Shear Wave Anisotropy of the Upper Mantle Beneath the Region from Tingri of Tibet to Golmud of Qinghai

Measurements of shear wave splitting at 43 three-component seismic stationsshow very big difference in anisotropy on both sides of the Indus-Yarlung Zangbo suture(ITS), but little difference on both sides of the older Bangong-Nujiang suture (BNS) and theJinsha River suture (JS) to its north. Obvious discrepancy exists between the anisotropy direc-tion and the superficial tectonic trends, which is not explicable directly by the coherent uppermantle deformation usually supposed to occur in consistency with the trend of a collisional belt.On the other hand, strong spatial relationships are observed from the anisotropy results, such asthe orthogonal directions of anisotropy on both sides of ITS and the good correlation betweenthe region of larger magnitude of anisotropy and the zone of inefficient Sn propagation ofQiangtang as well as the systematic rotation of the directions of anisotropy, which should testifysome much more complicated aspects of the continental convergence mechanism. To the best ofour data, we tend to suppose that the Qinghai-Tibet plateau might result from a mechanismcomplicated by the coexistence of Argand's underthrusting and Dewey's diffuse deformation.     

Pb / Pb-ages of zircons from syn-collisional I-type porphyritic granites of the central Ribeira belt, SE Brazil

In the central segment of the Ribeira belt, southeast Brazil, several foliated porphyritic granitic bodies intrude high-grade migmatitic gneisses of the Andrelândia and Juiz de Fora domains and Embú Complex. Results of geological, geochemical and geochronological investigations of the Maromba, Pedra Selada, Serra do Lagarto and Funil porphyritic I-type granites provide profound similarities, except for the distinct geochemical behavior of the Funil Granite, perhaps related to a different crustal source. These granitoids show similar structural, textural and mineralogical features. Pb-evaporation of single zircons provided ages of 586 ± 6, 579.6 ± 6.3, 586.3 ± 4.8 and 584 ± 5 Ma for the granites, respectively, coincident with the syn-collision I episode of the central Ribeira belt. The intrusion of I-type porphyritic granitoids coeval with the main collisional event has not often been reported in the geological literature. The most common syn-collisional granitic magmatism has normally an S-type signature or even a slightly peraluminous I-type character. However, the occurrence of coeval I- and S-type syn-tectonic granites along the central Ribeira belt, as observed in the investigated area and discussed in this paper is noteworthy.     

Turonian Radiolarians from Karnezeika,Argolis Peninsula,Peloponnesus (Greece)

Near Karnezeika a roughly 140 m thick Upper Cretaceous section consists of interbedded pelagic limestones, cherts and coarse polymict breccias including ophiolites and shallow water limestones. At the base, pink pelagic limestones rest on deeply altered and fractured Lower Jurassic Pantokrator Limestone. This first pelagic facies is dated as middle Turonian, based on planktonic Foraminifera. Over 100 m of coarse ophiolite-carbonate breccias, interpreted as a channel or canyon fill in a pelagic environment, document the erosion of the Late Jurassic nappe edifice along the Cretaceous Pelagonian margin. Above these breccias, we mesured 16 m of principally pink and red pelagic limestones and radiolarian cherts, in which we recovered well-preserved radiolarians discussed here. In this interval, the presence of planktonic Foraminfera allows to state a late Turonian to Coniacian age. More than 40 radiolarian species are described and figured in this work. The radiolarian chronostratigraphy established by 10 different authors in 11 publications was compared for this study and used to establish radiolarian ranges. This exercise shows major discrepancies between authors for the radiolarian ranges of the studied assemblage. Nevertheless, a Turonian age can be stated based on a synthesis of cited radiolarian ranges. This age is consistent with the age based on planktonic foraminifera. In combining the ages of both Radiolaria and planktonic Foraminifera, the studied samples can be restricted to the late Turonian. However, the discrepancies of published radiolarian ranges call for an urgent, major revision of the Late Cretaceous radiolarian biochronology. The integration of planktonic foraminifera with radiolarians may greatly enhance biochronologic resolution in sections where both groups occur.     

