A MAN/COMPUTER INTERPRETATION SYSTEM FOR RESISTIVITY SOUNDINGS OVER A HORIZONTALLY STRAFIFIED EARTH*

The proposed system works as follows:

• 1 By a trial-and-error procedure using a graphic display terminal a geologically relevant layer sequence with parameters (ρ_j, d_j) is adjusted to yield roughly the measured curve.
• 2 The resulting layer sequence is used as starting model for an iterative least squares procedure with singular value decomposition. Minimization of the sum of the squares of the logarithmic differences between measured and calculated values with respect to the logarithms of the resistivities and thicknesses as parameters linearizes the problem to a great extent, with two important implications:

• a) a considerable increase in speed (the number of iterations goes down), thus making it cheap to achieve the optimum solution;
• b) the confidence surfaces in parameter space are well approximated by the hyper-ellipsoids defined by the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the normal equations.

Since these are known from the singular value decomposition we do in fact know all possible solutions compatible with the measured curve and the geological concept.

• 3 It is possible to “freeze” any combination of parameters at predetermined values. Thus extra knowledge and/or hypotheses are easily incorporated and can be tested by rerunning step (2). The overall computing time for a practical case is of the order of 10 sec on a CDC 6400.

     

Leakage properties of the multi-aquifer system underlying the Greater Onitsha water scheme borehole field,Anambra State,Nigeria

Abstract

Leakage properties and the potential for land subsidence due to groundwater withdrawal from a multi-aquifer water supply system were investigated by applying leaky type curve and one dimensional consolidation models to drawdown data that were obtained during a pumping test experiment in an aquifer-aquitard system. The producing aquifer has transmissivity and storativity values of 5.3 × 10^?3 m² s^?1 and 9.54 × 10^?4 respectively. It is recharged through leakage at a rate of 5.67 × 10^?8 m s^?1, giving a leakage amount of more than 0.007 m³ s^?1. Drainage of the aquifer-aquitard system could result in aquitard compaction of between 50 and 180 mm year^?1 for pumping periods of 6 and 22 h day^?1, respectively. The observed leakage has important implications for land subsidence problems and waste disposal practices in the area.     

How to anchor hotspots in a convecting mantle?

Laboratory experiments were performed to study the influence of density and viscosity layering on the formation and stability of plumes. Viscosity ratios ranged from 0.1 to 6400 for buoyancy ratios between 0.3 and 20, and Rayleigh numbers between 10⁵ and 2.10⁸. The presence of a chemically stratified boundary layer generates long-lived thermochemical plumes. These plumes first develop from the interface as classical thermal boundary layer instabilities. As they rise, they entrain by viscous coupling a thin film of the other layer and locally deform the interface into cusps. The interfacial topography and the entrainment act to further anchor the plumes, which persist until the chemical stratification disappears through entrainment, even for Rayleigh numbers around 10⁸. The pattern of thermochemical plumes remains the same during an experiment, drifting only slowly through the tank. Scaled to an Earth’s mantle without plate tectonics, our results show that: (1) thermochemical plumes are expected to exist in the mantle, (2) they could easily survive hundreds of millions of years, depending on the size and magnitude of the chemical heterogeneity on which they are anchored, and (3) their drift velocity would be at most 1-2 mm/yr. They would therefore produce long-lived and relatively fixed hotspots on the lithosphere. However, the thermochemical plumes would follow any large scale motion imposed on the chemical layer. Therefore, the chemical heterogeneity acts more as a ‘floating anchor’ than as an absolute one.     

