Petrogenesis of the Neogene alkaline volcanics with implications for post-collisional lithospheric thinning of the Eastern Pontides, NE Turkey

Whole-rock geochemistry, Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes and K–Ar data are reported for alkaline samples collected from the Neogene alkaline volcanics (NAVs) in the Eastern Pontides, northeastern Turkey, in order to investigate their source and petrogenesis and geodynamic evaluation of the region. The NAVs were made of three groups that comprise of basanite–tephrite (feldspar-free; Group A), tephrite–tephriphonolite (feldspar and feldspathoid-bearing; Group B) and alkaline basalt–rhyolite (feldspathoid-free; Group C) series. These rocks cover a broad compositional range from silica-undersaturated to silica-oversaturated types, almost all of which are potassic in character. They show enrichment of LREE and LILE and depletion of HFSE, without a Eu anomaly in most of the mafic samples. Textural features and calculated pressures based on the Cpx-barometer in each series indicate that the alkaline magma equilibrated at shallow crustal depths under a pressure of about 3–4.5 kbar and approximating a crystallization depth of 9–14 km. The NAVs are slightly depleted in isotopic composition, with respect to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (ranging from 0.705018 to 0.705643) and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (ranging from 0.512662 to 0.512714) that indicate young Nd model ages (0.51–059 Ga). This may indicate that the parent melts tapped a homogeneous and young lithospheric mantle source which was metasomatized by subduction-derived sediments during the Late Mesozoic. Pb isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.85–18.95; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.60–15.74; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.82–39.25) may also be consistent with a model for an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. Lithospheric thinning and resultant upwelling of asthenosphere induced by lithospheric delamination may have favoured partial melting of chemically enriched, young lithospheric mantle beneath the Eastern Pontides. Then, the melt subsequently underwent a fractional crystallization process along with or without minor amounts of crustal assimilation, generating a wide variety of rock types in a post-collision extensional regime in the Eastern Pontides during the Neogene.     

Ritz method for dynamic analysis of large discrete linear systems with non-proportional damping

Real and complex Ritz vector bases for dynamic analysis of large linear systems with non-proportional damping are presented and compared. Both vector bases are generated utilizing load dependent vector algorithms that employ recurrence equations analogous to the Lanczos algorithm. The choice of static response to fixed spatial loading distribution, as a starting vector in recurrence equations, is motivated by the static correction concept. Different phases of dynamic response analysis are compared with respect to computational efficiency and accuracy. It is concluded that the real vector basis approach is approximately eight times more efficient than the complex vector basis approach. The complex vector basis has some advantages with respect to accuracy, if the excitation is of piecewise linear form, since the exact solution can be utilized. In addition, it is demonstrated that both Ritz vector bases, real and complex, possess superior accuracy over the adequate eigenvector bases.     

Use of joint-growth directions and rock textures to infer thermal regimes during solidification of basaltic lava flows

Thermal contraction joints form in the upper and lower solidifying crusts of basaltic lava flows and grow toward the interior as the crusts thicken. Lava flows are thus divided by vertical joints that, by changes in joint spacing and form, define horizontal intraflow layers known as tiers. Entablatures are tiers with joint spacings less than about 40 cm, whereas colonnades have larger joint spacings. We use structural and petrographic methods to infer heat-transfer processes and to constrain environmental conditions that produce these contrasting tiers. Joint-surface morphology indicates overall joint-growth direction and thus identifies the level in a flow where the upper and lower crusts met. Rock texture provides information on relative cooling rates in the tiers of a flow. Lava flows without entablature have textures that develop by relatively slow cooling, and two joint sets that usually meet near their middles, which indicate mostly conductive cooling. Entablature-bearing flows have two main joint sets that meet well below their middles, and textures that indicate fast cooling of entablatures and slow cooling of colonnades. Entablatures always occur in the upper joint sets and sometimes alternate several times with colonnades. Solidification times of entablature-bearing flows, constrained by lower joint-set thicknesses, are much less than those predicted by a purely conductive cooling model. These results are best explained by a cooling model based on conductive heat transfer near a flow base and water-steam convection in the upper part of an entablature-bearing flow. Calculated solidification rates in the upper parts of such flows exceed that of the upper crust of Kilauea Iki lava lake, where water-steam convection is documented. Use of the solidification rates in an available model of water-steam convection yields permeability values that agree with measured values for fractured crystalline rock. We conclude, therefore, that an entablature forms when part of a flow cools very rapidly by water-steam convection. Flooding of the flow top by surface drainage most likely induces the convection. Colonnades form under conditions of slower cooling by conductive heat transfer in the absence of water.     

