Constraints on eruption dynamics of basaltic explosive activity derived from chemical and microtextural study: The example of the Fontana Lapilli Plinian eruption,Nicaragua

The Fontana Lapilli deposit is one of very few examples of basaltic Plinian eruptions discovered so far. Juvenile clasts have uniform chemical composition and moderate ranges of density and bulk vesicularity. However, clast populations include two textural varieties which are microlite-poor and microlite-rich respectively. These two clast types have the same clast density range, making a distinction impossible on that base alone. The high bubble number density (～ 10⁷ cm^? 3) and small bubble population of the Fontana clasts suggest that the magma underwent coupled degassing following rapid decompression and fast ascent rate, leading to non-equilibrium degassing with continuous nucleation as it is common for silicic analogues. The Fontana products have lower microlite contents (10–60 vol.%) with respect to the other documented basaltic Plinian eruptions suggesting that the brittle fragmentation, implied for the other basaltic Plinian deposits, does not apply to the Fontana products and another fragmentation mechanism led the basaltic magma to erupt in a Plinian fashion.     

On the visibility of airborne volcanic ash and mineral dust from the pilot’s perspective in flight

In April 2010, volcanic ash from the Eyjafjalla volcano in Iceland strongly impacted aviation in Europe. In order to prevent a similar scenario in the future, a threshold value for safe aviation based on actual mass concentrations was introduced (2 mg m⁻³ in Germany). This study contrasts microphysical and optical properties of volcanic ash and mineral dust and assesses the detectability of potentially dangerous ash layers (mass concentration larger than 2 mg m⁻³) from a pilot’s perspective during a flight. Also the possibility to distinguish between volcanic ash and other aerosols is investigated. The visual detectability of airborne volcanic ash is addressed based on idealized radiative transfer simulations and on airborne observations with the DLR Falcon gathered during the Eyjafjalla volcanic ash research flights in 2010 and during the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiments in 2006 and 2008. Mineral dust and volcanic ash aerosol both show an enhanced coarse mode (>1 μm) aerosol concentration, but volcanic ash aerosol additionally contains a significant number of Aitken mode particles (<150 nm) not present in mineral dust. Under daylight clear-sky conditions and depending on the viewing geometry, volcanic ash is visible already at mass concentrations far below what is currently considered dangerous for aircraft engines. However, it is not possible to visually distinguish volcanic ash from other aerosol layers or to determine whether a volcanic ash layer is potentially dangerous (mass concentration larger or smaller than 2 mg m⁻³). Different appearances due to microphysical differences of both aerosol types are not detectable by the human eye. Nonetheless, as ash concentrations can vary significantly over distances travelled by an airplane within seconds, this visual threat evaluation may contribute greatly to the short-term response of pilots in ash-contaminated air space.     

Theoretical cosmogenic nuclide concentration in river bed load clasts: Does it depend on clast size?

Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (TCNs) have been widely used to date the exposure of alluvial surfaces and to estimate catchment-scale erosion rates. However, TCN concentration differences in samples of different grain sizes remain to be fully understood. In order to explore the possibility that river processes generate such differences, we develop a numerical model to calculate along-stream clast-scale TCN concentrations. Using the hillslope model, there is a progressive detachment of successive clasts of specific sizes followed by their instantaneous fall into the river. In the river, transport velocity and TCN concentration evolution in a clast depend 1) on the probability of being trapped in the sediment mixing layer of the river or within an adjacent terrace; 2) on its size which decreases downstream by attrition. The size-dependent transport law corresponds to the partial transport state in a river. We model the distribution of TCN concentrations in different clast size fractions in the 0–5 cm radius range for catchments in steady-state erosion, and for catchments experiencing sedimentation.We propose that clast attrition tends to increase the variance of TCN concentrations of the small clast size fractions because these fractions incorporate initially big clasts that travelled a long distance in addition to small clasts contributed near the outlet. We obtained numerous clast size–TCN concentration correlations, positive or negative, the significance of which depends on the initial clast size distribution, hillslope erosion rate, river length and lithology. For an equilibrium catchment, even large, we found that the addition of TCN concentration acquired during river transport is negligible compared to TCN concentration acquired on a hillslope, although a clast size–TCN concentration relationship can result from or be modified by clast attrition. On the contrary, aggrading catchments may show a significant clast size-dependent TCN concentration increase during river transport. This may introduce a small bias in the TCN-derived catchment erosion rate, but it could be used positively to quantify the mean transport velocity of clasts of different sizes over thousands of years. In addition, the lack of correlation between TCN concentration and clast size does not imply that the mean transport velocity is the same for all clast size fractions. Overall, our study provides an alternative explanation for observed clast size-dependent TCN concentrations and brings to the fore the need for measuring TCN concentration in larger clast size fractions than is usually done. To see if the byproducts of abrasion dilute or increase the TCN concentration of sand, all products should be included in a future study.     

