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The Woka-Cuona rift zone on the southeastern side of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is characterized by complex geological background conditions, comprising three independent or semi-grabens that traverse from south to north across the Himalayan and Gangdise terranes. Conducting research on the distribution patterns and genesis mechanisms of geothermal resources within the Woka-Cuona rift zone has certain guiding significance for understanding the genesis mechanisms of the geothermal system in the southern Tibetan rift and its exploitation. This paper utilized methods such as data collection, ground investigations, and geochemical analyses to analyze the distribution characteristics and evolutionary processes of geothermal waters in the Cuona rift area based on the geological background conditions of the study area. The research findings demonstrate a significant correlation between the occurrence of geothermal waters in the Cuona rift zone and geological structures, with most geothermal waters primarily distributed near intersections of graben boundary faults and east–west-trending faults. Different regions exhibit variations in the intensity of geothermal activity and geochemical characteristics, with the genesis of geothermal waters associated with deep magmatic activity, characterized by Na+ and K+ as the primary cations and Cl− as the primary anions. Geothermal waters mainly originate from atmospheric precipitation and snowmelt water from surrounding mountainous areas, with recharge elevations ranging from 4500 to 6200 m and an average elevation of 5400 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind regime is one of the main natural factors controlling the evolution and distribution of aeolian sand landforms, and sand drift potential (DP) is usually used to study the capacity of aeolian sand transport. The Badain Jaran Desert (BJD) is located where polar cold air frequently enters China. Based on wind data of eight nearby meteorological stations, this research is intended to explore the temporal variation and spatial distribution features of wind speed and DP using linear regression and cumulative anomaly method, and reveal the relationship between atmospheric circulation and wind speed with correlation analysis. We found that the wind speed and frequency of sand-blowing wind in the BJD decreased significantly during 1971–2016, and the wind speed obviously mutated in 1987. The regional wind speed change was affected by the Asian polar vortex, the northern hemisphere polar vortex and the Tibet Plateau circulation. The wind rose of the annual sand-blowing wind in this region was the "acute bimodal" type. Most of the annual wind directions clustered into the W-NW, and the prevailing wind direction was WNW. During 1971–2016, the annual DP, the resultant drift potential (RDP) and the directional variability (PDP/DP) in the desert showed an obvious downtrend, with a "cliff-like" decline in the 1980s and relative stable fluctuation thereafter. The BJD was under a low-energy wind environment with the acute bimodal wind regime. Wind speed, sand-blowing wind frequency and DP were high in the northeast and low in the southwest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous transitional successions are widely distributed in the Tethyan Himalaya, southeast of Yangzuoyong Co Lake, southern Tibet. In ascending order, these include the Weimei (J3, Tithonian), Sangxiu/Jiabula formations (K1, Berriasian). The J/K boundary is located between the Weimei Formation and Sangxiu/Jiabula Formations. Ammonites found in J/K boundary sections in the research area have been classified into three assemblages: Valanginites–Phyllopachyceras assemblage zone (Valanginian), Spiticeras–Thurmanniceras assemblage zone (Berriasian) and Haplophylloceras–Blanfordiceras–Himalayites assemblage zone (Tithonian). Six nannofossil zones: Calcicalathina oblongata assemblage zone, Speetonia colligate zone, N. st. steinmannii zone, N. st. minor zone, P. beckmanni–N. st. minor interval zone, Conusphaera–Polycostella–Nannoconus–Watznaueria assemblage zone were recognized as well. On the basis of lithology, biostratigraphy and geochronology of the J/K transitional deposition succession, this study suggests that the J/K boundary, in southern Tibet, is located on the bottom of P. beckmanni–N. st. minor interval zone, which is further definited as and disappear of Polycostella beckmanni. To address the paucity of previously reported reliable ages for the J/K boundary, this study reports four U–Pb zircon ages (140–142 Ma) obtained with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) from the volcanic rocks interbedded in the lower Sangxiu Formation, which is expected to provides a direct date reference for the J/K boundary in the Tethyan Himalaya, southern Tibet. From integration of our new (SIMS) U–Pb zircon ages with calcareous nannofossils and ammonites, the age of the N. st. minor zone (NK-D) directly above the P. beckmanni-N. st. minor interval zone (NJK-C) of the basal Berriasian in the Tethyan realm is estimated to be 141–142 Ma. This research is not only helpful