Xanes analysis on pyroxenes with different ca concentration in M2 site

X-ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure (XANES) analysis of the calcium K-edge of a series of natural pyroxenes is reported. The samples belong to the solid solution series diopside (CaMgSi₂O₆) — jadeite (NaAlSi₂O₆). In diopside, the M2 site is occupied by Ca only, but along the join Na substitutes Ca in this position. From XANES analysis of different samples we found a distortion of the polyhedron around the M2 site varying as a function of Ca content. This is probably due to compression of the site in a selected direction with an unchanged average distance, so that the coordination around the Ca atom changes from the 4-2-2 configuration typical of the diopside structure to the 6-2 configuration typical of Na in the jadeite structure. Intermediate pyroxenes exhibit both configurations, and acquire therefrom the structural order as already detected by X-ray diffraction techniques.     

How does co-registration affect geomorphic change estimates in multi-temporal surveys?

ABSTRACT

High-Resolution Topography (HRT) data sets are becoming increasingly available, improving our ability and opportunities to monitor geomorphic changes through multi-temporal Digital Terrain Models (DTMs). The use of repeated topographic surveys enables inferring the sediment dynamics of hazardous geomorphic processes such as floods, debris flows, and landslides, and allows us to derive important information on the risks often associated with these processes. The topographic surveying platforms, georeferencing systems, and processing tools have seen important developments in the last two decades, in particular Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) technology used in Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) and Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS). Moreover, HRT data, produced through these techniques, changed a lot in terms of point cloud density, accuracy and precision over time. Therefore, old “legacy” data sets and recent surveys can often show comparison problems, especially when multi-temporal data are not homogeneous in terms of quality and uncertainties. In this context, data co-registration should be used to guarantee the coherence among multi-temporal surveys, minimizing, on stable areas, the distance between corresponding points acquired at different epochs. Although several studies highlight that this process is fundamental to properly compare multi-temporal DTMs, it is often not addressed in LiDAR post-processing workflows. In this paper we focus on the alignment of multi-temporal surveys in a topographically complex and rugged environment as the Moscardo debris-flow catchment (Eastern Italian Alps), testing various co-registration methods to align multi-temporal ALS point clouds (i.e. years 2003, 2009 and 2013) and the derived DTMs. In particular, we tested the pairwise registration with manual correspondences, the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm and a mathematical model that allows aligning simultaneously a generic number of point clouds, the so-called Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA), also in its GPA-ICP variant. Then, to correct the possible small inaccuracies generated from the gridding interpolation process, a custom-developed DTM co-registration tool (GRD-CoReg) was used to align gridded data. Both alignment phases (i.e. at point cloud and DTM level) proved to be fundamental and allowed us to obtain proper and reliable DTMs of Difference (DoDs), useful to quantify the debris mobilized and to detect the spatial and temporal patterns of catchment-scale erosion and deposition. The consistency of DoDs data was verified through the comparison between the erosion estimate of DoDs and the volumes of debris-flow events measured by the monitoring station close to the Moscardo torrent catchment outlet. The GPA-ICP algorithm followed by the GRD-CoReg tool proved to be the most effective solution for improving DoDs results with a decrease of systematic trend due to vertical and horizontal uncertainties between surveys, especially at steep slopes. The net volume difference (i.e. the sediment output from the catchment) of the 2003–2013 period changed from 3,237,896 m³ to 135,902 m³ in DoDs obtained from not co-registered and co-registered DTMs. The volume of debris flows measured at the catchment outlet during the same time interval amounts to 169,660 m³. The comparison with debris-flow volume measures at the monitoring station shows, therefore, that the DTMs obtained from the co-registration processes generate more reliable DoDs than those obtained from the raw DTMs (without the alignment).     