Reservoir storage for managing floods in urban areas: a case study of Dzorwulu basin in Accra

The study simulated the effect of using reservoir storage for reducing flood peaks and volumes in urban areas with the Dzorwulu basin in Accra, Ghana as case study. A triangulated irregular network surface of the floodplain was created using ArcGIS from ESRI by integrating digital elevation model and the map of the study area. The weighted curve number for the basin was obtained from the land use and soil type shape files using ArcGIS. The Soil Conservation Service curve number unit hydrograph procedure was used to obtain an inflow hydrograph based on the highest rainfall recorded in recent history (3–4 June 1995) in the study area and then routed through an existing reservoir to assess the impact of the reservoir on potential flood peak attenuation. The results from the analysis indicate that a total of 13.09 × 10⁶ m³ of flood water was generated during this 10‐h rainstorm, inundating a total area of 6.89 km² with a depth of 4.95 m at the deepest section of the basin stream. The routing results showed that the reservoir has capacity to store 34.52% of the flood hydrograph leading to 45% reduction in flood peak and subsequently 38.5% reduction in flood inundation depth downstream of the reservoir. From results of the study, the reservoir storage concept looks promising for urban flood management in Ghana, especially in communities that are over‐urbanized downstream but have some space upstream for creating the storage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial and Temporal Dependence of Temperature Variations Induced by Atmospheric Pressure Variations in Shallow Underground Cavities

Pressure-induced temperature (PIT) variations are systematically observed in the atmosphere of underground cavities. Such PIT variations are due to the compressibility of the air, damped by heat exchange with the rock surface. It is important to characterize such processes for numerous applications, such as the preservation of painted caves or the assessment of the long-term stability of underground laboratories and underground waste repositories. In this paper we thoroughly study the spatiotemporal dependence of the PIT response versus frequency using vertical and horizontal profiles of temperature installed in an abandoned underground quarry located in Vincennes, near Paris. The PIT response varies from about 20 × 10^?3°C hPa^?1 at a frequency of 2 × 10^?4 Hz to 2–3 × 10^?3°C hPa^?1 at a frequency of one cycle per day. An analytical expression based on a simple heat exchange model accounts for the observed features of the PIT response and allows for correcting the measured time series, having standard deviations of about 10^?2°C, to residual variations with a standard deviation of about 2 × 10^?3°C. However, a frequency-dependent attenuation of the response, corresponding to a reduction in amplitude with a factor varying from 2 to 3, is observed near the walls. This effect is not included in the simple analytical expression, but it can be accounted for by a one-dimensional differential equation, solved numerically, where temperature variations in the atmosphere are damped by an effective radiative coupling with the rock surface, complemented by a diffusive coupling near the walls. The TIP response is observed to remain stable over several years, but a large transient enhancement of about a factor of two is observed near the roof at one location from July to October 2005. In a cavity located below the Paris Observatory, an additional contribution is identified in the PIT response function versus frequency for frequencies smaller than 2 × 10^?5 Hz. This contribution can be described using a modified analytical expression that includes the effect of heat diffusion into the surrounding rock. Using this expression, in this case also, the temperature time series can then be corrected, giving a residual standard deviation smaller than 1.6 × 10^?3°C. Transient temporal variations of the PIT response are observed in all sites, with possible nonlinear components in the PIT. Such effects are not properly understood at this stage, and limit the reduction of time series to standard deviations of the order of 2 × 10^?3°C, and consequently limit the search for new transient or seasonal temperature signals, for example due to the presence of tiny heat sources in the cavity or to geodynamical effects.     

Estimation of heat discharge rates using infrared measurements by a helicopter-borne thermocamera over the geothermal areas of Unzen volcano, Japan