Reactive-transport modeling of fly ash–water–brines interactions from laboratory-scale column studies

Dynamic leaching tests are important studies that provide more insights into time-dependent leaching mechanisms of any given solid waste. Hydrogeochemical modeling using PHREEQC was applied for column modeling of two ash recipes and brines generated from South African coal utility plants, Sasol and Eskom. The modeling results were part of a larger ash–brine study aimed at acquiring knowledge on (i) quantification and characterization of the products formed when ash is in contact with water–brines in different scenarios, (ii) the mineralogical changes associated with water–brine–ash interactions over time, (iii) species concentration, and (iv) leaching and transport controlling factors. The column modeling was successfully identified and quantified as important reactive mineralogical phases controlling major, minor and trace elements’ release. The pH of the solution was found to be a very important controlling factor in leaching chemistry. The highest mineralogical transformation took place in the first 10 days of ash contact with either water or brines, and within 0.1 m from the column inflow. Many of the major and trace elements Ca, Mg, Na, K, Sr, S(VI), Fe, are leached easily into water systems and their concentration fronts were high at the beginning (within 0.1 m from the column inflow and within the first 10 days) upon contact with the liquid phase. However, their concentration decreased with time until a steady state was reached. Modeling results also revealed that geochemical reactions taking place during ash–water–brine interactions does affect the porosity of the ash, whereas the leaching processes lead to increased porosity. Besides supporting experimental data, modeling results gave predictive insights on leaching of elements which may directly impact on the environment, particularly ground water. These predictions will help develop scenarios and offer potential guide for future sustainable waste management practices as a way of addressing the co-disposal of brines within inland ash dams and heaps.     

Thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence signals from volcanic ash: History of volcanism in Barren Island,Andaman Sea

The results of experiments which characterise the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals of an ash sample (BI07-TL-05) from Barren Island are presented. The infrared stimulated luminescence signal decreases to 5% of its initial value when preheated at 150 °C for 10 s, suggesting that the infrared stimulated luminescence signal associated with the 290–390 nm emission in this sample arises from a single trap evicted by heating to 150 °C. The post-IR blue stimulated luminescence emission has greater thermal stability and arises from traps which are emptied by heating to temperatures between 120 °C and 240 °C. Dose recovery experiments demonstrate that a laboratory dose can be reliably determined to within 5% for the post-IR blue stimulated luminescence signal. However, the fading rate for the post-IR blue stimulation is high, and the g-value is estimated to be (9.6 ± 3.5)% per logarithmic decade for BI07-TL-05.     

40Ar/39Ar temporal framework for the Alleret maar lacustrine sequence (French Massif-Central): Volcanological and paleoclimatic implications

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France) is part of the few Western European early middle Pleistocene lacustrine sequences. In the AL3 core several new ash layers were recovered in the 10 first meters of the sedimentary filling. We obtained three ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, which range from 683 ± 5 ka (MSWD: 1.2, n = 17) to 722 ± 6 ka (MSWD: 3.2, n = 18). All the studied ash layers belong to the Super-Besse eruptive cycle of the Sancy volcano. Based on the chronostratigraphy that we have derived we estimate that the age of the main eruption could correspond to the Sancy volcano caldera formation at 725 ka close to the end of MIS 18 and that the Super-Besse explosive episode duration lasted only about 40 ka. The time framework we build evidences that the Alleret lacustrine sequence represents a time interval of probably 180 ka spanning from MIS 18 to MIS 14. This sequence offers the first well constrained comparison between terrestrial environmental history and that preserved in marine sediments during the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution.     

