Fluid circulation and structural discontinuities inside Misti volcano (Peru) inferred from self-potential measurements

One of the seven potentially active andesite stratovolcanoes in southern Peru, Misti (5822 m), located 17 km northeast and 3.5 km above Arequipa, represents a major threat to the population (900,000 inhabitants). Our recent geophysical and geochemical research comprises an extensive self-potential (SP) data set, an audio–magnetotelluric (AMT) profile across the volcano and CO₂ concentrations in the soil along a radial profile. The SP survey is the first of its kind in providing a complete mapping of a large andesitic stratovolcano 20 km in diameter. The SP mapping enables us to analyze the SP signature associated with a subduction-related active volcano.The general SP pattern of Misti is similar to that of most volcanoes with a hydrogeologic zone in the lower flanks and a hydrothermal zone in the upper central area. A quasi-systematic relationship exists between SP and elevation. Zones with constant SP/altitude gradients (Ce) are observed in both hydrogeologic (negative Ce) and hydrothermal (positive Ce) zones. Transition zones between the different Ce zones, which form a concentric pattern around the summit, have been interpreted in terms of lateral heterogeneities in the lithology. The highest amplitudes of SP anomalies seem to coincide with highly resistive zones. The hydrothermal system 6 km in diameter, which extends over an area much larger than the summit caldera, may be constrained by an older, concealed collapse caldera. A sealed zone has apparently developed through alteration in the hydrothermal system, blocking the migration of CO₂ upward. Significant CO₂ emanations are thus observed on the lower flanks but are absent above the hydrothermal zone.     

The Numidian Sequence between Guelma and Constantine (Eastern Tell,Algeria)*

The Numidian Sequence represents one of the main tectono-stratigraphic units involved in the geological evolution of the Maghrebian orogen during the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene. Geo-structural aqalysis led to the reconstruction of tectonc-stratigraphic units and recognition of two main tectonic phases (Eocene and Lower Miocene). Sedimentological analysis of the studied sections has resulted in the distinction of arenaceous and conglomeratic facies generated by debris flows or high-density turbidity currents on a submarine slope, present within the pelitic-arenaceous and arenaceous-pelitic sequences which also contain slumped units in places. Previous and new micropalaeontological data indicate Late Oligocene-Early Burdigalian ages for the Numidian sequences of the Constantine Mountains. On the basis of petrographic study the Numidian rocks can be classified as poorly sorted quartzarenites containing siliciclastic matrix. The overall petrographic data indicate that the Continental intercalaire (Hoggar, Tassili and Fezzan) and Series Pharusienne (Hoggar and Eglab) are possible supply areas for the Numidian quartz.     

Dynamic behaviour of a phase boundary under non-uniform surface loads

Summary. A method is outlined to determine the dynamic behaviour of a phase boundary in the Earth when non-uniform time-varying pressure and temperature conditions are assumed at the Earth's surface. An integral equation describing the phase boundary motion is derived and it is solved under a linearizing assumption. The solution is obtained in the form of a double integral transform. Short and long time-expansions of the solution can be obtained from series expansion and integration of the Laplace transform along a branch cut. The method is illustrated by considering a stepwise change in surface pressure conditions.
For short times, the solution exhibits the same type of time dependence (i.e. the first-order term is in t ^1/2) as the one obtained in the one-dimensional case (i.e. uniform pressure perturbation at the Earth's surface).
For long times, it is shown that the time dependence of the phase boundary motion is almost identical to the one derived for the one- dimensional case if the wavenumber k _L of the surface excitation is such that κ k ²_Lτ≤ 1 (where τ is the relaxation time associated with the one-dimensional phase boundary motion and κ is the thermal diffusivity). If κ k ²_Lτ > 1, then the relaxation time for the phase boundary motion in two dimensions is of the order of κ⁻¹ k ⁻²_L.
When considering parameters that would be appropriate for a basalt to eclogite phase transition at Moho depth, the latter situation is met only when the load wavelength is smaller than 35 km.     

Boron isotopic fractionation between minerals and fluids: New insights from in situ high pressure-high temperature vibrational spectroscopic data

