Post-collisional volcanism in a sinking slab setting—crustal anatectic origin of pyroxene-andesite magma, Caldear Volcanic Group, Neogene Alborán volcanic province, southeastern Spain

Caldear Volcanic Group (CVG), a stratigraphically well defined, calc-alkaline rock complex within S^a de Gata in the eastern part of the Alpine Betic mountain chain, S Spain, consists of three distinct formations: Hernández pyroxene andesites, Bujo hornblende-bearing pyroxene andesites and Viuda hornblende-bearing pyroxene dacites–rhyolites. The letter rock formation may have developed through crystal fractionation of mainly plagioclase and pyroxenes, however there is no direct relation between two formations. CVG has a domainal structure with a northeastern domain where Hernández formation is overlain by Bujo formation while Viuda formation is absent, and a southwestern domain where Viuda formation forms the only fractionate after Hernández formation. Hernández parent magma is thought generated through crustal anatexis by dehydration melting of a predominantly amphibolitic source rock complex which was formed by metamorphism from c. 500 Ma volcano-sedimentary parent material. The domainal structure of CVG is explained by compositional variation within this protogenetic complex. Single crystal U–Pb ages of c. 500 Ma to 1800 Ma for inherited zircon support the presence of clastic material of Proterozoic derivation within the original volcano-sedimentary complex. Regional study of syn-collisional rock formations (Alpine nappe complexes) indicate that the collisional tectonic stage in the Betic-Rif orogenic belt took place rather early (25–30 Ma?) and was followed by a stage of rapid regional rock uplift, fast cooling (c. 500°C/my) and extensional tectonics in the period 22–17 Ma. This later tectonic stage was set into motion by slab break-off which set the stage for a high temperature regime in the overlying lithosphere, providing the framework for the crustal melting and magma production responsible for the calc-alkaline rocks of Alborán volcanic province. Miocene zircon with ages ranging from c. 17 to 11 Ma indicate a rather protracted magmatic development prior to eruption at c. 11 Ma. Post-collisional character of Caldear Volcanic Group thus seems well established.     

Erosion and deposition by debris flows at Mt Thomas,North Canterbury,New Zealand

The grass-covered slopes on the southern flank of Mt Thomas, an upfaulted block of highly sheared sandstone and argillite 40 km NW of Christchurch, New Zealand, are presently undergoing severe erosion by a combination of mass-wasting processes. Gully erosion, soil slips, and debris flows have carved out a number of steep, deeply incised ravines, from which coarse debris is transported (primarily by debris flows) to alluvial fans below. Geologic and historical evidence indicates that debris flows have been episodically active here for at least the last 20,000 years and have been the dominant process in fan building. This demonstrates that catastrophic geomorphic processes, rather than processes acting at relatively uniform rates, can be dominant in humid-temperate areas as well as in arid and semi-arid regions. In April 1978, debris flows were triggered in one of two unstable ravines in the Bullock Creek catchment by a moderate intensity, long duration rainstorm with a return period in excess of 20 years. Surges of fluid debris, moving at velocities up to 5 m/s, transported a dense slurry of gravel, sand, and mud up to 3·5 km over a vertical fall of 600 m. Deposition on the alluvial fan occurred when the flows left the confines of an entrenched fan-head channel and spread out as a 0·16 km² sheet averaging 1·2 m thick. In all, 195,000 m³ were deposited, roughly a third of that being reworked sediments from the head of the fan. Sediment yield from this one event would be equivalent to several thousand years worth of erosion at average sediment discharge rates for small South Island mountain catchments. Samples of viscous fluid debris during surges contained up to 84 per cent solids, composed of 70 per cent gravel, 20 per cent silt, and 4 per cent clay. Fluid density of the material ranged between 1·95 and 2·13 g/cm³, and it was extremely poorly sorted. Between surges the fluid was less viscous, less dense, and unable to carry gravel in suspension. Severe fan-head entrenchment of the stream channel (approximately 10 m in less than 24 hours) was accomplished by the erosive action of the surges. Tectonic uplift of the Mt Thomas block and the weak, crushed condition of the bedrock appear to be ultimately responsible for the catastropic erosion of slopes in the Bullock Creek catchment. However, forest clearing within the last few centuries appears to have greatly increased the rate of mass wasting and gully erosion on these slopes.     

