Vote on the alkali-lavas of Mount Nimrud, Armenia

Author(s):  
G. T. Prior

The object of this note is not to give elaborate descriptions of rocksections, but to call attention to tile fact that the old volcano of Nimrud, situated on the west side of lake Van in Armenia, was the centre of eruption of alkali-lavas presenting striking similarities to some of the alkali-rocks of the tlift Valley in East Africa.To Dr. Felix Oswald, in his book on the geology of Armenia, we owe a detailed description of this ancient volcano, of which the vast crater, now half occupied by a deep lake, is more than five miles across. An interesting series of the lavas from the volcano was collected by Dr. Oswald and was presented by him to the British Museum. On looking over thin slices of these rocks under the microscope, I was at once struck by the surprising resemblance of some of them, with their phenocrysts of anorthoclase and scattered tufts of aegirine and the soda-amphiboles, riebeckite and cossyrite, to rocks in Prof. J. W. Gregory's collection from the Rift Valley which I had described.

Author(s):  
G. T. Prior

The following notes on the petrology of British East Africa are the result of an examination of rock-specimens collected by Professor J. W. Gregory on his well-known expedition from Mombasa to Mt. Kenya and Lake Baringo in 1892-3, and of rock-collections from the Uganda Protectorate which have been recently presented to the British Museum by Sir Harry Johnston.The collections include examples of the Archaean gneisses, schists, and granites which constitute the prevailing basement rocks of Central Africa; of ferruginotls schists, coarse sandstones, and quartzites belonging to the Palaeozoic Karagwe series ; and of an interesting series of Tertiary volcanic rocks comprising phonolites, phonolltic traehytes, riebeckite-rhyolites, kenytes, and basalts from the volcanoes of the Great Rift Valley, as well as of nephelinites and basaltic rocks containing melilite and perofskite from Mr. Elgon.


2018 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-417
Author(s):  
Laurence Terrier Aliferis

Abstract The ruined Cistercian church of Vaucelles is known only by a few preserved fragments and a plan of the choir reproduced by Villard of Honnecourt. Historical sources provide three key dates: 1190 (start of construction), 1215 (entry into the new church), 1235 (date of the dedication). From the nineteenth century until now, it was considered that the foundations were laid in 1190 and that the construction started on the west side of the church. In 1216, the nave would have been completed, and the choir would have been built between 1216 and 1235. Consultation of the historical sources and examination of the historiographic record changes this established chronology of the site. In fact, the construction proceeded from east to west. The choir reproduced in 1216 or shortly before by Villard de Honnecourt presents the building as it then appeared, with the eastern part of the building totally completed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Dosio ◽  
Martin W. Jury ◽  
Mansour Almazroui ◽  
Moetasim Ashfaq ◽  
Ismaila Diallo ◽  
...  

AbstractWe provide an assessment of future daily characteristics of African precipitation by explicitly comparing the results of large ensembles of global (CMIP5, CMIP6) and regional (CORDEX, CORE) climate models, specifically highlighting the similarities and inconsistencies between them. Results for seasonal mean precipitation are not always consistent amongst ensembles: in particular, global models tend to project a wetter future compared to regional models, especially over the Eastern Sahel, Central and East Africa. However, results for other precipitation characteristics are more consistent. In general, all ensembles project an increase in maximum precipitation intensity during the wet season over all regions and emission scenarios (except the West Sahel for CORE) and a decrease in precipitation frequency (under the Representative Concentration Pathways RCP8.5) especially over the West Sahel, the Atlas region, southern central Africa, East Africa and southern Africa. Depending on the season, the length of dry spells is projected to increase consistently by all ensembles and for most (if not all) models over southern Africa, the Ethiopian highlands and the Atlas region. Discrepancies exist between global and regional models on the projected change in precipitation characteristics over specific regions and seasons. For instance, over the Eastern Sahel in July–August most global models show an increase in precipitation frequency but regional models project a robust decrease. Global and regional models also project an opposite sign in the change of the length of dry spells. CORE results show a marked drying over the regions affected by the West Africa monsoon throughout the year, accompanied by a decrease in mean precipitation intensity between May and July that is not present in the other ensembles. This enhanced drying may be related to specific physical mechanisms that are better resolved by the higher resolution models and highlights the importance of a process-based evaluation of the mechanisms controlling precipitation over the region.


1994 ◽  
Vol 131 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Warrington ◽  
J. C. W. Cope ◽  
H. C. Ivimey-Cook

AbstractIn 1967 the Somerset coastline near Watchet was proposed as the type area of the basal (Planorbis) chronozone of the Hettangian Stage and thus of the Jurassic System. Neither at that time nor subsequently, however, has a type locality and section been nominated from those available in the area. There is urgent need to select a Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Hettangian, and of the Jurassic System. The cliff forming the headland at the west side of St Audrie's Bay, three kilometres east of Watchet, Somerset, is here proposed as the type locality and section, with the base of the Hettangian Stage, at the base of the Planorbis Chronozone, being placed at the horizon currently recognized as that at which ammonites of the genus Psiloceras appear. In this section the base of the Planorbis Chronozone corresponds with the base of the Psiloceras planorbis Biozone. The proposal of this section is conditioned by the availability of comprehensive litho- and biostratigraphic information, and the ability of the section to fulfil International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) requirements for a candidate GSSP.


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