Evaluation of Strength Characteristics of Tropical Black Clay Treated with Locust Bean Waste Ash

An expansive tropical black clay (also known as black cotton soil because the cotton plant thrives well on it) was treated with up to 15 % locust bean waste ash (LBWA) to assess its soil improvement potential. Samples were subjected to index, compaction using three energy levels (British Standard light, BSL, West African Standard, WAS or ‘Intermediate’ and British Standard heavy, BSH), shear strength (unconfined compressive strength, UCS), California bearing ratio, CBR and durability tests. Results obtained show that the natural soil is not suitable for road construction. The maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) decreased and increased, respectively. Regardless of the compactive effort and curing period, strength and durability properties increased with higher LBWA content with the BSL effort recording the best improvement. However, based on durability results, the optimal 12.5 % LBWA treatment of black cotton soil did not satisfy criteria for its use in road construction as a stand alone additive. Also, significant improvement in soil properties was obtained using the BSL compactive effort, which is easily achieved in the field. The benefits of the application include reduction in the cost of soil improvement and the adverse environmental impact of locust bean waste.     

Recognition of the early permian volcanic rocks and Its geological significance in chifeng region of inner Mongolia北大核心CSCD

In order to investigate the geological significance of the large area of volcanics in the Uplift bell of Mingshan in western Chifeng,When carrying out the I :5 million regional mineral geological survey in the area,Through the research work of field geology investigation, petrology, LA-1CP-MS zircon U-Pb isotopic dating and regional stratigraphic correlation and so on.Found that the volcano rocks in the area is different from the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks. And the obvious green alteration phenomenon was developed : The dating results of the Hornblende andesite in the lower parts is 273. 6±2. 2 Ma,it should belong to the Permian Elitu formation^ The Volcanics in the area belong to Calc-Alkaline-high-k calc-Alkaline series volcanic rocks. And volcanic magma experienced the separation and crystallization of minerals, it was the product of the continuous evolution of cognate magma, having the Characteristics that from bottom to top Intermediate-Mafic to Acidic magmatic evolution and the REE content increased gradually 0 Studies suggest that the Formation of volcanic rocks in the area is related to the ancient Asian Ocean to the North China block subduction in the Late Paleozoic period . It should be formed in the Archean to Proterozoic crystalline basement and late devonian magma Kemelting eruption, the tectonic environment formation of the volcanics in this area was andreessen arcc.     

The fluid phase evolution during the formation of carbonatite of the Guli massif: Evidence from the isotope (C,N, Ar) data

The first data on variations of the isotope composition and element ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and argon in carbonatites of different generations and ultrabasic rocks of the Guli massif obtained by the method of step crushing are reported. It is shown that early carbonatite differs significantly from the later ones by the concentration of highly volatile components, as well as by the isotope compositions of carbon (CO₂), argon, and hydrogen (H₂O). The data obtained allow us to conclude that the mantle component predominated in the fluid at the early stages of formation of rocks of the Guli massif, whereas the late stages of carbonatite formation were characterized by an additional fluid source, which introduced atmospheric argon, and most likely a high portion of carbon dioxide with isotopically heavy carbon.     

First results of U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from the Upper Ordovician sandstones of the Bashkir uplift (Southern Urals)

The first results of U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from Upper Ordovician sandstones of the Bashkir uplift in the Southern Urals and U–Pb isotopic ages available for detrital zircons from six stratigraphic levels of the Riphean–Paleozoic section of this region are discussed. It is established that the long (approximately 1.5 Ga) depositional history of sedimentary sequences of the Bashkir uplift includes a peculiar period lasting from the Late Vendian to the Emsian Age of the Early Devonian (0.55–0.41 Ga). This period is characterized by the following features: (1) prevalence of material from eroded Mesoproterozoic and Early Neoproterozoic crystalline complexes among clastics with ages atypical of the Volga–Urals segment of the East European Platform basement; (2) similarity of age spectra obtained for detrital zircons from different rocks of the period: Upper Vendian–Lower Cambrian lithic sandstones and Middle Ordovician substantially quartzose sandstones.     

