REE in fluid inclusions of quartz from gold deposits of north-eastern Russia

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) has been used to determine rare earth element concentrations in aqueous solutions extracted from fluid inclusions. Quartz has been sampled from ores of three major types of polygenic gold hydrothermal systems of North-Eastern Russia: (1) gold-quartz-sulphide (Au-Q, Nezhdaninsk); (2) gold-antimony (Au-Sb, Sarylakh) and (3) intrusion-related gold-bismuth-siderite-polysulphide (Au-Bi-Sid, Arkachan) large deposits located in terrigenous rocks of the Verkhoyansk fold belt. The total concentration of REE in the fluid inclusions is not high (up to 52 ppm). The contribution of LREE dominates in REE balance (??LREE/??HREE=7.4?C112.1). The chondrite-normalized REE patterns of inclusion fluids for the Au-Q and Au-Bi-Sid deposits are characterized by LREE enrichment with a positive or negative Eu anomaly. REE patterns for the regenerated quartz from Au-Sb deposits are characterized by pronounced differentiation between light and heavy lanthanides in fluid inclusions. Significant total REE concentration decreasing (on 1?C2 order) from early to late stages of Nezhdaninsk and Arkachan deposits is revealed. The positive correlations of total REE concentrations with Rb, Cs, Li and B contents in fluid inclusions are shown. The REE distribution in fluid inclusions can be used as indicators of the contribution of magmatic fluid in the hydrothermal system.     

The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability at Venus: What is the unstable boundary?

The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability gained scientific attention after observations at Venus by the spacecraft Pioneer Venus Orbiter gave rise to speculations that the instability contributes to the loss of planetary ions through the formation of plasma clouds. Since then, a handful of studies were devoted to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability at the ionopause and its implications for Venus. The aim of this study is to investigate the stability of the two instability-relevant boundary layers around Venus: the induced magnetopause and the ionopause. We solve the 2D magnetohydrodynamic equations with the total variation diminishing Lax–Friedrichs algorithm and perform simulation runs with different initial conditions representing the situation at the boundary layers around Venus. Our results show that the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability does not seem to be able to reach its nonlinear vortex phase at the ionopause due to the very effective stabilizing effect of a large density jump across this boundary layer. This seems also to be true for the induced magnetopause for low solar activity. During high solar activity, however, there could occur conditions at the induced magnetopause which are in favour of the nonlinear evolution of the instability. For this situation, we estimated roughly a growth rate for planetary oxygen ions of about 7.6 × 10²⁵ s⁻¹, which should be regarded as an upper limit for loss due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability.     

Analysis of effects of operating parameters on rate of penetration in drilling process with air down-the-hole hammer

Air down-the-hole(DTH)hammer drilling has long been recognized to have the potential of drilling faster than conventional rotary drill,especially in some hard rocks such as granite,sandstone,limestone,dolomite,etc.with the same weight on bit(WOB)and rotations per minute(RPM).So,it has been widely used in many drilling fields including mineral resource exploration drilling,oil and gas drilling and geothermal drilling.In order to reduce drilling cost by selecting optimal drilling parameters,rate of penetration(ROP)should be estimated accurately and the effects of different factors on ROP should be analyzed.In this research,ANN model with several multi-layer perception back propagation(BP)networks for predicting ROP of air DTH hammer drilling was developed using controllable parameters such as impact energy,impact frequency,WOB,RPM and bit operating time for the formations with a certain drillability index of rock.Several BP neural networks with the different neurons in hidden layers were developed and compared for selecting optimal architecture of ANN.The effects of the drilling parameters such as impact energy,impacting frequency,WOB,RPM and bit operating time on the ROP of air DTH hammer drilling were investigated by trained ANN.From the analyses,the optimum range of drilling parameters for providing high ROP were determined and analyzed for a formation with a certain drillability index of rock.The methodology proposed in this study can be used in many mathematical problems for optimization of drilling process with air DTH hammer.     