to improve the isotopic determination of absolute age for the J/K boundary, but also implies that the Tethyan Himalaya of southern Tibet may be an ideal location in which to explore the J/K boundary in both biostratigraphy and geochronology in future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the major geophysical discoveries concerning the Tibetan Plateau is the existence of unusually weak layers in the mid- to lower crust, a characteristic widely interpreted as the result of crustal melting. This interpretation, however, remains highly contentious, particularly when applied to northern Tibet where crustally derived magmatic rocks are scarce. Here we report the finding of tourmaline-bearing mica and biotite rhyolites in the Bukadaban–Malanshan area, southern Kunlun Range, near the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Zircon U–Pb and whole-rock or mineral 40Ar–39Ar analyses suggest that these rocks erupted between 9·0 and 1·5 Ma. These rocks are geochemically similar to Himalayan leucogranites (interpreted as crustal melts), with strongly peraluminous compositions, high SiO2 contents (69·0–76·0 wt %), and clear negative Eu, Ba and Sr anomalies. They have low ϵNd (–5·8 to –8·6) and high 87Sr/86Sr (0·7125–0·7178), 206Pb/204Pb (18·59–18·70), 207Pb/204Pb (15·49–15·63) and 208Pb/204Pb (38·31–38·74) isotopic compositions as well as magmatic zircon ϵHf (–0·7 to –5·0) compositions similar to those of global marine sediments and Proterozoic–Triassic sedimentary rocks in northern Tibet. We suggest that the Bukadaban–Malanshan rhyolites were generated by dehydration melting of metasedimentary rocks at 0·5–1·2 GPa and 740–863°C. Our data not only confirm the occurrence of a partially molten zone in the mid- to lower crust beneath northern Tibet but also constrain the crustal melting to have existed from middle Miocene to Quaternary times. Adopting the crustal flow model, we further argue the importance of outward flowing of the melt-weakened crust in the formation of crustal inflation, surface uplift, and earthquakes along the northern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The petrogenesis and geodynamic implications of the Cenozoic adakites in southern Tibet remain topics of debate. Here we report geochronological and geochemical data for host granites and mafic enclaves from Wolong in the eastern Gangdese Batholith, southern Tibet. Zircon LA-ICP-MS dating indicates that the Wolong host granites and enclaves were synchronously emplaced at ca. 38Ma. The host granites are medium- to high-K calc-alkaline, metaluminous (A/CNK=0.93–0.96), with high Al2O3 (15.47–17.68%), low MgO (0.67–1.18%), very low abundances of compatible elements (e.g., Cr=3.87–8.36ppm, Ni=3.04–5.71ppm), and high Sr/Y ratios (127–217), similar to those typical of adakite. The mafic enclaves (SiO2 =51.08–56.29%) have 3.83–5.02% MgO and an Mg# of 48–50, with negative Eu anomalies (δEu=0.59–0.79). The Wolong host granites and enclaves have similar Sr–Nd isotopic compositions (initial 87Sr/86Sr=0.7053–0.7055, ε Nd(t)=−2.7 to −1.4), with varying zircon ε Hf(t) values, ranging from +6.0 to +12.6. A comprehensive study of the data available for adakitic rocks from the Gangdese Batholith indicates that the Wolong adakitic host granites were derived from partial melting of a thickened lower crust, while the parental magmas of the mafic enclaves were most likely derived from lithospheric mantle beneath southern Tibet. The Wolong granitoids are interpreted as the result of mixing between the thickened lower crust-derived melts and lithospheric mantle-derived mafic melts, which are likely the protracted magmatic response to the break-off of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic slab at about 50Ma. Our results suggest that the crustal thickening in southern Tibet occurred prior to ~38Ma, and support the general view that the India–Asia collision must have occurred before 40Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports new zircon LA-ICP-MS U–Pb age and Hf-isotope, whole-rock major and trace element, and Sr–Nd isotope data from Cambrian metavolcanic rocks in the central Lhasa subterrane of southern Tibet. These rocks form a bimodal volcanic suite consisting mainly of silicic metavolcanic rocks with subordinate metabasalts. Five silicic metavolcanic samples dated at ca. 492Ma and one metabasalt sample yielding a near-concordant 206Pb/238U age of 492±4Ma indicate that mafic and silicic eruptions were contemporaneous. The metabasalts are mostly high-K calc-alkaline, enriched in Th, U, and light rare earth elements (LREEs), and depleted in Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, and Hf, geochemically resembling the Andean arc basalts. The silicic metavolcanic rocks are high-K calc-alkaline and low in Nb and Zr. The metabasaltic rocks have negative whole-rock εNd(t) values (−4.7 to −3.5) and varying zircon εHf(t) values (−0.7 to +7.5), differing significantly from those of the silicic metavolcanic rocks, which yield negative whole-rock εNd(t) values of −8.4 to −7.2 and varying zircon εHf(t) values (−13.9 to −4.6). The metabasaltic rocks are interpreted as resulting from partial melting of an enriched