The earthquake in the Swabian Jura of 16 November 1911 and present concepts of seismotectonics

Beginning with the Swabian Jura earthquake in 1911 the seismic activity in Central Europe is concentrated to this area. A comparison with other events of the same epicentral region shows that the largest earthquake in Germany has the character of a left-lateral horizontal strike slip striking N — NNE. The focal parameters can be assumed within the following intervalls: Seismic moment M_o = 1…8·10¹⁷ Nm; focal area F_o = 18…53 km²; average dislocation d_o = 20…53 cm and stress drop Δp_o = 13…19 bar.     

Mineralogy and fluid inclusion study of polymetallic veins in the Madjarovo ore field,Eastern Rhodope,Bulgaria

Summary The formation of the Madjarovo polymetallic ore deposit is closely related to Paleogene magmatism of intermediate character represented by subvolcanic and volcanic rocks. Six stages of vein type mineralization were established: 1. quartz-pyrite-chalcopyrite with Bi-sulphosalts; 2. quartz-hematite-chlorite with gold; 3. quartz-galena-sphalerite; 4. quartz-barite-chalcedony with Sb-sulphosalts; 5. quartz-arsenic sulphosalts; 6. calcite-siderite. Ag-bearing galena and Fe-poor sphalerite are the main minerals. Galena of early formation is Bi-bearing, while in late stages it carries more Sb. Gold was found in two generations in different parageneses. The early gold is Ag-poor and related to hematite, while the late one is Ag-rich and closely associated with quartz and sulphosalts. Three groups of sulphosalts were established: Se-bearing Bi-sulphosalts; Sb-sulphosalts, a part of them Cl-bearing, and As-sulphosalts with more or less Ag. Fluid inclusion data obtained in quartz, amethyst, sphalerite and barite from several representative ore veins show formation temperatures in the range of 370° to 150°C for different stages of mineralization. Evidence of boiling fluids suggests pressures of 70 to 180 bars which correspond to an average depth of mineralization near 1.000 m. The low salinities of the fluids (a/v 3.5 eq. wt% NaCI) indicate influx of meteoric waters during mineralization. On the basis of mineralogical and fluid inclusion data physicochemical conditions and source of the ore forming fluids are discussed.

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Mineralogie und Flüssigkeitseinschlüsse in polymetallischen Erzgngen der Lagerstätte Madjarovo, Ost-Rhodopen, Bulgarien

Zusammenfassung Die Bildung der polymetallischen Lagerstätte Madjarovo war eng verknüpft mit einem Paläogenen Magmatismus von intermediärem Charakter, der durch Subvulkanite und Vulkanite repräsentiert wird. Es wurden sechs Bildungsstadien der Gangvererzung festgestellt: 1. Quarz-Pyrit-Chalcopyrit mit Bi-Sulfosalzen; 2. Quarz-Hämatit-Chlorit mit Gold; 3. Quarz-Galenit-Sphalerit; 4. Quarz-Baryt-Chalzedon mit Sb-Sulfosalzen; 5. Quarz-As-Sulfosalze; 6. Calcit-Siderit. Ag-führender Galenit und Fe-armer Sphalerit sind die Hauptminerale. Früh gebildeter Galenit is Bi-haltig, während Galenite der späteren Bildungsstadien mehr Sb führen. Gold wurde in zwei Generationen in unterschiedlichen Paragenesen gefunden. Das Früh-Gold (Ag-arm) ist verknüpft mit Hämatit, während das Spät-Gold (Ag-reich) mit Quarz und Sulfosalzen eng assoziiert ist. Es wurden drei Gruppen von Sulfosalzen festgestellt: Se-führende Bi-Sulfosalze; Sb-Sulfosalze, die z.T. Cl-führend sind, und As-Sulfosalze mit mehr oder weniger Ag-Gehalten. Flüssigkeitseinschlüsse in Quarz, Amethyst, Sphalerit und Baryt aus mehreren repräsentativen Erzgängen zeigen Bildungtemperaturen von 370°–150°C für unterschiedliche Mineralisationsstadien. Siedende Lösungen weisen auf einen Druckbereich von 70–180 Bar hin, der einer durchschnittlichen Bildungstiefe von 1.000 m entspricht. Die durchweg niedrige Salinität der Lösungen (durchschnittlich 3.5. Gew.% NaCl äq.) wird auf einen Zufluß von meteorischen Wässern während der Mineralisation zurückgeführt. Auf der Basis der mineralogischen Ergebnisse und der Daten fluider Einschlüse werden die physikochemischen Bedingungen und die Herkunft der Erzlösungen diskutiert.