Silurian U–Pb zircon age (LA-ICP-MS) of granitoids from the Zelenodol Cu–porphyry deposit,Southern Urals

The Zelenodol porphyry Cu-(Au, Mo) deposit located about 65 km SSW of the city of Chelyabinsk is confined to the western part of the West Uralian Volcanogenic Megazone. The concordant U-Pb age of zircons from ore-bearing island-arc diorite porphyryis 418.3 Â ± 2.9 Ma.     

Reconstruction of Holocene paleohydrological and sedimentological characteristics of Umm Ar-Rimam basin (northern Kuwait)

The paleohydrological and sedimentological characteristics of a playa lake in northern Kuwait (Arabian Gulf) are reconstructed using sedimentological, geochemical, and isotopic techniques. The sequence consists of up to 8 cycles of S-poor, alluvial sediments capped by a thin organic soil interbedded with gravity-fall calcrete sediments. The succession is locally derived from mainly Quaternary sediments and is regressive with upsection filling of the subsiding basin by cycles of sheetwash flow in response to climatic change. There is no natural, open-water lake water as indicated by low total organic carbon (TOC) data, but the presence of incised calcrete yardangs suggests that more extensive open-water conditions were operative in the past. Stable isotope (δ¹⁸O‰ and δ¹³C‰) values of the authigenic carbonates indicate the following three distinct processes: evaporation, meteoric fluid infiltration, and rapid per-descensum flow (rapid downward movement of water and playa sediment through pipes) through a porous, clastic sequence. Because evaporites are scarce, other factors besides evaporation action control chemical and isotopic compositions of the per-decensum lake fluids. Consequently, the isotopic composition cannot be interpreted exclusively as an indicator of salinity or evaporation ratio. The degassing of CO₂ during groundwater discharge may explain the enriched carbon isotope values for the authigenic carbonates precipitated in the sediments. Hydrologically closed lake water bodies tend to show low negative carbonate oxygen and carbon isotopic signatures. Isotopically negative δ¹³C values imply a strong input of soil-zone carbon to the groundwater of the top 60 cm of the sediment. Lakes that are hydrologically closed and evaporate or equilibrate with atmospheric CO₂ will tend to have low negative δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values in the carbonates as reported by Talbot (Chem Geol: Isotope Geosci Sect 80(4):261–279, 1990). Biologically active lakes will tend toward lower δ¹³C of dissolved carbon due to the photosynthetic effects of ¹²C withdrawal as reported by Dunagan and Driese (J Sed Res 69:772–783, 1999). Increased biological activity during sedimentation may account for low carbon isotope values where plants were abundant, but in shrinkage-dominated systems (those of clay-rich soil subjecting to wet-dry conditions), carbon isotopes will be largely inherited from the calcretic limestones in the land extending landward of the coast and not influenced by coastal processes (known as hinterland), such as Umm Ar-Rimam depression. This basin does not fit the classic shallow playa-type basins of the Arabian Peninsula but rather the recharge playas of the southwestern USA.     

Groundwater pricing for farms and water user association sustainability

Tunisia has invested heavily in irrigation schemes to secure water supply. The management of irrigation systems has been denied to local water user associations (WUA). These WUAs are assimilated to a natural monopoly. They sell water to farmers at the unit operational cost (marginal production cost). Such a price does not allow for budgetary balance, which leads to a chronic deficit of these WUA. It also does not reflect the scarcity of the resource, a situation that contributed to irrigated area expansion, an increase in the agricultural water demand, and misallocation of the resource. Low cost recovery results in poor maintenance, infrastructure deterioration, and water distribution inefficiency. The purpose of this paper is two folds: (i) to propose an alternative price scheme which ensures cost recovery and water use efficiency and (ii) to examine the impact of this new price on the farms’ surplus. To achieve this goal, we assumed that irrigation’s water price increase will be necessary. A field survey of 75 farmers in the center of Tunisia was conducted to estimate the irrigation water demand function. We also used the data collected on 36 WUAs in the region to estimate the irrigation water production cost function using the OLS method for both demand and cost functions, and the peak and the non-peak irrigated demand functions (i.e., summer and winter). The methodology consisted of maximizing social surplus to derive optimal prices for both seasons. The main results show that an increase in price in the range of 11 to 15 % in the winter and 50 to 75 % in the summer results in 11 % decrease of the annual quantity consumed and in a 2 % increase in the social surplus.