Geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic constraints on the genesis of the Soheyle-PaKuh granitoid rocks (central Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic belt,Iran)

ABSTRACT

Soheyle-Pakuh granitoid rocks, with a variety of quartz diorite, quartz monzodiorite, granodiorite, tonalite, and granite, have been emplaced into the Tertiary volcanic rocks in the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc in central Iran. Zircon U–Pb dating yields an age of 39.63 ± 0.93 Ma for the crystallization of this body. Whole-rock compositions show that SiO₂ changes from 52.31 to 65.78 wt.% and Al₂O₃ varies from 15.54 to 18.24 wt.%, as well as high concentrations of large-ion lithophile elements (LILE, e.g. Cs, Rb, Ba, and K) and quite low contents of high field strength elements (HFSE, e.g. Nb, Ti, P), as expected in I-type arc granitoids formed in an active continental margin setting. Initial ratios of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd exhibit ranges 0.7043–0.7047 and 0.51284 to 0.51287, respectively, with positive εNd_(t) from +4.9 to +5.5 with a young TDM1 age (483–674 Ma); this tracer isotopic data suggesting that the SPG originated from juvenile basaltic crust derived from depleted mantle (~90%) with variable contributions from undepleted mantle and approximately 10% old lower crust, despite diverse processes (e.g. magma mixing and fractional crystallization) during their evolution and emplacement into a local extensional setting within the continental margin arc. The isotopic data are similar to those of other Phanerozoic granitoids of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and corroborate melting of predominantly mantle-derived juvenile crustal protoliths and indicating extensive addition of new continental crust, during Cambrian-Neoproterozoic time, in the suprasubduction zone beneath the central Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc. Generation of these types of granitoids favours a model whereby rollback and (or) break-off of a subducted slab with subsequent lithospheric extension triggered by mantle upwelling, heat advection, and underplating resulting in melting of the central UDMA mantle-derived juvenile lower continental crust in the Late Eocene.     

A change-detection application on the evolution of Kahak playa (South Khorasan province, Iran)

Kahak salt playa in South Khorasan province of Iran, have special geomorphological characteristics by the presence of ephemeral saline lakes, wetlands, salt crusts, surface accumulations of salt and zones of patterned ground. Salt crusts in the soil surface are unique in the region and have laminated horizons in the playa soil. Soil-surface salt accumulations are dominated by NaCl and gypsum. It has been found that distribution of chemical soluble is not uniform across the playa landscape, and this result influences on the variety form of patterned ground. In this study, the percent changes in some of the chemical elements such as NaCl, gypsum and also brine extent have been calculated in the playa. Indicating changes in Kahak salt playa is the main aim of this study by using remote sensing and GIS techniques. In this paper, techniques such as spectral un-mixing, maximum likelihood classification, band rationing, fuzzy classification and correlation relationships are discussed. This contribution presents modeling of temporal and spatial changes of salinity and playa developing using combined approaches that incorporate different data-fusion and data-integration techniques for two periods of date. Furthermore, percent changes in the surface-patterned ground of the playa have been calculated using texture and pattern analysis of the PCA1. Results have revealed that, in the playa developing, chemical materials such as sodium, NaCl, gypsum and also brine extent are positively correlated with each other and the most increased changes are related to gypsum and the most decreased changes are related to the NaCl. Also changes in the amount of agricultural area in the playa-lakes margin, show low effects in the desertification process.     

3-D velocity structure of the 2003 Bam earthquake area (SE Iran): Existence of a low-Poisson's ratio layer and its relation to heavy damage

To understand the generation mechanism of the Bam earthquake (Mw 6.6), we studied three-dimensional V_P, V_S and Poisson's ratio (σ) structures in the Bam area by using the seismic tomography method. We inverted accurate arrival times of 19490 P waves and 19015 S waves from 2396 aftershocks recorded by a temporal high-sensitivity seismic network. The 3-D velocity structure of the seismogenic region was well resolved to a depth of 14 km with significant velocity variations of up to 5%. The general pattern of aftershock distribution was relocated by using the 3-D structure to delineate a source fault for a length of approximately 20 km along a line 4.5 km west of the known geological Bam fault; this source fault dips steeply westward and strikes a nearly north–south line. The main shallow cluster of aftershocks south of the city of Bam is distributed just under the minor surface ruptures in the desert. The 3-D velocity structure shows a thick layer of high V_S and low σ (minimum: 0.20) at a depth range of 2–6 km. The deeper layer, with a thickness of about 2 km, appears to have a low V_S and high σ (maximum: 0.28) from 6 km depth beneath Bam to a depth of 9 km south of the city. The inferred increase of Poisson's ratio from 2 to 10 km in depth may be associated with a change from rigid and SiO₂-rich rock to more mafic rock, including the probable existence of fluids. The main seismic gap of aftershock distribution at the depth range of 2 to 7 km coincides well with the large slip zone in the shallow thick layer of high V_S and low σ. The large slip propagating mainly in the shallow rigid layer may be one of the main reasons why the Bam area suffered heavy damage.     

