Geochemical constraints on the origin of the late Jurassic proto-Caribbean oceanic crust in Hispaniola

The nature of the oceanic crust produced through rifting and oceanic spreading between North and South America during the Late Jurassic is a key element for the Caribbean plate tectonic model reconstruction. Located in the Cordillera Central of Hispaniola, the Loma La Monja volcano-plutonic assemblage (LMA) is composed of gabbros, dolerites, basalts, and oceanic sediments, as well as metamorphic equivalents, which represent a dismembered fragment of this proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Petrologic and geochemical data show that the LMA have a relatively broad diversity in composition, which represent the crystallization products of a typical low-pressure tholeiitic fractionation of mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB)-type parental magmas, ranging from N- to E-MORB. Three geochemical groups have been distinguished in the volcanic sequence: LREE-flat to slightly LREE-enriched basalts of groups II and III occur interlayered in the lower stratigraphic levels; and LREE-depleted basalts of group I in the upper levels. Mantle melt modeling suggests that group III magmas are consistent by mixing within a mantle melt column of low-degree (<1%) melts of a deep garnet lherzolite source and high-degree (>15%) melts of a shallow spinel source, and groups II and I magmas are explained with moderate to high (14–18%) and very high (>20%) fractional melting degrees of a shallower spinel mantle source, respectively. Thus, upward in the volcanic sequence of the LMA, the magmas represent progressively more extensive melting of shallower sources, in a plume-influenced spreading ridge of the proto-Caribbean oceanic crust. Nb/Y versus Zr/Y systematics combined with recent plate tectonic model reconstructions reveal that Caribbean Colombian oceanic plateau fragments in Hispaniola formed through melting of heterogeneous mantle source regions related with distinct plumes during at least from Aptian–Albian (>96 Ma) to Late Campanian.     

Empty marine container logistics: facts,issues and management strategies

With the global container population exceeding 25 million TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) and the annual production of new boxes exceeding 3 million TEU it is estimated that around 1.5 million TEU of empty containers are sitting in yards and depots around the world waiting for use. Although utilization rates have improved since 2004, container utilization depends on the very dynamic nature of container transportation, and the container building and leasing industries. Owing primarily to the chronic trend of increasing trade imbalances across the oceans, and despite recent trends along some trade routes, the empty container management problem has become a major issue for the container shipping industry during the last decade. This paper examines and analyzes empty container logistics at a global, interregional, regional and local level. Special consideration is given to key factors affecting the empty container logistics management and strategies implemented by ocean carriers and other stakeholders to better manage empty containers.

Geochemical distribution and removal of As,Fe, Mn and Al in a surface water system affected by acid mine drainage at a coalfield in Southwestern China

The chemical characteristics, formation and natural attenuation of pollutants in the coal acid mine drainage (AMD) at Xingren coalfield, Southwest China, are discussed in this paper based on the results of a geochemical investigation as well as geological and hydrogeological background information. The chemical composition of the AMD is controlled by the dissolution of sulfide minerals in the coal seam, the initial composition of the groundwater and the water–rock interaction. The AMD is characterized by high sulfate concentrations, high levels of dissolved metals (Fe, Al, Mn, etc.) and low pH values. Ca²⁺ and SO₄ ²⁻ are the dominant cation and anion in the AMD, respectively, while Ca²⁺ and HCO₃ ⁻ are present at significant levels in background water and surface water after the drainage leaves the mine site. The pH and alkalinity increase asymptotically with the distance along the flow path, while concentrations of sulfate, ferrous iron, aluminum and manganese are typically controlled by the deposition of secondary minerals. Low concentrations of As and other pollutants in the surface waters of the Xingren coalfield could be due to relatively low quantities being released from coal seams, to adsorption and coprecipitation on secondary minerals in stream sediments, and to dilution by unpolluted surface recharge. Although As is not the most serious water quality problem in the Xingren region at present, it is still a potential environmental problem. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Viscosity effect on consolidation of poroelastic soil due to groundwater table depression

In this study, the viscosity effect on consolidation of poroelastic soil due to groundwater table depression is examined. A viscoelastic consolidation numerical model is developed to conduct this examination. By nondimensionalizing the governing equations the viscosity number that depends on hydraulic conductivity, viscous moduli, and thickness of soil is obtained to represent the viscosity effect on consolidation of poroelastic soil. The case of clay stratum sandwiched between sandy strata subjected to sudden and gradual groundwater table depressions is used to investigate the importance of viscosity effect to poroelastic consolidation. The results show that the displacement and pore water pressure of clay stratum are strongly related to the viscosity effect. The overestimation of soil displacement will occur if the viscosity effect is neglected. Hence, the viscosity effect needs to be considered in modeling consolidation of poroelastic soil under groundwater table depression.     

DECOVALEX Project: from 1992 to 2007

The DECOVALEX project is a unique international research collaboration, initiated in 1992, for advancing the understanding and mathematical modelling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) and thermo-hydro-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in geological systems—subjects of importance for performance assessment of radioactive waste repositories in geological formations. From 1992 up to 2007, the project has made important progress and played a key role in the development of numerical modelling of coupled processes in fractured rocks and buffer/backfill materials. The project has been conducted by research teams supported by a large number of radioactive-waste-management organizations and regulatory authorities, including those of Canada, China, Finland, France, Japan, Germany, Spain, Sweden, UK, and the USA. Through this project, in-depth knowledge has been gained of coupled THM and THMC processes associated with nuclear waste repositories, as well as numerical simulation models for their quantitative analysis. The knowledge accumulated from this project, in the form of a large number of research reports and international journal and conference papers in the open literature, has been applied effectively in the implementation and review of national radioactive-waste-management programmes in the participating countries. This paper presents an overview of the project.     

