Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan: Insights from structural,chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic mélange (NW China)

In the southern Chinese Tianshan, the southernmost part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), widespread ophiolitic mélanges form distinct tectonic units that are crucial for understanding the formation of the CAOB. However, the timing of tectonic events and the subduction polarity are still in controversy. In order to better understand these geological problems, a comprehensive study was conducted on the Heiyingshan ophiolitic mélange in the SW Chinese Tianshan. Detailed structural analysis reveals that the ophiolitic mélange is tectonically underlain by sheared and weakly metamorphosed pre-Middle Devonian rocks, and unconformably overlain by non-metamorphic and undeformed lower Carboniferous (Serpukhovian) to Permian strata. The igneous assemblage of the mélange comprises OIB-like alkali basalt and andesite, N-MORB-like tholeiitic basalt, sheeted diabase dikes, cumulate gabbro and peridotite. Mafic rocks display supra-subduction signatures, and some bear evidence of contamination with the continental crust, suggesting a continental marginal (back-arc) basin setting. Zircons of a gabbro were dated at 392 ± 5 Ma by the U–Pb LA-ICP-MS method. Famennian–Visean radiolarian microfossils were found in the siliceous matrix of the ophiolitic mélange. Mylonitic phyllite which displays northward-directed kinematic evidence yielded muscovite ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of 359 ± 2 Ma and 356 ± 2 Ma.These new data, combined with previously published results, suggest that the mafic protoliths originally formed in a back-arc basin in the Chinese southern Tianshan during the late Silurian to Middle Devonian and were subsequently incorporated into the ophiolitic mélange and thrust northward during the Late Devonian to early Carboniferous. Opening of the back-arc basin was probably induced by south-dipping subduction of the Paleo-Tianshan Ocean in the early Paleozoic, and the Central Tianshan block was rifted away from the Tarim block. Closure of the back-arc basin in the early Carboniferous formed the South Tianshan Suture Zone and re-amalgamated the two blocks.     

Continuity for Kriging with Moving Neighborhood

By definition, kriging with a moving neighborhood consists in kriging each target point from a subset of data that varies with the target. When the target moves, data that were within the neighborhood are suddenly removed from the neighborhood. There is generally no screen effect, and the weight of such data goes suddenly from a non-zero value to a value of zero. This results in a discontinuity of the kriging map. Here a method to avoid such a discontinuity is proposed. It is based on the penalization of the outermost data points of the neighborhood, and amounts to considering that these points values are spoiled with a random error having a variance that increases infinitely when they are about to leave the neighborhood. Additional details are given regarding how the method is to be carried out, and properties are described. The method is illustrated by simple examples. While it appears to be similar to continuous kriging with a smoothing kernel, it is in fact based on a much simpler formalism.     

Recent research on the Brabant Massif

Summary The Brabant Massif is the southeastern part of the Caledonian fold belt known as the Anglo-Brabant Massif, which extends from East Anglia to central Belgium and is a major constituting part of the Eastern Avalonia microcontinent. Recent research in Lower Palaeozoic stratigraphy and in geophysical interpretation led to a new subcrop map of the Brabant Massif. Palaeogeographical analysis supports the rapid movement of this Massif to lower latitudes and towards Baltica in Ordovician times. Structurally, the Brabant Massif appears as a faulted antiform, flanked longitudinally to the southwest by a magmatic arc of late Ordovician to early Silurian age. An elongated gravity low points to concealed granitic intrusions below a part of the magmatic arc.     

A non-mass-dependent isotopic fractionation effect

Isotopic fractionation is discussed in terms of collision cross sections. Under thermal equilibrium conditions, isotopically non-reactive collisions and collisions involving indistinguishable isotopes have no effect on the concentration of isotopic species: isotopic exchange reactions give rise to the well known mass-dependent isotopic fractionation (MDF). Under non-thermal equilibrium conditions, the non-reactive and indistinguishable cross sections must be taken into account since they participate in the loss of energy (thermalisation) of the hot species. If an isotope exchange between hot and cold species occurs during the thermalisation, the relative isotopic abundances contribute to the reaction rates and the MDF rule is not valid anymore. A general formulation of the isotopic fractionation, accounting for thermal and non-thermal situations, is proposed. The experimental results obtained during the synthesis of ozone [1] are well explained by the present treatment, which could be extended to other isotopic anomalies observed in meteorites.     

