The occurrence of gypsum in the scaling of stones at the Castle of Chambord (France)

The main cause of degradation in tuffeau, a soft siliceous and clayey limestone extensively used in the construction of the castles of the Loire Valley in France, is scaling. The most damaging form of weathering is spalling. Over time, a plaque several centimetres in thickness gradually forms under the stone surface and eventually falls away, leaving the resulting new surface powdered. Hypotheses regarding the initiation and development of such degradation have not yet met scientific consensus. The objective of the present paper is to improve existing knowledge of scaling degradation by analysing in situ samples representing different stages of the same degradation process. The analysis of the stones at the Castle of Chambord, revealed the presence of gypsum (CaSO₄·2H₂O), mainly located in cracks parallel to the stone surface. This gypsum was then studied in terms of its crystal morphology and distribution with depth. For comparison purposes, another form of scaling identified at the Castle of Chambord but rarely studied, flaking, was also examined. A first attempt at explaining the origin and formation of the observed gypsum in both scaling processes was conducted by interacting and comparing the characterisation results with historical and environmental data.     

Rockfall hazard analysis for an historical Castle in Kastamonu (Turkey)

The Kastamonu Castle located on a sandstone hill with Eocene age is one of the most historical and touristic places in Kastamonu city center. The settlement of the city expanded towards the hill of the Kastamonu Castle and adversely affected by rockfalls in the past. The rockfall problems around the castle could be related to jointing, weathering, freezing-thawing and earthquake effects or a combination. In this study, the rockfall hazard at the castle is evaluated by two-dimensional rockfall analyses along 17 profiles selected in different orientations. Different size of rock blocks and various types of movements are taken into consideration in the analyses. Fall-out distance, bounce height, kinetic energy and velocity of the sandstone blocks are separately evaluated. The obtained data are used to define the possible rockfall hazard zones. Finally, the areas having potential rockfall risks are distinguished. Based on the evaluation of the data, rock bolting after removing of unstable blocks and supporting the area with the protective fences are suggested.     

地震精确定位问题(综述)

本文综述了地震定位问题的历史沿革和最新进展。着重介绍了用在地震定位问题上的地球物理反演方法,尤其是相对定位方法的原理、优点以及存在的局限性。目的是提供从事这一领域研究工作的人员参考。     

A new bourgueticrinid (Crinoidea) from the Castle Hayne Formation (Eocene) of southeastern North Carolina,USA

Cenozoic fossil stalked crinoids are poorly known. Based on a large, new collection of disarticulated columnals and cups, a new gracile bourgueticrinid, Democrinus simmsi species nov., is described from the Eocene Castle Hayne Formation as exposed at the Martin Marietta Quarry, New Hanover County, southeastern North Carolina (USA). The smooth, conical cup of D. simmsi commonly is widest at the oral surface, moderately flared orally in small (juvenile?) specimens, but tends to be subcylindrical in larger examples. The basals are at least 1.5 times the height of radials. Some columnals of mesistele and dististele have distinctly warty latera. This is the first nominal bourgueticrinid from the Paleogene of North America, despite their moderate diversity locally in the Paleogene of Eurasia. The small size of cups and disarticulated columnals of gracile bourgueticrinids are almost certainly a factor in our poor knowledge of their fossil record.     

The invertebrate ecology of the Chalk aquifer in England (UK)

The Chalk is an important water supply aquifer, yet ecosystems within it remain poorly understood. Boreholes (198) in seven areas of England (UK) were sampled to determine the importance of the Chalk aquifer as a habitat, and to improve understanding of how species are distributed. Stygobitic macro-invertebrates were remarkably common, and were recorded in 67 % of boreholes in unconcealed Chalk, although they were not recorded in Chalk that is concealed by low-permeability strata and thus likely to be confined. Most species were found in shallow boreholes (<21 m) and boreholes with deep (>50 m) water tables, indicating that the habitat is vertically extensive. Stygobites were present in more boreholes in southern England than northern England (77 % compared to 38 %). Only two species were found in northern England compared to six in southern England, but overall seven of the eight stygobitic macro-invertebrate species found in England were detected in the Chalk. Two species are common in southern England, but absent from northern England despite the presence of a continuous habitat prior to the Devensian glaciation. This suggests that either they did not survive glaciations in the north where glaciers were more extensive, or dispersal rates are slow and they have never colonised northern England. Subsurface ecosystems comprising aquatic macro-invertebrates and meiofauna, as well as the microbial organisms they interact with, are likely to be widespread in the Chalk aquifer. They represent an important contribution to biodiversity, and may influence biogeochemical cycles and provide other ecosystem services.     

