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Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for humans and animals, and an excess of or deficiency in Se is harmful to health. Research on the selenium enrichment zone began in the late 1970s in Shuang'an, Ziyang, southern Shaanxi Province. Naore village is only one selenosis area in Shuang'an, Ziyang, China. Different scholars have conducted systematic studies on the occurrence of selenium, its organic geochemistry and biomarkers, and its content and enrichment patterns in this area. This study applied the TIMA (TESCAN integrated mineral analyzer) for the first time to conduct detailed mineralogical work. The minerals included quartz, carbonate minerals (calcite and dolomite), feldspar (plagioclase, albite, and orthoclase), biotite and muscovite, clay minerals (chlorite and kaolinite), hematite, pyrite, and accessory minerals (almandine, olivine, zircon, and apatite) in Naore village, Ziyang, Shaanxi Province. The ATi index (100 × apatite/(apatite + tourmaline)) is used to determine the source of heavy minerals and the degree of heavy minerals' weathering. The content POS (100 × (pyroxene + olivine + spinel)/transparent heavy mineral) of olivine, pyroxene, and spinel in heavy minerals can reflect the contribution of basic and ultrabasic rocks in the source area. The ATi and POS indexes for the heavy minerals in the research area were 91.83~99.96 and 0.01~18.75, respectively, reflecting the abundance of volcanic rock material in their source. In addition, the migration, transformation, bioavailability, and toxicity of selenium in the environment are closely related to its species. The species of selenium in various selenium-rich areas (Naore, Wamiao, and Guanquan) mainly include unusable residues and organic forms, followed by humic-acid-bound selenium. The proportions of water-soluble, exchangeable, and carbonate-bound selenium are relatively small, and the proportion of Fe-Mn oxide-bound selenium is the lowest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, 30 sediment samples were collected from the lower reaches of the Shichuanhe River in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, to test the distribution of heavy metal elements in this area and for an analysis of the pollution levels of this area, hope to provide guidance on agricultural production activities in this region. The results show that the heavy metal elements in this area are mainly concentrated at the Qinghe River and Shichuanhe River confluences. Furthermore, the element contents are higher than that of the background levels of the continental crust (UCC) and close to the background levels of the soil from Shaanxi Province; the two most enriched elements are Cd and As, with contents of 0.79 and 22.7 mg·kg−1, respectively, and their contents are 3.8 and 1.72 times higher than that of the background values. Herein, the heavy metal pollution assessment methods applied indicated that Cd and As are the two most abundant pollutant elements in the area's soils. As has a peak geo-accumulation index value of 3, and the pollution level is high, while Cd exhibits high potential ecological risks due to its high toxicity (potential risk index of 143) and an active fraction of more than 64%. In addition, a principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis study showed that there are two sources of the heavy metals in this area. The Zn, As, Ni, Cu, Pb, and Cr are mainly from natural sources, and the Cd likely comes from a discharge of untreated agricultural wastewater in the region. The Cd which poses a high potential risk and mainly results from human activities, needs to be further monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mafic dykes (dolerites) during the Early Paleozoic are widely spread in Langao-Ziyang, southern Qiling Block, and the investigation on these dykes are very important. Previous studies have mainly focused on the Silurian mafic dykes; however, research on the Earlier Paleozoic mafic dykes is relatively weak at present. Therefore, the overall understanding of the mantle source and genetic dynamic setting during the Early Paleozoic in this area is lacking. To study the accurate age and origin of the Early Paleozoic mafic dykes in Ziyang, southern Shaanxi Province, the mafic dykes from dabacunand Qinmingzhai were selected and the petrology, zircon U–Pb chronology, geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopes were studied. Analysis indicates that the mafic dykes studied are mainly composed of dolerite, and they are the products of the Early Ordovician (475.8–480.7 Ma). Furthermore, the dolerites belong to alkaline rock series, and they are characterized by enrichment in LREE, Rb, Ba, Sr, Nb, (87Sr/86Sr)i = 0.7020–0.7050, εNd(t) = 3.0–4.0), εHf (t) = 4.5–12.1,176Hf/177Hf = 0.282681–0.282844. This suggests that the mafic dyke were derived from the partial melting of a depleted lithospheric mantle, and the genetic process is mainly controlled by the mantle plume based on the discussion of the genetic model. Furthermore, the genetic process experienced the separation and crystallization of olivine and clinopyroxene at the same time, with little crustal contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Herein we present new U–Pb zircon ages, whole-rock geochemical data and Nd–Sr–Hf isotopic data for an Early Palaeozoic monzogranite batholith from the Tengchong–Baoshan Block, Western Yunnan Province, China. Mineralogical and geochemical features suggest that this granitoid is a high-K, calc-alkaline, I-type granite. SHRIMP and laser ablation ICP-MS (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of zircon yields ages of between 499±5Ma and 502±5Ma, for three samples from the batholith. The monzogranite is characterised by high initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7132–0.7144), negative ε Nd(t) (−9.7 to −9.40) and ε Hf(t) (−10 to −13.1), and is interpreted to derive from remelting of pre-existing Palaeoproterozoic, high-K, metabasaltic rocks of the upper crust. The granitoid magma underwent extensive fractional crystallisation of biotite±hornblende, ilmenite, titanite, K-feldspar and plagioclase during emplacement. The crystallisation temperature of the magma lies in the range 633–733°C, however, there is no evidence to suggest crustal assimilation occurred during its ascent. Like the ∼500Ma, I-type granite of this study, there occur numerous granitoid rocks of Early Palaeozoic age (490–470Ma) in adjacent regions across the entire Tengchong–Baoshan Block (). This episode of plutonism is coeval with the widespread granitoid magmatism found throughout the Indian Plate and the Himalayan Orogenic Belt that are both subordinate parts of the ancient, Gondwana supercontinent. We infer, therefore, that the Tengchong–Baoshan Block may also have formed part of Gondwana, and that it separated from this supercontinent along with other crustal blocks during the Late Palaeozoic. Moreover, based on the findings of this study, we document the occurrence of arc-related magmatism in the Tengchong–Baoshan Block during the late Palaeoproterozoic. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]