U-Pb Zircon Calendar for Namaquan (Grenville) Crustal Events in the Granulite-facies Terrane of the O'okiep Copper District of South Africa

The O'okiep Copper District is underlain by voluminous 1035–1210Ma granite gneiss and granite with remnants of metamorphosedsupracrustal rocks. This assemblage was intruded by the 1030Ma copper-bearing Koperberg Suite that includes jotunite, anorthosite,biotite diorite and hypersthene-bearing rocks ranging from leuconoriteto hypersthenite. New sensitive high-resolution ion microprobeage data demonstrate the presence of 1700–2000 Ma zirconas xenocrysts in all of the intrusive rocks, and as detritalzircon in the metasediments of the Khurisberg Subgroup. Thesedata are consistent with published Sm–Nd model ages ofc. 1700 Ma (T_CHUR) and c. 2000 Ma (T_DM) of many of the intrusivesthat support a major crust-forming event in Eburnian (Hudsonian)times. In addition, U–Th–Pb analyses of zirconsfrom all major rock units define two tectono-magmatic episodesof the Namaquan Orogeny: (1) the O'okiepian Episode (1180–1210Ma), represented by regional granite plutonism, notably theNababeep and Modderfontein Granite Gneisses and the Concordiaand Kweekfontein Granites that accompanied and outlasted (e.g.Kweekfontein Granite) regional tectonism [F₂(D₂)] and granulite-faciesmetamorphism (M₂); (2) the Klondikean Episode (1020–1040Ma), which includes the intrusion of the porphyritic RietbergGranite and of the Koperberg Suite that are devoid of regionalplanar or linear fabrics. Klondikean tectonism (D₃) is reflectedby major east–west-trending open folds [F₃(D_3a)], andby localized east–west-trending near-vertical ductilefolds [‘steep structures’; F₄(D_3b)] whose formationwas broadly coeval with the intrusion of the Koperberg Suite.A regional, largely thermal, amphibolite- to granulite-faciesmetamorphism (M₃) accompanied D₃. This study demonstrates, interalia, that the complete spectrum of rock-types of the KoperbergSuite, together with the Rietberg Granite, was intruded in ashort time-interval (<10 Myr) at c. 1030 Ma, and that therewere lengthy periods of about 150 Myr of tectonic quiescencewithin the Namaquan Orogeny: (1) between the O'okiepian andKlondikean Episodes; (2) from the end of the latter to the formalend of Namaquan Orogenesis 800–850 Ma ago. KEY WORDS: U–Pb, zircon; O'okiep, Namaqualand; granite plutonism; granulite facies; Koperberg Suite; Namaquan (Grenville) Orogeny     

Biomineralization of Uranium: A Simulated Experiment and Its Significance

A simulated experimental reduction of U^v1 and the synthesis of uraninite by a sulfate-reducing bacteria,Desulfovibrio desulfuricans DSM 642, are first reported. The simulated physicochemical experimental conditions were:35℃, pH=7.0-7.4, corresponding to the environments of formation of the sandstone-hosted interlayer oxidation-zone type uranium deposits in Xinjiang, NW China. Uraninite was formed on the surface of the host bacteria after a one-week‘s incubation. Therefore, sulfate-reducing bacteria, which existed extensively in Jurassic sandstone-producing environments,might have participated in the biomineralization of this uranium deposit. There is an important difference in the orderdisorder of the crystalline structure between the uraninite produced by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans and naturally occurring uraninite. Long time and slow precipitation and growth of uraninite in the geological environment might have resulted in larger uraninite crystals, with uraninite nanocrystals arranged in order, whereas the experimentally produced uraninite is composed of unordered uraninite nanocrystals which, in contrast, result from the short time span of formation and rapid precipitation and growth of uraninite. The discovery has important implications for understanding genetic significance in mineralogy, and also indicates that in-situ bioremediation of U-contaminated environments and use of biotechnology in the treatment of radioactive liquid waste is being contemplated.     

Density-Stratified Flow Events in Great Salt Lake,Utah, USA: Implications for Mercury and Salinity Cycling

Density stratification in saline and hypersaline water bodies from throughout the world can have large impacts on the internal cycling and loading of salinity, nutrients, and trace elements. High temporal resolution hydroacoustic and physical/chemical data were collected at two sites in Great Salt Lake (GSL), a saline lake in the western USA, to understand how density stratification may influence salinity and mercury (Hg) distributions. The first study site was in a causeway breach where saline water from GSL exchanges with less saline water from a flow restricted bay. Near-surface-specific conductance values measured in water at the breach displayed a good relationship with both flow and wind direction. No diurnal variations in the concentration of dissolved (<0.45 μm) methylmercury (MeHg) were observed during the 24-h sampling period; however, the highest proportion of particulate Hg_total and MeHg loadings was observed during periods of elevated salinity. The second study site was located on the bottom of GSL where movement of a high-salinity water layer, referred to as the deep brine layer (DBL), is restricted to a naturally occurring 1.5-km-wide “spillway” structure. During selected time periods in April/May, 2012, wind-induced flow reversals in a railroad causeway breach, separating Gunnison and Gilbert Bays, were coupled with high-velocity flow pulses (up to 55 cm/s) in the DBL at the spillway site. These flow pulses were likely driven by a pressure response of highly saline water from Gunnison Bay flowing into the north basin of Gilbert Bay. Short-term flow reversal events measured at the railroad causeway breach have the ability to move measurable amounts of salt and Hg from Gunnison Bay into the DBL. Future disturbance to the steady state conditions currently imposed by the railroad causeway infrastructure could result in changes to the existing chemical balance between Gunnison and Gilbert Bays. Monitoring instruments were installed at six additional sites in the DBL during October 2012 to assess impacts from any future modifications to the railroad causeway.     