Granulometric analysis of glacial sediments,Schirmacher Oasis,East Antarctica

Granulometric analysis of nineteen sediment samples has been carried out for their statistical and textural parameters. The samples are collected from the northern and southern margins of Schirmacher Oasis extending below the polar ice sheet and grading to coastal area respectively and main rocky land of Schirmacher including lakes. The analysis shows that most of the sediments are of medium grain size and fall in poor to very poor sorted category. An attempt has been made to interpret the depositional set-up by plotting the scatter patterns between various textural parameters, including C-M plot and arithmetic log-probability curves. The influence of physical parameters viz. low to high velocity winds, ice and meltwater on sediment characteristics has been discussed.     

Robustness of the holistic seismic risk evaluation in urban centers using the USRi

The Urban Seismic Risk index (USRi) published in a previous article (Carreño et al., Nat Hazards 40:137–172, 2007) is a composite indicator that measures risk from an integrated perspective and guides decision-making for identifying the main interdisciplinary factors of vulnerability to be reduced or intervened. The first step of the method is the evaluation of the potential physical damage (hard approach) as a result of the convolution of the seismic hazard with the physical vulnerability of buildings and infrastructure. Subsequently, a set of social context conditions that aggravate the physical effects is also considered (soft approach). According to this procedure, the physical risk index is evaluated for each unit of analysis from existing loss scenarios, whereas the total risk index is obtained by multiplying the former index by an impact factor using an aggravating coefficient, based on variables associated with the socio-economic conditions of each unit of analysis. The USRi has been developed using the underlying holistic and multi-hazard approach of the Urban Risk Index framework proposed for the evaluation of disaster risk in different megacities worldwide. This article presents the sensitivity analysis of the index to different parameters such as input data, weights and transformation functions used for the scaling or normalization of variables. This analysis has been performed using the Monte Carlo simulation to validate the robustness of this composite indicator, understanding as robustness how the cities maintain the ranking as well as predefined risk level ranges, when compared with the deterministic results of risk. Results are shown for different cities of the world.     

Time relationship between regional deformation and fabric development in the Peralimala pluton,South India — Inferences from magnetic fabric

Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) is investigated in samples of Peralimala (PM) pluton (ca. 550 Ma) and adjacent gneiss, gabbro, mylonite and amphibolite from the Moyar Shear Zone (MSZ), Southern Granulite Terrane (SGT) with an aim to decipher the time-relationship between fabric development in the pluton and regional tectonics. Magnetic foliation recorded in the PM pluton is sub-parallel to the WNW-ESE striking MSZ. Magnetic foliation and lineation trajectories are sigmoidal and curve into the shear zone. A dextral sense of shear is deciphered from the trajectories, which is similar to that reported within the MSZ in some earlier studies. It is inferred that the PM pluton has developed post-emplacement deformation-fabric related to reactivation of the MSZ during Pan-African age. Based on the data and existing information about regional tectonics of the area, the possibility of the (a) PM pluton being a Deformed Alkali Rock and Carbonatite (DARC) and (b) MSZ marking an ancient suture zone, is discussed.     

Contesting culture: a case study of commodification in Cuban music

After more than three decades of isolation from the West and a paralyzing economic crisis in the early 1990s, Cuba is increasingly globally active in both cultural and economic realms. In this paper I use Bourdieu’s (The fields of cultural production, 1993) fields of cultural production as a general frame through with to inspect the commercialization of Cuban music. Through a case study with Juan de Marcos Gonzalez, the creator of the Buena Vista Social Club, I explore the dialectical relationship of music as an expression of cultural and a cultural asset, and at the same time a commodity for the international market. I show that de Marcos uses his position between the international music industry and the local music scene in order to preserve cultural authenticity and survive economically. In doing so he challenges the all-to-typical place of the artist in the contested space of cultural production between the West and the Third World.

Results from the Big Spring basin water quality monitoring and demonstration projects,Iowa, USA

Agricultural practices, hydrology, and water quality of the 267-km² Big Spring groundwater drainage basin in Clayton County, Iowa, have been monitored since 1981. Land use is agricultural; nitrate-nitrogen (-N) and herbicides are the resulting contaminants in groundwater and surface water. Ordovician Galena Group carbonate rocks comprise the main aquifer in the basin. Recharge to this karstic aquifer is by infiltration, augmented by sinkhole-captured runoff. Groundwater is discharged at Big Spring, where quantity and quality of the discharge are monitored. Monitoring has shown a threefold increase in groundwater nitrate-N concentrations from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The nitrate-N discharged from the basin typically is equivalent to over one-third of the nitrogen fertilizer applied, with larger losses during wetter years. Atrazine is present in groundwater all year; however, contaminant concentrations in the groundwater respond directly to recharge events, and unique chemical signatures of infiltration versus runoff recharge are detectable in the discharge from Big Spring. Education and demonstration efforts have reduced nitrogen fertilizer application rates by one-third since 1981. Relating declines in nitrate and pesticide concentrations to inputs of nitrogen fertilizer and pesticides at Big Spring is problematic. Annual recharge has varied five-fold during monitoring, overshadowing any water-quality improvements resulting from incrementally decreased inputs. Electronic Publication