Occurrence of uraniferous iron and manganese oxides in biotite granite North East Gabal El Sela area, South Eastern Desert, Egypt

Optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and back-scattered electron imaging (BSE) have been used to determine the mineralogical composition of the uraniferous iron and manganese oxides and the associated U-minerals hosted in biotite granite that occurred north east Gabal El Sela area south Eastern Desert, Egypt. These mineralizations were found as veinlets fractures filling associated with strongly kaolinitic alteration of the coarse-grained biotite granite. XRD determined that the geothite mineral form the main constituent of uraniferous iron oxide in addition to tapiolite, and kaolinite minerals, where as uraniferous manganese oxide composed of pyrolusite, ramsdellite, and cryptomelane. BSE confirmed that the associated uranium minerals represented by uranothorite, kazolite, and zentime in addition to columbite-bearing minerals. Uranothorite and columbite-bearing minerals are the most abundant minerals in this mineralization. Petrographically, biotite granite is composed mainly of quartz, in addition to K-feldspars, biotite and muscovite with minor zircon, garnet, apatite, uranium-rich thorite and iron oxide. Petrochemical studies and tectonic discrimination diagrams for this granite reveal that they are classified as granite to alkali feldspar granite, originated from calc-alkaline magma having peraluminous nature and developed in within-plate tectonic environment. Field radiometric measurements revealed the localization of two high radiometric anomalies associated with iron and manganese oxides, within this anomaly uranium content range from 65 to 85 ppm. Alpha Track-etch Detectors of radon gas registrations revealed high track density reach up to 15,448.7 Bq/m³.     

Occurrence and paragenesis of diagenetic monazite in the upper Triassic black shales of the Marvast region, South Yazd, Iran

Upper Triassic-Jurassic black shale at Marvast, Iran, contains grey to green-grey ellipsoidal nodules of monazite ranging from 0.1 to 2?mm across. The presence of host-rock mineral inclusions within the monazite grains, low Th content in the monazite, lack of relict yellow cores (characteristic of igneous monazite), and the absence of monazite in the other sedimentary sequences in the Marvast area rule out a detrital origin for the monazite nodules and suggest authigenic crystallization during sediment compaction. Enrichment of the cores of the monazite grains in mid-range to heavy rare-earth elements (REE) and their rims in La + Ce point to variations in the degree of REE mobility and/or evolving composition of the diagenetic mineralizing fluid during nodule growth. The phosphorus and REE required for monazite crystallization were probably derived from seawater and adsorbed on clays and Fe-Mn hydroxides. The interstitial fluids expelled from the sediments during burial compaction and diagenesis became enriched in P and REE through complexing. The association of the Marvast monazite nodules with the black shale may indicate that organic complexes aided in the mobilization and transport of the REE into the pore fluids. Detailed field investigations in the study area and vicinity show that authigenic monazite in the upper Triassic-Jurassic shale sections is spatially associated with quartz lenses. It is likely that these lenses are surface expressions of shallow intrusive magmas, which provided the heat that promoted the mobilization and redistribution of the REE and P, and initiated precipitation of monazite in the overlying sediments.     

The Aghajari (Upper Fars) Formation in the Folded Zagros Zone, Iran:Insights to Identify Facies, Architectural Elements, Fluvial Systems,Petrography and Provenance

The Aghajari Formation, called also the Upper Fars, develops throughout the Folded Zagros Zone and its thickness in the type section in southwest of Iran is 2966 meters. To analyze the sedimentary basin of this Formation, lithofacies, architectural elements and petrofacies of the related deposits in a section in southeast of Sarvestan in Fars Province of Iran with a thickness of 2221.45 meters were examined. Microscopically studying thin sections, the petrography and the occurrence of the deposits were determined. In this section, 16 lithofacies, 10 architectural elements and 2 sandstone petrofacies were identified. The lithofacies were divided into two major and minor groups, in which the major lithofacies consist of coarse-grained (Gh, Gp, Gt and Gm), medium-grained (Sh, Sp, St, Sl, Sm, Sr and Ss and fine-grained ones (Fm, Fl and Fsm), and the minor lithofacies were evaporative and mixed silisiclastic-carbonate. The identified architectural elements are CH, SB, GB, LA, DA, CR, CS, LV, LS, CH (FF) and FF. By combining evidences from facies analysis and architectural elements together, the Aghajari Formation was divided into three parts in which the related sedimentation environments, from top to bottom, are gravel, gravel-sand and fine-grained meandering river respectively. There have also been playas and shoreface in the lower part. Based on petrography, the sandstones of this formation were classified into two groups: litharenite and sublitharenite. The origin of these deposits (sandstones) was appointed to the recycled orogeny and the source of quartz is low and medium to high metamorphic rank. Using the field evidences, the paleocurrent direction was achieved indicating the direction of the paleocurrent from northwest to southeast at the time of deposition. It is hoped that these data can be used in the interpretation of the basin and reconstruction of the paleogeography in the local and regional scales.     

Numerical Evaluation of Local Site Effects on Amplification of the 2017 Mw 7.3 Sarpol-e-Zahab,Iran, Earthquake Waves Using Near and Far-Field Records

Geotechnical and Geological Engineering - This is the first study to quantitatively evaluate the local site effects in the most severely affected neighborhoods of Sarpol-e-Zahab city following the...