The Estimation of Secondary Production of the Marine Bivalve Spisula subtruncata (DA COSTA) in the Area of the Po River Delta

Abstract. The secondary production of Spisula subtruncata (somatic production) is calculated in the framework of a benthic monitoring study in a coastal area. The temporal trends of density, biomass and growth increments are examined in the three year-classes present. These are compared to certain physical and chemical parameters.     

Incorporating conceptual and interpretation uncertainty to mineral prospectivity modelling

Prospectivity analyses are used to reduce the exploration search space for locating areas prospective for mineral deposits.The scale of a study and the type of mineral system associated with the deposit control the evidence layers used as proxies that represent critical ore genesis processes.In particular,knowledge-driven approaches(fuzzy logic)use a conceptual mineral systems model from which data proxies represent the critical components.These typically vary based on the scale of study and the type of mineral system being predicted.Prospectivity analyses utilising interpreted data to represent proxies for a mineral system model inherit the subjectivity of the interpretations and the uncertainties of the evidence layers used in the model.In the case study presented,the prospectivity for remobilised nickel sulphide(NiS)in the west Kimberley,Western Australia,is assessed with two novel techniques that objectively grade interpretations and accommodate alternative mineralisation scenarios.Exploration targets are then identified and supplied with a robustness assessment that reflects the variability of prospectivity value for each location when all models are considered.The first technique grades the strength of structural interpretations on an individual line-segment basis.Gradings are obtained from an objective measure of feature evidence,which is the quantification of specific patterns in geophysical data that are considered to reveal underlying structure.Individual structures are weighted in the prospectivity model with grading values correlated to their feature evidence.This technique allows interpreted features to contribute prospectivity proportional to their strength in feature evidence and indicates the level of associated stochastic uncertainty.The second technique aims to embrace the systemic uncertainty of modelling complex mineral systems.In this approach,multiple prospectivity maps are each generated with different combinations of confidence values applied to evidence layers to represent the diversity of processes potentially leading to ore deposition.With a suite of prospectivity maps,the most robust exploration targets are the locations with the highest prospectivity values showing the smallest range amongst the model suite.This new technique offers an approach that reveals to the modeller a range of alternative mineralisation scenarios while employing a sensible mineral systems model,robust modelling of prospectivity and significantly reducing the exploration search space for Ni.     

Three Palaeoproterozoic basins—Yerrida,Bryah and Padbury—Capricorn Orogen,Western Australia

The Palaeoproterozoic Yerrida, Bryah and Padbury Basins record periods of sedimentation and magmatism along the northern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton. Each basin is characterised by distinct stratigraphy, igneous activity, structural and metamorphic history and mineral deposit types. The oldest of these basins, the Yerrida Basin (ca 2200 Ma) is floored by rocks of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton. Important features of this basin are the presence of evaporites and continental flood basalts. The ca 2000 Ma Bryah Basin developed on the northern margin of the Yilgarn Craton during backarc sea‐floor spreading and rifting, the result of which was the emplacement of voluminous mafic and ultramafic volcanic rocks. During the waning stages of the Bryah Basin this mafic to ultramafic volcanism gave way to deposition of clastic and chemical sedimentary rocks. At a later stage, the Padbury Basin developed as a retroarc foreland basin on top of the Bryah Basin in a fold‐and‐thrust belt. This resulted from either the collision of the Pilbara and Yilgarn Cratons (Capricorn Orogeny) or the ca 2000 Ma westward collision of the southern part of the Gascoyne Complex and the Yilgarn Craton (Glenburgh Orogeny). During the Capricorn Orogeny the Bryah Group was thrust to the southeast, over the Yerrida Group. Important mineral deposits are contained in the Yerrida, Bryah and Padbury Basins. In the Yerrida Basin a large Pb–carbonate deposit (Magellan) and black shale‐hosted gossans containing anomalous abundances of Ba, Cu, Zn and Pd are present. The Pb–carbonate deposit is hosted by the upper units of the Juderina Formation, and the lower unit of the unconformably overlying Earaheedy Group. The Bryah and Padbury Basins contain orogenic gold, copper‐gold volcanogenic massive sulfides, manganese and iron ore. The origin of the gold mineralisation is probably related to tectonothermal activity during the Capricorn Orogeny at ca 1800 Ma.     

