Massive Units Research Articles

Seismic volcanostratigraphy of large, extrusive complexes in continental rift basins of Northeast China: Analysis of general bedding patterns in volcanostratigraphy and their seismic reflection configurations

The aim of this work is to establish volcanic seismic reflection configuration models in the rift basins of Northeast China from a new perspective, the volcanostratigraphic structure. Accordingly, the volcanostratigraphic structure of an outcrop near the Hailaier Rift Basin was analyzed to understand the characteristics and causal factors of physical boundaries. Further, 3D seismic reflection data and analysis of deep boreholes in the Songliao Rift Basin were used to establish the relationship between volcanic seismic reflection configurations and volcanostratigraphic structures. These studies suggested that in volcanic successions, physical boundaries coincide with volcanic boundaries, and their distributions are controlled by the stacking patterns of volcanic units. Therefore, volcanic seismic reflection configurations can be interpreted in terms of the stacking patterns of volcanic units. These are also referred to as general bedding patterns in volcanostratigraphy. Furthermore, four typical seismic reflection configurations were identified, namely, the chaotic, the parallel continuous, the hummocky, the multi-mound superimposed and the composite. The corresponding interpretation models comprised single massive unit, vertical, intersectional, lateral multi-mound, and composite stacking patterns. The hummocky and composite reflection configurations with intersectional and composite stacking patterns are the most favorable for the exploration of volcanic reservoirs in rift basins.

Analysis and Review the Data Using Big Data Hadoop

Big information is pool of huge and complicated information sets so it becomes tough to method information exploitation management tools. The term ‘Big Data’ illustrates innovative method and knowledge to capture, store, distribute, handle and evaluate petabyte or larger-sized datasets with high-speed and totally different structures. Huge knowledge may be structured, unstructured or semi-structured, leading to incapability of standard knowledge management ways. With the quick evolution of information, information storage and networking assortment capability, massive information area unit quickly growing altogether science and engineering domains. Knowledge is generated from numerous totally different sources and might arrive within the system at numerous rates. So as to method these giant amounts of information in a cheap and economical approach, similarity are employed. Huge knowledge may be knowledge whose scale, diversity, and quality need new design, techniques, algorithms, and analytics to manage it and extract price and hidden information from it. The analysis of huge information typically tough because it often involves assortment of mixed information supported completely different patterns or rules. The challenges embrace capture, storage, search, sharing, analysis, and visualization. The trend to massive information sets is owing to the additional info drawn from analysis of one large set of connected information, compared to separate smaller sets with constant total quantity of information. Massive data processing is that the ability of extracting helpful info from streams of information or datasets, that owing to its rate, variability and volume. This paper argues applications of huge processing model and conjointly massive data processing. Hadoop is that the core platform for structuring huge knowledge, and solves the matter of constructing it helpful for analytics functions. Hadoop is Associate in nursing open supply software system project that permits the distributed process of huge knowledge sets across clusters of goods servers. It’s designed to rescale from one server to thousands of machines, with a awfully high degree of fault tolerance.

The birth of urban modernity in Gangnam, Seoul

This study explores a formative period in the development of Gangnam, an exclusive district south of the Han River that was conceived of and shaped in the context of South Korea's militaristic and capitalist urban culture of the late 1960s. Created in imitation of what was at the time considered to be a highly modern urbanism that had been transplanted not only from the West but also from neighboring countries such as Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, Gangnam was meant to provide an urban zone that would be secure from the threat of North Korean aggression while simultaneously proclaiming South Korea's ambitions to become a modern nation. This drive to create a new identity for Korea as a capitalist and developed nation, combined with the strong authoritarian nature of the South Korean state, meant that the implementation of modernist architecture and urbanism in Gangnam was primarily made to serve the nation-building and entrepreneurial ambitions of the state. Gangnam thus provides an example of the implementation of modernist structures and planning concepts that were originally envisioned as ways of providing meaningful public space by countering unchecked private speculation (i.e. massive apartment complexes, neighborhood units, superblocks, and automobile-oriented roadways) in the service of materialism at its most flamboyant. This perplexing condition could be said to be the result of what happens when architectural or urban forms are emptied of their publically-oriented ethical impulse, particularly in state-led large-scale urbanisation. While Gangnam can in some respects be considered to be a successful implementation of a modernist cityscape in the sense that it continues to be developed and thrive, it has become the centre of a segregated and unequal urbanity characterized by a highly materialist and extremely competitive culture that is diametrically opposed to the original intentions of those earlier modernist avant-gardes.

