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1.
In the absence of historic geochemical baseline data for the Grants uranium region, environmental changes resulting from uranium
mine-mill activities can be determined only by indirect methods. A methodology for determining the age of recent sediments
in streams draining the region has been established based on combined geomorphic, stratigraphic, and radiometric dating techniques.
Because clayrich sediments retain possible radionuclides and heavy metals derived from mineralization and mined sources, sample
sites which contain fine-grained deposits that both predate and postdate mine-mill activity were located in abandoned-channel
segments (oxbows) of major streams draining the eastern Grants uranium region. Aerial photographs (and derivative maps) taken
between 1935 and 1971 provided the historical and geomorphic documentation of approximate dates of oxbow formation and ages
of alluvial fills in the abandoned-channel segments. Pits were dug at these oxbow sites to determine stratigraphy and composition
of the deposits. Samples collected from pit walls and auger holes below the pits were subjected to radiometric analysis by
gamma ray spectrometry for the artificial radionuclide Cs-137 and the natural radionuclide Pb-210 as well as other U-238 and
Th-232 daughters. Because of the dynamic nature of the system, absolute dating with Cs-137 was not possible but samples could
be dated as either pre-or post-1950. The 1950 date is important because it marked the beginning of the uranium exploitation
in the region. The Pb-210 dating was not possible because background Pb-210 was very high relative to fallout Pb-210. 相似文献
2.
The uranium/thorium (U/Th) dating method was applied to pedogenic/diagenic ferricretes developed within glacial drifts from the northern West Coast Ranges of Tasmania. The dates derived from the method are, by definition, minima for the sediments, with the ferricretes being secondary mineral deposits which appear in the form of bands, horizons or nodules comprised of indurated masses of iron oxy(hydr)oxides developed post-depositionally within the host sediment or soil. The absence of such deposits in well-identified drift sediments of the last glaciation suggests the development of ferricrete horizons in glacial drifts occurred during earlier interstadials and interglacials. This has been confirmed by the uranium/thorium dating of ferricrete bands within glacigenic sediments obtained from three drill cores from the Boco Valley. The ages derived were found to be consistent with estimates for the timing of glaciation derived from palaeomagnetic analyses, radiocarbon dating and relative dating techniques. The results show that the uranium/thorium method can be used to successfully date ferricretes obtained from within glacial sediments of ages <350000 yr and provides valuable information regarding the minimum age of the host sediment. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 相似文献
3.
Antimony (Sb) is strongly concentrated into hydrothermal mineral deposits, commonly with gold, in metasedimentary sequences around the Pacific Rim. These deposits represent potential point sources for Sb in the downstream environment, particularly when mines are developed. This study documents the magnitude and scale of Sb mobility near some mineral deposits in Australia and New Zealand. Two examples of New Zealand historic mining areas demonstrate that natural groundwater dissolution of Sb from mineral deposits dominates the Sb load in drainage waters, with Sb concentrations between 3 and 24 μg/L in major streams. Mine-related discharges can exceed 200 μg/L Sb, but volumes are small. Sb flux in principal stream waters is ca 1–14 mg/s, compared to mine tunnel fluxes of ca 0.001 mg/s. Dissolved Sb is strongly attenuated near some mine tunnels by adsorption on to iron oxyhydroxide precipitates. Similar Sb mobilisation and attenuation processes are occurring downstream of the historic/active Hillgrove antimony–gold mine of New South Wales, Australia, but historic discharges of Sb-bearing debris has resulted in elevated Sb levels in stream sediments (ca 10–100+ mg/kg) and riparian plants (up to 100 mg/kg) for ca 300 km downstream. Dissolution of Sb from these sediments ensures that river waters have elevated Sb (ca 10–1,000 μg/L) over that distance. Total Sb flux reaching the Pacific Ocean from the Hillgrove area is ca 8 tonnes/year, of which 7 tonnes/year is particulate and 1 tonne/year is dissolved. 相似文献
4.