Pressure-induced coordination change of Ti in silicate glass: a XANES study

The effect of pressure on titanium coordination in glasses, with composition K₂TiSi₄O₁₁, quenched isobarically from liquids equilibrated at high pressure (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 kbar respectively) and T=1600° C has been investigated by X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The XANES spectra collected at the Ti K-edge clearly show a variation with pressure that is related to changes in the geometrical environment around the Ti atoms. By comparison with spectra of standard materials, the XANES spectra of the glasses suggest a relatively low average coordination number (near 5) in samples quenched at low pressure and a higher coordination number (near 6) in samples quenched from the highest pressure. The combination of XANES data with density and compressibility measurements supports the idea that a mixture of 6- and lower coordinated (4- and/ or 5-coordinated) Ti geometries are present in the 1 bar glass, and an increasing proportion of 6-coordinated Ti occurs in the glasses synthesized at progressively higher pressures.     

Toward the probabilistic forecasting of cyclone-induced marine flooding by overtopping at Reunion Island aided by a time-varying random-forest classification approach

Natural Hazards - In 2017, Irma and Maria highlighted the vulnerability of small islands to cyclonic events and the necessity of advancing the forecast techniques for cyclone-induced marine...     

Cold subduction zone in northern Calabria (Italy) revealed by lawsonite–clinopyroxene blueschists

Lawsonite blueschists are important markers of cold subduction zones, subjected to intense fluid circulation. This is because lawsonite preservation in exhumed blueschists and eclogites is typically linked to cold exhumation paths, accompanied by hydration. In the Catena Costiera (Calabria, southern Italy), lawsonite–clinopyroxene blueschists of the Diamante–Terranova Unit, affected by ductile shearing and retrogression, are exposed. Blueschists contain zoned clinopyroxene crystals, showing core–rim compositional variation from diopside to omphacite and hosting primary inclusions of lawsonite and titanite. Thermodynamic modelling of phase equilibria in the NCKFMASHTO system revealed peak metamorphic conditions of 2.0–2.1 GPa and 475–490°C for the Alpine subduction in Calabria. The subsequent post-peak metamorphic evolution mainly proceeded along a decompression and cooling path up to ~1.1 GPa and ~380°C. The final exhumation stages are recorded in the sheared blueschists where a mylonitic to ultramylonitic foliation developed at ~0.7 GPa and 290–315°C. Therefore, the P–T evolution of the Diamante–Terranova blueschists mostly occurred in the stability field of lawsonite, sustained by H₂O-saturated conditions during the exhumation path. The results of this study indicate that the blueschists underwent peak metamorphic conditions higher than previously thought, reaching a maximum depth of ~70 km under a very cold geothermal gradient (~6.6°C/km), during the Eocene subduction of the Ligurian Tethys oceanic crust in Calabria.     

Early taphonomy of benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden ‘sea-ice factory’: the agglutinated/calcareous ratio as a proxy for brine persistence

The recurrent latent-heat polynya characterizing Storfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) triggers seasonal formation of thin first-year sea ice. This leads to the production of dense, salty, and corrosive brines that cascade towards the sea floor and mix with shelf waters. The bottom topography of the fjord is responsible for the retention of these dense waters in two central deep basins throughout the year. Recent studies show that living benthic foraminifera in Storfjorden are particularly affected by the persistence of brines on the sea floor, with a strong dominance of agglutinated (A) species and high degrees of dissolution of calcareous(C) faunas. Therefore, the A/C ratio, calculated on living faunas, was proposed as a proxy for brine persistence. In the present study we analyse the fossil faunas, found below the taphonomically active zone, to investigate the residual signal of the A/C proxy after the intense early taphonomic processes and challenge its applicability in sedimentary archives. Our results show that despite the generally high taphonomic loss inside the fjord, a high proportion of agglutinated species is still visible in fossil faunas at the stations experiencing regular and/or persistent presence of brine-enriched shelf waters. These results support the application of the A/C ratio in historical records to reconstruct the persistence of brines and indirectly the first-year sea ice formation in Storfjorden. This can be further applied to other Arctic fjords with similar settings and characterized by the production of brines during the winter–early spring season.     

