Recycling of abrasives in abrasive water jet cutting with different types of granite

The cost of abrasives has restricted usage of abrasive water jet (AWJ) technology in natural stone cutting applications. However, recycling of the abrasives makes the technology more economical, effective, and environmentally friendly. In this study, significant rock properties affecting the recycling of abrasives in AWJ cutting of granites are investigated. Abrasive mass percentage above 106 μm (AMP_106μm) is considered as a performance criterion in terms of recycling of abrasives since these abrasives can be effectively reused in the rock cutting applications. The study reveals that a considerable amount of used abrasives is in a reusable form. Among the rock properties, the microhardness is statistically determined as the most significant rock property affecting the AMP_106μm. It is also concluded that theAMP_106μm can be explained with high accuracy by the proposed model including the microhardness, the quartz content, and the plagioclase content.     

Seismic hazard analysis of Laoag City,Northern Philippines for liquefaction potential assessment

A seismic hazard analysis was conducted in Laoag City, Northern Philippines to determine the design ground motion for liquefaction potential assessment of the area. Because the hazard analysis was done within the framework of liquefaction potential assessment, only those earthquakes with magnitude–distance combinations that are capable of generating liquefaction were considered in the study. Both probabilistic and deterministic approaches were used in the analysis. From the results of the probabilistic analysis, seismic hazard curves were generated from which the ground motion with a 10% probability of exceedance in 50years was obtained. This was then modified in consideration of the soft soil condition in the study area. Deaggregation was performed to determine the most likely earthquake to generate the said level of ground shaking.     

Distribution and chemical speciation of heavy metals in the surficial sediments of the Bak?r?ay and Gediz Rivers, Eastern Aegean

The pollution of aquatic ecosystem by heavy metals has assumed serious proportions due to their toxicity and accumulative behaviour. The toxicity and fate of the water borne metal is dependent on its chemical form and therefore quantification of the different forms of metal is more meaningful than the estimation of its total metal concentrations. A five-step sequential extraction procedure was applied for the determination of the distribution of seven elements (Pb, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn, Ni, Fe) in sediment samples collected from Bakır?ay and Gediz Rivers. According to this study, the results of metals are mostly retained in the residual, oxidizable and reducible fractions. Based on the chemical distribution of metals, we found that Cr, Zn, Cu and Ni are the most non-mobile metals. Pb is the metal that showed the highest percentages in the residual and reducible fractions. Mn is present in the higher percentages in the reducible and carbonate fractions. However, Fe is present in the greatest percentages in the residual fraction, which implies that these metals are strongly linked to the sediments. The risk assessment code as applied to the present study shows that about 12.3–26.9 and 15.7–33.5% of manganese at most of the sites exist in carbonate fraction in the Bakır?ay and Gediz Rivers, respectively. Therefore, Mn comes under the medium risk category in the Bakır?ay and high-risk category in the Gediz River. Speciation pattern of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Fe shows low to medium risk to aquatic environment health in both rivers.     

Distribution of rare earth elements and oxyhydroxide phases within a weathered felsic igneous profile in Hong Kong

Variation in type and abundance of oxyhydroxide phases and the fractionation of rare earth elements (REE) within a weathered felsic pyroclastic profile in Hong Kong were investigated in order to assess the key factors and micro-environmental conditions controlling their distribution during weathering at rock and mineral scales. Three types of oxyhydroxide phases (Fe-, Mn- and Ce-rich) were recognized based on their most abundant elements. The Fe-rich types appeared in all samples at different stages of weathering. The Mn-rich types, however, were limited to samples at advanced stages of weathering, while the Ce-rich types were found solely in samples from oxyhydroxide-rich zones. Fractionation of REE likely started at the early stages of weathering, but became evident only at the advanced stages. Characteristics of REE patterns, especially the direction (negative or positive) and extent of Ce-anomalies, correlated very well with the appearance and abundance of Mn-oxyhydroxides, and were attributed to the co-existence of distinct micro-environmental conditions within the profile. These conditions resulted from two major competing processes, “leaching and fixation” and “oxidation (precipitation) and reduction (dissolution)”, which operated simultaneously within the profile at any given stage of weathering.     

iSERVO: Implementing the International Solid Earth Research Virtual Observatory by Integrating Computational Grid and Geographical Information Web Services

We describe the goals and initial implementation of the International Solid Earth Virtual Observatory (iSERVO). This system is built using a Web Services approach to Grid computing infrastructure and is accessed via a component-based Web portal user interface. We describe our implementations of services used by this system, including Geographical Information System (GIS)-based data grid services for accessing remote data repositories and job management services for controlling multiple execution steps. iSERVO is an example of a larger trend to build globally scalable scientific computing infrastructures using the Service Oriented Architecture approach. Adoption of this approach raises a number of research challenges in millisecond-latency message systems suitable for internet-enabled scientific applications. We review our research in these areas.     

The QuakeSim Project: Web Services for Managing Geophysical Data and Applications

We describe our distributed systems research efforts to build the “cyberinfrastructure” components that constitute a geophysical Grid, or more accurately, a Grid of Grids. Service-oriented computing principles are used to build a distributed infrastructure of Web accessible components for accessing data and scientific applications. Our data services fall into two major categories: Archival, database-backed services based around Geographical Information System (GIS) standards from the Open Geospatial Consortium, and streaming services that can be used to filter and route real-time data sources such as Global Positioning System data streams. Execution support services include application execution management services and services for transferring remote files. These data and execution service families are bound together through metadata information and workflow services for service orchestration. Users may access the system through the QuakeSim scientific Web portal, which is built using a portlet component approach.     

Petrogenesis of the Neogene alkaline volcanics with implications for post-collisional lithospheric thinning of the Eastern Pontides, NE Turkey

Whole-rock geochemistry, Sr–Nd–Pb isotopes and K–Ar data are reported for alkaline samples collected from the Neogene alkaline volcanics (NAVs) in the Eastern Pontides, northeastern Turkey, in order to investigate their source and petrogenesis and geodynamic evaluation of the region. The NAVs were made of three groups that comprise of basanite–tephrite (feldspar-free; Group A), tephrite–tephriphonolite (feldspar and feldspathoid-bearing; Group B) and alkaline basalt–rhyolite (feldspathoid-free; Group C) series. These rocks cover a broad compositional range from silica-undersaturated to silica-oversaturated types, almost all of which are potassic in character. They show enrichment of LREE and LILE and depletion of HFSE, without a Eu anomaly in most of the mafic samples. Textural features and calculated pressures based on the Cpx-barometer in each series indicate that the alkaline magma equilibrated at shallow crustal depths under a pressure of about 3–4.5 kbar and approximating a crystallization depth of 9–14 km. The NAVs are slightly depleted in isotopic composition, with respect to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (ranging from 0.705018 to 0.705643) and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd (ranging from 0.512662 to 0.512714) that indicate young Nd model ages (0.51–059 Ga). This may indicate that the parent melts tapped a homogeneous and young lithospheric mantle source which was metasomatized by subduction-derived sediments during the Late Mesozoic. Pb isotopic compositions (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 18.85–18.95; ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.60–15.74; ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 38.82–39.25) may also be consistent with a model for an enriched subcontinental lithospheric mantle source. Lithospheric thinning and resultant upwelling of asthenosphere induced by lithospheric delamination may have favoured partial melting of chemically enriched, young lithospheric mantle beneath the Eastern Pontides. Then, the melt subsequently underwent a fractional crystallization process along with or without minor amounts of crustal assimilation, generating a wide variety of rock types in a post-collision extensional regime in the Eastern Pontides during the Neogene.