Anomalous Diffuse CO2 Emission prior to the January 2002 Short-term Unrest at San Miguel Volcano, El Salvador, Central America

On January 16, 2002, short-term unrest occurred at San Miguel volcano. A gas-and-steamash plume rose a few hundred meters above the summit crater. An anomalous microseismicity pattern, about 75 events between 7:30 and 10:30 hours, was also observed. Continuous monitoring of CO₂ efflux on the volcano started on November 24, 2001, in the attempt to provide a multidisciplinary approach for its volcanic surveillance. The background mean of the diffuse CO₂ emission is about 16 g m^-2 d^-1, but a 17- fold increase, up to 270 g m^-2 d^-1, was detected on January 7, nine days before the January 2002 short-term unrest at San Miguel volcano. These observed anomalous changes on diffuse CO₂ degassing could be related to either a sharp increase of CO₂ pressure within the volcanic-hydrothermal system or degassing from an uprising fresh gas-rich magma within the shallow plumbing system of the volcano since meteorological fluctuations cannot explain this observed increase of diffuse CO₂ emission.     

Jack fracturing technique of stress measurement

SummaryJack Fracturing Technique of Stress Measurement This paper suggests a new approach for determining the initial state of stress in rock masses by strain relief measurements without overcoring.The method involves impressing friction-strain gauges on two opposite quadrants of a borehole wall, then uniaxially loading the other two quadrants with a self-equilibrating pair of forces of sufficient magnitude for initiating and propagating fractures of depth adequate to relieve strain. The initial tangential strains on the borehole wall are relieved by the creation of an open axial fracture and measured by the impressed friction gauges.Strain relief by borehole jack-fracturing was studied with finiteelement analysis and also by simple consideration of boundary conditions and external tractions. The dependence of the initial state of stress on the strain-relief measurements at different orientations is obtained by employing the classical theory of elasticity.The instrumentation unique to the method, a borehole-loading device and a friction-strain-gauge module, were tested in the laboratory, and the results summarized. Field-stress measurements made in a sandstone quarry for the magnitude and orientation of the stresses are in good agreement with those obtained by an independent overcoming technique. Work is progressing to compare results with a number of controlled cases.

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ZusammenfassungJack-Frakturing-Technik zur Spannungsmessung Es wird eine neue Methode zur Feststellung des Anfangsspannungszustandes in Steinmassen durch Messung der Verringerung der Belastung vorgestellt.In dieser Methode werden Reibungs-Dehnungs-Meßgeräte in zwei gegenüberliegende Quadrante einer Bohrlochwand gepreßt, und die anderen beiden Quadranten werden uniaxial belastet mit selbst-equilibrierenden Kräften, die groß genug sind, um Brüche zu verursachen. Die vorliegenden tangentialen Spannungen der Bohrlochwand werden durch das Erzeugen offener axialer Brüche gelöst und mit einem Reibungsmanometer gemessen.Belastungsminderung durch Bohrloch Jack-Brechung wurde mit finite-element analysis untersucht und ebenso durch einfache Anwendung der Grenzbedingungen. Die Abhängigkeit des Anfangsspannungszustandes von der Orientierung wird durch Anwendung der klassischen Elastizitätstheorie bewiesen.Die Bohrloch Spannungsapparatur und das Reibungs-Belastungsmanometer wurden im Laboratorium getestet. Messungen in Sandstein für die Größe und Orientierung der Spannungen liefern gute Übereinstimmung mit anderen Methoden.

