Depositional and post‐depositional history of warm stage deposits at Knocknacran,Co. Monaghan,Ireland: implications for preservation of Irish last interglacial deposits

Organic‐rich deposits, uncovered during overburden removal from mantled gypsum karst at Knocknacran opencast gypsum mine, Co. Monaghan, are the best candidate to date for a last interglacial record in Ireland. The two till and organic‐rich deposits (preserved at different quarry elevations) were emplaced on to a Tertiary dolerite surface during high‐energy flood events and subsequently folded and faulted by movement towards sinkholes in underlying gypsum. Uranium–thorium disequilibrium dating suggests that the organic‐rich deposits in the upper section were hydrologically isolated at ca. 41 ka and those in the lower section at ca. 86 ka. Interpretation of the pollen content, although tentative because of the depositional and post‐depositional history of the material, suggests that the organic material originated in a warm stage possibly warmer than the post‐Eemian interstadials. The unusual setting of preservation may indicate that in situ, last interglacial deposits have generally been removed by erosion in Ireland. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Attempt to Predict the Failure Time of Abandoned Mine Pillars

Summary  Left in place pillars of abandoned mines are subject to weathering (e.g action of water, bacteria) that degrades their mechanical strength and eventually leads to collapse. A simple weathering model is proposed, that is governed by two parameters: the rate of progression of weathered front and the rate of degradation of the compressive strength with time. Both plane strain and axisymmetric analyses are performed and closed form solutions of the variation with time of the bearing capacity of the pillar are given. Experimental data of the tests conducted on gypsum and anhydrite specimens attacked by water are presented. It is shown that in order to fit the experimental data a third parameter must be introduced. New closed form solutions are given and the data are used for estimating the time to failure of abandoned gypsum mines in Northern Italy. Authors’ address: Dr. Riccardo Castellanza, Research Assistant, Department of Structural Engineering, Milan University of Technology (Politecnico), Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy     

合肥市膨胀土试验研究

主要介绍合肥市二环路用生石灰,石膏改良膨胀土的室内试验研究,并根据试验资料说明生石灰、石膏改良膨胀土的效果。同时提出一种用生石灰一石膏改良合肥膨胀土的最佳配方。大量的试验结果表明,用该配方改良后的膨胀土其单轴抗压强度,水中稳定性、耐久性都有显著提高。经十几年来在合肥市二环路上应用效果良好。     

Deep to shallow lacustrine evaporites in the Libros Gypsum (southern Teruel Basin, Miocene, NE Spain): an occurrence of pelletal gypsum rhythmites

ABSTRACT A number of non‐marine evaporite units composed of primary gypsum were deposited in saline lakes that developed in the southern Teruel Basin (NE Spain) during the Miocene. In the basin depocentre, a continuum of lacustrine evaporite lithofacies influenced by the activity of organisms is displayed. The Libros Gypsum was deposited in a deep lake, in which water stratification became unstable with progressive shoaling. Rhythmites, composed of laminae of pelletal gypsum and laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum crystals mixed with siliceous microorganisms, formed in addition to gypsum turbidites, intraformational gypsum breccias and slump structures. The pelletal laminae originated from the faecal activity of animals (crustaceans?) ingesting gypsum crystallites in the lake water during episodes of maximum evaporation, whereas the laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum mixed with microorganisms accumulated during episodes of relative dilution. In the wide marginal zones of the basin, the Libros Gypsum unit consists of massive to thin‐bedded bioturbated gypsum and thin‐bedded clotted gypsum, which formed in intermediate to very shallow (palustrine) water depths. The bioturbated gypsum lithofacies were produced by the action of diverse organisms, presumably worms and coleopterans, and chironomid larvae to a lesser extent; the massive lithofacies precipitated in very shallow water; and the thin‐bedded lithofacies formed in shallow to deeper settings. The thin‐bedded clotted gypsum is a relatively deep facies that may have diverse origins (e.g. bioturbation, compaction, disruption of soft sediments and early diagenesis). There is a well‐developed metre‐scale cyclicity in the marginal lake sequences, which is not observed in the inner lake deposits. This suggests a depth control in the various lacustrine subenvironments to record cyclic evaporitic processes. The isotopic composition of the gypsum indicates early sulphate‐reducing bacterial activity in the bottom of the lake and suggests that the sulphate was derived from the chemical recycling of Triassic evaporites of the country rocks.     

