Age,provenance and tectonic setting of the Canastra and Ibiá Groups (Brasília Belt,Brazil): Implications for the age of a Neoproterozoic glacial event in central Brazil

The Brasília Belt is one of the best preserved Neoproterozoic orogens in Brazil. It comprises a thick Meso–Neoproterozoic sedimentary/metasedimentary pile including the Canastra and Ibiá Groups, which are the object of this study. The Canastra Group constitutes a regressive sedimentary sequence made mainly of greenschist-facies metapelitic and metapsammitic rocks, including phyllite, sandy metarhythmite and quartzite, with minor intercalations of limestone, as well as carbonaceous and carbonatic phyllite. The Ibiá Group is formed of a basal diamictite followed upwards by phyllites and calc-schists. It rests on an erosional unconformity on top of the Canastra Group.A provenance study based on U–Pb zircon geochronology on a selection of seven samples helped to establish the various source areas and maximum depositional ages of the original sediments. In addition, seven new Sm–Nd analyses are presented and discussed together with previously published data.LAM-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of detrital zircon grains indicates a maximum depositional age of the Canastra and Ibiá Groups of ca. 1030 and 640 Ma, respectively. The provenance signature of the Canastra Group comprises a wide range of detrital zircon ages with a significant Paleoproterozoic component (～1.8 and ～2.1 Ga) and an important Mesoproterozoic source (1.1–1.2 Ga), especially for the Paracatu Formation, indicating the São Francisco–Congo Craton as main source. These provenance data, in particular the absence of Neoproterozoic zircon grains, typical of the active margin of the Brasília Belt, allied with the homogeneous Paleoproterozoic T_DM values are consistent with the previous interpretation that the Canastra Group represents a sedimentary sequence deposited on a passive margin setting.Zircon grains from the diamictite of the Ibiá Group yielded ages ranging from 936 to 2500 Ma. In contrast, the overlying calc-phyllite of the Rio Verde Formation reveals a dominant Neoproterozoic provenance pattern with important peaks at 665, 740 and 850 Ma. The São Francisco-Congo Craton and Goiás Magmatic Arc are, most probably, the two main source regions for the Ibiá Group which may represent, therefore, a former fore- or back-arc sedimentary sequence. Tectonically, therefore, the Ibiá Group is equivalent to the Araxá Group exposed in central Goiás and both represent syn-orogenic sedimentary sequences formed with important detrital contributions derived from the Neoproterozoic Goiás Arc.The provenance data presented here indicate that the Cubatão Formation is most possibly representative of a Marinoan or younger glacial event.     

Iron ore mining promotes iron enrichment in sediments of the Gualaxo do Norte River basin,Minas Gerais State,Brazil

The objective of the present study is to assess the influence of iron ore mining on Fe concentrations in fluvial sediments of the Gualaxo do Norte River basin (Minas Gerais State, Brazil). Initially background values were determined for Fe by means of the boxplot representation, the iterative 2σ technique and the calculated distribution function, using geochemical data obtained for alluvial terraces. Geochronologic analyses in carbonaceous materials attested for the proposed background values. After that, chemical analyses of active drainage sediments collected along the entire basin were carried out and a geochemical map of the study area was prepared. The mean background value for Fe is relatively high (8.2 wt %), when compared to the Fe concentration in the Earth’s crust (5.6 wt %). Such background value is strongly associated with the geological characteristics of the region. It was observed that most of the high Fe concentrations were detected in active sediments collected in the main river of the basin and not in its tributaries. This suggests that Fe enrichment is not only linked to the local geology but also to possible increase resulting from accidental leakage of iron ore mining tailings from containment dams and lakes upstream. It is suggested that measures that help stop or minimize such impact be adopted. The large capacity of Fe to adsorb and form complexes with toxic metals implicates in environmental hazards that may not be restricted only to the Gualaxo do Norte river basin, but may affect the other basins downstream.     

Seismic risk assessment and hazard mapping in Nepal

Natural Hazards - Seismic risk in the form of impending disaster has been seen from past records that moderate-to-large earthquakes have caused the loss of life and property in all parts of Nepal....     

Sediment disturbance off the Tagus Estuary, Western Portugal: chronic contamination, sewage outfall operation and runoff events

Sediment disturbance patterns in the coastal area off the Tagus Estuary (Portugal) have been assessed using a set of combined techniques. The potential sources of disturbance in the area include chronic contamination of the fine sediments originating from the estuary, a local input from a long-sea sewage outfall and occasional high runoff episodes following torrential rain. The Sediment Quality Triad approach, combining environmental chemistry (namely organic contaminants), macrofaunal benthic communities and laboratory sediment toxicity assays, was performed on sediment samples from 20 sites. The samples were collected before the outfall commenced operation and four years after commissioning, in order to evaluate the relative magnitudes of the three potential sources of disturbance. The sediment contamination created by the estuary was identified as the most important cause of reduced sediment quality, as disturbance in all three components of the Sediment Quality Triad were only found in a site located near the estuary.     

