Hydrothermal plume mapping as a prospecting tool for seafloor sulfide deposits: a case study at the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields in the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Seafloor hydrothermal polymetallic sulfide deposits are a new type of resource, with great potential economic value and good prospect development. This paper discusses turbidity, oxidation–reduction potential, and temperature anomalies of hydrothermal plumes from the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields on the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use the known location of these vent fields and plume data collected in multiple years (2009, 2011, 2013) to demonstrate how real-time plume exploration can be used to locate active vent fields, and thus associated sulfide deposits. Turbidity anomalies can be detected 10 s of km from an active source, but the location precision is no better than a few kilometers because fine-grained particles are quasi-conservative over periods of many days. Temperature and oxidation–reduction potential anomalies provide location precision of a few hundred meters. Temperature anomalies are generally weak and difficult to reliably detect, except by chance encounters of a buoyant plume. Oxidation–reduction potential is highly sensitive (nmol concentrations of reduced hydrothermal chemicals) to discharges of all temperatures and responds immediately to a plume encounter. Real-time surveys using continuous tows of turbidity and oxidation–reduction potential sensors offer the most efficient and precise surface ship exploration presently possible.     

Evidence for the occurrence of hydrogeochemical processes in the groundwater of Khoy plain,northwestern Iran,using ionic ratios and geochemical modeling

Rapid population growth, industrialization, and agricultural expansion in the Khoy area (northwestern Iran) have led to its dependence on groundwater and degradation of groundwater quality. This study attempts to decipher the major processes and factors that degrade the groundwater quality of the Khoy plain. For this purpose, 54 groundwater samples from unconfined and confined aquifers of the plain were collected in July 2017 and analyzed for major cations and anions (Na, K, Ca, Mg, HCO₃, SO_4, and Cl), minor ions (NO₃ and F), and Al. Magnesium and bicarbonate were identified as the dominant cation and anion, respectively. Several ionic ratios and geochemical modeling using PHREEQC indicated that the most important hydrogeochemical processes to affect groundwater quality in the plain were weathering and dissolution of evaporitic and silicate minerals, mixing, and ion exchange. There were smaller effects from evaporation and anthropogenic factors (e.g., industries). Results showed that the high salinity of the groundwater in the northeast area of the plain was due to the high solubility of the evaporitic minerals, e.g., halite and gypsum. Reverse ion exchange and the contribution of mineral dissolution were more significant than ion exchange in the northeastern part of the plain. Elevated salinity of the groundwater in the southeast was attributed mostly to reverse ion exchange and somewhat to evaporation.     

Changing human-environment interactions in medium mountains: the Apuseni Mts (Romania) as a case study

The study of human-environment relationships in mountain areas is important for both theoretical and practical reasons, as many mountain areas suffer similar problems, such as depopulation, unemployment and natural hazards. Medium mountains constitute a special case within mountains, because they are more populated but less attractive as tourist destinations than high mountains. In this context, the Apuseni Mts (Romania) are considered as a case study. In this paper, we apply GIS-based, quantitative methods to characterize the strength and dynamics of human-environment interactions, taking into consideration some environmental factors (elevation, relative height, slope, river distance, lithology, land cover, natural attractions) as well as historical population and recent tourism data. We found that population density has strong (r ²>0.8) relationships with all relief factors (elevation, relative height, slope, river distance), and that best-fit functions are nonlinear. We outlined the varying demographic scenarios by elevation zones and interpreted the historically switching sign of population change versus elevation relationship. We demonstrated that lithology also has an impact on the spatial distribution of population, although it is not independent from the relief effect. The land cover of the mainly cultural landscape is very strongly correlated with relief parameters (especially slope), which suggests good adaptation. We pointed out the dominance of karst objects in the natural tourism potential of the Apuseni Mts and also explored further components of real tourism (spas, heritage, towns). Finally, we concluded that the environmental settings investigated do in fact constrain the spatial framework of society, but socio-economic changes in history can be explained from the side of society, which conforms to the theory of cultural possibilism.     

