Duck Lake Research Articles

Dendrochemical Analysis as a Method to Identify Mineralized Zones: Insights from the Marathon Cu-PGE Deposit

The Marathon Cu-platinum-group element (PGE) deposit is located within the Eastern Gabbro Series of the Proterozoic Coldwell Alkalic Complex, 10 km north of Marathon, Ontario. The Cu-PGE mineralization occurs within the Two Duck Lake Gabbro, an olivine gabbro intrusion. This geochemical orientation study tested the trace element analysis of tree cores as a method of identifying mineralized versus background areas in the Marathon deposit, focusing on copper (Cu), sulfur (S), palladium (Pd), and silver (Ag). Tree core samples (n=25) were collected with an increment borer from black spruce (Picea mariana) trees and dated by counting growth rings. Fifteen cores, 12 near/overtop the deposit and three distal control samples, were analysed with Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) over a 10-year interval (1992-2002). Data normalization to 88Sr like in other dendrochemical studies corrected for tree health and growth effects. 32S, 63Cu, and 105Pd were found to have the highest concentrations at 94.198, 2.224, and 0.055 ppm, respectively, in control sample 23KPA2-3004. This tree is located beside the Pic River and receives large amounts of run-off from the entire Eastern Gabbro Series, possibly enhancing the chemical composition of the tree core. Excluding this anomalous sample, significant concentrations of Cu and Ag were found moving SSW along the deposit, aligning with the direction of movement of the Pleistocene Laurentide Ice Sheet. While this study did not clearly identify mineralized zones in the Marathon deposit, it has identified the possibility of mineralized run-off in the Pic River affecting nearshore tree chemical composition. The influence of local terrain and glacial till must be also considered when using this method. Future research will continue to study the factors influencing the uptake of elements in trees and refine methods for detecting mineralization through tree core analysis.

Effect of diet on gut microbiota diversity in mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata) revealed by Illumina high-throughput sequencing.

The animal gut is a dynamic ecosystem. Many factors affect the structure and diversity of the gut microbiota, among which the composition of the diet is a direct determinant. To investigate the effect of dietary components on the gut microbiota of mandarin duck, nine fecal samples were collected from two foraging sites at Shiqian Mandarin Duck Lake National Wetland Park, Guizhou, China. We analyzed the chloroplast rbcL gene, mitochondrial COI gene, and 16S rRNA gene from the total DNA of the fecal samples by high-throughput sequencing to identify plant and animal components of the diet and the composition of the gut microbiota of mandarin duck. We found that the gut microbiota composition was significantly correlated with the number of species in the diet. Mandarin ducks with more diverse diets had a more complex gut microbiota with fewer pathogenic bacteria. This study provides further theoretical support for the effect of dietary differences on the structure of the host gut microbiota and clarifies the feeding preferences of mandarin duck in breeding areas.

Genesis of the low sulfide-high-grade PGE mineralization in the W Horizon, Coldwell Complex, Canada: quantitative modeling for PGE reef-style mineralization in syn-magmatic sills

The W Horizon is a thin continuous zone of low sulfide-high-grade platinum group element (PGE) mineralization in the Two Duck Lake gabbro at the Marathon Cu-PGE deposit, Coldwell Complex, Canada, that resembles reef-type PGE deposits found in much larger intrusions. The Marathon deposit was previously shown to have grown by accretion of syn-magmatic, sulfide-bearing sill-like intrusions that formed each of the W Horizon, Main Zone, and Lower Zone mineralization. Each zone can be distinguished by features such as sulfide mineral or platinum group mineral assemblages, or by Cu/Pd, Pd/Se, and Pd/Au values. For example, the W Horizon is defined by the presence of bornite, very high PGE values, low Cu/Pd ( 95% of the original sulfide liquid. In some samples, metal and S abundances indicate that PGE were transported as TABS-PGE phases. This work describes an example of thin PGE-rich sill-like injections that could be of importance to PGE exploration elsewhere.

Identification and genetic characterization of Contracaecum sp. (Nematoda: Anisakidae) from China.

