Pre-Cenozoic intra-plate magmatism along the Central Andes (17–34°S): Composition of the mantle at an active margin

Sr–Nd–Pb isotope ratios of alkaline mafic intra-plate magmatism constrain the isotopic compositions of the lithospheric mantle along what is now the eastern foreland or back arc of the Cenozoic Central Andes (17–34°S). Most small-volume basanite volcanic rocks and alkaline intrusive rocks of Cretaceous (and rare Miocene) age were derived from a depleted lithospheric mantle source with rather uniform initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ( 0.5127–0.5128) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ( 0.7032–0.7040). The initial ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios are variable (18.5–19.7) at uniform ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios (15.60 ± 0.05). A variety of the Cretaceous depleted mantle source of the magmatic rocks shows elevated Sr isotope ratios up to 0.707 at constant high Nd isotope ratios. The variable Sr and Pb isotope ratios are probably due to radiogenic growth in a metasomatized lithospheric mantle, which represents the former sub-arc mantle beneath the early Palaeozoic active continental margin. Sr–Nd–Pb isotope signatures of a second mantle type reflected in the composition of Cretaceous (one late Palaeozoic age) intra-plate magmatic rocks (¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd  0.5123, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr  0.704, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb  17.5–18.5, and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb  15.45–15.50) are similar to the isotopic composition of old sub-continental lithospheric mantle of the Brazilian Shield.

Published Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of Mesozoic to Cenozoic arc-related magmatic rocks (18–40°S) represent the composition of the convective sub-arc mantle in the Central Andes and are similar to those of the Cretaceous (and rare Miocene) intra-plate magmatic rocks. The dominant convective and lithospheric mantle type beneath this old continental margin is depleted mantle, which is compositionally different from average MORB-type depleted mantle. The old sub-continental lithospheric mantle did not contribute to Mesozoic to Cenozoic arc magmatism.     

Predicting groundwater level of wells in the Diyala River Basin in eastern Iraq using artificial neural network

Al-Mansourieh zone is a part of Al-Khalis City within the province of Diyala and located in the Diyala River Basin in eastern Iraq with a total area about 830 km2.Groundwater is the main water source for agriculture in this zone.Random well drilling without geological and hydraulic information has led the most of these wells to dry up quickly.Therefore,it is necessary to estimate the levels of groundwater in wells through observed data.In this study,Alyuda NeroIntelligance 2.1 software was applied to predict the groundwater levels in 244 wells using sets of measured data.These data included the coordinates of wells(x,y),elevations,well depth,discharge and groundwater levels.Three ANN structures(5-3-3-1,5-10-10-1 and 5-11-11-1)were used to predict the groundwater levels and to acquire the best matching between the measured and ANN predicted values.The coefficient of correlation,coefficient determination(R2)and sum-square error(SSE)were used to evaluate the performance of the ANN models.According to the ANN results,the model with the three structures has a good predictability and proves more effective for determining groundwater level in wells.The best predictor was achieved in the structure 5-3-3-1,with R2 about 0.92,0.89,0.84 and 0.91 in training,validation,testing and all processes respectively.The minimum average error in the best predictor is achieved in validation and testing processes at about 0.130 and 0.171 respectively.On the other hand,the results indicated that the model has the potential to determine the appropriate places for drilling the wells to obtain the highest level of groundwater.     

Friedrichbeckeite, K (□0.5Na0.5)2 (Mg0.8Mn0.1Fe0.1)2 (Be0.6 Mg0.4)3 [Si12O30], a new milarite-type mineral from the Bellerberg volcano, Eifel area, Germany

