Fractal analysis of magnetite grains — implications for interpreting deformation mechanism

In the present study, the grain size (d) and shape of 225 magnetite grains, that crystallized at T>600°C in a syntectonic granite (Godhra Granite, India) are evaluated and implications of data to decipher deformation mechanism of magnetite are discussed. Fractal (ruler) dimension (D) analysis of magnetite grains is performed and it is demonstrated that they show fractal behaviour. Smaller magnetite grains tend to be more serrated than the larger ones, which is manifested in the higher fractal (ruler) dimension (D) of the former. Assuming a natural strain rate ranging between 10⁻¹⁰ s⁻¹ and 10⁻¹⁴ s⁻¹, the grain size data fall dominantly in the dislocation creep field of the existing deformation mechanism map of magnetite for 630°C. However, SEM-EBSD studies reveal that subgrains are absent in the magnetite grains and they did not undergo dislocation creep. Thus it is inferred that the shape of magnetite grains was not controlled by dislocation creep. It is concluded that the higher serration and increased fractal dimension of finer magnetite grains implies the importance of diffusion creep as an important deformation mechanism at high-T for magnetite in polymineralic rocks.     

Correct nomenclature for the Angadimogar pluton, Kerala, southwestern India

The proper usage of modal composition and geochemical classification of granitoids is discussed for assigning a proper nomenclature for the Angadimogar pluton, Kerala, southwestern India. This discussion is mainly aimed at addressing questions concerning the nomenclature of Angadimogar pluton (syenitevs. granite). Modal composition and whole-rock XRD data clearly show that the pluton exposed near Angadimogar is a quartz-syenite and its geochemistry is typical of a ferroan, metaluminous, alkali (A-type) granitoid     

Quantitative Assessment of Extrinsic Damage in Rock Materials

Summary   Comminution (crushing and grinding) of rock materials is energy-intensive and expensive. Much effort has been directed to improve the efficiency of conventional milling practice, but relatively little attention has been given to the potential benefits of blast-induced (extrinsic) damage on comminution processes. The objective of this research is to investigate the effect of shock-induced “crack-like” damage on rock properties for three petrologically distinct rock materials under laboratory conditions. In order to evaluate the effect of shock-induced damage, a quantitative measure of rock damage is needed. Shock loading of rock material was accomplished with an explosively driven split Hopkinson pressure bar. Laboratory measurements show that the average uniaxial compressive strengths for damaged specimens are slightly lower than those for intact specimens. Based on damage mechanics, the scalar damage variable () was experimentally determined as the relative reduction in ultrasonic wave velocity of damaged versus intact rock. increases as the shock energy dissipated in rock material increases. A crack density was determined by confocal image analysis. Measurements following shock loading indicate that ultrasonic wave velocity in rock partially recovers with time. Ultrasonic wave velocity and confocal image analysis may be useful in quantitatively assessing the internal crack-like damage in rock materials.     

An outline of the geology of the Afghan Pamirs

In the Great Afghan Pamir (Pamir-e Kaland) the following formations can be distinguished, from bottom to top: Wakhan Fm. (3000–4000 m thick anchimetamorphic slates and sandstones with frequent intercalations of quartzites and rare beds of crystalline limestones; conodonts of Lower Triassic); Qal'a-e Panja Tonalite (epimetamorphic, cataclastic); Qal'a-e Ust Gneiss (meta- and orthogneisses); Issik Granodiorite (batholite of the Afghan Pamirs, equivalent to Baba Tangi-Lunkho Granodiorite; xenoliths, flow structures and diaphtoritic portions; Upper Jurassic to Eocene). The tectonics are determined by the Peripheric Southern Fault of the Pamirs and the Wakhan Fault, showing vertical dislocation up to 1000 m and sinistral thrusting in connection with the Western Himalayan Syntaxis. Late Variscan and Alpine deformations and an intensive middle Alpine metamorphism can be observed. Interpretations of satellite pictures lead to an insertion of the regional tectonic features into the model of plate tectonics of the Himalayan arc.     

