Mass balance of major elements in relation to weathering in soils developed on igneous rocks in a semiarid region, northwestern Iran

This study was conducted to evaluate the weathering intensity of the major soils developed on igneous rocks in semiarid region of northwestern Iran.Eight parent materials were selected including monzodiorite,alkali granite,granodiorite,syenite,pyroxene diorite,hornblende andesite,pyroxene andesite,and dacite.Representative soil profiles were described and soil samples were collected and analyzed for selected chemical and physical properties and total concentrations of major elements and Zr,V,Ti and Y.Bulk densities as well as Ti,Zr and V concentrations were used to estimate the strain factors and mass balance equations were used to quantify the net result of pedogenic weathering,i.e.elemental loss and gain.The results of clay content and pedogenic iron variability as well as index of compositional variability(ICV),chemical index of alteration(CIA) and,A-CN-K and MFW ternary plots showed that the soils developed on volcanic rocks(hornblende andesite> pyroxene andesite> dacite) were more weathered than those on the plutonic parent rocks(alkali granite,granodiorite,monzodiorite,syenite,pyroxene diorite).The results of mass balance calculations based on the strain factors revealed that the Ca and Na depleted during weathering progress mostly from plagioclase grains.In the semiarid regions Ca is precipitated as pedogenic calcite in the soil horizons.K and Mg depletion is less than Ca and Na especially in the profiles on the hornblende andesite with the highest clay and LOI content.The results of this study clearly suggest that the behavior of K and Mg during the weathering cannot only be explained by the disintegration of the primary minerals,since they are fixed on the secondary clay minerals.Iron did not change in the soils compared to the parent material and was precipitated as the pedogenic iron and conserved in the soil horizons.Overall,the results on the weathering indicators and major elements mass balance enrichment/depletion in the study area confirmed that the soil profiles developed on volcanic rocks are more weathered than those on the plutonic igneous rocks.     

In-situ zircon U-Pb age and Hf-O isotopic constraints on the origin of the Hasan-Robat A-type granite from Sanandaj–Sirjan zone,Iran: implications for reworking of Cadomian arc igneous rocks

Mineralogy and Petrology - The Lower Permian Hasan-Robat syenogranite occurs as a single pluton and intruded the Upper Carboniferous–Lower Permian sandstones and dolomitic limestones in the...     

Variations in crab claw morphology and diet across contrasting inter‐tidal habitats

Crabs are important predators of inter‐tidal ecosystems, controlling the abundance and distribution of their prey populations. Often the same crab species occupies several habitats and, although their effects on prey have been quantified across habitats, crabs’ dietary and morphological responses to differing environmental influences have been overlooked. Here, we used the crabs Eriphia verrucosa and Pachygrapsus marmoratus as model species to examine differences in claw morphometry – size and wear – and diet between rocky shore and heterogeneous sand flat habitats. We predicted that, intra‐specifically, crabs from rocky shores would consume more hard‐shelled prey owing to their high availability and consequently, would display chelipeds with the following claw characteristics: a higher degree of claw damage, stronger musculature (higher propel height) and increased mechanical advantage (defined as the ratio of input lever length to output lever length) than crabs in the heterogeneous sand flat habitats. Sampling was performed in heterogeneous sand flat habitats and rocky shores of the Central Portuguese coast. For each crab species, carapace width, diet composition and several claw morphometric measures were recorded, revealing significant intra‐specific differences (using multivariate analysis) between shore types. We found that E. verrucosa and P. marmoratus consumed more hard prey on rocky shore than on sand flat habitats, which resulted in rocky shore crabs having more accentuated dentition wear and larger musculature than their sand flat habitat counterparts. We suggest that the strong response of crab claw morphometry to environmentally induced diet variations is an important mechanism in the successful adaptation of crab species to inhabit differing habitats. A major implication is that the impact of the same species on prey may vary largely with habitat type as a result of predation efficiency varying with claw condition.     