Friedrichbeckeite is a new milarite-type mineral. It was found in a single silicate-rich xenolith from a quarry at the Bellerberg volcano near Ettringen, eastern Eifel volcanic area, Germany. It forms thin tabular crystals flattened on {0001}, with a maximum diameter of 0.6 mm and a maximum thickness of 0.1 mm. It is associated with quartz, tridymite, augite, sanidine, magnesiohornblende, enstatite, pyrope, fluorapatite, hematite, braunite and roedderite. Friedrichbeckeite is light yellow, with white to light cream streak and vitreous lustre. It is brittle with irregular fracture and no cleavage, Mohs hardness of 6, calculated density is 2.686 gcm^?3. Optically, it is uniaxial positive with n_ω = 1.552(2) and n_ε = 1.561(2) at 589.3 nm and a distinct pleochroism from yellow (//ω) to light blue (//ε). Electron microprobe analyses yielded (wt.%): Na₂O 2.73, K₂O 4.16, BeO 4.67, MgO 11.24, MnO 2.05, FeO 1.76, Al₂O₃ 0.15, SiO₂ 73.51, (Σ CaO, TiO₂ = 0.06) sum 100.33 (BeO determined by LA-ICP-MS). The empirical formula based on Si = 12 is K_0.87 Na_0.86 (Mg_1.57Mn_0.28Fe_0.24)_Σ2.09 (Be_1.83?Mg_1.17)_Σ3.00 [Si₁₂O₃₀], and the simplified formula can be given as K (□_0.5Na_0.5)₂ (Mg_0.8Mn_0.1Fe_0.1)₂ (Be_0.6?Mg_0.4)₃ [Si₁₂O₃₀]. Friedrichbeckeite is hexagonal, space-group P6/mcc, with a = 9.970(1), c = 14.130(3) Å, V = 1216.4(3) ų, and Z = 2. The strongest lines in the X-ray powder diffraction pattern are (d in Å / I _obs / hkl): 3.180 / 100 / 121, 2.885 / 70 / 114, 4.993 / 30 / 110, 4.081 / 30 / 112, 3.690 / 30 / 022. A single-crystal structure refinement (R1 = 3.62 %) confirmed that the structure is isotypic with milarite and related ^[12] C ^[9] B ₂ ^[6] A ₂ ^[4] T2₃ [^[4] T1₁₂O₃₀] compounds. The C-site is dominated by potassium, the B-site is almost half occupied by sodium, and the A-site is dominated by Mg. The site-scattering at the T2-site can be refined to a Be/(Be?+?Mg) value close to 0.61; the T1-site is occupied by Si. Micro-Raman spectroscopy reveals an increasing splitting of scattering bands around 550 cm^?1 for friedrichbeckeite. The mineral can be classified as an unbranched ring silicate or as a beryllo-magnesiosilicate. With respect to the end-member formula K (□0.5Na0.5)₂ Mg₂ Be₃ [Si₁₂O₃₀] friedrichbeckeite represents the Mg-dominant analogue of almarudite, milarite or oftedalite. The mineral and its paragenesis were formed during pyrometamorphic modifications of the silicate-rich xenoliths enclosed in Quaternary leucite-tephritic lava of the Bellerberg volcano. Holotype material of friedrichbeckeite has been deposited at the mineral collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Austria. The mineral is named friedrichbeckeite in honour of the Austrian mineralogist and petrographer Friedrich Johann Karl Becke (1855–1931).     

The Khan-Taishir ophiolitic complex of Western Mongolia,its petrology,origin and comparison with other ophiolitic complexes

The Khan-Taishir ophiolitic complex is situated within Early Caledonian structures of Western Mongolia. It consists (from below upward) of strongly differentiated ultramafics (dunites and harzburgites), pyroxenites and gabbro, sheeted dikes, pillow lavas and sediments, including in their uppermost part archaeocyatic limestones of Lower Cambrian age. Geological, petrochemical and geochemical data indicate that the ultramafics are turn off from the overlying ophiolitic sequence. Igneous rocks of the ophiolitic complex, except the ultramafics, were formed by two-stage differentiation of mantle magma of quartz-tholeiitic composition exhausted in potassium and titanium. Pyroxenites and gabbro with an anorthositic trend of differentiation were generated during the first stage, and sheeted dikes and pillow lavas with a quartz trend of differentiation were formed during the second one. Ophiolites of the Khan-Taishir complex petrochemically and geochemically differ strongly from mafic and ultramafic rocks of midoceanic ridges. Together with ophiolites of the Troodos complex (Cyprus) and Macquarie Island (eastern Indian Ocean) they constitute the special type of ophiolite peculiar rather to slip boundaries of lithosphere plates. The other type of ophiolite, including complexes like the Dzolen complex of south Mongolia, contains poorly differentiated ultramafics and does not contain sheeted dikes; while the igneous rocks are very similar to mafic and ultramafic rocks dredged from midoceanic and formed probably in midoceanic ridge environments as well.     