Methods for assessing natural background water quality of streams affected by historical mining are vigorously debated. An empirical method is proposed in which stream-specific estimation equations are generated from relationships between either pH or dissolved Cu concentration in stream water and the Fe/Cu concentration ratio in Fe-precipitates presently forming in the stream. The equations and Fe/Cu ratios for pre-mining deposits of alluvial ferricrete then were used to reconstruct estimated pre-mining longitudinal profiles for pH and dissolved Cu in three acidic streams in Montana, USA. Primary assumptions underlying the proposed method are that alluvial ferricretes and modern Fe-precipitates share a common origin, that the Cu content of Fe-precipitates remains constant during and after conversion to ferricrete, and that geochemical factors other than pH and dissolved Cu concentration play a lesser role in determining Fe/Cu ratios in Fe-precipitates. The method was evaluated by applying it in a fourth, naturally acidic stream unaffected by mining, where estimated pre-mining pH and Cu concentrations were similar to present-day values, and by demonstrating that inflows, particularly from unmined areas, had consistent effects on both the pre-mining and measured profiles of pH and Cu concentration. Using this method, it was estimated that mining has affected about 480 m of Daisy Creek, 1.8 km of Fisher Creek, and at least 1 km of Swift Gulch. Mean values of pH decreased by about 0.6 pH units to about 3.2 in Daisy Creek and by 1–1.5 pH units to about 3.5 in Fisher Creek. In Swift Gulch, mining appears to have decreased pH from about 5.5 to as low as 3.6. Dissolved Cu concentrations increased due to mining almost 40% in Daisy Creek to a mean of 11.7 mg/L and as much as 230% in Fisher Creek to 0.690 mg/L. Uncertainty in the fate of Cu during the conversion of Fe-precipitates to ferricrete translates to potential errors in pre-mining estimates of as much as 0.25 units for pH and 22% for dissolved Cu concentration. The method warrants further testing in other mined and unmined watersheds. Comparison of pre-mining water-quality estimates derived from the ferricrete and other methods in single watersheds would be particularly valuable. The method has potential for use in monitoring remedial efforts at mine sites with ferricrete deposits. A reasonable remediation objective might be realized when the downstream pattern of Fe/Cu ratios in modern streambed Fe-precipitates corresponds to the pattern in pre-mining alluvial ferricrete deposits along a stream valley. 相似文献
5.
The San Antonio-El Triunfo mining district, located at a mountainous region 45 km south-east of La Paz, Baja California,
has been worked since the late 1700s. Mine waste material produced during 200 years of mineral extraction area poses a risk
of local groundwater pollution and eventually, regional pollution to the Carrizal (west basin) and the Los Planes (east basin)
aquifers. There are different types of deposits in the mining area. These are dominated by epithermal veins, in which arsenopyrite
is an important component. Carrillo and Drever (1998a) concluded that, even though the amount of mine waste is relatively
small in comparison to the large scale area, significant As in groundwater derived from the mine waste piles is found locally
in the groundwater. This paper shows the results of geochemical analyses of groundwater samples from the San Antonio-El Triunfo
area and the Carrizal and Los Planes aquifers during several years of monitoring (1993–1997). The highest values of total
dissolved solids (TDS) and As are in the mineralized area where the mining operations occurred (∼1500 ppm TDS and 0.41 ppm
As). The lowest concentrations of TDS and As are, in general, away from the mineralized area (∼500 ppm TDS and 0.01 ppm As).
Sulfate and bicarbonate (alkalinity) are, in general, high near the mineralized area and low away from it. The arsenic concentrations
vary seasonally, especially after the heavy summer thunderstorms. Geochemical modeling (MINTEQA2 and NETPATH) and analysis
of the regional geochemical evolution of the groundwater from the mining area towards the aquifer of Los Planes shows that
the most likely hydrochemical processes include: dilution, precipitation of calcite, and adsorption of As onto surfaces of
iron oxyhydroxides (ferrihydrite). These processes act as natural controls to the extent and amount of As pollution in the
Carrizal and Los Planes aquifers.
Received: 4 May 1999 · Accepted: 22 February 2000 相似文献
6.