Global variations in regolith properties on asteroid Vesta from Dawn's low‐altitude mapping orbit

We investigate the depth, variability, and history of regolith on asteroid Vesta using data from the Dawn spacecraft. High‐resolution (15–20 m pixel^?1) Framing Camera images are used to assess the presence of morphologic indicators of a shallow regolith, including the presence of blocks in crater ejecta, spur‐and‐gully–type features in crater walls, and the retention of small (<300 m) impact craters. Such features reveal that the broad, regional heterogeneities observed on Vesta in terms of albedo and surface composition extend to the physical properties of the upper ~1 km of the surface. Regions of thin regolith are found within the Rheasilvia basin and at equatorial latitudes from ~0–90°E and ~260–360°E. Craters in these areas that appear to excavate material from beneath the regolith have more diogenitic (Rheasilvia, 0–90°E) and cumulate eucrite (260–360°E) compositions. A region of especially thick regolith, where depths generally exceed 1 km, is found from ~100–240°E and corresponds to heavily cratered, low‐albedo surface with a basaltic eucrite composition enriched in carbonaceous chondrite material. The presence of a thick regolith in this area supports the idea that this is an ancient terrain that has accumulated a larger component of exogenic debris. We find evidence for the gardening of crater ejecta toward more howarditic compositions, consistent with regolith mixing being the dominant form of “weathering” on Vesta.     

环巴尔喀什-西准噶尔成矿省矿床类型、成矿系统和跨境成矿带对接

环巴尔喀什-西准噶尔成矿省地处中亚成矿域核心区,古生代构造和岩浆活动强烈,成矿作用丰富多样,发育许多大型-超大型乃至世界级的金属矿床,包括斑岩型铜矿床、斑岩-石英脉-云英岩型钨钼矿床、矽卡岩型铜(多金属)矿床、火山成因块状硫化物型(VMS)多金属矿床、浅成低温热液型金矿床、石英脉-蚀变岩型中温热液金矿床、与花岗岩有关的Be-U矿床、岩浆熔离型铜镍硫化物矿床和豆荚状铬铁矿等,这些矿床集中分布,形成多处成矿带,包括哈萨克斯坦的扎尔玛-萨吾尔、波谢库尔-成吉斯和北巴尔喀什等成矿带以及新疆西准噶尔的萨吾尔、谢米斯台-沙尔布提和巴尔鲁克-克拉玛依等成矿带。哈萨克斯坦包含大型-超大型和世界级金属矿床的成矿带向东是否延入新疆西准噶尔?能否实现新疆西准噶尔找矿重大突破?都是备受关注的重大地质找矿问题。本文在前人研究并结合作者工作基础上,根据成矿带的成矿构造环境、矿床类型、成矿特点和成矿时代,总结出成矿省至少发育九类成矿系统,即(1)奥陶纪-志留纪岛弧斑岩型Cu-Au成矿系统;(2)奥陶纪岛弧VMS型多金属成矿系统;(3)泥盆纪岛弧岩浆熔离型铜镍硫化物成矿系统;(4)泥盆纪与蛇绿岩有关的豆荚状铬铁矿成矿系统;(5)早石炭世岛弧斑岩-浅成低温热液型Cu-Au成矿系统;(6)石炭纪岛弧斑岩型-矽卡岩型Cu-Mo-Au成矿系统;(7)晚石炭世弧后盆地与花岗岩有关的Be-U成矿系统;(8)早二叠世岛弧或岛弧和陆缘弧过渡弧斑岩-石英脉-云英岩型Mo-W成矿系统;(9)早二叠世岛弧石英脉-蚀变岩型中温热液金成矿系统。对比研究发现境内外相邻成矿带具有相同或相似的成矿系统,二者可以对接,新疆西准噶尔三条成矿带分别是哈萨克斯坦三条成矿带的东延部分,构成了成矿省北部的扎尔玛-萨吾尔Cu-Au成矿带、中部的波谢库尔-成吉斯-谢米斯台Cu-Au-Be-U多金属成矿带和南部的北巴尔喀什-克拉玛依Cu-Mo-W-Au-Cr成矿带。新疆西准噶尔具有形成大型-超大型矿床的成矿系统和成矿条件,有望实现找矿勘探的更大突破。