Geochemical Constraints on Leucogranite Magmatism in the Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalaya

A complex of crustally derived leucogranitic sills emplacedinto sillimanite-grade psammites in the upper Langtang Valleyof northern Nepal forms part of the Miocene High Himalayan graniteassociation. A series of post-tectonic, subvertical leucograniticdykes intrude the underlying migmatites, providing possiblefeeders to the main granite sills. The leucogranite is peraluminous and alkali-rich, and can besubdivided into a muscovite–biotite and a tourmaline–muscovitefacies. Phase relations suggest that the tourmaline leucogranitescrystallized from a water-undersaturated magma of minimum-meltcomposition at pressures around 3–4 kbar. Potential metasedimentaryprotoliths include a substantial anatectic migmatite complexand a lower-grade mica schist sequence. Isotopic constraintspreclude the migmatites as a source of the granitic melts, whereastrace-element modelling of LILEs (Rb, Sr, and Ba), togetherwith the Nd and Sr isotopic signatures of potential protoliths,strongly suggest that the tourmaline-bearing leucogranites havebeen generated by fluid-absent partial melting of the muscovite-richschists. However, REE and HFSE distributions cannot be reconciledwith equilibrium melting from such a source. Systematic covariationsbetween Rb, Sr, and Ba can be explained by variations in protolithmineralogy and P–T–a_H2O. Tourmaline leucogranites with high Rb/Sr ratios represent low-fraction-melts(F{small tilde} 12%) efficiently extracted from their protolithsunder conditions of low water activity, whereas the heterogeneoustwo-mica granites may result from melting under somewhat highera_H2O conditions. The segregation of low-degree melts from sourcewas probably by deformation-enhanced intergranular flow andmagma fracturing, with the mechanisms of migration and emplacementcontrolled by variations in the uppercrustal stress regime duringlate–orogenic extensional collapse of the thickened crust.     

Petrological constraints on the tectonic setting of the Kathmandu Nappe in the Langtang–Gosainkund–Helambu regions,Central Nepal Himalaya

The Gosainkund–Helambu region in central Nepal occupies a key area for the development of Himalayan kinematic models, connecting the well‐investigated Langtang area to the north with the Kathmandu Nappe (KN), whose interpretation is still debated, to the south. In order to understand the structural and metamorphic architecture of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) in this region, a detailed petrological study was performed, focusing on selected metapelite samples from both the Gosainkund–Helambu and Langtang transects. The structurally lowest sample investigated belongs to the Lesser Himalayan Sequence; its metamorphic evolution is characterized by a narrow hairpin P–T path with peak P–T conditions of 595 ± 25 °C, 7.5 ± 1 kbar. All of the other samples here investigated belong to the GHS. Along the Langtang section, two tectono‐metamorphic units have been distinguished within the GHS: the Lower Greater Himalayan Sequence (L‐GHS), characterized by peak P–T conditions at 728 ± 11 °C, 10 ± 0.5 kbar (corresponding to a T/depth ratio of 22 ± 1 °C km^?1), and the structurally higher Upper Greater Himalayan Sequence, with peak metamorphic conditions at 780 ± 20 °C, 7.8 ± 0.8 kbar (corresponding to a T/depth ratio of 31 ± 4 °C km^?1). This confirms the existence of a main tectono‐metamorphic discontinuity within the GHS, as previously suggested by other authors. The results of petrological modelling of the metapelites from the Gosainkund–Helambu section show that this region is entirely comprised within a sub‐horizontal and thin L‐GHS unit: the estimated peak metamorphic conditions of 734 ± 19 °C, 10 ± 0.8 kbar correspond to a uniform T/depth ratio of 23 ± 3 °C km^?1. The metamorphic discontinuity identified along the Langtang transect and dividing the GHS in two tectono‐metamorphic units is located at a structural level too high to be intersected along the Gosainkund–Helambu section. Our results have significant implications for the interpretation of the KN and provide a contribution to the more general discussion of the Himalayan kinematic models. We demonstrate that the structurally lower unit of the KN (known as Sheopuri Gneiss) can be correlated with the L‐GHS unit; this result strongly supports those models that correlate the KN to the Tethyan Sedimentary Sequence and that suggest the merging of the South Tibetan Detachment System and the Main Central Thrust on the northern side of the KN. Moreover we speculate that, in this sector of the Himalayan chain, the most appropriate kinematic model able to explain the observed tectono‐metamorphic architecture of the GHS is the duplexing model, or hybrid models which combine the duplexing model with another end‐member model.     

