Silicate‐oxide mineral chemistry of mafic–ultramafic rocks as an indicator of the roots of an island arc: The Chilas Complex,Kohistan (Pakistan)

The Chilas Complex is a major lower crustal component of the Cretaceous Kohistan island arc and one of the largest exposed slices of arc magma chamber in the world. Covering more than 8000 km², it reaches a current tectonic width of around 40 km. It was emplaced at 85 Ma during rifting of the arc soon after the collision of the arc with the Karakoram plate. Over 85% of the Complex comprises homogeneous, olivine‐free gabbronorite and subordinate orthopyroxene–quartz diorite association (MGNA), which contains bodies of up to 30 km² of ultramafic–mafic–anorthositic association (UMAA) rocks. Primary cumulate textures, igneous layering, and sedimentary structures are well preserved in layered parts of the UMAA in spite of pervasive granulite facies metamorphism. Mineral analyses show that the UMAA is characterized by more magnesian and more aluminous pyroxene and more calcic plagioclase than those in the MGNA. High modal abundances of orthopyroxene, magnetite and ilmenite (in MGNA), general Mg–Fe–Al spatial variations, and an MFA plot of whole‐rock analyses suggest a calc‐alkaline origin for the Complex. Projection of the pyroxene compositions on the Wo–En–Fs face is akin to those of pyroxenes from island arcs gabbros. The presence of highly calcic plagioclase and hornblende in UMAA is indicative of hydrous parental arc magma. The complex may be a product of two‐stage partial melting of a rising mantle diaper. The MGNA rocks represent the earlier phase melting, whereas the UMAA magma resulted from the melting of the same source depleted by the extraction of the earlier melt phase. Some of the massive peridotites in the UMAA may either be cumulates or represent metasomatized and remobilized upper mantle. The Chilas Complex shows similarities with many other (supra)subduction‐related mafic–ultramafic complexes worldwide.     

The Godzilla Megamullion,the largest oceanic core complex on the earth: a historical review

The Godzilla Megamullion is the largest known oceanic core complex (OCC) on the Earth, located in the Parece Vela Basin in the Philippine Sea. In this article, the history of Godzilla Megamullion study is reviewed for the first time, dividing it into three major phases: (i) the early studies done before Japan's extended continental shelf survey program; (ii) the studies during Japan's extended continental shelf survey program that discovered the OCC; and (iii) the studies by the post‐discovery cruises. The early studies included an interpretation of US nautical chart of the southwestern Pacific and the site surveys for Deep Sea Drilling Project cruises (DSDP Legs 6, 31 and 59). The early studies recognized the presence of the Parece Vela Rift, the extinct spreading axis of the Parece Vela Basin, and established the currently accepted model that the Philippine Sea evolved with eastward progression of backarc spreading and arc migration. The modern understanding of the Parece Vela Basin comes from Japan's extended continental shelf survey program. The program revealed the ultramafic petrology as well as a two‐stage evolution model of the basin. Following these results, the discovery of the Godzilla Megamullion was made in 2001. The studies by the post‐discovery cruises further revealed important characteristics of the OCC, such as the presence of abundant plagioclase‐bearing peridotite and the systematic temporal changes in both deformation microstructures and composition of plagioclase and amphibole in gabbroic mylonites and ultramylonites. Zircon U–Pb ages of gabboric and leucocratic rocks indicate that the terminal phase of Parece Vela Basin spreading was with a significant decline in spreading rate and asymmetry accompanying formation of the Godzilla Megamullion. The estimated denudation rate of the OCC was approximately 2.5 cm/yr; significantly slower than the previous estimate based on poorly constrained magnetic data.     

