Glacial isostatic adjustment at the Laurentide ice sheet margin: Models and observations in the Great Lakes region

Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) modelling in North America relies on relative sea level information which is primarily obtained from areas far away from the uplift region. The lack of accurate geodetic observations in the Great Lakes region, which is located in the transition zone between uplift and subsidence due to the deglaciation of the Laurentide ice sheet, has prevented more detailed studies of this former margin of the ice sheet. Recently, observations of vertical crustal motion from improved GPS network solutions and combined tide gauge and satellite altimetry solutions have become available. This study compares these vertical motion observations with predictions obtained from 70 different GIA models. The ice sheet margin is distinct from the centre and far field of the uplift because the sensitivity of the GIA process towards Earth parameters such as mantle viscosity is very different. Specifically, the margin area is most sensitive to the uppermost mantle viscosity and allows for better constraints of this parameter. The 70 GIA models compared herein have different ice loading histories (ICE-3/4/5G) and Earth parameters including lateral heterogeneities. The root-mean-square differences between the 6 best models and the two sets of observations (tide gauge/altimetry and GPS) are 0.66 and 1.57 mm/yr, respectively. Both sets of independent observations are highly correlated and show a very similar fit to the models, which indicates their consistent quality. Therefore, both data sets can be considered as a means for constraining and assessing the quality of GIA models in the Great Lakes region and the former margin of the Laurentide ice sheet.     

Numerical investigation of the resistance of precast RC pinned beam‐to‐column connections under shear loading

In precast technology, the effective design and construction are related to the behaviour of the connections between the structural members in order to cater for all service, environmental and earthquake load conditions. Therefore, the design and detailing of the connections should be undertaken consistently and with awareness of the desired structural response. In the research presented herein, an analytical expression is proposed for the prediction of the resistance of precast pinned connections under shear monotonic and cyclic loading. The proposed formula addresses the case where the failure of the connection occurs with simultaneous flexural failure of the dowel and compression failure of the concrete around the dowel, expected to occur either when (i) adequate concrete cover of the dowels is provided (d > 6 D) or (ii) adequate confining reinforcement (as defined in the article) is foreseen around the dowels in the case of small concrete covers (d < 6 D). The expression is calibrated against available experimental data and numerical results derived from a nonlinear numerical investigation. Emphasis is given to identifying the effect of several parameters on the horizontal shear resistance of the connection such as: the number and diameter of the dowels; the strength of materials (concrete, grout, steel); the concrete cover of the dowels; the thickness of the elastomeric pad; the type of shear loading (monotonic or cyclic); the pre‐existing axial stress in the dowels; and the rotation of the joint. In addition, recommendations for the design of precast pinned beam‐to‐column connections are given, especially when the connections are utilised in earthquake resistant structures. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age,stratigraphy, sedimentology and tectonic setting of the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation and its fossil forests,Early Miocene,Lesbos, Greece

The Petrified Forest of Lesbos comprises silicified tree fossils at multiple stratigraphic levels within the Lower Miocene Sigri Pyroclastic Formation. Our objective was to understand the interplay of tectonic setting, structural evolution, volcanological setting and basin evolution in the preservation of this remarkable natural monument. Sections were logged for lithology, sedimentary structures and hydrothermal alteration. Orientations of fallen fossil trees were measured. Samples were taken for mineralogical and geochemical analysis. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating was carried out on mineral separates from four samples. Widespread andesite‐dacite domes, the Eressos Formation, intrude and overlie metamorphic basement and are overlain by the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation, which comprises several hundreds of metres of pyroclastic flow tuffs (unwelded ignimbrites) interbedded with fluvial conglomerate and volcaniclastic sandstone. The Sigri Pyroclastic Formation ranges in age from 21.5 to 22 Ma, where it overlies the lacustrine Gavathas Formation, to younger than 18.4 Ma. Tuffs and fluvial conglomerates in the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation coarsen eastwards, and petrified trees and soil horizons occur throughout the Formation. The recurrence of pyroclastic flows was approximately one every 20 ka, so destructive flows were relatively infrequent, allowing the development of climax vegetation between most eruptions. Conglomerate‐filled channels show that rivers flowed westwards. Tree fall directions indicate NW to N movement of pyroclastic flows, implying a source near the younger Mesotopos–Tavari caldera to the south. The basin, which formed in a NNE‐trending dextral strike‐slip regime, provided some topographic steering. Following the Sigri Pyroclastic Formation at ca. 18 Ma, there was a rapid increase in the pace of volcanic activity, with the eruption of thick lava sequences and welded ignimbrites, and intrusion of dykes and laccoliths in SW Lesbos. Rapid burial by permeable tuffs, silica from alteration of volcanic ash, and later hydrothermal circulation all contributed to the preservation of the petrified trees.     

