Geochemical Indications of Possible Gas Hydrates in the Northeastern South China Sea

Gas hydrate, mainly composed of hydrocarbon gas and water, is considered to be a clean energy in the 21st century. Many indicators such as BSRs （Bottom-Simulating Reflections）, which are thought to be related to gas hydrate, are found in the South China Sea （SCS） in recent years. The northeastern part of the SCS is taken as one of the most potentials in the area by many scientists. It is situated in the conjunction of the northern divergent continental margin and the eastern convergent island margin, whose geological settings are much preferable for gas hydrate to occur. Through this study, brightness temperature anomalies recorded by satellite-based thermal infrared remotely sensed images before or within the imminent earthquake, the high content of hydrocarbon gas acid-degassed from subsurface sediment and the high radioactive thermoluminescence value of subsurface sediment were found in the region. Sometimes brightness temperature anomalies alone exist in the surrounding of the Dongsha Islands. The highest content of hydrocarbon gas amounts to 393 μL methane per kilogram sediment and the highest radioactive thermoluminescence value is 31752 unit; their geometric averages are 60.5 μL/kg and 2688.9 unit respectively. What is more inspiring is that there are three sites where the methane contents are up to 243, 268 and 359μL/kg and their radioactive thermoluminescence values are 8430, 9537 and 20826 unit respectively. These three locations are just in the vicinity of one of the highest confident BSRs identified by predecessors. Meanwhile, the anomalies are generally coincident with other results such as headspace gas anomaly in the sediment and chloride anomaly in the interstitial water in the site 1146 of Leg 184. The above-mentioned anomalies are most possibly to indicate the occurrence of gas hydrate in the northeastern SCS.

Mantle sources of Cenozoic volcanoes around the South China Sea revealed by geochemical and isotopic data using the principal component analysis

Principal component analysis(PCA)was employed to determine the implications of geochemical and isotopic data from Cenozoic volcanic activities in the Southeast Asian region,including China(South China Sea(SCS),Hainan Island,Fujian-Zhejiang coast,Taiwan Island),and parts of Vietnam and Thailand.We analyzed 15 trace element indicators and 5 isotopic indicators for 623 volcanic rock samples collected from the study region.Two principal components(PCs)were extracted by PCA based on the trace elements and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic ratios,which probably indicate an enriched oceanic island basalt-type mantle plume and a depleted mid-ocean ridge basalt-type spreading ridge.The results show that the influence of the Hainan mantle plume on younger volcanic activities(<13 Ma)is stronger than that on older ones(>13 Ma)at the same location in the Southeast Asian region.PCA was employed to verify the mantle-plume-ridge interaction model of volcanic activities beneath the expansion center of SCS and refute the hypothesis that the tension of SCS is triggered by the Hainan plume.This study reveals the efficiency and applicability of PCA in discussing mantle sources of volcanic activities;thus,PCA is a suitable research method for analyzing geochemical data.

Mineral Geochemical Characteristics and Indication Significance of Biotite-Rutile in the Gabbro Intrusions in the Yinmin Iron-Copper District, Yunnan

1 Introduction After the Dongchuan Orogenic movement(Hudsonian Orogeny,ca.1800 Ma±),the tectonic basement layer of the continental crust on the Yangtze massif could have been formed.And then tectonic-magmatic emplacement

Tectonic Implications of the Combined Use of Tectonomagmatic Geochemical Discrimination Diagrams and Indicators of Magma Flow Sense in Mafic Dykes

Geochemistry is a powerful tool to help characterize the tectonic setting of igneous rocks associations.However,when continental mafic dykes and flood basalts are the target most of the proposed geochemical discrimination diagrams fail to correctly classify them,i.e.many mafic

Distribution, Mobility, and Health Risks Assessment of Trace Metals in River Sediments from Intense Agricultural Activity Areas in West Africa

The economy of West African countries is mainly based on agriculture. However, the trace metal(loid)s contamination status in rivers is relatively unknown in the region. In this work, 45 surface sediments collected from the Bandama, Comoé, and Bia Rivers in south and south eastern Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa), were analyzed for total metal concentrations and chemical speciation. The results showed that the river sediments were considerably contaminated by Cd and moderately contaminated by As, Cu, Pb, and Zn. Significant spatial variations were observed among the stations but not between the rivers. Metals Cd and Cu were likely to cause more ecological risks. The speciation analysis unravelled that the metal(loid)s partitioned mainly in the residual fraction, with the potential mobile fraction varying from 14% to 28%. The study calls for establishment of strict policies relative to the application of fertilizers and agrochemicals and mining activities to protect the environment and human health risks.

Alunite spectral features and mineral chemistry of the ZijinshanDafanshan lithocap in SE China:Implications for mineral exploration

Lithocaps are composed of silicic and advanced argillic altered rocks,and represent an important target for porphyry-epithermal Cu-Au exploration.Previous studies showed that integrating alunite spectral and composition with lithocap whole-rock geochemistry can effectively aid exploration for concealed Cu-Au mineralization.The Zijinshan Cu-Au and Dafanshan alunite deposits are located in the Coastal Volcanic Belt in SE China,where alunite is an indicator of hypogene mineralization and alteration.Detailed mineralogical studies of alunite from these two deposits were performed with short-wavelength infrared spectroscopy(SWIR),whole-rock geochemistry and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS).For Zijinshan,wavelength variation of the SWIR alunite absorption peak at 1480 nm is proportional to the whole-rock Na/(Na+K)molar ratio of alunitebearing samples.Different percentage of alunite and mineral assemblages in the lithocap samples would both affect the wavelength of the SWIR alunite absorption peak at1480 nm.We suggest that the alunite Ba-Bi contents and the whole-rock Nb/La value(of alunite-bearing rocks)are reliable vectoring tools for detecting magmatic-hydrothermal mineralization center in the district.Comparing the alunite SWIR spectral and mineral geochemical features and whole-rock geochemistry of alunite-bearing rocks between the Zijinshan and Dafanshan deposits,Au–Ag mineralization may be concealed at depth in northwestern Dafanshan.

Characterization of contamination, source and degradation of petroleum between upland and paddy fields based on geochemical characteristics and phospholipid fatty acids

To evaluate contamination caused by petroleum, surface soil samples were collected from both upland and paddy fields along the irrigation canals in the Hunpu wastewater irrigation region in northeast China. N-alkanes, terpanes, steranes, and phospholipid fatty acids （PLFA） in the surface soil samples were analyzed. The aliphatic hydrocarbon concentration was highest in the samples obtained from the upland field near an operational oil well; it was lowest at I-3P where wastewater irrigation promoted the downward movement of hydrocarbons. The Hunpu region was found contaminated by heavy petroleum from oxic lacustrine fresh water or marine deltaic source rocks. Geochemical parameters also indicated significantly heavier contamination and degradation in the upland fields compared with the paddy fields. Principal component analysis based on PLFA showed various microbial communities between petroleum contaminated upland and paddy fields. Gram-negative bacteria indicated by 15：0, 3OH 12：0, and 16：1（9） were significantly higher in the paddy fields, whereas Gram-positive bacteria indicated by i16：0 and 18：1（9）c were significantly higher in the upland fields （p 〈 0.05）. These PLFAs were related to petroleum contamination. Poly-unsaturated PLFA （18：2ω6, 9; indicative of hydrocarbon- degrading bacteria and fungi） was also significantly elevated in the upland fields. This paper recommends more sensitive indicators of contamination and degradation of petroleum in soil. The results also provide guidelines on soil pollution control and remediation in the Hunpu region and other similar regions.