THE DETERMINATION OF FLUORINE BY PROTON INDUCED GAMMA RAY EMISSION SPECTROMETRY (PIGE) IN EIGHTEEN CHINESE STANDARD REFERENCE SAMPLES OF STREAM SEDIMENTS, SOILS AND ROCKS: GSD 9-12, GSS 1-8 AND GSR 1-6

Eighteen new Chinese standard reference samples (including stream sediments, soils and rocks) have been analysed by an automated proton induced gamma ray emission (PIGE) method for fluorine. Results of determinations are reported and are generally in good agreement with the "usable values" previously published.     

Modelling of R/C members accounting for shear failure localisation: Hysteretic shear model

Reinforced concrete (R/C) frame buildings designed according to older seismic codes represent a large part of the existing building stock worldwide. Their structural elements are often vulnerable to shear or flexure‐shear failure, which can eventually lead to loss of axial load resistance of vertical elements and initiate vertical progressive collapse of a building. In this study, a hysteretic model capturing the local shear response of shear‐deficient R/C elements is described in detail, with emphasis on post‐peak behaviour; it differs from existing models in that it considers the localisation of shear strains after the onset of shear failure in a critical length defined by the diagonal failure planes. Additionally, an effort is made to improve the state of the art in post‐peak shear response modelling, by compiling the largest database of experimental results for shear and flexure‐shear critical R/C columns cycled well beyond the onset of shear failure and/or up to the onset of axial failure, and developing empirical relationships for the key parameters defining the local backbone post‐peak shear response of such elements. The implementation of the derived local hysteretic shear model in a computationally efficient beam‐column finite element model with distributed shear flexibility, which accounts for all deformation types, will be presented in a companion paper.     

Modelling of R/C members accounting for shear failure localisation: Finite element model and verification

Reinforced concrete (R/C) frame buildings designed according to older seismic codes represent a large part of the existing building stock worldwide. Their structural elements are often vulnerable to shear or flexure‐shear failure, which can eventually lead to loss of axial load resistance of vertical elements and initiate vertical progressive collapse of a building. In this study, a computationally efficient member‐type finite element model for the hysteretic response of shear critical R/C frame elements up to the onset of axial failure is presented; it accounts for shear‐flexure interaction and considers, for the first time, the localisation of shear strains, after the onset of shear failure, in a critical length defined by the diagonal failure plane. Its predictive capabilities are verified against experimental results of column and frame specimens and are shown to be accurate not only in terms of total response, but also with regard to individual deformation components. The accuracy, versatility, and simplicity of this finite element model make it a valuable tool in seismic analysis of complex R/C buildings with shear deficient structural elements.     

From subsurface to surface: a multidisciplinary approach to decoding uplift histories in tectonically-active karst landscapes

We present an integrated study of subsurface and surficial karst landforms to unravel the uplift history of karst landscape in a tectonically-active area. To this end, we apply a multidisciplinary approach by combining cave geomorphology and Th/U dating of speleothems with remote sensing plus geophysical imaging of surface landforms. We use as an example Mt. Menikio in northern Greece where four caves share well-defined epiphreatic/shallow phreatic characteristics that are related to the distribution of surface and buried doline fields and provide evidence for three distinct water table stillstands (e.g. expressed as cave levels) now lying at ~130 m, ~800 m and ~1600 m a.m.s.l. Our dating constraints delimit the age of the lower water table stillstand prior to 77 ka ago and imply a maximum rate of relative base level drop of 0.45 mma^-1, which is consistent with relative tectonic uplift rate estimates along currently active normal faults. We interpret the elevation of the higher water table stillstands to reflect earlier phases of uplift related to the regional tectonic events associated with the development of the North Anatolian Fault and the Northern Aegean area. Our analysis shows that the combined study of epiphreatic/shallow phreatic caves and surficial karst landforms together, is a robust way to investigate the uplift history of a karst landscape in a tectonically-active setting. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification of lime plaster in prehistory using petrographic methods: A review and reconsideration of the data on the basis of experimental and case studies

Most prehistoric plasters and mortars consist of very small amounts of burnt lime mixed with anthropogenic debris, soil, and sediment. To solve the problem of identification of such small amounts of lime in impure lime plasters, a series of experimental plasters were prepared and studied with petrographic methods. Samples of living floors from five prehistoric sites in Greece were also reanalyzed under the light of the experimental findings and compared with natural calcareous sediment. The most promising features for identifying lime are transitional textures of partially carbonized slaked lime that can be observed in the lime lumps and the binding matrix. They are usually in the form of ill‐crystallized portlandite and calcite mixtures or cryptocrystalline calcite. Well‐reacted calcitic groundmass, shrinkage fractures, and occasionally colloidal forms are also additional indications. The present experimental study shows that lime could be easily produced by heating porous, soft calcareous materials. This would probably account for the very frequent use (in small quantities) of lime in Greek prehistory. Plaster and mortars were made by mixing damp anthopogenic dirt as aggregate and fragments of quicklime, a technique known as “hot mixing.” © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Conditions of formation of the Mavrokoryfi high-sulfidation epithermal Cu�CAg�CAu�CTe mineralization (Petrota Graben, NE Greece)

The Mavrokoryfi Cu?CAg?CAu?CTe prospect, northeastern Greece, consists of atypical, high-sulfidation mineralization where precious metals were introduced contemporaneously with advanced argillic alteration from magmatic vapors. It occurs as veins of massive sulfides in zones of silicic and advanced argillic alteration spatially associated with an andesitic lava dome and hyaloclastites. Mineralogical data demonstrate an unusual ore and gangue mineralogy that is compatible with formation under very oxidizing conditions (logfO₂ values of >?31.8) at temperatures of 200°C to 250°C. Oxidizing conditions favored the formation of hypogene lead sulfates (anglesite and barian celestite) instead of galena. Selenian acanthite, cadmian freibergite, and argentian goldfieldite are the main carriers of silver in the deposit and are reported in Greece for the first time. They were deposited at logfS₂ of ?9 to ?7 and logfTe₂ values of ?9 to ?12.5 (250°C). Ag-poor goldfieldite at Mavrokoryfi has up to 3.7 apfu Te and is the most Te-rich goldfieldite yet reported. The mineralization is accompanied by aluminum?Cphosphate?Csulfate minerals of magmatic-hydrothermal origin and an unusual Pb-enrichment. Ore-forming components were likely derived from andesite porphyries.