Removal of chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions using Lewatit FO36 nano ion exchange resin

The removal of the chromium (VI) ion from aqueous solutions with the Lewatit FO36 ion-exchange resin is described at different conditions. The effects of adsorbent dose, initial metal concentration, contact time and pH on the removal of chromium (VI) were investigated. The batch ion exchange process was relatively fast and it reached equilibrium after about 90 min of contact. The ion exchange process, which is pH dependent showed maximum removal of chromium (VI) in the pH range 5.0–8.0 for an initial chromium (VI) concentration of 0.5 mg/dm³. The equilibrium related to Lewatit FO36 ion- exchange capacity and the amounts of the ion exchange were obtained using the plots of the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. It was observed that the maximum ion exchange capacity of 0.29 mmol of chromium (VLVg for Lewatit FO36 was achieved at optimum pH value of 6.0. The ion exchange of chromium (VI) on this cation-exchange resin followed first-order reversible kinetics.     

夏季不同天气背景和灌溉条件下绿洲地表辐射和能量平衡特征

利用2005年"绿洲系统能量和水分循环过程"野外观测实验(JTEX)资料,分析了夏季不同天气背景下的金塔绿洲小气候特征、辐射和能量平衡特征的日变化规律.结果表明:不同天气和土壤湿度背景下的辐射和能量平衡特征有较大差异.观测中发现有较大的能量不平衡差额,晴天时的能量亏损大于阴天的.     

Andesite and dacite genesis via contrasting processes: the geology and geochemistry of El Valle Volcano,Panama

The easternmost stratovolcano along the Central American arc is El Valle volcano, Panama. Several andesitic and dacitic lava flows, which range in age 5–10 Ma, are termed the old group. After a long period of quiescence (approximately 3.4 Ma), volcanic activity resumed approximately 1.55 Ma with the emplacement of dacitic domes and the deposition of dacitic pyroclastic flows 0.9–0.2 Ma. These are referred to as the young group. All of the samples analyzed are calc-alkaline andesites and dacites. The mineralogy of the two groups is distinct; two pyroxenes occur in the old-group rocks but are commonly absent in the young group. In contrast, amphibole has been found only in the young-group samples. Several disequilibrium features have been observed in the minerals (e.g., oscillatory zoning within clinopyroxenes). These disequilibrium textures appear to be more prevalent among the old- as compared with the young-group samples and are most likely the result of magma-mixing, assimilation, and/or polybaric crystallization. Mass-balance fractionation models for major and trace elements were successful in relating samples from the old group but failed to show a relationship among the young-group rocks or between the old- and young-group volcanics. We believe that the old-group volcanics were derived through differentiation processes from basaltic magmas generated within the mantlewedge. The young group, however, does not appear to be related to more primitive magmas by differentiation. The young-group samples cannot be related by fractionation including realistic amounts of amphibole. Distinctive geochemical features of the young group, including La/Yb ratios〉15, Yb〈1, Sr/Y〉150, and Y〈6, suggest that these rocks were derived from the partial melting of the subducted lithosphere. These characteristics can be explained by the partial melting of a source with residual garnet and amphibole. Dacitic material with the geochemical characteristics of subducted-lithosphere melting is generated apparently only where relatively hot crust is subducted, based on recent work. The young dacite-genesis at El Valle volcano is related to the subduction of relatively hot lithosphere.     

