Mineralogical and Physical Characteristics of White Sandstone of Abu Rodeiyim Quarry (Sinai), and its Possible Industrial Utilization

Mineralogical, geochemical, and textural analyses of the white sandstones (Abu Thora Fm.) of Carboniferous in the Abu Rodeiyim region show that they are fluviomarine, well-sorted, high-purity, and high-grade silica SiO2 (average 99.56%). The results indicate that by simple treatment, the white sandstones can reach a high degree of purity, suitable for different industrial purposes (e.g. manufacture of silicon photovoltaic, crystal, and TV screens, art, and domestic and optical glass).     

New paleomagnetic results from the Aegean extensional province

Various Oligocene formations from NE Greece (ignimbrites from the Medousa area, rhyolites from Zagradenia, granodiorites from Elatia) show discordant paleomagnetic signatures, in each case indicating small cw (clockwise) rotation and also inclination flattening. Marls from Pithion were partly remagnetized in a present-day field. Samples that contain ancient magnetization components also indicate small cw rotation and inclination flattening. However, the magnetization of andesites from Peplos reflects a considerably larger rotation, likely owing to local tectonics. In the context of previous work in the area, these results are used to propose a subdivision of NE Greece into four structural zones of distinctive rotational behaviour (from east to west): sites in zone 1, east of the Kavala-Xanthi-Komotini fault (KXK), show various cw and ccw (counterclockwise) rotation angles owing to complex kinematics resulting from the interaction of the KXK and the north-Anatolian fault zone. However, zone 2, between the KXK and the Strymon valley, is structurally homogeneous ( 10° cw rotation). The paleomagnetic signature of the Vertiskos massif (zone 3) implies a larger (> 30°) cw rotation, whereas sites in the Vardar basin (zone 4) contain a paleomagnetic signature similar to that of zone 2. This suggests a motion of the Vertiscos massif, a meta-ophiolitic nappe, relative to underlying strata. Indeed, zones 2 and 4 may be parts of the same structural unit which underlies this nappe.     

Exploring for heavy minerals on Cape York Peninsula,Queensland, Australia

This paper describes the results of a preliminary study of the heavy mineral (HM) potential of the northwest coast of Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland that was funded by the Queensland Government's Future Resources Program Industry Priorities Initiative. The study found that the northwest coast may have the potential to host world-class HM deposits. All the essential ingredients in a HM mineral system are present: fertile source rocks, effective transport mechanisms and abundant potential trap sites, particularly along the well-preserved Pleistocene coast.

The source rocks are Proterozoic metamorphic and Paleozoic granitic rocks of the Coen Inlier and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the Laura and Carpentaria basins, all of which crop out along the spine of the Peninsula. These rocks were exposed in the early Cenozoic and were vigorously eroded by seasonally active rivers throughout the Quaternary. Most of these rivers are currently carrying HM, and the zircon content in river sediments in the region is comparatively high. It is speculated that in the late Pleistocene HM delivered by rivers to the northwest coast were transported predominantly in a southwesterly direction, and trapped in the swash zone of prograding beaches. It is further speculated that at this time the coastline was deeply embayed with cliffs and headlands formed in bauxite, and that structural trap sites formed on the northeastern side of prominent headlands.

Pleistocene coastal sediments were partially reworked by Holocene coastal processes, and HM liberated by these processes may have been captured by prograding Holocene beach ridges. These Holocene beach ridges are not as extensive as the Pleistocene beach ridges but are more prominent, partly because they are less well vegetated. The Holocene coastline was probably more regular than the Pleistocene coastline, with fewer headlands to create structural traps. The modern coastline is relatively starved of river sediment because the Holocene and Pleistocene coastal sediments act as barriers to river flow.

It is recommended that ongoing exploration for HM in the region should focus on potential trap sites on the Pleistocene coast and that two sites, Vrilya Point and Jackson River, where structural traps may have been formed by coastal promontories, should be priority targets. It is also noted that if the exploration of Cape York Peninsula for HM deposits is to be effective, further research needs to be carried out into the geomorphological evolution of the west coast and, in particular, the role of cyclones in forming HM deposits in tropical climates.     

