The thermal structure of the Dvurechenskii mud volcano and its implications for gas hydrate stability and eruption dynamics

The sediment temperature distribution at mud volcanoes provides insights into their activity and into the occurrence of gas hydrates. If ambient pressure and temperature conditions are close to the limits of the gas hydrate stability field, the sediment temperature distribution not only limits the occurrence of gas hydrates, but is itself influenced by heat production and consumption related to the formation and dissociation of gas hydrates. Located in the Sorokin Trough in the northern Black Sea, the Dvurechenskii mud volcano (DMV) was in the focus of detailed investigations during the M72/2 and M73/3a cruises of the German R/V Meteor and the ROV Quest 4000 m in February and March 2007. A large number of in-situ sediment temperature measurements were conducted from the ROV and with a sensor-equipped gravity corer. Gas hydrates were sampled in pressurized cores using a dynamic autoclave piston corer (DAPC). The thermal structure of the DMV suggests a regime of fluid flow at rates decreasing from the summit towards the edges of the mud volcano, accompanied by intermittent mud expulsion at the summit. Modeled gas hydrate dissociation temperatures reveal that the gas hydrates at the DMV are very close to the stability limits. Changes in heat flow due to variable seepage rates probably do not result in changes in sediment temperature but are compensated by gas hydrate dissociation and formation.     

The effect of the dominant polychaete Scolelepis squamata on nematode colonisation in sandy beach sediments: An experimental approach

The effect of an abundant sandy beach polychaete, Scolelepis squamata, on the colonisation of defaunated sediments by marine nematodes indicates that sandy beach fauna can be partially controlled by biological interactions within and across size groups. Experimental cores, equipped with windows allowing infaunal colonisation, were filled with defaunated sandy beach sediment containing two different treatments with and without S. squamata. These cores were inserted into microcosms filled with sediment with indigenous meiofauna collected from the field. The treatments were incubated in the laboratory at ambient temperature and salinity for 2, 7, 14 and 21 days, in order to follow the colonisation process of the defaunated sediments by the indigenous nematode fauna over time. Nematodes initially colonised both treatments, with abundances of up to 10% of the densities in the control; after 2 weeks, nematode densities in the cores without S. squamata surpassed the control densities. Nematode assemblages in both treatments were not species rich, and also differed in composition from the natural assemblages. The most successful colonising species, Enoplolaimus litoralis, was rare in the surrounding sediment, suggesting that colonisation was determined by species-specific characteristics such as body size, motility and feeding strategy. Initially the presence of macrofauna did not affect the nematode community composition, but after 2 weeks of the experiment, the presence of the polychaete seemed to facilitate the earlier establishment of non-opportunistic species.     

A numerical simulation of gas flow during coal/gas outbursts

Summary A model of the gas flow in airways during an instantaneous outburst of coal and gas is formulated and solved numerically using MacCormack's explicit finite-difference scheme. This model is based on the assumption that geological structures, in-situ stresses and high-gas-pressure gradients play important roles in initiating an outburst, with the gas content and gas-pressure gradients being the most dominant factors. The fluid-dynamic processes that occur after an outburst are computed by the numerical integration of the complete time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations. The mixture velocity, the density and the gas-concentration profiles in both time and space domains (immediately after an outburst) are presented. The global results are useful in gaining an improved understanding of gas-flow patterns during coal/gas outbursts and in determining the range of the disturbance so that effective methods of control can be developed.Nomenclature a speed of sound - C gas concentration (mass) - C _v specific heat at constant volume - C _p specific heat at constant pressure - CFL Courant-Friedrichs-Lewy number - E total energy of the mixture - F the vector defined in Equation 27 - G the vector defined in Equation 28 - h entropy - h _i entropy at inlet - J _xi diffusion flux in the i-direction - k thermal conductivity of a gas - M Mach number - P pressure of a mixture (the partial pressure of gas) - P gas pressure - P _a atmospheric pressure     

Zircon U-Pb dating of intermediate-acid intrusive rocks in the middle section of Ningzhen district and their metallogenic implicationsEI北大核心CSCD

The Ningzhen metallogenic district is an important part of the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Valley metallogenic belt. LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of the three intermediate-acid intrusions, i.e., Anjishan, Xinqiao, and Shima, in the central part of the Ningzhen district, indicates that those intrusions were emplaced in the Late Early Cretaceous, with ages of 107.0±1.1 Ma-108.0±1.6 Ma, 108.0±1.3 Ma, and 102.5±1.1 Ma, respectively. Combined with the molybdenite Re-Os isotope age (106-108 Ma) of porphyry copper deposit in this regions, the Ningzhen district exists an intensively magmatic-metallogenic-thermal event at 102.5-108.0 Ma. The age of this event is similar with the age of the third period of large scale mineralization in South China, however obviously later than the magmatic activity of other ore field (124-148 Ma) in the Middle-Lower Yangtze River Valley metallogenic belt. It is suggested that the tectonic-magmatic-thermal events in the Ningzhen area is formed under regional lithospheric extension environment, which is also consistent with the tectonic background of the third period of large scale mineralization in South China. The zircon U-Pb ages of the intrusions and the Re-Os ages of molybdenites from the porphyry deposits in the study area demonstrate that the Ningzhen district underwent intensive magmatism and hydrothermal mineralization during the period from 102.5 to 108.0 Ma, which is consistent with the third pulse of large scale mineralization in the South China. ©, 2015, Science Press. All right reserved.     

