The early Miocene (~25 Ma) volcanism in the northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge,enriched mantle source injection during rifting prior to the Shikoku backarc basin opening

The northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR), remnant conjugate arc of the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana (IBM) active arc, is dominated by basalt-andesite except for the Komahashi-Daini Seamount where acidic plutonic rocks of 38 Ma were recovered. These mafic to intermediate volcanics are produced by the rifting volcanism in the proto-IBM arc associated with spreading of the Shikoku Basin. The HFSE and HREE contents and ratios of these volcanics indicate enriched source mantle composition compared to recent volcanic front. The LILE ratios exhibit similar characteristics to reararc volcanism of the recent Izu arc, and some enriched volcanics exhibit high abundance of sediment melt inputs. Based on these observations and compilations of the published data set, the replacement event of the wedge mantle under the IBM arc occurred two times. The first event occurred between 45 and 38 Ma, with Pacific type mantle being replaced by depleted Indian type mantle. The second event occurred between 36 and 25 Ma, enriched mantle flowed from reararc side. The slab component during the proto-IBM arc rifting was a similar characteristic to recent reararc volcanism of the Izu arc, and sediment melt added in a local area.     

Citizens as sensors: the world of volunteered geography

In recent months there has been an explosion of interest in using the Web to create, assemble, and disseminate geographic information provided voluntarily by individuals. Sites such as Wikimapia and OpenStreetMap are empowering citizens to create a global patchwork of geographic information, while Google Earth and other virtual globes are encouraging volunteers to develop interesting applications using their own data. I review this phenomenon, and examine associated issues: what drives people to do this, how accurate are the results, will they threaten individual privacy, and how can they augment more conventional sources? I compare this new phenomenon to more traditional citizen science and the role of the amateur in geographic observation.     

Mineralogy and chemical composition of the clay fraction of Neogene shales from the Surma Group in the Bengal basin,Bangladesh

Mineralogical and chemical investigations (<2μm clay separates) of shale samples from the Neogene-age Surma Group obtained from four wells (Habiganj-11, Shahbazpur-1, Titas-11, Titas-15) in the Bengal basin, Bangladesh, were carried out in order to reveal the clay mineral composition as reservoir exploration and exploitation requires a good understanding of the clay minerals. The samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-Ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). Mineralogically, the sub-surface Surma Group shales comprise predominantly quartz, plagioclase, illite, chlorite, kaolinite, with lesser amounts of K-feldspar, dolomite and smectite, and minor to trace amounts of calcite, siderite and pyrite. The chemical composition of the <2 μm clay separates also suggests an illite and chlorite-rich composition. With increasing burial depth, the Surma Group shales are enriched in illite. The gradual decreasing of the smectite clays with depth and ultimate disappearance at greater depths (≥ 3000 m) may have been responsible for the presence of the diagenetic illite. Based on the mineralogical composition it is most likely that the illite-chlorite associations together with quartz and feldspar were predominantly detrital in origin and thus reflect the presence of a rapidly-rising source terrain not subjected to intense weathering.     

Development of Tide–Surge Interaction Model for the Coastal Region of Bangladesh

In this paper, a two-dimensional, vertically integrated hydrodynamic model is developed taking into account entrained air bubbles during storm surges as well as incorporating inverted barometer, and river and land dynamics. The model is specifically designed for the coastal region of Bangladesh. A nested scheme method with a fine mesh scheme (FMS), capable of incorporating the complex coastline and all major offshore islands accurately, nested into a coarse mesh scheme (CMS) covering up to 15° N latitude in the Bay of Bengal is used. To incorporate the small and big offshore islands in the Meghna estuarine region with its complex coastline accurately, a very fine mesh scheme (VFMS) is again nested into the FMS. Along the northeast corner of the VFMS, the Meghna river discharge is taken into account. The coastal and island boundaries are approximated through proper stair steps. The model equations are solved by a semi-implicit finite difference technique using a staggered C-grid. A stable appropriate tidal condition over the model domain is generated by applying tidal forcing with the four major tidal constituents M ₂, S ₂, K ₁, and O ₁ along the southern open boundary of the CMS. This tidal regime is introduced as the initial state of the sea for nonlinear interaction of tide and surge. The model is applied to simulate water levels due to the interaction of tide and surge associated with the cyclones April 1991 and Aila at different coastal and island locations along the coast of Bangladesh. The results are found to be quite satisfactory with root mean square error of ～0.50 m as calculated for both the storm events. Tests of sensitivities on water levels are carried out for air bubbles, offshore islands, river discharge, inverse barometer, and grid resolution. The presence of air bubbles increases simulated water levels a little bit in our model, and the contribution of air bubbles in increasing water level is found around 2 %. Further, water levels are found to be influenced by offshore islands, river discharge, inverse barometer as well as grid resolution.     

