shinyNORRRM: A Cross-Platform Software to Calculate the CIPW Norm

In this paper, a novelty-free software to assess an efficient CIPW Norm (± 0.006 wt.% in differences between input and output data) is presented. The package is available in the official repository for user-contributed R packages (CRAN: Comprehensive R Archive Network). The software is able to handle big data sets and considers minor and trace element compositions. The algorithm can calculate odd minerals in igneous rocks, such as cancrinite and calcite, adjust the Fe⁺³/Fe⁺² ratio in different standard approaches, and recalculate the compositions of the rocks in an anhydrous basis (100 ± 0.003 wt.% volatile-free adjusted). Furthermore, the package calculates several petrological parameters, and the graphical outputs are displayed following IUGS scheme standards. The prime aspect of shinyNORRRM is the symbiosis of native R functions with the R package’s shiny (Web Application Framework for R) to run the norm in a user-friendly interface. shinyNORRRM can be executed in any operating system and requires no previous programming knowledge, thus promising to be the universal computational program in this matter. The output data are printed in the standard comma-separated values (*.csv) format, which is highly compatible with general spreadsheet editors. In this work, the algorithm of our program is validated using already compiled whole-rock geochemical databases.

     

Generative Adversarial Network Applied to Ore Type Modeling in Complex Geological Environments

Mathematical Geosciences - In complex geological environments, the spatial domain characterization of different ore types has been one of the most important challenges in the assessment of mineral...     

Accelerated weathering of hydrophobized sands

Acta Geotechnica - Hydrophobized sands have been suggested as materials for hydraulic barriers in infrastructure. When placed at the interface ground–atmosphere, environmental factors such as...     

The Mineral Adsorption and The Application of a Metamorphic Felsic Rock as Aggregate in Asphalt Pavements

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - The aggregates consist approximately 85% of the total volume in asphalts pavements, and their properties influence directly their behavior. Therefore, it...     

Source constraints for the young basaltic rocks from the northernmost end of Cappadocian region,Turkey: Melting evidence from peridotite and pyroxenite source domains

Widespread magmatic activity developed in the Middle Miocene in the Cappadocian Region of Central Anatolia in Turkey. Despite several previous studies that focus on the geochemical features of the magmatic rocks, the source components and development of melting conditions are still a matter of debate.Recent basaltic rocks from Karaburna and Gül?ehir (1228 and 96 Ka, respectively, Dogan, 2011) are considered as a part of the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province, situated at the northernmost end of the Cappadocian Region. These lavas have similar large ion lithophile (LIL) (except Rb) and high field strength (HFS) element abundances, however, Karaburna samples are more enriched in HFS elements, and both of the rocks suites reflect HFS depletions relative to the OIB signature.Karaburna and Gül?ehir basalts have low Nb/La (0.45–0.5; 0.35–0.5), Nb/Th (2.75–4.61; 1.26–2.85) values, respectively, suggesting contributions from crustal sources, whereas Zr/Ba ratios of these samples range between 0.32–0.93 and 0.4–0.88 and imply that these rocks appear to be derived from asthenospheric sources. These incompatible element ratios can be attributed to either different geochemical processes, or are related to melting from different source component(s).The ambient mantle source of the Cappadocian region appears to be consistent with spinel peridotite, but this domain is not solely satisfactory to represent the melting conditions in the light of new elemental data. Values of Tb/Yb(N) and Zn/Fe provide new constraints suggesting the magmas were generated from the asthenosphere. Tb/Yb(N) ratio separates garnet – spinel transition Tb/Yb_(N) (>1.8) and Zn/Fe ratio displays separation between the peridotite-derived (Zn/Fe <12) and pyroxenite-derived (13?20) melts.A melting model based on REE ratios and Zn/Fe, Co/Fe, Tb/Yb(N) values indicates that basaltic rocks were not derived from a single source component (peridotite). Instead, those values suggest substantial melting contributions from a pyroxenite source domain, which has not been discussed as a source component in previous studies. Melts, from both of the source domains, with the result of asthenospheric upwelling linked to the downgoing Aegean and Cyprean slabs, are distinct from the alkaline character frequently observed as the final products of recent volcanic activity in the Cappadocian region and also explains the different trace element variations observed in such a small scale.     

Evaluation of the relative roles of global versus local sedimentary controls on Middle to Late Pleistocene formation of continental margin strata,Canterbury Basin,New Zealand

Determining the relative influence of eustasy versus local sedimentary processes on strata formation is a fundamental challenge in the study of continental margin stratigraphy. In this paper, the relative contribution of these factors on continental margin evolution during the Middle to Late Pleistocene is evaluated using samples from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 317. Core‐logging, biostratigraphy and quantitative X‐ray diffraction mineralogy are used to delineate continental shelf sedimentary systems. Major lithological unconformities bound stratigraphic sequences that contain recurring compositional patterns and that resemble other examples of Middle to Upper Pleistocene sequences. However, a preliminary chronology suggests that sequence boundary formation cannot be linked ‘one to one’ with eustatic cycles and therefore these sequences can contain multiple ca 100 ka eustatic cycles. Smaller amplitude, higher frequency transitions in sediment composition are interpreted as stratigraphic sequences driven by more rapid perturbations in the interplay of accommodation and sediment supply; their stratigraphy is variable in time and across the shelf, suggesting a strong influence of local sedimentary forcing in their formation. Changes in sediment composition after the Middle Pleistocene Transition indicate that sediment transfer from onshore sources in the glaciated Southern Alps to the middle‐shelf occurred over a single 100 ka glacio‐eustatic cycle, with an additional 100 ka lag before the mineralogical signal was preserved on the outer‐shelf. This phenomenon is coincident with rapid shelf progradation in this basin, suggesting a causal relation between across‐shelf sediment transport and margin progradation. This is one of very few studies that provide insights at the core scale into the processes driving continental margin evolution during the Middle to Late Pleistocene. This work shows that compositional changes in mud‐dominated successions can lead to a sequence stratigraphic interpretation and the identification of high‐frequency sequences, which may not be possible using a conventional stratigraphic approach.     

Nonparametric analysis of high wind speed data

In this paper, nonparametric curve estimation methods are applied to analyze time series of wind speeds, focusing on the extreme events exceeding a chosen threshold. Classical parametric statistical approaches in this context consist in fitting a generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) to the tail of the empirical cumulative distribution, using maximum likelihood or the method of the moments to estimate the parameters of this distribution. Additionally, confidence intervals are usually computed to assess the uncertainty of the estimates. Nonparametric methods to estimate directly some quantities of interest, such as the probability of exceedance, the quantiles or return levels, or the return periods, are proposed. Moreover, bootstrap techniques are used to develop pointwise and simultaneous confidence intervals for these functions. The proposed models are applied to wind speed data in the Gulf Coast of US, comparing the results with those using the GPD approach, by means of a split-sample test. Results show that nonparametric methods are competitive with respect to the standard GPD approximations. The study is completed generating synthetic data sets and comparing the behavior of the parametric and the nonparametric estimates in this framework.