Transport and deposition processes of the hydrothermal blast of the 6 August 2012 Te Maari eruption, Mt. Tongariro

The 2012 eruption of Tongariro volcano (New Zealand) produced highly mobile, low-temperature, blast-derived pyroclastic density currents after partial collapse of the western flank of the Upper Te Maari crater. Despite a low volume (340,000 m3), the flows traveled up to 2.5 km from source, covering a total area of 6.1 km2. Along one of the blast axes, freshly exposed, proximal-to-distal sedimentary structures and grain-size data suggest emplacement of the fining upward tripartite depositional sequence (massive, stratified, and laminated) under a dilute and strongly longitudinally zoned turbulent density current. While the zoning formed in the deposit in the first 1500 m of runout, the current progressively waned to the extent where it transported a nearly homogenous grain-size mixture at the liftoff position. Our data indicate that after the passage of an erosive flow front, massive unit A was deposited under a rapid-suspension sedimentation regime. Unit B was deposited under a traction-dominated regime generated by a subsequent portion of the flow moving at lower velocities and with lower sediment transport capacity than the portion depositing unit A. The final and slowest flow zone deposited the finest particles under weakly tractive conditions. Transport and emplacement dynamics inferred in this study show strong similarities between hydrothermal explosions, magmatic blasts, and high-energy dilute PDCs. The common occurrence of hydrothermal fields on volcanic flanks points to this hazard being an under-appreciated one at stratovolcanoes worldwide.

Paleogene marine bivalves of the deep-water Keasey Formation in Oregon, Part III: The heteroconchs

The heteroconch bivalve fauna of the deep-water (>200 m) Keasey Formation in northwestern Oregon records the Eocene–Oligocene climatic transition and replacement of tropical widely-distributed taxa by the cryophilic taxa that dominate modern high-latitude faunas of the North Pacific. Low-diversity assemblages occur in tuffaceous mudstone and siltstone facies of a deep nearshore basin at the onset of subduction on the Cascadia Margin. Six species of anomalodesmatan heteroconchs have been treated separately, and the remaining Keasey heteroconchs treated here include one basal archiheterodont and 13 imparidentian euheterodonts. The families represented are Carditidae, Thyasiridae, Lucinidae, Lasaeidae, Cardiidae, Tellinidae, Basterotiidae, Mactridae and Veneridae. New taxa include the genus Anechinocardium and seven new species: Cyclocardia moniligena, Conchocele bathyaulax, Conchocele taylori, Kellia saxiriva, Kellia vokesi, Moerella quasimacoma and Saxicavella burnsi. Three species lacking adequate material for formal description are treated in open nomenclature. New features useful for taxonomic discrimination include heretofore unrecognized differences in micro-spines and lamellae on the posterior slope in cardiid bivalve genera and presence of a faint subumbonal ridge in three genera of basterotiid bivalves. Four of the new species are in families in which thiotrophic and methanotrophic chemosymbioses have evolved. Specimens are typically articulated. Shell material is well preserved in the massive units but often chalky or highly altered at cold-seep sites. Fossils are never abundant except for local concentrations in carbonate mounds and associated carbonate lenses, blebs and nodules at cold-seep localities. Multiple lines of evidence of both diffuse and robust flow of fluids rich in reduced compounds are reviewed for three sites where the fauna includes an inner core of chemosymbiotic taxa and peripheral zone of taxa that are opportunistic and tolerant of hypoxia.

Volcanological and Structural Controls on Mineralization at the Mount Keith and Cliffs Komatiite-Associated Nickel Sulfide Deposits, Agnew-Wiluna Belt, Western Australia—Implications for Ore Genesis and Targeting