Novel particle method for modelling the episodic collapse of soft coastal bluffs

This paper presents a new, novel, particle-based Bluff Morphology Model (BMM), and with it investigates the stability, collapse, and equilibrium position of soft coastal bluffs (cliffs). This model combines a multiple wedge displacement method with an adapted Weakly Compressible Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (WCSPH) method. At first, the wedge method is applied to compute the stability of the bluff. Once the critical failure mechanism of the bluff slope has been identified, and if the factor of safety for the mechanism is less than 1, the adapted WCSPH method is used to predict the failure movement and residual shape of the slope. The model is validated against benchmark test cases of bluff stability for purely frictional, purely cohesive, and mixed strength bluff materials including 2D static water tables. The model predictions give a good correlation with the expected values, with medium resolution models producing errors of typically less than 2.0%. In addition, the prediction of lateral movement of a surveyed cliff and the dynamic collapse of a vertical bluff are computed, and compare well with published literature.     

东昆仑祁漫塔格地区花岗岩类时空变化的构造控制——来自钾钠含量变化的证据

系统收集东昆仑祁漫塔格地区花岗岩类岩石化学数据,统一采用Collins,et al.（1982）提出的K2ONa2O分类图解法,获得各个地史时期花岗岩的成因类型。结果表明,晋宁期以S型为主,优势方位不明显。加里东期优势方位为北东向,以A型为主,北西向处于次要地位,以I型为主。海西印支期,优势方位为北西向,岩石类型在海西早、中期以I型为主,海西晚期至印支期以A型为主。此时北东向处于次要地位,岩石类型以A型为主。燕山期,整个祁漫塔格地区昆中断裂以北均为A型,以南形成新的构造岩浆岩带,岩石类型主要为I型。并且,燕山期昆中断裂以北早期以北西向为主,晚期以北东向为主。上述情况说明,至少自加里东期以来,该区花岗岩的空间展布、发育规模、成因类型等诸方面都始终受到北东向和北西向两组构造带的活动强度、力学性质交替变化的控制,并且由老到新总体上存在着由北向南逐渐迁移的变化趋势。因此,祁漫塔格岩浆岩带并非同一构造机制下形成的岩浆弧,而是由北东向和北西向两组构造岩浆活动带交替作用控制的、成因类型不同的花岗岩类共同组成的复合构造岩浆岩带。     

Prediction of episodic acidification in North‐eastern USA: an empirical/mechanistic approach

Observations from the US Environmental Protection Agency's Episodic Response Project (ERP) in the North‐eastern United States are used to develop an empirical/mechanistic scheme for prediction of the minimum values of acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) during episodes. An acidification episode is defined as a hydrological event during which ANC decreases. The pre‐episode ANC is used to index the antecedent condition, and the stream flow increase reflects how much the relative contributions of sources of waters change during the episode. As much as 92% of the total variation in the minimum ANC in individual catchments can be explained (with levels of explanation >70% for nine of the 13 streams) by a multiple linear regression model that includes pre‐episode ANC and change in discharge as independent variables. The predictive scheme is demonstrated to be regionally robust, with the regional variance explained ranging from 77 to 83%. The scheme is not successful for each ERP stream, and reasons are suggested for the individual failures. The potential for applying the predictive scheme to other watersheds is demonstrated by testing the model with data from the Panola Mountain Research Watershed in the South‐eastern United States, where the variance explained by the model was 74%. The model can also be utilized to assess ‘chemically new’ and ‘chemically old’ water sources during acidification episodes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