New data on the Late Cenozoic basaltic volcanism in Syria,applied to its origin

New data on geology and 21 K–Ar dates of the Late Oligocene–Quaternary basalts in Syria, combined with analysis of the new and previous data are used to reconstruct the volcanic history and relations between it and tectonic events. Volcanism began at the end of Oligocene (26–24 Ma) and was concentrated in the Late Oligocene–Early Miocene along a N-trending band, which stretches from the Jebel Arab (Harrat Ash Shaam) up to Kurd Dagh and southern Turkey. Activity waned in the Middle Miocene (17–12 Ma), but was resumed in the same band in the Tortonian and increased in the Messinian and Early Pliocene (6.3–4 Ma), when volcanism spread to the Shin Plateau and its coastal extension. After a brief hiatus ～ 4–3.5 Ma, volcanism became still more intensive and spread from the N-trending band to the east into the northern margin of the Mesopotamian Foredeep and to the west into the Dead Sea Transform zone. Additional eruptions continued into the Holocene.Volcanism lasted > 25 million years in the Jebel Arab Highland and > 15 million years in the Aleppo Plateau. The long duration of volcanism in the same parts of the moving Arabian plate and absence of records of one-way migration of the activity mean that the magmatic sources moved together with the plate, i.e., they were situated within the lithosphere mantle. Coincidence of the tectonic and volcanic stages of the Arabian plate development proves that volcanic activity depended on the geodynamic situation, caused by the plate motion. Situated within the lithosphere, magmatic sources within this transverse band were possibly caused by thermal and deforming influences of the asthenospheric lateral flow, moved laterally from the Ethiopia–Afar deep superplume.     

Kimberlite wall-rock fragmentation processes: Venetia K08 pipe development

Current kimberlite pipe development models strongly advocate a downward growth process with the pipe cutting down onto its feeder dyke by means of volcanic explosions. Evidence is presented from the K08 kimberlite pipe in Venetia Mine, South Africa, which suggests that some pipes or sub-components of pipes develop upwards. The K08 pipe in pit exposure comprises >90 vol.% chaotic mega-breccia of country rock clasts (gneiss and schist) and <10 vol.% coherent kimberlite. Sub-horizontal breccia layers, tens of metres thick, are defined by lithic clast size variations and contain zones of shearing and secondary fragmentation. Textural studies of the breccias and fractal statistics on clast size distributions are used to characterize sheared and non-sheared breccia zones and to deduce a fragmentation mechanism. Breccia statistics are compared directly with the statistics of fragmented rock produced from mining processes in order to support interpretations. Results are consistent with an initial stage of brecciation formed by upward-moving collapse of an explosively pre-conditioned hanging wall into a sub-terranean volcanic excavation. Our analysis suggests that the pre-conditioning is most likely to have been caused by explosions, either phreatic or phreatomagmatic in nature, with a total energy output of 2.7 × 10⁹ kJ (656 t of TNT). A second stage of fragmentation is interpreted as shearing of the breccia caused by multiple late kimberlite intrusions and possible bulk movement of material in the pipe conduit related to adjacent volcanism in the K02 pipe.     

