Crustal xenoliths from Calbuco Volcano,Andean Southern Volcanic Zone: implications for crustal composition and magma-crust interaction

Crustal xenoliths in the 1961 andesite flow of Calbuco Volcano, in the southern Southern Volcanic Zone (SSVZ) of the Andes, consist predominantly of pyroxene granulites and hornblende gabbronorites. The granulites contain plagioclase+pyroxene+magnetite±amphibole, and have pronounced granoblastic textures. Small amounts of relict amphibole surrounded by pyroxene-plagioclase-magnetite-glass symplectites are found in some specimens. These and similar textures in the gabbronorites are interpreted as evidence of dehydration melting. Mineral and bulk rock geochemical data indicate that the granulites are derived from an incompatible trace element depleted basaltic protolith that underwent two stages of metamorphism: a moderate pressure, high temperature stage accompanied by melting and melt extraction from some samples, followed by thermal metamorphism after entrainment in the Calbuco andesite lavas. High _Nd ^T values (+4.0 to +8.6), Nd-isotope model ages of 1.7–2.0 Ga, and trace element characteristics like chondrite normalized La/Yb< and La/Nb1 indicate that the protoliths were oceanic basalts. Similar oceanic metabasalts of greenschist to amphibolite facies are found in the Paleozoic metamorphic belt that underlies the Chilean coastal ranges. Mineral and bulk rock compositions of the gabbronorite xenoliths indicate that they are cognate, crystallizing from the basaltic andesite magma at Calbuco. Crystallization pressures for the gabbros based on total Al contents in amphibole are 6–8 kbar. These pressures point to middle to lower crustal storage of the Calbuco magma. Neither granulite nor gabbro xenoliths have the appropriate geochemical characteristics to be contaminants of Calbuco andesites, although an ancient sedimentary contaminant is indicated by the lava compositions. The presence of oceanic metabasaltic xenoliths, together with the sedimentary isotopic imprint, suggests that the lower crust beneath the volcano is analogous to the coastal metamorphic belt, which is an accretionary complex of intercalated basalts and sediments that formed along the Paleozoic Gondwanan margin. If this is the case, the geochemical composition of the lower and middle crust beneath the SSVZ is significantly different from that of most recent SSVZ volcanic rocks.     

A Novel Multiple-Kernel Support Vector Regression Algorithm for Estimation of Water Quality Parameters

Natural Resources Research - The quality of&nbsp;surface&nbsp;waters plays a key role in the sustainability of ecological systems. Measuring water quality parameters (WQPs) is of high...     

Spatiotemporal changes in precipitation concentration over Iran during 1962–2019

Climatic Change - Changes in precipitation pattern can lead to widespread impacts across natural and human systems. This study assesses precipitation variability as well as anthropogenic and...     

Makran ophiolitic basalts (SE Iran) record Late Cretaceous Neotethys plume-ridge interaction

ABSTRACT

The Makran complex in southeast Iran provides a spectacular subduction-related accretionary complex to understand the mechanism of oceanic accretion and the evolution of subduction zones. In this paper, we present new major and trace element data as well as isotopic compositions of mafic volcanic blocks from the Makran ophiolitic mélange complex (OMC). Our aim is to assess the genesis of these rocks and discuss their implications on the evolution of Neotethys Ocean. These volcanic blocks are composed mainly of basalts with minor trachytes. The Makran lavas are occasionally interlayered with tuff layers. Zircons from these tuffs give U-Pb ages of 95 Ma, which is well in accordance with the reposted microfossil data for the interlayered pelagic limestones with pillow lavas. Makran basalts can be geochemically subdivided into four groups; normal to transitional MORB, enriched-MORB, Plume-type MORB and alkaline (-OIB-like) basalts. The OIB-like pillow lavas are represented by high values of Th/Tb (6.3–7.4) which are higher than other basalts (group 1 = 0.3–0.8; groups 2 = 0.7–1.6; group 3 = 1.58–1.36).¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd_(t) ratios for basalts ranges from 0.51247 to 0.51292, whereas ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(t) isotopic composition of the OMC lavas varies from 0.704433 to 0.709466. The Pb isotopic composition of the lavas are quite high, ranging from 15.49–15.66 for ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t), 18.09–19.12 for ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t) and 37.80–39.23 for ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb_(t). The chemistry of these rocks suggests that they were formed most likely in an oceanic setting with clear plume-ridge interaction. These rocks can form from partial melting of a highly heterogeneous mantle source, which is extensively metasomatized with deep mantle OIB-type components. We suggest these rocks have been generated in an oceanic ridge with plume-ridge interaction, similar to the Iceland-Reykjanes Ridge, before being fragmented and accreted into the Makran accretionary complex.     

Bidirectional behavior of unreinforced masonry walls

Most of the studies related to the modeling of masonry structures have by far investigated either the in‐plane (IP) or the out‐of‐plane (OP) behavior of walls. However, seismic loads mostly impose simultaneous IP and OP demands on load‐bearing or shear masonry walls. Thus, there is a need to reconsider design equations of unreinforced masonry walls by taking into account bidirectional effects. The intent of this study is to investigate the bidirectional behavior of an unreinforced masonry wall with a typical aspect ratio under different displacement‐controlled loading directions making use of finite element analysis. For this purpose, the numerical procedure is first validated against the results of the tests on walls with different failure modes conducted by the authors. Afterward, the response of the wall systems is evaluated with increasing top displacement having different orientations. A set of 19 monotonic and three cyclic loading analyses are performed, and the results are discussed in terms of the variation of failure modes and load–displacement diagrams. Moreover, the results of wall capacity in each loading condition are compared with those of the ASCE41‐06 formulations. The results indicate that the direction of the resultant force, vectorial summation of IP and OP forces, of the wall is initially proportional to the ratio of stiffness in the IP and the OP directions. However, with the increase of damage, the resultant force direction inclines towards the wall's longitudinal direction regardless of the direction of the imposed displacement. Finally, recommendations are made for applicability of ASCE41‐06 formulations under different bidirectional loading conditions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemical Aspects of Hypogene Hydrothermal Alteration Zones in the Chol‐qeshlaghi Area,NW Iran: Constrains on REEs

