International Conference on Geosciences and Geophysics October 06-07, 2016 (8 Plenary Forums-1 Event)
Orlando, Florida, USA

Adrian H Gallardo is affiliated to the Department of Geology, San Luis National University, Argentina, undertaking research in a variety of fields within Midwest Argentina and overseas. He specializes in hydrogeology, solute transport modeling, geological storage, and environmental sciences. He has also substantial experience in the exploration of gold, copper, and iron ore. His education and career extend to several countries such as Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Namibia, Paraguay, Spain, and USA. His work has been summarized in more than 20 publications and conference presentations across the world.

Outcrops and additional exposures of alkali basalts have recently been identified in the province of San Luis, Midwest Argentina. Based on the regional setting, these outcrops were ascribed to the upper Cretaceous–Jurassic, coetaneous with the fragmentation of Western Gondwana, and the subsequent breakup of South America and Africa. Nonetheless, many uncertainties remain about the origin and characteristics of the alkaline province in San Luis. In this regard, an investigation is being undertaken to better determine the morphology, petrology and chemical composition of the basalts. Results from the study indicate that the volcanism has mostly manifested as monogenetic volcanoes, lava domes and dyke swarms. A classification based on major elements and discrimination diagrams (R1-R2; Nb/Y vs. Zr/TiO2) suggests that the rocks would correspond to basanites, and to alkali basalt–trachytes. In particular, the basanite suite exhibits a porphyritic texture with phenocrysts of olivine and augite embedded in a glassy groundmass containing plagioclases, sanidine and accessories such as apatite, ilmenite and magnetite. In contrast, the alkali basalt–trachyte series is characterized by a trachytic texture of olivine in a plagioclase-enriched groundmass. The presence of zeolites could be explained as partial alteration of the trachytic glass. A low La/Yb ratio is indicative of silica-undersaturated magmas whilst, similar contents in titanium, rare earth elements and europium suggest that both rock types have a common source, evolving from an ocean island basalt mantle. The observed geological relationships and the distinctive chemical data support the view that basalts in San Luis could be associated to lava events at the fringes of the Paraná-Etendeka Province, once a single magmatic province in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mohamed Elkarmoty completed his BSc and MSc in Mining Engineering from Cairo University (Egypt) in 2013. He started his PhD research in 2014 at University of Bologna (Italy) under supervision of experts in the field. The PhD research is focused on the evaluation, production and optimization of ornamental stones quarries. He currently has a publication in an international conference and an under revision publication in an international journal.

Quarrying of ornamental stone deposits produces huge amount of wastes due to rock mass fractures that entail economic losses. Fractures in rock mass affect the quality and the required commercial size of stones blocks or may lead to difficulty of exploitation. There are several fracture detection and characterization methods and choice of a method is controlled by the application objective. After a review of fractures detection methods, we introduced a classification based on destructive and non-destructive methods. Among these methods, the authors investigated ground penetrating radar (GPR) as a data acquisition tool. The objective of this research is to image large aperture fractures (2-3 cm) as deep as possible, in a case study in a sandstone quarry in Firenzuola, Italy. The data acquisition was carried out by low frequency GPR antenna (70 MHz) in a 3D survey grid (7 m x 12 m) over the bench surface. Due to the wet and fractured condition of the rock mass, a penetration depth of just 14 m was obtained. Wise data processing led to enhancing the signal. A processing software allowed visualizing the data in 3D GPR cuboid. Interpretation of the main fractures was performed through the entire body of the cuboid. Extension, shape and orientation of the main fracture surfaces could be explored to be then an aid for the quarrying decision makers of this bench.