SrNdPb geochemical morphology between 10° and 17°N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: A new MORB isotope signature

Basalts dredged along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis between 10°N and 17°N have been studied for their trace element characteristics [1]. To give complementary information on mantle source history and magma genesis, these samples have been analysed for their SrNdPb isotopic compositions. There is a good correlation between the structure of the ridge axis which shows a topographic anomaly centered around 14°N and hygromagmaphile element ratios such as Rb/Sr, (Nb/Zr)_N or Sm/Nd as well as isotopic ratios plotted as a function of latitude. The samples coming from the 14°N topographic high show new MORB SrNd isotopic characteristics which pictured in a classical mantle array diagram, put their representative points close to HIMU sources of ocean islands such as St. Helena, Tubuaïand Mangaia. The 14°N mantle source presents geochemical characteristics which indicate mantle differentiation processes and a mantle history that are more distinct than so far envisaged from typical MORB data. Pb data indicates that the 14°N mantle source cannot be the result of binary mixing between a depleted mantle and a HIMU-type source. Rather, the enriched endmember could itself be a mixture of Walvis-like and HIMU-like materials. The geochimical observations presented favour the model of an incipient ridge-centered plume, in agreement with [1].     

The use of secondary information in geostatistical target area identification

The identification and characterization of target areas at former bombing ranges is the first step in investigating these sites for residual unexploded ordnance. Traditionally, magnetometer surveys along transects are used in identifying areas with high densities of magnetic anomalies, which are likely former target areas. Combining magnetometer survey data with other data sources may reduce the level of survey data required for site characterization, increasing characterization efficiency. Here, several techniques for incorporating secondary information into kriging estimates of magnetic anomaly density are investigated for a former bombing range located near Pueblo, Colorado. In particular, kriging with external drift, collocated ordinary cokriging, and simple kriging with local means (SKLM) are used to incorporate information from a secondary variable. The secondary variable consists of a grid of crater density values derived from a topographic light detection and ranging (LIDAR) analysis. The craters, which are clearly identifiable in the LIDAR data, were generated through munitions use at the site and are therefore related to the target locations. The results from this study indicate that the inclusion of the secondary information in the kriging estimates does benefit target area characterization and provides a means of elucidating target area details from only limited magnetometer transect data. For the Pueblo site, the use of SKLM with the crater density as a secondary variable and only limited magnetometer transect data, provided results comparable to those obtained from using much larger magnetometer transect data sets.     

Occurrence and distribution of bacteria indicators,chemical tracers and pathogenic vibrios in Singapore coastal waters

Water quality in Singapore's coastal area was evaluated with microbial indicators, pathogenic vibrios, chemical tracers and physico-chemical parameters. Sampling sites were grouped into two clusters (coastal sites at (i) northern and (ii) southern part of Singapore). The coastal sites located at northern part of Singapore along the Johor Straits exhibited greater pollution. Principal component analysis revealed that sampling sites at Johor Straits have greater loading on carbamazepine, while turbidity poses greater influence on sampling sites at Singapore Straits. Detection of pathogenic vibrios was also more prominent at Johor Straits than the Singapore Straits. This study examined the spatial variations in Singapore's coastal water quality and provided the baseline information for health risk assessment and future pollution management.     

A modelling framework for evaluation of the hydrological impacts of nature‐based approaches to flood risk management,with application to in‐channel interventions across a 29‐km2 scale catchment in the United Kingdom

Nature‐based approaches to flood risk management are increasing in popularity. Evidence for the effectiveness at the catchment scale of such spatially distributed upstream measures is inconclusive. However, it also remains an open question whether, under certain conditions, the individual impacts of a collection of flood mitigation interventions could combine to produce a detrimental effect on runoff response. A modelling framework is presented for evaluation of the impacts of hillslope and in‐channel natural flood management interventions. It couples an existing semidistributed hydrological model with a new, spatially explicit, hydraulic channel network routing model. The model is applied to assess a potential flood mitigation scheme in an agricultural catchment in North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, comprising various configurations of a single variety of in‐channel feature. The hydrological model is used to generate subsurface and surface fluxes for a flood event in 2012. The network routing model is then applied to evaluate the response to the addition of up to 59 features. Additional channel and floodplain storage of approximately 70,000 m³ is seen with a reduction of around 11% in peak discharge. Although this might be sufficient to reduce flooding in moderate events, it is inadequate to prevent flooding in the double‐peaked storm of the magnitude that caused damage within the catchment in 2012. Some strategies using features specific to this catchment are suggested in order to improve the attenuation that could be achieved by applying a nature‐based approach.     

Instability of exogenous lava lobes during intense rainfall

On many volcanoes, there is evidence of a relationship between dome collapse and periods of high precipitation. We propose a mechanism for this relationship and investigate the conditions that optimize failure by this process. Observations of elongate lobes that evolve through exogenous growth of lava domes reveal that they commonly develop tensile fractures perpendicular to the direction of motion. These cracks can increase in depth by localized cooling and volumetric contraction. During periods of high rainfall, water can fill these cracks, and the increase in fluid pressure on the base of the lobes and within the crack can trigger the collapse of the hot exogenous lava domes. Using limit-equilibrium analysis, it is possible to calculate the water and vapor forces acting on the rear and base of the potentially unstable part of the lobe. The model presented is rectangular in cross-section, with material properties representative of andesitic dome rocks. Vapor pressures at the base of cracks are sealed by the penetrating rainfall, which forms a saturated cap within the lobe. This leads to an increase in fluid pressurization both through the underlying gas pressure and the downslope component of the liquid water cap. Fluid pressurization increases as the penetration depth increases. This rainfall penetration depth is dependent on the thermal properties of the rocks, antecedent temperature, lobe geometry, and the intensity and duration of precipitation. Dominant parameters influencing the stability of the lobe are principally lobe thickness, duration and intensity of rainfall, and antecedent lobe temperature. Our modeling reveals that thicker lobes are intrinsically more unstable due to the amplification of downslope forces in comparison to cohesive strength. The increase in the duration and intensity of rainfall events also increases the potential for collapse, as it leads to deeper liquid penetration. Deeper penetration depths are also achieved through lower antecedent temperatures since less fluid is lost through vaporization. Thus, the potential for rain-triggered collapse increases with time from emplacement.Editorial responsibility: D. Dingwell     

