A review of major non-sulfide zinc deposits in Iran

The numerous non-sulfide zinc ore deposits were the historical basis for the development of zinc mining in Iran.They include the Mehdiabad,Irankouh and Angouran world-class deposits,as well as the Zarigan and Haft-har deposits.These deposits were formed by supergene oxidation of primary sulfide minerals during the complex interplay of tectonic uplift,karst development,changes in the level of the water table,and weathering.Zn(Pb)carbonates,Zn-hydrosilicates and associated hydrated phases directly replace the primary ore bodies or fill cavities along fractures related to uplift tectonics.Direct replacement of primary sulfides is accompanied by distal precipitation of zinc non-sulfide minerals in cavities or internal sediments filling.The mineralogy of the non-sulfide mineralization in all six deposits is generally complex and consists of smithsonite,hydrozincite,and hemimorphite as the main economic minerals,accompanied by iron and manganese oxy-hydroxides and residual clays.Commonly,non-sulfide minerals in these deposits consist of two types of ore:red zinc ore(RZO),rich in Zn,Fe,Pb-(As)and white zinc ore(WZO),typically with very high zinc grades but low concentrations of iron and lead.Typical minerals of the RZO are Fe-oxyhydroxides,goethite,hematite,hemimorphite,smithsonite and/or hydrozincite and cerussite.Common minerals of the WZO are smithsonite or hydrozincite and only minor amounts of Fe-oxyhydroxides and hemimorphite.     

What is the most simple solution of Wheeler-DeWitt equation?

The Wheeler-DeWitt equation in Vilenkin model is solved via the ansatz approach when all terms related to vacuum, domain walls, strings, dust, relativistic matter, bosons and fermions and ultra stiff matter are present.     

An Experimental Characterization of Shear Wave Velocity (V<Subscript>s</Subscript>) in Clean and Hydrocarbon-Contaminated Sand

The characteristics of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils have been among major concerns of geotechnical engineers due to its significant frequency of event and also its influential consequences on our surroundings from various environmental and engineering viewpoints. Heretofore, the effects of diverse kinds of hydrocarbon contaminants on majority of geotechnical properties of fine- and coarse-grained soils such as grain size, hydraulic conductivity, plasticity, compressibility, internal friction, cohesion, and shear strength have been investigated. However, there has not been a concentrated research study examining shear wave velocity (\({\text{V}}_{\text{s}}\)) of hydrocarbon-contaminated soils as an important geotechnical property of soil due to this fact that, in small/very small strain levels, the maximum shear modulus of soils (\({\text{G}}_{ \hbox{max} }\)) can be determined using shear wave velocity (\({\text{G}}_{ \hbox{max} } =\uprho{\text{V}}_{\text{s}}^{2}\)). This paper aims to investigate effects of hydrocarbon contamination on shear wave velocity of sandy soils by comparing shear wave velocities in identically prepared clean and contaminated samples. To this aim, an Iranian light crude oil, a standard type of silica sand (Ottawa sand), and a bender element apparatus were used to minutely measure shear wave velocity of clean and crude oil contaminated sand samples. Moreover, dry and quasi-moist tamping methods were employed in order to provide comparable clean and contaminated specimens (containing 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 wt% of crude oil), respectively. Firstly, a comprehensive bender element (BE) and resonant column tests were conducted on the identically prepared clean sand samples at various amounts of frequency (2–20 kHz) and under various confining pressure (50–500 kPa) to find the best methods of accurately determining shear wave travel time in BE tests. Thereafter, BE tests were conducted to examine shear wave velocity in contaminated specimens. Based on the results, it was found that there was a critical value for crude oil content with the maximum shear wave velocity so that shear wave velocity of 4 wt% contaminated sand (V_s-4 wt%) was about 1.2 times higher than clean one (V_s-clean), and contrastingly adding further crude oil up to 6 wt% made a significant reduction in value of shear wave velocity to some extent that V_s-6 wt% was slightly lower than V_s-clean (V_s-6 wt% = 0.95–0.97V_s-clean). Moreover, adding more contaminant (8–12 wt%) into sand had negligible influences on shear wave velocity. In this paper, the effects of crude oil contamination on sand microstructure were also evaluated using scanning electron microscopy.     