Contracaecum species are economically important fish-borne larval nematodes with zoonotic significance. In June 2019, more than 100 piscivorous birds died in their habitats close to the Wild Duck Lake, located in Yanqing, northwest of Beijing, China. Post-mortem examination of Black Night Herons (Nycticorax) revealed the presence of numerous anisakid nematodes in the proventriculus. Recovered nematodes were identified as Contracaecum sp. based on morphological description. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial (mt) genome and the ITS gene showed that sequences of Contracaecum sp. Beijing isolates were grouped into a new individual cluster. Furthermore, the parasite was successfully isolated from fresh dead birds, feces of piscivorous birds, and fish and prevalence ranged from 8.0% to 81.8%. Consequently, our study demonstrated Contracaecum sp. infections in different sources from China, which might constitute a threat to wildlife, aquaculture, and public health.

北京野鸭湖湿地观测站PM<sub>2.5</sub>变化特征及其与气象因素的关系

北京野鸭湖湿地观测站PM<sub>2.5</sub>变化特征及其与气象因素的关系

The Application of Dead Trees or Dying Trees in Landscape Design

In the development of landscape design, plants have always been one of the important elements in the landscape design, and play a very important role in the landscape. In the selection and application of landscape plants, living plants have always occupied a dominant position, but the research and application of dead trees are few. People tend to think that dead plants are no longer valuable, and all dead trees should be removed or replaced. In a sense, this is a waste of resources, and also increases the cost of landscape. In fact, the proper use of dead trees in landscapes design is more likely to display the artistic conception and theme of the landscape. In many natural landscapes, large trees, ancient trees and precious tree die because of natural laws or natural disasters, forming withered trees. This kind of withered tree endows the site with certain historical connotation, which could narrate the history and ecological change of site to people and evoke the imagination of people to the past. In addition, these dead wood still have high economic, ornamental, ecological and cultural values.This study focused on dead trees and dying trees as its subject, analyzing the outstanding dead trees application cases in natural landscape, and discusses the different functions of dead tree, such as ecological function, ornamental function, cultural function and others. In addition, the Beijing Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park will serve as a special experimental site, dead tree will be designed and applied in the lake of park. And based on these data analyses, the final chapter will return to address the research questions and offer advice on how to apply dead tree to urban landscape and further enhance the value of dead trees in landscape design.

Evolution of a Conduit System at the Marathon PGE–Cu Deposit: Insights from Silicate Mineral Textures and Chemistry

Abstract The Marathon platinum group element (PGE)–Cu deposit is hosted by the Two Duck Lake Gabbro of the Mesoproterozoic Coldwell Complex, Canada, and comprises three zones of mineralization, which have different textural, mineralogical and geochemical characteristics. The Footwall Zone occurs at the base of the Two Duck Lake Gabbro, at the contact with the Archean country rocks. The Main Zone occurs within the Two Duck Lake Gabbro, above the Footwall Zone. The W Horizon is an extraordinarily PGE-enriched zone that is characterized by very low Cu/Pd values, less pyrrhotite, and appreciably more bornite than the Footwall and Main zones. It occurs above Main Zone-equivalent mineralization in the southern half of the Two Duck Lake intrusion. Silicate mineral textures and chemistry reveal that the Marathon deposit formed in a dynamic magma conduit system with a complex magma evolution history. The deposit developed into three zones as a result of the multiple pulses of compositionally different magmas. Plagioclase commonly shows resorption surfaces with overgrowths and the anorthite content and concentrations of trace elements such as Fe, Sr, Ba, and rare earth elements in plagioclase change significantly across these surfaces. In rocks that contain sulfide minerals, plagioclase crystals have been partly resorbed and the resorbed rims are Ca-enriched and intergrown with sulfide mineral inclusions. These rims contain higher base-metal and sulfur contents and are light rare earth element-enriched compared with the primary plagioclase. These characteristics indicate input of a separate sulfide-enriched melt with a different composition compared with that from which the primary plagioclase crystallized. Additional evidence for the involvement of slightly different magmas during evolution of the three mineralized zones is derived from variations in pyroxene chemistry (e.g. higher Fe, lower Mg, V, and Sc) between the Footwall Zone and the other two zones and the absence of inverted pigeonite from the W Horizon. The PGE enrichment occurred at depth prior to intrusion and late-stage PGE-rich sulfide-bearing magmas intruded and formed the W Horizon. Therefore, the W Horizon is a zone of mineralization that formed late in the evolution of the Two Duck Lake Gabbro.