Natural Hazards: Geology,Engineering, Agriculture,and Sociopolitical/Humanitarian Considerations for the Twenty-First Century

Dangers from natural hazards have been characterized quantitatively by national and international committees of geoscientists based on technical advances in geochemistry and geophysics (sensu lato). The current status of knowledge on natural hazards is reviewed with particular emphasis on comet/asteroid impact, earthquakes, and volcanoes. All these hazards are survivable by the world's population if appropriate measures are taken over the next century and millennium. Ideas for mitigation include: general use of weathered volcanic ash and power-station fly ash to make pozzolana cement for strengthening buildings, and stabilizing weak ground and hillsides prone to slumping; long-term storage of grains under nitrogen, together with other techniques for maintaining viability of stored food; drilling of tunnels under major cities to facilitate traffic flow, and for protection against impact of bolides and bombs; design of sea and lake fronts to guard against tsunamis from earthquakes and asteroid impact. The food-storage proposals could be tailored to help farmers obtain a regular income while producing a higher crop yield than needed for current food supply. The land modification plans would provide technical challenges and new business activities for civil engineers, lawyers, real-estate professionals, and city planners. It is truly tragic that genuine ideas for mitigation of natural hazards are being implemented at a snail's pace while funding for weapons flourishes around much of the world. The early development of my thinking on hazards is an example of the typical disconnection between “scientific expertise” and actual day-to-day planning decisions. As a farmer's boy interested in civil engineering and land planning in an ecological context, I summarize old and new ideas in an effort to bridge this disconnection, and facilitate the planned transfer of funding from weapons to actions that enhance human well being. Because the actions are international in their basic nature and ecological in character, I hope that they will help to generate a feeling of “One world that must be loved, not abused.” We belong to one biological species, Homo supposedly sapiens sapiens. We must progress beyond tribal, ethnic, and other divisive matters associated with wars and civilian conflicts. The rich must help the poor. Geology and civil engineering can provide important worldwide cooperative connections.     

Geologic and U–Pb geochronologic evidence for early Paleozoic tectonism in the Dadeldhura thrust sheet, far-west Nepal Himalaya

The Dadeldhura thrust sheet inm western Nepal consists of Proterozoic–Lower Paleozoic sedimentary and plutonic rocks, and their metamorphic equivalents, that rest structurally on Proterozoic strata of the Lesser Himalayan sequence. Although regional metamorphism and ductile deformation were widespread during Tertiary thrust emplacement, relicts of early Paleozoic tectonism are preserved locally. New field and geochronologic studies, together with the findings of previous workers, indicate that this early Paleozoic tectonism included: (1) regional metamorphism to at least garnet grade, (2) regional folding of a thick metamorphic sequence into a broad east–west trending syncline, (3) outcrop-scale folding of metasedimentary rocks, (4) emplacement of Cambro–Ordovician granitic bodies during and after the metamorphism and deformation, (5) uplift and erosion of the metamorphic sequence, with garnet-grade rocks locally exposed at the surface, and (6) derivation of Ordovician conglomeratic sandstones from the early Paleozoic orogen. Similar records of metamorphism, deformation, and uplift/erosion have been found in other regions of the Himalaya, indicating that rocks of the Dadeldhura thrust sheet were originally involved in a regionally extensive orogenic system. Future tectonic models of Himalayan orogenesis must accommodate this early Paleozoic event.     

