Engineering Geology of Limestone in Malaysia

This paper provides an overview of the engineering geology of limestone. Limestone is of rather wide occurrence in Malaysia. It is interesting in view of the unique landforms and karstic features that are encountered in limestone terrains, e.g. steep, subvertical limestone cliffs rising abruptly and majestically above the ground surface and highly variable and pinnacled subterranean limestone bedrock. The karstic features and associated engineering geological problems of both the limestone hills and the bedrock are discussed in the paper. Rockfalls, sinkholes, cavities, etc. are some of the common engineering geological problems associated with limestone terrains. Some local case studies are provided as illustrations. Finally the rock mechanical properties of limestone is discussed at the end of the paper.     

Past and Future of Mathematical Geology

This is a brief review of alternative methods of problem-solving in geoscience with emphasis on the role of mathematical geology. It is desirable to maintain a clear-cut distinction between reliable facts which can be stored in data banks and concepts that can be incorporated in the speciflcations of sta-tistical models designed for specific purposes. If possible, subjective probabilities shclld be incorporated in hypotheses that are to be tested by statistical inference.     

Geology and Exploration History of Lamproite and Related Rocks in the Yangtze Craton

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Geology and health：closing the gap

It was discovered several decades ago that the natural geo-environment could substantially impact on the health of animals and humans. However, despite the growth of evidence supporting this discovery, there has not been a close interaction between geoscientists and health scientists in assessing the need to study the various facets of the relationships between human and animal health and air, water, soils and rocks. This book is timely in closing that gap as stated in its title.     

Ecological stability during the LGM and the mid-Holocene in the Alpine Steppes of Tibet?

Arid and Alpine ecosystems are known for extreme environmental changes during the Late Quaternary. We hypothesize that the world's largest Alpine arid ecosystem however, the Alpine Steppes of the Tibetan highlands, remained ecologically stable during the LGM and the mid-Holocene. This hypothesis is tested by distributional range of plant species, plant life forms and rate of endemism. The set of character species has a precipitation gradient between 50 and 350 mm/a, testifying for resilience to precipitation changes. 83% of the species have a wider vertical range than 1000 m used as a proxy for resilience to temperature changes. 30% of the species are endemic with 10 endemic genera, including plate-shaped cushions as a unique plant life form. These findings are in line with palaeo-ecological proxies (δ¹⁸O, pollen) allowing the assumption that Alpine Steppes persisted during the LGM with 3 to 4 K lower summer temperatures.During the mid-Holocene, forests could have replaced Alpine Steppes in the upper catchments of the Huang He, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yarlung Zhangbo, but not in the interior basins of the north-western highlands, because the basins were then flooded, suppressing forests and supporting the environmental stability of this arid Alpine grassland biome.     

Geology, Geochemistry and Genesis of the Hongshijing Gold Deposit in Ruoqiang,Xinjiang

1IntroductionTheHongshijinggolddepositislocatedinthenorthofLuobupouLakeofRuoqiang ,about 30 0kmsouthwestofHamiCity ,Xinjiang .ItwasdiscoveredbytheSixthGeologicalTeamofXinjiangduringgeo chemicalexploration .TheHongshijinggolddeposit,whichoccursinthegold bearingformationcomposedofMiddleandLateCarboniferousvolcanicandpyroclasticrocks ,isabrittle ductileshearzonetypegolddepositcontrolledbyariftbelt.TheHongshijinggolddepositislocatedinthesouthwestoftheHongshi jing -Maotoushanmineralizationb…     

Geology and genesis of the post-collisional porphyry–skarn deposit at Bangpu,Tibet