Genetic algorithm for fitting a mixed Bingham distribution to 3D orientations: a tool for the statistical and paleostress analyses of fracture orientations

The clustering of fracture orientations is important for tectonic studies and for geotechnical engineering. In this study, a real‐coded genetic algorithm was adopted to fitting a mixed Bingham distribution to orientation data by maximizing the log‐likelihood function of the distribution. The maximization is a difficult problem, because the function has multimodality and singularity. It was found that the algorithm was effective for this problem. Given the orientations of dilational fractures, the present method determines not only the stress axes and stress ratio of each of the fracture groups but also the maximum non‐dimensionalized fluid pressure at the time of their formation. In addition, the software calculates the 95 % error ellipses of the concentration axes. The present method found that the orientations of ore veins of the Akenobe Mine, SW Japan, should be partitioned into three clusters. It is shown that two of the groups had distinctive Zn and Sn contents, and that the ore fluids had overpressures only slightly greater than the minimum principal stress at the time of the deposition of Zn‐ and Sn‐rich veins.     

A new Lower Triassic (Induan) Jerus Limestone locality in northwest Pahang,Peninsular Malaysia: Conodont fauna,depositional and tectonic settings

Limestones exposed north of Raub, Pahang, Malaysia, and sandwiched between the Bentong‐Raub Suture Zone and the westernmost margin of the Sukhothai Arc terrane, yield a late Dienerian (late Induan) conodont fauna. The co‐occurrence of Neospathodus dieneri Sweet (morphotypes 1, 2 and 3) and Neospathodus pakistanensis Sweet represents the Neospathodus dieneri morphotype 3 sub‐zone of the Neospathodus dieneri Zone. The sampled limestones are interpreted as the northwards extension of the Jerus Limestone which crops out near Cheroh and Jerus villages, significantly extending the known outcrop of the Jerus Limestone northwards. The Jerus Limestone is interpreted as hemipelagic and formed in a foredeep or forearc setting on top of the accretionary complex formed by eastwards subduction of the Palaeo‐Tethys during the Lower to Middle Triassic.     

Isolated Archosaur teeth from the green sandstone capping the Coralline Limestone (Bagh Group) of the Narmada valley: Evidence for the presence of pre‐Late to Late Maastrichtian abelisaurids in India

Recent field prospecting in the Cretaceous sequences of the lower Narmada valley has led to the discovery of three isolated archosaur teeth from the upper part of marine Cretaceous rocks of the Bagh Group. The specimens were recovered by surface prospecting from an oyster‐bearing green sandstone bed occurring at the top of the Coralline Limestone (Coniacian) from a site near Phutibawri village, Dhar District, Madhya Pradesh, India. Of the three teeth recovered from this horizon, two are identified with abelisaurid dinosaurs and the third one with an indeterminate crocodile. The abelisaurid teeth conform to the premaxillary and maxillary tooth morphology of Majungasaurus and Indosuchus. Earlier reports of abelisaurid dinosaurs from India are from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Lameta Group of Jabalpur, Pisdura (Central India) and Balasinor (Western India) and Upper Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) Kallamedu Formation (South India). As no associated age diagnostic fossils are found, the specimens described here are considered to represent pre‐Late to Late Maastrichtian age based on the known ages of the underlying and overlying formations. The new finds, therefore, document stratigraphically the oldest occurrence of abelisaurid dinosaurs known from the Indian subcontinent.     

Albian extrusion evidences of the Triassic salt and clues of the beginning of the Eocene atlasic phase from the example of the Chitana-Ed Djebs structure (N.Tunisia): Implication in the North African Tethyan margin recorded events, comparisons

In the northern part of Tunisia, close to Testour/Slouguia, new observations and updated biostratigraphy make it possible to highlight the relation between the Triassic saliferous mass and the surrounding Mesozoic beds (T. M.). Near the (T. M.) boundary, the formations observed consist dominantly of Triassic evaporites reworked in the Early and Late Albian deep-water sedimentary deposits. Throughout the studied area, Jurassic rocks are absent. We propose to interpret the Chitana-Ed Djebs structure originally emplaced as gravitational stretch masses in a passive margin in the same way as the salt bodies of widespread salt province in the Gulf of Mexico. A reconstructed schematic position of the Chitana-Ed Djebs salt body displays a scenario of setting of the salt mass on a submarine palaeo-slope. Moreover, the starting clues of the paroxysmal event of the Late Mesozoic tectonic inversion clearly fossilized through the discordance of the Middle Eocene–Early Lutetian limestone on the Albian series.     