The Mount Keith region of the Agnew-Wiluna belt in Western Australia is perhaps best known for hosting the giant komatiite-associated disseminated Ni sulfide deposit known as MKD5. It also hosts the sizeable Cliffs massive Ni sulfide deposit, which is the eighth largest in the Archean Yilgarn block. A concerted program of regional-scale three-dimensional model construction has integrated a plethora of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data and led to a much better understanding of the tectonic and volcanic architecture of this ancient greenstone belt. The disseminated MKD5 orebody occupies a curvilinear thickening in the olivine adcumulate core of the host Mount Keith ultramafic unit. The orebody plunges shallowly to the south from surface, over a distance of 3.5 km, before bending sharply to plunge steeply to the north-northwest at depth. The thickest part of the orebody and the best Ni grades are associated with the bend in the overall ore trend. This also marks the approximate intersection point of two growth faults that appear to control the thickness variations in the adcumulate core and the plunge variations in the ore trend. The olivine adcumulate core is mantled by olivine orthocumulate rocks, which are best developed above and below the flanks of the orebody, and a fractionated sequence of pyroxenitic and gabbroic rocks occurs at the top of the Mount Keith ultramafic unit above the inside of the bend in the ore trend. These observations suggest a strong volcanological control on the position of the MKD5 orebody, and the local curvilinear thickening in the adcumulate core is interpreted as a fluid pathway, the locus of which was in turn controlled by the intersection of two broadly orthogonal growth faults. The Cliffs ultramafic unit consists of a lower olivine ortho- to mesocumulate unit, which varies in thickness along strike, overlain by a sequence of thin, spinifex-textured komatiite flow units intercalated with variably sulfidic tuffaceous shales. The Cliffs massive Ni sulfide deposit occurs at the base of a relative thickening (to ~100 m) in the lower olivine ortho- to mesocumulate unit. The orebody is typically less than 6 m thick, 500 m wide and plunges gently south from surface over a distance of 1.5 km, terminating in a structurally complex zone across which there are marked differences in the internal stratigraphy and thickness of the Cliffs ultramafic unit. The orebody has relatively low tenor (maximum ~8% Ni, typically ~5% Ni) and the tenor is strongly zoned with extremely low tenors (1–3% Ni) developed on the flanks. A barren exhalative massive Fe sulfide unit is typically present at the base of the Cliffs ultramafic unit on the flanks of the orebody and probably acted as a source of sulfur. The tenor zonation pattern suggests that the melting and entrainment of the underlying exhalative sulfide horizon occurred more vigorously in the center of the lava pathway. The structurally complex zone at the southern end of the Cliffs orebody is interpreted as a possible vent location; this would explain the relatively low tenor of the orebody and the tenor zonation (through limited mixing and entrainment of melted exhalative iron sulfide melt with the komatiite lava), the poorly incised nature of the lava pathway and the abrupt change in internal komatiite stratigraphy across this zone. There is good evidence that the southern terminations of both the MKD5 and the Cliffs orebodies are marked by growth faults. At a belt scale these points correspond roughly with the intersection of NNE- and NW-trending lineaments. These lineaments are on the order of 5 to 10 km in strike length and are visible in regional geophysical datasets (both gravity and magnetics). They are likely to mark the position of accretionary structures that were active at the time of volcanism and that probably controlled the volcanic architecture of the komatiite flow field and the location of Ni sulfide accumulations within komatiite lava pathways. Repeated reactivation of these early crustal-scale structures during subsequent orogenesis resulted in their upward propagation as sets of late brittle structures. Of broader significance to the understanding of the generation of komatiite-associated nickel sulfide deposits is the conclusion that many such deposits may be developed proximal to vent rather than in a distal setting, as has been proposed for the Kambalda camp.

Corrosion of metal iron in contact with anoxic clay at 90 °C: Characterization of the corrosion products after two years of interaction

Chemical and mineralogical properties of solids formed upon free corrosion of two iron probes (one massive iron rod, and one model overpack made by two pipes covering the ends of a glass rod) in saturated clay rock (Callovo-Oxfordian formation, East of Paris Basin, France) at 90°C over two years were investigated by microscopic and spectroscopic techniques (X-ray tomography, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, Raman microspectroscopy, micro-X-ray diffraction, and micro-X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy). The corrosion rate of the massive rod was monitored in situ by electrochemical impedance spectrometry, and found to decrease from about 90μm/year during the first month of reaction, to less than 1μm/year after two years. X-ray tomography revealed the presence of several fractures suggesting the presence of preferential flow and diffusion pathways along the iron samples.Microscopic observations revealed similar corrosion interfaces for both samples. Corrosion heterogeneously affected the interface, with damaged thickness from ∼0 to 80μm. In extensively damaged areas, an inner discontinuous layer of magnetite in contact with metal, an intermediate chukanovite (Fe2CO3(OH)2) layer (only when magnetite is present, and only for the overpack), and an outer layer of poorly ordered Fe phyllosilicate were observed. In areas with little damage, only the Fe-silicate solids are observed. The clay transformation layer is predominantly made of ankerite ((Fe,Ca,Mg)CO3) forming a massive unit near the trace of the original surface, and intermixed with clay minerals towards the bulk matrix.The average thickness of oxidized iron, as measured by the average of distances from the original to the final metal surface, was 13±1 and 15±1μm for the massive rod and the micro-overpack, respectively. The corresponding Fe amount is about twice the amount of Fe present in the corrosion products. Thus a significant Fe fraction migrated in the nearby clay, likely as Fe(II), and could act as a significant buffer of the electrochemical potential.

