Geochronology,stratigraphy and geochemistry of Cambro-Ordovician,Silurian and Devonian volcanic rocks of the Saxothuringian Zone in NE Bavaria (Germany)—new constraints for Gondwana break up and ocean–island magmatism

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Stratigraphically well-defined volcanic rocks in Palaeozoic volcano-sedimentary units of the Frankenwald area (Saxothuringian Zone, Variscan Orogen) were...     

Oxygen isotope heterogeneity of the mantle beneath the Canary Islands: a discussion of the paper of Gurenko et al.

Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) report laser-assisted fluorination (LF) and secondary ionization mass spectrometry (SIMS) ¹⁸O/¹⁶O datasets for olivine grains from the Canary Islands of Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, La Palma and El Hierro. As with prior studies of oxygen isotopes in Canary Island lavas (e.g. Thirlwall et al. Chem Geol 135:233–262, 1997; Day et al. Geology 37:555–558, 2009, Geochim Cosmochim Acta 74:6565–6589, 2010), these authors find variations in δ¹⁸O_ol (~4.6–6.0 ‰) beyond that measured for mantle peridotite olivine (Mattey et al. Earth Planet Sci Lett 128:231–241, 1994) and interpret this variation to reflect contributions from pyroxenite-peridotite mantle sources. Furthermore, Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) speculate that δ¹⁸O_ol values for La Palma olivine grains measured by LF (Day et al. Geology 37:555–558, 2009, Geochim Cosmochim Acta 74:6565–6589, 2010) may be biased to low values due to the presence of altered silicate, possibly serpentine. The range in δ¹⁸O_ol values for Canary Island lavas are of importance for constraining their origin. Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) took a subset (39 SIMS analyses from 13 grains from a single El Hierro lava; EH4) of a more extensive dataset (321 SIMS analyses from 110 grains from 16 Canary Island lavas) to suggest that δ¹⁸O_ol is weakly correlated (R ² = 0.291) with the parameter used by Gurenko et al. (Earth Planet Sci Lett 277:514–524, 2009) to describe the estimated weight fraction of pyroxenite-derived melt (Xpx). With this relationship, end-member δ¹⁸O values for HIMU-peridotite (δ¹⁸O = 5.3 ± 0.3 ‰) and depleted pyroxenite (δ¹⁸O = 5.9 ± 0.3 ‰) were defined. Although the model proposed by Gurenko et al. (Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011) implicates similar pyroxenite-peridotite mantle sources to those proposed by Day et al. (Geology 37:555–558, 2009, Geochim Cosmochim Acta 74:6565–6589, 2010) and Day and Hilton (Earth Planet Sci Lett 305:226–234, 2011), there are significant differences in the predicted δ¹⁸O values of end member components in the two models. In particular, Day et al. (Geochim Cosmochim Acta 74:6565–6589, 2010) proposed a mantle source for La Palma lavas with low-δ¹⁸O (<5 ‰), rather than higher-δ¹⁸O (c.f. the HIMU-peridotite composition of Gurenko et al. in Contrib Mineral Petrol 162:349–363, 2011). Here we question the approach of using weakly correlated variations in δ¹⁸O_ol and the Xpx parameter to define mantle source oxygen isotope compositions, and provide examples of why this approach appears flawed. We also provide reasons why the LF datasets previously published for Canary Island lavas remain robust and discuss why LF and SIMS data may provide complementary information on oxygen isotope variations in ocean island basalts (OIB), despite unresolved small-scale uncertainties associated with both techniques.     

Sequential extraction and leaching characteristics of heavy metals in abandoned tungsten mine tailings sediments

The chemical speciation of potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in the contaminated soils and sulfides-rich tailings sediments of an abandoned tungsten mine in Korea was evaluated by conducting modified BCR sequential extraction tests. Kinetic and static batch leaching tests were also conducted to evaluate the potential release of As and other heavy metals by acidic rain water and the leaching behaviors of these heavy metals. The major sources of the elements were As-, Zn- and Pb-bearing sulfides, Pb carbonates (i.e., cerussite), and Pb sulfates (i.e., anglesite). The biggest pollutant fraction in these soil and tailing samples consists of metals bound to the oxidizable host phase, which can be released into the environment if conditions become oxidative, and/or to residual fractions. No significant difference in total element concentrations was observed between the tailings sediments and contaminated soils. For both sample types, almost no changes occurred in the mobility of As and the other heavy metals at 7 days, but the mobility increased afterwards until the end of the tests at 30 days, regardless of the initial pH. However, the mobility was approximately 5–10 times higher at initial pH 1.0 than at initial pHs of 3.0 and 5.0. The leached amounts of all the heavy metal contents were higher from tailings sediments than from contaminated soils at pH > 3.0, but were lower at pH < 3.0 except for As. Results of this study suggest that further dissolution of heavy metals from soil and tailing samples may occur during extended rainfall, resulting in a serious threat to surface and groundwater in the mine area.     

