Factors useful for predicting future mineral-commodity supply trends

The analysis of various factors influencing mineral availability documents future short-and long-term mineral-commodity supply trends. The lifetime of reserves, the development of the relative importance of production centres and the forecasting of the depletion of a resource base are mainly geological factors, although the category “reserves”, in contrast to “resources”, is determined by technical and economical aspects. These three factors govern the short-and long-term supply of mineral commodities. The intensity-of-use factors and the growth rate of consumption are variables related to the demand of mineral commodities. They influence the decision of companies for certain commodities as targets for exploration and investment in production centres. Both factors control the short-to medium-term mineral supply. Finally, the lead time to production is a technical variable, although influenced by ore deposit type, and controls short-term mineral availability.     

Carbon, sulfur and O2 across the Permian–Triassic boundary

A model for the carbon and sulfur cycles across the Permian–Triassic boundary has been constructed from carbon and sulfur isotopic data. Results indicate a drop in global organic matter burial, the formation of an anoxic deep ocean, and a large drop in atmospheric oxygen over the time span 270 to 240 Ma. Much of these changes were probably due to a drop in terrestrial productivity and preservation and an increase in global aridity.     

Hα Photometry of Two Contact Binaries

We carried out optical and Hα photometry of two contact binaries (V861 Herculis, EQ Tauri). The light curve modeling revealed stellar spots in both contact systems and strong Hα excess in the position of the observed stellar spots. A correlation was found between the V−R and R−H_α colour indices of V861 Her.     

Applying size segregation to relate the surrounding aerosol pollution to its source

Size segregated sampling of aerosol particles at the coal-fired power station Šoštanj, Slovenia was performed by a newly developed system. In addition, simultaneous sampling of particles was performed at two locations, Velenje and Veliki vrh, chosen on the basis of long term monitoring of SO₂ in the influential area of power plant. The signature of the power plant (e.g. characteristic size distributions of some typical trace elements) was identified. For elements, like As, Mo, Cd and Ga, which are typical for coal combustion, the highest concentrations were observed in the size range between 1 and 4 μm. For Se and sometimes for Ga two modes were identified, first between 0.1 and 0.5 μm and second between 1 and 4 μm. Ratios between the average concentrations of selected elements in fine and coarse particles collected at Veliki vrh (the most influenced location) and Velenje (usually not influenced by the thermo power station) were significantly higher than 1 in the case of Mo and Se for coarse and fine size range, while for As the ratio was higher than 1 for the coarse fraction. Consequently, Mo, Se and As were found as the most important tracers for the emissions from the investigated source. On the basis of the ratios between the concentrations of elements measured in particles at low and high SO₂ concentrations at Veliki vrh, Cd was shown to be a typical tracer as well. Our results definitely showed that size segregated measurements of particles at the source and in the influenced area give more precise information on the influence of source to the surrounding region. It was found that patterns of size distributions for typical trace elements observed at the source are found also in the influenced area, i.e. Veliki vrh.     

Lithium, boron and chlorine as tracers for metasomatism in high-pressure metamorphic rocks: a case study from Syros (Greece)

High-pressure metamorphic (HPM) rocks (derived from igneous protoliths) and their metasomatised rinds from the island of Syros (Greece) were analysed for their B and Cl whole-rock abundances and their H₂O content by prompt-gamma neutron-activation analysis (PGNAA) and for their Li and Be whole-rock abundances by ICP-OES. In the HPM rocks, B?/Be and Cl?/Be ratios correlate with H₂O contents and appear to be controlled by extraction of B and Cl during dehydration and prograde metamorphism. In contrast, samples of the metasomatised rinds show no such correlation. B?/Be ratios in the rinds are solely governed by the presence or absence of tourmaline, and Cl?/Be ratios vary significantly, possibly related to fluid inclusions. Li/Be ratios do not correlate with H₂O contents in the HPM rocks, which may in part be explained by a conservative behaviour of Li during dehydration. However, Li abundances exceed the vast majority of published values for Li abundances in fresh, altered, or differentiated oceanic igneous rocks and presumably result from metasomatic enrichment of Li. High Li concentrations and highly elevated Li/Be ratios in most metasomatised samples demonstrate an enrichment of Li in the Syros HP mélange during fluid infiltration. This study suggests that B and Cl abundances of HPM meta-igneous rocks can be used to trace prograde dehydration, while Li concentrations seem to be more sensitive for retrograde metasomatic processes in such lithologies.     

Estimations of orbital parameters of exoplanets from transit photometry by using dynamical constraints

The probability of the detection of Earth-like exoplanets may increase in the near future after the launch of the space missions using the transit photometry as observation method. By using this technique only the semi-major axis of the detected planet can be determined, and there will be no information on the upper limit of its orbital eccentricity. However, the orbital eccentricity is a very important parameter, not only from a dynamical point of view, since it gives also information on the climate and the habitability of the Earth-like planets. In this paper a possible procedure is suggested for confining the eccentricity of an exoplanet discovered by transit photometry if an already known giant planet orbits also in the system.     

Doppler Images of ζ Andromedae

Doppler images are presented for the RS CVn-type binary ζ And. Our upgraded Doppler imaging code TempMap_ε takes into account the distorted geometry of the primary giant component. On the maps several low latitude spots are restored with a temperature contrast of about 1000 K. Some weak polar features are also found. Cross-correlation of the consecutive Doppler-maps suggests solar-like differential surface rotation.     

