Basin analysis study of block 10 in the Say'un-Masilah Basin, Yemen, using a 1D backstripping method

Geohistory analysis was carried out on block 10 in the Say??un-Masilah Basin. The present study is based on the analysis of the well logs of six exploration wells. In the Middle Jurassic to the Middle Eocene, Say??un-Masilah Basin exhibited a complex subsidence history over a period of about 155?Ma. Backstripped subsidence curves are constructed by removing the effects of decompaction to the water column and sediment loads. In the Middle Jurassic, slow subsidence was driven under the effect of sediment load as Kuhlan and Shuqra Formations were deposited as pre-rift deposits. The average total subsidence value of the basement during the deposition of Shuqra Formation was 276?m. The highest subsidence rates during this time are observed northeast of the study area. Rapid subsidence initiated in the Upper Jurassic driven by mechanical extension of the rift, resulting in the deposition of Madbi and Safer Formations, or the so-called Syn-rift deposits. The average tectonic subsidence value of the basements during the deposition of Madbi Formation was 368?m. The highest subsidence rates during this time are observed southwest of the study area. Mechanical extension ceased at about 145?Ma, being replaced by a phase of post-rift subsidence, resulting in more widespread uniform sedimentation, with reduced tectonic subsidence rates forming post-rift deposits represented by Nayfa Formation, Sa??ar Formation, Biyad Formation, and Mahra Group. The total subsidence value of the basement during the deposition of the post-rift sediments increases gradually due to the increase of the sediment load as the rate of deposition was high especially northeast of the area.     

Age and tectonic setting of the Bavanat Cu–Zn–Ag Besshi-type volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit, southern Iran

The Bavanat Cu–Zn–Ag Besshi-type volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit occurs within the Surian volcano-sedimentary complex in the Sanandaj–Sirjan zone (SSZ) of southern Iran. The Surian complex is comprised of pelite, sandstone, calcareous shale, basalt, gabbro sills, and thin-bedded limestone. Mineralization occurs as stratiform sheet-like and tabular orebodies hosted mainly by greenschist metamorphosed feldspathic and quartz feldspathic sandstone, basalt, and pelites. The basalts of the Surian complex show predominantly tholeiitic to transitional affinities, with a few samples that are alkalic in composition. Primitive mantle-normalized trace and rare earth element (REE) patterns of the Surian basalts display depletions in light REE, negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, and Ti, and positive anomalies of P. Positive P anomalies are indicative of minor crustal contamination. Furthermore, Th enrichments in the mid-ocean ridge basalt-normalized patterns of the Surian basalts are characteristic of rifted arc basalts emplaced in continental margin subduction zones. The high MgO content (>6?wt.%) of most Surian basalts and low TiO₂ content of two samples (0.53 and 0.62?wt.%) are characteristic of boninites. The aforementioned features of the basalts indicate arc tholeiites emplaced in intra-arc rift environments and continental margin subduction zones. U–Pb dating by laser ablation- inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry of detrital zircons extracted from the host feldspathic and quartz feldspathic sandstone yields various ages that are predominantly Permian and Triassic; however, the youngest zircons give a mean Early Jurassic concordant U–Pb age of 191?±?12?Ma. This age, together with geological and petrochemical data, indicate that VMS mineralization formed in the Early Jurassic in pull-apart basins within the SSZ. These basins and the VMS mineralization may be temporally related to an intra-arc volcano–plutonic event associated with Neo-Tethyan oblique subduction.     

A survey of challenges in reducing the impact of geological hazards associated with earthquakes in Iran

Most of the recent earthquakes in Iran were associated with some types of geological hazards that were the cause of additional damage and casualties in the earthquake-affected areas. In order to reduce the impacts of geo-hazards, several policies and plans were prepared, approved, and implemented by the Iranian government during the last two decades. However, such activities have not yet resulted in risk reduction to an acceptable level; since they are not formulated based on local conditions and are not linked to location-specific comprehensive plans. In this paper, after introducing some of the impacts of geo-hazards associated with recent earthquakes in Iran, the country trends in development of relevant risk reduction plans and policies are introduced, evaluated, and compared with some other countries having similar challenges. Strategies toward risk mitigation in the country are addressed, and a number of indices for the assessment of the geo-hazard risk reduction plans and activities are introduced. Finally, a conceptual model for the evaluation of the preparedness level against geo-hazards is proposed and discussed.     

Plain move predicate and its consistency concerning the moving agents in a network

Advances in GIS and databases for dealing with spatiotemporal frameworks are leading to efficient querying, analyzing, and reasoning about moving objects/agents. However, contemporary frameworks on spatiotemporal logics are usually limited to qualitative approaches, such as the numerous studies on spatiotemporal databases that focus on observations, ignoring the intended movements of the agents. Moving object databases, on the other hand, can handle queries about the location, velocity, and time by assuming some agents to be targets. However, reasoning about the plan of moving agents, especially on the network and the achievability of such a plan, still remains a challenge. Studies on vehicle routing are often about the centralized planning of moving agents from scratch and do not deal with intended plans. Based on a plain move predicate, this paper presents a generic framework that can be used for representing and reasoning about plans of moving agents. Concepts from motion, network structure, graph theory, predicate logic, and constraint satisfaction are used to create the framework. We have also provided efficient algorithms for checking the consistency of the movement and extracting compatible plans along with some discussions on computational analysis, logical deduction, and flexibility. Finally, we have demonstrated the application of the methodology by developing NETwork-based Move Atoms Planning System (NETMAPS). The experiments show how NETMAPS can overcome an inconsistent movement plan and deliver advantageous suggestions to an executive agent.     