An experimental study of the dissolution mechanism and rates of muscovite

Steady-state muscovite dissolution rates have been measured at temperatures from 60 to 201 °C and 1 ? pH ? 10.3 as a function of reactive solution K, Si, and Al concentration. The pegmatitic muscovite used in these experiments has a composition consistent with (Na_0.09, K_0.86)Fe_0.05Al_2.92Si_3.05O₁₀(OH_1.95, F_0.06). All experiments were performed in titanium mixed-flow reactors. All experiments were performed at far-from-equilibrium conditions with respect to muscovite. All reactive solutions were undersaturated with respect to secondary product phases other than for some experiments which were supersaturated with respect to bohemite and diaspore; steady-state dissolution was stoichiometric for all experiments that were undersaturated with respect to these phases.The variation of rates with reactive solution composition depends on the solution pH. At pH ? 7 rates were found to decrease significantly with increasing reactive fluid Al activity but be independent of aqueous SiO₂ activity. pH < 7 rates measured in the present study from 60 to 175 °C are consistent with

     

Using multiple portable/wearable devices for enhanced misalignment estimation in portable navigation

Global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as global positioning system (GPS), has been widely used for vehicular and outdoor navigation. Accuracy is one, among many, of the advantages of using GNSS in the open sky. However, GNSS finds difficulty in achieving similar results in portable navigation, where users spend most of their time indoors or in urban canyons, places where GNSS signals suffer from multipath error or signal blockage. One of the most common solutions for providing location services in such challenging environments is integrating GNSS with inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes. However, the arbitrary orientation of the portable device can present a more difficult challenge when using inertial sensors for portable navigation. In order to obtain a navigation solution using inertial sensors, an accurate heading estimation is required. Resolving the heading misalignment angle between the portable navigation device and the moving platform, such as using the device while walking or in a vehicle while driving, is critical to obtaining an accurate heading estimation. We present a solution for resolving the misalignment between the portable device and the moving platform, which exploits multiple portable devices like smartphones or tablets and/or smart wearable devices such as smart watches, smart glasses, and/or smart fitness and activity trackers/monitors. Several real field test experiments using portable devices were conducted to examine the performance of the proposed method. Results show how a portable navigation solution can be improved by further enhancing misalignment estimation.     

Reconstructing Phreatic Palaeogroundwater Levels in a Geoarchaeological Context: A Case Study in Flanders,Belgium

The complex debate on prehistoric settlement decisions is no longer tackled from a purely archaeological perspective but from a more landscape‐oriented manner combined with archaeological evidence. Therefore, reconstruction of several components of the former landscape is needed. Here, we focus on the reconstruction of the groundwater table based on modeling. The depth of the phreatic aquifer influences, for example, soil formation processes and vegetation type. Furthermore, it directly influences settlement by the wetness of a site. Palaeogroundwater modeling of the phreatic aquifer was carried out to produce a series of full‐coverage maps of the mean water table depth between 12.7 ka and the middle of the 20th century (1953) in Flanders, Belgium. The research focuses on the reconstruction of the input data and boundary conditions of the model and the model calibration. The model was calibrated for the 1924–1953 time period using drainage class maps. Archaeological site data and podzol occurrence data act as proxies for local drainage conditions over periods in the past. They also served as a control on the simulated phreatic palaeogroundwater levels. Model quality testing on an independent validation data set showed that the model predicts phreatic water table levels at the time of soil mapping well (mean error of 1.8 cm; root mean square error of 65.6 cm). Simulated hydrological conditions were in agreement with the occurrence of archaeological sites of Mesolithic to Roman age at 96% of the validation locations, and also with the occurrence of well‐drained podzols at 97% of the validation locations.     

Biogéographie des ammonites jurassiques et reconstitution palinspastique de la Téthys

Résumé

— La distribution géographique des ammonites jurassiques est régie par deux causes fondamentales : l’écologie et l’histoire évolutive (événements vicariants). L’analyse conjointe de ces deux facteurs permet de reconnaître : d’une part des taxons dont la distribution est essentiellement contrôlée par des contraintes écologiques (Phylloce-ratinae et Lytoceratinae, liés à des environnements océaniques profonds; Clydoniceratidae et Proplanulitinae liés à des plates-formes assez superficielles); d’autre part des taxons dont l’histoire évolutive est associée à des événements vicariants (Ammonitina liasiques euro-boréales et Cardioceratidae-Kosmoceratidae boréaux du Jurassique moyen).

Les exemples développés ici permettent d’analyser en terme de paléobiogéographie la position de l’Europe centro-méridionale (Bulgarie, Hongrie, Roumanie) incluse au Jurassique dans la bordure nord-téthy-sienne. Il est montré que Phylloceratinae et Lytoceratinae sont très abondants dans les régions supposées profondes à cette époque (sphéno-chasme des monts d’Apuseni, sillon Dobrogeo-Caucasien), alors qu’elles sont très rares sur la plate-forme moësienne. La même remarque est valable pour les plates-formes moyennes-orientales de la marge sud (Israël, Arabie Saoudite).

Lorsque l’on tente d’établir des reconstructions palinspastiques basées sur la paléobiogéographie, on constate que les taxons qui ont une histoire évolutive originale fournissent de meilleures informations paléogéographiques que les formes ubiquistes ou celles à préférences écologiques accusées. Les données brutes de répartition des faunes d’ammonites ne sont donc pas des arguments absolus pour corroborer les reconstructions. Les analyses fauniques, conduites avec une approche qualitative et quantitative, doivent tenir compte de données extra-biologiques telles que la distribution des faciès et des unités structurales; enfin, le niveau d’intervention — local, régional, global — conditionne fortement les possibilités d’interprétation des résultats.