Pervasive melt percolation reactions in ultra-depleted refractory harzburgites at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 15° 20′N: ODP Hole 1274A

ODP Leg 209 Site 1274 mantle peridotites are highly refractory in terms of lack of residual clinopyroxene, olivine Mg# (up to 0.92) and spinel Cr# (∼0.5), suggesting high degree of partial melting (>20%). Detailed studies of their microstructures show that they have extensively reacted with a pervading intergranular melt prior to cooling in the lithosphere, leading to crystallization of olivine, clinopyroxene and spinel at the expense of orthopyroxene. The least reacted harzburgites are too rich in orthopyroxene to be simple residues of low-pressure (spinel field) partial melting. Cu-rich sulfides that precipitated with the clinopyroxenes indicate that the intergranular melt was generated by no more than 12% melting of a MORB mantle or by more extensive melting of a clinopyroxene-rich lithology. Rare olivine-rich lherzolitic domains, characterized by relics of coarse clinopyroxenes intergrown with magmatic sulfides, support the second interpretation. Further, coarse and intergranular clinopyroxenes are highly depleted in REE, Zr and Ti. A two-stage partial melting/melt–rock reaction history is proposed, in which initial mantle underwent depletion and refertilization after an earlier high pressure (garnet field) melting event before upwelling and remelting beneath the present-day ridge. The ultra-depleted compositions were acquired through melt re-equilibration with residual harzburgites. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

Magnetotelluric investigations for imaging electrical structure of Garhwal Himalayan corridor,Uttarakhand, India

Magnetotelluric investigations have been carried out in the Garhwal Himalayan corridor to delineate the electrical structure of the crust along a profile extending from Indo-Gangetic Plain to Higher Himalayan region in Uttarakhand, India. The profile passing through major Himalayan thrusts: Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFF), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT), is nearly perpendicular to the regional geological strike. Data processing and impedance analysis indicate that out of 44 stations MT data recorded, only 27 stations data show in general, the validity of 2D assumption. The average geoelectric strike, N70°W, was estimated for the profile using tensor decomposition. 2D smooth geoelectrical model has been presented, which provides the electrical image of the shallow and deeper crustal structure. The major features of the model are (i) a low resistivity (<50Ωm), shallow feature interpreted as sediments of Siwalik and Indo-Gangetic Plain, (ii) highly resistive (> 1000Ωm) zone below the sediments at a depth of 6 km, interpreted as the top surface of the Indian plate, (iii) a low resistivity (< 10Ωm) below the depth of 6 km near MCT zone coincides with the intense micro-seismic activity in the region. The zone is interpreted as the partial melting or fluid phase at mid crustal depth. Sensitivity test indicates that the major features of the geoelectrical model are relevant and desired by the MT data.     

Provenance of the Bosnian Flysch

Sandwiched between the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and the Dinaride Ophiolite Zone, the Bosnian Flysch forms a c. 3000 m thick, intensely folded stack of Upper Jurassic to Cretaceous mixed carbonate and siliciclastic sediments in the Dinarides. New petrographic, heavy mineral, zircon U/Pb and fission-track data as well as biostratigraphic evidence allow us to reconstruct the palaeogeology of the source areas of the Bosnian Flysch basin in late Mesozoic times. Middle Jurassic intraoceanic subduction of the Neotethys was shortly followed by exhumation of the overriding oceanic plate. Trench sedimentation was controlled by a dual sediment supply from the sub-ophiolitic high-grade metamorphic soles and from the distal continental margin of the Adriatic plate. Following obduction onto Adria, from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition onwards a vast clastic wedge (Vranduk Formation) was developed in front of the leading edge, fed by continental basement units of Adria that experienced Early Cretaceous synsedimentary cooling, by the overlying ophiolitic thrust sheets and by redeposited elements of coeval Urgonian facies reefs grown on the thrust wedge complex. Following mid-Cretaceous deformation and thermal overprint of the Vranduk Formation, the depozone migrated further towards SW and received increasing amounts of redeposited carbonate detritus released from the Adriatic Carbonate Platform margin (Ugar Formation). Subordinate siliciclastic source components indicate changing source rocks on the upper plate, with ophiolites becoming subordinate. The zone of the continental basement previously affected by the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous thermal imprint has been removed; instead, the basement mostly supplied detritus with a wide range of pre-Jurassic cooling ages. However, a c. 80 Ma, largely synsedimentary cooling event is also recorded by the Ugar Formation, that contrasts the predominantly Early Cretaceous cooling of the Adriatic basement and suggests, at least locally, a fast exhumation.     

