Permo-Triassic plume magmatism of the Kuznetsk Basin,Central Asia: geology,geochronology, and geochemistry

The Kuznetsk Basin is located in the northern part of the Altai–Sayan Folded Area (ASFA), southwestern Siberia. Its Late Permian–Middle Triassic section includes basaltic stratum-like bodies, sills, formed at 250–248 Ma. The basalts are medium-high-Ti tholeiites enriched in La. Compositionally they are close to the Early Triassic basalts of the Syverma Formation in the Siberian Flood basalt large igneous province, basalts of the Urengoi Rift in the West Siberian Basin and to the Triassic basalts of the North-Mongolian rift system. The basalts probably formed in relation to mantle plume activity: they are enriched in light rare-earth elements (LREE; La_n = 90–115, La/Sm_n = 2.4–2.6) but relatively depleted in Nb (Nb/La_PM = 0.34–0.48). Low to medium differentiation of heavy rare-earth elements (HREE; Gd/Yb_n = 1.4–1.7) suggests a spinel facies mantle source for basaltic melts. Our obtained data on the composition and age of the Kuznetsk basalts support the previous idea about their genetic and structural links with the Permian–Triassic continental flood basalts of the Siberian Platform (Siberian Traps) possibly related to the activity of the Siberian superplume which peaked at 252–248 Ma. The abruptly changing thickness of the Kuznetsk Late Permian–Middle Triassic units suggests their formation within an extensional regime similar to the exposed rifts of Southern Urals and northern Mongolia and buried rifts of the West Siberian Basin.     

Benchmarking of two three-dimensional numerical models in time/space domain to predict railway-induced ground vibrations

In the last 30 years,the scientific community has developed and proposed different models and numerical approaches for the study of vibrations induced by railway traffic.Most of them are formulated in the frequency/wave number domain and with a 2.5D approach.Three-dimensional numerical models formulated in the time/space domain are less frequently used,mainly due to their high computational cost.Notwithstanding,these models present very attractive characteristics,such as the possibility of considering nonlinear behaviors or the modelling of excess pore pressure and non-homogeneous and non-periodic geometries in the longitudinal direction of the track.In this study,two 3D numerical approaches formulated in the time/space domain are compared and experimentally validated.The first one consists of a finite element approach and the second one of a finite difference approach.The experimental validation in an actual case situated in Carregado(Portugal)shows an acceptable fitting between the numerical results and the actual measurements for both models.However,there are some differences among them.This study therefore includes some recommendations for their use in practical soil dynamics and geotechnical engineering.     

Geologic evolution of the Donguinyó-Huichapan caldera complex,central Mexican Volcanic Belt,Mexico

The Donguinyó-Huichapan caldera complex is located 110 km to the NNW of Mexico City, in the central sector of the Mexican Volcanic Belt. It is a 10 km in diameter complex apparently with two overlapping calderas, each one related to an ignimbrite sequence that contrasts in composition, mineralogy, welding, distribution, and physical aspect. The geologic evolution of this complex includes the following phases, 1) A first caldera formed at 5.0 ± 0.3 Ma, with the eruption of several discrete pulses of andesitic to trachydacitic pyroclastic flows that produced a series of densely welded ignimbrites; 2) At 4.6 ± 0.3 Ma, several small shield volcanoes and cinder cones built the rim of this caldera and erupted basaltic-andesite and andesitic lava flows; 3) At 4.2 ± 0.2 Ma, a second caldera was formed associated to the eruption of the Huichapan Tuff, which is a rhyolitic pyroclastic sequence consisting of minor unwelded ignimbrites, pumice fall and surge deposits, and a voluminous welded ignimbrite; 4) Also yielding an age of 4.2 ± 0.2 Ma, several trachydacitic lava domes were extruded along the new ring fracture and formed the rim of the Huichapan caldera, as well as five intra-caldera domes of dacitic and trachydacitic composition. Peripheral volcanism includes a large 2.5 ± 0.1 Ma shield volcano that was emplaced on the Huichapan caldera rim.The two calderas that form the Donguinyó-Huichapan complex have contrasting differences in volcanic styles that were apparently due to their differences in composition. Products erupted by the Donguinyó caldera are basaltic-andesite to trachydacitic in composition, whereas Huichapan caldera products are all high-silica rhyolites.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironments of Chalco Lake, Central Mexico

In order to establish paleoenvironmental conditions during the late Quaternary, four cores from the Basin of Mexico (central Mexico) were drilled in Chalco Lake, located in the southeastern part of the basin. The upper 8 m of two parallel cores were studied, using paleomagnetic, loss-on-ignition, pollen, and diatom analyses. Based on 11 ¹⁴C ages, the analyzed record spans the last 19,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Volcanic activity has affected microfossil abundances, both directly and indirectly, resulting in absence or reduction of pollen and diatom assemblages. Important volcanic activity took place between 19,000 and 15,000 yr B.P. when the lake was a shallow alkaline marsh and an increase of grassland pollen suggests a dry, cold climate. During this interval, abrupt environmental changes with increasing moisture occurred. From 15,000 until 12,500 yr B.P. the lake level increased and the pollen indicates wetter conditions. The highest lake level is registered from 12,500 to ca. 9000 yr B.P. The end of the Pleistocene is characterized by an increase in humidity. From 9000 until ca. 3000 yr B.P. Chalco Lake was a saline marsh and the pollen record indicates warmer conditions. After 3000 yr B.P. the lake level increased and human disturbance dominates the lacustrine record.     