关于金矿成矿物质来源的初步探讨

近年来“矿源层”这一概念已被广大地质学家所接受，他们认为矿床中的金是从围岩中萃取的，本文认为矿床中的金来源于岩浆残余热液。在地壳深部，当丰度值高的基性岩或其他岩石，在深熔作用下产生花岗质岩浆时，同时带出许多金，当岩浆侵入到上部地壳冷凝结晶时，其中的大部金进入残余热液，最后富集成矿。     

Land subsidence and caprock dolines caused by subsurface gypsum dissolution and the effect of subsidence on the fluvial system in the Upper Tigris Basin (between Bismil–Batman, Turkey)

Karstification-based land subsidence was found in the Upper Tigris Basin with dimensions not seen anywhere else in Turkey. The area of land subsidence, where there are secondary and tertiary subsidence developments, reaches 140 km². Subsidence depth ranges between 40 and 70 m. The subsidence was formed as a result of subsurface gypsum dissolution in Lower Miocene formation. Although there are limestones together with gypsum and Eocene limestone below them in the area, a subsidence with such a large area is indicative of karstification in the gypsum. The stratigraphical cross-sections taken from the wells and the water analyses also verify this fact. The Lower Miocene gypsum, which shows confined aquifer features, was completely dissolved by the aggressive waters injected from the top and discharged through by Zellek Fault. This resulted in the development of subsidence and formation of caprock dolines on loosely textured Upper Miocene–Pliocene cover formations. The Tigris River runs through the subsidence area between Batman and Bismil. There are four terrace levels as T1 (40 m), T2 (30 m), T3 (10 m) and T4 (4–5 m) in the Tigris River valley. It was also found that there were some movements of the levels of the terraces in the valley by subsidence. The subsidence developed gradually throughout the Quaternary; however no terrace was formed purely because of subsidence.     

塔里木盆地西南凹陷古新统巨厚海相石膏岩沉积特征及环境意义

塔里木盆地(简称塔,下同)西南凹陷古新世阿尔塔什组发育巨厚层海相石膏岩,夹薄层泥岩、粉砂岩及灰岩,是塔西南凹陷断续海侵环境下多期次蒸发沉积的产物。野外调查显示,该层海相石膏岩出现于皮拉里、阿尔塔什、麻扎塔格及大山口地区的阿尔塔什组露头剖面。石膏岩在凹陷内分布广泛,在西昆仑山前、南天山山前及麦盖提斜坡带均有发育且沉积厚度比较稳定。石膏岩中主要盐类矿物为石膏、硬石膏。扫描电镜分析发现,石膏岩中尚含石盐、钙芒硝及含钾镁的硫酸盐等;石膏岩样品中石盐、石膏、硬石膏等多呈细晶或自形微晶,推测阿尔塔什组沉积期,古盐湖曾出现过富钾卤水;通过对皮拉里剖面石膏岩样品进行地球化学分析,揭示该地区古新世古盐湖演化过程中出现2个相对富钾峰值。在古盐湖演化过程中,由于多期次特提斯海水的侵入,凹陷内部阿尔塔时期发育了碎屑岩—巨厚层石膏岩—碎屑岩的沉积韵律,古盐湖卤水表现为淡—咸—淡的变化规律。伴随着阿尔塔时期4次大规模的海侵,石膏岩沉积从西昆仑山前扩展到麦盖提斜坡地带,海侵范围也逐渐扩大。在阿尔塔什组顶部发育中厚层灰岩,显示在阿尔塔什组沉积晚期,塔西南凹陷沉积环境从●湖相逐渐向浅海相环境演变。     