Geology and tectono‐metamorphic evolution of the Himalayan metamorphic core: insights from the Mugu Karnali transect,Western Nepal (Central Himalaya)

New structural and tectono‐metamorphic data are presented from a geological transect along the Mugu Karnali valley, in Western Nepal (Central Himalaya), where an almost continuous cross‐section from the Lesser Himalaya Sequence to the Everest Series through the medium‐high‐grade Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS) is exposed. Detailed meso‐ and micro‐structural analyses were carried out along the transect. Pressure (P)–temperature (T) conditions and P–T–deformation paths for samples from different structural units were derived by calculating pseudosections in the MnNKCFMASHT system. Systematic increase of P–T conditions, from ~0.75 GPa to 560 °C up to ≥1.0 GPa–750 °C, has been detected starting from the garnet zone up to the K‐feldspar + aluminosilicate zone. Our investigation reveals how these units are characterized by different P–T evolutions and well‐developed tectonic boundaries. Integrating our meso‐ and micro‐structural data with those of metamorphism and geochronology, a diachronism in deformation and metamorphism can be highlighted along the transect, where different crustal slices were underthrust, metamorphosed and exhumed at different times. The GHS is not a single tectonic unit, but it is composed of (at least) three different crustal slices, in agreement with a model of in‐sequence shearing by accretion of material from the Indian plate, where coeval activity of basal thrusting at the bottom with normal shearing at the top of the GHS is not strictly required for its exhumation.     

Metamorphic P–T profile and P–T path discontinuity across the far‐eastern Nepal Himalaya: investigation of channel flow models

Thermobarometric data and compositional zoning of garnet show the discontinuities of both metamorphic pressure conditions at peak‐T and P–T paths across the Main Central Thrust (MCT), which juxtaposes the high‐grade Higher Himalayan Crystalline Sequences (HHCS) over the low‐grade Lesser Himalaya Sequences (LHS) in far‐eastern Nepal. Maximum recorded pressure conditions occur just above the MCT (～11 kbar), and decrease southward to ～6 kbar in the garnet zone and northward to ～7 kbar in the kyanite ± staurolite zone. The inferred nearly isothermal loading path for the LHS in the staurolite zone may have resulted from the underthrusting of the LHS beneath the HHCS. In contrast, the increasing temperature path during both loading and decompression (i.e. clockwise path) from the lowermost HHCS in the staurolite to kyanite ± staurolite transitional zone indicates that the rocks were fairly rapidly buried and exhumed. Exhumation of the lowermost HHCS from deeper crustal depths than the flanking regions, recording a high field pressure gradient (～1.2–1.6 kbar km^?1) near the MCT, is perhaps caused by ductile extrusion along the MCT, not the emplacement along a single thrust, resulting in the P–T path discontinuities. These observations are consistent with the overall scheme of the model of channel flow, in which the outward flowing ‘HHCS’ and inward flowing ‘LHS’ are juxtaposed against each other and are rapidly extruded together along the ‘MCT’. A rapid exhumation by channel flow in this area is also suggested by a nearly isothermal decompression path inferred from cordierite corona surrounding garnet in gneiss of the upper HHCS. However, peak metamorphic temperatures show a progressive increase of temperature structurally upward (～570–740 °C) near the MCT and roughly isothermal conditions (～710–810 °C) in the upper structural levels of the HHCS. The observed field temperature gradient is much lower than those predicted in channel flow models. However, the discrepancy could be resolved by taking into account heat advection by melt and/or fluid migration, as these can produce low or nearly no field temperature gradient in the exhumed midcrust, as observed in nature.     