太阳系外行星研究进展

过去的二十年间,利用多种技术（如脉冲时间、径向速度、天文学观测、穿越光度计、反射光度计、微透镜和直接图像）发现了405个太阳系外行星。对这些太阳系外行星的研究首次提供了有关行星生长的信息,诸如星盘结构和演化,星盘性质和大小等。2009年4月对GJ581d行星的观测表明,这个行星处于＂宜居区域＂内,意味着它有液态水,因此可能有生命存在。     

新疆巴音沟蛇绿混杂岩带中硅质岩及硅质泥岩的元素地球化学特征及其形成环境

巴音沟蛇绿混杂岩带中成薄层状产出的硅质岩、硅质泥岩的Si02：55．37％～91．19％,Al2O3含量较高,变化在3．07～17．66,TiO2=0．12～0．8,Al2O3与TiO2具有较好的正相关关系,表明它们含有较高比例的陆源泥质沉积物质。样品经北美页岩标准化的稀土模式呈现无Ce负异常（Ce／Ce^＊=1．03～1．45）的平坦稀土谱型,球粒陨石标准化稀土模式为轻稀土富集,Eu具明显负异常的右倾谱型。均显示与大陆边缘沉积硅质岩、硅质泥岩相似的稀土配分模式。它们的（La／Ce）N=0．62～0．92,V／Y=0．32～8．87,Th／U=2．99～6．45,表明这些硅质岩、硅质泥岩形成于与陆源物质输入密切相关的大陆边缘环境,综合大地构造背景、蛇绿岩带中超基性、基性岩元素地球化学以及年代学分析认为,蛇绿岩就位于早石炭世晚期,形成在大陆裂谷向大洋裂谷转换并形成小洋盆的环境。     

Beyond the epsilon band: polygonal modeling of gradation/uncertainty in area-class maps

A spatial modeling technique is proposed to represent boundary uncertainty or gradation on area-class maps using a simple polygon tessellation with designated zones of indeterminacy or transition zones. The transition zone can be conceptualized as a dual of the epsilon band, but is more flexible and allows for a wide range of polygonal configurations, including polygons with sinuous boundaries, spurs, three-way transition zones, and null polygons. The model is specified using the medial axis to capture the general shape characteristics of a transition zone. Graph theoretic representation of an extended version of the medial axis captures key junctions in both shape and classification and is used to identify well-formed transition zones that can be logically and unambiguously handled by the model. A multivariate classification surface is specified by first defining degrees or probabilities of membership at every point on the medial axis and transition zone boundary. Degrees or probabilities of membership at all other points are defined by linear interpolation. The technique is illustrated with an example of a complex transition zone, and a simple isoline representation that can be derived from the model is presented. The proposed modeling technique promises to facilitate expert characterization of soil formations, ecological systems, and other types of areal units where gradation and/or boundary uncertainty are prevalent.     

Analyses multifractales et spatio-temporelles des précipitations du modèle Méso-NH et des données radar

Résumé

Dans le cadre des multifractals universels, il est possible de caractériser la variabilité spatio-temporelle de la pluie sur une grande gamme d’échelle à l'aide de trois paramètres invariants d’échelles. Dans cette étude, nous avons estimé ces paramètres multifractals sur des simulations numériques effectuées avec le modèle méso-échelle Méso-NH, développé par Météo-France et le Laboratoire d'Aérologie (Univ. P. Sabatier, Toulouse, France), et des images radar composites, couvrant le même événement pluvieux, à savoir un orage particulièrement violent, dit de type Cévenol, ayant eu lieu sur la partie sud de la France du 5 au 9 Septembre 2005. La comparaison des résultats montre que les deux types de données présentent des domaines d'invariance d’échelle relativement similaires, et dont les propriétés sont en accord avec les modèles de précipitation spatio-temporels unifiés et scalants les plus simples. Néanmoins l’évaluation de leurs exposants conduit à des valeurs parfois fortement différentes.

Citation Gires, A., Tchiguirinskaia, I., Schertzer, D. & Lovejoy, S. (2011) Analyses multifractales et spatio-temporelles des précipitations du modèle Méso-NH et des données radar. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(3), 380–396.