山东济南下寒武统朱砂洞组软沉积变形中燧石的Sm-Nd年龄测定及其意义

在济南南部下寒武统朱砂洞组丁家庄段硅质白云岩中,发育地震引起的硅质触变脉、硅质触变沉陷构造和触变楔等软沉积变形构造。从同一地震触变沉陷构造中,采得一组灰黑色燧石样品。使用英国VG354同位素质谱仪和同位素质谱分析方法,测得每个样品的 ¹⁴⁷Sm/¹⁴⁴Nd 和 ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd 同位素值。采用Sm-Nd 等时线法,对燧石进行了测年。获得燧石的成岩年龄为530.8±6.1 Ma,由于软燧石(硅胶体)成岩至少经历了0.1 Ma的时间,所以,地震沉积事件发生在530.7±6.1 Ma,属早寒武世早期。由于测年结果与沧浪铺阶的下界年龄接近,山东朱砂洞组丁家庄段无化石且河南省标准地层剖面中的整个朱砂洞组属沧浪铺阶,这暗示济南地区朱砂洞组丁家庄段属沧浪铺阶。本次测年得到了鲁西地区第1个下寒武统的同位素年龄值,这对确定该地区早寒武世地震沉积事件发生的时间具有参考价值和意义,也为深入研究鲁西地区寒武纪地层提供了新资料。     

Bacterial genesis of calcium phosphates in human organism and nature

Comparison of natural marine (nodular and granular) carbonate-apatites and pathogenic mineral structures formed in human cardiac valves by methods of scanning electron and high-resolution transmission microscopy revealed common morphological features corresponding to the bacterial origin of calcium phosphates. These features may be considered typomorphic ones regardless of their formation environments (in vivo or in nature).     

Origin of Minette by Mixing of Lamproite and Dacite Magmas in Veliki Majdan, Serbia

Composite dykes consisting of leucominette and dacite as wellas discrete dykes and flows of minette and lamproite composition,occur in the Veliki Majdan area, western Serbia. This area ispart of the Serbian Tertiary magmatic province, which consistsof numerous small occurrences of ultrapotassic igneous rocks.The composite dykes have leucominette margins (up to 150 cmthick) enclosing a central part of dacite up to 100 m in width.Between these two lithologies, a decimetre-sized transitionzone may occur. Petrography, mineral chemistry and bulk-rockgeochemistry, including Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes, provide evidencethat the minettes and leucominettes formed by hybridizationbetween a felsic magma similar in composition to dacite anda mantle-derived lamproitic magma. The leucominettes and minettescontain all phenocryst types (biotite, plagioclase, quartz)present in the dacites, but in partly resorbed and reacted form.The mica displays a great diversity of resorption textures asa result of partial dissolution, incipient melting and phlogopitization,suggesting superheating of the felsic melt during hybridization;the mineral modes and mineral compositions of the leucominettesand minettes resemble those in the lamproites. A model for themodification of lamproite melt towards minette is presentedin which minette is formed by mixing of lamproite and <30%felsic magma. The lack of any significant correlation betweenPb isotopic ratios and some of the ‘mixing-indices’(SiO₂, Zr, Zr/Nb, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_i) recognized in the hybridizationmodel for the Veliki Majdan dykes may be a result of similarityof the Pb-isotopic signature in the two end-members. Highlyphlogopitized biotite xenocrysts in the minettes are ascribedto the retention of volatile components after magma mixing andcrystallization of a new generation of phlogopite from the hybridizedmagma. The magma-mixing model explains the reverse zoning andresorption features of phlogopite macrocrysts commonly recognizedin calcalkaline lamprophyres elsewhere. Therefore, this mixingmechanism may be globally applicable for the origin of minettesassociated with calcalkaline granitic plutonism in post-orogenicsettings. KEY WORDS: Serbia; lamproites; micas; phlogopitization; calcalkaline lamprophyres; superheating; magma mixing