Light Mineral Research Articles

Mineralogical and Grain Size Analysis of Bai Hassan Formation Terraces in Al-Teeb Area, SE Iraq

Bai Hassan Formation is exposed as remnants of beds from previous formations due to severe erosion that were removed. Results from grain size analysis revealed that most of the studied sediments were coarse-grained sediments ranging from coarse sand to gravel. The study shows that the sediments are poorly sorted. The values of skewed coefficients ranged from fine to strongly skewed, and the negative values indicate the occurrence of hard changes in the environment. Meanwhile, the kurtosis values for the studied sediment indicate that the differences in these values are due to changes in the flow and sediment sorted in a relatively high energy environment. Light minerals like quartz, and feldspars, and rock fragments are identified. Heavy minerals such as chlorite, amphibole, pyroxene, mica, epidote, zircon, garnet, tourmaline, rutile, kyanite, and staurolite can provide information about the geological processes and environments that occurred in a particular area. These minerals can be indicative of specific rock types, metamorphic or igneous formations, that are derived from high Zagros mountains. The collision between the Arabian Plate and the Eurasian Plate resulted in the formation of the Zagros Fold and Thrust Belt, leading to the uplift and deformation of the Zagros Mountains. The Bai Hassan Formation in Iraq originated during the Miocene epoch from fluvial and alluvial fan environments. Sediments carried by rivers and streams from the elevated mountains in Iraq and Iran were deposited, forming conglomerates, sandstones, and mudstones that reflect various depositional settings such as braided river channels and floodplains indicating a rapidly sinking basin with freshwater and lacustrine environments.

Differences in thermal decomposition and crystallinity of dark organic laminae and light mineral laminae in same stromatolite

Stromatolite was a typical representative of microbial carbonate rocks, and also a unique microbial sedimentary structure in carbonate rocks. Previous studies on the characteristics of dark organic laminae and light mineral laminae in same stromatolite have carried out a lot of work, but there was less research in thermal decomposition and crystallinity. Here, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to determine the mineral composition and organic components of stromatolite and micrite. In addition, TG, DTG and were used to analyze their thermochemical characteristics and the non-isothermal decomposition of stromatolite and micrite at multi-heating rates of 5, 10, 20 and 30 °C min−1 in nitrogen atmospheres. Moreover, kinetic model function, kinetic parameters of apparent activation energy (E), and pre-exponential factor (A) were calculated by Popescu, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) and Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS). The results showed that the mineral composition of two laminae structures was calcite, but there were organic matter and organic functional groups in the dark laminae. In addition, the results of thermal analysis showed that the crystallinity and thermal stability were significantly different, that was, crystallinity and thermal stability of dark laminae were significantly higher than that of light laminae. Moreover, the kinetic calculation results showed that the activation energy of dark laminae was also higher. These results provided an important reference for analyzing the thermochemical characteristics of stromatolite, especially the differences in dark organic laminae and light mineral laminae of the stromatolite.

Mineralogical Distribution and Characteristics of Fe-, Ti-, and V-Bearing Beach Ironsand Deposit in Adikarto Bay Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Identification of beach sand deposits was carried out in the south coastal area of Adikarto Bay, Kulonprogo, Yogyakarta in Indonesia. A total of 25 points were observed to identify the characteristics and mineralogy of beach sand related to the iron (Fe), titanium (Ti), and vanadium (Fe) bearing minerals that have an important role in the transition of fossil energy into clean energy as an energy storage technology known as Vanadium Redox flow batteries (VRBs) and lithium-vanadium-phosphate batteries [1]. Laboratory analysis was performed by mineral grain analysis, ore microscopy, and micro-XRF. Based on the mineralogical analysis, the beach sand deposit is composed of heavy minerals (magnetite, titanomagnetite, and hematite) and light minerals (quartz, clinopyroxene: hedenbergite and augite), biotite, hornblende, and ilvaite. The results of the analysis show that the distribution of heavy minerals is dominantly in the fraction size <0.106 mm (70-80%,) while light minerals are distributed in the fraction size 0.212-2 mm (80-90%). Mico-XRF for elemental analysis identification shows that magnetite is the mineral bearing of Fe, Ti, and V elements with a percentage of (79.02 - 92.43 wt%), Ti (6.08-7.89 wt%), and V (0.56-1.15 wt%). Therefore, it is important to characterize the mineralogy and distribution of magnetite, since it can be used as a “mineral pathfinder” for advanced exploration of Fe, Ti, and V elements. So, the ironsand is for the cement indsutry and has advanced utilization.