Significance of the metasomatized lithospheric mantle in the formation of early basalts and Cu – platinum group element sulfide mineralization in the Coldwell Complex, Midcontinent Rift, Canada

A diverse suite of tholeiitic to alkaline basalt and gabbroic intrusions located in the Coldwell Complex on the northern margin of the Midcontinent Rift exhibit unusual trace element signatures that show enriched large ion lithophile elements and light rare earth elements with negative Nb and Zr anomalies. These features are not typical of magmas derived by partial melting within or above a rising mantle plume, as might be expected in an early Midcontinent Rift magmatic event. In this paper, we provide a detailed geochemical study of a 500 m thick sequence of metabasalt that represents the earliest stage of magmatism in the Coldwell Complex. We show that contamination or crystallization processes or subsequent metasomatism cannot explain the trace element variations. Instead, we propose partial melting in a metasomatized Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle source to explain the decoupled behavior of large ion lithophile elements from light rare earth elements and heavy rare earth elements and rare earth elements from high field strength elements and the enriched Nd isotope signature of metabasalt. Similar features occur in unit 5b of the Mamainse Point Volcanic Group located at the northern margin of the Rift. An objective of this paper is to relate Two Duck Lake gabbro, host rock for low-sulfur, high precious metal sulfide mineralization at the Marathon deposit, to the metabasalt sequence. The excellent match of trace element abundances in Two Duck Lake gabbro to metabasalt unit 3 confirms an early Coldwell Complex age for metabasalt and a Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle source for Cu – platinum group element mineralized gabbros.

Intestinal Bacterial Composition and Characteristics of Wintering Mandarin Duck ( Aix Galericulata ) in Shiqian Mandarin Duck Lake National Wetland Park, Guizhou Province

Intestinal Bacterial Composition and Characteristics of Wintering Mandarin Duck ( Aix Galericulata ) in Shiqian Mandarin Duck Lake National Wetland Park, Guizhou Province

UAS-GEOBIA Approach to Sapling Identification in Jack Pine Barrens after Fire

Jack pine (pinus banksiana) forests are unique ecosystems controlled by wildfire. Understanding the traits of revegetation after wildfire is important for sustainable forest management, as these forests not only provide economic resources, but also are home to specialized species, like the Kirtland Warbler (Setophaga kirtlandii). Individual tree detection of jack pine saplings after fire events can provide information about an environment’s recovery. Traditional satellite and manned aerial sensors lack the flexibility and spatial resolution required for identifying saplings in early post-fire analysis. Here we evaluated the use of unmanned aerial systems and geographic object-based image analysis for jack pine sapling identification in a region burned during the 2012 Duck Lake Fire in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Results of this study indicate that sapling identification accuracies can top 90%, and that accuracy improves with the inclusion of red and near infrared spectral bands. Results also indicated that late season imagery performed best when discriminating between young (<5 years) jack pines and herbaceous ground cover in these environments.

USE-ALTERATION ANALYSIS OF FIRE-CRACKED ROCKS

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown, however, that many of the same methods and theories applied to the study of cooking ceramics are also relevant to the investigation of rocks used as heating elements. Because use alteration analyses of FCR are so scarce, I describe a range of attributes with the goal of helping researchers identify use alterations (e.g., sooting, reddening, various fracturing patterns) on lithic artifacts from sites worldwide and evaluate their potential function in various cultural practices. These attributes are also outlined in order to create a standardized terminology for describing FCR use-alteration patterns. I discuss my analysis of FCR from three Late Archaic sites (Duck Lake, 913, and 914) on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by an interpretation of their cooking contexts, as a case study. The results indicate great intersite variability among FCR characteristics, cooking methods, and cooking facilities (earth oven, stone boiling, and rock griddle). This use alteration analysis can be applied in archaeological contexts worldwide where similar materials are recovered.

