Late Quaternary marine terraces in the Mediterranean coastal area of Syria: Geochronology and neotectonics

In order to provide new data on the neotectonics and geodynamic properties of western Syria, studies of marine terraces have been carried out. The most attention was paid to the lower terraces in the range of 3–5 to 30–35 m above sea level, because they have more complete distributions along the shore. The lower terraces were examined along the coastal area from Tartus to Latakia, and along the carbonate cliff on Arwad Island. Seven ²³⁰Th/U dates for these terraces are in the range of 85–130 ka, suggesting the age interval of the last interglacial (MIS 5). New dates on the lower terraces provide a basis for stratigraphical and geomorphological interpretation as well as neotectonic reconstruction. According to the geomorphological data and lithological composition of those terraces, two main uplifted blocks can be established. One coincides with the Latakia block, and another corresponds to the western margin of the Banias volcanic plateau. These blocks are divided by a subsided structure corresponding to the Nahr el Kebir graben. The amplitude of neotectonic uplifting in the Latakia and Banias blocks reaches 15–20 m for the Late Pleistocene.     

Different magneto-rotational supernovae

We present the results of two-dimensional calculations of a magneto-rotational (MR) supernova explosion with a collapsing core for various core masses, rotational angular momenta, and magnetic-field configurations. It is shown that the MR mechanism produces an explosion energy that corresponds to observed values. The form of the explosion depends substantially on the initial configuration of the magnetic field. MR instability develops during the evolution of the magnetic field in an MR supernova explosion, resulting in an exponential increase of all components of the magnetic field, thereby substantially decreasing the time scale of the MR explosion. The energy of the supernova increases with the core’s mass and initial rotational energy.     

Fluid inclusion and stable isotope characteristics of the Karalar (Gazipaşa,Antalya) barite-galena deposits,Southern Turkey

The Karalar galena-barite deposits are typical examples of the carbonate-hosted barite-galena deposits widely occurring in the Central Tauride Belt. These deposits are located in Permian limestones as ore veins along fault zones that are discordant to the bedding planes and as thin veinlets within hardly brecciated bottom zones of Permian limestones. The ore deposits contain mainly barite and galena and small amounts of sphalerite, pyrite, fahlore, limonite, quartz, and calcite. Barites occur during the earlier episode of mineralization and were mylonitized before the formation of galena. Galena and other minerals occur epigenetically with barite along porous zones between brecciated barite crystals and are especially abundant in the hardly mylonitized zones. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that the ore deposits of the area were developed by hydrothermal fluids with following characteristics: they contained NaCl, CaCl₂, and MgCl₂; the salinity of the fluids was relatively high and their temperature was low during the crystallization of barites in the earlier episode of mineralization; and the salinity of the fluids decreased and their temperature increased during the crystallization of sulfide minerals through the later episode of mineralization. δ₁₈O and the δD results indicate that the water in the mineralizing fluid was of meteoric origin. The deposits were formed by deep meteoric water circulating through marine sediments. Shallow circulating and slightly warmed fluids dissolved Ba and sulfate from marine sediments of the basement and transported them to the mineralization environment during the early episode, while deep circulating and more heated fluids dissolved Pb, Zn, and other elements from the basement and reached the environment during the later episode of mineralization. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Elpasolite from hyperalkaline pegmatite of the Khibiny pluton, Kola Peninsula. Symmetry of elpasolite

Elpasolite, K₂NaAlF₆, has been found for the first time in a pegmatite related to peralkaline foid syenite at Mt. Koashva, Khibiny alkaline pluton, Kola Peninsula, Russia, as pale pink octahedral crystals up to 2 mm in size within cavities in the natrolite core of pegmatite in association with amicite, sodalite, aegirine, pectolite, catapleiite, sitinakite, lemmleinite-K, and vinogradovite. The chemical composition determined with an electron microprobe is as follows, wt %: 31.53 K; 9.22 Na; 11.20 Al; 47.21 F; total is 99.16. The empirical formula is K_1.96Na_0.98Al_1.01F_6.05. The infrared spectrum is given. The crystal structure has been refined to R = 0.030, space group Fm $ \bar 3 Elpasolite, K₂NaAlF₆, has been found for the first time in a pegmatite related to peralkaline foid syenite at Mt. Koashva, Khibiny alkaline pluton, Kola Peninsula, Russia, as pale pink octahedral crystals up to 2 mm in size within cavities in the natrolite core of pegmatite in association with amicite, sodalite, aegirine, pectolite, catapleiite, sitinakite, lemmleinite-K, and vinogradovite. The chemical composition determined with an electron microprobe is as follows, wt %: 31.53 K; 9.22 Na; 11.20 Al; 47.21 F; total is 99.16. The empirical formula is K_1.96Na_0.98Al_1.01F_6.05. The infrared spectrum is given. The crystal structure has been refined to R = 0.030, space group Fm m, a = 8.092 ?. The result of a special X-ray powder diffraction study confirmed the suggestion made by Morss (1974) that reflections violating space group Fm m in some published X-ray powder patterns of natural elpasolite are Kβ-lines. Original Russian Text ? I.V. Pekov, N.V. Chukanov, N.N. Kononkova, N.V. Zubkova, M.Kh. Rabadanov, D.Yu. Pushcharovsky, 2007, published in Zapiski Rossiiskogo Mineralogicheskogo Obshchestva, 2007, No. 6, pp. 76–84.