Impact of Sedimentary Conditions and Relative Distribution of Sand Sedimentary Minerals in Iraqi Soils

This study investigated the relative distribution of sand-separating minerals and the effect of sedimentary and climatic conditions on their distribution in some soils from northern and southern Iraq. The samples were collected from four Iraqi governorates: Erbil (included the soils from areas of Shaqlawa, Soran, and Juman), Sulaymaniyah (included the soils from Dokan, Sayed Sadeq, and Halabja), Maysan (included the soils of Al-Kahla, Ali Al-Sharqi, Awasha, Kumit, Ali Al-Gharbi, and Al-Tayyib), and Wasit Governorate (included the soils of Zurbatiya, Badra, Jassan, Al-Muwafiqiyah, Al-Numaniyah, and Zubaidiyah). The results indicated that the percentages of light sand minerals were higher than the percentages of heavy sand minerals in all the soils of the study sites. It is attributed to the nature of the mineral composition and the intensity of the weathering factor’s influence on the sedimentation sites or during transportation. The results also indicated the dominance of the quartz group, followed by the group of carbonate rock pieces and the group of feldspar minerals in terms of dominance within the light part of sand minerals in all soil samples in southern Iraq (Wasit and Maysan). The rock-cut minerals group was dominant, followed by the quartz and feldspar minerals group in all soil samples in northern Iraq (Erbil and Sulaymaniyah). The other light minerals of the group were found in varying proportions and distribution in all soil samples, which included (mudstone, lime, evaporites, igneous and metamorphic rocks, clay-coated grains, and other minerals). The results showed that the percentages of the opaque minerals were higher in all soil samples than the group of non-opaque minerals, which included minerals (zircon, tourmaline, rutile, strolite, epidote, and kyanite) with irregularity and a significant difference in the proportions as the large percentages indicate that they bear transportation over long distances and their resistance to weathering processes. These ratios were more evident in the northern regions of Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, which indicate the intensity of weathering processes (wet climate) compared to the soils of Wasit and Maysan in southern Iraq. The low percentages appeared in the soil samples due to the short transportation distance and the diversity of the source rocks.

Sedimentology, Mineralogy of Al-Dujaila River Sediments Project, Southeastern Kut City, Iraq

A sedimentological and mineralogical study was carried out on sediments of Al-Dujaila River Project, one of the branches of the Tigris River, southeastern Kut City, Iraq. The study aims to identify the nature and maturity of sediments in order to deduce the provenance of these sediments and the source area. The results of grain size analysis of ten river sediment samples indicated that the averages are: silt (44.97%), clay (34.06%), and sand (20.96%). According to Folk's classification (1974), the sediments are classified as sandy mud. A microscopic study of five sand fraction samples has shown the presence of light and heavy minerals. Light minerals (average 94.6%) include on average: a major share of rock fragments (64.8% including dominant carbonate, chert, igneous, metamorphic, and mudstone), quartz (24.1% including dominant monocrystalline and polycrystalline), feldspars (5% including orthoclase and plagioclase) while evaporates, and coated clays are subordinate. Heavy minerals (average 5.4 %) include opaques (average 54.2%) and non-opaques (average 45.8%) including pyroxene, amphibole, epidote, garnet, staurolite, chlorite, biotite, muscovite, zircon, tourmaline and rutile. Based on the mineralogical signatures, light and heavy minerals reflect metamorphic, mafic and felsic igneous rocks of the active margin of the unstable shelf in addition to carbonate, evaporate and mud of sedimentary rocks that could be sourced from the floodplain. According to sediment diversity and very poor grain sorting in the study area, as well as the values of indices of mineral maturity MI (0.34), MMI (0.76), and the ZTR (23.5%), all these results indicate that sediments are immature to extremely immature, which means the source area represents rather elevated topography, rapid erosion and transport in arid to the semi-arid environment and a short distance of transportation. The tectonic provenance of Al-Dujaila River sediments can be characterized as a lithic reworked of the recycled orogen as a result of the collision range of Taurus and Zagros Mountain range.