Bangpu deposit in Tibet is a large but poorly studied Mo-rich (~ 0.089 wt.%), and Cu-poor (~ 0.32 wt.%) porphyry deposit that formed in a post-collisional tectonic setting. The deposit is located in the Gangdese porphyry copper belt (GPCB), and formed at the same time (~ 15.32 Ma) as other deposits within the belt (12 ~ 18 Ma), although it is located further to the north and has a different ore assemblage (Mo–Pb–Zn–Cu) compared to other porphyry deposits (Cu–Mo) in this belt. Two distinct mineralization events have been identified in the Bangpu deposit which are porphyry Mo–(Cu) and skarn Pb–Zn mineralization. Porphyry Mo–(Cu) mineralization in the deposit is generally associated with a mid-Miocene porphyritic monzogranite rock, whereas skarn Pb–Zn mineralization is hosted by lower Permian limestone–clastic sequences. Coprecipitated pyrite and sphalerite from the Bangpu skarn yield a Rb–Sr isochron age of 13.9 ± 0.9 Ma. In addition, the account of garnet decreases and the account of both calcite and other carbonate minerals increases with distance from the porphyritic monzogranite, suggesting that the two distinct phases of mineralization in this deposit are part of the same metallogenic event.Four main magmatic units are associated with the Bangpu deposit, namely a Paleogene biotite monzogranite, and Miocene porphyritic monzogranite, diabase, and fine-grained diorite units. These units have zircon U–Pb ages of 62.24 ± 0.32, 14.63 ± 0.25, 14.46 ± 0.38, and 13.24 ± 0.04 Ma, respectively. Zircons from porphyritic monzogranite yield ε_Hf(t) values of 2.2–8.7, with an average of 5.4, whereas the associated diabase has a similar ε_Hf(t) value averaging at 4.7. The geochemistry of the Miocene intrusions at Bangpu suggests that they were derived from different sources. The porphyritic monzogranite has relatively higher heavy rare earth element (HREE) concentrations than do other ore-bearing porphyries in the GPCB and plots closer to the amphibolite lithofacies field in Y–Zr/Sm and Y–Sm/Yb diagrams. The Bangpu diabase contains high contents of MgO (> 7.92 wt.%), FeOt (> 8.03 wt.%) but low K₂O (< 0.22 wt.%) contents and with little fractionation of the rare earth elements (REEs), yielding shallow slopes on chondrite-normalized variation diagrams. These data indicate that the mineralized porphyritic monzogranite was generated by partial melting of a thickened ancient lower crust with some mantle components, whereas the diabase intrusion was directly derived from melting of upwelling asthenospheric mantle. An ancient lower crustal source for ore-forming porphyritic monzogranite explains why the Bangpu deposit is Mo-rich and Cu-poor rather than the Cu–Mo association in other porphyry deposits in the GPCB because Mo is dominantly from the ancient crust.The Bangpu deposit has alteration zonation, ranging from an inner zone of biotite alteration through silicified and phyllic alteration zones to an outer propylitic alteration zone, similar to typical porphyry deposits. Some distinct differences are also present, for example, K-feldspar alteration at Bangpu is so dispersed that a distinct zone of K-feldspar alteration has not been identified. Hypogene mineralization at Bangpu is characterized by the early-stage precipitation of chalcopyrite during biotite alteration and the late-stage deposition of molybdenite during silicification. Fluid inclusion microthermometry indicates a change in ore-forming fluids from high-temperature (320 °C–550 °C) and high-salinity (17 wt.%–67.2 wt.%) fluids to low-temperature (213 °C–450 °C) and low-salinity (7.3 wt.%–11.6 wt.%) fluids. The deposit has lower δD_V-SMOW (− 107.1‰ to − 185.8‰) values compared with other porphyry deposits in the GPCB, suggesting that the Bangpu deposit formed in a shallower setting and is associated with a more open system than is the case for other deposits in this belt. Sulfides at Bangpu yield δ³⁴S_V-CDT values of − 2.3‰ to 0.3‰, indicative of mantle-derived S implying that coeval mantle-derived mafic magma (e.g., diabase) simultaneously supplied S and Cu to the porphyry system at Bangpu. In comparison, the Pb isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.79–19.28, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.64–15.93, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 39.16–40.45) of sulfides show that other metals (e.g., Mo, Pb, Zn) were likely derived mainly from an ancient crustal source. Therefore, the formation of the Bangpu deposit can be explained by a two-stage model involving (1) the partial melting of an ancient lower crust triggered by invasion of asthenospheric mantle-derived mafic melts that provide heat and metal Cu and (2) the formation of the Bangpu porphyry Mo–Cu system, formed by magmatic differentiation in the overriding crust in a post-collisional setting.     

Introduction to the Geology of Turkey—A Synthesis

Auriferous quartz veins are known to exist in more than two dozen prospects, encompassing an area of 500 km² northward from Serrita township (state of Pernambuco) in northeastern Brazil. Gold-bearing veins occur either with a strike of 70° to 110°, crosscutting muscovite schists of the Middle Proterozoic Salgueiro Group, or with a strike of 330° in granodiorite intrusions in the same schists. Small amounts of pyrite, galena, arsenopyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite commonly are observed. Sericite, chlorite, and epidote are the most common wall-rock alteration products.

Fluid inclusions were studied in samples of mineralized quartz veins from the Barra Verde III prospect in a small granodiorite body, and from the Ingá, Saburá, and Riacho do Meio prospects in the Salgueiro schists. Some samples of barren quartz veins also were studied for comparison.

