Ophiolite emplacement by strike-slip tectonics between the Pontide Zone and the Sakarya Zone in northwestern Anatolia, Turkey

Northwestern Anatolia contains three main tectonic units: (a) the Pontide Zone in the north which consists mainly of the Gstanbul-Zonguldak Unit in the west and the BallLda<-Küre Unit in the east; (b) the Sakarya Zone (or Continent) in the south, which is juxtaposed against the Pontide Zone due to the closure of Paleo-Tethys prior to Late Jurassic time; and (c) the Armutlu-OvacLk Zone which appears to represent a tectonic mixture of both zones. These three major tectonic zones are presently bounded by the two branches of the North Anatolian Transform Fault. The two tectonic contacts follow older tectonic lineaments (the Western Pontide Fault) which formed during the development of the Armutlu-OvacLk Zone. Since the earliest Cretaceous, an overall extensional regime dominated the region. A transpressional tectonic regime of Coniacian/Santonian to Campanian age caused the welding of the Gstanbul-Zonguldak Unit to the Sakarya Zone by an oblique collision. In the Late Campanian, a transtensional tectonic regime developed, forming a new basin within the amalgamated tectonic mosaic. The different tectonic regimes in the region were caused by activity of the Western Pontide Fault. Most of the ophiolites within the Armutlu-OvacLk Zone belong to the Paleo-Tethyan and/or pre-Ordovician ophiolitic core of the Gstanbul-Zonguldak Unit. The Late Cretaceous ophiolites in the eastern parts of the Armutlu-OvacLk Zone were transported from Neo-Tethyan ophiolites farther east by left-lateral strike-slip faults along the Western Pontide Fault. There is insufficient evidence to indicate the presence of an ocean (Intra-Pontide Ocean) between the Gstanbul-Zonguldak Unit and the Sakarya Zone during Late Cretaceous time.     

Geotechnical properties of a chemically stabilized soil from Malaysia with rice husk ash as an additive

Summary The stabilization of Malaysian soil by mixing with rice husk ash, a locally available waste material, to improve its engineering properties is described. Stabilizing agents, i.e. cement and lime, were added to produce the reaction products which are responsible for the enhancement of the engineering properties. Based on the strength development, it seems that lime is the more effective stabilizing agent. However, the cheap waste material can be used as partial replacement for the more expensive cement in the cement-treatment of the soil. A durability study was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of this stabilization method.     

Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system coupled with shuffled frog leaping algorithm for predicting river streamflow time series

ABSTRACT

Accurate runoff forecasting plays a key role in catchment water management and water resources system planning. To improve the prediction accuracy, one needs to strive to develop a reliable and accurate forecasting model for streamflow. In this study, the novel combination of the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) model with the shuffled frog-leaping algorithm (SFLA) is proposed. Historical streamflow data of two different rivers were collected to examine the performance of the proposed model. To evaluate the performance of the proposed ANFIS-SFLA model, six different scenarios for the model input–output architecture were investigated. The results show that the proposed ANFIS-SFLA model (R² = 0.88; NS = 0.88; RMSE = 142.30 (m³/s); MAE = 88.94 (m³/s); MAPE = 35.19%) significantly improved the forecasting accuracy and outperformed the classic ANFIS model (R² = 0.83; NS = 0.83; RMSE = 167.81; MAE = 115.83 (m³/s); MAPE = 45.97%). The proposed model could be generalized and applied in different rivers worldwide.     

古尔班通古特沙漠大气边界层参数化方案的模拟评估[1]

为准确描述我国最大的固定/半固定沙漠-古尔班通古特沙漠区域的大气边界层结构，本文利用该沙漠腹地2017年的梯度铁塔和通量观测数据，基于中尺度气象模式WRF (Weather Research and Forecast v3.7.1)，分析了5种边界层参数化方案在古尔班通古特沙漠的适用性。结果表明：1）采用WRF模拟沙漠腹地近地层内的边界层特征时，2m气温的模拟存在冷偏差，5种边界层参数化方案均能较好地模拟出四个季节2m气温的日变化特征，其中非局地方案ACM2(Asymmetric Convective Model version 2)对2m气温效果最好，局地方案BL方案的模拟偏差最大；2）5种边界层参数化方案均能够模拟出10m风速的日变化特征，其中局地方案BL(Bougeault-Lacarrere)对10m风速效果最佳；3）采用WRF模拟沙漠近地层内的地表通量特征时，感热通量存在高估现象，潜热通量存在低估现象，5种边界层参数化方案均能较好地模拟出四个季节模拟时间段内地表净辐射通量的日变化特征，其中局地方案MYJ(Mellor-Yamada-Janjie)的模拟精度最高。     