Sedimentological Investigation of the Euphrates River from Babylon to Basrah, Iraq

The Euphrates River is considered a famous one among the rivers in the world. The current study is an attempt to give information about the bed sediments from Hilla to Shatt Al-Arab at Basrah, through sedimentological investigations. Forty-two samples were subjected to grain size analysis, representing twelve core sampling sites. The sand fractions (fine-very fine) decrease from Hilla to Basrah cities, beside the interval depths from top to bottom, whereas the silt fractions increase in the same direction and the depth interval, because the water current declined. The light minerals are examined by a polarized transmitted microscope as well as scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer techniques. The light minerals consist of 95.7%, and the heavy minerals of 4.3% among the total counted grains. The rock fragments, particularly carbonate and chert are the predominant constituents and increase from Hilla to Basrah cities, followed by quartz reduced in the same pattern. In addition, the lowest abundance of feldspar minerals where recognize in lower values also decreases to the southern orientation. Monocrystalline quartz is higher than polycrystalline. However, plagioclase is lesser in proportion than potash feldspar (orthoclase and microcline). The river bed sands are litharenite classification, and petrogenically, are transition recycled to transition arc referring to orogenic recycled derivation.

Study of Palaeoclimate Reconstruction Using Sediments and Micropaleontology in the Karankadu Estuary, Ramanathapuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

The study of sedimentary characteristics and paleontology is very useful in assessing the past environment of a study area. The Karankadu estuary study area is considered to be one of the most ecologically diverse in the Ramanathapuram district of southern India. The sedimentological and recent foraminiferal assemblages were studied using a drill core from the estuary. Foraminifera analyses, grain size analyses, heavy mineral analyses and XRD maps were prepared for the present study. A total of 30 species were identified from the following suborders: Rotalina, Lagenina, Mollusca, Miliolina, and Textularina. Grain size analysis identified the substrate as mostly silty clay. Heavy mineral analysis identified 90% of light minerals and 10% of heavy minerals. In XRD analysis, quartz and feldspar appeared as major minerals and garnet, zircon, hypersthene, magnetite and ilmenite as minor minerals. The present study shows that the environment is more diverse due to its quiet character and less responsive to hazardous events such as floods and waves.

Numerical and artificial neural network analysis of an axisymmetric co-flow-focusing microfluidic droplet generator using active and passive control

Droplet generation in microscale has gained enormous attention in recent years especially in the pharmaceutical industry due to their application in targeted drug delivery into droplets. In most of these applications, monodispersity and uniformity of droplets are essential. Microfluidic devices can generate droplets at high throughput, enabling thousands of droplet compound encapsulation per second. The monodispersity of the droplets is ensured hydrodynamically through the dripping regime and their uniformity is controlled by active and passive microflow control methods. Here, we study numerically a microfluidic chip that uses a non-embedded co-flow-focusing geometry, so that the droplet generation throughput can take advantage of the flow-focusing devices while the non-embedded co-flow geometry forecloses the surfactant addition necessity. The continuous and dispersed phases were light mineral oil and water, respectively. We investigated the formation of droplets and studied how changing the external diameter of the chip affects the transition between the dripping regime (which corresponds to monodispersity) and the jetting regime. The number of parameters to be taken into account for the optimization of the device is enormous; therefore, in order to account for the effect of many geometrical and hydrodynamical parameters, we trained an artificial neural network based on our simulation data. Using this neural network, we evaluated droplet formation in 3240 different cases. This approach resulted in a remarkable reduction of computation time, from months to seconds. Examining numerous cases in such a short period lets us choose the optimum geometry and flow rate based on the application. The optimization was able to find the best geometry to extend the region of dripping regime in the flow rate map. Finally, to harness the droplet generation frequency, we also simulated a periodically switched laser and we were able to predict the generation of droplets with the same frequency as the switching frequency. Therefore, altering and controlling the frequency and dimensions of the droplets for a given flow rate ratio could be achieved with this technique, even without satellite droplets.