Primary and pseudosecondary inclusions in the mineralized veins are triphasic or biphasic aqueous-carbonic at room temperature. The wide range of the CO₂/H₂O volume ratio (between 2:1 and 1:3) in a single group or trail suggests the coexistence of two immiscible fluids during the penecontemporaneous processes of quartz crystallization, deformation, mineralization, and recrystallization. Total homogenization of these inclusions beginning at 290° to 310°C and 1.3 to 1.8 kbar provides the trapping conditions of the heterogeneous, effervescent fluid. CO₂ melting temperatures of ～?57° to °59°C indicate low CH₄ or N₂ contents. Clathrate melting close to 6.3°C indicates a low salinity of ～6.9% NaCl equiv. In addition, the low CH⁴ content of the fluid in equilibrium with sulfides and alteration minerals suggests an oxygen fugacity between 10^?30 and 10^?27, a total sulfur activity of 10^?2 to 10°, and a neutral pH of ～5.     

Geology, Isotope and Fluid Inclusion Studies on the Chalapu Goldfield of the South Tibet, China

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Geology and geochemistry of Makeng Fe-Mo Deposit, Fujian

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Geology and Genesis of the Jiawu Gold–antimony Deposit in the Western Qinling-eastern Kunlun Orogen, China

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The Geology and Geochemistry of Porphyrite Iron Deposits in the Nanjing_Wuhu Area,Southeast China

For the iron deposits occurring in andesitic volcaic rocks of the Lower Yangtze Area.the genetic model for porphyrite iron deposits was proposed by chinese geologists more than ten years ago on the basis of their detailed studies in the Nanjing-Wuhu Basin.It comprises a set of deposits of different genetic types ranging from late magmatic segregation ,ore-magma injection,pneumato-hydatogenetic replacing and hydrothermal filling as well as sedimentary origin.The deposits are closely connected with the gabbro-diorite porphyrite subvolcanic intrusive bodies both in space and in genesis.Miner4alization and wall-rock alteration are consistent with the history of the magmatic evolution.Geochemical studies on trace elements and S,O,Sr isotopes have proved that the porphyrite iron deposits are of magmatic origin,The proposed model may be applied to iron ores associated with andesitic volcanites,for example,in Chile,Mexico,Pakistan,Turkey,etc.     

Geology and tectonics of Japanese islands: A review – The key to understanding the geology of Asia

The age of the major geological units in Japan ranges from Cambrian to Quaternary. Precambrian basement is, however, expected, as the provenance of by detrital clasts of conglomerate, detrital zircons of metamorphic and sedimentary rocks, and as metamorphic rocks intruded by 500 Ma granites. Although rocks of Paleozoic age are not widely distributed, rocks and formations of late Mesozoic to Cenozoic can be found easily throughout Japan. Rocks of Jurassic age occur mainly in the Jurassic accretionary complexes, which comprise the backbone of the Japanese archipelago. The western part of Japan is composed mainly of Cretaceous to Paleogene felsic volcanic and plutonic rocks and accretionary complexes. The eastern part of the country is covered extensively by Neogene sedimentary and volcanic rocks. During the Quaternary, volcanoes erupted in various parts of Japan, and alluvial plains were formed along the coastlines of the Japanese Islands. These geological units are divided by age and origin: i.e. Paleozoic continental margin; Paleozoic island arc; Paleozoic accretionary complexes; Mesozoic to Paleogene accretionary complexes and Cenozoic island arcs. These are further subdivided into the following tectonic units, e.g. Hida; Oki; Unazuki; Hida Gaien; Higo; Hitachi; Kurosegawa; South Kitakami; Nagato-Renge; Nedamo; Akiyoshi; Ultra-Tamba; Suo; Maizuru; Mino-Tamba; Chichibu; Chizu; Ryoke; Sanbagawa and Shimanto belts.The geological history of Japan commenced with the breakup of the Rodinia super continent, at about 750 Ma. At about 500 Ma, the Paleo-Pacific oceanic plate began to be subducted beneath the continental margin of the South China Block. Since then, Proto-Japan has been located on the convergent margin of East Asia for about 500 Ma. In this tectonic setting, the most significant tectonic events recorded in the geology of Japan are subduction–accretion, paired metamorphism, arc volcanism, back-arc spreading and arc–arc collision. The major accretionary complexes in the Japanese Islands are of Permian, Jurassic and Cretaceous–Paleogene age. These accretionary complexes became altered locally to low-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic, or high-temperature and low-pressure metamorphic rocks. Medium-pressure metamorphic rocks are limited to the Unazuki and Higo belts. Major plutonism occurred in Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic time. Early Paleozoic Cambrian igneous activity is recorded as granites in the South Kitakami Belt. Late Paleozoic igneous activity is recognized in the Hida Belt. During Cretaceous to Paleogene time, extensive igneous activity occurred in Japan. The youngest granite in Japan is the Takidani Granite intruded at about 1–2 Ma. During Cenozoic time, the most important geologic events are back-arc opening and arc–arc collision. The major back-arc basins are the Sea of Japan and the Shikoku and Chishima basins. Arc–arc collision occurred between the Honshu and Izu-Bonin arcs, and the Honshu and Chishima arcs.     

