大别山硬玉石英岩带中的水

The Dabie Mountains is a collisional orogenic belt between the North China and Yantze Continental plates. It is the eastern elongation of the Tongbai and Qingling orogen, and is truncated at its east end by the Tan-Lu fault. Jadeite-quartzite belt occurs in the eastern margin of UHPMB from the Dabie Mountains. Geochemical features indicate that the protoliths of the jadeite-quartzite and associated eclogite to be supracrustal rocks. The occurrence of micro-inclusions of coesite in jadeite and garnet confirmed that the continental crust can be subducted to great depth (8 0-100km) and then exhumed rapidly with its UHP mineral signature fairly preserved. Therefore, study of UHP jadeite-quartzite provides important information on subduction of continental crustal rocks and their exhumation histories, as well as the dynamics of plate tectonic processes at convergent margins. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the presence of hydrous component in the jadeite-quartzite belt, significant natural variations in the hydrous component content of UHP minerals and to discuss the role of water in petrology, geochemistry and micro-tectonic. On the basis of our previous studies, some new geological evidences have been found in the jadeite-quartzite belt by researches on petrography, mineralogy, micro-tectonic, hydrous component content of UHP minerals and combined with the study on rheology of materials using microprob, ER, TEM. By research and analysis of these phenomenona, the results obtained are as follows: 1. The existence of fluid during ultra-high pressure metamorphic process. Jadeites, omphacite, garnet, rutile, coesite and quartz from the jadeite-quartzite belt have been investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and TEM. Results show that all of these minerals contain trace amount of water which occur as hydroxyl and free-water in these minerals. The two-type hydrous components in UHP minerals are indicated stable in the mantle-depth. The results demonstrated that these ultra-high pressure metamorphic minerals, which were derived from continental crust protoliths, they could bring water into the mantle depth during the ultra-high pressure metamorphism. The clusters of water molecules within garnet are very important evidence of the existence of fluid during ultra-high pressure metamorphic process. It indicated that the metamorphic system was not "dry"during the ultra-high pressure stage. 2.The distribution of hydrous component in UHP minerals of jadeite-quartzite. The systematic distribution of hydrous components in UHP minerals are a strong indication that water in these minerals, are controlled by some factors and that the observed variations are not of a random nature. The distribution and concentration of hydrous component is not only correlated with composition of minerals, but also a function of geological environment. Therefore, the hydrous component in the minerals can not only take important part in the UHP metamorphic fluid during subduction of continental crustal rocks, but also their hydroxyl transported water molecules with decreasing pressure during their exhumation. And these water molecules can not only promote the deformation of jadeite through hydrolytic weakening, but also may be the part of the retrograde metamorphic fluid. 3.The role of water in the deformed UHP minerals. The jadeite, omphacite, garnet are strong elongated deformation in the jadeite-quartzite from the Dabie Mountains. They are (1) they are developed strong plastic deformation; (2) developed dislocation loop, dislocation wall; (3) the existence of clusters of water molecular in the garnet; and (4) the evolution of micero-tectonic from clusters of water molecular-dislocation loop in omphacite. That indicated that the water weakening controlled the mechanism of deformed minerals. Because the data presented here are not only the existence of clusters of water molecular in the garnet, but also developed strong elongation, high density of dislocation and high aspect ratios, adding microprobe data demonstrate the studied garnet crystals no compositional zoning. Therefore, this indicates that the diffusion process of the grain boundary mobility did not take place in these garnets. On the basis of above features, we consider that it can only be explained by plastic deformation of the garnets. The clusters of water molecules present in garnet was directly associated with mechanical weakening and inducing in plastic deformation of garnet by glissile dislocations. Investigate of LPO, strain analysis, TEM indicated that these clinopyroxenes developed strong elongation, high aspect ratios, and developed dislocation loop, dislocation wall and free dislocations. These indicated that the deformation mechanism of the clinopyroxenes plastically from the Dabie Mountains is dominant dislocation creep under the condition of the UHP metamorphic conditions. There are some bubbles with dislocation loops attached to them in the omphacite crystal. The bubbles attached to the dislocation loops sometimes form a string of bubble beads and some loops are often connected to one another via a common bubble. The water present in omphacite was directly associated with hydrolitic weakening and inducing in plastic deformation of omphacite by dislocations. The role of water in brittle deformation. Using microscopy, deformation has been identified as plastic deformation and brittle deformation in UHP minerals from the Dabie Mountains. The study of micro-tectonic on these minerals shows that the brittle deformation within UHP minerals was related to local stresses. The brittle deformation is interpreted as being caused by an interaction of high fluid pressure, volume changes. The hydroxyl within UHP minerals transported water molecules with decreasing pressure due to their exhumation. However, under eclogite facies conditions, the litho-static pressure is extreme, but a high fluid pressure will reduce the effective stress and make brittle deformation possible. The role of water in prograde metamorphism. Geochemical research on jadeite-quartzite and associated eclogite show that the protoliths of these rocks are supracrustal rocks. With increasing of temperature and pressure, the chlorite, biotite, muscovite was dehydrous reaction and released hydrous component during the subduction of continental lithosphere. The supracrustal rocks were transformed UHP rocks and formed UHP facies assemblage promotely by water introduction, and was retained in UHP minerals as hydrous component. The water within UHP minerals may be one of the retrograde metamorphic fluids. Petrological research on UHP rocks of jadeite-quartzite belt shows that there was existence of local fluids during early retrograde metamorphism. That are: (1) coronal textures and symplectite around relict UHP minerls crystals formed from UHP minerls by hydration reactions; (2) coronal textures of albite around ruitle; and (3) micro-fractures in jadeite or garnet were filled symplectite of Amp + PI + Mt. That indicated that the reactions of early retrograde metamorphism dependent on fluid introduction. These fluids not only promoted retrograde reaction of UHP minerals, but also were facilitate to diffuse intergranular and promote growth in minerals. Therefore, the hydrous component in the UHP minerals can not only take important part in the UHP metamorphic fluid during subduction of continental crustal rocks, but also their hydroxyl transport water molecules with decreasing pressure and may take part in the retrograde metamorphic fluid during their exhumation. 7. The role of water in geochemistry of UHP jadeite-quartzite. Geochemical research show that there are major, trace and rare earth element geochemical variations in the jadeite-quartzite from the Changpu district of Dabie Mountains, during retrograde metamorphic processes from the jadeite-quartzite--gneiss. The elements such as SiO_2、FeO、Ba、Zr、Ga、La、Ce、PTN Nd% Sm and Eu increase gradually from the jadeite-quartzite to retrograded jadeite-quartzite and to gneiss, whilst TiO_2. Na_2CK Fe2O_3、Rb、Y、Nb、Gd、Tb、Dy、Ho、Er、Tm、Yb decrease gradually. And its fO_2 keep nearly unchanged during early retrograde metamorphism, but decreased obviously during later retrograde metamorphism. These indicate that such changes are not only controlled by element transformation between mineralogical phases, but also closely relative to fluid-rock interaction in the decompression retrograde metamorphic processes.

