PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MEASUREMENTS OF GLACIAL LANDFORMS

Photogrammetric methods using sequential aerial photography can provide the geomorphologist with comparative measurements of rapidly changing glacial landforms. Examples are given of eskers, kame and kettle areas, an ice-dammed lake and coastal features in south-east Iceland.     

Interannual and decadal variability in zooplankton communities of the southeast Bering Sea shelf

The southeastern Bering Sea shelf ecosystem is an important fishing ground for fin- and shellfish, and is the summer foraging grounds for many planktivorous seabirds and marine mammals. In 1997 and 1998, Northern Hemisphere climate anomalies affected the physical and biological environment of the southeastern Bering Sea shelf. The resulting anomalous conditions provided a valuable opportunity to examine how longer-term climate change might affect this productive ecosystem. We compared historical and recent zooplankton biomass and species composition data for the southeastern Bering Sea shelf to examine whether or not there was a response to the atmosphere–ocean–ice anomalies of 1997 and 1998. Summer zooplankton biomass (1954–1994) over the southeastern shelf did not exhibit a decline as previously reported for oceanic stations. In addition, zooplankton biomass in 1997 and 1998 was not appreciably different from other years in the time series. Spring concentrations of numerically abundant copepods (Acartia spp., Calanus marshallae, and Pseudocalanus spp.), however, were significantly higher during 1994–1998 than 1980–1981; spring concentrations of Metridia pacifica and Neocalanus spp. were not consistently different between the two time periods. Neocalanus spp. was the only taxon to have consistent differences in stage composition between the two time periods—CV copepodites were much more prevalent in May of the 1990s than early 1980s. Since relatively high zooplankton concentrations were observed prior to 1997, we do not attribute the high concentrations observed in the summers of 1997 and 1998 directly to the acute climate anomalies. With the present data it is not possible to distinguish between increased production (control from below) and decreased predation (control from above) to explain the recent increase in concentrations of the species examined.     

Smart optics in ast

Smart optics means much more than adaptive optics on telescopes: these new technologies are changing the way space instruments are built and operated and are bringing new technologies into everyday life in the form of cheaper, lighter and more robust optical systems. Steve Welch, Peter Doel, Alan Greenaway and Gordon Love summarize the work of the Smart Optics Faraday Partnership in the UK.     

High‐temperature gold‐copper extraction with chloride flux in lava tubes of Tolbachik volcano (Kamchatka)

Subvolcanic environments in supra‐subduction zones are renowned for hosting epithermal deposits that often contain electrum and native gold, including bonanza examples. This study examined mineral assemblages and processes occurring in shallow‐crust volcanic settings using recent eruption (2012–2013) of the basaltic Tolbachik volcano in the Kamchatka arc. The Tolbachik eruptive system is characterized by an extensive system of lava tubes. After cessation of magma input, the tubes maintained the flow of hot oxidized gases that episodically interacted with the lava surfaces and sulphate‐chloride precipitates from volcanic gases on these surfaces. The gas‐rock interaction had strong pyrometamorphic effects that resulted in the formation of molten salt, oxidized (tenorite, hematite, Cu‐rich magnesioferrite) and skarn‐like silicate mineral assemblages. By analogy with experimental studies, we propose that a combination of these processes was responsible for extraction of metals from the basaltic wall rocks and deposition of Cu‐, Fe‐ and Cu‐Fe‐oxides and native gold.     

Development of texture and microstructure in extruded ionic polycrystalline aggregates

The crystallographic preferred orientation (here referred to as texture) developed in extruded ionic polycrystalline aggregates with the NaCl-structure is studied as a function of extrusion temperature and ionicity of the material. In pure alkali halides and silver chloride a 100111 double fibre texture is found for all extrusion temperatures investigated. In extruded natural rock salt the 100 fibre is replaced by 115 at or below room temperature. The temperature dependence of the intensity of preferred orientation together with microstructural investigations suggest the 100 and 115 components to be primarily due to dynamic recrystallization. The 111 deformation texture agrees with model calculations based on simultaneous slip on both the {110}110 and {100}110 slip systems, generally observed as primary and secondary slip systems in NaCl-type ionic crystals, respectively. Possible applications to the study of the diapirism of salt domes are discussed.     

Uranium depositional controls at the Prairie Flats surficial uranium deposit, Summerland, British Columbia

A hydrological and geochemical investigation of the Prairie Flats surficial uranium deposit in Summerland, BC was undertaken to identify the principal controls on uranium deposition. A network of piezometers was installed and used to measure the hydraulic conductivities of the host sediments as well as the general flow direction and aqueous geochemistry of the resident groundwaters. Two hydrostratigraphic units were identified: a peat and clay unit overlying a sand and gravel unit. Measured hydraulic conductivities were on the order of 10^-7 and 10^-5 m/s, respectively, and the vertical hydraulic gradients indicate significant groundwater discharge upward into the peat and clay unit. Prairie Flats groundwaters are neutral to alkaline in pH, enriched in Ca²⁺ and HCO₃^-, and have dissolved uranium concentrations ranging from 10 to nearly 1,000 µg/l. Groundwater flow and geochemistry data were used to estimate the flux of uranium in groundwater at the site. A major fraction of the uranium is taken up by adsorption to organics. There is also evidence for subsequent desorption by the formation of soluble complexes with bicarbonate. Uranium that is not held by adsorption is most likely precipitated as uraninite, UO_2(c). Reducing conditions in the peat and clay unit (Eh<0.1 V) relative to the underlying sand and gravel unit (Eh>0.2 V) may explain the high concentrations of uranium nearer ground surface. The current flux of uranium into the flats is significantly smaller than that calculated from the size and age of the deposit, which may be an indication of changing rates of deposition in response to varying climatic and hydrogeologic conditions over time.