Experimental studies of oxygen isotope fractionation in the carbonic acid system at 15°, 25°, and 40°C

In light of recent studies that show oxygen isotope fractionation in carbonate minerals to be a function of HCO₃⁻ and CO₃²⁻ concentrations, the oxygen isotope fractionation and exchange between water and components of the carbonic acid system (HCO₃⁻, CO₃²⁻, and CO_2(aq)) were investigated at 15°, 25°, and 40°C. To investigate oxygen isotope exchange between HCO₃⁻, CO₃²⁻, and H₂O, NaHCO₃ solutions were prepared and the pH was adjusted over a range of 2 to 12 by the addition of small amounts of HCl or NaOH. After thermal, chemical, and isotopic equilibrium was attained, BaCl₂ was added to the NaHCO₃ solutions. This resulted in immediate BaCO₃ precipitation; thus, recording the isotopic composition of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). Data from experiments at 15°, 25°, and 40°C (1 atm) show that the oxygen isotope fractionation between HCO₃⁻ and H₂O as a function of temperature is governed by the equation:

     

A full-wave study of downward propagating ELF waves in the ionosphere: Ion cutoff whistlers and the low frequency cutoff of ELF noise

The downward propagation of ELF waves (100–700 Hz) in the ionosphere is studied by means of a generalised multiple-reflection full-wave method. It is shown that for the production of an ion cutoff whistler the incident wave-normal must point inwards (equatorwards) with respect to the vertical, the ion cutoff whistler conversion coefficient R_RL being a maximum when the reflected wave normal lies close to the geomagnetic field direction at the crossover level.For a low frequency cutoff of ELF noise to exist, the incident wave-normals at the crossover level must lie outside a ‘cone of penetration’ of ~40° semi-vertical angle, whose axis coincides with the geomagnetic field line. For propagation in the magnetic meridian plane, total reflection of downgoing whistlers is obtained either for large outward (poleward) incident angles, with reflection heights generally above the crossover level and possibly even above the gyrofrequency level, or else for inward (equatorward) wave-normal directions, in which case the reflection process usually occurs below the crossover level, and involves an R to L mode conversion on the downgoing path.Analysis of a scatter plot of the lower cutoff frequencies of ELF noise as a function of altitude and latitude shows that widely varying abundances must be postulated at all latitudes in order to explain the observations.     

Field testing cellulose-water oxygen isotope relations in periphyton for paleohydrological reconstructions

Journal of Paleolimnology - The oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of aquatic cellulose extracted from lake sediment cores has long been used to reconstruct past hydrological responses to...     

铀的微生物Desulfovibrio desulfuricans DSM 642成矿作用:模拟实验及其意义

在我国首次报道用硫酸盐还原菌 Desulf ovibriodesulfuricans DSM 6 4 2 ,模拟我国层间氧化带砂岩型铀矿形成的主要物理化学条件 (35℃ ,p H=7.0～ 7.4 ) ,实验还原U( )和合成沥青铀矿。结果表明 ,实验经一周后 ,微生物成因沥青铀矿即生成于该菌胞表面。由此推断 ,在侏罗系砂岩中广泛繁衍的这种硫酸盐还原菌 ,可能参与了该类铀矿床的成矿作用。同时发现 ,由该实验菌实验还原生成的沥青铀矿 ,与在天然地质条件下生成的该铀矿物 ,其晶体结构的有序—无序性质存在重大差异 :在天然条件下藉长期和缓慢地沉淀、生长形成的沥青铀矿 ,其中纳米级…     

Probing the oxidation-reduction properties of terrestrially and microbially derived dissolved organic matter

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) has been shown to be an integral component in biogeochemical electron transfer reactions due to its demonstrated ability to facilitate redox reactions. While the role of DOM as a facilitator of electron transfer processes has been demonstrated, greater knowledge would lead to better understanding of the structural components responsible for redox behavior, such as quinones and nitrogen and sulfur (N/S) functional groups. This investigation uses direct scan voltammetry (DSV) coupled with fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy as well as thermochemolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to elucidate the organic moieties responsible for facilitating electron transfer reactions. We contrast electrochemical properties and structural details of three organic matter isolates from diverse sources; Great Dismal Swamp DOM (terrestrially derived, highly aromatic), Pony Lake DOM (microbially derived, highly aliphatic) and Toolik Lake (terrestrially derived, photochemically and microbially altered) with juglone (a redox-active model quinone). Aromatic and phenolic constituents were detected (by ¹³C NMR) and recovered (by thermochemolysis GC-MS) from all three fulvic acid samples, highlighting the ubiquity of these compounds and suggesting that the quinone-phenol redox couple is not limited to DOM derived from lignin precursors. The range of hydroxy-benzene and benzoic acid derivatives may explain the lack of a single pair of well-defined oxidation and reduction peaks in the DSV scans. The presence of a wide-range of hydroxylated benzoic acid isomers and other redox-active aromatic residues implies that native DOM possesses overlapping redox potentials analogous to their characteristic range of pK_a values.