Integrated methodology for flood risk assessment and application in urban communities of Pakistan

Flood disasters and its consequent damages are on the rise globally. Pakistan has been experiencing an increase in flood frequency and severity along with resultant damages in the past. In addition to the regular practices of loss and damage estimation, current focus is on risk assessment of hazard-prone communities. Risk measurement is complex as scholars engaged in disaster science and management use different quantitative models with diverse interpretations. This study tries to provide clarity in conceptualizing disaster risk and proposes a risk assessment methodology with constituent components such as hazard, vulnerability (exposure and sensitivity) and coping/adaptive capacity. Three communities from different urban centers in Pakistan have been selected based on high flood frequency and intensity. A primary survey was conducted in selected urban communities to capture data on a number of variables relating to flood hazard, vulnerability and capacity to compute flood risk index. Households were categorized into different risk levels, such as can manage risk, can survive and cope, and cannot cope. It was found that risk levels varied significantly across the households of the three communities. Metropolitan city was found to be highly vulnerable as compared to smaller cities due to weak capacity. Households living in medium town had devised coping mechanisms to manage risk. The proposed methodology is tested and found operational for risk assessment of flood-prone areas and communities irrespective of locations and countries.     

Lower-Middle Triassic rocks in the Enmynveem River (western Chukotka)

The Lower-Middle Triassic section of the Enmynveem River dated on the basis of macrofauna includes three genetic types of sediments with different structural-textural features: (1) sediments of high-density autokinetic flows; (2) sediments of low-density turbidity flows; and (3) background sediments with thin interlayers of fine-grained turbidites. It has been established that sandy-silty sediments of all three genetic types formed on the continental slope in deep-water conditions, but their accumulation was related to the erosion of rocks in various provenances. Some sediments were formed as the result of the erosion of proximal volcanic complexes, whereas other sediments were related to the erosion of metamorphic rocks on the distal continental land.     

Preparing a seismic hazard model for Switzerland: the view from PEGASOS Expert Group 3 (EG1c)

The seismic hazard model used in the PEGASOS project for assessing earth-quake hazard at four NPP sites was a composite of four sub-models, each produced by a team of three experts. In this paper, one of these models is described in detail by the authors. A criticism sometimes levelled at probabilistic seismic hazard studies is that the process by which seismic source zones are arrived at is obscure, subjective and inconsistent. Here, we attempt to recount the stages by which the model evolved, and the decisions made along the way. In particular, a macro-to-micro approach was used, in which three main stages can be described. The first was the characterisation of the overall kinematic model, the “big picture” of regional seismogenesis. Secondly, this was refined to a more detailed seismotectonic model. Lastly, this was used as the basis of individual sources, for which parameters can be assessed. Some basic questions had also to be answered about aspects of the approach to modelling to be used: for instance, is spatial smoothing an appropriate tool to apply? Should individual fault sources be modelled in an intraplate environment? Also, the extent to which alternative modelling decisions should be expressed in a logic tree structure has to be considered.     

Part II. Evaluation of Ar-Ar quartz ages: Implications for fluid inclusion retentivity and determination of initial Ar/Ar values in Proterozoic samples