Dynamic hybrid terrain representation based on convexity limits identification

Hybrid digital terrain models combine terrain data with different topologies and resolutions. Cartographic digital terrain models are typically composed of regular grid data that can be locally refined by adding a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) that represents morphologically complex terrain parts. Direct rendering of both datasets to visualize the digital terrain model generates discontinuities, as the meshes are disconnected. The utilization of complete/partial precomputed tessellation solutions solves the problem of quality, but limits the applicability of the representation to models with a fixed relative position between datasets. In this paper, we present a new scheme for hybrid terrain representation that permits the dynamic generation of the adaptive tessellation required to join the grid and TIN models. Our proposal permits the dynamic modification of the relative position between datasets. This increases the representation capabilities for those applications where this property is interesting as, for example, urban and landscape planning applications. The algorithm we propose is based on the identification of convex areas on the TIN and the efficient generation of triangles to join the models based on this convex structure. As a result, high quality models without discontinuities are obtained, increasing the flexibility of previous solutions based on fixed precomputations.     

Applying of the information technologies for toxicity analysis of organic xenobiotics from an international list of the Baltic Sea pollutants

The main focus of this work was to evaluate the capabilities of information technology to establish the biological activity of organic xenobiotics on the example of hazardous substances from the list of Helsinki commission (HELCOM) aimed at protecting the marine environment of the Baltic Sea from negative impact. These methodological approaches will be used in future for the preliminary assessment of the toxicity of new xenobiotics revealed in Baltic waters.     

Comparison of several high-order advection schemes for vertex-based triangular discretization

Ocean Dynamics - Possible extensions of the standard 3rd (upwind) and 4th (centered) order vertex-centered finite-volume advection schemes on unstructured triangular meshes are explored. A...     

Fluorite Deposits at Voznesenka in the Khanka Massif, Russia: Geology and Age of Mineralization

Abstract. A huge fluorite deposit at Voznesenka in the Khanka massif, Far East Russia is concluded to have formed at ca. 450 Ma in Late Ordovician time based on the K‐Ar ages for Li‐micas in the fluorite ore and greisenized leucogranite within the deposit. This conclusion is inconsistent with the current view of Devonian mineralization that stemmed from widely scattered whole‐rock Rb‐Sr isotope data for the heterogeneous leucogranite stocks influenced by strong alteration. The Voznesenka and neighboring fluorite deposits may have formed in Cambrian limestone in relation to the intrusion of the Li‐F‐rich felsic magma which has a similar chemistry to representative Li‐F‐rich felsic rocks including topaz granite and ongonite or topaz rhyolite; these rocks may be classified as a specific group of highly fractionated felsic magmas. Biotite granite plutons exposed in the Voznesenka district are divided in age into two groups based on the CHIME age data for zircon, monazite and xenotime: Ordovician and Permian. The Ordovician plutons seem to be coeval to the fluorite deposits and are characterized by F‐rich chemistry, reduced nature and association of tin mineralization with the deposition of fluorite and tourmaline. The biotite granite magmas of initially enhanced F contents could have been highly fractionated to form Li‐F‐rich leucogranite cupolas that provided fluorite deposits within the host limestone. Future prospecting for similar fluorite deposits is to be focused on areas of intersection between Ordovician Li‐F‐rich granite and Cambrian carbonate sequences. The Permian granite of southeastern margin of the Grodekovo batholith is characterized by lesser F content, oxidized nature and the lack of tin and fluorite mineralization in contrast to the Ordovician granite. The result of Permian age does not support the current view of Silurian age for the batholith and requires overall chronological reinvestigation in connection with the tectonic history of the Khanka massif because the Grodekovo is a representative of Paleozoic batholiths in Primorie.     

Calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal distributional patterns during deposition of sapropels S6, S5 and S1 in the Libyan Sea (Eastern Mediterranean)

In core ADE3-23 collected in the Libyan Sea, the nannofossil species Coccolithus pelagicus, Coronosphaera spp., Helicosphaera spp., Syracosphaera spp., Calcidiscus spp., small Gephyrocapsa spp., and the planktonic foraminifers Globigerina bulloides, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma, Globorotalia scitula, Turborotalita quinqueloba and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei prevail in sapropel S6 (midpoint at 172 ka b.p.), indicative of cold and highly productive surface conditions. Warm and highly stratified water-column conditions are recorded by the characteristic assemblage of Globigerinoides ruber, Globoturborotalita rubescens, Florisphaera profunda, Rhabdosphaera spp. during the sapropel S5 depositional interval (midpoint at 124 ka b.p.). Compared with S5, Globigerinita glutinata, Globorotalia inflata, Globigerinella siphonifera, Globorotalia truncatulinoides and the calcareous nannofossil Emiliania huxleyi characterise less stratified conditions within sapropel S1 (midpoint at 8.5 ka b.p.). Multivariate statistical analyses of calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminifers in core ADE3-23 identify planktonic assemblages which typify sapropels S6, S5 and S1 in the Libyan Sea. A warmer interval is recognised in the middle part of the cold S6, and can be associated with an influx of less saline waters and the occurrence of a faint, temporary deep chlorophyll maximum. Evidence for enhanced surface productivity and breakdown of stratification is observed in the middle–upper part of the warm S5, associated with climatic deterioration. Moreover, an increase in surface productivity in the upper S1 implies weak stratification. Our combined calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal data add to the evidence that climate variability was more pronounced than commonly considered to date for all the three studied Eastern Mediterranean sapropel depositional intervals.