Potash–Forming Regularity of the Ordovician Marine Northern Shaanxi Salt Basin: Insight from Review and Prospect of the Deep Geology of the Ordos Basin

The Ordovician Northern Shaanxi Salt Basin(ONSSB), located in the east–central Ordos Basin, western North China Craton(NCC), is one of the largest marine salt basins yet discovered in China. A huge amount of halite deposited in the Mid-Ordovician Majiagou Formation, and potashcontaining indication and local thin layer of potash seam were discovered in O2 m65(6 th submember, 5 th member of the Majiagou Formation). This makes ONSSB a rare Ordovician potash-containing basin in the world, and brings new hope for prospecting marine solid potash in this basin. However, several primary scientific problems, such as the coupling relationship between ONSSB and the continent nucleus, how the high-precision basement fold controls the ONSSB, and how the basement faults and relief control ONSSB, are still unclear due to the limitations of the knowledge about the basement of the Ordos Basin. This has become a barrier for understanding the potash-forming regularity in the continental nucleus(CN) area in marine salt basin in China. Up to now, the material accumulation has provided ripe conditions for the answers to these questions. Latest zircon U-Pb ages for the basement samples beneath the Ordos Basin reveal that there exists a continental nucleus(Yi-Meng CN) beneath the northern Ordos Basin. And this brings light into the fact that the ONSSB lies not overlying on the YiMeng CN but to south Yi-Meng CN. Both do not have superimposed relationship in space. And borehole penetrating into the basement reached Palaeoproterozoic meta-sedimentary rocks, which suggests the ONSSB is situated in the accretion belt of Yi-Meng CN during geological history. Basement relief beneath the ONSSB area revealed by seismic tomography and aeromagnetic anomaly confirms the existence of basement uplift and faults, which provides tectonic setting for sedimentary center migration of the ONSSB. Comparative research with various data sources indicates that the expanding strata in the ONSSB adopted the shape of the basement folds. We found that the orientations of the potash sags showed high correlation with those of several basement and sedimentary cover faults in the ONSSB. The secondary depressions are also controlled by the faults. Comparative research between all the global salt basins and continental nuclei distribution suggests that distribution of the former is controlled by the latter, and almost all the salt basins developed in or at the margin of the continental nucleus area. The nature of the tectonic basement exerts a key controlling effect on potash basin formation. And on this basis we analyzed in detail the geological conditions of salt-forming and potash-forming in the ONSSB.     

Geology and geochemistry of reworking gold deposits in intrusive rocks of China—I. Features of the intrusive rocks

Most gold deposits in intrusive rocks were formed as a result of reworking processes. The intrusive rocks containing gold deposits and consisting of ultramafic-mafic, intermediateacid and alkaline rocks of the Archean, Proterozoic, Caledonian, Hercynian and Yenshanian periods occur in cratons, activated zones of cratons and fold belts. Among them, ultramaficmafic rocks, diorite, alkaline rocks, and anorthosite are products of remelting in the mantle or mantle-crust or mantle with crustal contamination. However, auriferous intermediate-acid rocks are products of metasomatic-remelting in auriferous volcanic rocks or auriferous volcanosedimentary rocks in the deep crust.     

Geology,Geochemistry and Genesis of Yinyan Porphyry Tin Deposit

The Yinyan porphyry tin deposit is a blind deposit associated with a small granite porphyry stock.The petrology and geochemistry of the Yinyan granite porphyry suggest that it is genetically of the transfor-mation type,emplaced at the late stage of fractional crystallization within a high-level magma chamber.Ore-forming fluids are derived predominantly from the granitic magma and they interact with the wall rocks intensely when finding their way upwards through the granite porphyry.From the lower part of the porphyry upwards the following alteration zones can be distinguished(a)slightly altered granite porphyry (with weak potash feldspathization),(b)protolithionite-quartz greisenization zone,(c)to-paz-quartz greisenization zone,(d)senicite-quartz sericitization zone,and （e）silicification zone (quartz core at the surface).Tin mineralization is related to greisenization,especially to topaz-quartz greisenization.Rock and ore-forming temperatures and oxygen fugacities are estimated,respectively.There are significant differences in many aspects between the Yinyan porphyry tin deposit and volcan-ic-subvolcanic porphyry tin deposits.