The White House Is Burning: August 24, 1814 by Jane Sutcliffe (review)

Reviewed by: The White House Is Burning: August 24, 1814 by Jane Sutcliffe Elizabeth Bush Sutcliffe, Jane The White House Is Burning: August 24, 1814. Charlesbridge, 2014 120p illus. with photographs ISBN 978-1-58089-656-6 $19.95 R* Gr. 5-8 If it seems that the War of 1812 doesn’t thrive in the classroom, crammed as it is between the massive units on the Revolutionary and Civil wars, look to Sutcliffe’s title as an antidote. With just enough requisite scene setting, the author launches straight into a gripping reconstruction of the events of August 23 to 24, 1814, when the British invaded Maryland and the nation’s capital, burned its government buildings, terrified those citizens who hadn’t already fled, and then snuck silently out of Washington in the middle of the night. The reporting is kept lively by its heavy reliance on primary source material, with witnesses and participants ranging from an American soldier who went to battle in his formal dancing pumps, to British admiral Cockburn, who couldn’t resist taunting the people he vanquished, to Dolley Madison, who kept up a running letter to her sister even as she ordered dinner as usual and packed up the silver (and George Washington’s portrait), just in case. Throughout the narration Sutcliffe keeps a keen eye open for those details that convey the terror of an attack, and she reminds readers how coverage of such an event might play out today: “Admiral Cockburn might have called a press conference aboard his flagship, the Albion. There might have been … a banner proclaiming ‘Mission Accomplished.’” With a gallery of well-selected images, source notes, bibliography, index, and illustration credits which supplement the captions, this account will be a first-rate addition to the American History collection. Copyright © 2014 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

KUCUKDA : A NEW, HIGH SULFIDATION EPITHERMAL Au-Ag-Cu DEPOSIT AT THE TV TOWER PROPERTY IN WESTERN TURKEY

The Biga Peninsula in northwestern Turkey hosts a large number of high and low sulfidation epithermal gold-silver-(copper) and associated copper-gold porphyry deposits and prospects, associated with voluminous, Eocene-Miocene calc-alkaline volcanism and plutonism. Approximately 15 million gold-equiv oz have been discovered within the last 10 years in this area, with a number of new discoveries now in the drill-testing stage and two deposits in the development stage. At the TV Tower property in the central Biga Peninsula, Eocene(?) to Oligocene intermediate to felsic volcanic and volcaniclastic strata and associated intrusive rocks overlie metamorphosed basement rocks of the Camlica Group. The volcanic sequence is broadly divisible into a lower sequence of andesitic dikes and flows intruded by monzonite porphyry stocks and dikes, a middle sequence of andesitic breccias and flows, and an upper sequence consisting largely of dacitic tuffs, flows, and epiclastic strata. The middle and upper sequences are strongly altered over an area covering several tens of km2, including argillic, advanced argillic, and massive to vuggy quartz alteration, the latter largely manifested as ledges hosted in dacitic volcaniclastic rocks. Moderate- and high-angle normal and oblique faults are common in the area and may have influenced the distribution of mineralization. The Kucukdag zone was drill-tested in 2010 on the basis of strong surface soil and rock sample data. The second hole returned a near-surface intercept of 136.2 m averaging 4.30 g/t Au, 15.0 g/t Ag, and 0.68% Cu. As of the date of this communication, 169 holes have been drilled to test the zone, which measures approximately 600 × 400 m and consists of a lower gold-rich zone and an upper silver-rich zone. Total mineral endowment is estimated at 966,000 indicated and 351,000 inferred gold-equiv oz. Mineralization is strongly controlled by stratigraphy, with gold hosted primarily within a massive lithic lapilli-bearing tuff unit and silver largely constrained to an overlying fluvial-lacustrine sequence capped by andesite breccias. Copper is distributed throughout the zone in association with both gold and silver. The zone is located primarily in the hanging wall of a moderate-angle fault that separates the dacitic volcaniclastic sequence from andesite breccias in the footwall. Gold is associated with tectonic-hydrothermal breccias, zones of vuggy quartz and veins, and alteration minerals consisting primarily of alunite and dickite with sulfides including pyrite, enargite, and covellite. Spatially, silver is largely separate from gold, and is associated with silicification, very fine grained pyrite, and/or marcasite and enargite. Paragenetic evidence suggests that the silver event may predate the gold event, but that the two may have shared common fluid pathways. A number of other targets are currently being explored on the property, including silicified ledge or rib-style, vuggy quartz-hosted oxide gold, Cu-Au porphyry, and low sulfidation epithermal gold-silver veins.