Geochemical characteristics of heavy metals in coastal sediments from the northern Beibu Gulf (SW China): the background levels and recent contamination

Four sediment cores and one hundred surface sediments were collected from the intertidal zone of the northern Beibu Gulf (SW China). In order to detect the intensity of metal contamination recently, the background levels were successfully established for Pb, Zn, Cd and Cr, based on the linear regression of deeper sediments (pre-industrial). Aluminum is a better geochemical normalizer than Fe and it is commonly used to describe the natural metal variability of the coastal sediments. The evident enrichment of Zn and Cd is recorded in the surface sediments of the eastern side of the Guangxi coast and the central part of the Qinzhou Bay, but it does not exceed the effects range-low values, due to a low percentage of fine-grained sediments in the region. Although the Pb and Cr concentrations are mainly of natural origin, 3 and 6% sites exceed the effects range-low values, respectively; indicating the potential for adverse ecological effects of metals on the benthic communities.     

Vulnerability and risk: comparing assessment approaches

The concepts vulnerability and risk are of great importance in the fields of climate change and natural hazards. Confusion is asserted in the terminology used by the respective communities, and a large conceptual literature has not solved this problem. This affects the communication within and between the two communities and the comparison of results from vulnerability and risk assessments. This paper argues that the main difference between methods to assess vulnerability and risk in the climate and the disaster communities is not a conceptual one, but rather different terminologies are used. This point is made using a formal framework of vulnerability to climate change that makes the structure of vulnerability and risk assessments explicit. The framework distinguishes three assessment approaches in the field of vulnerability to climate change, which recur—under different labels—in the risk assessment approaches analysed. While within each community, the same terms are ambiguously used to refer to more than one assessment approach, the confusion is enhanced between the two communities by using different labels for very similar approaches. As an application of the results, similarities and differences between two assessment tools are analysed: the Dynamic Interactive Vulnerability Assessment model (DIVA) for the case of vulnerability to climate change and the CATastrophe SIMulation model (CatSim) for risk of natural hazards.     

Estimation of radon concentration in dwellings in and around Guwahati

It has been established that radon and its airborne decay products can present serious radiation hazards. A long term exposure to high concentration of radon causes lung cancer. Besides, it is also known that out of the total radiation dose received from natural and man-made sources, 60% of the dose is due to radon and its progeny. Taking this into account, an attempt has been made to estimate radon concentration in dwellings in and around Guwahati using aluminium dosimeter cups with CR-39 plastic detectors. Results of preliminary investigation presented in this paper show that the mean concentration is 21.31 Bq m^− 3.     

The legacy of crystal-plastic deformation in olivine: high-diffusivity pathways during serpentinization

Crystal-plastic olivine deformation to produce subgrain boundaries composed of edge dislocations is an inevitable consequence of asthenospheric mantle flow. Although crystal-plastic deformation and serpentinization are spatio-temporally decoupled, we identified compositional readjustments expressed on the micrometric level as a striped Fe-enriched ( [`(X)]<sub>\textFe</sub> \bar{X}_{\text{Fe}}  = 0.24 ± 0.02 (zones); 0.12 ± 0.02 (bulk)) or Fe-depleted ( [`(X)]_\textFe \bar{X}_{\text{Fe}}  = 0.10 ± 0.01 (zones); 0.13 ± 0.01 (bulk)) zoning in partly serpentinized olivine grains from two upper mantle sections in Norway. Focused ion beam sample preparation combined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and aberration-corrected scanning TEM, enabling atomic-level resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopic line profiling, reveals that every zone is immediately associated with a subgrain boundary. We infer that the zonings are a result of the environmental Fe²⁺Mg₋₁ exchange potential during antigorite serpentinization of olivine and the drive toward element exchange equilibrium. This is facilitated by enhanced solid-state diffusion along subgrain boundaries in a system, which otherwise re-equilibrates via dissolution-reprecipitation. Fe enrichment or depletion is controlled by the silica activity imposed on the system by the local olivine/orthopyroxene mass ratio, temperature and the effect of magnetite stability. The Fe-Mg exchange coefficients K_\textD^{\textAtg/\textOl} K_{\text{D}}^{{{\text{Atg}}/{\text{Ol}}}} between both types of zoning and antigorite display coalescence toward exchange equilibrium. With both types of zoning, Mn is enriched and Ni depleted compared with the unaffected bulk composition. Nanometer-sized, heterogeneously distributed antigorite precipitates along olivine subgrain boundaries suggest that water was able to ingress along them. Crystallographic orientation relationships gained via electron backscatter diffraction between olivine grain domains and different serpentine vein generations support the hypothesis that serpentinization was initiated along olivine subgrain boundaries.     