Notatudiadema and Aegyptiaris: Two new regular echinoids genera with two new species from the Cenomanian of north Sinai,Egypt

Revision of the Cenomanian echinoids deposited in the Cairo Geological Museum resulted in the erection of two new genera with two new species of regular echinoids. The first, Notatudiadema rekeibensis gen. and sp. nov. is established for specimens from the Cenomanian of Gabal El-Rekeib, southeast the Maghara massif, north Sinai to accommodate diadematoid echinoids having hemi-crenulate ambital and sub-ambital interambulacral tubercles with the adapical part of platform non-crenulate and the adoral one of same tubercle coarsely crenulate. The second is Aegyptiaris halalensis gen. and sp. nov., erected for material from the lower Cenomanian of Gabal El-Halal, northeast Sinai as an emiratiid echinoid with throughout polyporus ambulacra and extremely reduced adapical ambulacral tubercles. The functional morphology and paleobiology of these taxa are also discussed. A new family is established: family Monodiadematidae fam. nov.     

Preliminary study on the occurrence of geothermal systems in the tectonic compressional regions: an example from the Derman geothermal field in the Biga Peninsula, Turkey

There are numerous hot springs with temperatures ranging from 30 to 100 °C in Biga peninsula and they occur throughout the peninsula. The result of this study shows that the region is under a tectonic compressional regime. The investigation of the faults and fractures in the region indicates that the region has been affected first by N–S and then E–W compression since the Middle Miocene. Opening fractures and antithetic and synthetic faults due to the compressional movements provide paths for the deep circulation of water. In addition, the tectonic movements, granitic intrusion and volcanic activity have also played important roles as heat sources for the geothermal systems.     

雷州半岛局部地热异常及其形成机制

雷州半岛地热场主要受基底构造格局的控制和地下水活动的影响,隐伏花岗岩体放射性元素生热对盖层地温的贡献不可忽视,第四纪更新世火山喷发活动的岩浆余热已几乎完全散失,岩浆体和围岩温度已趋于平衡。由火山喷发而形成的雷北螺岗岭和雷南石峁岭两个玄武岩台地,为半岛地下水的主要补给区,由于冷水流下渗的地温效应,新生界盖层浅部地温梯度<3℃/100m,呈现地热负异常。在以传导传热为主的区域,地热场特点与华北盆地相似,新生界盖层地温梯度与基底岩面的埋深密切相关。由于地壳深部较均一的热流在地壳表部再分配的结果,若干凸起区盖层地温梯度为4—5℃/100m,呈现地热正异常。某些控制凸起区的边界断裂,当深层热水沿其上涌,造成附加热源,和传导传热相叠加,盖层地温梯度可高达5—8℃/100m,形成更鲜明的地热正异常。     

Large-scale distributed deformation controlled topography along the western Africa–Eurasia limit: Tectonic constraints

In the interior of the Iberian Peninsula, the main geomorphic features, mountain ranges and basins, seems to be arranged in several directions whose origin can be related to the N–S plate convergence which occurred along the Cantabro–Pyrenean border during the Eocene–Lower Miocene time span. The Iberian Variscan basement accommodated part of this plate convergence in three E–W trending crustal folds as well as in the reactivation of two left-lateral NNE–SSW strike-slip belts. The rest of the convergence was assumed through the inversion of the Iberian Mesozoic Rift to form the Iberian Chain. This inversion gave rise to a process of oblique crustal shortening involving the development of two right lateral NW–SE shear zones. Crustal folds, strike-slip corridors and one inverted rift compose a tectonic mechanism of pure shear in which the shortening is solved vertically by the development of mountain ranges and related sedimentary basins. This model can be expanded to NW Africa, up to the Atlasic System, where N–S plate convergence seems also to be accommodated in several basement uplifts, Anti-Atlas and Meseta, and through the inversion of two Mesozoic rifts, High and Middle Atlas. In this tectonic situation, the microcontinent Iberia used to be firmly attached to Africa during most part of the Tertiary, in such a way that N–S compressive stresses could be transmitted from the collision of the Pyrenean boundary. This tectonic scenario implies that most part of the Tertiary Eurasia–Africa convergence was not accommodated along the Iberia–Africa interface, but in the Pyrenean plateboundary. A broad zone of distributed deformation resulted from the transmission of compressive stresses from the collision at the Pyrenean border. This distributed, intraplate deformation, can be easily related to the topographic pattern of the Africa–Eurasia interface at the longitude of the Iberian Peninsula.Shortening in the Rif–Betics external zones – and their related topographic features – must be conversely related to more “local” driven mechanisms, the westward displacement of the “exotic” Alboran domain, other than N–S convergence. The remaining NNW–SSE to NW–SE, latest Miocene up to Present convergence is also being accommodated in this zone straddling Iberia and Morocco, at the same time as a new ill-defined plate boundary that is being developed between Europe and Africa.     