Evaluating baddeleyite oxygen isotope analysis by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS)

Two baddeleyite megacrysts were evaluated as potential reference materials (RMs) for SIMS oxygen isotope analysis, and utilized to understand and calibrate instrumental mass fractionation (IMF). A baddeleyite crystal (S0045) from the Phalaborwa carbonatite, South Africa has a mean δ18OVSMOW = +4.6 ± 0.3‰ (range 0.75‰) measured using laser fluorination gas source mass spectrometry (LF-GMS) and one (S0069) from the Mogok metamorphic belt, Myanmar has δ18OVSMOW = +22.2 ± 0.4‰ (range 0.89‰). SIMS standardization utilizing these inherently heterogeneous RMs is possible by analyzing a number of crystal fragments and utilizing one of them lying at the median of the range. Metamictization, lattice orientation, and chemical composition do not appear to be significant (<0.5‰) variables in matrix matching of RMs and unknowns. Propagation of errors while utilizing the imperfect RMs results in 10 μm diameter spot uncertainties of about ±0.3‰ (2σ).SIMS oxygen isotope analysis of co-crystalline zircon and baddeleyite from the 2.2 Ga Duck Lake sill (DLS) in the Northwest Territories, Canada, yield predominant δ18OVSMOW modes of +6.0‰ and +3.2‰, respectively. This difference is consistent with preserving high-temperature isotopic equilibrium between zircon and baddeleyite. DLS baddeleyite δ18O data as a whole are negatively skewed (to 0.0‰), and interpreted to reflect low temperature, open-system behaviour. Zircon δ18O are less affected, but also show hints of the same influences of secondary alteration and oxygen isotope exchange.

Above-bottom biomass retrieval of aquatic plants with regression models and SfM data acquired by a UAV platform – A case study in Wild Duck Lake Wetland, Beijing, China

Above-bottom biomass (ABB) is considered as an important parameter for measuring the growth status of aquatic plants, and is of great significance for assessing health status of wetland ecosystems. In this study, Structure from Motion (SfM) technique was used to rebuild the study area with high overlapped images acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). We generated orthoimages and SfM dense point cloud data, from which vegetation indices (VIs) and SfM point cloud variables including average height (HAVG), standard deviation of height (HSD) and coefficient of variation of height (HCV) were extracted. These VIs and SfM point cloud variables could effectively characterize the growth status of aquatic plants, and thus they could be used to develop a simple linear regression model (SLR) and a stepwise linear regression model (SWL) with field measured ABB samples of aquatic plants. We also utilized a decision tree method to discriminate different types of aquatic plants. The experimental results indicated that (1) the SfM technique could effectively process high overlapped UAV images and thus be suitable for the reconstruction of fine texture feature of aquatic plant canopy structure; and (2) an SWL model based on point cloud variables: HAVG, HSD, HCV and two VIs: NGRDI, ExGR as independent variables has produced the best predictive result of ABB of aquatic plants in the study area, with a coefficient of determination of 0.84 and a relative root mean square error of 7.13%. In this analysis, a novel method for the quantitative inversion of a growth parameter (i.e., ABB) of aquatic plants in wetlands was demonstrated.

Measuring precipitation with a geolysimeter

Abstract. Using the relationship between measured groundwater pressures in deep observation wells and total surface loading, a geological weighing lysimeter (geolysimeter) has the capability of measuring precipitation event totals independently of conventional precipitation gauge observations. Correlations between groundwater pressure change and event precipitation were observed at a co-located site near Duck Lake, SK, over a multi-year and multi-season period. Correlation coefficients (r2) varied from 0.99 for rainfall to 0.94 for snowfall. The geolysimeter was shown to underestimate rainfall by 7 % while overestimating snowfall by 9 % as compared to the unadjusted gauge precipitation. It is speculated that the underestimation of rainfall is due to unmeasured run-off and evapotranspiration within the response area of the geolysimeter during larger rainfall events, while the overestimation of snow is at least partially due to the systematic undercatch common to most precipitation gauges due to wind. Using recently developed transfer functions from the World Meteorological Organization's (WMO) Solid Precipitation Intercomparison Experiment (SPICE), bias adjustments were applied to the Alter-shielded, Geonor T-200B precipitation gauge measurements of snowfall to mitigate wind-induced errors. The bias between the gauge and geolysimeter measurements was reduced to 3 %. This suggests that the geolysimeter is capable of accurately measuring solid precipitation and can be used as an independent and representative reference of true precipitation.