Dynamics of surges generated by hydrothermal blasts during the 6 August 2012 Te Maari eruption, Mt. Tongariro, New Zealand

The 6 August 2012 Te Maari eruption produced violent and widespread “cold” Pyroclastic Density Currents (PDCs) following unroofing of the pressurized hydrothermal system. Despite an erupted volume of only ~5×105m3, and lacking any juvenile component, the 340,000m3 of PDCs spread over an area of 6.1km2 and had mobilities that were on the order of volcanic blasts or blast-like PDCs. This great mobility was due to strong lateral focussing of explosion energy, producing jets with initial velocities >100m/s. We present a type-stratigraphy for these hydrothermal-derived low-temperature PDCs that show a tripartite deposit sequence. Each of the deposit units dominates respectively three outward-gradational sedimentary facies, reflecting transitions in the propagating PDC transport and depositional mechanisms. The largest PDCs, directed west and east of the Upper Te Maari area were generated from outer-cone breccias and tuffs that were mostly highly hydrothermally altered. Landsliding and the geometry of the hydrothermal area led to the directed jetting. Initial particle-laden jets laid sheets, grading into lobes of proximal massive sand to gravel-rich facies dominated by unit A and extending up to 1km from the vents. As the jets were collapsing, a vertically and longitudinally stratified PDC developed within the first few hundred metres from source. Exponential thinning and coarse-tail grading-dominated fining with radial distance of massive unit A resulted from fast deposition and progressive depletion of the most concentrated flow region behind the PDC head. Markedly slower tractional sedimentation from the passing PDC body and tail deposited the highly stratified and ripple-bedded fine-coarse ash of unit B. This formed distinctive dune fields of the medial dune-bedded ash-rich facies. Upwards in depositional sequences the waning of the current can be seen, by replacement of higher-energy bedforms to progressively lower ones. Downstream progressive waning and further depletion are characterised by the development of the distal wavy to planar-bedded ash-rich facies. This is increasingly dominated by the uppermost deposition unit C of laminated fine-med ash deposited by gently turbulent, dilute phoenix clouds. These high energy PDCs, sourced from flank hydrothermal systems should be regarded as a serious threat in any multihazard assessment of a stratovolcano, even though they may not be one of the major magmatic vent sites. In addition, further detailed studies of these hydrothermal jetting events and their deposits should be pursued in order to better understand large-volume volcanic blasts, which appear to be a larger scale sibling phenomenon.

Origin and mode of emplacement of lithic-rich breccias at Aso Volcano, Japan: Geological, paleomagnetic, and petrological reconstruction

Takajosan breccia rocks are distributed around the southwestern caldera rim of the Aso Volcano in Japan. They are characterized by coarse lithic breccias with a pumiceous matrix. The proximal coarse lithic breccias are divided into the lower massive unit and the upper stratified unit. The lower massive lithic breccias tend to transform laterally into tuff breccias and pumiceous lapilli tuffs. Paleomagnetic results showed that all of the deposits were deposited at high temperatures of 175–560°C. This was also supported by geological characteristics such as spatter clasts, clasts with a bread-crust texture, and weakly welded parts. These features clearly show that the deposits originated from pyroclastic density currents (PDCs). The dense lithic-rich lithofacies, low vesicularity of pumice, lack of plinian fall deposits, and radial distribution indicate that the deposits were derived from boil-over PDCs rather than plinian column-collapse PDCs. The SiO2 contents of the matrix glasses of the proximal lower massive breccia showed a progressive decrease from the bottom toward the upper part. We interpret that this chemical variation corresponds to chemical zonation of the magma chamber. This indicates that the massive deposits aggraded progressively from the base upwards (progressive aggradation), rather than through en masse freezing. The vertical lithofacies changes of the proximal breccias from the lower massive to the upper stratified units indicate that a sustained current in a quasi-steady state switched to an unsteady current with the progression of the volcanic activity.

Structural geology mapping using PALSAR data in the Bau gold mining district, Sarawak, Malaysia

The application of optical remote sensing data for geological mapping is difficult in the tropical environment. The persistent cloud coverage, dominated vegetation in the landscape and limited bedrock exposures are constraints imposed by the tropical climate. Structural geology investigations that are searching for epithermal or polymetallic vein-type ore deposits can be developed using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) remote sensing data in tropical/sub-tropical regions. The Bau gold mining district in the State of Sarawak, East Malaysia, on the island of Borneo has been selected for this study. The Bau is a gold field similar to Carlin style gold deposits, but gold mineralization at Bau is much more structurally controlled. Geological analyses coupled with the Phased Array type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR) remote sensing data were used to detect structural elements associated with gold mineralization. The PALSAR data were used to perform lithological-structural mapping of mineralized zones in the study area and surrounding terrain. Structural elements were detected along the SSW to NNE trend of the Tuban fault zone and Tai Parit fault that corresponds to the areas of occurrence of the gold mineralization in the Bau Limestone. Most of quartz-gold bearing veins occur in high-angle faults, fractures and joints within massive units of the Bau Limestone. The results show that four deformation events (D1–D4) in the structures of the Bau district and structurally controlled gold mineralization indicators, including faults, joints and fractures are detectable using PALSAR data at both regional and district scales. The approach used in this study can be more broadly applicable to provide preliminary information for exploration potentially interesting areas of epithermal or polymetallic vein-type mineralization using the PALSAR data in the tropical/sub-tropical regions.