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RésuméMéthode tube-fracture pour la détermination des constraintes Dans cet article, l'auteur suggère une nouvelle approche pour déterminer la contrainte initiale des masses rocheuses en mesurant le relâchement de la déformation sans avoir à percer la masse.Cette méthode consiste à imprimer sur deux quarts de cercle opposés des parois d'un tube cylindrique des indicateurs de la déformation causée par la friction; puis à contraindre latéralement les deux autres quarts de cercle avec deux forces qui s'équilibrent et qui ont une magnitude suffisante pour commencer et propager des fractures assez profondes pour que la déformation se relâche. Les contraintes tangentielles initiales sur la paroi du tube sont relachées par la création d'une fracture ouverte; on les mesure grâce aux indicateurs de déformation.On commence le relâchement de la déformation du tube par fracture avec l'analyse de l'élément fini et aussi en prenant en considération les conditions limites et les tractions extérieures. En utilisant la théorie classique de l'élasticité, on obtient le rapport de l'état initial de contrainte sur la mesure du relâchement de la déformation à différents angles.Les instruments uniques à cette méthode — un appareil destiné à impressionner le tube, et un indicateur de déformation par la friction — ont été mis au point en laboratoire et on a tabulé les résultats. Les mesures de déformation faites dans une carrière de grès pour établir la magnitude et la direction des déformations sont en accord avec les résultats obtenus par une technique indépendante de precement. Les travaux se poursuivent en vue de comparer les résultats avec un certain nombre de cas contrôlés.

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With 9 Figures     

Cyclostratigraphy and high-frequency carbon isotope fluctuations in Upper Cretaceous shallow-water carbonates, southern Italy

Abstract A detailed carbon isotope study has been carried out on a Santonian (Upper Cretaceous) carbonate platform succession that crops out at Monte Sant'Erasmo (southern Italy). Previous centimetre‐scale studies on this succession have shown that high‐frequency eustatic changes, resulting from the Earth's orbital fluctuations, controlled the hierarchical organization of the depositional and early diagenetic features in elementary cycles, bundles (groups of three to five elementary cycles) and superbundles (groups of three or four bundles). The elementary cycles, which correspond to single beds, suggest a control caused by Earth's precession; the bundles and superbundles record the short (≈ 100 kyr) and long (≈ 400 kyr) eccentricity periodicity respectively. The δ¹³C signal of the Monte Sant'Erasmo succession is cyclic in nature and may be considered to be a reliable proxy for the sedimentary evolution (and related sea‐level history) of the analysed sequence. The carbon isotope cyclicity is recorded at bundle and superbundle level, but it is not evident at the scale of the elementary cycles, at least with the sampling interval used in this study. Spectral analysis of the δ¹³C record shows two main peaks corresponding to the short‐ and long‐eccentricity periodicity, whereas the precession signal is not evident in the power spectrum. In addition, lithofacies analysis shows that, in each bundle (and superbundle), higher C isotope values occur in sediments characterized by marine cements, whereas lower values are normally found in more restricted deposits overprinted by early meteoric diagenesis. Early diagenesis, driven by periodic sea‐level fluctuations, developed in either shallow‐subtidal (marine diagenesis) or subaerial‐exposed (meteoric overprint) sedimentary environments and directly influenced the carbon isotope signature. As a consequence, the δ¹³C record at Monte Sant'Erasmo reflects high‐frequency climatic oscillations controlling both environmental and early diagenetic changes. The long‐term isotopic record is similar to that of contemporaneous pelagic sections in England and elsewhere in Italy. It is concluded that the δ¹³C signature of shallow‐water carbonates, such as those of Monte Sant'Erasmo, offers great potential for correlation with coeval sections, including those of the pelagic realm.     

One‐year‐long runoff forecast by a single snowpack evaluation

A degree‐day‐based model is presented for a 1 year ahead runoff forecast, with 1 day time steps. The input information is a single snowpack evaluation collected at the beginning of the snowmelt season. The snow‐cover dynamics, the key information for long‐term snowmelt forecast, are described by the snow‐line dynamics, i.e. by the movements of the downhill snowpack limit. The snowmelt volume, estimated by the snow‐line dynamics, is the exogenous input of an autoregressive transformation model. The model is calibrated by a least‐squares procedure on the basis of observed daily runoff data and the corresponding measurements of the snowpack volume (one measurement per year). A real‐world case study on the Alto Tunuyan River basin (2380 km², Argentinean Andes) is presented. The 1 year ahead Alto Tunuyan River runoff patterns, computed for both calibration and validation periods, reveal high agreement with observed streamflows. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extreme rainfall-induced lahars and dike breaching, 30 November 2006, Mayon Volcano,Philippines

