Biological and abiological processes in a simulated sedimentary system

A simulated sedimentary system, capable of being controlled and monitored for a considerable length of time without undue disturbance, has been assembled and applied to specific problems of the genesis of stratiform Pb‐Zn ore deposits. Results have been obtained relevant to: (i) the concentration of Pb and Zn from brines to underlying sediments; (ii) the behaviour of microorganisms in metal‐rich, highly saline environments; (iii) the precipitation diagenesis of calcium and magnesium carbonates; and (iv) the diagenesis of organic matter.

The experiment has demonstrated the feasibility of simulating a complex sedimentary environment in the laboratory and has indicated the potential of such systems for the investigation of geobiological problems.     

Stratigraphy and tectonics of the Early to Middle Proterozoic transition,Katherine‐El Sherana area,Northern Territory

Abstract

Two unconformity‐bound groups of volcanic rocks and associated sediments (El Sherana and Edith River Groups) separate the older Pine Creek Geosyncline metasediments from platform cover of the McArthur Basin. Dominated by intersecting NW and ENE rift systems, the volcanics are genetically related to an extensional tectonic system which was also active during deposition of the Pine Creek Geosyncline sequence. In contrast, the younger platform cover was deposited in a relatively stable environment. The rift valleys were filled with rhyolite flows, ignimbrite and ill‐sorted arenite and rudite, and flyschoid sediments spread onto adjacent lands. Following tight upright folding, granite intrusion and erosion, an extensive ignimbrite sheet (=6000 km²) spread from a centre probably at the intercept of the two rifts. Microgranite at this intersection was possibly emplaced in the evacuated magma chamber. The volcanic sequences were deeply eroded and weathered before platform cover deposition began. The platform sediments, represented in the area by the Kombolgie Formation, were deposited from about 1690 Ma to 1650 Ma, and their base is taken as the closest stratigraphic indicator of the boundary between the Early and Middle Proterozoic.     

辽宁省地槽区志留系—奥陶系

辽宁省地槽区的志留系—奥陶系分布于辽宁省北部,奥陶系称下二台群,由下向上分为盘岭组、黄顶子组、烧锅屯组;分布于辽宁省西部的奥陶系称明安山群。志留系下统为巴林桥组,中统为晒勿苏组。下二台群是一套变质的火山岩系夹正常海相沉积层,火山岩的岩石化学成分及岩石结构与甘肃白银厂早古生代火山岩相似。在火山岩系中已发现有多处铜、金矿点,显然辽宁省北部下二台群是寻找铜、金、银的理想地区。     

Geochemistry of the low‐grade Early Proterozoic sedimentary sequence in the Pine Creek Geosyncline,Northern Territory

Abstract

The geochemistry of Early Proterozoic sedimentary rocks from the low‐grade metamorphic terrain W of the South Alligator Hinge Zone in the Pine Creek Geosyncline is reported and discussed in terms of the stratigraphy and differences in rock type. Major element trends are dominated by lithological and mineralogical variations; in particular, the dolomitic nature of pelites in the Mount Partridge and Namoona Groups, the presence of chlorite in Crater Formation pelites, and the volcanic affinity of pelites within the Gerowie Tuff. Concentration of Th, U, Zr, Y, Nb, Ce and La in the clastic sediments of the Finniss River and South Alligator Groups is probably related to the presence of felsic volcanics in these groups; high levels of Sn in these groups may be similarly related, and highlight the apparent volcanogenic source for this metal. The South Alligator Group is a preferred host for base‐metal mineralization, and the regional abundance of several metals in this group enhance its economic potential and support a syngenetic, possibly exhalative, origin for these deposits. Anomalous Co, Ni, and V values in Masson Formation pelites are probably related to the nearby mafic Stag Creek Volcanics. Detrital minerals derived from reworked Archaean basement account for high Zr and Th in the Crater Formation. The geochemical data support the shift in REE patterns related to changes in crustal composition about the Archaean‐Proterozoic boundary, though patterns within the Early Proterozoic have also been influenced by felsic volcanism in the South Alligator Group. The chemical index of alteration (which reflects the degree of weathering of sedimentary rocks) reflects the existence of a major unconformity between the Mount Partridge and Namoona Groups; however, other hiatuses observed in or inferred from the rock record are not evident. The dominant felsic volcanic component of the Gerowie Tuff pelites is also indicated by this technique.     