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With 4 Figures     

Rapid terrain-based mapping of some volcaniclastic flow hazard using Gis-based automated methods: a case study from southern Campania,Italy

Destructive volcaniclastic flows are among the most recurrent and dangerous natural phenomena in volcanic areas. They can originate not only during or shortly after an eruption (syn-eruptive) but also during a period of volcanic quiescence (inter-eruptive), when heavy and/or persistent rains remobilize loose pyroclastic deposits. The area in Italy most prone to such flows is that of the Apennine Mountains bordering the southern Campania Plain. These steep slopes are covered by pyroclastic material of variable thickness (a few cm to several m) derived from the explosive activity of the Somma-Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei volcanoes a few tens of kilometers to the west. The largest and most recent devastating event occurred on May 5, 1998, causing the death of more than 150 people and considerable damage to villages at the foot of the Apennine Mountains. This tragic event was only the most recent of a number of volcaniclastic flows affecting the area in both historical and prehistoric times. Historical accounts report that more than 500 events have occurred in the last five centuries and that more than half of these occurred in the last 100 years, causing hundreds of deaths. In order to improve volcaniclastic flow hazard zonation and risk mitigation in the study area, we produced a zonation map that identifies the drainage basins potentially prone to disruption. This map was obtained by combining morphological characteristics (concavity and basin shape factor) and the mean slope distribution of drainage basins derived from a digital elevation model with a 10-m resolution. These parameters allowed for the classification of 1,069 drainage basins, which have been grouped into four different classes of proneness to disruption: low, moderate, high and very high. The map compiled in a GIS environment, as well as the linked database, can be rapidly queried.     

Proterozoic–Paleozoic development of the basement of the Central Andes (18–26°S) — a mobile belt of the South American craton

The Late Precambrian–Early Paleozoic metamorphic basement forms a volumetrically important part of the Andean crust. We investigated its evolution in order to subdivide the area between 18 and 26°S into crustal domains by means of petrological and age data (Sm–Nd isochrons, K–Ar). The metamorphic crystallization ages and t_DM ages are not consistent with growth of the Pacific margin north of the Argentine Precordillera by accretion of exotic terranes, but favor a model of a mobile belt of the Pampean Cycle. Peak metamorphic conditions in all scattered outcrop areas between 18 and 26°S are similar and reached the upper amphibolite facies conditions indicated by mineral paragensis and the occurrence of migmatite. Sm–Nd mineral isochrons yielded 525±10, 505±6 and 509±1 Ma for the Chilean Coast Range, the Chilean Precordillera and the Argentine Puna, and 442±9 and 412±18 Ma for the Sierras Pampeanas. Conventional K–Ar cooling age data of amphibole and mica cluster around 400 Ma, but are frequently reset by Late Paleozoic and Jurassic magmatism. Final exhumation of the Early Paleozoic orogen is confirmed by Devonian erosional unconformities. Sm–Nd depleted mantle model ages of felsic rocks from the metamorphic basement range from 1.4 to 2.2 Ga, in northern Chile the average is 1.65±0.16 Ga (1σ; n=12), average t_DM of both gneiss and metabasite in NW Argentina is 1.76±0.4 Ga (1σ; n=22), and the isotopic composition excludes major addition of juvenile mantle derived material during the Early Paleozoic metamorphic and magmatic cycle. These new data indicate a largely similar development of the metamorphic basement south of the Arequipa Massif at 18°S and north of the Argentine Precordillera at 28°S. Variations of metamorphic grade and of ages of peak metamorphism are of local importance. The protolith was derived from Early to Middle Proterozoic cratonic areas, similar to the Proterozoic rocks from the Arequipa Massif, which had undergone Grenvillian metamorphism at ca. 1.0 Ga.     

Pathways of clay mineral transport in the coastal zone of the Brazilian continental shelf from Ceará to the mouth of the Amazon River

The transport pathways of fine sediments (fraction <2 μm) along the Brazilian continental shelf from Ceará to the Amazon River mouth were studied by means of clay mineral analyses. On the continental shelf southeast of the Amazon mouth, fluctuations in clay mineral compositions reflect simple mixing between the suspended load of the North Brazil Current and sediment from several smaller rivers. Previously, clay mineral variations west of the Amazon mouth have been explained by variable settling velocities of different grain-size classes within the <2 μm fraction or by selective coagulation of individual clay mineral groups. By contrast, our experiments with river bank samples show that selective coagulation does not occur in Amazon River sediments. A more appropriate explanation for observed variations in clay mineral composition off the Amazon mouth seems to be, similarly to that for the shelf between Ceará and the Amazon mouth, a mixing of Amazon sediments with suspended material of the North Brazil Current. This interpretation is supported by data on clay mineral composition east and south of the Amazon mouth, showing more affinity to sediments of the North Brazil Current than to the suspended load of the Amazon River. Additionally, relatively low sedimentation rates and low concentrations of fine-grained sediments on the shelf suggest that high riverine input by the Amazon River does not overprint the sediments of the North Brazil Current in this region. The strong North Brazil Current shunts the Amazon suspended load in a north-westerly direction along the north-eastern coast of South America. Hence, stronger sedimentation of Amazon sediments would occur only west of the river mouth.     