First report of the post-fire morel Morchella exuberans in eastern North America

ABSTRACTReports of true morels (Morchella) fruiting on conifer burn sites are common in western North America where five different fire-adapted species of black morels (Elata Clade) have been documented based on multilocus phylogenetic analyses. Fruiting of post-fire morels in eastern North America, by comparison, are rare and limited to a report from Minnesota in 1977 and eastern Ontario in 1991. Here, nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS) sequences were used to identify the post-fire morel that fruited in great abundance the year following the 2012 Duck Lake Fire in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and after the 2016 large-scale fire in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee as M. exuberans. A preliminary phylogenetic analysis suggests that the collections from eastern North America may be more closely related to those from Europe than from western North America, Europe, and China.

Estimating wetland vegetation abundance from Landsat-8 operational land imager imagery: a comparison between linear spectral mixture analysis and multinomial logit modeling methods

Mapping vegetation abundance by using remote sensing data is an efficient means for detecting changes of an eco-environment. With Landsat-8 operational land imager (OLI) imagery acquired on July 31, 2013, both linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) and multinomial logit model (MNLM) methods were applied to estimate and assess the vegetation abundance in the Wild Duck Lake Wetland in Beijing, China. To improve mapping vegetation abundance and increase the number of endmembers in spectral mixture analysis, normalized difference vegetation index was extracted from OLI imagery along with the seven reflective bands of OLI data for estimating the vegetation abundance. Five endmembers were selected, which include terrestrial plants, aquatic plants, bare soil, high albedo, and low albedo. The vegetation abundance mapping results from Landsat OLI data were finally evaluated by utilizing a WorldView-2 multispectral imagery. Similar spatial patterns of vegetation abundance produced by both fully constrained LSMA algorithm and MNLM methods were observed: higher vegetation abundance levels were distributed in agricultural and riparian areas while lower levels in urban/built-up areas. The experimental results also indicate that the MNLM model outperformed the LSMA algorithm with smaller root mean square error (0.0152 versus 0.0252) and higher coefficient of determination (0.7856 versus 0.7214) as the MNLM model could handle the nonlinear reflection phenomenon better than the LSMA with mixed pixels.

Evolution of the Main Zone at the Marathon Cu-PGE Sulfide Deposit, Midcontinent Rift, Canada: Spatial Relationships in a Magma Conduit Setting