Engineering and Minerological Characteristics of Sand Dunes of Babylon Governorate, Iraq

The engineering and mierological of sand dunes has been investigated in this paper. The engineering characteristics study involved studying the dimensions of the dunes, their slope angles, analyzing the curvature of their surfaces and sieve analysis. The mierological characteristics included XRD, XRF, and Thin section for specimens. The investigated area involved three differnts zones lie in the Babylon Governorate in the cnter of Iraq. The zones are called Ramlet Rashid, Ramlet Albu Faris and Birmana area. It has a desert environment, which is characterized by little rainfall, ranging from 50 to 200 mm annually, and high summer temperatures that can exceed 50°C, with northwest winds dominating. The grain size distribution of the sand was found to be 99% in an engineering study of sand dune soils. According to USCS, the sand is of the type (Sp), which is sandy badly graded. The bulk density of sand dune soils for the study area locations ranged from 1.287 to 1.376 g /cm3, The lowest concentration was 1.287 g/cm3 in the Bermana area (third site), while the highest concentration was 1.376 g/cm3 at the Ramlet Rashid site (first site), with an average of 1.3315 g/cm3. The internal friction angle (Ø) for sand dune soils for the research area sites ranged from 33 to 34 in the direct shear test, with the minimum being 33 in Ramlet Rashid and the maximum being 34 in Albu Faris. Having a 33.5 percent rate The convergence of the internal friction angle (Ø) values for sand dunes reflects the deposition environment as well as the geometric characteristics of the sand dunes, Because the soil is SP without cohesion and clays, the cohesion (C) values for all sites are (0). The petrographic investigation of sand rise soils uncovered that quartz is the most light mineral tracked down in all areas, trailed by rock pieces, which include: sedimentary rocks (calcareous rocks, carbonates, chert, evaporites, and earth rock sections), trailed by feldspar (antacid and plagioclase feldspar), and volcanic stone parts, transformative shakes and mud-covered grains. Concerning its weighty minerals parts, for the most part hazy minerals, the chlorite bunch, the mica bunch, the amphibole bunch, the pyroxene bunch, zircon, termolite, garnet, rhyolite, staurolite, kainite, rutile, and different minerals by 1%. X-Ray diffraction test uncovered the presence of quartz, albite and calcite, and X-Ray fluorescence tests showed the presence of silica (SiO2) and lime (CaO).

A Cotton Fabric Composite with Light Mineral Oil and Magnetite Nanoparticles: Effects of a Magnetic Field and Uniform Compressions on Electrical Conductivity.

Over the past few decades, tactile sensors have become an emerging field of research with direct applications in the area of biomedical engineering. New types of tactile sensors, called magneto-tactile sensors, have recently been developed. The aim of our work was to create a low-cost composite whose electrical conductivity depends on mechanical compressions that can be finely tuned using a magnetic field for magneto-tactile sensor fabrication. For this purpose, 100% cotton fabric was impregnated with a magnetic liquid (EFH-1 type) based on light mineral oil and magnetite particles. The new composite was used to manufacture an electrical device. With the experimental installation described in this study, we measured the electrical resistance of an electrical device placed in a magnetic field in the absence or presence of uniform compressions. The effect of uniform compressions and the magnetic field was the induction of mechanical-magneto-elastic deformations and, as a result, variations in electrical conductivity. In a magnetic field with a flux density of 390 mT, in the absence of mechanical compression forces, a magnetic pressure of 5.36 kPa was generated, and the electrical conductivity increased by 400% compared to that of the composite in the absence of a magnetic field. Upon increasing the compression force to 9 N, in the absence of a magnetic field, the electrical conductivity increased by about 300% compared to that of the device in the absence of compression forces and a magnetic field. In the presence of a magnetic flux density of 390 mT, and when the compression force increased from 3 N to 9 N, the electrical conductivity increased by 2800%. These results suggest the new composite is a promising material for magneto-tactile sensors.

Plio-Pleistocene sedimentation and palaeogeographic reconstruction in the Poso Depression, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia: from a sea channel to a land bridge

The Poso Depression provides a record of Plio-Pleistocene environments and palaeogeography of Central Sulawesi. Outcrop-based sedimentological and provenance studies suggest that during the Pliocene the Poso Depression was a sea channel connecting Gorontalo and Bone bays formed in an asymmetric half-graben. The Pliocene history began with deposition of the Puna Formation with fan deltas at the eastern basin margin and channel complexes in the deep-water basin further east. Analyses of light and heavy minerals indicate the main sediment source was ultrabasic rocks in East Sulawesi with minor and intermittent magmatic and metamorphic input from West Sulawesi. Later, in the Middle to Late Pliocene, carbonates of the Poso Formation accumulated on the eastern basin margin. They are unconformably overlain by shallow marine glaucophane-rich siliciclastics of the Pleistocene Lage Formation that are associated with the rapid exhumation and uplift of the Pompangeo metamorphic complex. This uplift led to the development of a land bridge connecting western and eastern Sulawesi. The terrane evolution favoured increasing the area of exposed land due to rapid tectonic uplift, which when combined with the tropical climate, contributed to faunal speciation and dispersal in Sulawesi.