lithospheric mantle source that was metasomatized by subduction-related components, whereas the silicic metavolcanic rocks were derived from basaltic melt-induced anatexis of the ancient Lhasa basement with inherited mantle melt signatures. The Western Qiangtang–Amdo–Tethyan Himalaya situated in the Indian proto-Tethyan margin and the Lhasa and other possible microcontinents or terranes (e.g., Gongshan, Baoshan, Tengchong, Burma, and Sibumasu) paleographically located in the Australian proto-Tethyan margin represent an early Paleozoic Andean-type magmatic arc facing the proto-Tethyan Ocean. The emplacement of the bimodal volcanic rocks and the development of the Cambro–Ordovician angular unconformity in the central Lhasa subterrane can be attributed to slab break-off of the proto-Tethyan Ocean lithosphere following the collisional accretion of microcontinents or terranes located outboard of the magmatic arc (possibly Eastern Qiangtang and South China). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ninety strains of Lactobacillus fermentum which were isolated from traditional dairy products of minority nationalities (53 strains from Tibet, 1 from Inner Mongolia, 7 from Yun Nan and 29 from Mongolia), were evaluated for probiotic potential with the resistance to low pH, simulated gastrointestinal juice, and bile salts. The results showed that 35 strains grew well at acid condition (pH3.0). Eleven strains were further screened out from 35 strains with high tolerance to the simulated gastric juice (pH2.5, 3h of incubation). While in simulated gastric juice (pH2.0), only F6 (isolated from traditional dairy products in Inner Mongolia) could survive to a rate of 53.7%. Moreover, among 11 Lactobacillus strains, L. fermentum F6 showed good tolerance to bile salt, while L. fermentum IMAU60151, IMAU60083, IMAU20080 and IMAU60120 were poorly presented. Further autoaggregation properties, coaggregation with pathogens and antimicrobial activity of the 11 strains were evaluated. The abilities of coaggregation with pathogens were strain-specific and independent on incubate time. All of the selected strains showed various antimicrobial activities against five food-borne pathogens. F6 possessed the highest ability of inhibiting pathogens. All selected strains showed high autoaggregation percentage after being incubated at room temperature for 20h. Among the selected strains, F6 showed the best probiotic potential with high tolerance to simulated gastrointestinal juice and bile salts, and broad antibacterial activity. F6 had potential application in functional foods and health-associated products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bulk-rock major and trace element, Sr–Nd isotope, zircon U–Pb and Hf-isotope data are reported for Early Cretaceous igneous rocks sampled along an east–west traverse through the central Lhasa subterrane (E80°00′–E89°) in southern Tibet. These results offer new insights into the pre-Cenozoic geology and tectonomagmatic evolution of the Lhasa Terrane, and provide boundary conditions for the origin and evolution of the Tibetan Plateau. Our new data, together with data from the literature indicate that the Early Cretaceous magmatism in the central Lhasa subterrane lasted for a long period (~143–102Ma) with a magmatic flare-up at ~110 Ma. The latter is accompanied by mafic magmatism in this terrane. The silicic rocks are metaluminous to peraluminous, and enriched in Rb, Th, and U, and depleted in Ba, Nb, Ta, Sr, P, and Ti, with varying initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7073–0.7209), negative ε Nd(t) (−13.7 to −4.6), and negative to positive zircon ε Hf(t). The andesitic and dioritic enclaves are characterized by initial 87Sr/86Sr of 0.7088–0.7148, ε Nd(t) of −9.9 to −7.8, and zircon ε Hf(t) of −9.5 to −0.2, similar to those of the 110±3Ma silicic rocks. The bulk-rock Sr and Nd isotopic data and zircon ε Hf(t) values indicate an increased contribution of a mantle component in the generation of the Early Cretaceous igneous rocks in the central Lhasa subterrane at ~110Ma. Available bulk-rock Nd- and zircon Hf-isotope data indicate that the crust of the central Lhasa subterrane, at least its oldest elements, was emplaced during the Archean. This further indicates that the central Lhasa subterrane with ancient basement must have been a micro-continental block (i.e., the Lhasa micro-continental block) extending in an east–west direction for >700km (E82°–E89°) with a width of ~100km. The contemporaneous presence of S-type (more crustal source) and I-type (significant mantle input) melts of the Early Cretaceous igneous rocks in this subterrane are interpreted as the consequences of varying extents of interactions between the existing continental crust and mantle-derived melts (including crustal anatexis). We suggest that the mantle-derived melts resulted from southward subduction of the Bangong–Nujiang Ocean seafloor in a syncollisional setting related to the Lhasa–Qiangtang collision, and that the magmatic flare-up with strong mantle input at ~110Ma was genetically associated with the slab break-off of this subducting seafloor. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]