Noble gases in the earth's mantle

The abundances and isotopic compositions of noble gases in two samples from ultramafic xenoliths in alkali basalt, a young kaersutitic amphibole separated from a peridotite xenolith from Dish Hill, California and an ancient whole-rock lherzolite xenolith from Baja California, are reported and compared with the results of analyses on other mantle samples. In addition to previously recognized excesses of ³He and ¹²⁹Xe, our results indicate that ambient gases in the mantle show a general enrichment of the lighter-mass nonradiogenic isotopes of Ar, Kr and Xe, and Ar with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar = 3 · 10².     

Numerical evaluation of the damping‐solvent extraction method in the frequency domain

The damping‐solvent extraction method for the analysis of unbounded visco‐elastic media is evaluated numerically in the frequency domain in order to investigate the influence of the computational parameters—domain size, amount of artificial damping, and mesh density—on the accuracy of results. An analytical estimate of this influence is presented, and specific questions regarding the influence of the parameters on the results are answered using the analytical estimate and numerical results for two classical problems: the rigid strip and rigid disc footings on a visco‐elastic half‐space with constant hysteretic material damping. As the domain size is increased, the results become more accurate only at lower frequencies, but are essentially unaffected at higher frequencies. Choosing the domain size to ensure that the static stiffness is computed accurately leads to an unnecessarily large domain for analysis at higher frequencies. The results improve by increasing artificial damping but at a slower rate as the total (material plus artificial) damping ratio ζ_t gets closer to 0.866. However, the results do not deteriorate significantly for the larger amounts of artificial damping, suggesting that ζ_t≈0.6 is appropriate; a larger value is not likely to influence the accuracy of results. Presented results do not support the earlier suggestion that similar accuracy can be achieved by a large bounded domain with small damping or by a small domain with larger damping. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of Raft Settlement Based on Linear Elastic Finite Element Analysis

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - A detailed parametric study based on linear-elastic three-dimensional finite element (FE) analysis with proper raft–soil interaction is performed for...     

Impact of Boundary-Layer Parameterisation Schemes on the Prediction of the Asian Summer Monsoon

The impact of two boundary-layer parameterisation schemes on the prediction of Indian monsoon systems by a global spectral model has been investigated. The turbulent kinetic energy closure scheme shows a positive impact on the prediction of some important synoptic features, including the genesis of monsoon lows, the tracking of monsoon depressions, and precipitation.     

Geochemical signature of provenance in sand-size material in soils and stream sediments near the Tobacco Root batholith, Montana, U.S.A.

Trace-element geochemistry of sandstones are being used to determine provenance. We have conducted preliminary and limited experiments to determine to what extent daughter sands retain the geochemical signature of parent rocks. Six sets of first-order stream sediments, soils from adjacent slopes, and a variety of parent rocks were collected from southwestern Montana, U.S.A. Sampling in a low-relief area ensured that climate and residence time of soils on slopes could be eliminated as variables. Sand-size fractions of stream sediments and soils, and the corresponding parent rocks (granodiorite, quartz monzonite, granite gneiss, biotite-tonalite gneiss and amphibolite) were analyzed for most major elements and selected trace elements. Petrologic modal analysis of the parent rocks and the 0.25–0.50-mm fraction of each sand was done to monitor major mineralogic control, if any, on chemical compositions of the samples.

Our data show that the abundances of the Si and Al in sediments do not discriminate provenance. Abundances of Ca, Mg, Fe and Ti may broadly distinguish between sands derived from metamorphic and igneous source rocks, at least in the area studied. Differences in abundances of the Ba and Th, and the ratio of La/Lu between granitic, tonalitic and amphibolitic parent rocks are preserved in the daughter sediments that we studied. However, the size of the Eu anomaly in the REE patterns of different daughter sediments is not diagnostic of parent rocks. Abundances of Co and Sc distinguish between sediments derived from felsic and mafic rocks. A better provenance discrimination is obtained if the ratios La/Sc, Th/Sc, La/Co, Ba/Sc and Ba/Co are used.

Petrologic modal data show that mineral contents and chemical compositions of parent rocks are compatible with each other. The chemical composition of the sands may be roughly correlated to the petrological modal data but the abundances of some minor and trace elements of sediments cannot be inferred from modal mineralogy. This is expected because these elements may concentrate in accessory minerals and/or may weather out into aqueous or clay mineral fractions; it is also compatible with conclusions of previous studies that some of these elements do not reside in sand-size fractions of siliciclastic sediments.     

Integrated provenance analysis of a convergent retroarc foreland system: U–Pb ages,heavy minerals,Nd isotopes,and sandstone compositions of the Middle Magdalena Valley basin,northern Andes,Colombia

Sediment provenance analysis remains a powerful method for testing hypotheses on the temporal and spatial evolution of uplifted source regions, but issues such as recycling, nonunique sources, and pre- and post-depositional modifications may complicate interpretation of results from individual provenance techniques. Convergent retroarc systems commonly contain sediment sources that are sufficiently diverse (continental magmatic arc, fold–thrust belt, and stable craton) to enable explicit provenance assessments. In this paper, we combine detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology, heavy mineral identification, Nd isotopic analyses, conventional sandstone petrography, and paleocurrent measurements to reconstruct the clastic provenance history of a long-lived sedimentary basin now exposed in an intermontane zone of the northern Andean hinterland of Colombia. The Middle Magdalena Valley basin, situated between the Central Cordillera and Eastern Cordillera, contains a 5–10 km-thick succession of Upper Cretaceous to Quaternary fill. The integrated techniques show a pronounced change in provenance during the Paleocene transition from the lower to upper Lisama Formation. We interpret this as a shift from an eastern cratonic source to a western Andean source composed of magmatic-arc rocks uplifted during initial shortening of the Central Cordillera. The appearance of detrital chloritoid and a shift to more negative ε_Nd(t=0) values in middle Eocene strata of the middle La Paz Formation are attributed to shortening-related exhumation of a continental basement block (La Cira–Infantas paleohigh), now buried, along the axis of the Magdalena Valley. The diverse provenance proxies also show distinct changes during middle to late Eocene deposition of the Esmeraldas Formation that likely reflect initial rock uplift and exhumation of the fold–thrust belt defining the Eastern Cordillera. Upsection, detrital zircon U–Pb ages and heavy mineral assemblages for Oligocene and younger clastic deposits indicate that the Mesozoic sedimentary cover of the Eastern Cordillera was recycled during continued Cenozoic shortening. Our multidisciplinary provenance study refines the tectonic history of the Colombian Andes and demonstrates that uncertainties related to sediment recycling, nonunique sources, source heterogeneity, and climate in interpreting provenance data can be minimized via an integrated approach.     

A method for estimating crack-initiation stress of rock materials by porosity

Crack-initiation stress of a rock under compression is the stress level that marks the initiation of the rock microfracturing process or in other words, the onset of new damage to the rock. This paper proposed a simple methodology with justifications to explore the feasibility of using total and effective porosities as estimators of crack-initiation stress of brittle crystalline rock materials under uniaxial compression. The validity/applicability of the proposed method was examined by an experimental study of granitic materials from Malanjkhand, Madhya Pradesh. It was found that effective porosity depicts better correlation with crack-initiation stress than with uniaxial compressive strength of the granitic materials. On the other hand, total porosity does not show any perceptible correlation with uniaxial compressive strength and crack-initiation stress. Plausible reasons for the nature of the obtained results were also explained in view of rock failure process under compression. It is concluded that following the proposed method, effective porosity can be used as a physical index to obtain a quick estimate of crack-initiation stress of the investigated rocks empirically.