A tropical soil (Lixisol) identified in the northernmost part of the Mediterranean (Istria, Croatia)

Terra rossa soils on the Istrian peninsula are generally considered polygenetic relict soils. They overlie and mark the youngest subaerial unconformity in the northwestern part of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and are susceptible to erosional and redepositional processes. Terra rossa soils represent a valuable archive of information that can be used to understand present and past soil formation processes in the context of climate variability and landscape dynamics, especially in low-lying parts of the karst landscape where thicker deposits are typically found. We studied a 3 m thick terra rossa profile in a karst depression on the northernmost part of the southwestern Istrian planation surface and analysed the micromorphology, physical/chemical properties, geochemistry, bulk and clay mineralogy, and composition of heavy and light mineral fractions. The profile shows several signs of colluviation and polygenesis with clay distribution along the profile, clearly indicating lithic discontinuities. Kaolinisation, along with iron oxide formation, is the dominant process in the studied profile. Ferralitisation and lessivage processes were diagnosed throughout the profile, with intense clay translocation occurring despite the extremely stable soil microaggregates. In accordance with the WRB system, the profile is classified as Rhodic Lixisol (Clayic, Aric, Cutanic). This implies that some terra rossa soils, previously classified as e.g. Cambisols or Luvisols, might actually be Lixisols or other (sub-)tropical soils (e.g. Nitisols), in which relict properties are preserved in the present climate. The finding of a Lixisol in the study area indicates the old age of the surface of the karst depression and provides the first data on the burial history of the southwestern Istrian planation surface. We suggest the older Quaternary interglacials, the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (Pliocene) and the Miocene Climatic Optimum as favourable periods for the formation of the studied soil.

Composites Based on Cotton Microfibers Impregnated with Magnetic Liquid for Magneto-Tactile Sensors.

In this paper, we report the preparation of two new composite materials based on cotton fibers and magnetic liquid consisting of magnetite nanoparticles and light mineral oil. Using the composites and two simple textolite plates plated with copper foil assembled with self-adhesive tape, electrical devices are manufactured. By using an original experimental setup, we measured the electrical capacitance and the loss tangent in a medium-frequency electric field superimposed on a magnetic field. We found that in the presence of the magnetic field, the electrical capacity and the electrical resistance of the device change significantly with the increase of the magnetic field, then, the electrical device is suitable to be used as a magnetic sensor. Furthermore, the electrical response functions of the sensor, for fixed values of the magnetic flux density, change linearly with the increase in the value of the mechanical deformation stress, which gives it a tactile function. When applying mechanical stresses of fixed values, by increasing the value of the magnetic flux density, the capacitive and resistive functions of the electrical device change significantly. So, by using the external magnetic field, the sensitivity of the magneto-tactile sensor increases, therefore the electrical response of this device can be amplified in the case of low values of mechanical tension. This makes the new composites promising candidates for the fabrication of magneto-tactile sensors.

RETRACTED: A tropical soil (Ferralsol) identified in the northernmost part of the Mediterranean (Istria, Croatia)

Terra rossa soils on the Istrian peninsula are generally considered polygenetic relict soils. They overlie and mark the youngest subaerial unconformity in the northwestern part of the Adriatic Carbonate Platform and are susceptible to erosional and redepositional processes. Terra rossa soils represent a valuable archive of information that can be used to understand present and past soil formation processes in the context of climate variability and landscape dynamics, especially in low-lying parts of the karst landscape where thicker deposits are typically found. We studied a 3 m thick terra rossa profile in a karst depression on the northernmost part of the southwestern Istrian planation surface and analysed the micromorphology, physical/chemical properties, geochemistry, bulk and clay mineralogy, and composition of heavy and light mineral fractions. The profile shows several signs of colluviation and polygenesis with clay distribution along the profile, clearly indicating lithic discontinuities. Kaolinization, along with iron oxide formation, is the dominant process in the studied profile. Ferralitization and lessivage processes were diagnosed throughout the profile, with intense clay translocation occurring despite the extremely stable soil microaggregates. In accordance with the WRB system, the profile is classified as Lixic Rhodic Ferralsol (Clayic, Aric). This implies that some terra rossa soils, previously classified as e.g. Cambisols or Luvisols, might actually be Ferralsols or other tropical soils (e.g. Lixisols), in which relict properties are preserved in the present climate. The finding of a Ferralsol in the study area indicates the old age of the surface of the karst depression and provides the first data on the burial history of the southwestern Istrian planation surface. We suggest the older Quaternary interglacials, the mid-Piacenzian Warm Period (Pliocene) and the Miocene Climatic Optimum as favourable periods for the formation of the studied soil.