The study of metal contamination in urban topsoils of Mexico City using GIS

This research presents and discusses information concerning the spatial distribution of heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, Ba, Co, Cr, Ni and V) in the urban environments of Mexico City using geographical information system and statistical analysis. Superficial soil samples (n = 146) were analyzed. The highest contamination indices were found in the north and center zone of the metropolitan area. In contrast, the surrounding rural fields show a lower impact grade. The higher concentrations of Pb, Cu, Zn and Ba were observed as being related to high vehicular traffic, nevertheless other elements such as Co, Cr, Ni and V do not show anthropogenic influence and their content can be attributed to the parental rock. The results are compared with previous surveys carried out in 2003 in order to evaluate temporal deposition trends. No changes were found on reported concentrations except for Cu and Zn, whose concentration has increased in later years. The results suggest that spatial distribution analysis and results in comparison with previous studies could be useful for the management and sustainable development of the metropolitan area of Mexico City.     

The formation of porphyry copper deposits

Copper is a moderately incompatible chalcophile element. Its behavior is strongly controlled by sulfides. The speciation of sulfur is controlled by oxygen fugacity. Therefore, porphyry Cu deposits are usually oxidized (with oxygen fugacities > ΔFMQ +2) (Mungall 2002; Sun et al. 2015). The problem is that while most of the magmas at convergent margins are highly oxidized, porphyry Cu deposits are very rare, suggesting that high oxygen fugacity alone is not sufficient. Partial melting of mantle peridotite even at very high oxygen fugacities forms arc magmas with initial Cu contents too low to form porphyry Cu deposits directly (Lee et al. 2012; Wilkinson 2013). Here we show that partial melting of subducted young oceanic slabs at high oxygen fugacity (>ΔFMQ +2) may form magmas with initial Cu contents up to >500 ppm, favorable for porphyry mineralization. Pre-enrichment of Cu through sulfide saturation and accumulation is not necessarily beneficial to porphyry Cu mineralization. In contrast, re-melting of porphyritic hydrothermal sulfide associated with iron oxides may have major contributions to porphyry deposits. Thick overriding continental crust reduces the “leakage” of hydrothermal fluids, thereby promoting porphyry mineralization. Nevertheless, it is also more difficult for ore forming fluids to penetrate the thick continental crust to reach the depths of 2–4 km where porphyry deposits form.     

Contamination and distribution of heavy metals in urban and suburban soils in Zhangzhou City,Fujian, China

The urban environment is of growing concern as its continued population increase in China. Due to the urbanization and industrialization, heavy metals have been continuously discharged into the soil recently, and creating the anthropogenic contamination. This study investigated heavy metals contamination in urban and suburban soils in Zhangzhou City, Fujian, China. Multivariate analysis and geographical information system technology were employed in source identification and contamination assessment of heavy metals in the city soils. The survey results indicated that the urban soils were contaminated by heavy metals, especially by Hg, Cd and Pb. The multivariate analysis demonstrated that the distribution of Cu, Zn, Cr and Ni was controlled by pedogenesis, Cd and Pb had been disturbed by industrialization in some urban locations, and Hg was mainly influenced by the hot-spring in some urban park sites. The distribution of heavy metals and soil pollution index suggested the soils of Zhangzhou City have been affected by human activities.     

Raman spectra of methane hydrate up to 86 GPa

High-pressure Raman studies of methane hydrate were performed using a diamond anvil cell in the pressure range of 0.1–86 GPa at room temperature. Raman spectra of the methane molecules revealed that new softened intramolecular vibration mode of ν ₁ appeared at 17 GPa and that the splitting of vibration mode of ν ₃ occurred at 15 GPa. The appearance of these two modes indicates that an intermolecular attractive interaction increases between the methane molecules and the host water molecules and between the neighboring methane molecules. These interactions might result in the exceptional stability of a high-pressure structure, a filled ice Ih structure (FIIhS) for methane hydrate, up to 40 GPa. At 40 GPa, a clear change in the slope of the Raman shift versus pressure occurred, and above 40 GPa the Raman shift of the vibration modes increased monotonously up to 86 GPa. A previous XRD study showed that the FIIhS transformed into another new high-pressure structure at 40 GPa. The change in the Raman spectra at 40 GPa may be induced by the transition of the structure.     

Hydrogeology and sustainable future groundwater abstraction from the Agua Verde aquifer in the Atacama Desert,northern Chile

The hyper-arid conditions prevailing in Agua Verde aquifer in northern Chile make this system the most important water source for nearby towns and mining industries. Due to the growing demand for water in this region, recharge is investigated along with the impact of intense pumping activity in this aquifer. A conceptual model of the hydrogeological system is developed and implemented into a two-dimensional groundwater-flow numerical model. To assess the impact of climate change and groundwater extraction, several scenarios are simulated considering variations in both aquifer recharge and withdrawals. The estimated average groundwater lateral recharge from Precordillera (pre-mountain range) is about 4,482 m³/day. The scenarios that consider an increase of water withdrawal show a non-sustainable groundwater consumption leading to an over-exploitation of the resource, because the outflows surpasses inflows, causing storage depletion. The greater the depletion, the larger the impact of recharge reduction caused by the considered future climate change. This result indicates that the combined effects of such factors may have a severe impact on groundwater availability as found in other groundwater-dependent regions located in arid environments. Furthermore, the scenarios that consider a reduction of the extraction flow rate show that it may be possible to partially alleviate the damage already caused to the aquifer by the continuous extractions since 1974, and it can partially counteract climate change impacts on future groundwater availability caused by a decrease in precipitation (and so in recharge), if the desalination plant in Taltal increases its capacity.