Various ultramafic Ni-Cu-platinum group element (PGE) deposits associated with the North American Midcontinent rift have been attributed to formation in a magma conduit setting, whereby PGE concentration is controlled by various fluid dynamic processes. The Marathon Cu-PGE sulfide deposit located within the Midcontinent rift-related Coldwell Alkaline Complex has been classified as a gabbro-associated contact-type deposit; however, both magmatic and hydrothermal processes have been proposed to account for the significant concentration of PGE. In light of the growing field of evidence for magma conduit-type settings, this study comprised a comprehensive geochemical investigation of the complicated crosscutting gabbroic to ultramafic units in the immediate vicinity of the Marathon deposit; and a thorough three-dimensional investigation of the distribution of Cu and Pd within the Main mineralized zone. The main objectives of this study were to test the applicability of the magma conduit deposit model to the Marathon deposit and to identify key exploration criteria for use elsewhere in the Coldwell Alkaline Complex. Mineralization is hosted by the Two Duck Lake gabbro, a 4-km-long and 250-m-thick unit of the Marathon Series. The Marathon Series is the latest of three magmatic series that make up the 1- to 2-km-thick Eastern Gabbro Suite, which wraps around the eastern and northern margin of the Coldwell Alkaline Complex. The three magmatic series are shown here to have distinct trace element signatures that enable reliable discrimination of potentially sulfide and PGE-bearing units of the Marathon Series from the barren rocks of either the Fine-Grained or Layered Series. At the Marathon deposit, sulfides consist of disseminated chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, and minor bornite and occur within the Main, Footwall, and Hanging-wall zones and in the PGE-enriched W Horizon. This paper focused on sulfides located within the Main zone, including the keel-shaped feeder channel that continues downdip to over 550-m depth. The spatial distribution of Cu, Pd, and Cu/Pd were examined in relation to a three-dimensional surface model for the footwall contact; in a vertical profile through the Main zone; and in a longitudinal section that cuts the feeder channel. There are three important observations: (1) trends for elevated Cu and Pd are parallel to numerous troughs and ridges in the footwall, (2) Cu, Pd, and Cu/Pd varies up section in a saw-toothed pattern from high to low values, and (3) the proportion of high Cu/Pd sulfides is greatest within the thickest accumulations of sulfides within the feeder channel. Evaluation of interelement relationships between Cu and Pd and between Pd and Ir, Rh, Pt, and Au for mineralization within the Main zone indicate positive associative, but nonlinear behavior for all elements. Briefly, the data show nonlinear correlations between Cu and Pd in which Cu/Pd decreases with increasing Pd; and coherent but nonlinear behavior for Ir, Rh, Pt, and Pd in which Pd/Ir, Pd/Rh, Pd/Pt, and Pd/Au all increase with increasing Pd. The observed variation in Cu/Pd is consistent with a magmatic model calculated by others for deposits in the Duluth Complex, in which sulfides accumulated in a closed system from a melt with mantlelike Cu/Pd and an elevated silicate to sulfide ratio. The observed variations in Pd/Ir, Pd/Rh, and Pd/Pt are consistent with R factor fractionation related to differences in the relative partition coefficients between sulfide and silicate melts, and rule out the possibility that processes such as fractionation of sulfide melt by monosulfide solid solution (mss) or redistribution of metals during hydrothermal alteration played a significant role in the mineralizing event. The Two Duck Lake gabbro and associated sulfides of the Marathon deposit are proposed to have formed by multiple injections of plagioclase crystal mush that carried droplets of sulfide liquid along a conduit system that was controlled by radial and ring fault structures in the Coldwell Alkaline Complex. The accumulation of sulfides was controlled by flow dynamic processes within the magma channels, but Cu/Pd was controlled by local proportions of silicate melt to sulfide liquid. Key characteristics of the deposit that are critical to exploration elsewhere in the Coldwell Alkaline Complex include the following: (1) the recognition that gabbroic to ultramafic intrusions of the Marathon Series are the host for Cu and PGE mineralization, (2) the distribution of Cu/Pd data within sulfide occurrences are useful as vectors toward the feeder channel, (3) topographic lineaments are indicators of potential mineralized feeder zones, and (4) oxide- and apatite-rich, irregularly shaped gabbroic to ultramafic pods are potential indicators of an underlying feeder channel.

Geodynamic Reconstruction of the Winston Lake Greenstone Belt and VMS Deposits: New Trace Element Geochemistry and U-Pb Geochronology

