Magma fragmentation dynamics: experiments with analogue porous low-strength material

 Experiments were conducted on the fragmentation of analogue low-strength porous material (plastiprin) by rapid decompression in a shock-tube-type apparatus. The porous samples (length=365 mm, cross-section dimensions 40×40 mm) pressurized by air to pressures up to 0.9 MPa, were rapidly decompressed to 0.1 MPa. Rapid decompression of samples caused fragmentation and ejection of the fragmentation products into a large volume tank. The process of analogue material fragmentation was documented using high-speed cinematography and dynamic pressure measurements. The duration of the fragmentation event is significantly shorter than that of the ejection event. The fragmentation of material precedes the acceleration of fragments. As a result of fragmentation, sub-parallel fractures are generated. The characteristic fragment size decreases as the initial pressure differential increases. The ejected fragments obtain velocities of 60 m/s. The mechanisms of material fragmentation during unloading and fragmentation wave propagation are discussed. The experimental results provide insight into the fragmentation dynamics of highly viscous magmas in which brittle failure at high strain rate is possible. Received: 23 July 1997 / Accepted: 23 November 1997     

Post-glacial diatom and geochemical records of ecological status and water level changes of Lake Vorota,Western Beringia

Journal of Paleolimnology - In this study, radiocarbon-dated geochemical and diatom records from Lake Vorota located within the informal meteorological ‘pole of cold’ of the northern...     

Rigid‐plastic seismic design of reinforced concrete structures

In this paper a new seismic design procedure for Reinforced Concrete (R/C) structures is proposed—the Rigid‐Plastic Seismic Design (RPSD) method. This is a design procedure based on Non‐Linear Time‐ History Analysis (NLTHA) for systems expected to perform in the non‐linear range during a lifetime earthquake event. The theoretical background is the Theory of Plasticity (Rigid‐Plastic Structures). Firstly, a collapse mechanism is chosen and the corresponding stress field is made safe outside the regions where plastic behaviour takes place. It is shown that this allows the determination of the required structural strength with respect to a pre‐defined performance parameter using a rigid‐plastic response spectrum, which is characteristic of the ground motion alone. The maximum strength demand at any point is solely dependent on the intensity of the ground motion, which facilitates the task of distributing required strength throughout the structure. Any artificial considerations intended to adjust results according to empirical observations are avoided, which, from a conceptual point of view, is considered to be an advantage over other simplified design procedures for seismic design. The procedure is formulated using a step‐by‐step format followed by a design example of a 4‐storey‐R/C‐plane‐frame. Results are compared with refined NLTHA and found to be extremely encouraging. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Uranium Concentration in Altered Brown Coals Located under Burnt Rocks from the Kansk-Achinsk Basin, West Siberia

West Siberian brown coals from the Kansk-Achinsk basin and their combustion products are generally characterized by a low uranium content. In some places where brown coal has been altered (losing density, becoming cracked or friable), the uranium content has increased by concentrations ranging from 1001000 μg g⁻¹. At these locations distinct signs of underground fires are visible. The uranium distribution patterns suggest that the burnt organic matter was a source of uranium and altered varieties of coal serve as a geochemical barrier to uranium transport.     

Evapotranspiration capture and stream depletion due to groundwater pumping under variable boreal climate conditions: Sudogda River Basin,Russia

Groundwater pumping and changes in climate-induced recharge lead to lower groundwater levels and significant changes in the water balance of a catchment. Water previously discharged as evapotranspiration can become a source of pumpage. Neglecting this effect leads to overestimated streamflow depletion. A small river basin (Sudogda River Basin, Russia) with a boreal climate and with long-term records of groundwater head and streamflow rate (showing that the measured stream depletion is less than the pumping rate) was investigated. The role of evapotranspiration in the water balance was analyzed by a hydrogeological model using MODFLOW-2005 with the STR package; the annual variation in recharge was obtained with the codes Surfbal and HYDRUS. The Sudogda River Basin was classified according to landscape and unsaturated-zone texture classes, and for each classified zone, the unsaturated-zone flow simulation was used to calculate the annual recharge dynamics for the observation period. Calibration of the regional flow model was conducted using flow and head observations jointly for two steady-state flow conditions—natural (before pumping started) and stressed (pumping). The simulations showed that pumped water originates from three sources: intercepted baseflow (75% of the annual total pumping rate), the capture of groundwater evapotranspiration discharge plus increased groundwater recharge (17%), and induced stream infiltration (8%). Additionally, multi-year precipitation records were analyzed to detect any long-term recharge and pumping water-budget changes. The results showed that increasing groundwater recharge by natural precipitation leads to (1) decreased intercepted baseflow and induced streamflow infiltration and (2) increased intercepted evapotranspiration discharge, thereby reducing stream depletion.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000806