Cenozoic Vertical-Axis Rotations of the Hoh Xil Basin, Central–Northern Tibet

Understanding the Cenozoic vertical-axis rotation in the Tibetan Plateau is crucial for continental dynamic evolution. Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic investigations were carried out for the Oligocene and Miocene continental rocks of the Hoh Xil basin in order to better understand the tectonic rotations of central Tibet. The study area was located in the Tongtianhe area located in the southern part of the Hoh Xil basin and northern margin of the Tanggula thrust system in central-northern Tibet. A total of 160 independently oriented paleomagnetic samples were drilled from the Tongtianhe section for this study. The magnetic properties of magnetite and hematite have been recognized by measurements of magnetic susceptibility vs. temperature curves and unblocking temperatures. The mean directions of the Oligocene Yaxicuo Group in stratigraphic coordinates(Declination/Inclination = 354.9°/29.3°, k = 33.0, α_(95) = 13.5°, N =5 Sites) and of the Miocene Wudaoliang Group in stratigraphic coordinates(Declination/Inclination = 3.6°/36.4°, k = 161.0, α_(95) = 9.7°, N =3 Sites) pass reversal tests, indicating the primary nature of the characteristic magnetizations. Our results suggested that the sampled areas in the Tuotuohe depression of the Hoh Xil basin have undergone no paleomagnetically detectable rotations under single thrusting from the Tanggula thrust system. Our findings, together with constraints from other tectonic characteristics reported by previous paleomagnetic studies, suggest tectonic rotations in the Cuoredejia and Wudaoliang depressions of the Hoh Xil basin were affected by strike-slip faulting of the Fenghuo Shan-Nangqian thrust systems. A closer examination of geological data and different vertical-axis rotation magnitudes suggest the tectonic history of the Hoh Xil basin may be controlled by thrust and strike-slip faulting since the Eocene.     

西非被动大陆边缘含油气盐盆地构造背景及油气地质特征分析

西非被动边缘含油气盐盆地包括西非安哥拉—喀麦隆段的加蓬盆地、下刚果盆地、宽扎盆地等。认为这些盐盆地从构造、沉积相、油气分布上都具有垂向上的分段性。盆地演化受控于石炭纪末泛大陆裂解及随后南大西洋的张开。盆地演化划分为前裂谷阶段(J3前)、同裂谷阶段(J3—K1)、过渡阶段(K1)和后裂谷阶段(K2—Q)。由于Tristan热点活动以及热带干旱气候的相互作用,过渡阶段发育厚层阿普特阶盐层,将盆地分为盐上、盐下两套油气系统,控制了油气纵向上的分布。盐盆地以上侏罗统—下白垩统特富湖相Ⅰ型烃源岩、森诺曼阶—赛诺统缺氧环境下形成的Ⅱ型海相烃源岩为主要源岩;大型深水浊积扇体为储层,油气通过同生断层及盐窗等疏导通道运聚至构造圈闭、盐层顺层滑脱引起的拱张圈闭以及一些岩性圈闭中,这些有利的成藏条件相匹配形成了巨大规模油田。     

Geology and the war on the Western Front, 1914–1918

The First World War started a hundred years ago this year. On 4 August 2014 the United Kingdom marked the anniversary of involvement in this war with a remembrance event at Mons, and over the next four years there will be new museums and exhibitions, services and events, conferences and colloquia world‐wide. The aim of this collective recognition of a major event in world history is to pick over the impact and effects, innovations and consequences of a war that claimed the lives of at least 16 million people and left the world with geopolitical issues that still reverberate today. One of its notable innovations was the use of geology in warfare. As is well known, compared with the open war fought against the Russians on the eastern front, the war in the west very quickly became positional, with opposing trench lines locked into a position that would dictate the war's approach. And with trench warfare, came the need to understand the geology of the land over which the men were fighting.     

