On the geologic structure of the Explora Escarpment (Weddell Sea,Antarctica) revealed by satellite and Shipboard data evaluation

Bathymetric, gravity, and magnetic data from Antarctic expeditions with RV POLARSTERN and satellite altimeter data from the Geosat Geodetic Mission are analysed using methods from geostatistics and geophysical inverse theory.The Explora Escarpment represents the edge between the Antarctic Continental Shelf and the Weddell Abyssal Plain. It is an important link in the reconstruction of Gondwana breakup, but a feature as large as the 2000 m deep Wegener Canyon was only discovered in 1984, when extensive bathymetric, gravimetric, and magnetic surveys with RV POLARSTERN began.Geostatistics, the theory of regionalized variables, is applied to integrate dense surveys of Wegener Canyon and sparse observations in adjacent areas into maps with full coverage of the 230 km by 330 km area at 10°–20° W/70°–72° S. The resultant highresolution bathymetric and gravity maps reveal detailed structures of the Explora Escarpment. Using geophysical inversion, the gravity terrain effect is calculated. Satellite data are used for their better coverage, but have much lower resolution. Nevertheless, the structures of Wegener Canyon and other more prominent features appear with surprisingly good correlation also in the Geosat altimeter data. While it was initially supposed that Wegener Canyon is purely an erosional structure, the magnetic map now provides evidence of the canyon's tectonic origin.     

Hydrologic and geomorphic processes in the Colville River delta, Alaska

The Colville basin drains the North Slope of Alaska and is one of several large Arctic river systems located within permafrost. The timing and style of fluvial processes in the earth's permafrost regions differ from those occurring in midlatitude settings. Moreover, in comparison to temperate-zone systems, rivers located entirely within permafrost perform most of their work during relatively short periods of time. This paper examines river ice hydrology and the resulting geomorphic processes that occur within the Colville delta, Alaska. Fluvial processes and landform development within the Colville delta occur after the flood-pulse is initiated by the breakup of river ice. During this 4-month period, the geomorphic processes are largely influenced by the movement of ice. The flood-pulse and accompanying river ice influences erosional and depositional processes and results in unique styles of sediment transport, deposition, and riverbank erosion.     

The dominant driving force for supercontinent breakup: Plume push or subduction retreat?

Understanding the dominant force responsible for supercontinent breakup is crucial for establishing Earth's geodynamic evolution that includes supercontinent cycles and plate tectonics. Conventionally,two forces have been considered: the push by mantle plumes from the sub-continental mantle which is called the active force for breakup, and the dragging force from oceanic subduction retreat which is called the passive force for breakup. However, the relative importance of these two forces is unclear. Here we model the supercontinent breakup coupled with global mantle convection in order to address this question. Our global model features a spherical harmonic degree-2 structure, which includes a major subduction girdle and two large upwelling(superplume) systems. Based on this global mantle structure,we examine the distribution of extensional stress applied to the supercontinent by both subsupercontinent mantle upwellings and subduction retreat at the supercontinent peripheral. Our results show that:(1) at the center half of the supercontinent, plume push stress is ～3 times larger than the stress induced by subduction retreat;(2) an average hot anomaly of no higher than 50 K beneath the supercontinent can produce a push force strong enough to cause the initialization of supercontinent breakup;(3) the extensional stress induced by subduction retreat concentrates on a ～600 km wide zone on the boundary of the supercontinent, but has far less impact to the interior of the supercontinent. We therefore conclude that although circum-supercontinent subduction retreat assists supercontinent breakup, sub-supercontinent mantle upwelling is the essential force.     

Mesoproterozoic Earthquake Events and Breakup of the Sino-Korean Plate

In the Mesoproterozoic time, the northern part of the Sino-Korean Plate experienced a period of intensive tectonic extension and breakup. 1. An abundance of sedimentary earthquake records is preserved in the Chuanlinggou, Tuanshanzi and Gaoyuzhuang formations in the Mesoproterozoic Changcheng System （1800-1400 Ma） and in the Mesoproterozoic Wumishan Formation of the Jixian System （1400-1000 Ma）. These earthquake records are characterized by various liquefied sand-veins, carbonate microspar and coarser spar veins, limestone dikes, liquefied breccia and various forms of liquefied contorted bedding. This deformation is always associated with synsedimentary faults and igneous activity. 2. Three liquefaction models for soft carbonate sediments are recognized, including liquefaction in laminated carbonate rocks, liquefaction in thin-bedded carbonates and large-scale liquefaction along huge carbonate dikes. 3. Based on the record of earthquake and volcanic activities, the Sino-Korean Plate experienced at least twice intraplate breakups. One occurred between 1800-1400 Ma, and the other occurred at about 1200 Ma. The last breakup resulted in formation of the Yan-Liao aulacogen, a tectonic zone characterized by deeper material vibrancy, active faults, major igneous activity and frequent earthquakes.     

