Biological and granulometric controls on sedimentary organic matter of an intertidal mudflat

A variety of measures of organic matter concentration and quality were made on samples collected from the top few mm of intertidal mudflat sediment over the course of a year, in order to assess the relative importance of biological and sedimentological influences on sedimentary organic matter. Winter and summer were times of relatively fine-grained sediment accumulation, caused by biological deposition or stabilization processes and resulting in higher organic matter concentrations. Stable carbon isotope and Br:C ratios indicated a planktonic source of bulk organic matter. Ratios of organic carbon to specific surface area of the sediments were consistent with an organic monolayer coverage of sediment grains. Correction for changing grain size during the year showed no change in the organic concentration per unit surface area, in spite of organic matter inputs by in situ primary production, buildup of heterotroph biomass and mucus coatings, and biodeposition of organic-rich seston. There were also no indications of changes in bulk organic quality, measured as hydrolyzable carbohydrates and amino acids, in response to these biological processes. It is concluded that biological processes on a seasonal time scale affect the bulk organic matter of these sediments via a modulation of grain size rather than creation or decay of organic matter.     

Fluid entrapment and reequilibration during subduction and exhumation: A case study from the high-grade Nestos shear zone, Central Rhodope, Greece

A fluid inclusion study on metamorphic minerals of successive growth stages was performed on highly deformed paragneisses from the Nestos Shear Zone at Xanthi (Central Rhodope), in which microdiamonds provide unequivocal evidence for ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphism. The correlation of fluid inclusion density isochores and fluid inclusion reequilibration textures with geothermobarometric data and the relative chronology of micro- and macro-scale deformation stages allow a better understanding of both the fluid and metamorphic evolution along the P–T–d path. Textural evidence for subduction towards the NE is recorded by the orientation of intragranular NE-oriented fluid inclusion planes and the presence of single, annular fluid inclusion decrepitation textures. These textures occur within quartz “foam” structures enclosed in an earlier generation of garnets with prolate geometries and rarely within recrystallized matrix quartz, and reequilibrated both in composition and density during later stages of exhumation. No fluid inclusions pertaining to the postulated ultrahigh-pressure stage for microdiamond-bearing garnet–kyanite–gneisses have yet been found. The prolate shape of garnets developed during the earliest stages of exhumation that is recorded structurally by (L  S) tectonites, which subsequently accommodated progressive ductile SW shearing and folding up to shallow crustal levels. The majority of matrix kyanite and a later generation of garnet were formed during SW-directed shear under plane-strain conditions. Fluid inclusions entrapped in quartz during this stage of deformation underwent density loss and transformed to almost pure CO₂ inclusions by preferential loss of H₂O. Those inclusions armoured within garnet retained their primary 3-phase H₂O–CO₂ compositions. Reequilibration of fluid inclusions in quartz aggregates is most likely the result of recrystallization along with stress-induced, preferential H₂O leakage along dislocations and planar lattice defects which results in the predominance of CO₂ inclusions with supercritical densities. Carbonic fluid inclusions from adjacent kyanite–corundum-bearing pegmatoids and, the presence of shear-plane-parallel fluid inclusion planes within late quartz boudin structures consisting of pure CO₂-fluid inclusions with negative crystal shapes, bear witness of the latest stage of deformation by NE-directed extensional shear.This study shows that the textures of early fluid inclusions that formed already during the prograde metamorphic path can be preserved and used to derive information about the kinematics of subduction that is difficult to obtain from other sources. The textures of early inclusions, together with later generations of unaltered primary and secondary inclusions in metamorphic index minerals that can be linked to specific deformation stages and even P–T conditions, are a welcome supplement for the reconstruction of a rather detailed P–T–d path.     