Unzen volcano is situated on Shimabara Peninsula, western Kyushu, Japan. On the flank of the volcano, the Obama, Unzen and Shimabara hot springs are aligned in a direction from the southwest to the northeast across the peak. At Obama and Shimabara, heat is transferred mainly by water flow. But at Unzen heat is transferred by the discharge of natural steam and by conduction as well as water flow. In order to estimate the heat discharge by mechanisms other than water flow, infrared measurements by a helicopter-borne thermocamera were conducted over the Unzen hot spring area. The heat discharge was calculated from the thermal image by a method based on heat balance of the ground surface resulting in a value of 1.9 × 10⁶ cal/s (7.9 MW). The heat discharged by all mechanisms including that by water flow is estimated to be 5.0 × 10⁶ cal/s (21 MW). Similar preliminary estimates have been made for heat discharge at the Obama and Shimabara hot springs giving values of about 1.2 × 10⁷ cal/s (50 MW) and 1.0 × 10⁵ cal/s (0.4 MW), respectively. These values indicate that the heat discharge decreases with distance from the southwest to the northeast direction across the volcano. The total heat discharge from three hot spring areas on Unzen volcano is about 1.7 × 10⁷ cal/s (71 MW).The heat balance method appears useful for quantitative analysis of regional trends but its accuracy may not be always sufficient for detailed surveys. Several methods of determining heat flow, including the heat balance method, were compared at a test field in the Unzen hot spring area. The values obtained by the heat balance method coincide roughly with the other results but more detailed analysis is necessary to improve the accuracy of current methods of geothermal measurements.     

Hazard Assessment of Co-seismic Landslides Based on Information Value Method: A Case in 2018 MW6.6 Hokkaido Earthquake, Japan

An M_W6.6 earthquake occurred in eastern Hokkaido, Japan on September 6^th, 2018. Based on the pre-earthquake image from Google Earth and the post-earthquake image from high resolution (3 m) planet satellite, we manually interpret 9 293 coseismic landslides and select 7 influencing factors of seismic landslide, such as elevation, slope, slope direction, road distance, flow distance, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and lithology. Then, 9 293 landslide points are randomly divided into training samples and validation samples with a proportion of 7:3. In detail, the training sample has 6 505 landslide points and the validation sample has 2 788 landslide points. The hazard risk assessment of seismic landslide is conducted by using the information value method and the study area is further divided into five risk grades, including very low risk area, low risk area, moderate risk area high risk area and very high risk area. The results show that there are 7 576 landslides in high risk area and very high risk area, accounting for 81.52% of the total landslide number, and the landslide area is 22.93 km², accounting for 74.35% of the total area. The hazard zoning is in high accordance with the actual situation. The evaluation results are tested by using the curve of cumulative percentage of hazardous area and cumulative percentage of landslides number. The results show that the success rate of the information value method is 78.50% and the prediction rate is 78.43%. The evaluation results are satisfactory, indicating that the hazard risk assessment results based on information value method may provide scientific reference for landslide hazard risk assessment as well as the disaster prevention and mitigation in the study area.     

Deglacial hypsometry of Antarctica

A new and more detailed analysis of the hypsometry of the Antarctic continent, based upon 1° digital data on ice thickness and surface and subglacial elevations, shows that Antarctica, even when deglaciated according to a simple Airy-isostatic model, is an unusual continent. It is the only one with a markedly bimodal hypsometric curve, and separation of the two modes shows that they are the single modes of West Antarctica (at ?450 m a.s.1.) and East Antarctica (at 950 m a.s.1.) respectively; the two parts of the continent are probably distinct tectonic entities. The modal height of East Antarctica is 700 m higher than that of the global ensemble of continents, suggesting that hotspot epeirogeny or a less well-known mechanism has affected its recent history. The age of this modal-height anomaly has important tectonic and especially climatic implications: it is equivalent to a 4–6°C cooling of the continental surface. The area of dry land after deglaciation is 10.5 × 10⁶ km²; the volume of ice in Antarctica is estimated at 26.9 × 10⁶ km³, and of ice in the Northern Hemisphere at 2.5 × 10⁶ km³; these figures lead to a eustatic sea-level equivalent for present-day glacier ice of 68 m or somewhat less.     