Perovskite U–Pb ages and the Pb isotopic composition of alkaline volcanism initiating the Permo-Carboniferous Oslo Rift

The Permo-Carboniferous Oslo Rift developed in the foreland of the Variscan orogen over a period of some 50 million years through a process characterized by moderate extension and widespread magmatism. The overall tectonic situation places the Oslo Rift in a post-collisional, dextral transtensional setting related to the convergence between Baltica, Laurentia, Gondwana and Siberia during assembly of Pangea, the location probably reflecting the control by pre-existing lithospheric structures. Although a detailed understanding of these factors and processes relies strongly on having a good age control, the dating of mafic to ultramafic alkalic volcanic units formed during initial rifting has been a very challenging task. In this study we have successfully employed perovskite from melilitic and nephelinitic volcanic rocks, together with magmatic titanite in a more evolved ignimbrite, to obtain ID-TIMS high-precision U–Pb ages. Three samples from various levels of the Brunlanes succession, in the southernmost exposures of the Oslo Graben, yield ages of 300.2 ± 0.9, 300.4 ± 0.7 and 299.9 ± 0.9 Ma. A melililitic tuff at the base of the Skien succession further to the northwest yields a slightly younger age of 298.9 ± 0.7 Ma. The initial Pb compositions derived mainly from coexisting pyroxene, apatite and hornblende are characterized by extremely radiogenic initial ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios (up to 21.3) that confirm a provenance of these early alkaline basalts from HIMU-type sources. The U–Pb ages coincide with the Gzhelian age inferred from fossils in the upper part of the basal rift sedimentary fill of the Asker Group, and post-date the underlying basal sedimentary sequences by some 10 million years, pointing to a relatively rapid initiation of the rifting process.     

Cosmogenic 3He exposure dating of the Quaternary basalts from Fogo,Cape Verdes: Implications for rift zone and magmatic reorganisation

We have used cosmogenic ³He to date pre- and post-collapse lava flows from southwestern Fogo, Cape Verdes, in order to date rift zone magmatic reorganisation following the lateral collapse of the flank of the Monte Amarelo volcano. The post-collapse flows have exposure ages ranging from 62 to 11 ka. The analysis of multiple flow tops on each lava flows, often at different elevations, provides an internal check for age consistency and the exposures ages conform with stratigraphic level. The exposure ages suggest that volcanic activity along the western branch of the triple-armed rift zone was more or less continuous from before 62 ka to approximately 11 ka. The absence of magmatic activity for the last 11 kyr reflects a structural reconfiguration of the volcano and may be related to renewed flank instability. This volcanic hiatus is similar in duration to that observed in the Canary Islands. Replicate ³He exposure ages of a pre-collapse flow (123.0 ± 5.2 ka) brackets the time of the Monte Amarelo collapse between 62 ka and 123 ka. Reproducible cosmogenic ³He exposure ages of less than 123 ka from flows away from major erosion features demonstrates that the technique is a viable alternative to the radiocarbon, K/Ar and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar chronometers for dating recent volcanism in arid climate zones.     

GPR to constrain ERT data inversion in cavity searching: Theoretical and practical applications in archeology

I used theoretical forward models to show that a cavity embedded in a stratified sedimentary sequence can induce an equivalence problem in the ERT data inversion. Conductive top soil increases the misfit between the ground feature and the ERT model. The misfit depends on array and stratigraphy sequences. The latter induce an equivalence problem that manifests itself as wrong cavity depth positioning. The misfit is greater in the data acquired with Schlumberger array than with dipole–dipole.The ambiguity of ERT data inversion problems was tested in the detection of cavities linked to an 8th–6th century B.C. Sabine tomb, 3 m wide × 3 m long × 2 m high, excavated from a shaly gray volcanic ash (cinerite) layer covered by semi-lithoid tuff and top soil layers. In the real study I reduced the ambiguity in the inverse problem of ERT data using a priori information on geometry and resistivity of the cavity. The constrains were carried out from georadar data acquired with 80 and 200 MHz antenna. I demonstrate that this procedure has a practical application in cavity detection, and is a key to the reduction of the uncertainty inherent in the inversion process of ERT data.     