The Hussainiyat ironstone deposit (Jurassic) is mainly pisolitic, intraclastic and concretionary in texture, associated with
kaolinite mudstones and/or with quartzose sandstone. The ironstone consists mainly of goethite, hematite, kaolinite and quartz.
The deposits were derived from a variety of parent rocks that included low- and medium-rank metamorphics, intermediate igneous
rocks and pre-existing sediments of the Nubio-Arabian Shield. The source rocks suffered deep chemical weathering in the hinterland,
and the products (Fe-oxyhydroxides, kaolinite and quartz) were later transported by rivers to the depositional site. Iron
was mostly carried in association with the clay fraction and organic matter. Several genetic processes were involved in the
ironstone formation. Iron concretions were mostly formed by bacterial build-up in swamps and marshes, and were subsequently
embedded in kaolinitic mud. Large-scale development of groundwater laterite blanket (ferricrete) occurred later in the overbanks
and floors of wadis, under oxidizing pedogenic conditions. During this stage iron was mobilized from the kaolinitic deposits
and migrated upward in dry seasons and, to a lesser extent, downward in wet seasons. Pisolites and oolites grew in situ in
the kaolinitic soil at the upper limit of the fluctuating water table. This ferricrete blanket had a wide and continuous extension
within an elongated paleodepression. Seasonal heavy rain periods resulted in the flow of ephemeral streams and rivers, where
major parts of this ferricrete was reworked and deposited with quartz sand and mud clasts as channel deposits. The original
pisolitic-colloform ironstone was reworked continuously to form a semi-continuous sheet. In such wet seasons, additional Fe-enrichment
took place as cementing materials or overgrowths.
Received: 28 April 1995 / Accepted: 10 July 1997 相似文献
7.
Hema Achyuthan Nagalakshmi Thirunavukarasu 《Journal of the Geological Society of India》2009,73(5):683-696
In this paper we present Quaternary stratigraphy of the area around Chennai based on archaeological findings on the ferricrete
surface, geomorphological observations supplemented by radiocarbon dating. The coastal landscape around Chennai, Tamil Nadu,
has preserved ferruginised boulder gravel deposits, ferricretes and fluvial deposits of varying thickness. The area studied
is approximately 150 km east to west and 180 km north to south with a broad continental shelf towards the seaward. Several
rivers enter the Bay of Bengal along its shores like the Koratallaiyar, Cooum and the Adyar. Precambrian charnockite and Upper
Gondwana sandstone and shale bedrock rim the shelf margin. For the most part, the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene fluvial sediments
overlie an erosion surface that has cut into older Pleistocene sediments and ferricrete surface. Incised valleys that cut
into this erosion surface are up to 5–6 km wide and have a relief of at least 30 m. The largest valley is that cut by the
Koratallaiyar River. Holocene sediments deposited in the incised valleys include fluvial gravels, early transgressive channel
sands and floodplain silts. Older Pleistocene sediments are deposited before and during the 120-ka high stand (Marine isotope
stage 5). They consist of ferricretes and ferricrete gravel formed in nearshore humid environments. Muddy and sandy clastic
sediments dated to the ca. 5 ka highstand suggest that the climate was semi arid at this time with less fluvial transport.
The coarsening up sequence indicates deposition by high intensity channel processes. Pedogenic mottled, clayey silt unit represents
an important tectonic event when the channel was temporarily drained and sediment were sub aerially exposed. Uplift of the
region has caused the local rivers to incise into the landscape, forming degradation terraces. 相似文献
8.
I. V. Kubrakova A. V. Fortygin S. G. Lobov I. Ya. Koshcheeva O. A. Tyutyunnik M. V. Mironenko 《Geochemistry International》2011,49(11):1072-1084
In order to explore the behavior of platinum group elements in the ecosystems of mineral deposits, the migration characteristics
of platinum and palladium were determined in the pH range typical of surface waters. Model sorption experiments on the precipitation
of platinum and palladium on iron oxyhydroxide in the presence of major natural inorganic and organic ligands showed that
platinum interacts most actively with an iron oxyhydroxide (ferrihydrite) precipitate within the whole pH range, both in the
absence and presence of natural organic substances, whereas palladium is preferentially bound to dissolved, suspended, and
sedimentary humic substances. The thermodynamic calculation of coexisting platinum and palladium species is qualitatively
consistent with experimental data on the character of accumulation and migration of these elements. The obtained data suggest
that the migration of platinum and palladium into highly colored waters in the zones of platinum group element deposits results
in their extensive deposition on natural geochemical barriers. 相似文献
9.