Magnetic torque and convection in the earth's core

Summary The problem of expressing analytically the magnetic torque, acting on the electrically conducting part of the Earth's mantle, is treated as a function of the system of convection on the surface of the core. The changes of velocities in the system of convection are estimated for decadic changes of the Earth's rotation and for the perturbation of the Earth's rotation in 1897. As regards the decadic changes of the Earth's rotation a change of velocity in the system of convection at the surface of the core of the order of 10^–4 m/s corresponds, and as regards the perturbation of the Earth's rotation in 1897 (10^–3 s/year) a change of velocity of 10^–3 m/s reduced to the whole surface of the core corresponds, and 10^–2 m/s corresponds for the region of the focus of the world geomagnetic anomaly (dimension of this region is 10⁶ m).     

Traces of NO 3 ′ ions contained in ice crystals influence charge separation upon crystal fragmentation

Summary If needle-shaped ice crystals are grown in an atmosphere containing traces of nitrous gases, the amount of electrical charge generated when sharp crystal points break away, is between 10 and 50 times as high as in the case of crystals grown in absence of nitrous gases A definite relation has been found to exist between the NO ₃ ion concentration of the ice crytals and the amount of charge (average value 2.7×10^–8, maximum value 13×10^–8 coulombs per gram of ice splinters) generated upon fragmentation. The relation found is possibly of importance with respect to thunderstorm electricity generation.Physikalisch-Bioklimatische Forschungsstelle der Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Garmisch-Partenkirchen.     

The Ottaviano eruption of Somma-Vesuvio (8000 y B.P.): a magmatic alternating fall and flow-forming eruption

The Ottaviano eruption occurred in the late neolithic (8000 y B.P.). 2.40 km³ of phonolitic pyroclastic material (0.61 km³ DRE) were emplaced as pyroclastic flow, surge and fall deposits. The eruption began with a fall phase, with a model column height of 14 km, producing a pumice fall deposit (LA). This phase ended with short-lived weak explosive activity, giving rise to a fine-grained deposit (L1), passing to pumice fall deposits as the result of an increasing column height and mass discharge rate. The subsequent two fall phases (producing LB and LC deposits), had model column heights of 20 and 22 km with eruption rates of 2.5 × 10⁷ and 2.81 × 10⁷ kg/s, respectively. These phases ended with the deposition of ash layers (L2 and L3), related to a decreasing, pulsing explosive activity. The values of dynamic parameters calculated for the eruption classify it as a sub-plinian event. Each fall phase was characterized by variations in the eruptive intensity, and several pyroclastic flows were emplaced (F1 to F3). Alternating pumice and ash fall beds record the waning of the eruption. Finally, owing to the collapse of a eruptive column of low gas content, the last pyroclastic flow (F4) was emplaced.     

Responses of streamflow to climate change in the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang: A case study of the Toutun River basin

A case study on the responses of streamflow to climate change in the Toutun River basin was carried out based on data analysis of streamflow, precipitation, and temperatures during the past 50 years.Temporal series of the streamflow change in the Toutun River basin was analyzed and tested using the Mann-Kendall nonparametric test. Results revealed that the annual runoff of the Toutun River had been in a monotonic decreasing trend for the past 50 years. Compared with the 1950s and 1960s, the annual runoff in the 1990s decreased by 4.0×105 m3 and 7.2×105 m3. The precipitation did not show monotonic trend during the past 50 years, but the annual temperature increased by 1.12℃ since the 1950s. Further data analysis indicated that the monthly runoff of the Toutun River decreased significantly from August to October, with precipitation displaying the similar pattern of seasonal change. Analysis suggests that the reduction of streamflow in the Toutun River basin is possibly caused by the seasonal change of precipitation, especially the precipitation reduction in summer, and temperature increases.     

