Pennsylvanian carbonate platforms adjacent to deltaic systems in an active marine foreland basin (Escalada Fm., Cantabrian Zone,NW Spain)

The Pennsylvanian marine foreland basin of the Cantabrian Zone (NW Spain) is characterized by the unique development of kilometre‐size and hundred‐metre‐thick carbonate platforms adjacent to deltaic systems. During Moscovian time, progradational clastic wedges fed by the orogen comprised proximal alluvial conglomerates and coal‐bearing deltaic sequences to distal shelfal marine deposits associated with carbonate platforms (Escalada Fm.) and distal clay‐rich submarine slopes. A first phase of carbonate platform development (Escalada I, upper Kashirian‐lower Podolskian) reached a thickness of 400 m, nearly 50 km in width and developed a distal high‐relief margin facing a starved basin, nearly 1000‐m deep. Carbonate slope clinoforms dipped up to 30° and consisted of in situ microbial boundstone, pinching out downslope into calciturbidites, argillaceous spiculites and breccias. The second carbonate platform (Escalada II, upper Podolskian‐lower Myachkovian) developed beyond the previous platform margin, following the basinward progradation of siliciclastic deposits. Both carbonate platforms include: (1) a lower part composed of siliciclastic‐carbonate cyclothems characterized by coated‐grain and ooid grainstones; and (2) a carbonate‐dominated upper part, composed of tabular and mound‐shaped wackestone and algal‐microbial boundstone strata alternating at the decametre scale with skeletal and coated‐grain grainstone beds. Carbonate platforms initiated in distal sectors of the foreland marine shelf during transgressions, when terrigenous sediments were stored in the proximal part, and developed further during highstands of 3rd‐order sequences in a high‐subsidence context. During the falling stage and lowstand systems tracts, deltaic systems prograded across the shelf burying the carbonate platforms. Key factors involved in the development of these unique carbonate platforms in an active foreland basin are: (1) the large size of the marine shelf (approaching 200 km in width); (2) the subsidence distribution pattern across the marine shelf, decreasing from proximal shoreline to distal sectors; (3) Pennsylvanian glacio‐eustacy affecting carbonate lithofacies architecture; and (4) the environmental conditions optimal for fostering microbial and algal carbonate factories.     

Strong ground motion record selection for the reliable prediction of the mean seismic collapse capacity of a structure group

How to select a limited number of strong ground motion records (SGMRs) is an important challenge for the seismic collapse capacity assessment of structures. The collapse capacity is considered as the ground motion intensity measure corresponding to the drift‐related dynamic instability in the structural system. The goal of this paper is to select, from a general set of SGMRs, a small number of subsets such that each can be used for the reliable prediction of the mean collapse capacity of a particular group of structures, i.e. of single degree‐of‐freedom systems with a typical behaviour range. In order to achieve this goal, multivariate statistical analysis is first applied, to determine what degree of similarity exists between each selected small subset and the general set of SGMRs. Principal Component analysis is applied to identify the best way to group structures, resulting in a minimum number of SGMRs in a proposed subset. The structures were classified into six groups, and for each group a subset of eight SGMRs has been proposed. The methodology has been validated by analysing a first‐mode‐dominated three‐storey‐reinforced concrete structure by means of the proposed subsets, as well as the general set of SGMRs. The results of this analysis show that the mean seismic collapse capacity can be predicted by the proposed subsets with less dispersion than by the recently developed improved approach, which is based on scaling the response spectra of the records to match the conditional mean spectrum. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

System parameters of soil foundations for time domain dynamic analysis

Soil-structure interaction analysis is usually carried out in the frequency domain, because the compliance functions of the half-space are known only in the frequency domain. Since non-linear analysis cannot be carried out in the frequency domain, a system with frequency independent parameters is used to represent the half-space soil medium so that a nonlinear analysis in the time domain becomes possible. The objective of this paper is to propose a system with lumped parameters, which are independent of frequency, to represent the half-space soil medium. The proposed frequency independent system consists of a number of real discrete structure elements; thus the existing dynamic analysis programs may be adoptable with little modification. In this paper, the parameters are found by minimizing the sum of the squares of deviations between the steady-state responses of the theoretical half-space model and those of the lumped parameter system over a specified frequency range. Once the parameters have been found, the lumped parameter system can be used in practical applications for time domain dynamic analysis of either linear or non-linear structures. In comparison with the dynamic response of the theoretical half-space model, the lumped parameter system yields satisfactory results.     