Paratacamite from Gypsum Veins in Sandstones of the Kuqa Basin,Xinjiang, China: Implications for a New Epigenetic Cu Enrichment Mechanism

The Kuqa Basin filled with Paleogene evaporite series is located in the northeast of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. It is famous for sandstone‐hosted Cu deposits formed by synsedimentary processes. However, our recent studies reveal that there has been another Cu mineralization mechanism in this basin. Field investigations show that there is a close relationship among faults, salt domes, and brine. Cu deposits are mainly located in two east–west‐trending anticlinal belts in the basin, adjacent to salt domes in the belts. Cu minerals in gypsum veins of the Jidike and Kangcun formations have been investigated by SEM, EDS, and X‐ray diffraction methods. The occurrence of paratacamite in gypsum veins has been reported to coexist with glauberite and halite in the joint planes of sandstones. In addition, it occurs accompanying residual crystal salt encrustation in limestone fractures, or in sandstones in dendritic form. These features indicate that the surface‐Cu enrichment in the Kuqa Basin might have originated from Cu‐bearing brine in the underlying evaporite units, which migrated upward along fractures. In addition, the presence of H₂S in the east–west fault belt in the Kuqa Basin, and the discovery of surface sulfur, calcium carbonate, and covellite, suggest thermochemical sulfate reduction near salt domes in the deeper parts of the rock units. This process resulted in the generation of reduced brine and provided a favorable environment for Cu enrichment. Therefore, the surface‐Cu mineralization near salt domes is interpreted to be the result of Cu‐bearing brine migrating upward to the surface along faults (or joints) following the intrusion of deep salt domes. The geological evidence indicates the presence of reducing brine and Cu‐bearing brine near the salt dome in the deeper rocks of the Kuqa Basin, thus making the intrusive contact zone of the salt dome a favorable site for the epigenetic enrichment of Cu. Our study demonstrates that Cu enrichment in the Kuqa Basin resulted not only from synsedimentary deposition but also through epigenetic enrichment associated with salt dome intrusion and brine‐rich fluids.     

ASTER mapping of gypsum deposits of Thumrait region of southern Oman

This study demonstrates the use of ASTER data for the mapping of gypsum deposits and associated geological formations that occurred in the Thumrait region of southern Oman. The measurement of spectra over samples of gypsum in the 1,300–2,500 nm wavelength using a PIMA spectrometer showed the presence of distinct absorptions at 1400–1600, 1750, 1940, 2,100, and 2,400 nm characteristics to O? H stretching, H₂O combinations, and S? O bending overtones and stretching, respectively. Studying the unique spectral absorption characters of gypsum samples, we developed a false color composite (FCC) and an image by decorrelation stretch using the spectral bands 7, 3, and 2 of ASTER. The results FCC showed the regions of gypsum occurrences, and the decorrelated image discriminated the gypsum occurrences from other geological formations of the area. The study of surface mineralogy of the region using the VNIR‐SWIR bands by the spectral angle mapper method showed the presence of sulfate, carbonate, and clay minerals of the geological formations in the study area. We compared the results of ASTER with the results obtained using spectral bands 12, 8, and 4 of Sentinel‐2A processed by the same methods. The study showed that the spectral bands of ASTER can be used for mapping the gypsum and associated geological formations.     

安徽定远县三和集镇石膏矿地质特征浅析

安徽省定远县关塘石膏矿矿区位于定远县城东北部,行政区划隶属定远县三和集镇管辖。通过对其主要地质特征及矿床成因分析,认为矿床赋存于土金山组中,主要矿石自然类型为泥质石膏和纤维石膏。希望为给地区寻找该类型石膏矿提供指导意义。