Infilling of the Younger Kathmandu–Banepa intermontane lake basin during the Late Quaternary (Lesser Himalaya,Nepal): a sedimentological study

The Kathmandu and Banepa Basins, Central Nepal, are located in a large syncline of the Lesser Himalayas. The Older Kathmandu Lake evolved during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene; the Younger Kathmandu Lake, which is the focus of this study, is infilled with late Quaternary sediments. Three formations, arranged in stratigraphical order, the Kalimati, Gokarna and Thoka Formations formed during the infilling stage of this lacustrine basin. Structural and textural sedimentological analyses, a chemical survey across the basin and mineralogical investigations of fine‐grained sediments form the basis of this palaeogeographical study. The basin under investigation was covered by a perennial freshwater lake before 30 000 yr BP. The lake was infilled with alluvial and fluvial sediments delivered mainly from the mountains north of the basin. A fairly low gradient was favourable for the formation of diatomaceous earths, carbonaceous mudstones and siltstones, which were laid down in the centre of the lake and in small ponds. Towards the basin edge, lacustrine sediments gave way to deltaic deposits spread across the delta plain. Crevasse splays and anastomosing rivers mainly delivered suspended load for the widespread siltstones and mudstones. The proximal parts of the alluvial–fluvial sedimentary wedge contain debris flows that interfinger with fine‐grained floodplain deposits. Three highstands of the water‐level (>30 000 yr BP, 28 000–19 000 yr BP, 11 000–4000 yr BP (?)) have been recognised in the sedimentary record of the younger Kathmandu Lake in the Late Quaternary. Second‐order water‐level fluctuations are assumed to be triggered by local processes (damming by tectonically induced landslides). First‐order water‐level fluctuations are the result of climatic changes. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Landslides in the Mailuu-Suu Valley, Kyrgyzstan—Hazards and Impacts

Mailuu-Suu is a former uranium mining area in Kyrgyzstan (Central Asia) at the northern border of the Fergana Basin. This region is particularly prone to landslide hazards and, during the last 50 years, has experienced severe landslide disasters in the vicinity of numerous nuclear waste tailing dams. Due to its critical situation, the Mailuu-Suu region was and still is the target area for several risk assessment projects. This paper provides a brief review of previous studies, past landslide events and a discussion on possible future risk scenarios. Various aspects of landslide hazard and related impacts in the Mailuu-Suu Valley are analyzed in detail: landslide susceptibility, historical evolution of landslide activity, size-frequency relationship, river damming and flooding as well as impacts on inhabited areas and nuclear waste storage zones. The study was carried out with standard remote sensing tools for the processing of satellite imagery and the construction of digital elevation models (DEMs). The processed inputs were combined on a GIS platform with digital landslide distribution maps of 1962, 1977, and 2003, digitized geological and geographic maps, and information from landslide monitoring and geophysical investigation.As a result, various types of landslide susceptibility maps based on conditional analysis (CA) are presented as well as predictions of future landslide activity and related damming potential and their possible impact on the population. For some risk scenarios, remediation and prevention measures are suggested.     

Neotectonic Control on the Geomorphic Evolution of the Gangotri Glacier Valley, Garhwal Himalaya

The paper records evidences of neotectonic activities in the Gangotri glacier valley that are found to be responsible for the present-day geomorphic set-up of the area since the last phase of major glaciation. Geomorphological features indicate the presence of a large glacier in the valley in the geological past. Prominent planar structures present in the rocks were later on modified into sets of normal faults in the present-day Himalayan tectonic set-up giving rise to graben structures. The block nearest the snout is traversed by the NW-SE trending Gaumukh fault. A number of terraces mark the entrenchment of Bhagirathi River in this part. The contrasting drainage morphometric parameters of two sides of the valley and asymmetric recessional patterns of the tributary glaciers further document movement along the fault. The distribution and orientation of debris fans also seem to be controlled by neotectonic activity. The neotectonic activity that followed the process of deglaciation has brought the glacially carved, wide U- shaped valley in contact with the present-day fluvially incised narrow and relatively deep valley. The wider segments have become sites of active deposition of glacially eroded debris. The low gradient and excessive filling has resulted in the river attaining a braided nature in these segments.     

