巴西地质公园——伊瓜苏大瀑布

巴西是南美洲国土面积最大的国家，矿产资源和旅游资源极其丰富，矿产资源有铁矿、铝矾土、铀、锰、锡、石油等矿产资源，地质旅游资源有闻名于世的亚马逊河、伊瓜苏大瀑布等著名景点。     

The Imataca Complex, NW Amazonian Craton,Venezuela： Crustal evolution and integration of geochronological and petrological coolinghistories

SHRIMP U/Pb-zircon data and Nd mean crustal residence ages indicate that the lmataca Complex developed from an Archean (≥3.2Ga) continental protolith which has undergone considerable isotopic disturbance plus and juvenile accretion during late-Archean (-2.8Ga) times. Transamazonian granulites experienced peak metamorphic conditions of 750-800℃, 6-8kbar with associated transpressive thrusting and tectonic imbrication. Geochronology on zircon, pyroxene and garnet constrains the timing of peak metamorphism at 1.98-2.05Ga. Diffusion modeling of Fe-Mg exchange between biotite inclusions and host garnet yields (near metamorphic peak) cooling rates of 50-100℃/Ma, with petrological cooling rates being generally consistent with cooling rates determined from geochronology. Combining the retrograde P-T path with cooling rates suggests that after the metamorphic peak, large portions of the lmataca Complex were exhumed from 30 to 17km at a rate of 7-2km/Ma.After this, exhumation rates progressively decreased as the rocks approached the surface. Rapid overall upliftlerosion had ceased when the rocks passed below 600-550℃ at 2.01-1.96 Ga ago. Observed variations in mineral cooling ages are interpreted as to reflect episodic differential tectonic exhumation within major fault systems. Inferred (maximum) ages of fault re-activation generally coincide with major continental accretion events in the Amazonian Craton and reflect long-term thermal evolution of the lmataca terrane, as conditioned by variable response to continued continental convergence during the Proterozoic.     

Possible uses of kaolin wastes and transformed materials from the Amazon region （northern Brazil） for environmental applications

The most important Brazilian kaolin district is located in the Amazon region. The beneficiation of this kaolin produces great volumes of wastes, mainly composed of coarse-grained kaolinite not suitable for the paper industry but still very fine and ideal for several other purposes. About 1000 M ton kaolinite-rich wastes are produced annually. The sludge is disposed on artificial sedimentary lakes that occupy extensive areas, with huge impacts on the environment due to extensive deforested areas needed for their construction. This work is indeed to present the different studies that have been carried out in order to characterize and find proper applications of such wastes and transformed products. Possible applications include： （1） production of high-reactivity metakaolinite and fine-grained silica for construction materials; （2） alumina for different applications （ceramic and adsorbents）. Methods used include： drying and calcination of the kaolin-residue, Al-extraction for low-granulometry alumina and silica （here named as sioclay） production. Start- and transformed materials were characterized by means of XRF, XRD, DTS-TG-DSC, FTIR, SEM-EDS, BET, among others. Technological assays were also carried out for ceramic purposes. The mineralogy is dominated by kaolinite, quartz and trace amounts of anatase, rutile, hematite and goethite. Total chemical analyses of all worked materials also reflect the theoretical composition of kaolinite. Both metakaolinite and sioclay do not exhibit X-ray diffraction patterns and present a very small grain size. Metakaolinite, alumina and sioclay exhibit increasingly values of specific area. For the ceramic products, sintering increases its mechanical resistance. Adsorption tests of different metals on kaolin-transformed products were carried out in a batch reactor. Tests will be presented for As, which is a toxic and carcinogenic metalloid. Results for As （V） adsorption carried out in this investigation reveal the ability of sioclay〉alumina〉metakaolin to remove this element by sorption from the solution.     

Lithospheric versus asthenospheric source of the SW Amazonian craton A-types granites： the role of the Paleo-and Mesoproterozoic accretionary belts for their coeval continental suites

The tectonic setting and source of the Paleo-and Mesoproterozoic magmatic suites in the SW Amazonian craton revealed by integrated isotopic and geochemical data allow correlation between the accretionary mobile belts and the contemporary continental magmatism (e.g. rapakivi complexes) within the foreland. The continental magmatism may represent the synorogenic response to high heat flow in the asthenosphere resulting from oceanic crust subduction, which led to the development of the successive Proterozoic magmatic arcs.     

Spectral classification of water masses under the influence of the Amazon River plume

The large amount of dissolved and particulate material discharged by the Amazon River into the Equatorial Atlantic Ocean cause distinct spectral response of its waters as compared to the nearby ocean waters. This paper shows the application of K-means clustering algorithm for classifying water masses in the region under the Amazon River plume influence according to their spectral behavior. Salinity and temperature data from 67 oceanographic stations were related to Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) remote sensing reflectances values and the following bio-optical products:(i) chlorophyll-a concentration, (ii) water attenuation coefficient and (iii) absorption coefficient for dissolved and detrital material. Four different water masses were identified such as:(1) oceanic water, (2) intermediate oceanic water, (3) intermediate river plume water and (4) Amazon River plume water. The spectral behavior of these water masses allowed concluding that the main active optical component of the waters in the region is the colored dissolved organic matter originated mostly from the Amazon River.