Nonlinear finite and discrete element simulations of multi-storey masonry walls

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - This paper reports the results of different finite and discrete element simulations on a well-known benchmark of an unreinforced plane masonry structure....     

A comparative study on a complex URM building: part II—issues on modelling and seismic analysis through continuum and discrete-macroelement models

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - The paper presents the comparison of the results obtained on a masonry building by nonlinear static analysis using different software operating in the field of...     

The Mediterranean intercalibration exercise on soft‐bottom benthic invertebrates with special emphasis on the Italian situation

The intercalibration exercise is an important step in the building process of the surface water ecological quality assessment, which is required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD). Its aim is to apply the water quality classification in a uniform manner to all the Member States belonging to the same eco‐region. Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain participated in the soft‐bottom benthic invertebrate subgroup for the Mediterranean coastal region. The methodologies proposed by Member States were applied and tested; the results were compared and harmonized to establish agreed and comparable boundaries for the benthic invertebrate ecological status classes. The national methods used in the intercalibration process were: for Cyprus and Greece, the Bentix Index; for Slovenia, a combination of AZTI Marine Biotic Index (AMBI), richness and diversity with the use of factor and discriminant analysis (Multimetric AMBI); for Spain, a new index, named MEDOCC, which is an adaptation of the AMBI index to the Western Mediterranean area. Italy and France tested different methods, none of which have been officially adopted. Final class boundary values for the different official classification systems were obtained and compared. Besides describing methods and results obtained by the different countries, the Italian situation is examined in more detail. All the above methods have been applied to Italian data, but the results were not conclusive. Major causes for concern are related to insufficient sites and data, to the lack of real non‐impacted reference sites, and to the difficulties in validating the ecological status classification in sites not showing a pollution gradient.     

Geology and tectonic evolution of the Palaeoproterozoic Bryah, Padbury and Yerrida Basins (formerly Glengarry Basin), Western Australia: implications for the history of the south-central Capricorn Orogen

The Palaeoproterozoic Bryah, Padbury and Yerrida Basins are situated along the northwestern margin of the Archaean Yilgarn Craton, central Western Australia. These basins form part of the Capricorn Orogen, which developed between 2.0 and 1.8 Ga as a result of the collision between the Archaean Pilbara and Yilgarn cratons. The Bryah, Padbury and Yerrida Basins, which at the present day cover a total area of ca 20 000 km², were formerly considered as one geological entity, the Glengarry Basin. These three basins are characterized by distinct stratigraphy, igneous activity, structural and metamorphic history, and mineral deposit types. Igneous activity only affected the Bryah and Yerrida Basins, with voluminous eruptions of tholeiitic magma. In the Bryah Basin tholeiitic volcanic rocks are Mg-rich and have mixed MORB to oceanic island chemical signatures, but with a boninitic (subduction-related) component. In the Yerrida Basin tholeiites are Fe-rich and have chemical signatures that suggest a mixed tectonic environment ranging from oceanic to continental. It is considered possible that this tholeiitic magmatism is related to a mantle plume. Two models for the tectonic evolution of the Bryah, Padbury and Yerrida Basins are proposed: (1) the Bryah and Yerrida Basins were formed in a back-arc setting, whilst the Padbury Basin developed as a retro-arc foreland basin over the Bryah Basin; and/or (2) strike-slip transtension, during and following the Pilbara-Yilgarn collision, created the Bryah and Yerrida strike-slip pull-apart Basins. A change in regional stress regime resulted in the inversion of the basins and the development of a foreland basin in the northwest (Padbury Basin).