Low-cost volcano surveillance from space: case studies from Etna, Krafla, Cerro Negro, Fogo, Lascar and Erebus

 Satellite data offer a means of supplementing ground-based monitoring during volcanic eruptions, especially at times or locations where ground-based monitoring is difficult. Being directly and freely available several times a day, data from the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) offers great potential for near real-time monitoring of all volcanoes across large (3000×3000 km) areas. Herein we describe techniques to detect and locate activity; estimate lava area, thermal flux, effusion rates and cumulative volume; and distinguish types of activity. Application is demonstrated using data for active lavas at Krafla, Etna, Fogo, Cerro Negro and Erebus; a pyroclastic flow at Lascar; and open vent systems at Etna and Stromboli. Automated near real-time analysis of AVHRR data could be achieved at existing, or cheap to install, receiving stations, offering a supplement to conventional monitoring methods. Received: 21 January 1997 / Accepted: 3 April 1997     

Lithium and lithium isotope profiles through the upper oceanic crust: a study of seawater-basalt exchange at ODP Sites 504B and 896A

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 504B near the Costa Rica Rift is the deepest hole drilled in the ocean crust, penetrating a volcanic section, a transition zone and a sheeted dike complex. The distribution of Li and its isotopes through this 1.8-km section of oceanic crust reflects the varying conditions of seawater alteration with depth. The upper volcanic rocks, altered at low temperatures, are enriched in Li (5.6-27.3 ppm) and have heavier isotopic compositions (δ⁷Li=6.6-20.8‰) relative to fresh mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) due to uptake of seawater Li into alteration clays. The Li content and isotopic compositions of the deeper volcanic rocks are similar to MORB, reflecting restricted seawater circulation in this section. The transition zone is a region of mixing of seawater with upwelling hydrothermal fluids and sulfide mineralization. Li enrichment in this zone is accompanied by relatively light isotopic compositions (−0.8-2.1‰) which signify influence of basalt-derived Li during mineralization and alteration. Li decreases with depth to 0.6 ppm in the sheeted dike complex as a result of increasing hydrothermal extraction in the high-temperature reaction zone. Rocks in the dike complex have variable isotopic values that range from −1.7 to 7.9‰, depending on the extent of hydrothermal recrystallization and off-axis low-temperature alteration. Hydrothermally altered rocks are isotopically light because ⁶Li is preferentially retained in greenschist and amphibolite facies minerals. The δ⁷Li values of the highly altered rocks of the dike complex are complementary to those of high-temperature mid-ocean ridge vent fluids and compatible to equilibrium control by the alteration mineral assemblage. The inventory of Li in basement rocks permits a reevaluation of the role of oceanic crust in the budget of Li in the ocean. On balance, the upper 1.8 km of oceanic crusts remains a sink for oceanic Li. The observations at 504B and an estimated flux from the underlying 0.5 km of gabbro suggest that the global hydrothermal flux is at most 8×10⁹ mol/yr, compatible with geophysical thermal models. This work defines the distribution of Li and its isotopes in the upper ocean crust and provides a basis to interpret the contribution of subducted lithosphere to arc magmas and cycling of crustal material in the deep mantle.     

试论大厂锡多金属矿田矿化蚀变分带特征

大厂矿田矿化蚀变分带特征十分明显, 在水平方向, 整个矿田可分为西、中、东３ 个矿带。西、东矿带主要产出锡石—硫化物型矿床, 围岩蚀变类型主要有硅化、钾长石化、电气石化、绢云母化、碳酸盐化等。中矿带主要分布矽卡岩型锌铜硫化物矿床, 并有锑钨石英脉型矿床叠加其上。整个矿田矿化蚀变分带又具明显的不对称性, 并且每一种矿化类型又表现出各自的分带特点。大厂矿田的总体矿化蚀变分带特征与传统的顺向或逆向分带不同, 反映了多成因、多期次叠加成矿及蚀变的特点     

Simulation of quasi-linear mesoscale convective systems in northern China: Lightning activities and storm structure

Two intense quasi-linear mesoscale convective systems(QLMCSs) in northern China were simulated using the WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting) model and the 3D-Var(three-dimensional variational) analysis system of the ARPS(Advanced Regional Prediction System) model.A new method in which the lightning density is calculated using both the precipitation and non-precipitation ice mass was developed to reveal the relationship between the lightning activities and QLMCS structures.Results indicate that,compared with calculating the results using two previous methods,the lightning density calculated using the new method presented in this study is in better accordance with observations.Based on the calculated lightning densities using the new method,it was found that most lightning activity was initiated on the right side and at the front of the QLMCSs,where the surface wind field converged intensely.The CAPE was much stronger ahead of the southeastward progressing QLMCS than to the back it,and their lightning events mainly occurred in regions with a large gradient of CAPE.Comparisons between lightning and non-lightning regions indicated that lightning regions featured more intense ascending motion than non-lightning regions;the vertical ranges of maximum reflectivity between lightning and non-lightning regions were very different;and the ice mixing ratio featured no significant differences between the lightning and non-lightning regions.     

