Evaluation of dose parameters and radiological hazards in gravel samples of Konyaaltı Beach,Antalya

It is important to know the distribution and transfer of radionuclides such as uranium, thorium, and potassium, which exist naturally in the environment we live in. For this reason, measurements of these natural radionuclides have been carried out for 15 gravel samples collected from Konyaalt? Beach, Antalya. In order to measure the natural activity concentrations of potassium-40, uranium-238, and thorium-232 radionuclides, we performed the measurements by applying a gamma spectrometry method with a “3?×?3” NaI(Tl) detector, which is a multichannel analytical detector in the Suleyman Demirel University gamma spectrometry laboratory. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the ²²⁶Ra activity concentration were measured as 19.74 Bq/kg, 37.03 Bq/kg, and 31.64 Bq/kg, respectively. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the ²³²Th activity concentration were measured as 12.76 Bq/kg, 34.32 Bq/kg, and 26.67 Bq/kg, respectively. The minimum, maximum, and mean values for the ⁴⁰K activity concentration were measured as 196.37 Bq/kg, 421.13 Bq/kg, and 350.42 Bq/kg, respectively. Dose parameters and radiation damage indices were calculated using experimentally measured activity results and the resulting dose and hazard index values were compared with the determined limit values. It can be concluded that no risk may threat in terms of the hazard index values. In addition, all results obtained in terms of calculated dose values except for annual gonadal dose are below the recommended limit values.     

Phase-equilibrium geobarometers for silicic rocks based on rhyolite-MELTS. Part 2: application to Taupo Volcanic Zone rhyolites

Constraining the pressure of crystallisation of large silicic magma bodies gives important insight into the depth and vertical extent of magmatic plumbing systems; however, it is notably difficult to constrain pressure at the level of detail necessary to understand shallow magmatic systems. In this study, we use the recently developed rhyolite-MELTS geobarometer to constrain the crystallisation pressures of rhyolites from the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ). As sanidine is absent from the studied deposits, we calculate the pressures at which quartz and feldspar are found to be in equilibrium with melt now preserved as glass (the quartz +1 feldspar constraint of Gualda and Ghiorso, Contrib Mineral Petrol 168:1033. doi: 10.1007/s00410-014-1033-3. 2014). We use glass compositions (matrix glass and melt inclusions) from seven eruptive deposits dated between ~320 and 0.7 ka from four distinct calderas in the central TVZ, and we discuss advantages and limitations of the rhyolite-MELTS geobarometer in comparison with other geobarometers applied to the same eruptive deposits. Overall, there is good agreement with other pressure estimates from the literature (amphibole geobarometry and H₂O–CO₂ solubility models). One of the main advantages of this new geobarometer is that it can be applied to both matrix glass and melt inclusions—regardless of volatile saturation. The examples presented also emphasise the utility of this method to filter out spurious glass compositions. Pressure estimates obtained with the new rhyolite-MELTS geobarometer range between ~250 to ~50 MPa, with a large majority at ~100 MPa. These results confirm that the TVZ hosts some of the shallowest rhyolitic magma bodies on the planet, resulting from the extensional tectonic regime and thinning of the crust. Distinct populations with different equilibration pressures are also recognised, which is consistent with the idea that multiple batches of eruptible magma can be present in the crust at the same time and can be tapped simultaneously by large eruptive events.     

Data generation for shear modulus and damping ratio in reinforced sands using adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

Neuro-fuzzy inference systems have been used in many areas in civil engineering applications. This study was conducted to estimate low strain dynamic properties of composite media from easily measurable physical properties using the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS). The inference system was employed to predict the shear modulus and the damping coefficient of the sand samples as an alternative to lengthy laboratory testing. ANFIS was trained using low strain dynamic test results of samples of sand reinforced with particulate rubber inclusions from a resonant column device. The training was performed with an improved hybrid method, which was found to deliver better results than classical back-propagation method such as multi-layer perceptron (MLP) and multiple regression analysis method (MRM). Using the new approach, the optimal precise value of a parameter could be estimated within the constraints of the experimental design. The ANFIS model has appeared very effective in modeling complex soil properties such as shear modulus and damping coefficient, and performs better than MLP and MRM.     

Modelling of fluid expulsion and deformation behaviour of dewatering sediments

A finite element model is developed for modelling coupled fluid expulsion/deformation behaviour of dewatering sediments subjected to external loadings under isothermal conditions. The non-linear deformation behaviour of the sediment (soil) skeleton is based on the force equilibrium equation in which the constitutive relationship of stress and strain is implemented by the modified Cam-Clay model in soil plasticity. The fluid flow behaviour in the model is described by the generalized porous media flow equation. The model allows temporal and spatial variations of porosity and permeability. The fluid viscosity and density are assumed to be temperature-dependent. The model also allows the development of single and multiple faults, depending upon the material (sediment and fluid) properties, loading and boundary conditions. Procedures are implemented for (1) updating the material properties such as porosity, permeability, fluid density and viscosity and (2) the development of faults which allow the formation of high-permeability conduits for fluid flow. The solution algorithm for displacements of the sediments and the excess pore (fluid) pressure is based on a residual load technique to handle the non-linear (elastic-plastic) deformation behaviour of the sediment skeleton. The model can be applied to one- and two-dimensional problems. Examples of a plane strain saturated sediment layer subjected to stepwise horizontal tractions versus time are given.     

An extensional and transtensional origin of elongated magmatic domes and localised transfer faults in the northern Menderes metamorphic core complex,western Turkey

The northern Menderes metamorphic core complex has complex exhumation history and is one of the key localities to investigate the spatial and temporal relationships of extensional and compressional structures. Detachment faults and syn-extensional plutons are linked to a series of antiforms and synforms and the denudation of the northern Menderes Massif occurred in three stages. The first stage is related to the development of detachment faults under the consistent NE–SW-directed extension. The second stage is represented by a series of elongated magmatic domes that were oriented parallel, oblique and perpendicular to the regional extension direction. Emplacement of these asymmetrical magmatic domes appears to have been controlled by heterogeneous extension and post-dates the extensional Simav detachment fault. On the third stage, progressive heterogeneous extension that led to updoming of plutons has been finally accommodated by a localised and short-lived transfer zone, which was described as the Gerni shear zone for the first time in this study. The transfer zone is formed by a NE-striking, dextral ductile/brittle shear zone that accommodated the propagation of folds, conjugated strike-slip faults and normal- and oblique-slip faults. Mylonites associated with the transfer zone are related to the localisation of strain along the thermally weakened strike-slip fault systems by short-lived intrusions rather than to the development of regional-scale detachment faults. These structures are consistent with a transtensional simple shear model, which properly explains the evolution of extensional and compressional structures exposed in the northern Menderes core complex. Structural setting of the E?rigöz region is somewhat similar to that of the NE-trending gneiss domes in the northern Menderes Massif and updoming of magma during late stages of detachment faulting appears to have played an important role in the exhumation of lower and upper plate rocks.