Análisis y correlación de sondeos mecánicos en los depósitos miocenos de Montjuïc (Barcelona): implicaciones estructurales

Cores from 190 mechanic boreholes that cut through the Miocene deposits of Montjuic mountain (Barcelona) were studied. Part of these deposits are well lithified (sandstone, conglomerate) while other parts are not (marl, sand and gravel). There is a significant lateral and vertical gradation between the lithified and non-lithified parts. In the eastern sector of Montjuic, these deposits form a 100 m thick sequence made up of 7 coarsening-upward cycles of progradant deltaic origin. Below these cycles there is a massive alluvial unit that extends downward until it reaches a Paleozoic basement made up of metamorphic rocks identified in the subsoil of the Barcelona harbour. In the western sector of Montjuic, the boreholes cut through a 80 m thick sequence made up of 4 fining-upward cycles of retrogradant alluvial origin with minor marine deposits at the top. This sequence is developed over the continental deposits of the Early Miocene (Burdigalian) found in the subsoil of the western edge of Montjuic. The deltaic sequence of the eastern sector corresponds to a higher stratigraphic position than the alluvial sequence of the western sector. Both sectors are bounded by a listric fault of NE-SO strike, which may have caused the sinking of the eastern sector and its tilting toward the NW. This fault would be related to the extensional fault system that formed the coastal Catalan margin during the Neogene period. The entire Miocene unit of Montjuic was also folded and form a gentle anticline of NO-SE strike. This fold would have originated before the faulting and can be interpreted as a synsedimentary structure originated by a differential compaction between the early cemented alluvial and deltaic sediments that form the fold core and the unconsolidated sediments that form its limbs. Both the anticline and the fault were subsequently unconformably covered by the Quaternary deposits that cover the mountain of Montjuic.

Glacial varves at Pärnu, south-western Estonia: a local varve chronology and proglacial sedimentary environment

A new varve chronology comprising 584 consecutive varve years, varve thickness changes and proglacial sedimentary environment are analysed across the Pandivere–Neva (>13 300 yr BP) belt of ice-recessional formations in coastal Estonia, eastern Baltic. Varved clays in the area have been deposited in the Baltic Ice Lake. All investigated sequences display a normal varve series with decreasing varve thickness upwards. According to the varve correlation, two groups of varve graphs could be distinguished: those representing sequences from the distal side and from the proximal side of the Pandivere–Neva ice marginal formations. Accumulation of varved clays started ca. 100 yr earlier in the distal part. A massive clay unit with corresponding 20 silty varves in some sequences precedes the beginning of varve formation at the proximal part of the basin and could therefore correspond to a ca. 20 yr long ice-stagnation period during the Pandivere–Neva Stade. Ice proximal conditions on both sides of the recessional formations (within 30 km distance) ceased simultaneously within a period of 10–15 yr, which is reflected in reduced total varve thickness accompanied with the beginning of winter layer dominance within a single varve. Because of post-sedimentary erosion, the length of the presented chronology underestimates the duration of proglacial conditions. Good visual correlation between the mean varve thickness graphs from the Pärnu area and from Lake Peipsi, eastern Estonia, indicate the possible regional causes of varve thickness changes and simultaneous varve formation in two basins.

The anatomy of a lahar: Deciphering the 15th September 2012 lahar at Volcán de Colima, Mexico

Volcán de Colima is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico where lahars are a common phenomenon. Since the reactivation of the volcanic activity in 1991, lahars have become more frequent during the June–October rainy season, in this region. Therefore, Volcán de Colima represents a natural laboratory, ideal for the constant monitoring of lahars and to study factors controlling their origin, flow transport and deposition.Since 2007 the systematic detection of lahars in Volcán de Colima has been carried out using seismic data from the broadband stations of the RESCO network, the seismological network of Colima University, along with three rain gauge stations located on the southern ravines of the volcano. In 2011 a new monitoring station was built at 2000m.a.s.l. along the Montegrande ravine, which consists of a geophone, a video camera and a rain gauge station coupled with a moisture sensor, transmitting in real time to the RESCO facilities at Colima University.With all the instrumentation currently installed on the volcano flanks, we could monitor and describe the lahar that occurred on 15th September 2012 along the Montegrande ravine, and correlate the monitoring data with information gathered by the field campaign conducted two days after the event. The high quality of collected data enabled us to describe the “anatomy” of this lahar. The event consisted of a lahar that lasted 40min, triggered by 20mm of accumulated rainfall with a maximum intensity of 95mm/h. The lahar was characterized by three main surges at 4–5minute intervals that formed an 80cm-thick terrace. The first surge was a debris flow with a block-rich front followed by the main body that progressively diluted to a hyperconcentrated flow, from which a 40cm-thick massive unit was emplaced (33wt.% gravel and >60wt.% of sand); it was followed by a more dilute hyperconcentrated flow that left a massive 10cm-thick sandy layer (80wt.% of sand); the third surge deposited a 30-cm thick upper massive unit texturally similar to the first. Laminated layers separate the two first units. Subsequent surges were confined to the inner portion of the channel by the newly formed terrace. Based on flow depth estimation and difference in arrival times between geophones, a mean velocity of 3m/s and a maximum peak discharge of 48m3/s were estimated. Segregation processes that promote the upwelling of the largest clasts (20–30cm) on the flow surface were also observed, resulting in a clast-rich levee on top of the depositional units. A sedimentation rate of ~5–7cm/min was also determined. The results here obtained are useful to better understand textural features of lahar deposits from which important information on flow behavior can be interpreted.