Physical modelling of sand injectites

Sand injectites are structures that result from intrusion of fluidized sand into fractures. We have studied them in the Tampen Spur area of the North Sea, and have reproduced them experimentally, by driving compressed air through layers of sand, glass microspheres, and silica powder. The silica powder was cohesive and capable of hydraulic fracturing, whereas the sand and glass microspheres were almost non-cohesive and therefore able to fluidize. The models were dynamically similar to their natural counterparts, for as long as equilibrium was static. When the processes became dynamic, so that inertial forces were significant, the scaling was approximate and the corresponding Reynolds numbers differed. The experimental apparatus was a square box, 1 m × 1 m wide, resting on a grid of fluid diffusers. During the experiments, the fluid pressure increased, until it attained and surpassed the weight of overburden. Flat-lying hydraulic fractures, containing air, formed within cohesive and least permeable layers. Heterogeneities in material properties and layer thicknesses were responsible for localizing fracture networks. When any one network broke through to the surface, rapid flow of air through the fractures fluidized the underlying mobile materials and even depleted some of the layers. Some of the fluidized material extruded at the surface through vents, forming volcanoes and sheets. The remainder lodged at depth, forming sand injectites or laccoliths. Conical sand injectites formed preferentially, where layers had high resistance to bending. Laccoliths formed nearer the surface, where overlying layers had low resistance to bending. The experimental sand injectites were broadly similar to those in the Tampen Spur area of the North Sea, as well as other areas.     

Influence of high-pressure processing on the structure and memory effect of synthetic layered double hydroxides

We investigate the structural evolution of synthetic layered double hydroxides (LDH) samples, processed at room temperature and high-pressure (up to 7.7 GPa) in a toroidal chamber with two pressure-transmitting media, lead and graphite, using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and N₂-adsorption isotherms techniques. The X-ray patterns of compacted samples show a decrease in the peak intensities. For both pressure-transmitting media, our samples revealed a reduction of the basal d-spacing for the (003) plane when processed at 7.7 GPa. The expected high-pressure-induced amorphization was not observed. Surprisingly, we find high-pressure processing to have a strong influence on the memory effect of the LDH, due essentially to the reduction of the surface area and pore closing. Even when immersed in water, our samples did not recover the LDH structure, when either calcined at 450°C and compacted at 7.7 GPa, or calcined at 700°C and immediately compacted at 2.5 and 7.7 GPa.     

Clay minerals from the sedimentary cover from the Northwest Iberian shelf

The Northern Iberian margin is a typical example of a continental margin subjected to seasonal highly energetic regime (waves and tides) and receiving inputs of continental sediments via riverine discharges. The principal goal of this study has been to use clay minerals as indicators of sedimentary dynamics in the open shelf system. The distributions of clay mineral in the top layer of the sedimentary cover are shown to be related to their continental sources, but also reflect the influences of winter storms and longshore currents in determining the pathways of sediment transport.The mineralogical composition of the material issuing from the rivers is very similar to the general mineralogical composition of the fine fractions of the seabed sediments. Those deposits that are directly influenced by riverine discharges have higher contents of kaolinite (>20%), whereas those that are not have higher contents of illite (>80%). The available data indicate no significant quantities of terrigenous particles are being discharged from the Spanish rias. Therefore, we conclude that physical processes are controlling the clay mineral distributions and that, despite contributions from the Minho River, the main source of fine detrital particles to the shelf region is the Douro River discharge. These particles settle on the middle shelf, below the 60 m isobath. During storm events these particles are re-suspended and advected northwards to the Galician shelf or into deeper domains. Thus the distributions of the clays indicate there is a net transport of fine sediments both northwards and off-shelf.     

Assessment of the influence of horizontal diaphragms on the seismic performance of vernacular buildings

The awareness and preservation of the vernacular heritage and traditional construction techniques and materials is crucial as a key element of cultural identity. However, vernacular architecture located in earthquake prone areas can show a particularly poor seismic performance because of inadequate construction practices resulting from economic restraints and lack of resources. The horizontal diaphragms are one of the key aspects influencing the seismic behavior of buildings because of their major role transmitting the seismic actions to the vertical resisting elements of the structure. This paper presents a numerical parametric study adopted to understand the seismic behavior and resisting mechanisms of vernacular buildings according to the type of horizontal diaphragm considered. Detailed finite element modeling and nonlinear static (pushover) analyses were used to perform the thorough parametric study aimed at the evaluation and quantification of the influence of the type of diaphragm in the seismic behavior of vernacular buildings. The reference models used for this study simulate representative rammed earth and stone masonry vernacular buildings commonly found in the South of Portugal. Therefore, this paper also contributes for a better insight of the structural behavior of vernacular earthen and stone masonry typologies under seismic loading.