Temporal variations in carbon stock of Pinus roxburghii Sargent forests of Himachal Pradesh,India

The present study was conducted in Solan Forest Division of Himachal Pradesh covering an area of about 57,158 ha. The aim was to estimate and assess the temporal change in carbon stock of the Chil Working Circle, in two forest ranges of the Division, Solan and Dharampur, over the period of 1956-2011. The inventory data of the working plans of Solan Forest Division from 1956-1957, 1984-1985 and 2002- 2003 were used in the present study while field data for biomass estimation was collected for the year 2011. The results showed a declining trend in carbon stock over 1956-1984 period, however, an increasing trend over 1984-2002 was observed, which showed a further increase for the period 2002-2011. These fluctuating trends in the forest carbon stock can be related to increasing anthropogenic pressure on forests and the subsequent introduction of a ban on green felling envisaging efficient forest management, both of which affect the forest carbon pool significantly.     

Experimental investigation of density current patterns using dynamic fractal analysis

Density currents are caused by a difference in density,though low,of an entering fluid with the ambient fluid.This type of current is two-phased and found on riverbeds or in reservoirs behind dams,and is nonlinear in nature,complex,and sensitive to initial conditions.Fractal geometry is used as a powerful tool for studying complex natural phenomena.Using experimental studies and changes in inlet current conditions,the fractal and multi-fractal analyses of the interface between the density current and the ambient fluid were done.In addition,a search was made to find a possible connection between the nonlinear patterns.According to the results,with an increase in the inlet discharge and inlet density of the current the fractal dimension decreased.Further,the smaller the range of the singularity spectrum diagram was,i.e.,the more it was less than 0.34,the lower the system's tendency was to be multi-fractal,and the system sensitive to large local changes.In the interface between the density current and the ambient fluid,using the fractal dimension-based Richardson number could improve experimental data by 12.4%.Moreover,with an increase in the Richardson number,the Reynolds number of the current decreased.Further,upon considering the fractal dimension,the Reynolds number improved by 23%and a good correlation with a coefficient of determination of 0.76.     

A new well behaved class of charge analogue of Adler’s relativistic exact solution

The paper presents a new class of parametric interior solutions of Einstein–Maxwell field equations in general relativity for a static spherically symmetric distribution of a charged perfect fluid with a particular form of electric field intensity. This solution gives us wide range of parameter, K (0.69≤K≤7.1), for which the solution is well behaved hence, suitable for modeling of superdense star. For this solution the gravitational mass of a superdense object is maximized with all degree of suitability by assuming the surface density of the star equal to the normal nuclear density ρ _nm=2.5×10¹⁷kg?m^?3. By this model we obtain the mass of the Crab pulsar M _Crab=1.401M _⊙ and the radius, R _Crab=12.98 km constraining the moment of inertia I _NS,38>1.61 for the conservative estimate of Crab nebula mass 2M _⊙ and M _Crab=2.0156M _⊙ with radius, R _Crab=14.07 km constraining the moment of inertia I _NS,38>3.04 for the newest estimate of Crab nebula mass 4.6M _⊙ which are quite well in agreement with the possible values of mass and radius of Crab pulsar. Besides this, our model yields the moments of inertia for PSR J0737-3039A and PSR J0737-3039B are I _A,38=1.4624 and I _B,38=1.2689 respectively. It has been observed that under well behaved conditions this class of parametric solution gives us the maximum gravitational mass of causal superdense object 2.8020M _⊙ with radius 14.49 km, surface redshift z _R =0.4319, charge Q=4.67×10²⁰ C, and central density ρ _c =2.68ρ _nm.     

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in coastal Caspian Sea sediments

This investigation represents the first extensive study of the spatial distribution and sources of aliphatic (n-alkanes and unresolved complex mixture of fossil hydrocarbons) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in coastal sediments from the Caspian Sea. PAH concentrations, n-alkanes and biomarker profiles all suggested that there was limited petrogenic contamination in the shallow North Caspian Sea sediments, which are coarse with a low total organic carbon content. In contrast, moderate to high petrogenic contamination was found in the South Caspian Sea, in particular in the offshore oil fields near Baku, Azerbaijan. Contaminant patterns indicated that the PAHs were mainly from fossil sources, with higher contributions of pyrolytic only near industrialized and urban areas. A high contribution of perylene, a geochemically derived PAH, to the total PAHs was found in the west and south at sites influenced by the Kura, Safid Rud, Terek, Sulak and Samur Rivers.