南海大洋钻探及海洋地质与地球物理前沿研究新突破

南海是西太平洋地区规模最大且具有代表性的边缘海盆地之一。经过近几十年的研究积累,尤其是通过实施5个国际大洋钻探航次(1999–2018年)与国家自然科学基金委“南海深海过程演变”重大研究计划(2011–2019年),我国科学家获得了大量宝贵的第一手资料,取得了一系列创新进展与重大突破,标志着南海海洋地质与地球物理研究正走向国际前沿。重要研究成果包括:(1)新提出南海是“板缘张裂”盆地,与经典的大西洋型陆缘模式不同;(2)大洋钻探首次获取了基底玄武岩样品,结合中国在南海首次深拖地磁测量实验,精确测定了南海海盆玄武岩年龄,揭示南海海盆从东向西分段扩张;(3)大洋钻探结果发现南海陆缘岩石圈减薄之初岩浆迅速出现,未发现缓慢破裂造成的蛇纹岩出露;(4)发现南海扩张结束后仍存在大量岩浆活动,可能受控于多种构造与地幔因素;(5)地球化学证据与地球动力学模拟都显示南海岩浆的形成受到周边俯冲带的影响。目前我国的海洋地球科学正在进入崭新的发展阶段,有望以南海为基点,开始拓展到周边大洋,通过主导大型研究计划以及建设我国大洋钻探平台,以提升我国在南海、西太平洋与印度洋海洋地质科学研究的实质性影响力与引领地位。     

Middle-high latitude N2O distributions related to the Arctic vortex breakup

The relationship of N2O distributions with the Arctic vortex breakup is first analyzed with a probability distribution function （PDF） analysis. The N2O concentration shows different distributions between the early and late vortex breakup years. In the early breakup years, the N2O concentration shows low values and large dispersions after the vortex breakup, which is related to the inhomogeneity in the vertical advection in the middle and high latitude lower stratosphere. The horizontal diffusion coefficient （Kyy） shows a larger value accordingly. In the late breakup years, the N2O concentration shows high values and more uniform distributions than in the early years after the vortex breakup, with a smaller vertical advection and Kyy after the vortex breakup. It is found that the N2O distributions are largely affected by the Arctic vortex breakup time but the dynamically defined vortex breakup time is not the only factor.     

Thermal surface characteristics of coal fires 1 results of in-situ measurements

Natural underground coal fires are fires in coal seams occurring subsurface. The fires are ignited through a process named spontaneous combustion, which occurs based on a natural reaction but is usually triggered through human interaction. Coal mining activities expose coal to the air. This leads to the exothermal oxidation of the carbon in the coal with the air's oxygen to CO₂ and – under certain circumstances – to spontaneous combustion. Coal fires occur in many countries world wide – however, currently the Chinese coal mining industry faces the biggest problems with coal fires. Coal fires destroy the valuable resource coal and furthermore lead to many environmental degradation phenomena such as the deterioration of surrounding vegetation, land subsidence and the emission of toxic gasses (CO, N₂O). They additionally contribute to the emission of green house relevant gasses such as CO₂ and CH₄ to the atmosphere.In this paper we present thermal characteristics of coal fires as measured in-situ during a field campaign to the Wuda coal fire area in south-central Inner Mongolia, China. Thermal characteristics include temperature anomaly measurements at the surface, spatial surface temperature profiles of fire areas and unaffected background areas, diurnal temperature profiles, and temperature measurements inside of coal fire induced cracks in the overlying bedrock. For all the measurements the effects of uneven solar heating through influences of slope and aspect are considered.Our findings show that coal fires result in strong or subtle thermal surface anomalies. Especially the latter can easily be influenced by heating of the surrounding background material through solar influences. Temperature variation of background rocks with different albedo, slope, aspect or vegetation cover can substantially influence the detectability of thermal anomalies. In the worst case coal fire related thermal anomalies can be completely masked by solar patterns during the daytime. Thus, night-time analysis is the most suitable for thermal anomaly mapping of underground coal fires, although this is not always feasible. The heat of underground coal fires only progresses very slowly through conduction in the rock material. Anomalies of coal fires completely covered by solid unfractured bedrock are very weak and were only measured during the night. The thermal pattern of underground coal fires manifested on the surface during the daytime is thus the pattern of cracks and vents, which occur due to the volume loss underground and which support radiation and convective energy transport of hot gasses. Inside coal fire temperatures can hardly be measured and can only be recorded if the glowing coal is exposed through a wider crack in the overlaying bedrock. Direct coal fire temperatures measured ranged between 233 °C and 854 °C. The results presented can substantially support the planning of thermal mapping campaigns, analyses of coal fire thermal anomalies in remotely sensed data, and can provide initial and boundary conditions for coal fire related numerical modeling.In a second paper named “Thermal Characteristics of Coal Fires 2: results of measurements on simulated coal fires” [Zhang J., Kuenzer C., Tetzlaff A., Oettl D., Zhukov B., Wagner W., 2007. Thermal Characteristics of Coal Fires 2: Result of measurements on simulated coal fires. Accepted for publication at Journal of Applied Geophysics. doi:10.1016/j.jappgeo.2007.08.003] we report about thermal characteristics of simulated coal fires simulated under simplified conditions. The simulated set up allowed us to measure even more parameters under undisturbed conditions — especially inside fire temperatures. Furthermore we could demonstrate the differences between open surface coal fires and covered underground coal fires. Thermal signals of coal fires in near range thermal remotely sensed imagery from an observing tower and from an airplane are presented and discussed.     