Beach and nearshore morphodynamic changes of the Tabarka coast,Northwest of Tunisia

Aerial photographs taken in the 1963 and 2001 and bathymetric charts, in conjunction with coastal processes are analyzed to assess changes in rate of shoreline position, seabed level, and seabed grain sizes along the Tabarka–Berkoukech beach at the north-western Tunisian coastline. The littoral cell of this beach, 12-km-long, is bounded by pronounced embayments and rocky headlands separated by sandy stretches. Although not yet very much undeveloped, this littoral is still experienced degradation and modification, especially along its shoreline, with significant coastal erosion at some places. Results obtained from analysis of shoreline position indicate that El Morjene Beach is experienced a landward retreat of more than −62 m, at a maximum rate of −1.64 m/year, whereas the El corniche beach is advanced about 16–144 m, at an average rate of 0.42 m–3.78 m/year. This beach accretion has been formed on the updrift side of the Tabarka port constructed between 1966 and 1970. Comparison of bottom contours deduced from bathymetric charts surveyed in 1881 and 1996 off the coastline between Tabarka Port and El Morjene Beach identifies erosional areas (sediment source) and accretionary zones (sediment sink). Erosion (0.87–4.35 cm/year) occurs between El kebir River Mouth and El Morjene beach, whereas accretion exists in the zone down wind of the port ranges between 0.87 and 5.21 cm/year. Morphological analyses of the shoreline and the seabed of the study nearshore area indicate that shoreline retreat corresponds to areas of seabed scour (sediment source) while shoreline accretion is associated with areas of seabed deposition (sediment sink). Furthermore, simulation of wave propagation using STWAVE model combined with grain size distributions of the seabed shows that fine sands are much dominated in depositional areas with low wave energy, whereas coarser sands in erosive zones with high wave energy. The results obtained suggest that the change of seabed morphology, wave height pattern and grain size sediment have a great influence on the modification of shoreline morphology and dynamics.     

Present-day oxidative subsidence of organic soils and mitigation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta,California, USA

Subsidence of organic soils in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta threatens sustainability of the California (USA) water supply system and agriculture. Land-surface elevation data were collected to assess present-day subsidence rates and evaluate rice as a land use for subsidence mitigation. To depict Delta-wide present-day rates of subsidence, the previously developed SUBCALC model was refined and calibrated using recent data for CO₂ emissions and land-surface elevation changes measured at extensometers. Land-surface elevation change data were evaluated relative to indirect estimates of subsidence and accretion using carbon and nitrogen flux data for rice cultivation. Extensometer and leveling data demonstrate seasonal variations in land-surface elevations associated with groundwater-level fluctuations and inelastic subsidence rates of 0.5–0.8 cm yr^–1. Calibration of the SUBCALC model indicated accuracy of ±0.10 cm yr^–1 where depth to groundwater, soil organic matter content and temperature are known. Regional estimates of subsidence range from <0.3 to >1.8 cm yr^–1. The primary uncertainty is the distribution of soil organic matter content which results in spatial averaging in the mapping of subsidence rates. Analysis of leveling and extensometer data in rice fields resulted in an estimated accretion rate of 0.02–0.8 cm yr^–1. These values generally agreed with indirect estimates based on carbon fluxes and nitrogen mineralization, thus preliminarily demonstrating that rice will stop or greatly reduce subsidence. Areas below elevations of –2 m are candidate areas for implementation of mitigation measures such as rice because there is active subsidence occurring at rates greater than 0.4 cm yr^–1.     