Time‐harmonic response of non‐homogeneous elastic unbounded domains using the scaled boundary finite‐element method

The scaled boundary finite‐element method is extended to simulate time‐harmonic responses of non‐homogeneous unbounded domains with the elasticity modulus and mass density varying as power functions of spatial coordinates. The unbounded domains and the elasticity matrices are transformed to the scaled boundary coordinates. The scaled boundary finite‐element equation in displacement amplitudes are derived directly from the governing equations of elastodynamics. To enforce the radiation condition at infinity, an asymptotic expansion of the dynamic‐stiffness matrix for high frequency is developed. The dynamic‐stiffness matrix at lower frequency is obtained by numerical integration of ordinary differential equations. Only the boundary is discretized yielding a reduction of the spatial dimension by one. No fundamental solution is required. Material anisotropy is modelled without additional efforts. Examples of two‐ and three‐dimensional non‐homogeneous isotropic and transversely isotropic unbounded domains are presented. The results demonstrate the accuracy and simplicity of the scaled boundary finite‐element method. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical analysis of nonlinear soil–pile group interaction under lateral loads

A nonlinear p–y element was provided which can simply model the behavior of a pile group foundation subjected to lateral loading. Its elasto-plastic side soil is expressed as a Winkler-type distributed model. Despite the simplification involved in modeling such a complex phenomenon the proposed nonlinear soil model can reproduce the system behavior as computed by more rigorous 3D finite element methods. The numerical results are also compared with those from available physical model data to confirm that our simulations can predict the behavior of pile groups with good accuracy.     

Potential impacts of climate change on groundwater levels on the Kerdi-Shirazi plain,Iran

It is important to predict how groundwater levels in an aquifer will respond to various climate change scenarios to effectively plan for how groundwater resources will be used in the future. Due to the overuse of groundwater resources and the multi-year drought in the Kerdi-Shirazi plain in Iran, some land subsidence and a drop in groundwater levels has taken place, and without active management, further degradation of the groundwater resource is possible under predicted future climate change scenarios in the country. To determine the potential impacts of climate change on groundwater levels in the region, the groundwater model GMS was coupled with the atmospheric circulation model HADCM3 using scenarios A1B, A2 and B1 for the period 2016–2030. The results of the climate modelling suggest that the Kerdi-Shirazi plain will experience an increase in minimum temperature and maximum temperature of, respectively, between 0.03 and 0.47, and 0.32–0.45 °C for this time period. The results of the groundwater modelling suggest that water levels on the Kerdi-Shirazi plain will continue to decline over the forecast period with decreases of 34.51, 36.57 and 33.58 m being predicted, respectively, for climate scenarios A1B, A2 and B1. Consequently, groundwater resources in the Kerdi-Shirazi plain will urgently need active management to minimize the effects of ongoing water level decline and to prevent saltwater intrusion and desertification in the region.     

Adsorption of a cationic dye (methylene blue) by Iranian natural clays from aqueous solutions: equilibrium,kinetic and thermodynamic study

Removal of dyes by low-cost adsorbents is an effective method in wastewater treatment. Iranian natural clays were determined to be effective adsorbents for removal of a basic dye (methylene blue) from aqueous solutions in batch processes. Characterizations of the clays were carried out by X-ray diffraction, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Effects of the operational parameters such as adsorbent dosage, initial dye concentration, solution pH and temperature were investigated on the adsorption performance. Adsorption isotherms like Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin were used to analyze the adsorption equilibrium data and Langmuir isotherm was the best fit. Adsorption kinetics was investigated by pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion models and the results showed that the adsorption system conforms well to the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic parameters of adsorption (ΔS°, ΔH° and ΔG°) were obtained and showed that the adsorption processes were exothermic.     

A new insight into onset of inertial flow in porous media using network modeling with converging/diverging pores

The network modeling approach is applied to provide a new insight into the onset of non-Darcy flow through porous media. The analytical solutions of one-dimensional Navier-Stokes equation in sinusoidal and conical converging/diverging throats are used to calculate the pressure drop/flow rate responses in the capillaries of the network. The analysis of flow in a single pore revealed that there are two different regions for the flow coefficient ratio as a function of the aspect ratio. It is found that the critical Reynolds number strongly depends on the pore geometrical properties including throat length, average aspect ratio, and average coordination number of the porous media, and an estimation of such properties is required to achieve more reliable predictions. New criteria for the onset of non-Darcy flow are also proposed to overcome the lack of geometrical data. Although the average aspect ratio is the main parameter which controls the inertia effects, the effect of tortuosity on the onset of non-Darcy flow increases when the coordination number of media decreases. In addition, the higher non-Darcy coefficient does not essentially accelerate the onset of inertial flow. The results of this work can help to better understand how the onset of inertial flow may be controlled/changed by the pore architecture of porous media.