Sheathfolds in rheomorphic ignimbrites

Structural reappraisal of several classic rheomorphic ignimbrites in Colorado, Idaho, the Canary Islands and Italy has, for the first time, revealed abundant oblique folds, curvilinear folds and sheathfolds which formed during emplacement. Like their equivalents in tectonic shear-zones, the sheathfold axes lie sub-parallel to a pervasive elongation lineation, and appear as eye structures on rock surfaces normal to the transport direction. With the recognition of sheathfolds, ignimbrites previously inferred to have undergone complex rheomorphic deformation histories are re-interpreted as recording a single, progressive deformation event. In some examples, the trends of sheathfolds and related lineations change with height through a single ignimbrite suggesting that rheomorphism did not affect the entire thickness of ignimbrite synchronously. Instead, we infer that in these ignimbrites a thin ductile shear-zone rose gradually through the aggrading agglutinating mass whilst the flow direction varied with time. This suggests that, in some cases, both welding and rheomorphism can be extremely rapid, with ductile strain rates significantly exceeding rates of ignimbrite aggradation.Editorial responsibility: T. Druitt     

Convective instabilities in a variable viscosity fluid cooled from above

Whether in the mantle or in magma chambers, convective flows are characterized by large variations of viscosity. We study the influence of the viscosity structure on the development of convective instabilities in a viscous fluid which is cooled from above. The upper and lower boundaries of the fluid are stress-free. A viscosity dependence with depth of the form ν₀ + ν₁ exp(?γ.z) is assumed. After the temperature of the top boundary is lowered, velocity and temperature perturbations are followed numerically until convective breakdown occurs. Viscosity contrasts of up to 10⁷ and Rayleigh numbers of up to 10⁸ are studied.For intermediate viscosity contrasts (around 10³), convective breakdown is characterized by the almost simultaneous appearance of two modes of instability. One involves the whole fluid layer, has a large horizontal wavelength (several times the layer depth) and exhibits plate-like behaviour. The other mode has a much smaller wavelength and develops below a rigid lid. The “whole layer” mode dominates for small viscosity contrasts but is suppressed by viscous dissipation at large viscosity contrasts.For the “rigid lid” mode, we emphasize that it is the form of the viscosity variation which determines the instability. For steep viscosity profiles, convective flow does not penetrate deeply in the viscous region and only weak convection develops. We propose a simple method to define the rigid lid thickness. We are thus able to compute the true depth extent and the effective driving temperature difference of convective flow. Because viscosity contrasts in the convecting region do not exceed 100, simple scaling arguments are sufficient to describe the instability. The critical wavelength is proportional to the thickness of the thermal boundary layer below the rigid lid. Convection occurs when a Rayleigh number defined locally exceeds a critical value of 160–200. Finally, we show that a local Rayleigh number can be computed at any depth in the fluid and that convection develops below depth z_r (the rigid lid thickness) such that this number is maximum.The simple similarity laws are applied to the upper mantle beneath oceans and yield estimates of 5 × 10¹⁵?5 × 10¹⁶ m² s^?1 for viscosity in the thermal boundary layer below the plate.     

Constraining models of the tectonic setting of the giant Olympic Dam iron oxide–copper–gold deposit, South Australia, using deep seismic reflection data

In the Gawler Craton, the completeness of cover concealing the crystalline basement in the region of the giant Olympic Dam Cu–Au deposit has impeded any sufficient understanding of the crustal architecture and tectonic setting of its IOCG mineral-system. To circumvent this problem, deep seismic reflection data were recently acquired from  250 line-km of two intersecting traverses, centered on the Olympic Dam deposit. The data were recorded to 18 s TWT ( 55 km). The crust consists of Neoproterozoic cover, in places more than 5 km thick, over crystalline basement with the Moho at depths of 13–14 s TWT ( 40–42 km). The Olympic Dam deposit lies on the boundary between two distinct pieces of crust, one interpreted as the Archean–Paleoproterozoic core to the craton, the other as a Meso–Neoproterozoic mobile belt. The host to the deposit, a member of the  1590 Ma Hiltaba Suite of granites, is situated above a zone of reduced impedance contrast in the lower crust, which we interpret to be source-region for its  1000 °C magma. The crystalline basement is dominated by thrusts. This contrasts with widely held models for the tectonic setting of Olympic Dam, which predict extension associated with heat from the mantle producing the high temperatures required to generate the Hiltaba Suite granites implicated in mineralization. We use the seismic data to test four hypotheses for this heat-source: mantle underplating, a mantle-plume, lithospheric extension, and radioactive heating in the lower crust. We reject the first three hypotheses. The data cannot be used to reject or confirm the fourth hypothesis.     

Propagation of Love waves in surface layers of varying thickness

Summary A study is made of the scattered field which results when a Love wave is incident on a layer having an irregular surface. To obtain this solution a perturbation method is used. It is shown that the scattered field may be described by a superposition of Love waves and non-propagating disturbances. As an illustrative example, the result is applied to obtain the scattering by a triangular trough.