8 research outputs found
Microscopic studies of the Muro banded iron ore deposit in Nigeria and the Marampa iron ore deposit in Sierra Leone
Direct evidence of fluid mixing in the formation of stratabound PbâZnâBaâF mineralisation in the Alston Block, North Pennine Orefield (England)
The North Pennine Orefield Alston Block has
produced approximately 4 Mt Pb, 0.3 Mt Zn, 2.1 Mt
fluorite, 1.5 Mt barite, 1 Mt witherite, plus a substantial
amount of iron ore and copper ore from predominantly
vein-hosted mineralisation in Carboniferous limestones.
However, a significant proportion of this production
(ca. 20%) came from stratabound deposits. Though much
is known about the vein mineralisation, the relationship
between the veins and the stratabound mineralisation is not
well-understood. New petrographic, isotopic and fluid
inclusion data derived from samples of stratabound mineralisation
allow us to present a unified model that addresses
the genesis of both the vein and stratabound styles of
mineralisation. The mineralisation can be considered in
terms of three episodes:
1. Dolomitisation and ankeritisation Limestones in the
vicinity of the stratabound mineralisation were pervasively
dolomitised/ankeritised, and developed vuggy porosity
in the presence of a high-salinity brine consistent with
fluids derived from adjacent mud and shale-filled basins.
2. Main stage fluoriteâquartzâsulphide mineralisation
Metasomatism of limestone was accompanied by
brecciation, dissolution and hydrothermal karstification
with modification of the existing pore system. The
open space was filled with fluorite, galena, sphalerite,
quartz and barite, formed in response to mixing of lowsalinity
sodic groundwater with high-salinity calcic
brine with elevated metal contents (particularly Fe up to
7,000 ppm) relative to ânormalâ high total dissolved
solids sedimentary brines.
3. Late-stage barite mineralisation paragenetically
appears to represent either the waning stages or the
distal portions of the main hydrothermal circulation
system under cooler conditions
Regional atmospheric circulation shifts induced by a grand solar minimum
Large changes in solar ultraviolet radiation can indirectly affect climate1 by inducing atmospheric changes. Specifically, it has been suggested that centennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene epoch was controlled by the Sun2, 3. However, the amplitude of solar forcing is small when compared with the climatic effects and, without reliable data sets, it is unclear which feedback mechanisms could have amplified the forcing. Here we analyse annually laminated sediments of Lake Meerfelder Maar, Germany, to derive variations in wind strength and the rate of 10Be accumulation, a proxy for solar activity, from 3,300 to 2,000 years before present. We find a sharp increase in windiness and cosmogenic 10Be deposition 2,759â ±â 39 varve years before present and a reduction in both entities 199â ±â 9 annual layers later. We infer that the atmospheric circulation reacted abruptly and in phase with the solar minimum. A shift in atmospheric circulation in response to changes in solar activity is broadly consistent with atmospheric circulation patterns in long-term climate model simulations, and in reanalysis data that assimilate observations from recent solar minima into a climate model. We conclude that changes in atmospheric circulation amplified the solar signal and caused abrupt climate change about 2,800 years ago, coincident with a grand solar minimum
Microstructural properties of lithium-added cement mortars subjected to alkaliâsilica reactions
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The HadGEM2 family of Met Office Unified Model climate configurations
We describe the HadGEM2 family of climate configurations of the Met Office Unified Model, MetUM. The concept of a model "family" comprises a range of specific model configurations incorporating different levels of complexity but with a common physical framework. The HadGEM2 family of configurations includes atmosphere and ocean components, with and without a vertical extension to include a well-resolved stratosphere, and an Earth-System (ES) component which includes dynamic vegetation, ocean biology and atmospheric chemistry. The HadGEM2 physical model includes improvements designed to address specific systematic errors encountered in the previous climate configuration, HadGEM1, namely Northern Hemisphere continental temperature biases and tropical sea surface temperature biases and poor variability. Targeting these biases was crucial in order that the ES configuration could represent important biogeochemical climate feedbacks. Detailed descriptions and evaluations of particular HadGEM2 family members are included in a number of other publications, and the discussion here is limited to a summary of the overall performance using a set of model metrics which compare the way in which the various configurations simulate present-day climate and its variability