Iron biominerals can form in neutral pH microaerophilic environments where microbes both catalyze iron oxidation and create polymers that localize mineral precipitation. In order to classify the microbial polymers that influence FeOOH mineralogy, we studied the organic and mineral components of biominerals using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM), micro X-ray fluorescence (μXRF) microscopy, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). We focused on iron microbial mat samples from a creek and abandoned mine; these samples are dominated by iron oxyhydroxide-coated structures with sheath, stalk, and filament morphologies. In addition, we characterized the mineralized products of an iron-oxidizing, stalk-forming bacterial culture isolated from the mine. In both natural and cultured samples, microbial polymers were found to be acidic polysaccharides with carboxyl functional groups, strongly spatially correlated with iron oxyhydroxide distribution patterns. Organic fibrils collect FeOOH and control its recrystallization, in some cases resulting in oriented crystals with high aspect ratios. The impact of polymers is particularly pronounced as the materials age. Synthesis experiments designed to mimic the biomineralization processes show that the polysaccharide carboxyl groups bind dissolved iron strongly but release it as mineralization proceeds. Our results suggest that carboxyl groups of acidic polysaccharides are produced by different microorganisms to create a wide range of iron oxyhydroxide biomineral structures. The intimate and potentially long-term association controls the crystal growth, phase, and reactivity of iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles in natural systems. 相似文献
10.
Environmental mercury and arsenic sources in fossil hydrothermal systems, Northland, New Zealand 总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2
Northland, New Zealand has been affected by natural hot water spring systems depositing elevated concentrations of mercury
and arsenic over the past 5 million years. Due to the different erosion levels of these hot water systems, four principal
types of mercury and arsenic occurrences are found: active hot springs; layered surface deposits (sinters) deposited by hot
springs; highly fractured rock zones formed immediately beneath hot springs; and chemically altered and mineralized rock from
the deeper roots of hot spring systems. Mercury occurs principally as cinnabar and as a minor impurity (<1 wt%) in phosphate
minerals and iron sulfides, particularly marcasite. Mercury is irregularly distributed through limonitic cements formed during
oxidation. Arsenic occurs as a minor impurity (<1 wt%) in phosphate minerals and iron sulfides, particularly marcasite. Arsenic
is also variably dispersed through limonite, but not necessarily with mercury. Decomposition of marcasite constitutes the
most significant source of mercury and arsenic pollution from the studied sites. Release of mercury and arsenic into the environment
from marcasite, phosphates and limonite is enhanced by acidification of the sites (down to pH of 2), caused by oxidation of
iron sulfides. Mercury and arsenic concentrations of up to 100 parts per billion should be expected in waters near the deposits;
these concentrations are in excess of recommended drinking water levels.
Received: 9 April 1999 · Accepted: 2 August 1999 相似文献
11.
Post-mine metal transport and attenuation in the Keno Hill mining district, central Yukon, Canada 总被引：6，自引：0，他引：6
The Keno Hill mining district in central Yukon was the second largest silver producer in Canada with mines operating from
1913 to 1989 on more than 65 vein silver deposits. The seven and a half decades of mining activities have generated large
volumes of mine waste disposed on the land surface, resulting in elevated metal contents in numerous small drainages. To assess
the extent of metal mobilization, old mine workings and the associated mine waste were examined and the water courses draining
to a major river valley sampled. The results of field observations and an array of water and sediment analyses led to three
major conclusions. 1. Acid mine drainage is not widespread because of galvanic protection of pyrite from oxidative dissolution
and neutralization by carbonates in the country rock. 2. Mechanisms operative to limit aqueous metal transport in small streams
in the district include cryogenic precipitation, coprecipitation and sorption. 3. The near-surface concentration of metals
limits the options of waste disposal in future mining developments due to potential metal-leaching problems.