Mapping hydrothermal alteration in the Comstock mining district,Nevada, using simulated satellite‐borne hyperspectral data

Hydrothermal alteration mapping with spaceborne hyperspectral data was simulated in the Comstock mining district, Nevada in order to evaluate the mineral mapping capabilities of the proposed Australian Resource Information and Environment Satellite (ARIES‐1). As a result, a suite of hydrothermal alteration minerals, including kaolinite, dickite, illite, chlorite, alunite and carbonate was identified from the simulated data in the 0.4–2.5 μm wavelength region and their areal abundance variations mapped accordingly. The recognised alteration zoning shows a major change in alteration assemblages across the Comstock and Silver City Faults, and a gradual variation from north to south along the faults. In the bleached Miocene volcanic rocks, dickite, kaolinite, illite and alunite were recognised. Coexistence of dickite of relatively high temperature, high‐crystallinity kaolinite of medium temperature and low‐crystallinity kaolinite of low temperature suggests supergene processes overprinting earlier hypogene alteration. The bleached rocks probably represent hydrothermal alteration in the fluid up‐flow zones in the central and shallower parts of the hydrothermal system. Illite in the bleached zones is characterised by relatively short AI–OH band wavelengths (2190–2200 nm), indicating no or very low Fe and/or Mg contents. Fault‐controlled propylitic alteration is mapped in the central part of the district mainly in the footwall of the Comstock Fault. The associated illite is characterised mainly by medium AI–OH band wavelengths (2200–2208 nm). This propylitic alteration may be contemporaneous with Au–Ag mineralisation. Additional and more extensive propylitic zones, containing illite with long AI–OH band wavelengths (2204–2216 nm), were mapped in the southern part of the district. These zones resulted from either a pre‐mineralisation propylitic alteration, or the peripheral hydrothermal alteration in the fluid down‐flow zones of the Miocene hydrothermal system.     

江西相山铀矿田中断裂与水相变耦合成矿——以邹家山矿床铀成矿作用分析为例

在已知成矿带和矿床中,随着找矿和开采的进行,已有的和新发现的资料积累越来越多.一个好的成矿理论,可以给这些资料较为统一的、合理的解释,还可能为老矿区(带)的深部和外围找矿指出一些新思路和新标志.据热液矿床水相变控矿理论,水相变可导致水的物理化学性质突变,使成矿物质被释放而成矿,在热液成矿作用中断裂降压引发水相变,是热液...     

Experimental abiotic alteration of igneous and manufactured glasses

Pits in ocean basalt glass are often attributed to the activity of microorganisms, however, neither the mechanism of formation of pits in glass nor the involvement of microorganisms have been confirmed by experimentation. Experimental abiotic corrosion of basalt glass with 1% hydrofluoric acid (HF), a proxy for more slowly acting organic acids, produces pits that are similar in size, shape, and distribution to pits found in basalt glass collected from the ocean floor and basalt glass incubated with microorganisms. This pit formation by HF etching was demonstrated by comparing secondary electron images taken before and after the acid treatment. The formation of pits by abiotic corrosion of basalt glass is an alternate hypothesis for the origin of these features, and the interpretation of these features as biomarkers may require a resolution of these alternative hypotheses.     

乌力吉木仁河三级区水资源变异及归因分析

随着气候变化和人类活动对水资源影响越来越显著,大量水文序列的统计规律不再满足一致性要求而出现了变异。水资源日益重要的社会地位,要求在对水文变异进行检测的同时,需进一步量化影响其变异的因素,但目前归因分析的研究仍以定性或半定量为主。由于降雨和径流是水循环中关键的水文要素,且分别可以反映气候变化和人类活动对水资源的影响,利用降雨-径流关系提出了定量研究水资源变异的归因分析方法。结合乌力吉木仁河三级区1956~2000的年径流和年降雨序列,在对其分别进行变异诊断的基础上,定量地分析了造成该区水文变异的原因。计算结果表明:气候变化对乌力吉木仁河三级区水资源变异的贡献率为24%,而人类活动影响的贡献率为76%,可见人类活动是造成该区水资源变异的主要因素。     

津巴布韦大岩墙南段两翼铬铁矿床特征及成因探讨

津巴布韦大岩墙蕴含丰富的铬铁矿资源,不同部位成矿特征存在差异。钙碱性铁质基性-超基性岩浆结晶分异过程中伴随着铬铁矿的成矿作用,南部岩浆房两翼300m深度范围内共赋存7个不连续的铬铁矿层,矿层垂向间距30～50m,南部矿层发育优于北部;铬铁矿层厚度多为0.2～1m,铬铁矿层发育于辉橄岩系和辉石岩系的接触部位,三者呈渐变式过渡接触,共同构成典型的韵律结构;两翼矿层产状呈对称状倾向于岩墙的轴部,倾角约为10°～20°;矿石多为自形-半自形微细粒结构,稀疏浸染状及中等浸染状构造,矿石为需选贫铬矿石,w(Cr2O3)=5%～30%,且矿体内Pt+Pd含量可观。大岩墙南段两翼铬铁矿为典型的早期岩浆结晶分异矿床,后期构造运动加剧了矿层的不连续性,并对局部岩矿层产状产生改造,蛇纹石化蚀变形成了指示矿体的标志性斑杂构造岩。     

遥感技术在内蒙古东乌珠穆沁旗萨麦地区的找矿应用

本文以内蒙古东乌珠穆沁旗萨麦地区1:5万巴彦塔拉等4幅区域地质调查范围为研究区,以ETM+影像数据为信息源,以波谱理论为基础,从遥感图像中提取蚀变信息继而进行遥感找矿实践。针对区内铁染、羟基蚀变类型使用主成分分析等方法,将研究区划分为10个异常区,结合区域构造特征情况,对异常区域开展了1:1万路线调查,综合判定后,选择了4个找矿靶区进行了化探剖面探测并进行了成果分析,结果显示遥感蚀变信息与野外调查和化探异常吻合较好。