Gold Occurrence and Ore Genesis,Yata Micro—Disseminated Gold Deposit,Guizhou,Southwest China

The mode of occurrence of gold in the Yata micro-disseminated gold deposit is ap-proached through chemical phase studies coupled with ore-dressing monitoring and micro-beam analysis.The results showed that gold occurred for the most part as ultra-microscopic particles adsorbed on the surfaces or fracture planes of pyrite and other sulphides.The proportions of gold of different occurrences were estimated solutions containing nanometer-sized gold particles were prepared following the hydrolysis-reduction procedure and the adsorption of nanometer-sized gold on ordinary sulphides and rocks was experimentally determined.It is evident that sulphides are good adsorbents of gold and this is consistent with geological observations.     

A modified normalized model for predicting effective soil thermal conductivity

Effective soil thermal conductivity (λ _eff) describes the ability of a multiphase soil to transmit heat by conduction under unit temperature gradient. It is a critical parameter for environmental science, earth and planetary science, and engineering applications. Numerous models are available in the literature, but their applicability is generally restricted to certain soil types or water contents (θ). The objective of this study was to develop a new model in the similar form of the Johansen 1975 model to simulate the λ _eff(θ) relationship of soils of various soil textures and water contents. An exponential type model with two parameters is developed and a new function for calculating dry soil thermal conductivity is presented. Performance of the new model and six other normalized models were evaluated with published datasets. The results show that the new model is able to well mimic λ _eff(θ) relationship of soils from sand to silt loam and from oven dry to full saturation. In addition, it has the best performance among the seven models under test (with root-mean-square error of 0.059 W m^?1 °C^?1, average deviations of 0.0009 W m^?1 °C^?1, and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.994). The new model has potential to improve the reliability of soil thermal conductivity estimation and be incorporated into numerical modeling for environmental, earth and engineering studies.     

New stacked central configurations for the planar 5-body problem

A stacked central configuration in the n-body problem is one that has a proper subset of the n-bodies forming a central configuration. In this paper we study the case where three bodies with masses m ₁, m ₂, m ₃ (bodies 1, 2, 3) form an equilateral central configuration, and the other two with masses m ₄, m ₅ are symmetric with respect to the mediatrix of the segment joining 1 and 2, and they are above the triangle generated by {1, 2, 3}. We show the existence and non-existence of this kind of stacked central configurations for the planar 5-body problem.     

陕西黄土高原人工林土壤干层及形成原因

1 Introduction Abroad, a lot of research on soil water removal, seeping and evaporation has been done (Ole, 1998; Rapp, 2000). A seeping model of soil water was suggested (Yuin, 1998) and it was known that water removal is very slow in the unsaturated zon…     

Element sets for high-order Poincaré mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion

The propagation and Poincaré mapping of perturbed Keplerian motion is a key topic in Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics, e.g., to study the stability of orbits or design bounded relative trajectories. The high-order transfer map (HOTM) method enables efficient mapping of perturbed Keplerian orbits using the high-order Taylor expansion of a Poincaré or stroboscopic map. The HOTM is only accurate close to the expansion point and therefore the number of revolutions for which the map is accurate tends to be limited. The proper selection of coordinates is of key importance for improving the performance of the HOTM method. In this paper, we investigate the use of different element sets for expressing the high-order map in order to find the coordinates that perform best in terms of accuracy. A new set of elements is introduced that enables extremely accurate mapping of the state, even for high eccentricities and higher-order zonal perturbations. Finally, the high-order map is shown to be very useful for the determination and study of fixed points and center manifolds of Poincaré maps.