Gold–palladium mineralization at Bleïda Far West, Bou Azzer–El Graara Inlier, Anti-Atlas, Morocco

The structurally controlled Au–Pd mineralization at Bleïda Far West occurs in a volcano-sedimentary rock sequence in altered amphibolites and chlorite schists of the Neoproterozoic Bou Azzer–El Graara inlier. The Au–Pd mineralization is virtually sulfide-free; instead, gold is associated with hematite, barite, quartz, and calcite. The gold grains are silver- and palladium-bearing (up to 19 wt% Ag and 6.3 wt% Pd) and are intergrown with a distinct suite of mainly Pd-dominated platinum group minerals, namely mertieite-I/isomertieite, merenskyite, keithconnite, kotulskite, palladseite, and sperrylite, defining a Au–Pd–As–Sb–Se–Te chemical signature. Stable isotope and fluid inclusion studies indicate a wide range of fluid compositions with a prominent saline component. In conjunction with the mineral association, oxidizing fluids are indicated, and Au and PGE transport and deposition likely took place by chloride complexes in the epithermal range, at elevated f O₂ and/or low pH. It is still speculative whether the mineralization is late Pan-African (～600–550 Ma) in age, or connected with the Variscan orogeny (～330–300 Ma), or related to some other hydrothermal event. Common to all Au–Pd mineralizations worldwide (Brazil, Australia, UK), including Bleïda Far West, is their formation in the epithermal (<300°C) range; deposition mainly in brittle structures; sulfide-poor mineral assemblages comprising hematite, sulfate minerals, and selenides; and metal transport by, and deposition from, oxidized, chloride-rich fluids. These deposits are further characterized by noble metal abundances in the order Au>Pd>Pt and the chemical signature Au–Pd–Se–Te (±As, Sb, Bi). As such, the Au–Pd association represents a discrete style of gold mineralization distinct from other classes of gold deposits.     

Characterization of organic matter deposited in the oriental zone from Moknine hypersaline environment, oriental Tunisia

The geochemistry data show that the total organic carbon （TOC） contents are high in the surface sediments in the eastern part of the Moknine＇ s Sebkha. Low decreasing of organic matter （ OM ） with increasing depth indicates the good preservation of OM in modern sediments. ＂Lignite levels＂ inserted in the sand sequence and deposited at the edge and in the intermediate zone are considered as lithologic and organic markers. It is characterized by high TOC and poor hydrogen index （HI） , indicating a higher plant origin and good preservation of OM in thin beds under anoxic condition. In all samples low values of HI are typical for strong terrigenous input in the Sebkha. Gas chromatography （GC） of saturate fraction showed that OM in the border zone is provided from plants but in the central zone OM is a mixture of terrestrial fraction and little fraction from microalgae. The study of free lipids indicated that this environment was influenced by intense bacterial and microbial activities, as evidenced by the abundance of n-alkanes and nC18-nC22.     

A wavelet thresholding technique for local geoid and deflection of the vertical determination using a planar approximation

A computational scheme using the wavelet transform is employed for local geoid determination, where wavelet multiresolution analysis (MRA) is introduced as an alternative approach to the well-established fast Fourier transform (FFT). The Stokes and Vening Meinesz integrals are approximated in finite MRA subspaces. The algorithm is built using an orthogonal wavelet base function. The characteristics of the base function and its effect on the final result are investigated. Hard and soft thresholding are tested in the compression of the kernel as well as global thresholding is compared to level-wise thresholding to optimize the compression level with an acceptable accuracy. Both global and level-wise thresholding are combined in order to achieve the maximum compression level, with acceptable geoid accuracy. The compression rate depends on the degree of singularity of the kernel. In the case of Stokes, a 94 per cent compression level is achieved with 1 cm (rms) accuracy in comparison to FFT and numerical integration approaches. Due to its stronger singularity, in the case of the Vening Meinesz kernel, 97 per cent compression rate is achieved with a 0.07 arc-second (rms) accuracy. The compression percentages achieved in this study are higher than those reported in pervious studies, which shows that this algorithm is very suitable for use in local geoid determination.     