The argon isotope systematics of vein-quartz samples with two different K-reservoirs have been evaluated in detail. Potassium is hosted by ultra-high-salinity fluid inclusions in quartz samples from the Eloise and Osborne iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits of the Mt Isa Inlier, Australia. In contrast, K is hosted by accidentally trapped mica within lower-salinity fluid inclusions of a sample selected from the Railway Fault, 13 km south of the Mt Isa copper mine, Australia. Imprecise apparent ages have been obtained for all of the samples studied and conclusively demonstrate that quartz fluid inclusions are retentive to Ar and have not leaked over billions of years. IOCG samples that host K in fluid inclusions only, have K/Cl values of <1 and the ages obtained represent the maximum ages for mineralization. In contrast, the Railway Fault samples that include accidentally trapped mica have K/Cl values of ?1. Excess ⁴⁰Ar_E plus Cl hosted by fluid inclusions, and radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar_R plus K, are strongly correlated in these samples and define a plane in 3D ⁴⁰Ar-³⁶Ar-K-Cl space. In this case, the plane yields an ‘excess ⁴⁰Ar_E’ corrected age of ∼1030 Ma that is 100’s of Ma younger than nearby Cu-mineralization at Mt Isa. The age is interpreted to reflect ⁴⁰Ar-loss from the accidentally trapped mica into the surrounding fluid inclusions, and is not related to the samples’ age of formation. The initial ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar value of fluid inclusions is widely used to provide information on fluid origin. For the IOCG samples that host K in fluid inclusions only, the initial ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values are close to the measured values at every temperature of stepped heating experiments. For samples that include accidentally trapped mica, the correction for post-entrapment radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar_R production is significant. Furthermore, because ³⁹Ar_K present in accidentally trapped mica crystals is released at different temperatures to radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar_R lost to the surrounding fluid inclusions, intra-sample ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar variation cannot be reliably documented. The results demonstrate that noble gas analysis is readily applicable to Proterozoic, or older, samples but that if K-mineral impurities are present within quartz the abundance of K must be determined before calculation of mean ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar values that are representative of the samples’ initial composition.     

Evolution of the Landscape of the Western Part of the Turan–Uyuk Basin (Tuva Highland) in the Late Pleistocene

Doklady Earth Sciences - A complex of works including geomorphological deciphering, field survey, drilling, electric prospecting, and dating of deposits using the radiocarbon method and optically...     

Relationship between footwall composition,crustal contamination,and fluid–rock interaction in the Platreef,Bushveld Complex,South Africa

In the northern limb of the 2.06-Ga Bushveld Complex, the Platreef is a platinum group elements (PGE)-, Cu-, and Ni-mineralized zone of pyroxenite that developed at the intrusion margin. From north to south, the footwall rocks of the Platreef change from Archaean granite to dolomite, hornfels, and quartzite. Where the footwall is granite, the Sr-isotope system is more strongly perturbed than where the footwall is Sr-poor dolomite, in which samples show an approximate isochron relationship. The Nd-isotope system for samples of pyroxenite and hanging wall norite shows an approximate isochron relationship with an implied age of 2.17 ± 0.2 Ga and initial Nd-isotope ratio of 0.5095. Assuming an age of 2.06 Ga, the ɛNd values range from −6.2 to −9.6 (ave. −7.8, n = 17) and on average are slightly more negative than the Main Zone of the Bushveld. These data are consistent with local contamination of an already contaminated magma of Main Zone composition. The similarity in isotope composition between the Platreef pyroxenites and the hanging wall norites suggests a common origin. Where the country rock is dolomite, the Platreef has generally higher plagioclase and pyroxene δ ¹⁸O values, and this indicates assimilation of the immediate footwall. Throughout the Platreef, there is considerable petrographic evidence for sub-solidus interaction with fluids, and the Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} values range from −2 to +6, which indicates interaction at both high and low temperatures. Whole-rock and mineral δD values suggest that the Platreef interacted with both magmatic and meteoric water, and the lack of disturbance to the Sr-isotope system suggests that fluid–rock interaction took place soon after emplacement. Where the footwall is granite, less negative δD values suggest a greater involvement of meteoric water. Consistently higher values of Δ _{plagioclase–pyroxene} in the Platreef pyroxenites and hanging wall norites in contact with dolomite suggest prolonged interaction with CO₂-rich fluid derived from decarbonation of the footwall rocks. The overprint of post crystallization fluid–rock interaction is the probable cause of the previously documented lack of correlation between PGE and sulfide content on the small scale. The Platreef in contact with dolomite is the focus of the highest PGE grades, and this suggests that dolomite contamination played a role in PGE concentration and deposition, but the exact link remains obscure. It is a possibility that the CO₂ produced by decarbonation of assimilated dolomite enhanced the process of PGE scavenging by sulfide precipitation.