Late Pleistocene climate of the northern Iberian Peninsula: New insights from palaeoglaciers at Fuentes Carrionas (Cantabrian Mountains)

New ¹⁰Be dates for glacial landforms in the Fuentes Carrionas area (Cantabrian Mountains, nothern Spain) are presented. Mapped and dated landforms in Fuentes Carrionas made possible a palaeoglacier reconstruction for four glacial stages. Results were compared to other nearby palaeoenvironmental proxies, so a final approximation on the mean annual temperature and annual precipitation that caused the four glacial advance stages is proposed. Glaciers reached their maximum extension at 36 ka, in a cold and dry environment. A second advance stage took place between 18.5 and 19.5 ka, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when glaciers advanced in a wet environment, with positive rainfall anomalies. A third glacial advance was dated during the Oldest Dryas, in which climate shifted to extremely cold and dry conditions. Finally, a last stage has been identified and proposed to the Younger Dryas, in which precipitation anomalies are negligible. Our results confirm some of the previously made palaeoglacial and palaeoenvironmental inferences for the Iberian Peninsula, as well as provide valuable and accurate anomalies, which are useful for climate modelling.     

The Byers Basin: Jurassic-Cretaceous tectonic and depositional evolution of the forearc deposits of the South Shetland Islands and its implications for the northern Antarctic Peninsula

ABSTRACT

This paper addresses the Jurassic–Cretaceous stratigraphic evolution of fore-arc deposits exposed along the west coast of the northern Antarctic Peninsula. In the South Shetland Islands, Upper Jurassic deep-marine sediments are uncomformably overlain by a Lower Cretaceous volcaniclastic sequence that crops out on Livingston, Snow and Low islands. U-Pb zircon ages are presented for the upper Anchorage Formation (153.1 ± 1.7 Ma) and the Cape Wallace granodiorite of Low Island (137.1 ± 1.7 Ma) as well as ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 136–139 Ma for Low Island andesites. Data are also presented for a U-Pb age of 109.0 ± 1.4 Ma for the upper volcanic succession of Snow Island. In combination with published stratigraphy, these data provide a refined chrono- and litho-stratigraphic framework for the deposits herein referred to as the Byers Basin. Tentative correlation is explored with previously described deposits on Adelaide and Alexander islands, which could suggest further continuation of the Byers Basin towards the south. We also discuss possible correlation of the Byers Basin with the Larsen Basin, a sequence that shows the evolution of foreland to back-arc deposits more or less contemporaneously with the fore-arc to intra-arc evolution of the Byers Basin.     

山东半岛蓝色经济区土壤有机碳储量及固碳潜力分析

土壤碳储量研究在碳循环和全球变化中具有重要意义,但以往碳储量计算结果受到数据来源的制约。山东省多目标区域地球化学调查采用双层网格化采样和分析,获取了大密度、高精度土壤有机碳数据,为土壤碳库的准确计算奠定了基础。笔者利用这些数据计算了山东半岛蓝色经济区表层（0～20 cm）、中上层（0～100 cm）及全层（0～160 cm）的土壤有机碳（SOC）密度和储量,并对其空间分布特征及固碳潜力进行了研究。结果显示,经济区内3种土壤层次的碳库组成不同,表层SOC储量占总碳（TC）储量的71.67%,随深度增加所占比例逐渐减小,而无机碳(SIC)储量所占比例逐渐增加,全层二者所占比率较为接近:表层SOC储量为132.64 Mt,碳密度为2.06 kg/m²;中上层为458.27 Mt,碳密度为7.11 kg/m²;全层为619.96 Mt,碳密度为9.61 kg/m²。各层SOC密度处于全国偏低水平,且在不同土壤类型、地貌类型、土地利用类型之间有一定差异:褐土土表层SOC密度最高（2.48 kg/m²）,风沙土最低（0.91 kg/m²）;灌溉水田表层SOC密度最高（3.45 kg/m²）,菜地最低（1.61 kg/m²）。表层SOC密度分布总体上呈现为沿海地区低、鲁北平原和胶莱盆地中等、山地丘陵和中低山区偏高的分布格局。从第二次土壤普查和本次多目标调查数据所建立的回归方程分析发现,在今后一定时期内,本区表层土壤总体表现为“碳汇”效应,未来可净增总有机碳（TOC）量60.94 Mt,其中“碳源”量5.07 Mt,“碳汇”量65.97 Mt。