Zoned tourmaline（schorl-dravite） in the matrix of hydrothermal explosive breccia and ore veins in gold deposits,Chita region.Eastern Transbaikalia.Russia,are associated with Na- and K-rich porphyry-type subvolcanic intrusives.δ¹⁸O values of tourmaline from three gold deposits（Darasun. Talatui,Teremkinskoye） are +8.3‰,+7.6‰,and +6.0‰and calculatedδ¹⁸O values of fluids responsible for the tourmalinization are +7.3‰,+7.7‰,and +4.2‰,respectively.These data imply an igneous fluid source,except at the Teremkin deposit where mixing with meteoric water is indicated.Wide ranges of Fe³⁺/Fe_tot,and the presence of vacancies characterize the Darasun deposit tourmaline indicating wide ranges of f（O₂） and pH of mineralizing fluids.Initial stage tourmalines from the gold deposits of the Darasun ore district are dravite or high mg schorl.Second stage tourmaline is characterized by oscillatory zoning but with Fe generally increasing towards crystal rims indicating decreasing temperature.Third stage tourmaline formed unzoned crystals with x_Mg（mole fraction of Mg） close to that of the hrst stage tourmaline,due to a close association with pyrite and arsenopyrite.From Fe³⁺/Fe_tot values,chemical composition and crystallization temperatures.logf（O₂） of mineralizing fluids ranged from ca.—25 to—20. much higher than for the gold-bearing beresite—listvenite association,indicating that tourmalinization was not related to gold mineralization.     

Some results of the investigation of geomagnetic field variation in the Urals and the Carpathians

Summary. A precision magnetic survey for the investigation of current activity in the Earth's lithosphere has been carried out in the Urals and in the Carpathians. As a result of this research three types of time variation of the total field were discovered. These are:
(1) The normal field variation reflecting the general pattern of secular variation. The difference of initial and repeat observation where only this type of variation operates, is rather small and usually does not exceed 0.2–0.3 nT. The field changes in such regions can be used only to evaluate the observation errors and to provide the regional pattern of secular variation.
(2) The slow but localized'anomalous field'change from year to year corresponding, presumably, to anomalies of a tectonomagnetic nature. The normal pattern of the secular variation field here is disturbed by sources located in the upper part of the lithosphere.
(3) Irregular time changes of the field with rather large amplitudes (up to 10–20 nT). Repeated observations of such anomalies show that the field changes significantly here even during one day. Both in the Urals and Carpathians these anomalies form extended elongated structures with widths up to 10–30 km. These anomalies usually coincide with those deep faults where the strongest recent crustal movements have been determined by means of geodetic observations. The analysis of the results of precision geomagnetic surveys in the Urals and in the Carpathians shows that geomagnetic investigations can be used for the exploration of tectonically active zones.     

Immiscible fluids (CO2-brines) in optical fluorite,Nordvik-Taimyr,Russia

Fluid inclusion investigations in optical fluorite from the Nordvik salt dome caprock (Khatanga Gulf, Taimyr Peninsula, Russia) show that the fluorite has been formed at a temperature of about 300?°C, from CO₂-brine immiscible hydrothermal fluids. Unmixing occurred at a depth of several kilometres, resulting in the liberation of dense CO₂-rich fluids, which played a significant role in helping the diapir to reach its intrusive character. Compared to other optical fluorite deposits in Russia, the exceptional quality of the Nordvik occurrence is due to a relatively high formation temperature, as well as a high salinity (30–35 wt% NaCl eq.) of hydrothermal aqueous fluids. To cite this article: V.Y. Prokof'ev et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).