Quaternary geology of the German North Sea and Western Irish Sea Mud Belt: revised stratigraphies, geotechnical properties, sedimentology and anthropogenic impacts

The climatic development of the Mid to Late Quaternary (last 400,000 years) is characterised by fluctuation between glacial and interglacial periods leading to the present interglacial, the Holocene. In comparison to preceding periods it was believed the Holocene represented a time of relative climatic stability. However, recent work has shown that the Holocene can be divided into cooler periods such as the Little Ice Age alternating with time intervals where climatic conditions ameliorated i.e. Medieval Warm Period, Holocene Thermal Optimum and the present Modern Optimum. In addition, the Holocene is recognised as a period with increasing anthropogenic influence on the environment. Onshore records recording glacial/interglacial cycles as well as anthropogenic effects are limited. However, sites of sediment accumulation on the shallow continental shelf offer the potential to reconstruct these events. Such sites include tunnel valleys and low energy, depositional settings. In this study we interrogated the sediment stratigraphy at such sites in the North Sea and Irish Sea using traditional techniques, as well as novel applications of geotechnical data, to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental record. Within the German North Sea sector a combination of core, seismic and in-situ Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) data was used to identify sedimentary units, place them within a morphological context, relate them to glacial or interglacial periods stratigraphically, and correlate them across the German North Sea. Subsequently, we were able to revise the Mid to Late Quaternary stratigraphy for the North Sea using this new and novel data. Similarly, Holocene environmental changes were investigated within the Irish Sea at a depositional site with active anthropogenic influence. The methods used included analyses on grain-size distribution, foraminifera, gamma spectrometry, AMS 14C and physical core logging. The investigation revealed a strong fluctuating climatic signal early in the areas history before anthropogenic influence affects the record through trawling.