Precursory activity of the 161 ka Kos Plateau Tuff eruption, Aegean Sea (Greece)

The Kos Plateau Tuff (KPT) eruption of 161 ka was the largest explosive Quaternary eruption in the eastern Mediterranean. We have discovered an uplifted beach deposit of abraded pumice cobbles, directly overlain by the KPT. The pumice cobbles resemble pumice from the KPT in petrography and composition and differ from Plio-Pleistocene rhyolites on the nearby Kefalos Peninsula. The pumice contains enclaves of basaltic andesite showing chilled lobate margins, suggesting co-existence of two magmas. The deposit provides evidence that the precursory phase of the KPT eruption produced pumice rafts, and defines the paleoshoreline for the KPT, which elsewhere was deposited on land. The beach deposit has been uplifted about 120 m since the KPT eruption, whereas the present marine area south of Kos has subsided several hundred metres, as a result of regional neotectonics. The basaltic andesite is more primitive than other mafic rocks known from the Kos–Nisyros volcanic centre and contains phenocrysts of Fo₈₉ olivine, bytownite, enstatite and diopside. Groundmass amphibole suggests availability of water in the final stages of magma evolution. Geochemical and mineralogical variation in the mafic products of the KPT eruption indicate that fractionation of basaltic magma in a base-of-crust magma chamber was followed by mixing with rhyolitic magma during eruption. Low eruption rates during the precursory activity may have minimised the extent of mixing and preserved the end-member magma types.     

Significance of the chemistry and morphology of diagenetic siderite in clastic rocks of the Mesozoic Scotian Basin

Siderite (FeCO₃) is a widespread minor diagenetic mineral in clastic sedimentary basins. Although eodiagenetic authigenesis of siderite is well-known, siderite formed during burial diagenesis shows habits and chemical compositions that are poorly understood. This study tests the hypothesis that diagenetic siderite cements in sandstones in the Scotian Basin, offshore eastern Canada, show systematic variability in chemistry and habit that is a response to recrystallization and changing composition of basinal fluids. Mineral textures were determined from backscattered electron images, and chemistry mostly from electron microprobe analyses. Five chemical types of siderite are identified using k-means cluster analysis, based on the amount of substitution of Ca, Mg and Mn for Fe. Eodiagenetic microcrystalline coated grains, concretions and intraclasts in sandstones are principally Fe-rich siderite and locally have recrystallised to blocky equant crystals. Mesodiagenetic Mg-rich siderite partly replaced these equant crystals and also framework mica and K-feldspar grains, showing textural evidence for coupled dissolution–reprecipitation. Slender Mg-rich siderite rhombs (lozenges, bladed or wheat-seed siderite) have precipitated before and after the formation of quartz overgrowths in geochemical microenvironments. Magnesium substitution reflects Mg-rich formation waters resulting from smectite to illite conversion. Equivalent Ca-rich siderite occurs where sandstones overlie a Jurassic carbonate bank. Late Mn-rich siderite has complex textures resembling those of Mississippi-Valley type ores, with spheroidal rims, a honeycomb-like mesh and concentric infill around secondary pores. It also occurs in veins or replacing intraclasts, post-dating late ferroan-calcite cements in sandstones that show strong dissolution by hot basinal brines. The Ca, Mg and Mn content of diagenetic siderite, coupled with textural evidence for recrystallization, can thus be used to track changes in ambient formation fluids. Siderite habits and chemistry described from the Scotian Basin are found in many clastic basins, suggesting that the observed recrystallization textures and variation in chemical type are of broad application.     

U-Pb geochronology of Late Palaeozoic plutons,Cobequid Highlands,Nova Scotia,Canada: evidence for Late Devonian emplacement adjacent to the Meguma-Avalon terrane boundary in the Canadian Appalachians

The Cobequid Highlands in the Canadian Appalachian orogen lie within Avalonia adjacent to the Meguma Terrane. U-Pb (zircon) data show that the age range of voluminous bimodal plutonism in the highlands is from 358 to 363 Ma (late Devonian). This age range is much narrower than that previously suggested by Rb/Sr geochronology and confirms that the Cobequid Highlands preserve the youngest large-scale plutonic event in the Canadian Appalachians. Late Palaeozoic tectonic history of the Appalachian orogen is profoundly influenced by predominantly dextral motion on the Avalon-Meguma terrane boundary. This age of plutonism is coeval with previously published ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar (muscovite) plateau ages derived from shear zones in the Meguma terrane adjacent to the terrane boundary, which is defined by the Minas fault zone. The NNE trending structural grain of the Appalachian orogen is disturbed in this area by the E-W Minas fault zone and pluton emplacement may have been associated with motion along this terrane boundary.     