CO2-induced dissolution of low permeability carbonates. Part II: Numerical modeling of experiments

We used the 3D continuum-scale reactive transport models to simulate eight core flood experiments for two different carbonate rocks. In these experiments the core samples were reacted with brines equilibrated with pCO₂ = 3, 2, 1, 0.5 MPa (Smith et al., 2013 [27]). The carbonate rocks were from specific Marly dolostone and Vuggy limestone flow units at the IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. Initial model porosity, permeability, mineral, and surface area distributions were constructed from micro tomography and microscopy characterization data. We constrained model reaction kinetics and porosity–permeability equations with the experimental data. The experimental data included time-dependent solution chemistry and differential pressure measured across the core, and the initial and final pore space and mineral distribution. Calibration of the model with the experimental data allowed investigation of effects of carbonate reactivity, flow velocity, effective permeability, and time on the development and consequences of stable and unstable dissolution fronts.The continuum scale model captured the evolution of distinct dissolution fronts that developed as a consequence of carbonate mineral dissolution and pore scale transport properties. The results show that initial heterogeneity and porosity contrast control the development of the dissolution fronts in these highly reactive systems. This finding is consistent with linear stability analysis and the known positive feedback between mineral dissolution and fluid flow in carbonate formations. Differences in the carbonate kinetic drivers resulting from the range of pCO₂ used in the experiments and the different proportions of more reactive calcite and less reactive dolomite contributed to the development of new pore space, but not to the type of dissolution fronts observed for the two different rock types. The development of the dissolution front was much more dependent on the physical heterogeneity of the carbonate rock. The observed stable dissolution fronts with small but visible dissolution fingers were a consequence of the clustering of a small percentage of larger pores in an otherwise homogeneous Marly dolostone. The observed wormholes in the heterogeneous Vuggy limestone initiated and developed in areas of greater porosity and permeability contrast, following pre-existing preferential flow paths.Model calibration of core flood experiments is one way to specifically constrain parameter input used for specific sites for larger scale simulations. Calibration of the governing rate equations and constants for Vuggy limestones showed that dissolution rate constants reasonably agree with published values. However the calcite dissolution rate constants fitted to the Marly dolostone experiments are much lower than those suggested by literature. The differences in fitted calcite rate constants between the two rock types reflect uncertainty associated with measured reactive surface area and appropriately scaling heterogeneous distribution of less abundant reactive minerals. Calibration of the power-law based porosity–permeability equations was sensitive to the overall heterogeneity of the cores. Stable dissolution fronts of the more homogeneous Marly dolostone could be fit with the exponent n = 3 consistent with the traditional Kozeny–Carman equation developed for porous sandstones. More impermeable and heterogeneous cores required larger n values (n = 6–8).     

The K–Ar Cassignol–Gillot technique applied to western Martinique lavas: A record of Lesser Antilles arc activity from 2 Ma to Mount Pelée volcanism

We present 23 new ages from three volcanic complexes of the Lesser Antilles arc in Martinique Island (French West Indies). These ages obtained with the K–Ar Cassignol–Gillot technique are distributed within the whole Quaternary. They allowed us to reconstruct a detailed history of successive volcanic growth and flank collapse stages. Trois Ilets Volcanism has been active during at least 2 Ma, between 2.35 ± 0.03 Ma and 346 ± 27 ka, with monogenetic volcanoes of basaltic-andesite to andesitic compositions. We here propose that magma mixing, which characterizes this volcanism, could have been initiated between 617 and 346 ka by the activation of arc-parallel and arc-transverse fault systems. Meanwhile, the Carbet complex was active 25 km to the north from 998 ± 14 to 322 ± 6 ka, and was partially destroyed by a flank collapse after 602 ± 10 ka. Together with geochemical data, our ages show that Mount Conil and Mount Pelée volcanoes are parts of the same edifice sharing a single magmatic reservoir. Mount Conil started to emerge before 543 ± 8 ka, and andesites erupted until 127 ± 2 ka, when a flank collapse destroyed the western flank of the edifice, probably triggering the emplacement of Piton Marcel, the last eruption of this first stage. We note that this collapse occurred during the transition from oxygen stages 6 to 5, i.e. during glacial to interglacial change, when eustatic level rapidly increased. After that, and until present, Mount Pelée volcano was built with periods of cone growth intercalated by flank collapse events. We here show that a peak of activity occurred between 550 and 330 ka in western Martinique within the three complexes, which are spaced of 15–25 km. Since 330 ka volcanic activity is limited to the northernmost Mount Conil–Mount Pelée complex. Our data are in agreement with the regional scale observations that the whole recent Lesser Antilles arc was subject to a high volcanic activity since 600 ka, probably linked to an increase in magma production. This permanent establishment of rising magma in regularly spaced batches and tectonically controlled, could explain the individual chemical evolution of each edifice and the different eruptive dynamisms occurring at the same time along the recent arc.     