Municipal solid waste landfill siting by using GIS and analytical hierarchy process (AHP): a case study in Qom city,Iran

Qom is the eighth most populated city in center of Iran, and its population growth rate is among the highest in this country. Th presence of a Great Salt Lake, petroleum potential and tourism attractions in this city sheds light on the importance of how solid waste landfill locations should be disposed, located and managed as an environmental issue. Considering the key parameters in landfill site selection, in this study a series of location analysis have been conducted to locate optimum regions for municipal solid waste disposal, using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and geographical information system (GIS). The main factors in selecting the suitable location for waste disposal include geomorphology–hydrography, environmental–social factors and design criteria, each of which are subdivided into several categories. Criteria are selected according to the regional condition; therefore, important factors such as distance from sea and forested areas were not considered. In the next step, digital layers are weighted and classified according to the available standards and expert judgment. Then, analytical multi-criteria decision-making algorithms as AHP and weighted linear combination are applied upon existing layers in GIS. The results show that by implementing the AHP method in this region only 7% of the study area has a very good and appropriate condition for landfill location and the field observation confirms them. Finally, considering the environmental effects of landfill, appropriate locations are suggested.     

Inverse modelling for freshwater lens in small islands: Kish Island,Persian Gulf

A number of challenges including instability, nonconvergence, nonuniqueness, nonoptimality, and lack of a general guideline for inverse modelling have limited the application of automatic calibration by generic inversion codes in solving the saltwater intrusion problem in real‐world cases. A systematic parameter selection procedure for the selection of a small number of independent parameters is applied to a real case of saltwater intrusion in a small island aquifer system in the semiarid region of the Persian Gulf. The methodology aims at reducing parameter nonuniqueness and uncertainty and the time spent on inverse modelling computations. Subsequent to the automatic calibration of the numerical model, uncertainty is analysed by constrained nonlinear optimization of the inverse model. The results define the percentage of uncertainty in the parameter estimation that will maintain the model inside a user‐defined neighbourhood of the best possible calibrated model. Sensitivity maps of both pressure and concentration for the small island aquifer system are also developed. These sensitivity maps indicate higher sensitivity of pressure to model parameters compared with concentration. These sensitivity maps serve as a benchmark for correlation analysis and also assist in the selection of observations points of pressure and concentration in the calibration process. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oligocene crustal xenolith‐bearing alkaline basalt from Jandaq area (Central Iran): implications for magma genesis and crustal nature

The Oligocene alkaline basalts of Toveireh area (southwest of Jandaq, Central Iran) exhibit northwest–southeast to west–east exposure in northwest of the central‐east Iranian microcontinent (CEIM). These basalts are composed of olivine (Fo_70–90), clinopyroxene (diopside, augite), plagioclase (labradorite), spinel, and titanomagnetite as primary minerals and serpentine and zeolite as secondary ones. They are enriched in alkalis, TiO₂ and light rare earth elements (La/Yb = 9.64–12.68) and are characterized by enrichment in large ion lithophile elements (Cs, Rb, Ba) and high field strength elements (Nb, Ta). The geochemical features of the rocks suggest that the Toveireh alkaline basalts are derived from a moderate degree partial melting (10–20%) of a previously enriched garnet lherzolite of asthenospheric mantle. Subduction of the CEIM confining oceanic crust from the Triassic to Eocene is the reason of mantle enrichment. The studied basalts contain mafic‐ultramafic and aluminous granulitic xenoliths. The rock‐forming minerals of the mafic‐ultramafic xenoliths are Cr‐free/poor spinel, olivine, Al‐rich pyroxene, and feldspar. The aluminous granulitic xenoliths consist of an assemblage of hercynitic spinel + plagioclase (andesine–labradorite) ± corundum ± sillimanite. They show interstitial texture, which is consistent with granulite facies. They are enriched in high field strength elements (Ti, Nb and Ta), light rare earth elements (La/Yb = 37–193) and exhibit a positive Eu anomaly. These granulitic xenoliths may be Al‐saturated but Si‐undersaturated feldspar bearing restitic materials of the lower crust. The Oligocene Toveireh basaltic magma passed and entrained these xenoliths from the lower crust to the surface.     

Attenuation relation of Arias intensity for Zagros Mountains region (Iran)

Arias intensity is considered as a shaking parameter suitable for characterizing earthquake impact on ground stability. Within the framework of a study aimed at providing tools for the assessment of hazards related to earthquake-induced slope failures, Arias intensity attenuation relations were determined for the Zagros Mountains region, an active tectonic belt elongated NW–SE in the western and south-western part of Iran. The calculation of relation coefficients was based on strong-motion data of earthquakes located in the Zagros area and recorded by Iranian stations managed by the Building and Housing Research Center of Iran (BHRC). Five models of attenuation relation were considered and their coefficients were estimated through a least-square regression analysis. The relations obtained were then applied to a data sample different from that used for regression and the root mean square (RMS) of residuals was examined in order to compare effectiveness of different relations in probabilistic estimates. Furthermore a comparison made with attenuation relations obtained for Alborz and the central part of Iran showed significant differences possibly related to structural differences.