The El Teniente porphyry Cu–Mo deposit from a hydrothermal rutile perspective

Mineralogical, textural, and chemical analyses (EPMA and PIXE) of hydrothermal rutile in the El Teniente porphyry Cu–Mo deposit help to better constrain ore formation processes. Rutile formed from igneous Ti-rich phases (sphene, biotite, Ti-magnetite, and ilmenite) by re-equilibration and/or breakdown under hydrothermal conditions at temperatures ranging between 400°C and 700°C. Most rutile nucleate and grow at the original textural position of its Ti-rich igneous parent mineral phase. The distribution of Mo content in rutile indicates that low-temperature (∼400–550°C), Mo-poor rutile (5.4 ± 1.1 ppm) is dominantly in the Mo-rich mafic wallrocks (high-grade ore), while high-temperature (∼550-700°C), Mo-rich rutile (186 ± 20 ppm) is found in the Mo-poor felsic porphyries (low-grade ore). Rutile from late dacite ring dikes is a notable exception to this distribution pattern. The Sb content in rutile from the high-temperature potassic core of the deposit to its low-temperature propylitic fringe remains relatively constant (35 ± 3 ppm). Temperature and Mo content of the hydrothermal fluids in addition to Mo/Ti ratio, modal abundance and stability of Ti-rich parental phases are key factors constraining Mo content and provenance in high-temperature (≥550°C) rutile. The initial Mo content of parent mineral phases is controlled by melt composition and oxygen fugacity as well as timing and efficiency of fluid–melt separation. Enhanced reduction of SO₂-rich fluids and sulfide deposition in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks influences the low-temperature (≤550°C) rutile chemistry. The data are consistent with a model of fluid circulation of hot (>550°C), oxidized (ƒO₂ ≥ NNO + 1.3), SO₂-rich and Mo-bearing fluids, likely exsolved from deeper crystallizing parts of the porphyry system and fluxed through the upper dacite porphyries and related structures, with metal deposition dominantly in the Fe-rich mafic wallrocks.     

Study of an unexpected convective storm

The occurrence of a severe storm in the Argentine littoral has been analyzed. Although general atmospheric conditions were not favorable to the development of deep convection, this storm produced strong winds and hail of considerable intensity. Its occurrence was associated with the entrance of a pulse of humid air at low levels and could be related to the development of two vorticity centers in the region. Atmospheric conditions existing above a low-level inversion are used to simulate two possible clouds, with base altitudes at 2200 and 3000 m and updraft speeds reaching maximum values of 27 and 29 m s⁻¹ respectively. It is noted that the base temperature of about 13°C, found for the first cloud, can be correlated with the prevalence of frozen drop embryos, observed in an analyzed hailstone sample. Hailstone vertical trajectories are simulated in both modeled clouds, assuming spheroidal and spherical particles and assigning different values to the drag coefficient C_d.     

Hydrologic,geomorphic and climatic processes controlling willow establishment in a montane ecosystem

Willow communities dominate mid‐elevation riparian areas throughout the Rocky Mountains of North America. However, many willow stands are rapidly declining in aerial cover and individual plants in stature. A poor understanding of the processes that control willow establishment hinders identifying the causes of this decline. We analysed the processes that have facilitated or limited willow establishment over the last half of the 20th century on two large floodplains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado by addressing two questions: (1) How does hydrologic regime control willow establishment on different fluvial landforms? (2) How might climate‐driven variations in hydrologic regime affect future willow establishment? We precisely aged willows on the three most common fluvial landforms, stream point bars, drained beaver ponds, and abandoned channels, and statistically related establishment dates to patterns of annual stream peak flow. The role of peak flow on willow establishment varied significantly by landform. Willow recruitment had occurred nearly every year on point bars. In former beaver complexes, most willows had established following dam breaches, whereas willows had established on abandoned channels for several years following channel avulsion. Establishment on point bars and abandoned channels was driven by peak flows of 2‐ to 5‐year return intervals, whereas in abandoned beaver ponds most establishment was associated with flow events of >5‐year return interval. Models of climate change suggest that temperatures will increase and precipitation seasonality will shift over the coming decades in the Rocky Mountains, leading to earlier spring runoff, lower summer and fall flows, decreased snowpack and decreased soil moisture. Such changes are likely to diminish opportunities for willow establishment. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Injection and arrest of dykes: implications for volcanic hazards

