Viscosity of magmas containing highly deformable bubbles

The shear viscosity of a suspension of deformable bubbles dispersed within a Newtonian fluid is calculated as a function of the shear rate and strain. The relative importance of bubble deformation in the suspension is characterized by the capillary number (Ca), which represents the ratio of viscous and surface tension stresses. For small Ca, bubbles remain nearly spherical, and for sufficiently large strains the viscosity of suspension is greater than that of the suspending fluid, i.e. the relative viscosity is greater than 1. If Ca>O(1) the relative viscosity is less than one. In the limit that Ca→∞ (surface tension is dynamically negligible), numerical calculations for a suspension of spherical bubbles agree well with the experimental measurements of Lejeune et al. (1999, Rheology of bubble-bearing magmas. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., vol. 166, pp. 71–84). In general, bubbles have a modest effect on the relative viscosity, with viscosity changing by less than a factor of about 3 for volume fractions up to 50%.     

Ultrasonic measurements of Vp and Qp: relaxation spectrum of complex modulus on basalt melts

Ultrasonic compressional wave velocity V_p and quality factor Q_p have been measured in alkali basalt, olivine basalt and basic andesite melts in the frequency range of 3.4–22 MHz and in the temperature range of 1100–1400°C. Velocity and attenuation of the melts depend on frequency and temperature, showing that there are relaxation mechanisms in the melts. Complex moduli are calculated from the ultrasonic data. The results fit well a complex modulus of Arrhenius temperature dependence with log-normal Gaussian distribution in relaxation times of attenuation. The analysis yields average relaxation time, its activation energy, relaxed modulus, unrelaxed modulus and width of Gaussian distribution in relaxation times. Relaxed modulus is smaller (17.5 GPa) for basic andesite melt of high silica and high alumina contents than for the other two basalt melts (18.1–18.4 GPa). The most probable relaxation times decrease from ～ 3 × 10^?10 s for basic andesite to ～ 10^?11 s for alkali basalt at 1400°C. Activation energies of attenuation, ranging from 270 to 340 kJ mol^?1 in the three melts, are highest in basic andesite. Longitudinal viscosity values and their temperature dependences are also calculated from V_p and Q_p data. The volume viscosity values are estimated from the data using the shear viscosity values. Longitudinal, volume and shear viscosities and their activation energies are highest in the basic andesite melt of the most polymerized structure.     

Bubble growth in rhyolitic melts: experimental and numerical investigation

 Bubble growth controlled by mass transfer of water from hydrated rhyolitic melts at high pressures and temperatures was studied experimentally and simulated numerically. Rhyolitic melts were hydrated at 150 MPa, 780–850  °C to uniform water content of 5.5–5.3 wt%. The pressure was then dropped and held constant at 15–145 MPa. Upon the drop bubbles nucleated and were allowed to grow for various periods of time before final, rapid quenching of the samples. The size and number density of bubbles in the quenched glasses were recorded. Where number densities were low and run duration short, bubble sizes were in accord with the growth model of Scriven (1959) for solitary bubbles. However, most results did not fit this simple model because of interaction between neighboring bubbles. Hence, the growth model of Proussevitch et al. (1993), which accounts for finite separation between bubbles, was further developed and used to simulate bubble growth. The good agreement between experimental data, numerical simulation, and analytical solutions enables accurate and reliable examination of bubble growth from a limited volume of supersaturated melt. At modest supersaturations bubble growth in hydrated silicic melts (3–6 wt% water, viscosity 10⁴–10⁶ Pa·s) is diffusion controlled. Water diffusion is fast enough to maintain steady-state concentration gradient in the melt. Viscous resistance is important only at the very early stage of growth (t<1 s). Under the above conditions growth is nearly parabolic, R²=2Dtρ_m(C₀–C_f)/ρ_g until the bubble approaches its final size. In melts with low water content, viscosity is higher and maintains pressure gradients in the melt. Growth may be delayed for longer times, comparable to time scales of melt ascent during eruptions. At high levels of supersaturation, advection of hydrated melt towards the growing bubble becomes significant. Our results indicate that equilibrium degassing is a good approximation for modeling vesiculation in melts with high water concentrations (C₀>3 wt%) in the region above the nucleation level. When the melt accelerates and water content decreases, equilibrium can no longer be maintained between bubbles and melt. Supersaturation develops in melt pockets away from bubbles and new bubbles may nucleate. Further acceleration and increase in viscosity cause buildup of internal pressure in the bubbles and may eventually lead to fragmentation of the melt. Received: 19 June 1995 / Accepted: 27 December 1995     

On heterogeneities with reduced viscosity in the mantle under the Kamchatka volcanoes according to seismological data

A seismological study of the upper mantle under the Kamchatka volcanoes using body waves from nearby earthquakes has shown local heterogencities consisting of materials with reduced elastic properties at depths from 30 to 90 km. The estimated value of the upper limit of viscosity,η, is about 6 × 10²⁰ pois for the material of the mantle aseismic zone under the Kamchatka volcanoes at depths of ～ 70–150 km. It is suggested that the magmatic chambers are rooted in the mantle heterogeneities filled with substance of reduced elasticity and viscosity.     