Wavefield Migration plus Monte Carlo Imaging of 3D Prestack Seismic Data

Prestack wave‐equation migration has proved to be a very accurate shot‐by‐shot imaging tool. However, 3D imaging with this technique of a large field acquisition, especially one with hundreds of thousands of shots, is prohibitively costly. Simply adapting the technique to migrate many superposed shot‐gathers simultaneously would render 3D wavefield prestack migration cost‐effective but it introduces uncontrolled non‐physical interference among the shot‐gathers, making the final image useless. However, it has been observed that multishot signal interference can be kept under some control by averaging over many such images, if each multishot migration is modified by a random phase encoding of the frequency spectra of the seismic traces. In this article, we analyse this technique, giving a theoretical basis for its observed behaviour: that the error of the image produced by averaging over M phase encoded migrations decreases as M^?1 . Furthermore, we expand the technique and define a general class of Monte‐Carlo encoding methods for which the noise variance of the average imaging condition decreases as M^?1 ; these methods thus all converge asymptotically to the correct reflectivity map, without generating prohibitive costs. The theoretical asymptotic behaviour is illustrated for three such methods on a 2D test case. Numerical verification in 3D is then presented for one such method implemented with a 3D PSPI extrapolation kernel for two test cases: the SEG–EAGE salt model and a real test constructed from field data.     

Paleomagnetism of some mafic intrusions in the South Carolina Piedmont. I. Magnetic systems with single characteristic directions

Four mafic and two dioritic igneous bodies intruding along the flanks of the Charlotte belt, within the King's Mountain belt and near the Slate-Kiokee-Charlotte belt boundaries in the South Carolina Piedmont, were studied paleomagnetically. The results suggest that these mafic rocks with a single characteristic magnetization are broadly contemporaneous. A mean paleomagnetic pole position of 38.9°N 120.8°E has been calculated for the six bodies. This pole position falls near the 300 Ma old point of Irving's apparent polar wander path (APWP) for North America. The α95 circle of confidence (10.2°) includes points on the APWP between 250–360 Ma. Anomalously old KAr apparent ages, greater than one billion years, are suggestive of excess ⁴⁰Ar contamination for the mafic Buffalo pluton, whereas apparent ages in the range of 360–395 Ma old are interpreted as a maximum age for the other bodies, due to the possibility of small amounts of excess ⁴⁰Ar being present. A 10° westerly tilt correction suggested by Dooley and Smith for early Mesozoic diabase brings the mafic pole position of this study to more nearly coincide with the 350 Ma virtual geomagnetic position of Irving's curve, but the test is inconclusive, awaiting better definition of radiometric ages. The simplest interpretation of the data is that the mafic pole position reflects the direction of the geomagnetic field in late Devonian Carboniferous times. The similarity of this pole position with the points on the APWP for North America provides little evidence for displaced terrains and, with the precision of this pole position, horizontal displacements on the order of that suggested by the Consortium for Continental Reflection Profile (COCORP) results, or by subsequent studies, are not detectable. This and other pole positions from granitic rocks in the southern Appalachian orogen suggest that if displaced terrains exist, the evidence must be found in older rocks, or in other geologic belts.     

Debris-flow-dominated sediment transport through a channel network after wildfire

Field studies that investigate sediment transport between debris-flow-producing headwaters and rivers are uncommon, particularly in forested settings, where debris flows are infrequent and opportunities for collecting data are limited. This study quantifies the volume and composition of sediment deposited in the arterial channel network of a 14-km² catchment (Washington Creek) that connects small, burned and debris-flow-producing headwaters (<1 km²) with the Ovens River in SE Australia. We construct a sediment budget by combining new data on deposition with a sediment delivery model for post-fire debris flows. Data on deposits were plotted alongside the slope–area curve to examine links between processes, catchment morphometry and geomorphic process domains. The results show that large deposits are concentrated in the proximity of three major channel junctions, which correspond to breaks in channel slope. Hyperconcentrated flows are more prominent towards the catchment outlet, where the slope–area curve indicates a transition from debris flow to fluvial domains. This shift corresponds to a change in efficiency of the flow, determined from the ratio of median grain size to channel slope. Our sediment budget suggests a total sediment efflux from Washington Creek catchment of 61 × 10³ m³. There are similar contributions from hillslopes (43 ± 14 × 10³ m³), first to third stream order channel (35 ± 12 × 10³ m³) and the arterial fourth to fifth stream order channel (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³) to the total volume of erosion. Deposition (39 ± 17 × 10³ m³) within the arterial channel was higher than erosion (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³), which means a net sediment gain of about 8 × 10³ m³ in the arterial channel. The ratio of total deposition to total erosion was 0.44. For fines <63 μm, this ratio was much smaller (0.11), which means that fines are preferentially exported. This has important implications for suspended sediment and water quality in downstream rivers. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Carbon isotope composition and comparison of Lower Triassic marine carbonate rocks from Southern Longmenxia section in Guang’an,Sichuan Basin

