An opportunity to connect the morphodynamics of alternate bars with their sedimentary products

Field investigations that help clarify local sedimentary processes involved in the migration of alternate bars as a consequence of flood events are lacking. A simple approach combining scour chains, stratigraphy and frequent bathymetric surveys is proposed to connect the dynamics of free migrating alternate bars present in disconnected channels of large sandy‐gravelly rivers with their sedimentary products and vice versa. The results show that the spatial distribution of bars before a flood partly governs the scour and fill processes and that the sediment transport rates vary significantly on a single cross‐section. This can be due to preferential axes of the migration of the bars determined by their location on the cross‐section, the bank direction and the discharge. The approach allows the reconstruction of local sedimentary processes involved in alternate bar migration by combining maximum scour depths reached during a flood with frequent channel bed topography surveys and post‐flood stratigraphy. It is also possible to distinguish deposited and preserved sediments compared with sediments by‐passed during the flood. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In situ record of sedimentary processes near the Rhône River mouth during winter events (Gulf of Lions,Mediterranean Sea)

The environment is impacted by natural and anthropogenic disturbances that occur at different spatial and temporal scales, and that lead to major changes and even disequilibria when exceeding the resiliency capacities of the ecosystem. With an annual mean flow of 1700 m³ s⁻¹, the Rhône River is the largest of the western Mediterranean basin. Its annual solid discharges vary between 2 and 20 Mt, with flood events responsible for more than 70% of these amounts.     

Trace element distribution in peridotite xenoliths from Tok, SE Siberian craton: A record of pervasive, multi-stage metasomatism in shallow refractory mantle

Spinel peridotite xenoliths in alkali basalts at Tok, SE Siberian craton range from fertile lherzolites to harzburgites and wehrlites; olivine-rich (70-84%) rocks are dominant. REE patterns in the lherzolites range from nearly flat for fertile rocks (14-17% cpx) to LREE-enriched; the enrichments are positively correlated with modal olivine, consistent with high-permeability of olivine-rich rocks during melt percolation. Clinopyroxene in olivine-rich Tok peridotites typically has convex-upward trace element patterns (La/Nd_PM < 1 and Nd/Yb_PM ? 1), which we consider as evidence for equilibration with evolved silicate liquids (with higher REE and lower Ti contents than in host basalts). Whole-rock patterns of the olivine-rich xenoliths range from convex-upward to LREE-enriched (La/Nd_PM > 1); the LREE-enrichments are positively correlated with phosphorus abundances and are mainly hosted by accessory phosphates and P-rich cryptocrystalline materials. In addition to apatite, some Tok xenoliths contain whitlockite (an anhydrous, halogen-poor and Na-Mg-rich phosphate), which is common in meteorites and lunar rocks, but has not been reported from any terrestrial mantle samples. Some olivine-rich peridotites have generations of clinopyroxene with distinct abundances of Na, LREE, Sr and Zr. The mineralogical and trace element data indicate that the lithospheric mantle section represented by the xenoliths experienced a large-scale metasomatic event produced by upward migration of mafic silicate melts followed by percolation of low-T, alkali-rich melts and fluids. Chromatographic fractionation and fractional crystallisation of the melts close to the percolation front produced strong LREE-enrichments, which are most common in the uppermost mantle and are related to carbonate- and P₂O₅-rich derivatives of the initial melt. Reversal and gradual retreat of the percolation front during thermal relaxation to ambient geotherm (“retrograde” metasomatism) caused local migration and entrapment of small-volume residual fluids and precipitation of volatile-rich accessory minerals. A distinct metasomatic episode, which mainly produced “anhydrous” late-stage interstitial materials was concomitant with the alkali basaltic magmatism, which brought the xenoliths to the surface.     

Estimation of the Variability of Tailings Dams Properties in Order to Perform Probabilistic Assessment

Dams are often used for storing mine tailings. These structures present failure mechanisms that can lead to major risks for surrounding populations. In view to managing these risks, it is necessary to take a probabilistic approach in predicting their behaviour. The application of such approaches is limited by the difficulty of obtaining experimental data to estimate the variability of the parameters and conditioned by the relevance of the probability models chosen to represent this variability. This article proposes (1) a probabilistic modelling of the index properties of the mine tailings constituting these dams based on statistical analyses and (2) a method using dynamic penetration tests to estimate on site the mine tailings friction angle and its variability. This method, applied to chilean tailings dams proposes a single model for all tailings dams in order to associate a probability law to the effective friction angle (ϕ′). The procedure is illustrated on the probabilistic study of slope stability carried out at the global scale of a dam and also at the local scale of each of its constituent layers.     