Factors affecting seasonal patterns in epilimnion zooplankton community in one of the largest man-made lakes in Africa (Lake Nasser, Egypt)

The objective of the study was to determine which factors regulate zooplankton organisms along Lake Nasser. Temperature, pH, DO, conductivity, turbidity, nutrients, and zooplankton abundance were measured. Twenty-three species of zooplankton were recorded in Lake Nasser included in Copepoda, Cladocera and Rotifera. Copepoda represented the main bulk of the community. The lowest standing stock of zooplankton was noticed during spring due to the highest fish predation during this season associated with the lowest turbidity. Big difference in temperature in Lake Nasser along the year round is considered as a controlling factor related to range of tolerance of species. The oscillation of the lake water level and the different factors affect the standing stock of zooplankton in the lake. Thus, continuous monitoring of Lake Nasser biota should be undertaken to follow the changes in the ecosystem.     

Link between SSZ ophiolite formation, emplacement and arc inception, Northland, New Zealand: U–Pb SHRIMP constraints; Cenozoic SW Pacific tectonic implications

New U–Pb age-data from zircons separated from a Northland ophiolite gabbro yield a mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 31.6 ± 0.2 Ma, providing support for a recently determined 28.3 ± 0.2 Ma SHRIMP age of an associated plagiogranite and  29–26 Ma ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages (n = 9) of basalts of the ophiolite. Elsewhere, Miocene arc-related calc-alkaline andesite dikes which intrude the ophiolitic rocks contain zircons which yield mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 20.1 ± 0.2 and 19.8 ± 0.2 Ma. The ophiolite gabbro and the andesites both contain rare inherited zircons ranging from 122–104 Ma. The Early Cretaceous zircons in the arc andesites are interpreted as xenocrysts from the Mt. Camel basement terrane through which magmas of the Northland Miocene arc lavas erupted. The inherited zircons in the ophiolite gabbros suggest that a small fraction of this basement was introduced into the suboceanic mantle by subduction and mixed with mantle melts during ophiolite formation.

We postulate that the tholeiitic suite of the ophiolite represents the crustal segment of SSZ lithosphere (SSZL) generated in the southern South Fiji Basin (SFB) at a northeast-dipping subduction zone that was initiated at about 35 Ma. The subduction zone nucleated along a pre-existing transform boundary separating circa 45–20 Ma oceanic lithosphere to the north and west of the Northland Peninsula from nascent back arc basin lithosphere of the SFB. Construction of the SSZL propagated southward along the transform boundary as the SFB continued to unzip to the southeast. After subduction of a large portion of oceanic lithosphere by about 26 Ma and collision of the SSZL with New Zealand, compression between the Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate was taken up along a new southwest-dipping subduction zone behind the SSZL. Renewed volcanism began in the oceanic forearc at 25 Ma producing boninitic-like, SSZ and within-plate alkalic and calc-alkaline rocks. Rocks of these types temporally overlap ophiolite emplacement and subsequent Miocene continental arc construction.     

Organic Material and Trace Elements of Bituminous Rocks in the Ozankiiy Field, Ankara, Turkey

Bituminous rocks in the Ozankoey （Ankara） field are different from those of the Paleocene- Eocene Mengen and Giineytepe （Bolu） regions in metal enrichment levels. Organic carbon （Corg） content of organic material-rich rocks in the Ozankoey （Ankara） field is 3.66-40.72% wt averaging 14.34%. The dominant organic materials are algae/amorphous accompanied by minor amount of herbaceous material （The dominant kerogen type is Type-I with a limited amount of Type-Ⅱ kerogen.）. The bituminous rocks in the Ozankoey field are enriched in heavy metals such as Ni, Mn, As and Cr. In comparison with the average enrichment values of dements, Ni, Mn, As and Cr in bituminous shales of the Ozankoey field are as about 4.38, 14.93, 10.90 and 5.58 times as average values. The average concentrations of these heavy metals are also as high as 215× 10^-6, 828 × 10^-6, 58.54 × 10^-6, and 148 × 10^-6 respectively. In addition, sorption properties of day and organic materials are also important for metal enrichments in the bituminous shales.