Contrasting the efficiency of radiation belt losses caused by ducted and nonducted whistler-mode waves from ground-based transmitters

It has long been recognized that whistler-mode waves can be trapped in plasmaspheric whistler ducts which guide the waves. For nonguided cases these waves are said to be "nonducted", which is dominant for L < 1.6. Wave-particle interactions are affected by the wave being ducted or nonducted. In the field-aligned ducted case, first-order cyclotron resonance is dominant, whereas nonducted interactions open up a much wider range of energies through equatorial and off-equatorial resonance. There is conflicting information as to whether the most significant particle loss processes are driven by ducted or nonducted waves. In this study we use loss cone observations from the DEMETER and POES low-altitude satellites to focus on electron losses driven by powerful VLF communications transmitters. Both satellites confirm that there are well-defined enhancements in the flux of electrons in the drift loss cone due to ducted transmissions from the powerful transmitter with call sign NWC. Typically, ∼80% of DEMETER nighttime orbits to the east of NWC show electron flux enhancements in the drift loss cone, spanning a L range consistent with first-order cyclotron theory, and inconsistent with nonducted resonances. In contrast, ∼1% or less of nonducted transmissions originate from NPM-generated electron flux enhancements. While the waves originating from these two transmitters have been predicted to lead to similar levels of pitch angle scattering, we find that the enhancements from NPM are at least 50 times smaller than those from NWC. This suggests that lower-latitude, nonducted VLF waves are much less effective in driving radiation belt pitch angle scattering. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

Photometry of cometary nuclei: Rotation rates, colours and a comparison with Kuiper Belt Objects

We present time-series data on Jupiter Family Comets (JFCs) 17P/Holmes, 47P/Ashbrook-Jackson and 137P/Shoemaker-Levy 2. In addition we also present results from `snap-shot' observations of comets 43P/Wolf-Harrington, 44P/Reinmuth 2, 103P/Hartley 2 and 104P/Kowal 2 taken during the same run. The comets were at heliocentric distances of between 3 and 7 au at this time. We present measurements of size and activity levels for the snap-shot targets. The time-series data allow us to constrain rotation periods and shapes, and thus bulk densities. We also measure colour indices (V - R) and (R - I) and reliable radii for these comets. We compare all of our findings to date with similar results for other comets and Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs). We find that the rotational properties of nuclei and KBOs are very similar, that there is evidence for a cut-off in bulk densities at ~0.6 g cm-3 in both populations, and the colours of the two populations show similar correlations. For JFCs, there is no observational evidence for the optical colours being dependent on either position in the orbit or orbital parameters.

Exploration of the Kuiper Belt by High-Precision Photometric Stellar Occultations: First Results

We report here the first detection of hectometer-size objects by the method of serendipitous stellar occultation. This method consists of recording the diffraction shadow created when an object crosses the observer's line of sight and occults the disk of a background star. One of our detections is most consistent with an object between Saturn and Uranus. The two other diffraction patterns detected are caused by Kuiper Belt objects beyond 100 AU from the Sun and hence are the farthest known objects in the solar system. These detections show that the Kuiper Belt is much more extended than previously believed and that the outer part of the disk could be composed of smaller objects than the inner part. This gives critical clues to understanding the problem of the formation of the outer planets of the solar system.