花岗岩、氡气与人类肺癌

氡作为唯一具有放射性的惰性气体,其危害性被医学研究所证实。世界卫生组织研究报告表明,氡气及其放射性子体的吸入是除吸烟因素之外人类肺癌的第一大致病因子,全球不同国家中大概3%到15%的肺癌是由氡气辐射造成的,氡气与吸烟的协同效应还会使得吸烟者患肺癌的几率大增。此外,过量氡气吸入还能破坏人的神经系统,造成白细胞减少,导致血凝增加和高血糖症状。氡是U-238衰变而来,而花岗岩是U主要赋存岩石之一。花岗岩是大陆地壳主要成分,约占地壳体积的22%。花岗岩的成因在地质学界研究较多,但花岗岩与人类肺癌的关联却没有引起地质工作者足够多的关注;医学界对氡的危害了解较多,但对氡的来源和花岗岩的关系却知之甚少。本文致力于阐明花岗岩与氡气形成的内在逻辑关系,并为公众科普氡气及其危害。

Late Ordovician to Early Silurian Tectonic Events in the Himalayan Terrain

ObjectiveThe Himalaya terrain together with the ribbon terrains （e.g., Lhasa, Qiangtang, and Sibumasu blocks） of the Gondwana supercontinent has experienced episodic tectonic events since the Neoproterozoic. However, almost not any documentation with regard to the tectonic processes links the peri-Gondwana subduction between 510-480 Ma with the Carboniferous-Permian （-360-260 Ma） continental rifting event. This possible link is important for testing and formulating the tectonic model for the evolution of the present-day Himalayan orogenic belt, if we consider this belt has also experienced typical Wilson cycle plate tectonics. Recently, we have found several lines of evidence which imply that the Himalayan terrain and possibly other ribbon terrains of the eastern Gondwana have experienced unrecognized tectonic processes during the Late Ordovician to Early Silurian.

Elusive Cenozoic Metamorphism in Mafic Dike Swarms within the Tethyan Himalaya, Southern Tibet

Mafic dike swarms are well-developed within the Tethyan Himalaya,southern Tibet,in response to the breakup of Gondwana supercontinent,seafloor spreading of the Tethyan Ocean,and forearc hyperextension during the