Nanoscale porosity in SAFOD core samples (San Andreas Fault)

With transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we observed nanometer-sized pores in four ultracataclastic and fractured core samples recovered from different depths of the main bore hole of the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD). Cutting of foils with a focused ion beam technique (FIB) allowed identifying porosity down to the nm scale. Between 40 and 50% of all pores could be identified as in-situ pores without any damage related to sample preparation. The total porosity estimated from TEM micrographs (1–5%) is comparable to the connected fault rock porosity (2.8–6.7%) estimated by pressure-induced injection of mercury. Permeability estimates for cataclastic fault rocks are 10^? 21–10^? 19 m² and 10^? 17 m² for the fractured fault rock. Porosity and permeability are independent of sample depth. TEM images reveal that the porosity is intimately linked to fault rock composition and associated with deformation. The TEM-estimated porosity of the samples increases with increasing clay content. The highest porosity was estimated in the vicinity of an active fault trace. The largest pores with an equivalent radius > 200 nm occur around large quartz and feldspar grains or grain-fragments while the smallest pores (equivalent radius < 50 nm) are typically observed in the extremely fine-grained matrix (grain size < 1 μm). Based on pore morphology we distinguish different pore types varying with fault rock fabric and alteration. The pores were probably filled with formation water and/or hydrothermal fluids at elevated pore fluid pressure, preventing pore collapse. The pore geometry derived from TEM observations and BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) gas adsorption/desorption hysteresis curves indicates pore blocking effects in the fine-grained matrix. Observations of isolated pores in TEM micrographs and high pore body to pore throat ratios inferred from mercury injection suggest elevated pore fluid pressure in the low permeability cataclasites, reducing shear strength of the fault.     

Cenozoic changes in atmospheric lead recorded in central Pacific ferromanganese crusts

The possible sources of pre-anthropogenic Pb contributed to the world's oceans have been the focus of considerable study. The role of eolian dust versus riverine inputs has been of particular interest. With better calibration of isotopic records from central Pacific ferromanganese crusts using Os isotope stratigraphy it now appears that deep water Pb isotopic compositions were effectively homogeneous over a distance of 5000 km for the past 80 Myr. The composition shifted slightly from high ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios in the range of 18.87 ± 0.02 before 65 Ma to lower values of 18.62 ± 0.02 by 45 Ma and then gradually increased again very slightly to the present day ratio of 18.67 ± 0.02. The regional homogeneity provides evidence of a dominant well-mixed atmospheric source the most likely candidate for which is volcanic aerosols contributed either directly or as soluble condensates on eolian dust. The slight shift in Pb isotope composition of deep waters in the central Pacific between 65 and 45 Ma may be the result of a regional- or perhaps global-scale change in the sources of volcanic exhalations and volcanic activity caused by an increase in the importance of melting and assimilation of older continental crustal components over the Cenozoic.     

On the tidal heating of Enceladus

Enceladus, one of Saturn's moons, shows significant volcanic activity identified by the Cassini spacecraft. The aim of the present study is to investigate – with the adaptation of mathematical tools used in geodynamics – the extent of tidal heating due to the mean motion resonance with Dione. For the purpose of calculations a two-layer model of Enceladus was used. The inner part of the model is a “rocky core” with a relative radius 0.55, while the outer part is composed of water ice. The results of model calculations show that the effective tidal heating is not uniformly distributed within Enceladus. It was found for the selected model of Enceladus, that the tidal heating is maximum within the depth interval (25–75) km. Due to the inhomogeneity within Enceladus, 85% of the tidal energy is generated in a volume that contains just 39% of its mass. In time intervals of 3.0 × 10⁸ and 5.3 × 10⁸ years the temperature increase in the relative depth range 0.70 ≤ r/a_E ≤ 0.90 is approximately 270 and 370 K, respectively.     

