Trace Element Levels in the Groundwater of Mediterranean Coastal Plains – The Case of Silifke,Turkey

The Silifke plain is located near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Turkey. The delta in the plain is a highly fertile land that supports the agriculture of more than twenty types of crop. Some trace element content of the groundwater samples taken from the existing wells in this area are analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP‐OES). The mean levels (ppm) of boron (B), barium (Ba), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), total chromium (TCr), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), and nickel (Ni) were obtained for the sampling points in the area for four seasons. Groundwater samples taken in the study area don't exhibit significantly elevated levels of these elements during a period of twelve months between December 2007 and November 2008. Furthermore, all of the elements exhibit values lower than 0.005 ppm, with the exception of B, Ba, and Fe. The results demonstrate that although these three elements produce the highest values, most are found to be appropriate for activities such as irrigation and human consumption in terms of trace elements.     

Impulsive and Varying Injection in Gamma-Ray Burst Afterglows

The standard model of gamma-ray burst afterglows is based on synchrotron radiation from a blast wave produced when the relativistic ejecta encounters the surrounding medium. We reanalyze the refreshed shock scenario, in which slower material catches up with the decelerating ejecta and reenergizes it. This energization can be done either continuously or in discrete episodes. We show that such a scenario has two important implications. First, there is an additional component coming from the reverse shock that goes into the energizing ejecta. This persists for as long as the reenergization itself, which could extend for up to days or longer. We find that during this time the overall spectral peak is found at the characteristic frequency of the reverse shock. Second, if the injection is continuous, the dynamics will be different from that in constant energy evolution and will cause a slower decline of the observed fluxes. A simple test of the continuously refreshed scenario is that it predicts a spectral maximum in the far-infrared or millimeter range after a few days.     

Petrological and geochemical evolution of the Kymi stock, a topaz granite cupola within the Wiborg rapakivi batholith, Finland

The 6×3 km Kymi monzogranite stock represents the apical part of an epizonal late-stage pluton that was emplaced within the 1.65 to 1.63 Ga Wiborg rapakivi batholith. The stock has a well-developed zonal structure, from the rim to the center: stockscheider pegmatite, equigranular topaz granite, porphyritic topaz granite. The contact between the two granites is usually gradational within a few centimeters, but local inclusions of the porphyritic granite in the equigranular granite indicate that the latter solidified later. Hydrothermal greisen and quartz veins, some of which contain genthelvite, beryl, wolframite, cassiterite, and sulfides, cut the granites of the stock and the surrounding country rocks. The equigranular granite contains 1 to 4 vol.% topaz, and its biotite is lithian siderophyllite; the porphyritic granite has 0 to 3 vol.% topaz, and the mica is siderophyllite. The equigranular granite is geochemically highly evolved with elevated Li, Rb, Ga, Ta, and F, and very low Ba, Sr, Ti, and Zr. The REE patterns show deep negative Eu anomalies and tetrad effects indicating extreme magmatic fractionation and aqueous fluid–rock interaction. The zonal structure of the stock is interpreted as a result of differentiation within the magma chamber. Internal convection in the crystallizing magma chamber and upward flow of residual melt as a boundary layer along sloping contacts resulted in accumulation of a layer of highly evolved, volatile-rich magma in the apical part of the chamber. Crystallization of this apical magma produced the stockscheider pegmatite and the equigranular granite; the underlying crystal mush solidified as the porphyritic granite. Much of the crystallization took place from volatile-saturated melt, and episodic voluminous degassing expelled fluids into opened fractures where they or their derivatives reacted with country rocks and caused alteration and mineralization.     

Mouvements actuels des blocs tectoniques dans l’arc Bético-Rifain à partir des mesures GPS entre 1999 et 2005

GPS velocities and seismicity across the Betic–Rif Arc structural domains (Morocco and Iberia) provide a basis to evaluate present-day seismotectonic processes between different deformation belts. The results show asymmetric movements in the complex Alboran system accommodating the convergence between the African (Nubian) and Eurasian plates. While the Betic Mountains are attached to Iberia, moving toward the southeast with respect to Africa, the Rif is divided into three blocks with distinct displacements relative to Nubia: (1) the Tangier block moving southeastward, (2) the Central Rif block moving SSW, and (3) the Oriental Rif block undergoing clockwise rotation. GPS-derived motions decrease in rate from the Rif nappes complex to the foreland.     

Chemical and genetic characterization of the ungrouped pallasite Lieksa

The meteorite Lieksa was found in 2017 in Löpönvaara, Finland, and later donated to the Finnish Museum of Natural History. Here, we report siderophile element concentrations, genetic isotopic data, and a metal–silicate segregation age for the meteorite. The ~280 g Lieksa is ~80% metal and ~20% silicate and oxide inclusions by volume, with the inclusions consisting primarily of Fe-rich olivine. Due to Lieksa's silicate content, coupled with a texture characterized by metal enclosing the silicates, it has been classified as a pallasite. Lieksa's olivine and bulk chemical characteristics are distinct from those of the known pallasite and iron meteorite groups, consistent with its classification as ungrouped. The meteorite exhibits a flat, chondrite-normalized highly siderophile element pattern, consistent with an origin as an early crystallization product from a metallic melt with chondritic relative abundances. Molybdenum, Ru, and ¹⁸³W isotopic data indicate that Lieksa formed in the non-carbonaceous (NC) domain of the solar nebula. Radiogenic ¹⁸²W abundances for Lieksa yield a model metal–silicate segregation age of 1.5 ± 0.8 Myr after calcium-aluminum-rich inclusion formation, which is within the range established for other NC-type pallasite and iron meteorite parent bodies.