Einstein–Rosen Universe in a Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravitation

Field equations in the presence of a perfect fluid distribution are obtained in a scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester (Phys. Lett. 113, 1985, 467) with the aid of Einstein–Rosen cylindrically symmetric metric. A static vacuum model and a non-static stiff fluid model are presented. The physical and geometrical properties of the stiff fluid model are studied.     

Multiple growth of garnet,sillimanite/kyanite and monazite during amphibolite facies metamorphism: implications for the P–T–t and tectonic evolution of the western Altai Range,Mongolia

Four amphibolite facies pelitic gneisses from the western Mongolian Altai Range exhibit multistage aluminosilicate formation and various chemical‐zoning patterns in garnet. Two of them contain kyanite in the matrix and sillimanite inclusions in garnet, and the others have kyanite inclusions in garnet with sillimanite or kyanite in the matrix. The Ca‐zoning patterns of the garnet are different in each rock type. U–Th–Pb monazite geochronology revealed that all rock units experienced a c. 360 Ma event, and three of them were also affected by a c. 260 Ma event. The variations in the microstructures and garnet‐zoning profiles are caused by the differences in the (i) whole‐rock chemistry, (ii) pressure conditions during garnet growth at c. 360 Ma and (iii) equilibrium temperatures at c. 260 Ma. The garnet with sillimanite inclusions records an increase in pressure at low‐P (~5.2–7.2 kbar) and moderate temperature conditions (~620–660 °C) at c. 360 Ma. The garnet with kyanite inclusions in the other rock types was also formed during an increase in pressure but at higher pressure conditions (~7.0–8.9 kbar at ~600–640 °C). The detrital zircon provenance of all the rock types is similar and is consistent with that from the sedimentary rocks in the Altai Range, suggesting that the provenance of all the rock types was a surrounding accretionary wedge. One possible scenario for the different thermal gradient is Devonian ridge subduction beneath the Altai Range, as proposed by several researchers. The subducting ridge could have supplied heat to the accretionary wedge and elevated the geotherm at c. 360 Ma. The differences in the thermal gradients that resulted in varying prograde P–T paths might be due to variations in the thermal regimes in the upper plate that were generated by the subducting ridge. The c. 260 Ma event is characterized by a relatively high‐T/P gradient (~25 °C km^?1) and may be due to collision‐related granitic activity and re‐equilibrium at middle crustal depths, which caused the variations in the aluminosilicates in the matrix between the rock units.     

Predicting phosphorus dynamics in complex terrains using a variable source area hydrology model

Phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural watersheds has long been a critical water quality problem, the control of which has been the focus of considerable research and investment. Preventing P loss depends on accurately representing the hydrological and chemical processes governing P mobilization and transport. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is a watershed model commonly used to predict run‐off and non‐point source pollution transport. SWAT simulates run‐off employing either the curve number (CN) or the Green and Ampt methods, both assume infiltration‐excess run‐off, although shallow soils underlain by a restricting layer commonly generate saturation‐excess run‐off from variable source areas (VSA). In this study, we compared traditional SWAT with a re‐conceptualized version, SWAT‐VSA, that represents VSA hydrology, in a complex agricultural watershed in east central Pennsylvania. The objectives of this research were to provide further evidence of SWAT‐VSA's integrated and distributed predictive capabilities against measured surface run‐off and stream P loads and to highlight the model's ability to drive sub‐field management of P. Thus, we relied on a detailed field management database to parameterize the models. SWAT and SWAT‐VSA predicted discharge similarly well (daily Nash–Sutcliffe efficiencies of 0.61 and 0.66, respectively), but SWAT‐VSA outperformed SWAT in predicting P export from the watershed. SWAT estimated lower P loss (0.0–0.25 kg ha^?1) from agricultural fields than SWAT‐VSA (0.0–1.0+ kg ha^?1), which also identified critical source areas – those areas generating large run‐off and P losses at the sub‐field level. These results support the use of SWAT‐VSA in predicting watershed‐scale P losses and identifying critical source areas of P loss in landscapes with VSA hydrology. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Garnet Sm–Nd data from the Saualpe and the Koralpe (Eastern Alps, Austria): chronological and P–T constraints on the thermal and tectonic history