昔日全球环境变化的自然磁记录

沉积物的岩石磁学参量反映了它在海洋及大陆范围内沉积时的古环境及古气候条件.尽管对这种现象的认识还不彻底,但人们对于那些导致磁性增强或减弱的作用已有了很好的了解.这些作用包括可变的陆源物质沉积通量,铁磁性矿物在原地的有机及无机形成,以及这些矿物成岩过程中的分解.至少在过去的700万年间,在大量的沉积记录中观察到了磁性矿物集合体的周期性出现,这些周期性出现涉及到了标准的米兰柯维奇理论的轨道频率,证实了岩石磁学同过去全球变化间的关系.但是,磁信号的定量解译仍然处在幼年期,并且受到了信号形成过程中复杂的相互作用的干扰.     

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: luminosity dependence of galaxy clustering

We investigate the dependence of the strength of galaxy clustering on intrinsic luminosity using the Anglo-Australian two degree field galaxy redshift survey (2dFGRS). The 2dFGRS is over an order of magnitude larger than previous redshift surveys used to address this issue. We measure the projected two-point correlation function of galaxies in a series of volume-limited samples. The projected correlation function is free from any distortion of the clustering pattern induced by peculiar motions and is well described by a power law in pair separation over the range     . The clustering of     galaxies in real space is well-fitted by a correlation length     and power-law slope     . The clustering amplitude increases slowly with absolute magnitude for galaxies fainter than M *, but rises more strongly at higher luminosities. At low luminosities, our results agree with measurements from the Southern Sky Redshift Survey 2 by Benoist et al. However, we find a weaker dependence of clustering strength on luminosity at the highest luminosities. The correlation function amplitude increases by a factor of 4.0 between     and −22.5, and the most luminous galaxies are 3.0 times more strongly clustered than L * galaxies. The power-law slope of the correlation function shows remarkably little variation for samples spanning a factor of 20 in luminosity. Our measurements are in very good agreement with the predictions of the hierarchical galaxy formation models of Benson et al.     

Body-wave dispersion in the Friuli focal area

The differential dispersion of P- and S- body waves is studied in the Friuli area. We estimate theoretically the respective contributions of the source, from dislocation models, and of the propagation, from the Futterman model. We demonstrate the possible existence of differential dispersion, which is interpreted as being due to attenuation. The quality factor Q_P deduced from this hypothesis shows a regional variation from 15 to 210. Results also indicate a possible dependence of Q_P on frequency in the range 5–40 Hz.     

Biogeochemistry of nitrous oxide in groundwater in a forested ecosystem elucidated by nitrous oxide isotopomer measurements

The biological and physical controls on microbial processes that produce and consume N₂O in soils are highly complex. Isotopomer ratios of N₂O, with abundance of ¹⁴N¹⁵N¹⁶O, ¹⁵N¹⁴N¹⁶O, and ¹⁴N¹⁴N¹⁸O relative to ¹⁴N¹⁴N¹⁶O, are promising for elucidation of N₂O biogeochemistry in an intact ecosystem. Site preference, the nitrogen isotope ratio of the central nitrogen atom minus that of the terminal nitrogen atom, is useful to distinguish between N₂O via hydroxylamine oxidation and N₂O via nitrite reduction.We applied this isotopomer analysis to a groundwater system in a temperate coniferous-forested ecosystem. Results of a previous study at this location showed that the N₂O concentration in groundwater varied greatly according to groundwater chemistry, i.e. NO₃⁻, DOC, and DO, although apportionment of N₂O production to nitrification or denitrification was ambiguous. Our isotopic analysis (δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O) of NO₃⁻ and N₂O implies that denitrification is the dominant production process of N₂O, but definitive information is not derived from δ¹⁵N and δ¹⁸O analysis because of large variations in isotopic fractionations during production and consumption of N₂O. However, the N₂O site preference and the difference in δ¹⁵N between NO₃⁻ and N₂O indicate that nitrification contributes to total N₂O production and that most measured N₂O has been subjected to further N₂O reduction to N₂. The implications of N₂O biogeochemistry derived from isotope and isotopomer data differ entirely from those derived from conventional concentration data of DO, NO₃⁻, and N₂O. That difference underscores the need to reconsider our understanding of the N cycle in the oxic-anoxic interface.     

Relationship between Magmatic,Metamorphic, and Hydrothermal Processes within the Baikal–Muya Terrane (Eastern Siberia): Constraints from High-Precision Geochronological Study of the Kedrovskii Granitoid Massif

Doklady Earth Sciences - High-precision dating of granitoids is of key significance for age identification of the main stages of crust formation in various blocks of the continental crust. Here we...