High stress late Maastrichtian – early Danian palaeoenvironment in the Neuquén Basin, Argentina

During the late Maastrichtian to early Danian the Neuquén Basin of Argentina was adjacent to an active volcanic arc to the west and an extensive land area to the northeast. Mineralogical and geochemical studies of the Bajada del Jagüel in the Neuquén Basin indicate a generally warm climate with seasonal changes in humidity and an open seaway to the South Atlantic that maintained marine conditions. Biostratigraphic and quantitative foraminiferal and nannofossil analyses indicate that sediment deposition during the late Maastrichtian (zones CF4-CF2, N. frequens) occurred in relatively shallow middle neritic (100 m) depths with largely dysaerobic bottom waters (abundant low O₂ tolerant benthics) and fluctuating sea level. Calcareous nannofossils indicate a high stress marine environment dominated by Micula decussata. Planktic foraminifera mimic the post-K/T high stress environment with alternating blooms of the disaster opportunists Guembelitria and low oxygen tolerant Heterohelix groups, indicating nutrient-rich surface waters and an oxygen depleted water column. The high stress conditions were probably driven by high nutrient influx due to upwelling and terrestrial and volcanic influx. The K/T boundary is marked by an erosional surface that marks a hiatus at the base of a 15-25 cm thick volcaniclastic sandstone, which contains diverse planktic foraminiferal zone P1c assemblages and nannofossils of zone NP1b immediately above it. This indicates deposition of the sandstone occurred 500 ky after the K/T hiatus. No evidence of the Chicxulub impact or related tsunami deposition was detected.     

Barremian–Danian chemostratigraphic sequences of the Cauvery Basin,India: Implications on scales of stratigraphic correlation

Chemostratigraphic concepts postulate that distinct chemozones could be recognized from rock records to help correlate geographically separated strata. Many studies have upheld this view, but were limited to classic boundaries such as Cenomanian–Turonian or Cretaceous–Tertiary. Only a few elements and isotopic compositions were made use in such studies. An attempt to recognize chemozones of Barremian–Danian strata of the Cauvery Basin, South India through whole-rock chemistry had revealed many complex signals and depositional events as expressed by bulk geochemical profiles. The signals indicate major shift in sedimentation pattern from dynamic depocenter to stable depositional conditions during Santonian. Varying sensitivities of different elements towards prevalent depositional conditions are also inferred. Trends of geochemical composition indicated domination of single depositional control all through the depositional history, basinal configuration that limited terrestrial sediment source and episodic influx of detrital materials. Presence of distinct change in whole-rock geochemistry across geochronological and lithostratigraphic boundaries is deciphered through a statistical tool ANOVA. These results demonstrate that visual delineation of chemozones in a long ranging rock record would be tenuous and has to be exercised with caution.     

A statistical procedure for the analysis of seismotectonically induced hydrochemical signals: A case study from the Eastern Carpathians, Romania

Changes in the stress field of an aquifer system induced by seismotectonic activity may change the mixing ratio of groundwaters with different compositions in a well, leading to hydrochemical signals which in principle could be related to discrete earthquake events. Due to the complexity of the interactions and the multitude of involved factors the identification of such relationships is a difficult task. In this study we present an empiric statistical approach suitable to analyse if there is an interdependency between changes in the chemical composition of monitoring wells and the regional seismotectonic activity of a considered area. To allow a rigorous comparison with hydrochemistry the regional earthquake time series was aggregated into an univariate time series. This was realized by expressing each earthquake in form of a parameter “e”, taking into consideration both energetic (magnitude of a seismic event) and spatial parameters (position of epi/hypocentrum relative to the monitoring site). The earthquake and the hydrochemical time-series were synchronised aggregating the e-parameters into “earthquake activity” functions E, which takes into account the time of sampling relative to the earthquakes which occurred in the considered area. For the definition of the aggregation functions a variety of different “e” parameters were considered. The set of earthquake functions E was grouped by means of factor analysis to select a limited number of significant and representative earthquake functions E to be used further on in the relation analysis with the multivariate hydrochemical data set. From the hydrochemical data a restricted number of hydrochemical factors were extracted. Factor scores allow to represent and analyse the variation of the hydrochemical factors as a function of time. Finally, regression analysis was used to detect those hydrochemical factors which significantly correlate with the aggregated earthquake functions.This methodological approach was tested with a hydrochemical data set collected from a deep well monitored for two years in the seismically active Vrancea region, Romania. Three of the hydrochemical factors were found to correlate significantly with the considered earthquake activities. A screening with different time combinations revealed that correlations are strongest when the cumulative seismicity over several weeks was considered. The case study also showed that the character of the interdependency depends sometimes on the geometrical distribution of the earthquake foci. By using aggregated earthquake information it was possible to detect interrelationships which couldn't have been identified by analysing only relations between single geochemical signals and single earthquake events. Further on, the approach allows to determine the influence of different seismotectonic patterns on the hydrochemical composition of the sampled well. The method is suitable to be used as a decision instrument in assessing if a monitoring site is suitable or not to be included in a monitoring net within a complex earthquake prediction strategy.