U–Pb geochronology of gneisses and granitoids from the Danish island of Bornholm: new evidence for 1.47–1.45 Ga magmatism at the southwestern margin of the East European Craton

The Danish island of Bornholm is located at the southwestern margin of the Fennoscandian Shield, and features exposed Precambrian basement in its northern and central parts. In this paper, we present new U–Pb zircon and titanite ages for granites and orthogneisses from 13 different localities on Bornholm. The crystallization ages of the protolith rocks all fall within the range 1,475–1,445 Ma (weighted average ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of zircon). Minor age differences, however, may imply a multi-phase emplacement history of the granitoid complex. The presence of occasional inherited zircons (with ages of 1,700–1,800 Ma) indicates that the Bornholm granitoids were influenced by older crustal material. The east–west fabric observed in most of the studied granites and gneisses, presumably originated by deformation in close connection with the magmatism at 1,470–1,450 Ma. Most titanite U–Pb ages fall between 1,450 and 1,430 Ma, reflecting post-magmatic or post-metamorphic cooling. Granitoid magmatism at ca. 1.45 Ga along the southwestern margin of the East European Craton has previously been reported from southern Sweden and Lithuania. The ages obtained in this study indicate that the Bornholm magmatism also was part of this Mesoproterozoic event.     

Computing the Sensitivity Kernels for 2.5-D Seismic Waveform Inversion in Heterogeneous,Anisotropic Media

2.5-D modeling and inversion techniques are much closer to reality than the simple and traditional 2-D seismic wave modeling and inversion. The sensitivity kernels required in full waveform seismic tomographic inversion are the Fréchet derivatives of the displacement vector with respect to the independent anisotropic model parameters of the subsurface. They give the sensitivity of the seismograms to changes in the model parameters. This paper applies two methods, called ‘the perturbation method’ and ‘the matrix method’, to derive the sensitivity kernels for 2.5-D seismic waveform inversion. We show that the two methods yield the same explicit expressions for the Fréchet derivatives using a constant-block model parameterization, and are available for both the line-source (2-D) and the point-source (2.5-D) cases. The method involves two Green’s function vectors and their gradients, as well as the derivatives of the elastic modulus tensor with respect to the independent model parameters. The two Green’s function vectors are the responses of the displacement vector to the two directed unit vectors located at the source and geophone positions, respectively; they can be generally obtained by numerical methods. The gradients of the Green’s function vectors may be approximated in the same manner as the differential computations in the forward modeling. The derivatives of the elastic modulus tensor with respect to the independent model parameters can be obtained analytically, dependent on the class of medium anisotropy. Explicit expressions are given for two special cases—isotropic and tilted transversely isotropic (TTI) media. Numerical examples are given for the latter case, which involves five independent elastic moduli (or Thomsen parameters) plus one angle defining the symmetry axis.     

UV-radiation in galaxies

I review the origin of UV-radiation in galaxies of different morphological types. UV-excess in spectra of massive elliptical galaxies which have predominantly old stellar populations is traditionally explained by the contribution of low-mass stars at very late, poorly known stages of evolution—by so called ‘AGB-manqué’ stars or by the population of extended horizontal branch. However recent results from the GALEX survey of a large sample of nearby ellipticals have also demonstrated probable traces of recent star formation in a third of all ellipticals observed. In spiral galaxies extended UV-disks have been discovered by the GALEX; they are certainly illuminated by the current star formation, but what has provoked star formation in the areas of very low gas density, beyond the distribution of older stars, is a puzzle yet. The UV-spectra of starburst galaxies or starforming galactic nuclei are characterized by weak emission lines, if any, quite dissimilar to their optical spectra.     

Hydrogeochemistry of the Koyna River basin,India

Hydrogeochemistry of the Koyna River basin, famous for the Koyna earthquake (magnitude 7) of 1967, has been studied. Basalt is the primary aquifer; laterites, alluvium, and talus deposits form aquifers of secondary importance. Groundwater generally occurs under water table conditions in shallow aquifers. Deeper aquifers are associated only with basalts. One hundred and 87 water samples were collected from various sources, such as dugwells, borewells, springs, and surface water, including 40 samples for analysis of iron. Only major constituents were analyzed. Analyses show that the concentrations of Ca²⁺ exceed that of Mg²⁺ in almost all water samples; the concentrations of Na⁺ are generally next to Ca²⁺ and are always higher than that of K⁺; and CO₃ ^2– and SO₄ ^2– are very low and are often negligible. Groundwater in borewells tapping deeper aquifers has higher mineralization compared to that in dugwells representing shallow aquifers. Majority of the water samples are dominated by alkaline earths (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) and weak acids (HCO₃ ⁻, CO₃ ^2–). Groundwater from shallow aquifers is generally calcium-bicarbonate type (53%) and calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type (27%). In case of deeper aquifer, it is mostly calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate type (29%), sodium-bicarbonate type (24%), calcium-bicarbonate type (19%), calcium-magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate type (19%) and sodium-calcium-bicarbonate type (9%). Groundwater water is generally fit for drinking and irrigation purposes, except in the lower reaches of the Koyna River basin, which is affected by near water logging conditions.     