Ediacaran ice-rafting and coeval asteroid impact,South Australia: insights into the terminal Proterozoic environment

Isolated quartzose pebbles, clusters of quartz granules, orthogonal aggregates of poorly sorted quartzose coarse sand, and ovoid pellets (≤2 mm long) of quartz silt occur in hemipelagic marine mudstone of the mid-Ediacaran Bunyeroo Formation exposed in the Adelaide Geosyncline (Adelaide Rift Complex), and ovoid pellets of quartz silt in cores of the correlative marine Dey Dey Mudstone from deep drillholes in the Officer Basin, South Australia. This detritus is interpreted respectively as dropstones, dumps, and frozen aggregates dispersed by sea ice possibly of seasonal origin, and till pellets transported by glacial ice. The ice-rafted material in the Bunyeroo Formation only has been found <10 m stratigraphically below and above a horizon of dacitic ejecta related to the 90 km diameter Acraman impact structure in the Mesoproterozoic Gawler Range Volcanics 300 km to the west. Furthermore, till pellets have been identified 4.4 to 68 m below distal Acraman ejecta in the Dey Dey Mudstone >500 km northwest of the impact site. The Acraman impact took place at a low paleolatitude (～12.5°) and would have adversely affected the global environment. The stratigraphic observations imply, however, that the impact occurred during, but did not trigger, a cold interval marked by sea ice and glacial ice, although the temporal relationship with Ediacaran glaciations elsewhere in Australia and on other continents is unclear. Release from the combined environmental stresses of a frigid, glacial climate near sea-level and a major impact in low latitudes may have been a factor influencing subsequent Ediacaran biotic evolution.     

辽宁北部槽区下二台群及其区域对比

下二台群与吉林下古生代槽区相连,自上而下可分为王相屯组、黄顶子组和盘岭组。下二台群时代应为寒武—志留纪。下二台群的王相屯组、黄顶子组、盘岭组应分别与吉林下古生界(呼兰群)的桃山组、石缝组、黄莺屯组对比。下二台群具有复杂的褶皱形式,致使同一岩层重复出现。下二台群是寻找与火山活动有关的金、银、铜和多金属矿的有利层位。     

华北地台与秦岭地槽构造关系初探

边界问题或构造关系问题,一直是地质学家最为关心的问题之一。华北地台与秦岭地槽构造关系的实质是洋壳与陆壳的矛盾统一和相互转化。中晚元古代时,秦岭地槽为洋壳演化区,华北地台为陆壳区,幸岭洋壳板块俯冲至华北陆壳板块之下:黑沟—铁炉子断裂相当俯冲带,其北洛南—栾川断隆是陆壳被改造而具陆缘弧性质;陆缘弧发展晚期在其南缘发育有弧前坳陷;陆缘弧之北的熊耳断坳则为弧后裂陷盆地;陆缘弧与弧后裂陷盆地之间的马超营—石门断裂为前陆断裂带。因此,秦岭地槽与华北地台的具体界线应以中晚元古代时大洋与大陆的分界线——黑沟—铁炉子断裂为准,而马超营—石门断裂仅为陆壳改造区内次级单位的分界.     

Sand and silt grains: Predetermination of their formation and properties by microfractures in quartz

Examination of quartz from plutonic source rocks, sediments and soils, using both optical and scanning electron microscopes, reveals that the mineral is, almost always, cut by sets of partially healed, subplanar, subparallel microfractures dividing it into sheets typically one to a few micrometres thick. The structure, which originates in source rocks, is not due to crystal cleavage although it does show weak crystallo‐graphic influence in its directions. One to several sets of microfractures, intersecting at varying angles, can be present in any one quartz crystal. The microfractures vary in quality like cleavages; separation takes place readily along some, less so along others.

In superficial environments, the ease with which microfractures can be reopened largely controls the durability of quartz and the degree to which comminution can proceed. However, this type of breakage must cease when grains are one sheet thick (about 2–20 Mm in diameter). Hence quartz suddenly changes from being the dominant mineral in silt fractions to a normally minor constituent of clay fractions. The shape of grains depends largely on the number of (and angles between) microfrac‐ture sets present in the parent quartz. Most quartz grain surfaces represent fractures whose details characterize the pre‐emergent history of the quartz rather than sedimentary environments.     

对法库地区“辽河群”的新认识

经近几年区域地质调查研究发现：法库地区原辽河群变质岩系，实际上是由变质的安山岩、英安岩、碎屑岩、碳酸盐岩及变形的花岗岩组成。岩石遭到强烈的再造作用，特别是糜棱岩化作用，并且大部分地层在花岗岩中呈捕虏体存在。经野外宏观、室内微观的综合研究以及邻区对比，认为该地区变质地层具有槽区古生界的普遍特征，尤其是在原辽河群大石桥组大理岩中采到海百合茎化石。已可确认：原辽河群这套变质岩系，除了变形的花岗岩之外，均属地槽型古生代地层。