On 29–30 November 2006, heavy rains from Supertyphoon Durian remobilized volcanic debris on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Mayon, generating major lahars that caused severe loss of life and property in downstream communities. The nearby Legaspi City weather station recorded 495.8 mm of rainfall over 1.5 days at rates as high as 47.5 mm/h, far exceeding the initiation threshold for Mayon lahars. For about 18 h, floods and lahars from the intense and prolonged rainfall overtopped river bends, breaching six dikes through which they created new paths, buried downstream communities in thick, widespread deposits, and caused most of the 1,266 fatalities. In order to mitigate damage from future lahars, the deposits were described and analyzed for clues to their generation and impact on structures and people. Post-disaster maps were generated from raw ASTER and SPOT images, using automated density slicing to characterize lahar deposits, flooded areas, croplands, and urbanized areas. Fieldwork was undertaken to check the accuracy of the maps, especially at the edges of the lahar deposits, and to measure the deposit thicknesses. The Durian event was exceptional in terms of rainfall intensity, but the dikes eventually failed because they were designed and built according to flood specifications, not to withstand major lahars.     

Study on the Historical Distribution of Metals in Aquatic Sediments

In this study, the historical distribution of metals, phosphorous, and sulfur at four different depths in the sediments of different lakes formed in the course of an urban river (in Londrina, Parana State, Brazil) were determined. The transport of metals along the course of the river was observed mainly for Mn, Cr, and Zn. High concentrations of Pb in the Capivara Bay and Cr in the river were attributed to contamination from a battery plant and a tannery, respectively. The concentrations of heavy metals in the deepest layers of the sediments remain high several years after deposition.     

Carlin-type Gold Prospects in Surigao del Norte, Mindanao Island, Philippines: Their Geology and Mineralization Potential

Abstract. Three calcareous sedimentary rock-hosted Carlin type-like gold prospects were mapped in a mineral production sharing agreement area of Philex Gold Philippines Inc. in Taganaan municipality, Surigao del Norte province in Mindanao island in the Philippines. They occur along a 20–25 km long trend of known epigenetic gold and porphyry copper deposits that lie close to several splays of the Philippine Fault Zone. The gold district forms part of the Late Cretaceous Eastern Mindanao Range that hosts early Paleogene and late Pliocene to Quaternary intrusive rocks.
Gold is invisible in the jasperoid outcrops in Lascogon, Napo, and Danao prospects. The jasperoids occur in lenses of marls belonging to the Taganaan Marl Member that is associated to a turbiditic member of the Middle Miocene Mabuhay Formation. The marl lenses include gently dipping interbedded silty limestones and calcareous shales. The "invisible gold" mineralization in silicified calcareous rocks resembles Carlin-type deposits. Based on the mapped igneous and sedimentary rocks, a possible heat source for the gold mineralization is either or both of the two main phases of intrusion, Mabuhay An-desite or Alipao Andesite Porphyry. Forty-eight rock samples, fifteen stream sediment samples, and one soil sample were critical in delineating the general features of the potential Carlin-type prospects. The gold grades of jasperoids in the three prospects range from trace amounts to 20 g/t Au. Regional studies of gold and porphyry copper mineralization in the Surigao del Norte mineral district are important in delineating ore targets for drilling in the three prospects.     

Late Mesozoic crustal extension along the southern Eurasian margin: evidence from volcanic rocks of the Bangong-Nujiang Suture zone, Tibet

The Mesozoic was a period of marginal basin formations, closures and reactivations along segments of the southern Eurasian margin. Remnants of some of these events are now preserved as exposures of Juras-sic-Cretaceous ophiolites and ophiolitic mélanges, thick sequences of Jurassic flysch deposits and Middle Cretaceous sedimentary and volcanic formations along the Bangong-Nujiang Suture Zone (BNS).