Petrography and textural development of inorganic and biogenic lithotypes in a relict barite tufa deposit at Flybye Springs, NT, Canada

A relict mound of Holocene barite (BaSO₄) tufa underlies the Flybye Springs, a small, barium‐rich, cold sulphur spring system in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The tufa is composed of relatively pure barite with ≤0·34 wt% Ca²⁺ and ≤0·77 wt% Sr²⁺. The mound is made up of coated bubble, raft, undulatory sheet, stromatolitic, coated grain and detrital conglomerate barite tufa. Although previously unreported in barite, these lithotypes are akin to facies found in many carbonate spring deposits. Raft and ooid‐coated grain tufa was formed via ‘inorganic’ barite precipitation in spring water ponds and tributaries where rapid oxidation of sulphide to sulphate established barite supersaturation. Undulatory sheet tufa may have formed by the reaction of dissolved barium with sulphate derived from the oxidation of extracellular polysaccharide‐rich colloidal sulphur films floating in oxygenated, barite‐saturated spring water ponds. Coated bubble, oncoid‐coated grain and stromatolitic tufa with filamentous microfossils was formed in close association with sulphur‐tolerant microbes inhabiting dysoxic and oxygenated spring water tributaries and ponds. Adsorption of dissolved barium to microbial extracellular polysaccharide probably facilitated the development of these ‘biogenic’ lithotypes. Detrital conglomerate tufa was formed by barite cementation of microdetrital tufa, allochthonous lithoclasts and organic detritus, including caribou hair. Biogenic textures, organic artefacts and microfossils in the Flybye barite tufa have survived diagenetic aggradational recrystallization and precipitation of secondary cements, indicating the potential for palaeoecological information to be preserved in barite in the geological record. Similarities between the Flybye barite tufa and carbonate spring deposits demonstrate that analogous textures can develop in chemical sedimentary systems with distinct mineralogy, biology and physiochemistry.     

Zircon U–Pb ages, Hf and O isotopes constrain the crustal architecture of the ultrahigh-pressure Dabie orogen in China

The crustal structure of the Dabie orogen was reconstructed by a combined study of U–Pb ages, Hf and O isotope compositions of zircons from granitic gneiss from North Dabie, the largest lithotectonic unit in the orogen. The results were deciphered from metamorphic history to protolith origin with respect to continental subduction and exhumation. Zircon U–Pb dating provides consistent ages of 751 ± 7 Ma for protolith crystallization, and two group ages of 213 ± 4 to 245 ± 17 Ma and 126 ± 4 to 131 ± 36 Ma for regional metamorphism. Majority of zircon Hf isotope analyses displays negative ε_Hf(t) values of − 5.1 to − 2.9 with crust Hf model ages of 1.84 to 1.99 Ga, indicating protolith origin from reworking of middle Paleoproterozoic crust. The remaining analyses exhibit positive ε_Hf(t) values of 5.3 to 14.5 with mantle Hf model ages of 0.74 to 1.11 Ga, suggesting prompt reworking of Late Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic juvenile crust. Zircon O isotope analyses yield δ¹⁸O values of − 3.26 to 2.79‰, indicating differential involvement of meteoric water in protolith magma by remelting of hydrothermally altered low δ¹⁸O rocks. North Dabie shares the same age of Neoproterozoic low δ¹⁸O protolith with Central Dabie experiencing the Triassic UHP metamorphism, but it was significantly reworked at Early Cretaceous in association with contemporaneous magma emplacement. The Rodinia breakup at about 750 Ma would lead to not only the reworking of juvenile crust in an active rift zone for bimodal protolith of Central Dabie, but also reworking of ancient crust in an arc-continent collision zone for the North Dabie protolith. The spatial difference in the metamorphic age (Triassic vs. Cretaceous) between the northern and southern parts of North Dabie suggests intra-crustal detachment during the continental subduction. Furthermore, the Dabie orogen would have a three-layer structure prior to the Early Cretaceous magmatism: Central Dabie in the upper, North Dabie in the middle, and the source region of Cretaceous magmas in the lower.     