If a Baby Doe Case Reached the Supreme Court Today: Legal Rights for Disabled and Premature Infants

This paper puts forth principles to solidify the theory that if a Baby Doe case were to appear before the Supreme Court today, the decision would indeed establish legal protections for disabled and very premature newborns. It begins by describing the early Baby Doe cases and subsequent enacted federal regulations, (often referred to as the “Baby Doe regulations”), and elucidate why the approach taken was truly a backwards approach, rather than a “rights-first approach”, the latter of which would successfully address the same problems it sought to solve, while being more acceptable by the legal and medical communities. Next, this paper analyzes the constitutional basis which exists for establishing legal protections for infants and an application of factors from prior disability cases. It explains the problem of the inaccurate use of the term “parental autonomy”, which would be rectified by instilling infant rights and applying an altered best interests approach. It then examines the states’ ability to uphold those rights and regulate parental choice. A tort theory basis is also provided to establish infant legal protections. The paper also explicitly distinguishes the sole case advanced as the best argument against newborn rights; affirms the importance of the massive Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (hereinafter, NICU), technology, and advancements in neonatal medicine since that case; and uses two actual and current NICU cases to do so. Lastly, the paper details additional dangers if infant rights are not legally protected.

Extracting Profits From Abu Dhabi's Sour Gas

Sour Gas An increase in local gas consumption in the UAE has caused Abu Dhabi National Oil Company to turn to development of the emirate’s sour gas fields, one of the most challenging types of fields. The development of the first sour gas field here, the Shah gas field in Abu Dhabi, is on track for 2014 startup with work on the project more than 70% complete at the end of 2012. The USD-10-billion project is proceeding under the direction of Al Hosn Gas, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy), where Oxy holds a 40% participating interest in a 30-year contract. ADNOC holds the remaining 60% interest. “The project involves construction of several gas-gathering systems, new gas and liquid pipelines, and processing trains. The development is expected to produce significant amounts of condensate and natural gas liquids [NGL],” said Saif Al Ghafli, chief executive of Al Hosn Gas. In 2012, Al Hosn Gas constructed plants and a pipeline network, and completed almost four of the 20 wells targeted in the drilling campaign. In addition, the joint venture took over full operatorship of the drilling program from Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations (Adco) in April 2012, and finalized contracting of required services and materials for the drilling program. The joint venture also obtained two rental drilling rigs that started drilling operations in July 2012, in addition to Adco’s assistance in lending a rig and drilling the first four wells in 2011 and 2012. Al Hosn Gas’ Development Division, which includes geologists, geophysicists, reservoir engineers, drilling engineers, and drilling health, safety, and environment (HSE) and field-implementation specialists, will help ensure that the continuously updated reservoir development and drilling plans can aid in maintaining uninterrupted availability of the anticipated volumes of gas at the wellheads during the project’s expected 30-year lifespan. The development team conducted the first well-production test on 5,000-ft lateral sections in the Arab C and D reservoirs in the Shah field. The subsurface group has continued to build and improve reservoir models based on the latest well data obtained to further optimize the ongoing drilling program. A seismic-data reprocessing pilot was successfully concluded, providing further technical insight for optimum well placement in the reservoir, and will move on to full field implementation later this year. The Shah Gas Development (SGD) project consists of four major elements: the gas-gathering system, the Shah processing plant, product pipelines, and the Shah sulfur station. The field’s high hydrogen sulfide content—23% in the well fluid—means that in addition to key HSE design and implementation considerations, it will pose certain unique challenges due to the sheer scope of work to be done. The SGD project will also have a total of four trains for the massive Sulfur Recovery Units (SRU) that will process the 1 Bcf/D of sour gas. The SRUs will have a capacity of 2,500 tons per day (T/D). The four main products expected to be produced from the billion-scf/day of feed gas at SGD, which lies about 180 km southwest of Abu Dhabi, are sales gas (500 MMscf/day), NGL (4,400 T/D), sulfur (9,200 T/D), and about 33,000 B/D of condensate.