Garnets from recrystallized, staurolite- and kyanite-bearing mica schists from the central Saualpe basement, representing the host rocks of the type-locality eclogites, give concordant Sm–Nd garnet–whole-rock isochron ages between 88.5±1.7 and 90.9±0.7 Ma. The millimetre-sized, mostly inclusion-free grains show fairly homogeneous element profiles with pyrope contents of 25–27%. Narrow rims with an increase in Fe and Mn and a decrease in Mg document minor local re-equilibration during cooling. According to phengite geothermobarometry, peak metamorphic conditions at 90 Ma were close to 20  kbar and 680  °C and similar to those recorded by the eclogites. The garnet rims record about 575  °C/7  kbar for the final stages of metamorphism. A phengitic garnet–mica schist, sampled at the immediate contact with the Gertrusk eclogite, gave a garnet–whole-rock Sm–Nd age of 94.0±2.7 Ma.
Garnet porphyroclasts separated from a pegmatite–mylonite of the Koralpe plattengneiss near Stainz are unzoned and show spessartine contents of 15%. Composition and Sm–Nd ages of close to 260 Ma point to a magmatic origin for these garnets.
The garnet data from the Saualpe document an intense Alpine metamorphism for this part of the Austroalpine basement. The mica schists recrystallized during decompression and rapid exhumation, at the final stages of and immediately following a high- P event. The Koralpe data show that high Alpine temperatures did not reopen the Sm–Nd isotope system, implying a closure temperature in excess of c . 600  °C for this isotopic system in garnet.     

Combining physical-based models and satellite images for the spatio-temporal assessment of soil infiltration capacity

The performance of managed artificial recharge (MAR) facilities by means of surface ponds (SP) is controlled by the temporal evolution of the global infiltration capacity I _c of topsoils. Cost-effective maintenance operations that aim to maintain controlled infiltration values during the activity of the SP require the full knowledge of the spatio-temporal variability of I _c . This task is deemed uncertain. The natural reduction in time of I _c depends on complex physical, biological and chemical reactions that clog the soil pores and has been observed to decay exponentially to an asymptotic non-zero value. Moreover, the relative influence of single clogging processes depend on some initial parameters of the soil, such as the initial infiltration capacity (I _c,0). This property is also uncertain, as aquifers are typically heterogeneous and scarcely characterized in practical situations. We suggest a method to obtain maps of I _c using a geostatistical approach, which is suitable to be extended to engineering risk assessment concerning management of SP facilities. We propose to combine geostatistical inference and a temporally-lumped physical model to reproduce non-uniform clogging in topsoils of a SP, using field campaigns of local and large scale tests and additionally by means of satellite images as secondary information. We then postulate a power-law relationship between the parameter of the exponential law, λ, and I _c,0. It is found that calibrating the two parameters of the power law model it is possible to fit the temporal evolution of total infiltration rate at the pond scale in a MAR test facility. The results can be used to design appropriate measures to selectively limit clogging during operation, extending the life of the infiltration pond.     

Metallogenesis of the late Pan-African gold-bearing East Ouzzal shear zone (Hoggar, Algeria)

In the W Hoggar (Algeria), the major transcurrent N–S East Ouzzal shear zone (EOSZ) hosts several world-class gold deposits over a 100-km length. The late Pan-African EOSZ separates two contrasting Precambrian domains: the Archaean In Ouzzal block to the west (orthogneisses with subordinate metasediments, reworked and granulitized in the c. 2 Ga Eburnean event) and a Middle Proterozoic block to the east (again orthogneisses and metasediments, involved in the c. 600 Ma Pan-African event). The EOSZ is a mylonite belt, 1–3 km wide, with a 50-m-wide ultramylonite belt hosting numerous quartz veins and lenses (giant hydrothermal quartz system) associated with a quartz-sericite-pyrite-carbonate (beresite) alteration. These hydrothermal events occurred under ductile (evolving towards brittle) conditions, between 500 and 300 MPa, at 500–300°C, with aqueous-carbonic fluids derived both from underlying devolatilized metamorphic rocks and a mantle source, as recorded by stable (C, O) isotope data. No gold mineralization was associated with these typical mesothermal events. Following a pressure drop (to 130 MPa), related to the inception of extensional tectonics, the EOSZ was later percolated by a new set of hydrothermal fluids, evolved from basinal waters that deeply penetrated into the In Ouzzal basement. These fluids were Ca-bearing brines (up to 25% wt. eq. NaCl), characterized by high δD (-9 to + 18‰ range), mobilized by the thermal energy released by the late Pan-African granite magmatism (Taourirt granites). As demonstrated by Pb isotope data, the brines leached Au from the In Ouzzal granulites (which contain 3 ppb Au). Fluid inclusion studies indicate that gold was deposited from these brines in the EOSZ at a depth of c. 5 km, due to mixing and cooling with descending diluted fluids.