Geoscience 1990(Vol.4)Contents

No.l Application of Cathodolum mene墨conc吕*the Pcrmian-Triassic Boundary Events and Stratlgrapjc Corrda· tioninNorthwcsternHunanProvillce*……………………………………………………………SongZhimin(9) Climatic and Glacio-Eusta口c Control over the R比ent Quattt21arysedlmentatlon In the Northeast Ganges Deep Sea Fan……………………………………………………………………………………… Falg Nlanqlao(22) DeltaicDeposltional Systems in the Middle and Up卜r Members ofLon以an Formation ofCoal…     

The Haiti Earthquake: a salutary lesson in (non) earthquake engineering

A devastating earthquake of magnitude 7 struck very close and almost beneath Port au Prince the capital of Haiti, the western half of the island of Hispaniola, early in the morning of Tuesday, 12 January 2010 ( Fig. 1 ). While in absolute terms this was by no means the largest earthquake recorded this year globally, the death toll is around 230 000, making it one of the world's worst earthquakes in terms of casualties in recorded history, with almost uncountable economic loss to one of the poorest countries in the world.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Intensity map of 2010 Haiti earthquake (Image: USGS).     

Seismogenic Structure of the April 20, 2013, Lushan Ms7 Earthquake in Sichuan

At 08:02 on April 20, 2013, a Ms7.0 earthquake occurred in Lushan, Ya'an, in the Longmenshan fault zone, Sichuan. The epicenter was located between Taiping Town and Shuangshi Town, Lushan County and the maximum earthquake intensity at the epicenter reached class IX. Field investigations in the epicenter area found that, although buildings were seriously damaged, no obvious surface rupture structure was produced, only some ground fissures and sand blows and water ejection phenomena being seen. An integrated analysis of high-resolution remote sensing image interpretation, mainshock and aftershock distribution, and focal mechanism solutions indicated that this earthquake was an independent rupturing event in the southwestern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone, belonging to the thrust-type earthquake. Ruptures occurred along the south-central segment of the Shuangshi-Dachuan fault and the principal rupture plane dipped SW at 33-43°. It is inferred that the Lushan earthquake might be related to the ramp activity of the basal detachment zone (13-19 km) of the Longmenshan fault zone. Historically, there occurred at least two Ms6-6.5 earthquakes along the Shuangshi-Dachuan fault zone; thus it is thought that the Lushan earthquake, different from the Wenchuan earthquake, was a characteristic one in the southwestern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone. In-situ stress measurements indicated the Lushan earthquake was the result of stress release of the southwestern segment of the Longmenshan fault zone after the Wenchuan earthquake. This paper analyzes the tectonic setting of the seismogenic structure of this earthquake.     

The Investigation Results of the April 12, 2014, <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis> = 4.5 Primorye Earthquake (Far Eastern Russia)

Primorye is a region with quite moderate shallow seismicity which has been insufficiently investigated so far in this respect. Based on the obtained instrumental data of regional seismic networks and macroseismic data collected in southwestern Primorye on the crustal earthquake with M = 4.5 occurred on April 12, 2014, we have first succeeded in determining the hypocenter parameters and the focal mechanism of the mainshock of this shallow earthquake and estimating the hypocenter parameters of the following aftershock.     

The stratigraphy of the Chalk Group (Cretaceous) of the Devon coast,UK

An almost continuous layer of Upper Cretaceous deposits up to 1000 m thick was probably deposited across much of SW England. Phases of uplift in the late Cretaceous and early Cenozoic, each of which was followed by extensive erosion and dissolution, resulted in the removal of all except a few outliers of Chalk Group that crop out in east Devon and south Somerset. Those on the Devon coast between Sidmouth and Lyme Regis are some of the best exposed Cenomanian to early Coniacian successions in NW Europe and include the most westerly chalks preserved onshore in England. They form an integral part of the Dorset and East Devon World Heritage Site. In contrast to the Chalk of much of southern England, the older formations in Devon, the Beer Head Limestone, Holywell Nodular Chalk and New Pit Chalk, show marked lateral lithological variations that result from a combination of penecontemporaneous movements on local faults and relatively shallow-water environments close to the western edge of the Chalk depositional basin. The younger parts of the succession, the Lewes Nodular Chalk and Seaford Chalk Formations, comprise chalks that do not appear to have been greatly affected by penecontemporaneous fault movements. These formations include lithological marker beds that have been correlated with marker beds in the Sussex type area. The principal sedimentary breaks in the Devon succession cannot be correlated with confidence with eustatic changes in sea level.     

The Petrology and Origin of the Tertiary Lundy Granite (Bristol Channel, UK)