Received: 12 December 1995 · Accepted: 26 March 1996 相似文献
12.
Andradite-rich garnet is a common U-bearing mineral in a variety of alkalic igneous rocks and skarn deposits, but has been largely neglected as a U–Pb chronometer. In situ laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry U–Pb dates of andradite-rich garnet from a syenite pluton and two iron skarn deposits in the North China craton demonstrate the suitability and reliability of the mineral in accurately dating magmatic and hydrothermal processes. Two hydrothermal garnets from the iron skarn deposits have homogenous cores and zoned rims (Ad86Gr11 to Ad98Gr1) with 22–118 ppm U, whereas one magmatic garnet from the syenite is texturally and compositionally homogenous (Ad70Gr22 to Ad77Gr14) and has 0.1–20 ppm U. All three garnets have flat time-resolved signals obtained from depth profile analyses for U, indicating structurally bound U. Uranium is correlated with REE in both magmatic and hydrothermal garnets, indicating that the incorporation of U into the garnet is largely controlled by substitution mechanisms. Two hydrothermal garnets yielded U–Pb dates of 129 ± 2 (2σ; MSWD = 0.7) and 130 ± 1 Ma (2σ; MSWD = 0.5), indistinguishable from zircon U–Pb dates of 131 ± 1 and 129 ± 1 Ma for their respective ore-related intrusions. The magmatic garnet has a U–Pb age of 389 ± 3 Ma (2σ; MSWD = 0.6), consistent with a U–Pb zircon date of 388 ± 2 Ma for the syenite. The consistency between the garnet and zircon U–Pb dates confirms the reliability and accuracy of garnet U–Pb dating. Given the occurrence of andradite-rich garnet in alkaline and ultramafic magmatic rocks and hydrothermal ore deposits, our results highlight the potential utilization of garnet as a powerful U–Pb geochronometer for dating magmatism and skarn-related mineralization. 相似文献
13.
14.
Um Bogma area is the most famous mineralized locality in Sinai, Egypt. It is characterized by the presence of manganese, iron,
and copper deposits. Apart from the mill tailings and spoil heaps, the results indicated the decrease of soil contamination
downstream. As a result of random manganese mining activity in Um Bogma area, many hazardous elements such as iron, copper,
manganese, lead, and zinc as well as many others associating heavy metals such as arsenic, selenium, and sulfur are dispersed
in the environment. This study assesses and monitors the environmental impacts of such mining activities in the west central
Sinai, using multitemporal spectral remote-sensing sensors (MSS 1972, TM 1986, and ETM+7 2000). The results have shown the
very high potential of temporal imagery in mining-related contamination either directly through mineral and rock mapping of
the mining waste and residues and related contaminated areas. 相似文献
15.
Ag, Pb, Sn and Zn ores have been intensively mined and processed at Cerro Rico de Potosí, Bolivia since 1545. Acid mine drainage
(AMD) and mineral processing plant effluent are prime sources of water contamination in the headwaters of the Upper Rio Pilcomayo
watershed. Streams receiving AMD drainage from the slopes of Cerro Rico and surrounding landscapes were sampled during the
dry (July–August 2006) and wet (March 2007) seasons of one water-year. In-stream waters contained total metal concentrations
of up to 16 mg/L As, 4.9 mg/L Cd, 0.97 mg/L Co, 1,100 mg/L Fe, 110 mg/L Mn, 4.1 mg/L Pb, and 1,500 mg/L Zn with pH ranging
from 2.8 to 9.5. AMD-impacted streams contained elevated concentrations of the same major ecotoxic constituents present in
AMD discharges at concentrations orders of magnitude greater than in those streams unimpacted by AMD. Many of the AMD impacted
water bodies are more degraded than class “D” of the Bolivian receiving water body criteria, rendering them unfit for domestic
or agricultural use. Natural attenuation is insufficient to render waters safe for use, however, some of these waters are
currently being utilized for irrigation and livestock watering. The data indicate that historic and current mining activities
have transformed these key natural resources into potential human and environmental health hazards. 相似文献
16.