Investigation of expansive soils in Obhor Sabkha,Jeddah-Saudi Arabia

Expansion or swelling of soil is a worldwide geotechnical problem that occurs in arid and semiarid regions where sabkha soils may occur as well. Expansive soil is dominated by the presence of active clay minerals. The expansive and sabkha soils are characterized by a large seasonal variation in soil moisture content leading to a large change in the volume and the consistency of the soil and, thus, causing serious damages to buildings and infrastructure. Although sabkha soil covers large and strategically important areas along the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts in Saudi Arabia, no one paid proper attention to the type of clay minerals in those soils or to their expansion potential, which is a crucial step prior to any construction. The geotechnical properties, active clay mineral types, and the degree expansion potential of soils were investigated in Obhor area at the north of Jeddah City. Twenty disturbed soil samples were collected at depths of 80 and 120 cm. Three different types of soils are identified: clayey soil with high plasticity, clayey soil with low plasticity, and poorly graded silty to clayey sand soil. Furthermore, active clay minerals were identified with a significant proportion of montmorillonite (14.24 %), illite (24.65 %), kaolinite (28.78 %), and chlorite (32.34 %). The results indicated that a considerable part of the study area has high expansion potential, but most parts of Obhor area have low to none potential of soil expansiveness.     

Geo-temporal Twitter demographics

This paper seeks and uses highly disaggregate social media sources to characterize Greater London in terms of flows of people with modelled individual characteristics, as well as conventional measures of land use morphology and night-time residence. We conduct three analyses. First, we use the Shannon Entropy measure to characterize the geography of information creation across the city. Second, we create a geo-temporal demographic classification of Twitter users in London. Third, we begin to use Twitter data to characterize the links between different locations across the city. We see all three elements as data rich, highly disaggregate geo-temporal analysis of urban form and function, albeit one that pertains to no clearly defined population. Our conclusions reflect upon this severe shortcoming in analysis using social media data, and its implications for progressing our understanding of socio-spatial distributions within cities.     

Petrophysical study of faults in sandstone using petrographic image analysis and X-ray computerized tomography

Petrographic image analysis (PIA) and X-ray computerized tomography (CT) provide local determinations of porosity in sandstone. We have investigated small faults called deformation bands in porous sandstones using these techniques. Because the petrophysical properties of the fault rock vary at a small scale (mm scale), the ability of PIA and CT to determine porosity in small volumes of rock and to map porosity distribution in two and three dimensions is crucial. This information is used to recognize the processes involved in fault development and the different kinds of microstructures associated with dilatancy and compaction. The petrophysical study of fault rock in sandstone permits one to make predictions of the hydraulic properties of a fault and thereby evaluate the sealing or fluid transmitting characteristics of faulted reservoirs and aquifers. The results of this study indicate that faulting in sandstone alters the original porosity and permeability of the host rock: the porosity is reduced by an order of magnitude and the permeability is reduced by one to more than seven orders of magnitude for faults associated with compaction.     

Quantifying climate-induced drought risk to livelihood and mitigation actions in Balochistan

Natural Hazards - Climate change-induced disasters show the highest risk for agriculture and livelihoods in rural areas of developing countries. Due to changing rainfall pattern, the arid and...