REE/trace element characteristics of sandstone-type uranium deposits in the Ordos Basin

The major elements, trace elements and REEs were analyzed on the samples collected from the sandstone-type uranium deposits in the Ordos Basin to constrain the mechanism of uranium enrichment. The total REE amount ranges from 36.7 to 701.8 μg/g and the REE distribution patterns of the sandstone-type uranium samples are characterized by LREE enrichment and high REE depletion. The results also indicated a high Y abundance and Eu anomalies between 0.77-1.81. High-precision ICP-MS results showed that U abundances are within the range of 0.73-150 μg/g, showing some strong correlation between U enrichment and related elements such as Ti, V, Zr, Mo, and Au. In addition, Th abundance is correlated with ΣREE.

Geochemical discrimination of the geotectonic environment of basaltic-andesitic volcanic rocks associated with the Laochang polymetallic ore deposit at Lancang, Yunnan

The Laochang polymetallic ore deposit at Lancang is one of the well known ancient ore deposits associated with volcanic rocks in the Sanjiang (Tri-river) region of Southwest China. Volcanic rocks are dominated by alkali basalt and trachyte basalt. There has long been a controversy on the environment of formation of basalts. Some scholars hold that the basalts were formed in a continental environment, some thought they were formed in an oceanic environment and others considered that the basalts were emplaced in a back-arc basin. This study focuses on the geochemical characteristics of the basalts on the basis of their major elements, REEs and trace elements. At the same time, strongly incompatible elements such as Ta, Th and Hf and their ratios were used to differentiate the geotectonic settings of basalts. The results showed that the basalts in the region studied were formed in a continental rift environment.

河口泥沙通量的研究现状

文章介绍了国内外河口泥沙通量的研究现状及方法,河口泥沙通量的研究方法有:仪器直接测量法、数学模型法、元素跟踪法、地理信息系统研究法及多种研究方法相结合等。由于大多数模型不能对河口泥沙通量的未来的趋势进行预测且精度不够等,笔者提出分析河口泥沙通量的研究方法-内插法研究河口泥沙通量。

Application of nuclear analytical techniques to trace elements in Cenozoic basalt and their mantle xenoliths from Aershan area in Inner Mongolia,China

Basaltic samples from different locations in Aershan area determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) have the same distribution patterns of REE and trace elements. The similar REE contents of the same minerals without inclusions from different xenolith suggest that the mantle source region under different active volcanoes have the same composition. The REE content differences between the same minerals with and without melt inclusions selected from the same mantle xenolith indicate that the melt inclusions are rich in REE. The same patterns of trace elements of inclusions and host minerals from different xenolith analyzed by SRXRF suggest that the mantle fluid has no notable heterogeneity in Aershan area.

开发海洋:机遇与责任

应用人工智能技术、新型的能量和通信技术 ,人类已为探索和了解地球上最后一个未开发的领域———海洋作好了充分的准备——

NanoSIMS imaging method of zircon U-Pb dating

We report an imaging method of zircon U-Pb dating with NanoSIMS 50 L, which overcomes the significant U-Pb fractionation as the pit was sputtered deeper during conventional spot mode analysis and can be applied to irregular small grains or heterogeneous areas of zircon. The U-Pb and Pb-Pb ages can be acquired simultaneously for 2 μm×2 μm(for small grains) or 1 μm×9 μm(for zoned grains), together with Zr, Y and other trace elements distributions. Using zircon M257 as standard, the U-Pb ages of other zircon standards, including Qinghu, Plesovice, Temora and 91500, were measured to(2σ) as158.8±0.8, 335.9±3.4, 412.0±12 and 1067±12 Ma, respectively, consistent with the recommended values within the analytical uncertainties. Tiny zircon grains in the impact melt breccia of the lunar meteorite SaU 169 were also measured in this study,with a Pb-Pb age of 3912±14 Ma and a U-Pb age of 3917±17 Ma, similar to previous results reported for the same meteorite.The imaging method was also applied to determine U-Pb age of the thin overgrowth rims of Longtan metamorphic zircon, with a Pb-Pb age of 1933±27 Ma and a U-Pb age of 1935±25 Ma, clearly distinct from the Pb-Pb age of 2098±61 Ma and the U-Pb age of 2054±40 Ma for detrital cores.

Geochemical evidence for the characteristic of the 1908 Tunguska explosion body in Siberia,Russia

Twenty-two peat samples collected at different depths of a core including the layer affected by the 1908 explosion in Tunguska area of Central Siberia, Russia, and three basalt sampies collected near the site, are analyzed by ICP-MS. The concentrations of Pd, Ni, Co, ∑ REE,Ti and Sr in the event layers are 4-35 times higher than the background values in the normal layers. The variation of Pd is closely related to Ni, Co and ∑ REE in the event layers, but not to these elements in the normal layers. It indicates that these excess elements came from the same source,i.e. the Tunguska explosion body. In addition, the patterns of Cl-chondrite-normalized REE in the event layers ((La/Yb)N≈2-3) are much flatter than those in the normal layers ((La/Yb)N≈7-143),and differ from those in the three basalt samples. The concentrations of REE in the three basalt samples are tens times higher than those in the event layers. It may be inferred that these excess elements could not be produced by the contamination of the terrestrial material, but probably by the Tunguska explosion body, Additionally, the ratios of Ti/Ni and Sr/Co in the event layers are close to those in comet. It implies that the solid part of the explosion body was compositionally similar to carbonaceous chondrites (CI) and more probably a small comet. In terms of the Pd excess fluxes in the explosion area, it can be estimated that the celestial body that exploded over Tunguska in 1908 weighed more than 107 tons, corresponding to a radius of ＞126 m.

Using ^(137)Cs tracing technique to estimate wind erosion rates in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau

Wind erosion is one of the major factors of land degradation in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau. Using 137Cs tracing technique, we estimated the wind erosion rates of different pastures and abandoned farmland at Bayannur and Karakorum in Mongolia. The pastures and cutting grassland at Bayannur were slightly eroded by wind, with the rates of 64.58-169.07 t·km?2·a?1. The abandoned farmland in Karakorum, however, was strongly eroded by wind, with annual surface soil loss of 4.05 mm·a?1, and wind erosion rates up to 6723.06 t·km?2·a?1. The total loss of surface soil due to wind erosion has been 17.4 cm since the cultivation of the steppe land in the 1960s. The wind ero- sion rate at the abandoned farmland was much higher than that at the typical steppe sites, showing that the cultivation led to serious wind erosion in the typical steppe region, northern Mongolian Plateau. By contrast, traditional livestock grazing resulted in less disturbance to the surface soil, and did not in- duce to devastating wind erosion, which plays an important role in maintaining the stability of the steppe ecosystem in the northern Mongolian Plateau.