Zircon U–Pb age, trace element and Hf isotope composition of Kongling terrane in the Yangtze Craton: refining the timing of Palaeoproterozoic high-grade metamorphism

U–Pb age, trace element and Hf isotope compositions of zircon were analysed for a metasedimentary rock and two amphibolites from the Kongling terrane in the northern part of the Yangtze Craton. The zircon shows distinct morphological and chemical characteristics. Most zircon in an amphibolite shows oscillatory zoning, high Th/U and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios, high formation temperature, high trace element contents, clear negative Eu anomaly, as well as HREE-enriched patterns, suggesting that it is igneous. The zircon yields a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2857 ± 8 Ma, representing the age of the magmatic protolith. The zircon in the other two samples is metamorphic. It has low Th/U ratios, low trace element concentrations, variable HREE contents (33.8 ≥ Lu_N≥2213; 14.7 ≤ Lu_N/Sm_N ≤ 354) and ¹⁷⁶Lu/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios (0.000030–0.001168). The data indicate that the zircon formed in the presence of garnet and under upper amphibolite facies conditions. The metamorphic zircon yields a weighted mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 2010 ± 13 Ma. These results combined with previously obtained Palaeoproterozoic metamorphic ages suggest a c. 2.0 Ga Palaeoproterozoic collisional event in the Yangtze Craton, which may result from the assembly of the supercontinent Columbia. The zircon in two samples yields weighted mean two-stage Hf model ( T _DM2) ages of 3217 ± 110 and 2943 ± 50 Ma, respectively, indicating that their protoliths were mainly derived from Archean crust.     

K-H Instability of Dust Plasma

Areview about K-H instability related to comet tail is presented.The effect of dust graing on KHI is theoretically analysed and relations of critical shear to excit KHI with the properties of dust grains both for sheared ion flow and for sheared dust flow re put out.Their possible application in comet tail is suggested.     

Influence of soft clays on the response spectra for structures in eastern Canada

The 1990 edition of the National Building Code of Canada (Associate Committee of the National Building Code, National Research Council, Ottawa, 1990) makes a clear distinction between eastern and western Canada in terms of seismic acceleration and velocity zones. While it is well established that ground motions can be amplified significantly through loose clay deposits, no results are available that take into consideration the typical high frequency content of ground motions in eastern Canada. This paper develops ground amplification curves for clays having depths between 10 and 70 m excited by typical eastern Canadian ground motions scaled to two different values of peak horizontal accelerations. Simplified free-field spectral design curves, which could be used by structural designers, are proposed. The curves show that maximum spectral accelerations occur for structural periods between 0.2 and 0.5 s. In addition, soil depth does not appear to be an important parameter controlling the response of typical clay deposits in eastern Canada.     

EFFECT OF NITRATE AND PHOSPHATE ON ACCUMULATION OF β-CAROTENE ISOMERS IN DUNALIELLA SALINA

DunaIiella salina, a halotolerent unicellular green alga, can accurmulate a Iarge amount of β-caroteneunder environmental conditions. The isorners of β-carotene extIacted from D. salina culturedin medium with different nitrate and phosphate concentrations were analysed by HPLC with Alox-Talumins column. At least six isomers were found in different proportions depending on the culture me-dia's nitrate and/or phosphate concentrations. Nitrate and/or phosphae defidency was conducive tothe accumulation of totaI cis isomers but not of al1 trans isomer. lt is sUggeSted that 1 mmol/L KNO_3and 0.1 mmol/L KH_2, PO_4 are favourable for accumulation of total cis β-carotene.     

A stepwise method for determining the number of component distributions in a mixture

This paper considers the problem of estimatingm, the number of components in a finite mixture of distributions from a parametric family. A step-up procedure using the bootstrap method is proposed. Some properties of the procedure are illustrated with simulation studies. An example of the method, applied to orientation of beach clasts, is given.     

Speciation of trace metals in sediments of a tropical estuary

Axial surveys were performed in the two river tributaries of the Cochin estuary, SW India during November 1988. Surficial sediments were subjected to sequential chemical extractions to delineate five metal fractions, namely, exchangeable, carbonate bound, easily reducible, organic/sulfide bound, and residual. The results indicated selective accumulation of Mn and Ni in carbonate bound and organic/sulfide forms, along with marginal amounts of Co in the exchangeable fraction. Large portions of Fe and Cr occurred in the residual fraction, whereas composite fractionation of Zn species was noticed. The exchangeable fractions of Fe and Cr as well as of easily reducible cobalt were below detection limits. The levels of Cr and Zn indicate anthropogenic inputs in this estuary, whereas Co and Ni show regional contamination exceeding natural levels. The analytical speciation procedure helps to deduce the sedimental diagenetic processes in the estuarine environment.