Zircon coronas around Fe–Ti oxides: a physical reference frame for metamorphic and metasomatic reactions

Ilmenite in coronitic gabbros from the Bamble and Kongsberg sectors, southern Norway, is surrounded by zircons ranging in diameters from a fraction of a micrometer to 10 μm across. The zircons are inert during subsequent metamorphism (amphibolite- to pumpellyite–prehnite facies) and metasomatism (scapolitization and albitization) and can be found as trails in silicates (phlogopite, talc, chlorite, amphibole, albite, and tourmaline) in the altered rocks. The trails link up to form polygons outlining the former oxide grain boundary. This 3-dimensional framework of zircons is used to (a) recognize metasomatic origin of rocks, (b) quantify the mobility of elements during mineral replacement, (c) establish the growth direction of reaction fronts and to identify the reaction mechanism as dissolution–reprecipitation. Zircon coronas on Fe–Ti oxides have been described from a number of terrains and appear to be common in mafic rocks (gabbros and granulites) providing a tool for a better understanding of metasomatic and metamorphic reactions.     

珠江口盆地基底结构的综合地球物理研究

通过对珠江口盆地重磁资料的分析处理及反演计算，依据盆地的地质、地球物理特征，采取了针对性的综合地球物理研究思路与方法，对地震资料难以解决的珠江口盆地基底结构进行了研究，确定了盆地的重力和磁性基底深度，并对盆地内的断裂和基底岩性作了推断，提供了新的认识，为今后研究提供了依据。     

Natural expansion and experimental manipulation of seagrass (Zostera spp.) abundance and the response of infaunal invertebrates

A study of an expanding seagrass bed on the south-west coast of British Columbia, Canada involved documentation and explanation of the pattern of expansion of the vegetation as well as documentation and experimental investigation of the accompanying changes in the distribution of infaunal invertebrates. Expansion followed a major environmental change, improved water clarity initiated in 1969 when a causeway blocked access to the site for silty Fraser River water. The original eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed expanded landward over 30 m year⁻¹, probably causing more and more water to be retained in the bed at low tide and thus improving its own habitat. More rapid expansion occurred from 1979–1983 after Z.japonica colonized at the landward edge of the eelgrass bed and in a separate intertidal area. Expansion ceased around 1983 coincident with, but probably independent of, further construction.Burrowing shrimp (Callianassa californiensis) decreased in abundance between 1977 and 1984 in areas where the two seagrasses colonized. Short-term experiment over one summer and fall showed that removal of all shoots allowed adult shrimp and tube worms to colonize the sediment while addition of shoots of Z. japonica by transplanting caused temporary decreases in shrimp abundance. After a few weeks an established shrimp population destroyed the transplants. Among reasonable alternate hypotheses for the decline in Callianassa, the effect of sediment texture can be eliminated, but either direct negative effects of seagrass, i.e. inhibition of the burrowing of adult shrimp or of settlement of juveniles, or indirect effects, i.e. the harboring of more predators of shrimp in seagrass beds, deserve further study.     

基于色层图与纹理融合的地形晕渲

针对三维地形晕渲的具体需求和存在问题,提出了一种基于色层图与纹理融合的晕渲方法。根据自定义或色层表主色调插值生成色彩连续的色层图,对地形高程进行着色;在地表材质分块的基础上,通过计算相邻材质边界上的多重纹理坐标,使用多重纹理映射进行融合过渡;最后给出了实验结果。     

遥感影像特征提取与选择及在影像分类中的应用

利用模式识别中特征提取和特征选择的相关理论对遥感影像的纹理特征进行遴选和变换处理,得到描述纹理的二次特征。实验证明这些新特征能够提高影像分类精度和分类效率。     

遥感图像线性影纹理解专家系统设计与实现

线性影纹信息是遥感图像中的一类重要信息,线性影纹信息自动提取是遥感图像智能解译的重要研究领域。笔者采用基于特征对象的专家系统技术来完成线性影纹信息的简单类别提取,设计并实现了线性影纹理解专家系统;阐明了系统结构,解译规则获取、表达,基于消息的不确定性推理机及解释机的设计;最后利用系统做了线性影纹类别提取实验,结果表明基于特征对象的专家系统用于线性影纹类别自动提取是切实可行的,并具有较高的提取精度。