Equilibrium boron isotopic fractionations between trigonal B(OH)₃ and tetragonal B(OH)₄⁻ aqueous species have been calculated at high P-T conditions using measured vibrational spectra (Raman and IR) and force-field modeling to compute reduced partition function ratios for B-isotopic exchange following Urey’s theory. The calculated isotopic fractionation factor at 300 K, α_3/4 = 1.0176(2), is slightly lower than the formerly calculated value of α_3/4 = 1.0193 (Kakihana and Kotaka, 1977), due to differences in the determined vibrational frequencies. The effect of pressure on α_3/4 up to 10 GPa and 723 K is shown to be negligible relative to temperature or speciation (pH) effects. Implications for the interpretation of boron fractionation in experimental and natural systems are discussed. We also show that the relationship between seawater-mineral B isotope fractionation and pH can be expressed using two variables, α_3/4 on one hand, and the pK_a of the boric acid-borate equilibrium on the other hand. This latter value is given by the equilibrium of boron species in water for the carbonate-water exchange, but could be governed by mineral surface properties in the case of clays. This may allow defining intrinsic paleo-pHmeters from B isotope fractionation between carbonate and authigenic minerals. Finally, it is shown that fractionation of boron isotopes can be rationalized in terms of the changes in 1) coordination of B from trigonal to tetrahedral in both fluids and minerals; and 2) the ligand nature around B from OH⁻ in the fluid and some hydrous minerals to non-hydrogenated O in many minerals. Relationships are established that allow predicting the isotopic fractionation factor of B between minerals and fluid.     

Heavy Metal Removal from Soils Using Magnetic Separation: 1. Laboratory Experiments

The removal of Cu, Zn, and Cd from a sandy soil was investigated using iron filings as an adsorbent, and subsequently recovering the iron filings by magnetic separation. The best treatment was obtained by using 5% iron filings and 3 h contact time between iron filings and the soil. The metal removal efficiency from soil extracts was evaluated, using MetPLATE^TM, a toxicity test that is specific for heavy metals, and the 48 h Ceriodaphnia dubia acute toxicity test. The toxicity removal was generally higher than 95% for Cu after a single treatment. With regard to Zn-spiked soil, the toxicity removal was 96.1%, 70.0%, and 49.6% after single treatment at the input concentration of 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg, and 800 mg Zn²⁺/kg soil, respectively. After two or three successive treatments, more than 90% of the toxicity was removed for 400 mg/kg and 800 mg/kg Zn-spiked soils. In the case of Cd-spiked soil, a single treatment removed 51.1% of the toxicity from 200 mg/kg Cd-spiked soil extracts while more than 90% of the toxicity was removed after two or three treatments. Chemical analysis and a mass balance study were also carried out to investigate the Cu distribution in the soil fractions. The results indicate that, before treatment, a large portion of Cu was immobilized in the soil matrix. Following magnetic separation, Cu was removed from both the soil matrix and extracts and was indeed adsorbed and concentrated on the iron filings. The retrieval of Cu by iron filings was further examined by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).     

Assessing the propensity of landfill soils to undergo reductive iron dissolution

Naturally occurring iron from soil and aquifer sediments at waste disposal sites often becomes liberated into groundwater as a result of reductive dissolution. Research was conducted to evaluate an appropriate procedure for assessing a soil’s propensity to undergo iron reductive dissolution. Soil samples collected from waste disposal sites in Florida were characterized by pH, organic carbon content, total iron content, amorphous iron content, citrate-dithionite-bicarbonate extractable iron, and qualitative X-ray diffraction analysis, followed by a series of extraction tests designed to simulate the reductive dissolution process. Over a 30-day period, biological reducing tests released 13–260 mg/kg Fe(II) from soils, and a chemical reducing test released 2.2–178 mg/kg Fe(II) from soils. Soil amorphous iron content was shown to be the most effective parameter for assessment of iron reductive dissolution potential through standard soil characterization. These results suggest that biological reducing tests may be helpful for assessing long-term soil iron reductive dissolution potential, and that soil amorphous iron content provides a good indication of the potential for a soil to undergo reductive dissolution at a landfill site.     

Gradual diversions of the Rio Pastaza in the Ecuadorian piedmont of the Andes from 1906 to 2008: role of tectonics, alluvial fan aggradation, and ENSO events

The successive courses of the Rio Pastaza in the upper Amazonian Puyo plateau (Ecuador) during the past century have been followed using historical maps, aerial photographs, satellite imagery, topographic and river long profiles, and field studies. The abrupt change in direction of the Rio Pastaza from transverse to longitudinal was a result of two avulsions occurred between 1906 and 1976 at the braided-meandering transition of the former alluvial plain. These avulsions are related to aggradation at the toe of a braided piedmont fan prograding on to a hinterland-dipping topographic slope formed by ongoing tectonic backtilting. The main avulsion proceeded by annexation of a south-dipping depression created in front of the cordillera by backtilting of the plateau. A partial and gradual avulsion having occurred upstream of the former site between 1976 and 2008 is marked by the progressive predominance of a newly formed inner branch. Tectonic backtilting enhanced aggradation upstream of the initial site while it offered the newly avulsed channel a still more favorable way along the cordillera by creating a westward lateral slope. The correlation between ENSO events and the occurrence of the 1976–2008 avulsions strongly suggests that the triggers of the avulsions were the floods caused by the high water and sediment discharges associated with ENSO (La Ni?a) events contrasting with the regular monthly discharge and the lack of actual ‘normal’ floods during the inter-ENSO periods.