Dykes are the principal channels through which magma reaches the surface in volcanic eruptions. For this reason dykes observed in the field are commonly assumed to be feeders to lava flows. The actual proportion of dykes reaching the surface is, however, poorly known. In order to develop models for the purpose of estimating volcanic hazard, this proportion must be known. This follows because such models should not only consider the probability of dykes being injected from magma chambers during periods of unrest in the associated volcanoes, but also the probability of the injected dykes being arrested. This paper presents field data on several thousand dykes from Iceland and Tenerife (Canary Islands) indicating that many, and probably most, dykes become arrested at various crustal levels and never reach the surface to feed eruptions. Using the results of analytical and numerical models, it is shown that, for common loading conditions, the stress field in the vicinity of a magma chamber may favour the injection and propagation of dykes while the stress field at a certain distance from the chamber favours dyke arrest. This means that many dykes that are injected from the chamber propagate only for a very limited distance from the chamber to the point where they become arrested. The implication is that during periods of unrest in volcanoes, the probability of volcanic eruption is only a small fraction of the probability of dyke injection from the source magma chamber.     

Deep to shallow lacustrine evaporites in the Libros Gypsum (southern Teruel Basin, Miocene, NE Spain): an occurrence of pelletal gypsum rhythmites

ABSTRACT A number of non‐marine evaporite units composed of primary gypsum were deposited in saline lakes that developed in the southern Teruel Basin (NE Spain) during the Miocene. In the basin depocentre, a continuum of lacustrine evaporite lithofacies influenced by the activity of organisms is displayed. The Libros Gypsum was deposited in a deep lake, in which water stratification became unstable with progressive shoaling. Rhythmites, composed of laminae of pelletal gypsum and laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum crystals mixed with siliceous microorganisms, formed in addition to gypsum turbidites, intraformational gypsum breccias and slump structures. The pelletal laminae originated from the faecal activity of animals (crustaceans?) ingesting gypsum crystallites in the lake water during episodes of maximum evaporation, whereas the laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum mixed with microorganisms accumulated during episodes of relative dilution. In the wide marginal zones of the basin, the Libros Gypsum unit consists of massive to thin‐bedded bioturbated gypsum and thin‐bedded clotted gypsum, which formed in intermediate to very shallow (palustrine) water depths. The bioturbated gypsum lithofacies were produced by the action of diverse organisms, presumably worms and coleopterans, and chironomid larvae to a lesser extent; the massive lithofacies precipitated in very shallow water; and the thin‐bedded lithofacies formed in shallow to deeper settings. The thin‐bedded clotted gypsum is a relatively deep facies that may have diverse origins (e.g. bioturbation, compaction, disruption of soft sediments and early diagenesis). There is a well‐developed metre‐scale cyclicity in the marginal lake sequences, which is not observed in the inner lake deposits. This suggests a depth control in the various lacustrine subenvironments to record cyclic evaporitic processes. The isotopic composition of the gypsum indicates early sulphate‐reducing bacterial activity in the bottom of the lake and suggests that the sulphate was derived from the chemical recycling of Triassic evaporites of the country rocks.     

Comparison of web plate numerical models for self‐centering steel plate shear walls

Previous research has shown that self‐centering steel plate shear walls (SC‐SPSWs) are capable of achieving enhanced seismic performance at multiple hazard levels, including recentering following design‐level earthquakes. When modeling SC‐SPSWs numerically, these studies considered an idealized tension‐only steel plate shear wall (SPSW) web plate behavior. Research has shown that web plate behavior is more complex than predicted by the idealized model, and web plates can provide more strength, stiffness, and energy dissipation than predicted by the idealized model. The idealized model of web plate behavior is used widely in SPSW numerical models where the moment‐resisting boundary frame provides supplemental hysteretic damping and stiffness; however, in SC‐SPSWs, where the post‐tensioned boundary frame is designed to remain elastic during an earthquake, accounting for the more complex web plate behavior can have a significant impact on seismic performance estimates from numerical simulation. This paper presents different methods for modeling SC‐SPSWs. Responses from these models are compared with experimental results. A simple modification of the tension‐only model, referred to as the tension‐compression strip model, is shown to provide a reasonable approximation of SC‐SPSW behavior. Results from nonlinear response history analyses of SC‐SPSWs with the tension‐only and tension‐compression web plate models are compared to assess how the approximation of web plate behavior affects SC‐SPSW seismic performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.