注浆法在填土地基加固处理中的应用实例

泸溪县武溪110kv变电站场地地基为人工开挖山坡堆填而成，填土厚薄不均，由块石、碎石及粉土构成。变电站建成后，建筑物及地面发生不均匀沉降，建设方要求进行加固处理，经过反复对比和投资验算，确定采用充填、渗透注浆法对填土地基注入浓水泥浆进行加固处理。施工前，先要进行注浆试验，选择合理的注浆方式和技术参数。注浆加固后，通过一年多的观察，建筑物及地面不均匀沉隆均得到控制，达到了提高地基承载力，稳定建筑的目的。     

滇东北下田坝花岗岩年代学、地球化学及其构造意义

滇东北下田坝花岗岩的SiO2质量分数在71.1%～78.15%之间,Al2O3值在11.55%～14.90%之间,A/CNK=0.94～1.25,属于弱过铝质花岗岩。稀土元素总量(∑REE)为259.71×10-6～804.60×10-6,∑LREE/∑HREE为4.12～10.28,说明轻稀土较重稀土富集。岩石具有明显的负Eu异常(δEu=0.04～0.07),大离子亲石元素Rb、Ba、Pb、U等相对富集,高场强元素Nb、Ta、Zr、Ti等明显亏损,这些特征说明下田坝花岗岩是由壳源物质部分熔融形成的,具有A型花岗岩的特征。对下田坝花岗岩进行的激光探针等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)锆石U-Pb同位素年代学研究获得了206Pb/238 U加权年龄年龄769±4.4Ma(MSWD=0.45),可代表花岗岩的形成年龄,下田坝花岗岩并非原来认为的早古生代花岗岩。结合对区域地质资料的分析认为,下田坝花岗岩的形成年龄与扬子地块西部Rodinia超大陆裂解事件在时间上一致,该花岗岩是在Rodinia超大陆裂解过程中由地幔柱活动引起的大陆裂谷环境中形成的,这也证实了扬子地块西南缘新元古代的裂谷环境已影响到滇东北的东川地区。     

从哥伦比亚超大陆裂解事件论古/中元古代的界限

国际前寒武纪地层表中始终把古/中元古代的界线置于1. 6Ga,我国则一直将这一界线置于1. 8Ga。存在认识分歧的根本原因是对1. 8Ga前后时期地质事件及其性质的理解与认识的差异或偏颇。本文通过阐述1. 8～1. 6Ga期间地质事件及其性质,重点分析和讨论古/中元古代(界)界限的划分及相关地质事件的标志与意义。大量的地质资料显示,超大陆从1. 8～1. 75Ga开始裂解,形成一系列的陆内盆地,如北美(劳伦古陆)的Thelon盆地、澳大利亚北部的Leichhardt超级盆地、南美巴西圣弗兰西斯科盆地、华北南缘的熊耳裂谷盆地以及扬子地块西南缘的东川盆地等。在这些盆地形成的早期沉积了冲积扇相、河流相的碎屑岩,之后伴有较广泛的火山岩喷发,中晚期从河流相、湖相碎屑岩沉积过渡到浅海碳酸盐台地沉积,反映一个拉伸裂解的过程。在复原的哥伦比亚超大陆内,广泛分布有1. 78～1. 72Ga的非造山花岗岩,包括AMCG组合(斜长岩、纹长二长岩、紫苏花岗岩和花岗岩)、环斑花岗岩、A型花岗岩等,以及广泛分布的基性岩墙群。这些岩浆岩都反映了拉伸裂解的地球动力学背景。在1. 8～1. 6Ga,不论是沉积事件还是岩浆事件,绝大部分与超大陆的拉伸裂解有关,并未显示造山作用、大陆固结和克拉通化的特点,用固结纪来概括这一阶段地质事件的性质并不合适。哥伦比亚超大陆上的许多盆地在1. 6Ga左右经历了一次广泛的抬升,使沉积作用短时间间断,之后原有盆地继续发展,接受了更广泛的沉积,这种沉积作用可以一直延续到1. 4～1. 3Ga左右。与裂解有关的岩浆事件也以幕式方式从1. 78Ga一直断续持续到1. 4～1. 32Ga左右。从1. 8Ga(或1. 78Ga)到1. 4～1. 3Ga,不论是盆地的沉积事件还是与裂解有关的岩浆事件,基本是连续的。以1. 6Ga作为年代界线划分古/中元古代,人为地隔断了连续的沉积事件和岩浆事件,显然与"尽可能少地截断沉积作用、火成侵位或造山运动的主要序列"的前寒武纪地层划分原则相悖。连续的裂谷盆地沉积事件和非造山岩浆事件可以追溯到1. 8Ga(或1. 78Ga)。因此,我们建议将古/中元古代的界线置于1. 8Ga或1. 78Ga。考虑到裂谷作用的本质是在已有超大陆或克拉通的基础上盖层的发育过程,因此我们建议将～1. 8Ga或1. 78～1. 4Ga都归入盖层系。