The ca. 2720 Ma Winston Lake greenstone belt of the Wawa-Abitibi terrane, Superior province, is located on the northern margin of the Wawa subprovince and has important regional tectonostratigraphic implications for the development of the Neoarchean Superior province. The metallogenic importance of the belt is evident from the presence of the Winston Lake, Pick Lake, and Zenith volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits. However, the chemostratigraphic evolution has not been fully examined at the greenstone belt scale, nor have the VMS deposits been examined from the perspective of the belt-scale petrogenesis and volcanic reconstruction. This study (1) reviews the geology and VMS mineralization in the Winston Lake greenstone belt, and (2) reconstructs its geodynamic setting, and its magmatic and metallogenetic history using new geological, trace element, and Nd isotope data constrained by new U-Pb geochronology. The belt is subdivided into two main lithotectonic assemblages: the Winston Lake Assemblage composed of tholeiitic to calc-alkalic bimodal volcanic lithofacies, and the Big Duck Lake Assemblage composed of alkalic to tholeiitic mafic flows and sills. The contact between the Winston Lake and Big Duck Lake Assemblages is intruded by the differentiated Zenith gabbro, which hosts the 0.16 Mt Zenith VMS orebody as a series of xenoliths. The variably altered felsic lithofacies of the Winston Lake Assemblage host the 3.1 Mt Winston Lake Main and 1.3 Mt Pick Lake Zn-rich VMS deposits. The felsic volcanic lithofacies of the Winston Lake Assemblage are FIII-type rhyolites and have a bimodal distribution of Zr/Ti indicating two distinct magmas formed by different temperatures of partial melting. Mafic lithofacies of the Winston Lake Assemblage are typically calc-alkalic to transitional between calc-alkalic and tholeiitic in composition. They have arc to back-arc trace element contents with distinctive negative Nb and Ti anomalies, enrichment in the light rare earth elements (LREE), and higher Th/Nb ratios than the mafic rocks from the Big Duck Lake Assemblage. Mafic strata from the Big Duck Lake Assemblage have trace element characteristics similar to mature back-arc tholeiitic basalts, and OIB-like or oceanic plateau alkalic basalts with high Nb/Th and Ti/V ratios. The chemostratigraphy of the Winston Lake greenstone belt is consistent with a geodynamic model where arc rifting is followed by back-arc development. Nd isotope data indicate that strata from the Winston Lake and Big Duck Lake Assemblages are juvenile and show no evidence of contamination by significantly older crust. Therefore, crustal contamination signatures in the mafic flows from the Winston Lake Assemblage must have formed by contamination from crust that is of similar age and supports a comagmatic relationship between the mafic and felsic strata. The mafic flows of the Big Duck Lake Assemblage represent a mature back-arc setting with evidence for enriched plume-generated basalts in the upper mafic unit. The Winston VMS deposit formed during the early rifting of the arc and the timing is tightly constrained by the hydrothermally altered 2721.2 ± 0.9 Ma VMS-hosting felsic strata and younger, postmineralization, 2719 ± 4 Ma Zenith gabbro. The Zn-dominated VMS mineralization suggests that temperature of the hydrothermal fluid during discharge was relatively cool (<300°C) and did not maintain sufficiently high temperatures to precipitate significant amounts of copper relative to zinc. This is likely due to adiabatic cooling of the fluid because of a low-pressure (<0.5 kb) sea-floor environment and/or permeable volcaniclastic strata. A U-Pb age of emplacement of 2692.1 ± 0.7 Ma from the syndeformation quartz-feldspar porphyry in the Big Duck Lake Assemblage indicate it is comagmatic with syndeformation magmatic events typical of other greenstone belts along the northern margin of the Wawa-Abitibi terrane. This event is interpreted to represent the timing of terrane accretion of the Wawa-Abitibi terrane to the Superior province.