Analysis of largest earthquakes in Turkey and its vicinity by application of the Gumbel III distribution

A study of the spatial distribution of seismicity parameters is undertaken along Turkey and its vicinity, using the Gumbel’s third asymptotic distribution of extreme values (GIII). The data set used spans of 111 years (1900–2010). The seismicity of the whole region is subdivided into equal area mesh of 1° lat. × 1° long. Various seismicity parameters examined, resulted from the application of the GIII method. The results show a quite good correlation between the seismicity parameters and the tectonic regime of the studied area. For instance high values concentrated around North Anatolian Fault. The x ²-test is applied throughout the whole process and in every stage of GIII, in order to check the accuracy of the obtained results. The spatial distribution of upper-bound (ω) formed a W-shape pattern, which shows the difference in the mechanical structure of the materials in the examined area.     

Assessment of global wave models on regular and unstructured grids using the Unresolved Obstacles Source Term

Ocean Dynamics - The Unresolved Obstacles Source Term (UOST) is a general methodology for parameterizing the dissipative effects of subscale islands, cliffs, and other unresolved features in ocean...     

Copper mineralization around the Ahar batholith, north of Ahar (NW Iran): Evidence for fluid evolution and the origin of the skarn ore deposit

This investigation presents and interprets fluid inclusion data from different lithological units of the Cu skarn deposits at Mazraeh, north of Ahar, Azarbaijan, NW Iran. The results provide an assessment of the P–T conditions and mineral–fluid evolution and suggest new exploration parameters. Five types of inclusions are recognized from quartz and garnet. The temperature of homogenization of Type I inclusions with daughter minerals halite and sylvite ranges from 312° to 470 °C with total salinity of 52 to 63 wt.% NaCl equiv.; Type II and III inclusions with halite have homogenization temperatures of 230° to 520 °C and salinity of 31 to 50 wt.% NaCl equiv. The salinity of Types IV and V biphase (liquid + vapor) inclusions, based on their final ice melting temperature, varies between 10.2 to 20.8 wt.% NaCl equiv. T_h vs. salinity plots of inclusions show that the salinity of the fluids correlates positively with temperature. The inclusions formed at low pressure. Changes in the temperature and salinity of the fluids can be reconstructed from the inclusions. Highly saline, high-temperature fluids were most abundant during the main chalcopyrite ore-forming phase in the skarn and mineralized quartz veins. Low-salinity aqueous fluids were abundant in barren veins, in which there is no evidence for early hot high-salinity brine, and might have resulted from late-stage dilution and mixing of hydrothermal fluids with meteoric water. Based on petrographic features and fluid-inclusion data, early-stage magnetite deposition is related to boiling of fluid at temperatures of about 500 °C. At a later stage, boiling at temperatures of around 320° to 400 °C favored the deposition of sulfides and Fe mobility was decreased at these lower temperatures. The following inclusion characteristics may be used as exploration parameters in the Mazraeh area. (i) Presence of high-temperature, salt-bearing inclusions, with T_h between 300 and 500 °C; (ii) High-salinity fluid inclusions; and (iii) Inclusions showing evidence of boiling of the fluid. In addition, the presence of magnetite is an important exploration parameter.     

The roles of pedogenesis and diagenesis in clay mineral assemblages: Lower Cretaceous fluvial mudrocks,Nova Scotia,Canada

Clay mineral assemblages in alluvial mudrocks are important for paleoclimatic interpretation and for understanding burial diagenetic cementation in sandstones, but it is commonly difficult to unravel the relative importance of source weathering, pedogenesis and diagenesis in their origin. The clay mineral assemblages in fluvial overbank mudrocks from the Lower Cretaceous Chaswood Formation in central Nova Scotia, investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis of the < 2 µm fraction of 45 samples, include kaolinite, illite, vermiculite, and mixed layer kaolinite/expandable clay and mica/vermiculite. The assemblages vary with depositional facies. Wetland organic-rich mudrocks have large amounts of amorphous material and kaolinite is the dominant clay mineral. In the eastern part of the basin, where overbank mudrocks were episodically uplifted by syn-sedimentary strike-slip faulting, cumulate ultisol and alfisol paleosols are common. In the ultisols, hematite is enriched and kaolinite increases at the expense of illite in the B horizon. Alfisols contain more illite and vermiculite and the B horizon is enriched in goethite. In the western part of the basin, where thin sandstones with abundant diagenetic kaolinite cement are interbedded with the mudrocks, the distinctive clay mineral assemblage of mica/vermiculite mixed layer, vermiculite with 15.5 Å peak, and kaolinite/expandable mixed layer clay with a 17.7 Å peak is interpreted to result from bacterially-mediated oxidation of organic matter below the paleo-water table during early burial diagenesis. Deeper burial diagenesis may lead to slightly higher kaolinite crystallinity. Volcanic ash appears to alter to kaolinite/expandable mixed layer clay with a 7.9 Å peak. Comparison with the continuously subsiding and rapidly accumulated Wessex Formation of southern England, formed at a similar paleolatitude, shows the strong role of pedogenic processes and early diagenesis by meteoric water in development of clay mineral assemblages in the locally tectonically uplifted Chaswood Formation.