烃源岩排烃作用研究现状及展望

烃源岩排烃作用的研究在20世纪80年代以后取得了很大进展,主要体现在对烃源岩的排烃机理及控制因素的分析、煤成油排驱的理论研究及勘探突破、幕式排液的探讨及压实—压裂双端元排烃模型的建立等方面。在针对研究现状分析的基础上,提出了几点研究方向及展望：加强对烃源岩剖面排烃特征的高分辨率研究,建立压实—欠压实—压裂三端元排烃模型,对存在严重非均质性的烃源岩进行烃源岩排烃分级评价,深入探讨排烃与油气成藏的关系。     

乌尔逊凹陷西部边界断裂的幕式演化模式及其对含油气系统的控制作用

海拉尔盆地乌尔逊凹陷西部的边界断层-乌西断裂, 对该凹陷的构造演化具有明显的控制作用。研究发现该断裂的生长发育有着明显的幕式演化特点: 经历了分段连锁、宁静、活化和反转等4 个演化阶段, 每一阶段都有不同的构造和沉积特点。其中, 分段连锁和活化阶段是凹陷的主要生长期, 分段连锁阶段以发育张性断块构造样式为特征, 活化阶段则以发育盖层滑脱型构造样式为主。乌西断裂的幕式演化对乌尔逊凹陷烃源岩演化、储盖系统的分布及含油气系统具有一定的控制作用。     

Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Northern Qaidam Basin, NW China: Implications for the earliest Cretaceous intracontinental tectonism

Formation of Mesozoic western China, which was dominated by tectonic amalgamation along its southern margin and associated intracontinental tectonisms, holds a key for interpreting the succedent Cenozoic evolution. This paper presents new data including lithology, sedimentary facies, stratigraphic contact, seismic interpretation and paleo-structures within the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous strata in the northern Qaidam Basin, NW China. These data all account for a contractional tectonic deformation in the earliest Cretaceous. The South Qilian Shan, according to the sedimentary features and provenance analysis, reactivated and exhumated during the deformation, controlling the deposition of the Lower Cretaceous sequences. A simplified model for the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous paleogeography and tectonics of the northern Qaidam Basin is accordingly proposed. The results also support a ∼25° clockwise rotation of the Qaidam Basin since the Early Cretaceous and a more accurate Mesozoic evolution process for the basin. This earliest Cretaceous deformation, associated with the reactivation of the South Qilian Shan at the time, are part of the intracontinental tectonisms in central Asia during the Mesozoic, and probably driven by both the closure of the Mongol-Okhostk Ocean to the north and the collision of the Lhasa and the Qiangtang blocks to the south.     

Sinkhole hazards along the eastern Dead Sea shoreline area, Jordan: a geological and geotechnical consideration

For the last four decades, the level of the Dead Sea has been subjected to continual variation which, among other important factors, has led to the occurrence of much subsidence and many sinkholes in the southern Dead Sea area. Sinkhole activities occurred repetitively and were observed in open farms, across roads, near dwellings and near an existing factory, thus causing a serious threat to the locals and farmers of the area and their properties. This paper presents the main results from detailed geological and geotechnical studies of this area. Aerial photo interpretation and borehole drilling aided these studies. Parallel geophysical investigations (vertical electrical sounding and seismic refraction) and hydrological and hydrogeological studies were made by others in the same area to also investigate this phenomenon. It was found that sinkholes are aligned to and follow old water channels and are concentrated parallel to the recent shoreline of the Dead Sea. The development of subsurface cavities is associated mainly with the variation in the level of the Dead Sea over the four past decades, the presence of regional salt intrusion under the surface of salt beds, the fluctuation of the water table and continuous dissolution and the active tectonism of the area. Moreover, this work showed that the area is still under active sinkhole hazards and other parts of the area will be inevitably affected by sinkholes in the future.No practical engineering solution to this problem is feasible. Received: 1 July 1999 / Accepted: 11 October 1999