Metal(loid)-specific sources and distribution mechanisms of riverside soil contamination near an abandoned gold mine in Mongolia.

Tailings were discharged to the Boroo River from gold mining by amalgamation, resulting in soil contamination near the river. To identify the sources and distribution mechanisms of each metal(loid) in the soil, a total of 184 soil samples were collected near the river and analyzed for As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg contents. According to the positive matrix factorization result, three factors affected the contamination levels: the application of Hg for gold mining (Factor 1), light minerals containing Cu and Zn (Factor 2), and heavy minerals containing As and Cd (Factor 3). Soil samples were classified into four groups by hierarchical clustering. Groups A and B seemed to be affected by light and heavy minerals discharged in early and later stages of ore processing, respectively. The spatial distribution of the groups suggested differentiation in travel distances by specific gravity. Groups C and D showed high Hg contents implying the effect of Hg mismanagement and spill accidents. The study results show that the distribution of soil contaminants near rivers in mining areas is controlled by the specific gravity of minerals discharged to the environment (e.g., river), ore processing stages, and insufficient recovery and/or spills of Hg, which will help establish restoration measures.

Mineral Composition and Provenance of Al-Chabbab Stream Sediments, Wasit, Southeastern Iraq

A mineralogical study was carried out on the sediments of Al-Chabbab stream, one of the seasonal tributaries of the Tigris River, southeast of Wasit, Iraq. This study includes the sediments of the Tigris River sited before and after the mouth of the Al-Chabbab stream. Light and heavy minerals are determined by using polarized microscope and X-Ray Diffraction technique. The light minerals are composed of quartz, rock fragments, and feldspar, which are the prevailing compositions in all samples. The quantity of monocrystalline quartz in the Tigris River was more than Al- Chabbab stream, which refered to the supplied of felsic sours rocks sediments to the Tigris River more than the sediments of Al-Chabbab stream. The average value of minerological maturity index and ZTR index of Al-Chabbab stream, Tigris and Al-Chabbab inflow samples indicates that clasts generally are sub-mature. The Tigris River clasts have high mineralogical maturity index, which refers to the long transportation. Heavy mineral accumulation of the recent sediments from Al-Chabbab inflow and the Tigris River is composed of opaque and transparent minerals including epidotes; pyroxenes; amphiboles (hornblende and glaucophane); zircon; garnet; tourmaline; rutile; kyanite; staurolite; flaky minerals (muscovite; biotite and chlorite) and celestite (glaucophane and celestite are absent in the sediment of Tigris River). Based on the mineralogical signatures, the light and heavy minerals reflect metamorphic, mafic and felsic igneous rocks, of the active margin of the unstable shelf, in addition to the carbonate, evaporite and mud rocks that could be sourced from the Euphrates, Fatha and Injana formations.

Mineral composition of terrigenous components in loess and clay deposits of Western Mongolia