A combined glass dissolution/diffusion experiment in Boom Clay at 30 °C

At the appropriate times, silica diffusion in clay is possibly the rate determining process for the dissolution of vitrified waste disposed of in a clay layer. For testing this hypothesis, combined glass dissolution/silica diffusion experiment are performed. SON68 glass coupons doped with the radioactive tracer ³²Si are sandwiched between two cores of humid Boom Clay, heated to 30 °C. Due to glass dissolution, ³²Si is released and diffuses into the clay. At the end of an experiment, the mass loss of the glass coupon is measured and the clay core is sliced to determine the diffusion profile of the ³²Si released from the glass in the clay.Both mass loss and the ³²Si diffusion profile in the clay are described well by a model combining glass dissolution according to a linear rate law with silica diffusion in the clay. Fitting the experiments to this model leads to an apparent silica diffusion coefficient in the clay between 7 × 10⁻¹³ m²/s and 1.2 × 10⁻¹² m²/s. Previously determined values from diffusion experiments at 25 °C are around 6 × 10⁻¹³ m²/s (In-Diffusion experiments) and 2 × 10⁻¹³ m²/s (percolation experiments). The maximal glass dissolution rate for glass next to clay is around 1.6 × 10⁻⁷ g glass/m² s (i.e. 0.014 g glass/m² day). In undisturbed clay, the measured silica concentration is around 5 mg/L. Combining these values with the previously measured (In-Diffusion experiments) product of accessible porosity and retardation factor, leads in two ways to a silica glass saturation concentration in clay between 8 and 10 mg Si/L.Another candidate for the rate determining process of the dissolution of vitrified waste disposed in a clay layer is silica precipitation. Although silica precipitation due to glass dissolution has been shown experimentally at 90 °C, extending the model with silica precipitation does not lead to much better fits, nor could meaningful values of a possible precipitation rate be obtained.     

Sedimentary features of the Yangtze River-derived along-shelf clinoform deposit in the East China Sea

A predominant sigmoidal clinoform deposit extends from the Yangtze River mouth southwards 800 km along the Chinese coast. This clinoform is thickest (∼40 m) between the 20 and 30 m isobaths and progressively thins offshore, reaching water depths of 60 and 90 m and distances up to 100 km offshore. Clay mineral, heavy metal, geochemical and grain-size analyses indicate that the Yangtze River is the primary source for this longshore-transported clinoform deposit. ²¹⁰Pb chronologies show the highest accumulation rates (>3 cm/yr) occur immediately adjacent to the Yangtze subaqueous delta (north of 30 °N), decreasing southward alongshore and eastward offshore. The interaction of strong tides, waves, the China Coastal Current, winter storms, and offshore upwelling appear to have played important roles in trapping most Yangtze-derived sediment on the inner shelf and transporting it to the south.     

Global distribution of volcanic centers and mountains on Io: Control by asthenospheric heating and implications for mountain formation

Jupiter's moon Io possesses numerous tectonic mountains in addition to its ubiquitous volcanoes and volcanic features. Remarkably, a distinct global anticorrelation exists between the spatial distribution of mountains and volcanic centers on Io. This relationship indicates an explicit connection between volcanism and mountain formation, even though the mountains are tectonic in origin (predominantly upthrusted crustal blocks). Spherical harmonic analysis shows the distribution of mountains and volcanic centers have statistically significant power at degree 2; this result is especially striking for the volcanic center distribution, and directly implicates models of asthenospheric tidal heating. The latter predict enhanced heat flux along the equator in a degree-two pattern that matches observations. Mountain formation on Io appears to be a form of dominantly vertical tectonism unique in the modern Solar System: continual burial by widespread volcanism drives the crust inward, which leads to strong compression, and at discrete locations, mountains. Correlation coefficients between the volcanic and mountain distributions indicate statistically meaningful anticorrelation at low spectral degrees (l = 1, 2, 4, and 6); the anticorrelation is especially significant between the longitudinal (sectorial) l = 2 components when considered on their own. We compare this anticorrelation with published models that link volcano and mountain formation. While consistent in part with l = 2 convection models, which predict such an anticorrelation (in principle), such low degree anticorrelations are also (if not more) compatible with mountain formation due to, or influenced by, thermal expansion of Io's crust, and deep compression and thrust faulting in regions of lower than average volcanic heat-piping. Positive correlations between mountain and volcanic center distributions at high spectral degree may reflect structural links between a good fraction of mountain blocks and adjacent volcanic paterae, whereas the anticorrelation at low degree implies that most volcanic features (which are far more numerous overall) form independently of mountains.     