Geology, coal quality, and resources of the Antaramut–Kurtan–Dzoragukh coal field, north-central Armenia

The Antaramut–Kurtan–Dzoragukh (AKD) coal deposit is a previously unrecognized coal field in north-central Armenia. Coal has been known to exist in the general vicinity since the turn of the century, but coal was thought to be restricted to a small (1 km²) area only near the village of Antaramut. However, through detailed field work and exploratory drilling, this coal deposit has been expanded to at least 20 km², and thus renamed the Antaramut–Kurtan–Dzoragukh coal field, for the three villages that the coal field encompasses. The entire coal-bearing horizon, a series of tuffaceous sandstones, siltstones, and claystones, is approximately 50 m thick. The AKD coal field contains two coal beds, each greater than 1 m thick, and numerous small rider beds, with a total resource of approximately 31,000,000 metric tonnes. The coals are late Eocene in age, high volatile bituminous in rank, relatively high in ash yield (approximately 40%, as-determined basis) and moderate in sulfur content (approximately 3%, as-determined basis). The two coal beds (No. 1 and No. 2), on a moist, mineral-matter-free basis, have high calorific values of 32.6 MJ/kg (7796 cal/g) and 36.0 MJ/kg (8599 cal/g), respectively. Coal is one of the few indigenous fossil fuel resources occurring in Armenia and thus, the AKD coal field could potentially provide fuel for heating and possibly energy generation in the Armenian energy budget.     

Geology,structural and exhumation history of the Higher Himalayan Crystallines in Kumaon Himalaya,India

The crystallines in the Kumaon Himalaya, India are studied along Goriganga, Darma and Kaliganga valleys and found to be composed of two high-grade metamorphic gneiss sheets i.e. the Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) and Lesser Himalayan Crystalline (LHC) zones. These were tectonically extruded as a consequence of the southward directed propagation of crustal deformation in the Indian plate margin. The HHC and its cover rocks i.e. the Tethyan Sedimentary Zone (TSZ) are exposed through tectonic zones within the hinterland of Kumaon Himalaya. The HHC records history of at least one episode of pre-Himalayan deformation (D₁), three episodes of Himalayan deformation (D₂, D₃, D₄). The rocks of the HHC in Kumaon Himalaya are thoroughly transposed by D₂ deformation into NW-SE trending S_m (S₁+S₂). The extent of transposition and a well-developed NE-plunging L₂ lineation indicate intense strain during D₂ throughout the studied portion of the HHC. Ductile flow continued, resulting in rotation of F₁ and F₂ folds due NE-direction and NW-SE plunging F₃ folds within the HHC. The over thickened crystalline was finally, superimposed by late-to-post collisional brittle-ductile deformation (D₄) and exposed the rocks to rapid erosion.     

Characteristics and mitigation of the snow avalanche hazard in Kaghan Valley,Pakistan Himalaya

Snow avalanche hazards in mountainous areas of developing countries have received scant attention in the scientific literature. The purpose of this paper is to describe this hazard and mitigative measures in Kaghan Valley, Pakistan Himalaya, and to review alternatives for future reduction of this hazard. Snow avalanches have long posed a hazard and risk to indigenous populations of the Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya mountains. Land use intensification due to population growth, new transportation routes, military activity and tourism is raising levels of risk. The history of land use in the study area is such that investigations of avalanche hazard must rely on different theoretical bases and data than in most industrialised countries. Despite the intensive use of valley-bottom land which is affected by avalanches, a number of simple measures are currently employed by the indigenous population to mitigate the hazard. Out-migration during the winter months is the most important one. During the intensive use period of summer avalanche-transported snow provides numerous resources for the population. In Kaghan the avalanche hazard is increasing primarily as a result of poorly located new buildings and other construction projects. The large scale of avalanche activity there rules out any significant improvement or protection of the currently difficult winter access. Instead, future mitigation of the hazard should focus on protecting the small number of winter inhabitants and minimising property damage.