The Early Triassic was a period of ecological restoration for the earth's system after the end-Permian mass extinction.Geochemical records linked to the variations in marine ecosystems during this period have attracted the interest of geologists for many years.Based on petrographic analysis of samples and evaluations of their reliability as proxies for original seawater,this study investigated the carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of 350 carbonate rock samples from the Lower Triassic(and adjacent strata)in the southern Longmenxia section of Guang'an,eastern Sichuan Basin.The results indicate that the Triassic carbonate rocks from the southern Longmenxia section favorably preserved the original seawater'sδ~(13)C signal.Furthermore,carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions are found to be poorly correlated,with a determination coefficient as low as 0.0205 and only 44 rock samples show results of Mn/Sr2 and/orδ~(18)0-6.5‰.The complete carbon isotopic curve for the Lower Triassic is established using the data from the remaining 306 samples with Mn/Sr2 and/orδ~(18)O-6.5‰.This curve presents favorable comparability on a global scale,specifically in theδ~(13)C minima near the Permian-Triassic boundary,at the top of the Jia1 and within the the Jia3,as well as in theδ~(13)C maxima at the tops of the Ye1 and Ye4,at the base of the Jia2 and at the top of the Ye3.The peaks and troughs corresponding to these maxima and minima all reflect global signals.By comparing these results to previous research on coeval carbon isotopic curves established within the chronostratigraphic framework,the ages of these critical evolution points are determined.The results show that the Ye1 roughly corresponds to the Griesbachian substage;the Ye2 through Ye4 correspond to the Dienerian substage;Jial corresponds to the Smithian substage;from the Jia2 to the lower part of the Jia4 correspond to the Spathian substage;and the middle and upper parts of the Jia4 belongs to the Aegean Substage of the Middle Triassic.Around the boundary between the Jial and Jia2(which represents the Smithian-Spathian boundary(SSB)),the value ofδ~(13)C increases rapidly from-0.911‰to 3.679‰.The span during which the seawater's carbon isotope experiences this drastic change may be less than36 kyr.The oxygen isotope,which is more sensitive to sedimentary environmental changes,exhibits changes prior to the carbon isotope near the SSB,indicating a significant increase in the salinity of the seawater before a sharp rise in the carbon isotope;this event leads to the formation of evaporites and dolomites.     

Verification of critical cyclic strength curve by Taiwan Chi-Chi earthquake data

In this paper, known simplified methods for the assessment of soil liquefaction are summarized. Their discrepancies are examined. Using the Chi-Chi earthquake data as well as other reported data, a set of three critical cyclic strength curves were obtained by finding the minimum of misclassified points. The functional forms of these three curves are an exponential function, a hyperbola, and a cubic polynomial. A lower bound critical cyclic strength curve is then established. This curve may have important applications in practice for liquefaction-related designs. Through this case study, it was found that a minimum cyclic strength CSR_lim may exist at a very low value of (N₁)₆₀. An upper limit (N₁)₆₀^upp also exists beyond which liquefaction may not occur. Furthermore, current simplified methods seem suitable only for a limited range of N values and fines content, and may fail for general applications. The lower bound curve proposed in this paper may provide an alternative approach for improvement. Since the explicit functional form and the statistical indices are available, the statistically regressed curves seem to have a benefit in that it may be used directly to conduct hazard analysis, and evaluate the uncertainty within the critical cyclic strength curves.     