基于光谱指数的植物叶片叶绿素含量的估算模型

叶绿素是光合作用能力和植被发育阶段的指示器，是监测湿地植被生长健康状况的重要指标之一；高光谱遥感技术可以为植物叶绿素含量的定量化诊断提供简便有效、非破坏性的数据采集和处理方法。为保证被探测叶片面积相同，消除背景反射、叶片表面弯曲造成的光谱波动及叶片内部变异造成的影响，研究采用Field Spec 3光谱仪加载手持叶夹式叶片光谱探测器，测定野鸭湖湿地典型植物的叶片高光谱反射率数据，同时通过分光光度计室内测定相应叶片的叶绿素含量。采用相关性及单变量线性拟合分析技术，建立二者的关系模型，包括叶绿素含量与"三边"参数的相关模型以及比值光谱指数（SR）模型和归一化差值光谱指数（ND）模型，并采用交叉检验中的3K-CV方法对估算模型进行模型精度检验。结果表明：植物叶片叶绿素含量与"三边"参数大多都呈极显著相关，相关系数最大达到0.867；计算光谱反射率组成的比值（SR）和归一化（ND）光谱指数与叶绿素含量的决定系数，总体相关性比较高，较好的波段组合均为550-700nm与700-1400nm以及550-700nm与1600-1900nm，与叶绿素含量相关性最好的指数分别是SR（565nm，740nm）和ND（565nm，735nm）。并通过选取相关性最佳的光谱特征参数，分别基于"三边"参数和ND模型指数构建了植物叶片叶绿素含量的估算模型。其中，基于红边位置（WP_r）光谱特征参数和ND（565nm，735nm）光谱指数建立的叶绿素含量估算模型，取得了较好的测试效果，检验拟合方程的决定系数（<em>R</em>²）都达到0.8以上，估算模型分别为<em>y</em>=0.113<em>x</em>-78.74，<em>y</em>=5.5762<em>x</em>+4.4828。通过3K-CV方法进行测试和检验，植物叶绿素含量估算模型均取得了较为理想的预测精度，预测精度的分别为93.9%及90.7%。高光谱遥感技术对植被进行微弱光谱差异的定量分析，在植被遥感研究与应用中表现出强大优势，为植物叶绿素含量诊断中的实际应用提供了重要的理论依据和技术支持。;Chlorophyll can be an indicator in photosynthesis capacity and vegetation developmental stages,which is also one of important indicators to monitor health status of wetland vegetation growth. Hyperspectral remote sensing technology can provide a simple, effective and non-destructive data acquisition, which can offer processing method for quantifying diagnosis plant chlorophyll content as well. This study used the Fieldspec 3 spectrometer and a plant probe leaf clip spectral detector to guarantee the spectrum are detected in the same area of the leaf, it is also eliminating the background reflectance, spectral fluctuations caused by bending of the blade surface and the impact caused by leaf internal variability. This study determined the typical wetland plants leaf hyperspectral reflectance data at Wild Duck Lake, and at the same time the corresponding leaf chlorophyll content was measured using a spectrophotometer indoor. The relationship between chlorophyll content and the Trilateral parameters, as well as the ratio of spectral index model (SR) and normalized difference spectral index (ND) were established respectively using linear regression model., then 3-Fold Cross Validation(3K-CV) was used to test the accuracy of the estimation model. The results showed that most of the trilateral parameters were significantly correlated with plant leaf chlorophyll content; the maximum correlation coefficient reached 0.867. The correlation coefficient between ratio (SR) and normalized (ND) and chlorophyll content were high in general. Suitable band combinations were 550-700 nm,700-1400nm, 550-700 nm and 1600-1900 nm. The best indices with highest correlation with chlorophyll content were SR (calculated from bands 565 nm and 740 nm) and ND (calculated from bands 565 nm and 735 nm). And then by choosing the best correlation spectrum characteristic parameters based on the Trilateral parameters and ND model index, a plant chlorophyll estimation model was constructed. Among them,a chlorophyll content estimation model established by Red edge position (WP_r) of spectral characteristic parameters and ND (565nm, 735nm) spectral index achieved better test results, and <em>R</em>² both reached above 0.8, the estimation model were <em>y</em>=0.113<em>x</em>-78.74, <em>y</em>=5.5762<em>x</em> +4.4828. Using 3K-CV method for testing and validation, the prediction accuracies of both plant leaf chlorophyll content estimation models were 93.9% and 90.7%, respectively. The quantitative analysis of hyperspectral remote sensing technology shows a strong advantage in detecting vegetation weak spectral differences and provides an important theoretical basis and technical support for the practical application in the diagnosis of plant chlorophyll content.

Estimating wetland vegetation abundance based on spectral mixture analysis: a comparison between LSMA and FCM classification methods

Vegetation abundance is a critical indicator for measuring the status of vegetation. It is also important for evaluating the eco-environment of wetland. In this article, linear spectral mixture analysis (LSMA) and fuzzy c-means (FCM) classification methods were applied to estimate vegetation abundance in Wild Duck Lake Wetland, one of the typical freshwater wetlands in North China, based on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data acquired on 27 June 2011. Due to its effectiveness in characterizing vegetation activity and greenness, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was incorporated into the six reflective bands of the Landsat TM image to provide enough dimensionality to support the use of the a five-endmember LSMA model, which includes terrestrial plants, aquatic plants, high albedo, low albedo, and bare soil. Then, a fully constrained LSMA algorithm was performed to obtain vegetation abundance in our study area. An FCM classification algorithm was also used to generate vegetation abundance. Finally, both results were modified using the extracted water area of Wild Duck Lake Wetland, which was obtained with the combination of NDVI and normalized difference water index. The root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2) were calculated to assess the accuracy of vegetation abundance by using a WorldView-2 multispectral image. Validation showed that although there were slight differences between the vegetation abundance images, they shared similar spatial patterns of vegetation distribution: high vegetation abundance values in agricultural areas and riparian areas, moderate in grassland areas, and low in residential areas. The FCM classification generated an R2 of 0.791, while the LSMA yielded a result with an R2 of 0.672. Additionally, the RMSE also indicated that the FCM classification can obtain a much better result than LSMA: the former’s RMSE is 0.091 and the latter is 0.172. The result suggests that the FCM classification based on the nonlinear assumption can handle mixed pixels more effectively than LSMA.