Introduction. The paper considers the results of a study associated with the mineral composition of terrigenous components in loess and clay deposits of Western Mongolia. The study was performed by the method of quantitative immersion analysis using samples obtained in the framework of geological studies during the seismic microzoning of certain cities.Aim. Determination and analysis of variations in the mineral composition of terrigenous components of loess quaternary alluvial, eolian, diluvial-eolian and diluvial-proluvial complexes, as well as Neogene-lower Quaternary lake-alluvial and Cretaceous-Paleogene lake “brick” clays.Materials and methods. The database is represented by quantitative data on the content of light and heavy minerals (0.01—0.25 mm fraction) in various geological and genetic deposit complexes, sampled from outcrops with the thickness of 6–8 m and test wells with the depth of 20–30 m (72 samples in total). During the compositional characterisation of light and heavy fractions, mineral associations were established, as well as maturity (Кz) and stability coefficients (KU) were calculated. Four territorial zones, including northern (territory of Sükhbaatar and Mörön), central (Zuunmod), western (Uliastai) and southern (Dalanzadgad), were isolated. A Q-type cluster analysis program was applied to process mineralogical data.Results. Variations in mineral associations of the studied objects were established related both to their belonging to the selected geological and genetic complexes and the possibility of eolian process effects. The factors of influence include climatic conditions during the formation of complexes, the composition of rocks in geological formations abundant in these territories and contemporary climatic zoning.Conclusion. Representative data were obtained for the central and southern zones, where the mineral composition of terrigenous components was determined using samples from test wells having clearly observed variations in the mineral composition of deposits during the change of a geological and genetic complex. Since the immersion method is still essential for studies of sedimentary rocks, the information on a new object, represented by the territory of West Mongolia, obtained for the first time, appears to be of a particular interest both from scientific and practical points of view.

Mineral composition of eluvial and aeolian sands &#x0D; (on the example of the unique collection of samples)

The object of the research is the unique collection of samples of eluvial and aeolian sands collected in the tropical (Vietnam) zone and the zone with the temperate humid sharply continental climate (the Tunkinsk’s depression in the Baikal region). Traces of structural connectivity were established by visual inspection of the samples in laboratory conditions using a four-fold magnifier. "Cohesive" clayey (ps*) and ordinary sandy (ps) varieties were identified. The mineral composition of the collection sands was determined by the method of quantitative immersion analysis of the 0.25–0.05 mm fraction. The composition and morphological characteristics of various light and heavy terrigenous minerals were determined, and special coefficients were calculated using the method of quantitative immersion analysis. Beforehand, the granulometric analysis of samples was carried out using A.N. Sabanin's method. As a result, the fraction for mineralogical studies was isolated, and the content of sandy-pulverescent and clay particles was established. The research goal consists of a comparative analysis of the mineral composition of the sands, the degree of their chemical maturity, and the investigation of possible variants of structural connectivity formation.

Differentiation sedimentological environments of soil series materials within irrigation and river basins from middle-mesopotamian

This work was carried out in East Gharaf lands which were limited with 45 50 30 " , 45 57 30 " longitudes and 32 45 15 " , 32 45 35 " latitudes . Parameters of sorting of soil material separates were used in terms of ( median diameter , inclusive graphic standared deviation бI , inclusive graphic skewness skI , kurtosis and tranformed kurtosis ) to study the statuse of soil material sorting . Stewart diagrams were used for the differenetiation of sedimentation environments .These digrams showed that , sdiments were of one main sedimentation environments ( ie river environments ) . In , addition the sediments grouped in two subenvironment clusters within the main sedimentation environment provence .These subenveronments were of fine separates sedimentation (river sediment) and medium to coarse separates sedimentation (irrigation sediments) . Both sediments are recent and local physiographic units .Sediments of soil materials were characterized and correlated to their sedimentation environments by the use of triangular diagrams and illustrated in terms of the relative percentages of light minerals ( chert , feldspars , biotiet ) fractions and heavey minerals (pyroxenes, garnet , chlorite) in order to assure their sedimentation environments . Accordingly , it can be suggested that , the use of light minerals gave better distinction and differentiation between sediments of river and irrigation basins . Also ,the soil use of separetes were the best in the differentiation between the subenvironments of sedimentation of river and irrigation sediments .

CHARACTERISTICS OF OILS USED FOR ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROCEDURES

Some publications have evaluated mineral oils (MO) and paraffin oils based on labeling as light or heavy, terms which have been used to describe either density or viscosity, and as MO or liquid paraffin (LP). Such studies tested mouse embryo development, pH, osmolality, temperature, viscosity, density, and peroxide value. MO and light mineral oil (LMO), defined in the United States Pharmacopeia, and LP and light liquid paraffin (LLP), defined in the European Pharmacopoeia have requirements for viscosity and density but the defined ranges don’t align exactly. All four are defined as mixtures of hydrocarbons. This work characterizes the hydrocarbon molecule sizes in the samples to evaluate similarities between MO, LMO, LP, and LLP with their overlapping definitions.