Quantitative pore-type characterization from well logs based on the seismic petrophysics in a carbonate reservoir

Quality, availability and consistency of the measured and interpreted well log data are essential in the seismic reservoir characterization methods, and seismic petrophysics is the recommended workflow to achieve data consistency between logs and seismic domains. This paper uses seismic petrophysics workflow to improve well logs and pore geometry interpretations for an oil carbonate reservoir in the Fahliyan Formation in the southwest of Iran. The petrophysical interpreted well logs, rock physics and well-to-seismic tie analysis are integrated into the proposed workflow. Our implementation incorporates revising petrophysical well log interpretations and updating pore geometry characteristics to obtain a better well-tie quality. We first propose an improved pore-type characterization approach based on both P- and S-wave velocities for quantifying pore geometry. Then, seismic logs are estimated accordingly, and the results are used in the well-to-seismic analysis. The quality of the well-tie is improved, furthermore, by iterating on the petrophysical interpreted well logs as well as the calculated pore geometries. For the intervals with high-quality data, our workflow improves the consistency between the results of measured and modelled seismic logs. For the intervals with problematic well logs, the application of our proposed workflow results in the successful replacement of the poor data and subsequently leads to an improved wavelet estimation and well-tie results. In both cases, a higher quantification of pore geometries is achieved, which in turn is confirmed by the core images and formation micro-imager analysis.     

Experimental investigating on the reflected waves from the caisson-type vertical porous seawalls

The hydrodynamic efficiencies of caisson-type vertical porous seawalls used for protecting coastal areas were calculated in this study. Physical models were developed to compare the wave reflection from vertical plane, semi-porous, and porous seawalls caused by both regular and random waves. Tests were carried out for a wide range of wave heights, wave periods, and different water depths (d=0.165, 0.270 and 0.375 m). The performance regarding the reflected waves from porous and semi-porous seawalls showed improvement when compared with those from the plane seawall. The reflection coefficients of the porous and semi-porous seawalls were calculated as 0.6 and 0.75, respectively, while the coefficient for the fully reflecting plane vertical wall was significantly higher (0.9). It was also observed that the reflection coefficient decreases with increase in wave steepness and relative water depth. In addition, the reduction in the reflection coefficient of porous and semi-porous seawalls, as compared to that of a plane seawall, was observed for both regular and random waves. New equations were also proposed to calculate the reflection coefficient of different types of seawalls with the aid of laboratory experiments. By verifying the developed equations using some other experimental data, it was validated that the equations could be used for practical situations. The results of the present study can be applied to optimize the design of vertical seawalls and for coastal protecting schemes.     

Correction to: Investigating the influence of soil conditions and surcharge mass on seismic responses of ground surface

Journal of Seismology -     

Spatial variability of soil development indices and their compatibility with soil taxonomic classes in a hilly landscape: a case study at Bandar village,Northern Iran

Soil complexity and its multivariable nature restrict the precision of soil maps that are essential tools for soil sustainable management. Most methods developed for reducing impurities of soil map units focus on soil external properties. Taking into account the soil internal properties like geochemical weathering indices could increase the map unit’s purity. However, the compatibility of these indices with Soil Taxonomic Classes has not been studied yet. This study has been performed in a hilly region with different soil types, vegetation and diverse topographic attributes to illustrate the spatial variability of soil weathering indices and their compatibility with Soil Taxonomic Classes. The grid sampling is at 100 m interval. Physico-chemical and total elemental analyses were performed on 184 and 56 soil samples respectively. Eight topographic attributes and 14 common soil development indices were determined. Principal components analysis (PCA) was done to identify the most important components. The results indicated that Morphological Index (MI) was the best index to show the degree of soil development in the studied region. Spatial distribution of Soil Taxonomic Classes showed relatively good compatibility with the first principal component (PC1), Vogt (V) and morphological indices. This study showed that using soil development indices with the conventional methods could be helpful tools in soil survey investigations