Generation and evolution of siliceous high magnesium basaltic magmas in the formation of the Permian Huangshandong intrusion (Xinjiang, NW China)

Numerous Permian orthopyroxene-rich mafic–ultramafic intrusions in the southern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) have been emplaced in a post-orogenic environment. The Huangshandong mafic–ultramafic intrusion is the largest in the eastern Tianshan Orogenic Belt of the CAOB and consists of a layered unit intruded by a massive unit. The layered unit consists of lherzolite, troctolite, olivine gabbro, hornblende gabbro, gabbrodiorite and diorite, whereas the massive unit is made of gabbronorite and olivine gabbronorite.Olivine from the layered unit has Fo values of 75 to 84 and contains low NiO and MnO. Rocks from this unit have initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7031–0.7043) and εNd values (+3.4–+7.1) while plagioclase has initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios ranging from 0.70010 to 0.71569. Olivine from the massive unit has relatively low Fo values of 59 to 70 and high NiO and MnO. Rocks from this unit have relatively low and uniform initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7030) and high εNd values (+6.0–+7.5) and contain plagioclase with relatively low initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.70042 to 0.70520). Olivines from both units have low CaO and Cr2O3.Both units formed from siliceous high magnesium basaltic magmas were derived from a hydrous, depleted mantle source. Magma forming the layered unit experienced earlier removal of sulfides before emplacement, with the earlier sulfide-saturation caused by the addition of crustal material. The magma that formed the massive unit has undergone fractional crystallization of olivine±Cr-spinel. Siliceous high magnesium basaltic magmatism, produced by melting of a hydrous depleted mantle source, may be an important feature of orogenic belts.

Technology of Concrete with Low Generation of Hydration Heat

Modern technology of concrete includes a comprehensive elaboration of proposal related to concrete composition depending on the required parameters of fresh and hardened concrete. One of the fields related to the technologies of concrete is the issue of the generation of hydration heat. Heat generation in the process of hydration is observed mainly in concretes. Here, we emphasize the need of avoiding potential cracking due to thermal expansion, which is mainly the case of putting concrete in massive units and also other cases in which critical stress and damaging to the concrete may occur due to the influence of high temperature gradients.Hydration of concrete is a very difficult and complex process that depends on a number of direct and indirect factors. Speed indicators of hydration reactions are represented by the intensity of the hydration heat generation. The paper deals with the general methodology for the proposal of prescriptions for concrete mass intended for structures with high demands on low level of hydration heat generation. There are various intermediate steps presented, those leading to a successful proposal of concrete composition, including verification of the proposed measures and creation of a 3D model of calculation.

Compositional Evolution of Zoned Tourmaline Crystals from Pockets in Common Pegmatites of the Moldanubian Zone, Czech Republic

Common pegmatites commonly occur in migmatized biotite-sillimanite gneisses and felsic granulites of the Strazek Unit, Moldanubian Zone, in the Czech Republic. Mostly concordant dikes or irregular bodies consisting of an outer granitic unit, a graphic unit and a pocket unit with large crystals (up to 1 m long) of minerals show transitional to locally sharp contacts to the host migmatized rocks. Thin muscovite-rich veins with the assemblage muscovite, albite, quartz and tourmaline are closely associated spatially. Variable prismatic to lens-shaped tourmaline crystals and their aggregates, up to 30 cm across, from pockets and muscovite-rich veins exhibit striking zoning in the optical microscope and in BSE images: core (foitite-schorl-magnesio-foitite), intermediate zone (schorl-dravite) and narrow outer rim (schorl-dravite); tourmaline from muscovite veins is relatively homogeneous (dravite-magnesio-foitite). A slight decrease in X-site vacancy, in Fe-tot/(Fe-tot + Mg) and Al contents but sharp increase of Ti from the core to intermediate zone and outer rim, respectively, are typical. Nearly all Fe was determined as Fe2+ (3% of Fe3+ in both core and intermediate zones of the tourmaline) using Mossbauer spectroscopy. The mineral assemblages (andalusite + cordierite) of common pegmatites and their geological and petrographic features indicate P-T conditions of similar to 500-650 degrees C and less than similar to 3-4 kbar for massive units, but lower for tourmalines and other minerals from pockets and in particular for associated muscovite-rich veins. The distribution of pegmatites in migmatitic rocks, their concordant and transitional (diffusive) contacts to the country rocks, simple assemblages of minerals, primitive chemical composition of minerals (all typical for abyssal pegmatites), and common large pockets lined with well-developed crystals of smoky quartz, feldspars, muscovite, and tourmalinedo not fit the current classifications of granitic pegmatites.