Erfahrungen mit dem automatischen Kondensationskernzähler

Zusammenfassung Es wird über Erfahrungen mit einem früher an dieser Stelle beschriebenen automatischen Kondensationskernzähler berichtet und speziell die Abhängigkeit der gemessenen Kernzahl von Expansionsgrad, Temperatur und relativer Feuchtigkeit untersucht, sowie die Einstellung einer konstanten Empfindlichkeit beschrieben.

---

Summary Experiments are reported with the automatic condensation nuclei counter, which has already been described in this review. Adjustment for a constant sensitivity is described. The dependence of the number of nuclei upon the degree of expansion, temperature and relative humidity is especially studied.

---

Résumé L'article rapporte des expériences faites avec un compteur automatique de noyaux de condensation, qui auparavant déjà a été décrit dans cette revue. Il examine en particulier la dépendance du nombre des noyaux mesuré du degré d'expansion, de la température et de l'humidité relative et décrit aussi la mise au point d'une sensibilité constante.

---

---

Mit 6 Textabbildungen.     

Olive flowering phenology variation between different cultivars in Spain and Italy: modeling analysis

Phenology data are sensitive data to identify how plants are adapted to local climate and how they respond to climatic changes. Modeling flowering phenology allows us to identify the meteorological variables determining the reproductive cycle. Phenology of temperate of woody plants is assumed to be locally adapted to climate. Nevertheless, recent research shows that local adaptation may not be an important constraint in predicting phenological responses. We analyzed variations in flowering dates of Olea europaea L. at different sites of Spain and Italy, testing for a genetic differentiation of flowering phenology among olive varieties to estimate whether local modeling is necessary for olive or not. We build models for the onset and peak dates flowering in different sites of Andalusia and Puglia. Process-based phenological models using temperature as input variable and photoperiod as the threshold date to start temperature accumulation were developed to predict both dates. Our results confirm and update previous results that indicated an advance in olive onset dates. The results indicate that both internal and external validity were higher in the models that used the photoperiod as an indicator to start to cumulate temperature. The use of the unified model for modeling the start and peak dates in the different localities provides standardized results for the comparative study. The use of regional models grouping localities by varieties and climate similarities indicate that local adaptation would not be an important factor in predicting olive phenological responses face to the global temperature increase.     

Petrogenesis of the Late Cenozoic collision volcanism in the central part of the Lesser Caucasus (Azerbaijan)

The Late Cenozoic volcanics of the Lesser Caucasus have similar trace-element and REE patterns with negative anomalies of Nb, Ta, Hf, and Zr. They are highly enriched in Rb, Ba, Th, and La and depleted in Ti, Yb, and Y with respect to N-MORB, which indicates their formation from the subduction-metasomatized lithospheric mantle. Partial melting of the subcontinental mantle lithosphere and crustal assimilation and fractional crystallization controlled the magma evolution in the collisional magmatic belts.     

Acigöl rhyolite field,central Anatolia (part II): geochemical and isotopic (Sr–Nd–Pb, δ<Superscript>18</Superscript>O) constraints on volcanism involving two high-silica rhyolite suites

The Acigöl rhyolite field erupted the most recent high-silica rhyolites within the Cappadocian Volcanic Province of central Anatolia, Turkey. It comprises two sequences of domes and pyroclastic rocks with eruption ages of ~150–200 ka (eastern group) and ~20–25 ka (western group). Compositionally, the eastern rhyolite group lavas are less evolved (SiO₂ = 74–76 wt%), whereas the western group has higher silica abundance (SiO₂ = ~77 wt%) with extremely depleted feldspar-compatible trace elements. Within each group, compositional variability is small and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (0.51257–0.51265) and Pb isotope compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.87–18.88, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.65–15.67 and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.94–38.98) are homogeneous. The western group rhyolites have δ¹⁸O(zircon) overlapping mantle values (5.7 ± 0.2‰), whereas eastern group rhyolites are enriched in δ¹⁸O by ~0.5‰, consistent with a tendency to lower εNd values. By contrast, western group rhyolites have markedly more radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7065–0.7091) compared to those of the eastern group (0.7059–0.7065). The presence of angular granitic xenoliths and a correlation between hydration (based on loss on ignition data) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in the western lavas, however, indicates that Sr was added during the eruption or post-eruption alteration. Isotope constraints preclude the possibility that the rhyolite magmas formed by partial melting of any known regional crystalline basement rocks. Basalts and andesites erupted in the periphery of the Acigöl field are characterised by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios between 0.7040 and 0.7053, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.51259–0.51300, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.85–18.87, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.646–15.655, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.90–38.97. The isotopic and trace element data favour an origin of the rhyolites by mixing of basaltic/andesitic magmas with minor amounts of crustal melts and followed by extensive fractional crystallization.     

3,4-benzopyrene and perylene in mussels, Mytilus sp., from the Laguna Veneta,North-East Italy

From July, 1975 to November, 1976 mussels from the Laguna Veneta, north-east Italy, and the adjacent Adriatic Sea were collected bimonthly at ten stations and analysed for 3,4-benzopyrene (BaP) and perylene (Pe) content. Mean concentrations were in the range 12·0–135·1 μg/kg dry weight for BaP and 1·5–16·9 μg/kg for Pe, but values as high as 327 μg/kg for BaP and 71 μg/kg for Pe have been measured. The distribution of BaP and Pe closely matches previous results on petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in mussels from this area and indicates that the major portion of BaP and Pe in these bivalves is due principally to human activities.