Trace elements behavior in granite genesis: A case study The calc-alkaline plutonic association from the Querigut complex (Pyrénées,France)

The different granitoids of the zoned Querigut complex (Hercynian Pyrenees) are associated with a series of basic to intermediate rocks ranging from hornblende-bearing peridotites to quartz-diorites. The whole complex appears as a calc-alkaline plutonic suite typical of orogenic zones. The distribution of lanthanides and other trace elements amongst coexisting minerals indicate they are essentially held by accessory phases, particularly in granitoids. This restricts the use of those elements in the calculation of petrogenetic models for acidic plutonic rocks. Magmatic differentiation, mainly by hornblende + plagioclase fractionation, can produce the basic series. This differentiation cannot directly produce the different granitoids, which require a preponderant contribution of crustal melts. The sequence of different granitoids can be explained either by an heterogeneity in the source region, or by magmatic differentiation. The most plausible interpretation of the whole complex calls for the emplacement of a mantle-derived magma into a wet, anatectic continental crust, with interactions between basic rocks and the soproduced acidic melts.     

Un nouveau critere de sens de mise en place dans une caisse filonienne: Le “pincement” des mineraux aux epontes : Orientation des minéraux dans un magma en écoulement

The flow of a magma into a dike, sill, laccolite, pipe or batholith leads to a preferential orientation of crystals in the magma. A study by computer simulation has brought to light certain types of fabric for oblate and prolate minerals in the case of a plane deformation, on the one hand by pure shear, and on the other hand by simple shear. Theoretical and practical studies suggest a new method for determining the direction of injection (“injection axis”) in a dike, based on the angular relations of minerals near the walls.New developments are proposed on the relations between plane and linear flow-lines, on the distinction between “apparent flow-lines” and the transport-plane of the magma (“real flow-lines”) and on the amount of magma deformation.

Résumé

La mise en place d'un magma dans une caisse filonienne (ou dans des sills, dykes, laccolites, batholites, etc.) s'accompagne d'une orientation préférentielle des minéraux déjà formés. Une étude par simulation sur ordinateur a mis en évidence certains types de fabrique pour les minéraux phylliteux et les minéraux aciculaires dans le cas d'une déformation plane, d'une part par aplatissement pur et d'autre part, par cisaillement simple.En application théorique puis pratique, un nouveau critère de sens de mise en place (axe d'injection) dans une caisse filonienne est défini: le pincement des minéraux aux épontes; en effet, à chacune d'elles, les fluidalités apparentes, observées sur les minéraux, font un angle avec la paroi du filon.Des développements nouveaux sont proposés concernant les relations entre fluidalités planaire et linéaire, la distinction entre fluidalité apparente et plan de transport du magma (fluidalité réelle), le taux de déformation subi par le magma,....     

238U-206Pb, 235U-207Pb,systematics on Pyrenean basement

U-Pb ages for zircons of pyreneean gneisses and associated granites are comparable to whole rock Rb-Sr ages of 580, 320 m.y. and recent. Inherited radiogenic Pb in the granites limits the dating accuracy but points out an important contribution of crustal material in their formation.     

Strong Magnetic Levels in Lake Chapala Sediments (western Mexico): Their Mineralogy and Stratigraphic Significance

Lake Chapala, located 120 km northeast of Colima Volcano, lies at the north and northeast of the Citala rift in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. It belongs to the watershed of the Lerma River, which originates from the Mexico City area, 450 km to the east. Sediment cores, 0.5–2 m long, were collected from the lake. Magnetic susceptibility of the lake sediments generally ranges from 400 to 800 × 10⁻⁹ m³ kg⁻¹; but in some layers it exceeds 1000 or 1500 × 10⁻⁹ m³ kg⁻¹. The magnetic susceptibility vertical profiles display a thin peak (2–5 cm) or a double peak with magnetic susceptibility > 2000 × 10⁻⁹ m³ kg⁻¹. Scanning electron microscope analysis shows that the main mineral responsible for the magnetic susceptibility is titano-magnetite, which is relatively abundant in the magnetic layers. In most of the cores, the layer with magnetic susceptibility > 2000 × 10⁻⁹ m³ kg⁻¹ is coarser grained than the directly under and overlying sediments, which are composed of fine silt. But not all coarser levels are magnetic nor are all magnetic levels bound to coarser layers. The high titano-magnetic concentration probably originates from volcanic ash falls. Sedimentation rates, evaluated for several sites by means of the ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs methods, allow a date approximation (between 1535 and 1670) for the strong magnetic layer deposition. Since important eruptions of Colima Volcano, with ash fall, were reported from 1576 to 1623, the main peak of magnetic susceptibility in the sediment profiles is assumed to be related to these events. The main magnetic layer extends to greater depth in the profiles of the eastern part of the lake plain than at the west. It can, therefore, be suggested that a relative subsidence occurs in the eastern part of the lake; the axis of the eastern plain overlaps the area displaying the maximum subsidence rate and seems therefore to correspond to the prolongation of Citala rift.     

Observations of chromospheric lines from OSO-8

The line profiles of L, Ca ii K and Mg iik were measured with the spectrometer of the Laboratoire de Physique Stellaire et Planétaire on board of OSO-8. The results of these measurements are presented.Mitteilungen aus dem Kiepenheuer-Institut Nr. 181.