Zircon M127 – A Homogeneous Reference Material for SIMS U–Pb Geochronology Combined with Hafnium,Oxygen and,Potentially, Lithium Isotope Analysis

In this article, we document a detailed analytical characterisation of zircon M127, a homogeneous 12.7 carat gemstone from Ratnapura, Sri Lanka. Zircon M127 has TIMS‐determined mean U–Pb radiogenic isotopic ratios of 0.084743 ± 0.000027 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U and 0.67676 ± 0.00023 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²³⁵U (weighted means, 2s uncertainties). Its ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age of 524.36 ± 0.16 Ma (95% confidence uncertainty) is concordant within the uncertainties of decay constants. The δ¹⁸O value (determined by laser fluorination) is 8.26 ± 0.06‰ VSMOW (2s), and the mean ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratio (determined by solution ICP‐MS) is 0.282396 ± 0.000004 (2s). The SIMS‐determined δ⁷Li value is ?0.6 ± 0.9‰ (2s), with a mean mass fraction of 1.0 ± 0.1 μg g^?1 Li (2s). Zircon M127 contains ~ 923 μg g^?1 U. The moderate degree of radiation damage corresponds well with the time‐integrated self‐irradiation dose of 1.82 × 10¹⁸ alpha events per gram. This observation, and the (U–Th)/He age of 426 ± 7 Ma (2s), which is typical of unheated Sri Lankan zircon, enable us to exclude any thermal treatment. Zircon M127 is proposed as a reference material for the determination of zircon U–Pb ages by means of SIMS in combination with hafnium and stable isotope (oxygen and potentially also lithium) determination.     

基于激光扫描和构造分析的紫云苗厅“双穹顶结构”成因机理初步研究

隶属于贵州格必（凸）河伏流洞穴系统的紫云苗厅,是世界上已知探明体积和表面积最大的洞厅,平面投影面积仅次于马来西亚的沙捞越大厅。2014年英国研究人员采用Riegl VZ-400三维激光扫描仪首次对整个苗厅进行了地面激光扫描,本研究通过激光扫描数据并结合地质构造背景分析,对苗厅基本形态特征及其控制因素获得了如下新认识：（1）苗厅整体由两个洞厅与一段大型廊道（极有可能是世界上跨度最大的洞穴廊道）共同构成,在形态上则是两个穹顶与一个拱顶相连接,总体呈“凹”字形。点云切片显示苗厅为鞍部（上部）水平截面呈两个独立又相互关联的多边形且底座并联的“双穹顶”特殊结构;（2）苗厅鞍部的多边形系多期地质构造错动所致,产生了不同方向、不同等级的断裂和节理体系,在区域内形成了具有格子状构造的格局,密集的裂隙交汇于苗厅使得溶蚀作用最为发育;（3）苗厅发育在交麻向斜核部下二叠厚层—块状石灰岩地层中,向斜底部的开张裂隙为地下水进入提供了良好的构造条件,是苗厅能发育成世界级巨大洞厅一个不可忽略的关键因素;（4）苗厅还存在上层洞道,与区域内的层状洞穴共同反映了地质历史时期构造抬升与河流下切的双重作用。推测早期有其它多股水流从高处共同汇聚于苗厅,共同掏蚀出巨大的地下空间,并经历了从潜流带到包气带的转换,才最终形成现今所见的宏大洞厅;（5）根据地貌形态与地质构造的关系,“双穹顶”的发育暗示了有利于形成超大地下洞厅的特殊地质构造也是相邻成对的。     

Fracture mechanics analysis of multiple cracks in anisotropic media

This paper presents a single‐domain boundary element method (BEM) for linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis in the two‐dimensional anisotropic material. In this formulation, the displacement integral equation is collocated on the un‐cracked boundary only, and the traction integral equation is collocated on one side of the crack surface only. A special crack‐tip element was introduced to capture exactly the crack‐tip behavior. A computer program with the FORTRAN language has been developed to effectively calculate the stress intensity factors of an anisotropic material. This BEM program has been verified having a good accuracy with the previous researches. Furthermore, by analyzing the different anisotropic degree cracks in a finite plate, we found that the stress intensity factors of crack tips had apparent influence by the geometry forms of cracks and media with different anisotropic degrees. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The use of the exponent K(q) function to delimit homogeneous regions in regional frequency analysis of extreme annual daily rainfall

The regional frequency analysis of extreme annual rainfall data is a useful methodology in hydrology to obtain certain quantile values when no long data series are available. The most crucial step in the analysis is the grouping of sites into homogeneous regions. This work presents a new grouping criterion based on some multifractal properties of rainfall data. For this purpose, a regional frequency analysis of extreme annual rainfall data from the Maule Region (Chile) has been performed. Daily rainfall data series of 53 available stations have been studied, and their empirical moments scaling exponent functions K(q) have been obtained. Two characteristics parameters of the K(q) functions (γ_max and K(0)) have been used to group the stations into three homogeneous regions. Only five sites have not been possible to include into any homogenous regions, being the local frequency analysis of extreme daily rainfall the most appropriate method to be used at these locations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fossil wood

Plants have been making wood (secondary xylem) for more than 370 million years. This familiar material is one of the keys to their massive success. Wood allows plants to attain breathtaking heights and maximize the capture of sunlight for growth. By creating complex, multi‐layered forests, the evolution of wood, has done more to shape life on land than almost any other innovation. Wood is one of the most common terrestrial fossils encountered in the geological record. Whether preserved as huge petrified logs or as minute chunks of charcoal, fossil wood is abundant in rocks of Late Devonian age and younger. It is of enormous scientific importance, shedding light on the identity and stature of ancient trees. As a record of growth over a sustained period, it also tells us much about the climates and environments in which those trees lived. In this article, I explain some aspects of the origin, evolution, preservation, and identification of fossil wood, and emphasise its great significance for geology.