On the performance of SCF in seismic isolation of the interior equipment of buildings

The dynamic response of equipment mounted on an isolated raised floor inside a building while the primary fixed base structure is subjected to harmonic and earthquake ground motions is numerically investigated. Sliding concave foundation (SCF) system is utilized for isolating the raised floor. The equations of motion for a MDOF shear building containing a SCF isolated raised floor with a mounted equipment are developed and the rigid link method is utilized to handle the non‐linearity of the system. The equipment, which can be modelled as a SDOF or MDOF system, may represent a critical computer unit or telecommunication processing system. SCF can be used easily to achieve the desired long period, necessary for protecting sensitive equipment. In this investigation, the ability of SCF in reducing the acceleration level experienced by the equipment inside a building is demonstrated while the lateral displacement is still within an acceptable range. The analysis considered the case of equipment housed in the upper floors of a building where the acceleration is amplified and the motion contains strong components at long periods. For this purpose, different excitations including both harmonic and real earthquake ground motions are employed and the performance of the system is evaluated. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic,paleomagnetic and palynologic studies of Paleolithic depositions of the Akhshtyrskaya cave (Russia)

The paper presents the results of experimental rock-magnetic, paleomagnetic and palynologic study of Paleolithic sediments sampled along two profiles in the Akhshtyrskaya cave, situated in the vicinity of Black Sea shore. In the upper part of profiles, some magnetite was observed; in the middle and lower parts, strongly oxidized non-stoichiometric magnetite and hematite prevail. Thin maghemite covers on the surface of fine magnetite grains are present in the majority of specimens. Natural remanence has one characteristic component (CHRM), mostly of chemical origin, although in few specimens containing magnetite it may be sedimentary. Directions of CHRM obtained by standard paleomagnetic methods revealed anomalous pattern only in layer 3/2, which is slightly older than the overlying layer 3/1 whose age was established as (35±2)×10³ years BP by the U-Th method. This suggests that this paleomagnetic anomaly (PMA) can be correlated with Kargapolovo excursion dated on about (45−39)×10³ years BP. In the remaining overlying and underlying layers, directions of CHRM are grouped around the present geomagnetic field. Depth distributions of scalar magnetic parameters generally coincide with the lithological division of the profiles. Palynologic study revealed the presence of 22 pollen zones. Five thermomers separated with colder periods were found in the middle and lower parts of profile. The non-magnetite composition of magnetic fraction of the majority of studied sediments — oxidized nonstoichiometric magnetite and hematite — resulted in the lack of correlations between paleoclimatic and scalar magnetic characteristics.     

Anisotropic radiation transfer in dispersive media

Equations for radiation, scattered anisotropically from dispersive media are obtained for general boundary conditions. The Padé approximant technique is used to calculate the reflection coefficients for these media. Numerical results are given for diffuse reflected boundary condition.     

Diffuse reflection and transmission of radiation for Rayleigh phase function

Diffuse reflection and transmission coefficients in a plane parallel medium are calculated for a Rayleigh phase-function averaged over polarization and Rayleigh polarized phase-function. This is calculated by imbedding the finite medium into a semi-infinite scattering and absorbing medium. Numerical calculations for semi-infinite albedo are compared with Pomraning results. The albedos for finite medium are calculated via the imbedding equations which converge for large τ to the value of semi-infinite medium.     

The instability of hydromagnetic planetary-gravity waves in a zonal flow and transverse magnetic field

Hydromagnetic planetary-gravity waves propagating on a β-plane through a zonal flow and transverse magnetic field are examined for instability. Such instabilities may be related to same physical phenomena in the atmospheres of the Sun and planets and in the Earth's core. It is found that the onset of instability depends on the directions of the vertical and transverse wave-numbers and the zonal flow. It is also shown that as the magnetic field intensity is kept uniform instability can onset provided that the zonal flow strength does not exceed a certain factor, which depends on the parameters of the medium, and then the zonal wavenumbers that can become unstable are limited to a given range. If the basic Alfvén wave speed is allowed to vary whereas the zonal flow is kept uniform the zonal wavenumbers that can exhibit instability are again limited but the basic Alfvén wave speed can assume any value.