The British Tertiary Volcanic Province (BTVP) comprises within-platecentral igneous complexes associated with plateau lavas andregional dyke swarms. Lundy is the southernmost complex of theBTVP and comprises granite ({small tilde}90%) emplaced intodeformed Devonian sedimentary rocks within the Hercynian Cornubiangranite province of southwest England. The complex is intrudedby a northwest-southeast trending dyke swarm. In common withother BTVP igneous complexes, Lundy is associated with positivegravity and magnetic anomalies which are interpreted in termsof the presena of an underlying basic intrusion at shallow depth,with a volume exceeding that of the overlying granite. The Lundy intrusion is a coarse-grained megacrystic granitecontaining up to 20% alkali feldspar megacrysts in a coarse-grainedgroundmass composed of alkali feldspar, quartz, lithium-bearingmuscovite, and ‘biotite’ (lithian siderophyllite),with a range of aaxssory minerals. The main granite has a coarse-grained(locally miarolitic) pegmatitic facies and is intruded by thinsheets and veins of fine-grained aplite and microgranite. Themineralogy indicates crystallization of the Lundy granite froma highly fractionated H₂O- and halogen-rich magma at a relativelyshallow crustal level. The main Lundy granite is a peraluminous leucogranite with Na₂O=3–4%,K₂O{small tilde}5%, low TiO₂, MeO, CaO, Zr, and Sr, and highRb and Rb/Sr in comparison with many other peralurninous granites,including those from the Cornubian batholith and the BTVP. Anew Rb-Sr whole-rock isochron for the granite yields an ageof 58?7?1?6 Ma with an initial ⁸⁷Sr/86Sr of 0?715?0?006. _Ndvalues for the granite (–0?9 to –1?9) plot betweencontemporaneous mantle (positive _Nd and Cornubian granites (_Nd=ca.–11). The trace element data (Rb, Y, Nb) show affinities with syn-collisionand within-plate granites. As the Sr isotope data indicate amajor crustal component, and the Nd isotope data suggest bothmantle and crustal components, we propose that the Lundy graniteis derived from a parental magma comprising crustal components(derived from a similar source to that of the Cornubian granitebatholith) and a mantle-derived component (derived from a differentiateof contemporaneous basaltic magma This magma experienced fractionalcrystallization of plagioclase, alkai feldspar, Fe-Mg minerals,and REE-bearing accessory minerals before emplacement, and theLundy granite experienced further in situ fractional crystallization,associateded with crustal contamination by the Devonian shaleafter emplacement.     

The Green Castle Sandstone Formation: A new name for the Cwmffrwd Formation (Old Red Sandstone) preoccupied by an Ordovician Member

The Geological Survey’s Framework Report on the Old Red Sandstone of the Anglo-Welsh region includes a proposal for a new formational name, the Cwmffrwd Formation, for the basal formation of the Daugleddau Group in Carmarthenshire, S. Wales.The name is preoccupied by the Early Ordovician Cwmffrwd Member of the Carmarthen Formation and a new name, the Green Castle Sandstone Formation is proposed for the Cwmffrwd Formation.     

Petrology of pumices of April 1993 eruption of Lascar (Atacama, Chile)

Lascar Volcano (Atacama, Chile) erupted on 18–20 April 1993. Several sub-Plinian explosions occurred, and some were mushroom-shaped. The highest column rose up to 23 km. Ash clouds crossed South America eastwards. Dacite pumice falls made of blocks and ashes were deposited on the flanks of the volcano as a result of collapsed columns. The pumice contains phenocrysts of plagioclase, enstatite, augite, biotite, magnetite and ilmenite and small crystals of apatite. The 1992 previous andesite dome inside the crater was destroyed. Banded blocks resulting from mingling of the dacitic pumice and andesite from the dome are found in the pumice flow. Both the lava dome and the pumice are representative of the Lascar high-K magma unit. Dacitic pumice is a product of crystal fractionation of the andesitic magma.     

The enthalpy of transformation of Ca(OH)2-I (portlandite) to Ca(OH)2-II (EuI2 structure) by low-temperature DSC

 Thermodynamic properties of high-pressure minerals that are not recoverable from synthesis experiments by conventional quenching methods (“unquenchable” phases) usually are calculated from equation of state data and phase diagram topologies. The present study shows that, with cryogenic methods of recovery and sample treatment, phases with a suitable decomposition rate can be made accessible to direct thermodynamic measurements. A set of samples of Ca(OH)₂-II has been synthesized in a multianvil device and subsequently recovered by cooling the high-pressure assembly with liquid nitrogen. Upon heating from liquid nitrogen to room temperature, the material transformed back to Ca(OH)₂-I. The heat effect of this backtransformation was measured by differential scanning calorimetry. A commercial differential scanning calorimeter (Netzsch DSC 404), modified to allow sample loading at liquid nitrogen temperature was used to heat the material from −150 to +200 °C at rates varying between 5 and 15 °C min⁻¹. The transformation started around −50 °C very gradually, and peaked at about 0 °C. To obtain a baseline correction, each sample was scanned under exactly the same conditions after the backtransformation was complete. Because of the relative sluggishness, onset and offset temperatures were not well defined as compared to fast (e.g., melting) reactions. To aid in integration, the resulting signals were successfully fitted using a generic asymmetric peak model. The enthalpy of backtransformation was determined to be ΔH =−10.37 ± 0.50 kJ mol⁻¹. From previous in situ X-ray diffraction experiments, the location of the direct transformation in P-T space has been constrained to 5.7 ± 0.4 GPa at 500 °C (Kunz et al. 1996). With the reaction volume known from the same study, and assuming that ΔC _p of the transformation remains negligible between the conditions of our measurements and 500 °C, our result gives an estimate of the entropy of transition and the P-T slope of the reaction curve. To a first approximation, the values ΔS = −16.00 ± 0.65 J(mol · K)⁻¹ and dP/dT = 0.0040 ± 0.0002 GPa/K have been determined. These results need to be refined by equation of state data for Ca(OH)₂-II. Received: 30 December 1999 / Accepted: 10 April 2000