贺兰山群变质岩的地球化学特征

贺兰山变质岩是一套晚太古宙的孔兹岩系，与典型的太古代沉积岩相比，这套变质岩的ＳｉＯ２、Ｋ２Ｏ、Ｐ２Ｏ５、Ｒｂ、Ｚｒ、Ｈｆ、Ｎｂ，尤其是Ｋ、Ｒｂ偏高；而ＭｇＯ、ＦｅＯ、Ｎｉ、Ｃｒ、Ｃｕ、Ｃｏ、Ｖ、Ｓｃ、Ｎａ、Ｔｉ、Ｓｒ等偏低。在稀土元素方面，有ΣＲＥＥ高，轻、重稀土分异强，Ｅｕ负异常的显著特征。这些特征表明，华化地台西部在晚太古宙就已存在丰富的花岗质源区，比东部有更高的演化，可能是地台基底的陆核。     

High-resolution seismic tomography of the upper crust in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake and its seismotectonic implications

Both P- and S-wave arrivals were collected for imaging upper crustal structures in the source region of the April 20, 2013 Lushan earthquake. High-resolution, three- dimensional P and S velocity models were constructed by travel-time tomography. Moreover, more than 3700 after- shocks of the Lushan earthquake were relocated via a grid search method. The P- and S-wave velocity images of the upper crust show largely similar characters, with high and low velocity anomalies, which mark the presence of sig- nificant lateral and vertical heterogeneity at the source region of the Lushan earthquake. The characteristics of the velocity anomalies also reflect the associated surface geo- logical tectonics in this region. The distributions of high velocity anomalies of both P- and S-waves to 18 km depth are consistent with the distributions of relocated after- shocks, suggesting that most of the ruptures were localized inside the high velocity region. In contrast, low P and S velocities were found in the surrounding regions without aftershocks, especially in the region to the northeast of the Lushan earthquake. For the relocated aftershocks of the Lushan earthquake from this study, we found that mostaftershocks were concentrated in a zone of about 40 km long and 20 km wide, and were located in the hanging wall of Dayi-Mingshan fault. The focal depths of aftershocks increase from the southeast to the northwest region in the direction perpendicular to the fault strike, suggesting that the fault ruptured at an approximate dip angle of 45°. The main depths of the aftershocks in the northwest of the main shock are significantly shallower than expected, revealing the different seismogenic conditions in the source region.     

白云岩体表生成岩裸露期古风化壳岩溶的规模

白云岩体表生成岩裸露期古风化壳岩溶对白云岩体古岩溶储渗体的形成至关重要。表生成岩裸露期古风化壳岩溶可形成地表残积层和表层之下大小不等的溶蚀空间。地表残积层与上覆盖层间可成为油气的储渗空间和通道,表层之下大小不等的溶蚀空间则可被塌积岩、冲积岩、填积岩和淀积岩充填,但其内常可保存部分孔隙,并为后来的埋藏溶解提供流体扩溶的初始空间和流体流动的通道。野外露头和井下岩心中的大量现象和事实说明,白云岩体表生成岩裸露期古风化壳的规模远小于石灰岩体。最主要原因是白云岩(石)可溶性远较石灰岩(方解石)小,同样组构的白云岩的物理力学强度亦较石灰岩小。白云岩体本身的岩性和组构、层理类型、泥质含量、构造裂隙的发育程度等都会影响裸露期古风化壳的规模。     

Geochemical constraints on the origin of the late Jurassic proto-Caribbean oceanic crust in Hispaniola

The nature of the oceanic crust produced through rifting and oceanic spreading between North and South America during the Late Jurassic is a key element for the Caribbean plate tectonic model reconstruction. Located in the Cordillera Central of Hispaniola, the Loma La Monja volcano-plutonic assemblage (LMA) is composed of gabbros, dolerites, basalts, and oceanic sediments, as well as metamorphic equivalents, which represent a dismembered fragment of this proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Petrologic and geochemical data show that the LMA have a relatively broad diversity in composition, which represent the crystallization products of a typical low-pressure tholeiitic fractionation of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB)-type parental magmas, ranging from N- to E-MORB. Three geochemical groups have been distinguished in the volcanic sequence: LREE-flat to slightly LREE-enriched basalts of groups II and III occur interlayered in the lower stratigraphic levels; and LREE-depleted basalts of group I in the upper levels. Mantle melt modeling suggests that group III magmas are consistent by mixing within a mantle melt column of low-degree (<1%) melts of a deep garnet lherzolite source and high-degree (>15%) melts of a shallow spinel source, and groups II and I magmas are explained with moderate to high (14–18%) and very high (>20%) fractional melting degrees of a shallower spinel mantle source, respectively. Thus, upward in the volcanic sequence of the LMA, the magmas represent progressively more extensive melting of shallower sources, in a plume-influenced spreading ridge of the proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Nb/Y versus Zr/Y systematics combined with recent plate tectonic model reconstructions reveal that Caribbean Colombian oceanic plateau fragments in Hispaniola formed through melting of heterogeneous mantle source regions related with distinct plumes during at least from Aptian–Albian (>96 Ma) to Late Campanian.     

High-reliability zircon separation for hunting the oldest material on Earth: An automatic zircon separator with image-processing/microtweezers-manipulating system and double-step dating

Despite the recent development in radiometric dating of numerous zircons by LA-ICPMS, mineral separation still remains a major obstacle, particularly in the search for the oldest material on Earth. To improve the efficiency in zircon separation by an order of magnitude, we have designed/developed a new machine-an automatic zircon separator(AZS). This is designed particularly for automatic pick-up of100 μm-sized zircon grains out of a heavy mineral fraction after conventional separation procedures. The AZS operates in three modes:(1) image processing to choose targeted individual zircon grains out of all heavy minerals spread on a tray,(2) automatic capturing of the individual zircon grains with microtweezers, and(3) placing them one-by-one in a coordinated alignment on a receiving tray. The automatic capturing was designed/created for continuous mineral selecting without human presence for many hours. This software also enables the registration of each separated zircon grain for dating, by recording digital photo-image, optical(color) indices, and coordinates on a receiving tray. We developed two new approaches for the dating; i.e.(1) direct dating of zircons selected by LA-ICPMS without conventional resin-mounting/polishing,(2) high speed U-Pb dating, combined with conventional sample preparation procedures using the new equipment with multiple-ion counting detectors(LA-MIC-ICPMS).With the first approach, Pb-Pb ages obtained from the surface of a mineral were crosschecked with the interior of the same grain after resin-mounting/polishing. With the second approach, the amount of time required for dating one zircon grain is ca. 20 s, and a sample throughput of 150 grains per hour can be achieved with sufficient precision(ca. 0.5%).We tested the practical efficiency of the AZS, by analyzing an Archean Jack Hills conglomerate in Western Australia with the known oldest(4.3 Ga) zircon on Earth. Preliminary results are positive; we were able to obtain more than 194 zircons that are over 4.0 Ga out of ca. 3800 checked grains, and 9 grains were over 4300 Ma with the oldest at 4371 ± 7 Ma. This separation system by AZS, combined with the new approaches, guarantees much higher yield in the hunt for old zircons.