Crustal structure of the Reykjanes Ridge near 62°N,on the basis of seismic refraction and gravity data

Explosion deep seismic sounding data sections of high quality had been obtained with RV Meteor in the Reykjanes Iceland Seismic Project (RRISP77 [Angenheister, G., Gebrande, H., Miller, H., Goldflam, P., Weigel, W., Jacoby, W.R., Pálmason, G., Björnsson, S., Einarsson, P., Pavlenkova, N.I., Zverev, S., Litvinenko, I.V., Loncarecic, B., Solomon, S., 1980. Reykjanes Ridge Iceland Seismic Experiment (RRISP 77). J. Geophys. 47, 228–238]) which close an information gap near 62°N. Preliminary results were presented by Weigel [Weigel, W., 1980. Aufbau des Reykjanes Rückens nach refraktionsseismischen Messungen. In: Weigel, W. (Ed.), Reykjanes Rücken, Island, Norwegischer Kontinentalrand. Abschlusskolloquium, Hamburg zur Meteor-Expedition, vol. 45. DFG, Bonn, pp. 53–61], and here we report on the data and results of interpretation. Clear refracted phases to 90 km distance permit crustal and uppermost mantle structure to be modelled by ray tracing. The apparent P-wave velocities are around 4.5, 6–6.5, 7–7.6 and 8.2–8.7 km/s, but no wide-angle reflections have been clearly seen. Accompanying sparker reflection data reveal thin sediment ponds in the axial zone and up to 400 m thick sediments at 10 Ma crustal age. Ray tracing reveals the following model below the sediments: (1) a distinct, 1–2 km thick upper crust (layer 2A) with Vp increasing with age (to 10 Ma) from <3.4 to 4.9 km/s and with a vertical gradient of 0.1–0.2 km/s/km, (2) a lower crust or layer 3 beginning at depths of 2 (axis) to 4 km (10 Ma age) below sea level with 6.1–6.8 km/s and similar vertical gradients as above, (3) the lower crust bottoms at 5.2–9.5 km depth below sea level (0–10 Ma) with a marked discontinuity, underneath which (4) Vp rises from about 7.5–7.8 km/s (0–10 Ma) with a positive vertical gradient of, again, 0.1–0.2 km/s/km such that 8 km/s would be reached at 12 km and deeper near the axis. Our preferred interpretation is that the mantle begins at the distinct discontinuity (“Moho”), but a deeper “Moho” of Vp ≈ 8 km/s cannot be excluded. From Iceland southward to 60°N several experiments show a decrease of crustal thickness from 14 to 8 km. Velocity trends with age across the ridge reflect cooling and filling of cracks, and thickness trends probably suggest volcanic productivity variations as previously suggested.Gravity inversion concentrates on a profile across the ridge with the above seismic a priori information; with 0.2–0.5 km depth uncertainty it leads to a good fit (±2.5 mGal where seismic data exist). Best fitting densities are (in kg/m³) for sediments, 2180; upper crust, 2450–2570; lower crust, 2850–2940; mantle lithosphere, 3215–3240 with a deficit for an asthenospheric wedge of no more than −100 kg/m³. The morphological ridges and troughs superimposed on the SE ridge flank are partly correlated, partly anti-correlated with the Bouguer anomaly and suggest that variable crustal density variations accompany the morphology variations.