A multi-equation spatial econometric model,with application to EU manufacturing productivity growth

A multi-equation spatial econometric model is used to explain variations across EU regions in manufacturing productivity growth based on recent theoretical developments in urban economics and economic geography. The paper shows that temporal and spatial parameter homogeneity is an unrealistic assumption, contrary to what is typically assumed in the literature. Constraints are imposed on parameters across time periods and between core and peripheral regions of the EU, with the significant loss of fit providing overwhelming evidence of parameter heterogeneity, although the final model does highlight increasing returns to scale, which is a central feature of contemporary theory.      

Assessing landslide movements in volcanic islands using near-shore marine geophysical data: south Pico island,Azores

Marine geophysical data from around the submarine flanks of volcanic islands can potentially help to resolve whether large-scale instability of an edifice has been geologically recently active. We use geophysical data to investigate part of the coast of Pico Island of the Azores where, above sea-level, a major slump of Topo volcano has been interpreted previously from arcuate escarpments and a rugged irregular topography seaward of them. Multibeam echo-sounder data collected offshore of this feature show remarkably little evidence for slump fault movements in the island's submarine slope. Mid-slope benches, like those associated with the Hilina Slump of Kilauea, are absent. The high-resolution data extends onto the island's shelf, allowing us to evaluate evidence for continuing activity there. In particular, as the shelf's rock platform will have been last modified by surf erosion during the postglacial period of sea-level transgression, it provides a reference surface of intermediate age (7–19 ka) that can potentially reveal whether any movements occurred in pre-historic times. Where the arcuate escarpments are continued offshore, the modern seabed shows no bathymetric evidence for active faults where the shelf rock platform crops out in the multibeam data. Elsewhere, mobile shelf sediments could be disguising evidence for active faulting so we examined boomer profiles able to image the rock platform beneath them. The data reveal a platform that is steep (6.6°) compared with the dips of platforms that we have studied previously around the coast of adjacent Faial Island and steeper than the platform outside the proposed slump. This suggests that it was created by coastal erosion over a shorter period and hence is consistent with a younger age of the coastline. As with the multibeam data, where escarpments are continued offshore onto the shelf, the rock surface imaged with these boomer data also shows no clear evidence of major slump-related fault displacements. This study therefore illustrates how high-resolution boomer seismic and multibeam data could usefully contribute to hazard assessment of volcanic islands, by helping to evaluate areas with no historical movements. Explanations to reconcile the onshore and offshore data here are also put forward.     

Coastal sea level variability in the US West Coast Ocean Forecast System (WCOFS)

Sea level variability along the US West Coast is analyzed using multi-year time series records from tide gauges and a high-resolution regional ocean model, the base of the West Coast Ocean Forecast System (WCOFS). One of the metrics utilized is the frequency of occurrences when model prediction is within 0.15 m from the observed sea level, F. A target level of F?=?90% is set by an operational agency. A combination of the tidal sea level from a shallow water inverse model, inverted barometer (IB) term computed using surface air pressure from a mesoscale atmospheric model, and low-pass filtered sea level from WCOFS representing the effect of coastal ocean dynamics (DYN) provides the most straightforward approach to reaching levels F>80%. The IB and DYN components each add between 5 and 15% to F. Given the importance of the DYN term bringing F closer to the operational requirement and its role as an indicator of the coastal ocean processes on scales from days to interannual, additional verification of the WCOFS subtidal sea level is provided in terms of the model-data correlation, standard deviation of the band-pass filtered (2–60 days) time series, the annual cycle amplitude, and alongshore sea level coherence in the range of 5–120-day periods. Model-data correlation in sea level increases from south to north along the US coast. The rms amplitude of model sea level variability in the 2–60-day band and its annual amplitude are weaker than observed north of 42 N, in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) coast region. The alongshore coherence amplitude and phase patterns are similar in the model and observations. Availability of the multi-year model solution allows computation and analysis of spatial maps of the coherence amplitude. For a reference location in the Southern California Bight, relatively short-period sea level motions (near 10 days) are incoherent with those north of the Santa Barbara Channel (in part, due to coastal trapped wave scattering and/or dissipation). At a range of periods around 60 days, the coastal sea level in Southern California is coherent with the sea surface height (SSH) variability over the shelf break in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia, more than with the coastal SSH at the same latitudes.