Robert L. Runkel Briant A. Kimball Katherine Walton-Day Philip L. Verplanck 《Applied Geochemistry》2007
Regulatory agencies are often charged with the task of setting site-specific numeric water quality standards for impaired streams. This task is particularly difficult for streams draining highly mineralized watersheds with past mining activity. Baseline water quality data obtained prior to mining are often non-existent and application of generic water quality standards developed for unmineralized watersheds is suspect given the geology of most watersheds affected by mining. Various approaches have been used to estimate premining conditions, but none of the existing approaches rigorously consider the physical and geochemical processes that ultimately determine instream water quality. An approach based on simulation modeling is therefore proposed herein. The approach utilizes synoptic data that provide spatially-detailed profiles of concentration, streamflow, and constituent load along the study reach. This field data set is used to calibrate a reactive stream transport model that considers the suite of physical and geochemical processes that affect constituent concentrations during instream transport. A key input to the model is the quality and quantity of waters entering the study reach. This input is based on chemical analyses available from synoptic sampling and observed increases in streamflow along the study reach. Given the calibrated model, additional simulations are conducted to estimate premining conditions. In these simulations, the chemistry of mining-affected sources is replaced with the chemistry of waters that are thought to be unaffected by mining (proximal, premining analogues). The resultant simulations provide estimates of premining water quality that reflect both the reduced loads that were present prior to mining and the processes that affect these loads as they are transported downstream. This simulation-based approach is demonstrated using data from Red Mountain Creek, Colorado, a small stream draining a heavily-mined watershed. Model application to the premining problem for Red Mountain Creek is based on limited field reconnaissance and chemical analyses; additional field work and analyses may be needed to develop definitive, quantitative estimates of premining water quality. 相似文献
17.
安徽庐枞盆地泥河铁矿床年代学研究及其意义 总被引：12，自引：6，他引：6
庐枞盆地位于长江中下游断陷带内,地处扬子板块北缘,是长江中下游成矿带中重要的铁铜多金属成矿区。庐枞盆地内火山岩和侵入岩分布广泛,包括龙门院、砖桥、双庙和浮山4组火山岩以及34个出露地表的侵入岩体。泥河铁矿床是盆地西北部新勘探发现的大型铁矿床,其精确的成岩成矿时代及其形成构造背景研究仍十分薄弱。本次工作在详细野外地质工作的基础上,系统开展了泥河铁矿床成岩成矿年代学研究,通过对岩浆岩锆石LA ICP-MS和金云母40Ar-39Ar定年方法,确定矿区中的辉石闪长玢岩、正长斑岩和粗安斑岩的成岩时代分别为132.4±1.5Ma、129.4±2.0Ma和134.3±1.2Ma,成矿时代为130.9±2.6Ma。矿床地质特征表明辉石闪长玢岩是成矿母岩,粗安斑岩形成于成矿作用之前,正长斑岩为成矿期后形成的脉岩,穿切火山岩地层和矿体。上述定年结果与地质事实吻合,表明泥河铁矿床的成岩成矿作用几乎同时发生。通过与庐枞盆地和区域成岩成矿时代对比,认为盆地内玢岩型铁矿床集中形成于130Ma左右,是长江中下游成矿第二期成矿作用活动的产物,庐枞盆地内130Ma左右的辉石闪长玢岩侵入体是寻找泥河式玢岩型铁矿床的勘探靶区。 相似文献
18.
B. B. Damdinov S. M. Zhmodik A. V. Travin D. S. Yudin N. A. Goryachev 《Doklady Earth Sciences》2018,479(2):429-432
This article presents new data on the age of the largest gold deposits in the southeastern part of Eastern Sayan. The dates have been obtained by Ar–Ar analysis of micas occurring in gold-bearing quartz veins and mineralized zones. The obtained Ar–Ar ages of fuchsite and sericite from the tectonized and mineralized zones of the Zun–Holba deposit (ore body Severnoye-3), range within 353.9–386.4 Ma; a similar result of 352.9 Ma was yielded by Ar–Ar dating of Cr–muscovite from mylonitized listvenite in the veins of the periphery of the Zun–Ospa gold deposit. However, muscovite from the ore-bearing quartz vein of the Pioneer gold–quartz deposit, located near Zun–Holba, has been dated to 421.9 Ma. The obtained new data on isotopic age of the gold–quartz ores and gold–sulphide–quartz deposits allow recognition of the Early Palaeozoic accretion–collision and the Late Palaeozoic shearing stages of formation of gold mineralization in the SE Eastern Sayan. 相似文献
19.
