涝灾害是影响我国气候耗能量的主要气候因子，它们之间存在显著的线性相关关系，随着经济的发展和人民生活水平的提高，旱涝灾害对气候耗能量的影响逐渐减弱，气温对气候耗能量的影响日趋显著，目前正处于过渡时期。     

日光温室低温寡照灾害指标

文章根据1965～2000年河北省日光温室试验观测资料及各地历年低温寡照对蔬菜的影响程度，确定了低温寡照灾害等级指标，分析了低温寡照的时空分布规律，20世纪80年代以后，河北省各市低温寡照发生次数比60、70年代明显增多；随着纬度增高，河北省低温寡照发生次数明显减少，危害程度明显减轻。