Hydrogeological investigations of thermal waters in the Sfax Basin (Tunisia)

The Sfax Basin in eastern Tunisia is bounded to the east by the Mediterranean Sea. Thermal waters of the Sfax area have measured temperatures of 23–36°C, and electrical conductivities of 3,200 and 14,980 μS/cm. Most of the thermal waters are characterized as Na–Cl type although there are a few Na–SO₄–Cl waters. They issue from Miocene units which are made up sands and sandstones interbedded with clay. The Quaternary sediments cap the system. The heat source is high geothermal gradient which are determined downhole temperature measurements caused by graben tectonics of the area. The results of mineral equilibrium modeling indicate that the thermal waters of the Sfax Basin are undersaturated with respect to gypsum, anhydrite and fluorite, oversaturated with respect to kaolinite, dolomite, calcite, microcline, quartz, chalcedony, and muscovite. Assessments from various chemical geothermometers, Na–K–Mg ternary and mineral equilibrium diagrams suggest that the reservoir temperature of the Sfax area can reach up to 120°C. According to δ¹⁸O and δ²H values, all thermal and cold groundwater is of meteoric origin.     

Application of multivariate statistical methods to indicate the origin and geochemical behavior of potentially hazardous elements in sediment around the Sarcheshmeh copper mine,SE Iran

Multivariate statistical techniques, i.e., correlation coefficient analysis, principal components analysis (PCA), and hierarchical cluster analysis (CA), were applied to the total and water-soluble concentrations of potentially hazardous metals in sediments associated with the Sarcheshmeh mine, one of the largest Oligo-Miocene porphyry copper deposits in the world. The samples were analyzed for hazardous metal concentration levels by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry method. Results indicate that the contaminant metals As, Cd, Cu, Mo, S, Sb, Sn, Se, Pb, and Zn were positively correlated with the total concentrations. These hazardous metals also have strong association in the PCA and CA results. Different anthropic versus natural sources of contaminant metals were distinguished by using CA method. Water-soluble fraction of hazardous metals showed that the hydro-geochemical behavior of these metals in sediments is different considerably. Elements such as Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, S, and Zn are readily water soluble from contaminated samples, especially from evaporative mineral phases, while the release of As, Mo, Sb, and Pb into the water is limited by adsorption processes. Results obtained from the application of multivariate techniques on the water-soluble fraction data set show that the hazardous metals are categorized into three groups including (1) Ni, S, Co, Cu, Cr, and Fe; (2) Se, Mn, Cd, and Zn; and (3) Sb, As, Mo, and Sn. This classification describes the hydro-geochemical behavior of hazardous metals in water–sediment environments of the Sarcheshmeh porphyry copper mine and can be used as a basis in remedial and treatment strategies.     

Comparison of near-fault and far-fault ground motion effects on geometrically nonlinear earthquake behavior of suspension bridges

This paper presents a comparison of near-fault and far-fault ground motion effects on geometrically nonlinear earthquake behavior of suspension bridges. Bo?azi?i (The First Bosporus) and Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Second Bosporus) suspension bridges built in Istanbul, Turkey, are selected as numerical examples. Both bridges have almost the same span. While Bo?azi?i Suspension Bridge has inclined hangers, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Suspension Bridge has vertical hangers. Geometric nonlinearity including P-delta effects from self-weight of the bridges is taken into account in the determination of the dynamic behavior of the suspension bridges for near-fault and far-fault ground motions. Near-fault and far-fault strong ground motion records, which have approximately identical peak ground accelerations, of 1999 Chi-Chi, 1999 Kocaeli, and 1979 Imperial Valley earthquakes are selected for the analyses. Displacements and internal forces of the bridges are determined using the finite element method including geometric nonlinearity. The displacements and internal forces obtained from the dynamic analyses of suspension bridges subjected to each fault effect are compared with each other. It is clearly seen that near-fault ground motions are more effective than far-fault ground motion on the displacements and internal forces such as bending moment, shear force and axial forces of the suspension bridges.