Volcanic red-bed copper mineralisation related to submarine basalt alteration,Mont Alexandre,Quebec Appalachians,Canada

Two types of native copper occur in Upper Silurian basaltic rocks in the Mont Alexandre area, Quebec Appalachians: (1) type 1 forms micrometric inclusions in plagioclase and is possibly magmatic in origin, whereas (2) type 2 occurs as coarse-grained patches rimmed by cuprite in altered porphyritic basalt. Type 1 has higher contents of sulphur (2,000–20,263 ppm) and arsenic (146–6,017 ppm), and a broader range of silver abundances (<65–2,186 ppm Ag) than type 2 (149–1,288 ppm S, <90–146 As, <65–928 ppm Ag). No mineral inclusions of sulphide or arsenide in native copper were observed at the electron-microprobe scale. Primary igneous fabrics are preserved, but the basaltic flows are pervasively oxidised and plagioclase is albitised. Chlorite replaces plagioclase and forms interstitial aggregates in the groundmass and has Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratios ranging from 0.29 to 0.36 with calculated temperatures between 155°C and 182°C. Copper sulphides in vacuoles and veinlets are associated with malachite, fibro-radiating albite and yarrowite (Cu₉S₈ with up to 0.3 wt% Ag). Bulk-rock concentrations of thallium and lithium range from 70 to 310 ppb and 10 to 22 ppm, respectively, and thallium is positively correlated with Fe₂O₃. Such concentrations of thallium and lithium are typical of spilitisation during heated seawater–basalt interaction. Spilitisation is consistent with the regional geological setting of deepwater-facies sedimentation, but is different from current models for volcanic red-bed copper, which indicate subaerial oxidation of volcanic flows. The volcanic red-bed copper model should be re-examined to account for native copper mineralisation in basalts altered by warm seawater.     

Environmental flows in hydro-economic models

The protection of environmental flows, as a management objective for a regulating agency, needs to be consistent with the aquifer water balance and the degree of resource renewability. A stylized hydro-economic model is used where natural recharge, which sustains environmental flows, is considered both in the aquifer water budget and in the welfare function as ecosystem damage. Groundwater recharge and the associated natural drainage may be neglected for aquifers containing fossil water, where the groundwater is mined. However, when dealing with an aquifer that constitutes a renewable resource, for which recharge is not negligible, natural drainage should explicitly appear in the water budget. In doing so, the optimum path of net extraction rate does not necessarily converge to the recharge rate, but depends on the costs associated with ecosystem damages. The optimal paths and equilibrium values for the water volume and water extraction are analytically derived, and numerical simulations based on the Western La Mancha aquifer (southwest Spain) illustrate the theoretical results of the study.     

Probabilistic Estimation of Seismically Thin-Layer Thicknesses with Application to Evaporite Formations

Surveys in Geophysics - The identification of potassium (K) and magnesium (Mg) salts prior to the well drilling is a key factor to avoid washouts, closing pipes, fluid loss damage, and borehole...     

Use of microfluidic experiments to optimize MICP treatment protocols for effective strength enhancement of MICP-treated sandy soils

Microbially induced calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) precipitation (MICP) has been extensively studied for soil improvement in geotechnical engineering. The quantity and size of calcium carbonate crystals affect the strength of MICP-treated soil. In this study, microfluidic chip experiments and soil column experiments were conducted to optimize MICP treatment protocols for effective strength enhancement of MICP-treated sandy soils. The microscale experiments reveal that, due to Ostwald ripening, longer injection intervals allow crystals to dissolve and reprecipitate into larger crystals regardless of the concentration of cementation solution. Even though a cementation solution input rate of 0.042 mol/l/h is sufficient to maintain a high chemical transformation efficiency, a further reduction in the input rate by about four times resulted in an increase in the size of crystals produced by the end of treatment from about 40 to 60 μm. These findings were applied in soil column experiments. Results showed that significantly larger crystals and higher soil strength were achieved when the normalized rate of cementation solution injection was reduced from 0.042 to 0.021 mol/l/h. Crystal size and soil strength increased slightly more when the normalized input rate was further reduced from 0.021 to 0.010 mol/l/h. This study demonstrates how data from microscale microfluidic experiments that examine the effects of injection intervals and concentration of cementation solution on the properties of calcium carbonate crystals can be used to optimize MICP treatment in macroscale sand soil column experiments for effective strength enhancement.

     

Secular and tidal evolution of circumbinary systems

We investigate the secular dynamics of three-body circumbinary systems under the effect of tides. We use the octupolar non-restricted approximation for the orbital interactions, general relativity corrections, the quadrupolar approximation for the spins, and the viscous linear model for tides. We derive the averaged equations of motion in a simplified vectorial formalism, which is suitable to model the long-term evolution of a wide variety of circumbinary systems in very eccentric and inclined orbits. In particular, this vectorial approach can be used to derive constraints for tidal migration, capture in Cassini states, and stellar spin–orbit misalignment. We show that circumbinary planets with initial arbitrary orbital inclination can become coplanar through a secular resonance between the precession of the orbit and the precession of the spin of one of the stars. We also show that circumbinary systems for which the pericenter of the inner orbit is initially in libration present chaotic motion for the spins and for the eccentricity of the outer orbit. Because our model is valid for the non-restricted problem, it can also be applied to any three-body hierarchical system such as star–planet–satellite systems and triple stellar systems.