Simulation Assessment of Direct Push Injection Logging for High-Resolution Aquifer Characterization

Direct push injection logging (DPIL) has become one of the most widely used approaches for obtaining vertical profiles of hydraulic conductivity (K) in environmental site investigations. Despite its widespread use, however, there has been no rigorous analysis of the underlying physical processes that take place during DPIL or how the approach would perform under different hydrogeological and operating conditions. We address these issues through a series of numerical simulations. Results show that the ratio of DPIL injection rate over pressure can be used for direct determination of K when K is >10⁻⁶ m/s. When K is <10⁻⁶ m/s and specific storage (Ss) is >10⁻³/m, the ratio becomes increasingly sensitive to Ss; in that case, additional information on Ss is needed for reliable K estimation. For unconsolidated formations of moderate K or higher, the ratio of injection rate over pressure should provide a reasonable K estimate when Ss is <10⁻³/m. Although water injection at previous depths during continuous DPIL has only a small impact on the pressure response measured at the current injection depth, probe advancement can have a significant impact when K and Ss are small. Consequently, in fine-grained materials, the advancement-generated pore water pressure increase can comprise a large portion of the measured pressure response. To diminish the impact of probe advancement in such materials, advancement speed should be kept as low as possible (e.g., 0.5 cm/s).     

Sensitive Ion‐Flotation Separation of Ag(I) Traces Using 2‐(2‐Methoxyphenyl)benzimidazole before Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometric Determination in Water

A sensitive, reliable, and environmentally friendly method for simple separation and preconcentration of Ag(I) traces in aqueous samples is presented prior to their flame atomic absorption spectrometric determinations. At pH 7.0, Ag(I) was separated with 2‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)benzimidazole (MPBI) as a new complexing agent and floated after adding sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a foaming reagent. The floated layer was then dissolved in proper amount of concentrated nitric acid in methanol and introduced to the flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS). The effects of pH, concentration of MPBI, type and amount of surfactant as the floating agent, type and amount of eluting agent, and influence of foreign ions on the recovery of the analyte ion were investigated. Also, using a nonlinear curve fitting method, the formation constant of 1.62 × 10⁶ was obtained for Ag(I)–MPBI complex. The analytical curve was linear in the range of 1.8 × 10^?7–1.7 × 10^?6 mol/L for determination of Ag(I). The relative standard deviation (RSD; N = 10) corresponding to 0.7 × 10^?6 mol/L of Ag(I), the limit of detection (10 blanks), and the enrichment factor were obtained as 1.7%, 2.9 × 10^?8 mol/L, and 43.0, respectively. The proposed procedure was then applied successfully for determination of silver ions in different water samples.     

Viscosity and structural changes of albite (NaAlSi3O8) melt at high pressures

Viscosity of anhydrous albite melt, determined by the falling-sphere method in the solid-media, piston-cylinder apparatus, decreases with increasing pressure from 1.13 × 10⁵ P at 1 atm to 1.8 × 10⁴ P at 20 kbar at 1400°C. The rate of decrease in viscosity is larger between 12 and 15 kbar than in other pressure ranges examined. The density of the quenched albite melt increases with increasing pressure of quenching from 2.38 g/cm³ at 1 atm to 2.53 g/cm³ at 20 kbar. The rate of increase in density is largest at pressures between 15 and 20 kbar. The melting curve of albite shows an inflexion at about 16 kbar. These observations strongly suggest that structural changes of albite melt would take place effectively at pressures near 15 kbar. Melt of jadeite (NaAlSi₂O₆) composition shows very similar changes in viscosity and density and a melting curve inflexion at pressures near 10 kbar. Difference in pressure for the suggested effective structural changes of albite and jadeite melts is 5–6 kbar, which is nearly the same as that between the subsolidus reaction curves nepheline + albite= 2jadeite and albite=jadeite + quartz. The structural changes of the melts are, however, continuous and begin to take place at pressures lower than those of the crystalline phases.