Gilbert J. Price Gregory E. Webb Jian-xin Zhao Yue-xing Feng Andrew S. Murray Bernard N. Cooke Scott A. Hocknull Ian H. Sobbe 《Quaternary Science Reviews》2011,30(7-8):899-914
A key to understanding Late Pleistocene megafaunal extinction dynamics is knowledge of megafaunal ecological response(s) to long-term environmental perturbations. Strategically, that requires targeting fossil deposits that accumulated during glacial and interglacial intervals both before and after human arrival, with subsequent palaeoecological models underpinned by robust and reliable chronologies. Late Pleistocene vertebrate fossil localities from the Darling Downs, eastern Australia, provide stratigraphically-intact, abundant megafaunal sequences, which allows for testing of anthropogenic versus climate change megafauna extinction hypotheses. Each stratigraphic unit at site QML796, Kings Creek Catchment, was previously shown to have had similar sampling potential, and the basal units contain both small-sized taxa (e.g., land snails, frogs, bandicoots, rodents) and megafauna. Importantly, sequential faunal horizons show stepwise decrease in taxonomic diversity with the loss of some, but not all, megafauna in the geographically-small palaeocatchment. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of our intensive, multidisciplinary dating study of the deposits (>40 dates). Dating by means of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C (targeting bone, freshwater molluscs, and charcoal) and thermal ionisation mass spectrometry U/Th (targeting teeth and freshwater molluscs) do not agree with each other and, in the case of AMS 14C dating, lack internal consistency. Scanning electron microscopy and rare earth element analyses demonstrate that the dated molluscs are diagenetically altered and contain aragonite cements that incorporated secondary young C, suggesting that such dates should be regarded as minimum ages. AMS 14C dated charcoals provide ages that occur out of stratigraphic order, and cluster in the upper chronological limits of the technique (～40–48 ka). Again, we suggest that such results should be regarded as suspicious and only minimum ages. Subsequent OSL and U/Th (teeth) dating provide complimentary results and demonstrate that the faunal sequences actually span ～120–83 ka, thus occurring beyond the AMS 14C dating window. Importantly, the dates suggest that the local decline in biological diversity was initiated ～75,000 years before the colonisation of humans on the continent. Collectively, the data are most parsimoniously consistent with a pre-human climate change model for local habitat change and megafauna extinction, but not with a nearly simultaneous extinction of megafauna as required by the human-induced blitzkrieg extinction hypothesis. This study demonstrates the problems inherent in dating deposits that lie near the chronological limits of the radiocarbon dating technique, and highlights the need to cross-check previously-dated archaeological and megafauna deposits within the timeframe of earliest human colonisation and latest megafaunal survival. 相似文献
20.
Two reservoirs in western Oregon contain mercury-contaminated sediment and fish as a result of historic mercury mining in
the Cottage Grove Lake watershed and mercury amalgamation used in gold mining in the Dorena Lake watershed. On average, sediment
in Cottage Grove Lake contains ten times as much mercury as sediment from Dorena Lake (2.720 versus 0.242 ppm). Mercury content
in Cottage Grove Lake sediment shows a sharp initial decrease and leveling off with time that reflects the end of the major
cinnabar mining phase; deposition of other heavy metals appears to be linked to the clay content of sediment. Mercury input
to Dorena Lake has remained fairly constant with time, but small increases in mercury are associated with the deposits of
large floods. Copper, lead, and zinc input to Dorena Lake exhibits a marked decrease and leveling off related to the end of
commercial mining for these metals.
Received: 12 October 1999 · Accepted: 22 March 2000 相似文献