Transgressive Eocene clastic–carbonate sediments from the Circum‐Rhodope belt,northeastern Greece: implications for a rocky shore palaeoenvironment

Locally exposed Middle to Upper Eocene conglomerates in the western part of the Cenozoic Thrace Basin are interpreted as products of continuous marine erosion of a rocky coast (consisting of Lower Cretaceous carbonates) and subsequent redeposition of the land‐derived limestone material in a wave‐dominated nearshore setting during a prolonged transgression. Contemporaneous biological activity in the warm‐temperate marine environment contributed to the accumulation of mixed coarse‐grained clastic–carbonate sediments on the upper shoreface. The formation of a relatively thick sedimentary succession was favoured by the interplay of several controlling factors as only shoreface deposits were preserved in the rock record. The results may help to elucidate the evolution of the hydrocarbon‐bearing Thrace Basin and to assist with the regional correlation of its basal deposits. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Collisional processes at the junction of the Aleutian–Kamchatka arcs: new evidence from fission track analysis and field observations

The Aleutian island arc collides with the Kuril–Kamchatka arc in the area of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Field studies of neotectonic structures and apatite fission track analysis provide evidence for crustal plate shortening onshore the Cape Kamchatka peninsula. Tectonic blocks show differential mean exhumation rates varying from 0.18 ± 0.04 mm yr⁻¹ in the north up to 1.2 ± 0.18 mm yr⁻¹ in the south of the peninsula. A few of the fission track length data point to an unsteady exhumation rate. The blocks are separated by major dextral fault zones splaying off from Aleutian island arc fault zones. Across the western segment of the North American–Pacific Plate boundary the strain is partitioned along the fault zones and increases from north to south. Results from this study suggest that indentation and accretion of island arc fragments has recently occurred in the southeastern part of the Cape Kamchatka peninsula.     

Use of Groundwater Level Fluctuations near an Operating Water Supply Well to Estimate Aquifer Transmissivity

We developed a method to estimate aquifer transmissivity from the hydraulic-head data associated with the normal cyclic operation of a water supply well thus avoiding the need for interrupting the water supply associated with a traditional aquifer test. The method is based on an analytical solution that relates the aquifer's transmissivity to the standard deviation of the hydraulic-head fluctuations in one or more observation wells that are due to the periodic pumping of the production well. We analyzed the resulting analytical solution and demonstrated that when the observation wells are located near the pumping well, the solution has a simple, Dupuit like form. Numerical analysis demonstrates that the analytical solution can also be used for a quasi-periodic pumping of the supply well. Simulation of cyclic pumping in a statistically heterogeneous medium confirms that the method is suitable for analyzing the transmissivity of weakly or moderately heterogeneous aquifers. If only one observation well is available, and the shift in the phase of hydraulic-head oscillations between the pumping well and the observation well is not identifiable. Prior knowledge of aquifer's hydraulic diffusivity is required to obtain the value of the aquifer transmissivity.     

Peri-Gondwanan Ordovician crustal fragments in the high-grade basement of the Eastern Rhodope Massif,Bulgaria: evidence from U-Pb LA-ICP-MS zircon geochronology and geochemistry

Field, geochemical, and geochronologic data of high-grade basement metamafic and evolved rocks are used to identify the nature and timing of pre-Alpine crustal growth of the Rhodope Massif. These rocks occur intrusive into clastic-carbonate metasedimentary succession. Petrography and mineral chemistry show compositions consistent with Alpine amphibolite-facies metamorphism that obliterated the original igneous textures of the protoliths. Bulk-rock geochemistry identifies low-Ti tholeiitic to calc-alkaline gabbroic-basaltic and plagiogranite precursors, with MORB-IAT supra-subduction zone signature and trace elements comparable to modern back-arc basalts. The U-Pb zircon dating revealed a mean age of 455 Ma for the magmatic crystallization of the protoliths that contain inherited Cambrian (528–534 Ma) zircons. Carboniferous, Jurassic, and Eocene metamorphic events overprinted the Ordovician protoliths. The radiometric results of the metamorphic rocks demonstrate that Ordovician oceanic crust was involved in the build-up of the Rhodope high-grade basement. Dating of Eocene-Oligocene volcanic rocks overlying or cross-cutting the metamorphic rocks supplied Neoproterozoic, Ordovician and Permo-Carboniferous xenocrystic zircons that were sampled en route to the surface from the basement. The volcanic rocks thus confirm sub-regionally present Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic igneous and metamorphic basement. We interpret the origin of the Middle-Late Ordovician oceanic magmatism in a back-arc rift-spreading center propagating along peri-Gondwanan Cadomian basement terrane related to the Rheic Ocean widening. The results highlight the presence of elements of Cadomian northern Gondwana margin in the high-grade basement and record of Rheic Ocean evolution. The eastern Rhodope Massif high-grade basement compared to adjacent terranes with Neoproterozoic and Cambro-Ordovician evolution shares analogous tectono-magmatic record providing a linkage among basement terranes incorporated in the Alpine belt of the north Aegean region.     

Seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons,Baltic Sea

Expected seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes from surficial sediments into near-bottom waters were investigated in autumn 2012 and winter 2013 in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons of the Baltic Sea, expanding on earlier findings for summer 2011. Methane concentrations in bottom sediments (upper ca. 2 cm) generally ranged from ca. 1 to 1,000 μmol/dm³, and in near-bottom waters from ca. 0 to 1 μmol/l. Highest concentrations were found in the Curonian Lagoon, plausibly explained by the influence of freshwater conditions and finer-grained, organic-rich sediments. Vistula Lagoon methane concentrations and fluxes are dampened by periodic saline water inflow from the open sea, intensifying sulphate reduction. Calculated diffusive methane fluxes from the upper sediment layer (usually 0–5 cm, i.e. excluding any fluffy layer) into near-bottom waters were highest—2.48 mmol/(m² day)—in clayey silts of the Curonian Lagoon in autumn (September) 2012, contrasting strongly with the minimum value of 0.002 mmol/(m² day) observed there in February 2013 under ice-covered conditions. Seasonal and even weekly variations in methane dynamics can be largely explained by two main drivers, i.e. wind and temperature, operating at various spatiotemporal scales via, for example, wind wave-induced resuspension of bottom sediments, and involving regional weather patterns including autumnal low-pressure zones over the Gulf of Gdansk.     

Seasonal climatologies of oxygen and phosphates in the Bering Sea reconstructed by variational data assimilation approach

Climatological fields of dissolved oxygen and phosphates in the Bering Sea during the spring, summer, and fall seasons were generated on the basis of an extensive dataset of hydrochemical observations (16,356 stations, beginning in 1928) and a novel 3D variational algorithm for interpolation of a passive ocean tracer. The resulting patterns comply with maps produced earlier using an optimal interpolation method, though they also provide more detail and contain no “missing data” regions. Vertical, spatial, and temporal variability of both parameters follow large-scale patterns of circulation, upper mixed layer depth, and phytoplankton productivity in the Bering Sea.     

Influence of frost weathering on the recession of surfaces of technogenic landforms in Yakutia

The article assesses the influence of permafrost weathering on the rate of destruction of technogenic land forms, as exhibited on as illustrated by the railway embankment of the Amur-Yakut mainline in the Sakha Republic(Yakutia). Studies were carried out on a railway section more than 375 km long. The subsidence rate of the embankment slopes and structural excavations was determined using laboratory methods that simulate various mechanisms of temperature(with a transition through 0 ℃) impact on rocks. For the first time, a quantitative assessment of the influence of cryogenic weathering on the stability of the railway in the region belonging to the northern building-climatic zone is given. For the territory under consideration, embankment rocks were experimentally determined to undergo more than 100 freezing and thawing cycles during a year. Under the existing climatic conditions, cryogenic weathering actively affects the embankment of the railway to a depth of 30 cm. Most of the embankment deformations detected during field observations are due to defects in the integrity of this particular layer. The size of the disintegrating layer of particular types of rock comprising the railway embankment has been established as reaching 10 cm per year. In 5 years following the formation of embankments comprising the upper structure of the railroad tracks, the physical and mechanical properties of rocks, which initially had a tensile strength for uniaxial compression in the range of 40-70 MPa, were reduced by more than 50%. According to the authors, the establishment of regional cryohypergenesis features is universal in nature and can be applied to solving a wide range of tasks related to the assessment and prediction of the degree of cryogenic transformation of rocks having different structural properties.