Chol-qeshlaghi altered area lies in the northwestern part of the post-collisional Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc, NW Iran. Pervasive silicic, argillic, phyllic and propylitic altered zones appears to be intimately affiliated to the fluids derivative of upper Oligocene Khankandi granodiorite. This paper is dedicated to the identification of geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal alterations, focusing on the determination of the mass gains and losses of REEs, to gain significant insights regard...     

Impact of lateral force-resisting system and design/construction practices on seismic performance and cost of tall buildings in Dubai, UAE

The local design and construction practices in the United Arab Emirates(UAE),together with Dubai’s unique rate of development,warrant special attention to the selection of Lateral Force-Resisting Systems(LFRS).This research proposes four different feasible solutions for the selection of the LFRS for tall buildings and quantifies the impact of these selections on seismic performance and cost.The systems considered are: Steel Special Moment-Resisting Frame(SMRF),Concrete SMRF,Steel Dual System(SMRF with Special Steel Plates Shear Wall,SPSW),and Concrete Dual System(SMRF with Special Concrete Shear Wall,SCSW).The LFRS selection is driven by seismic setup as well as the adopted design and construction practices in Dubai.It is found that the concrete design alternatives are consistently less expensive than their steel counterparts.The steel dual system is expected to have the least damage based on its relatively lesser interstory drifts.However,this preferred performance comes at a higher initial construction cost.Conversely,the steel SMRF system is expected to have the most damage and associated repair cost due to its excessive flexibility.The two concrete alternatives are expected to have relatively moderate damage and repair costs in addition to their lesser initial construction cost.     

Spatial correlation for horizontal and vertical components of acceleration from northern Iran seismic events

The evaluation of seismic risk of spatially distributed systems requires the spatial correlation model for ground motion intensity measures. This study investigates the spatial correlation of four earthquakes recorded in northern Iran. The intra-event spatial correlation for both horizontal and vertical components of spectral acceleration at eight periods in the range of 0.0–3.0 s is estimated using geostatistical tools. An exponential form is chosen to fit experimental semivariograms, and the correlation ranges of spectral accelerations as a function of period are derived. The results show similar trend of correlation ranges for both components. It should be mentioned that the ranges for the vertical component, in general, are higher than those observed for the horizontal one. For both components, the correlation ranges as a function of period are divided into three segments. The first and the third one are increasing while the second one is decreasing with increasing period.     

Benthic nutrient fluxes along the Laurentian Channel: Impacts on the N budget of the St. Lawrence marine system

Water column concentrations and benthic fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and oxygen (DO) were measured in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Upper and Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (USLE and LSLE, respectively) to assess the nitrogen (N) budget in the St. Lawrence (SL) system, as well as to elucidate the impact of bottom water hypoxia on fixed-N removal in the LSLE. A severe nitrate deficit, with respect to ambient phosphate concentrations (N*∼−10 μmol L⁻¹), was observed within and in the vicinity of the hypoxic bottom water of the LSLE. Given that DO concentrations in the water column have remained above 50 μmol L⁻¹, nitrate reduction in suboxic sediments, rather than in the water column, is most likely responsible for the removal of fixed N from the SL system. Net nitrate fluxes into the sediments, derived from pore water nitrate concentration gradients, ranged from 190 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the hypoxic western LSLE to 100 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ in the Gulf. The average total benthic nitrate reduction rate for the Laurentian Channel (LC) is on the order of 690 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹, with coupled nitrification-nitrate reduction accounting for more than 70%. Using average nitrate reduction rates derived from the observed water column nitrate deficit, the annual fixed-N elimination within the three main channels of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and LSLE was estimated at 411 × 10⁶ t N, yielding an almost balanced N budget for the SL marine system.     

Geostatistics as a groundwater exploration planning tool: case of a brackish-saline aquifer

This paper discusses a geostatistical approach to model a groundwater aquifer in 3-D. The study aims at utilizing geostatistics as a tool for characterizing zones of better-water quality in a brackish-saline aquifer. In particular, the geostatistical model was constructed to characterize the aquifer’s salinity, represented by total dissolved solids (TDS), using logs of porosity and resistivity. Quality-checked estimated TDS vertical profiles were employed to construct and model horizontal and vertical semivariograms. Parameters of semivariogram models were used to develop both the kriging plan and the generated model. Results of this modeling process are shown in the form of horizontal salinity distribution maps. The aquifer was sliced into 20 layers, each 20 m thick, to represent its overall thickness. Salinity layers maps reflect vertical stratification of TDS concentrations in the aquifer and show that water quality deteriorates with depth and toward the northern part of the aquifer. Relatively better-quality water (TDS ≤10,000 mg/l) can be found at depths between 100 and 250 m below the aquifer’s top in both eastern and southeastern parts. Water in the same interval to the western and southwestern parts reflects the presence of higher TDS concentration. From a planning point of view, it is more feasible to target the eastern part of the aquifer for pumping and desalination purposes. In addition, the generated model could be utilized as an initial condition for flow simulation.