Propagation of P and S-waves in magmas with different crystal contents: Insights into the crystallinity of magmatic reservoirs

Increasing amount of crystals tends to reduce the mobility of magmas and modifies its elastic characteristics (e.g. [Caricchi, L. et al., 2007. Non-Newtonian rheology of crystal-bearing magmas and implications for magma ascent dynamics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 264: 402–419.; Bagdassarov, N., Dingwell, D.B. and Webb, S.L., 1994. Viscoelasticity of crystal- and bubble-bearing rhyolite melts. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interior, 83: 83–99.]). To quantify the effect of crystals on the elastic properties of magmas the propagation speed of shear and compressional waves have been measured at pressure and temperatures relevant for natural magmatic reservoirs. The measurements have been performed in aggregates at variable particle fractions (? = 0–0.7). The measurements were carried out at 200 MPa confining pressure and temperatures between 300 K and 1273 K (i.e. across the glass transition temperature (Tg) from glass to melt). The specimens were mixtures of a haplogranitic melt containing 5.25 wt.% H₂O and variable amounts of sub-spherical alumina particles. Additional experiments were carried out on a sample containing both, crystals and air bubbles. The temperature derivatives of the shear (dVs/dT) and compressional wave (dVp/dT) velocities for pure glass and samples with a crystal fraction of 0.5 are different below and above the glass transition temperature. For a crystal fraction 0.7, only dVp/dT changed above the Tg. In the presence of gas bubbles, Vp and Vs decrease constantly with increasing temperature. The bubble-bearing material yields a lower bulk modulus relative to its shear modulus. The propagation velocities of compressional and shear waves increase non-linearly with increasing crystal fraction with a prominent raise in the range 0.5 < ? < 0.7. The speed variations are only marginally related to the density increase due to the presence of crystals, but are dominantly related to the achievement of a continuous crystal framework. The experimental data set presented here can be utilized to estimate the relative proportions of crystals and melt present in a magmatic reservoir, which, in turn, is one of the fundamental parameters determining the mobility of magma and, consequently, exerting a prime control on the likelihood of an eruption from a sub-surficial magma reservoir.     

Short-period PKP phases and the anelastic mechanism of the inner core

Short-period seismograms are synthesized for PKP phases in anelastic Earth models. The synthetics were constructed using a synthetic technique valid at grazing incidence, a source-time function appropriate for deep-focus earthquakes, and an instrument response for either a short-period WWSSN or SRO seismograph. The agreement between predicted and observed amplitudes and spectral ratios requires neither a low-Q_α zone at 0.2–2 Hz nor a low or negative P-velocity gradient at the bottom of the outer core. Thin low-Q_α zones beneath the inner core boundary fit spectral ratio data that sample the upper 200 km of the inner core but fail to fit data that sample the lower inner core. Only a model having Q_α^?1?[0.003, 0.004] at 0.2–2 Hz, nearly constant with depth in the inner core, satisfies all of the spectral ratio and amplitude data. The assumption of a bulk viscosity of 10-10³ Pa s for the liquid phase of a partially molten inner core combined with the observation of low shear attenuation in the inner core at frequencies less than 0.005 Hz limit the physical parameters associated with two possible attenuation mechanisms: (1) fluid flow and viscous relaxation due to ellipsoidally shaped inclusions of melt, and (2) the solid-liquid phase transformation induced by the stress change during the passage of a seismic wave. Both mechanisms require an order of 0.1% partial melt to reproduce the observed Q_α^?1. In the outer core, the time constant of the mechanism of phase transformation is predicted to be 10⁴–10⁶ s. Confirmation of small shear attenuation in the inner core in the frequency band of seismic body waves would favor the mechanism of phase transformation.     

Rheology of arc dacite lavas: experimental determination at low strain rates

Andesitic–dacitic volcanoes exhibit a large variety of eruption styles, including explosive eruptions, endogenous and exogenous dome growth, and kilometer-long lava flows. The rheology of these lavas can be investigated through field observations of flow and dome morphology, but this approach integrates the properties of lava over a wide range of temperatures. Another approach is through laboratory experiments; however, previous studies have used higher shear stresses and strain rates than are appropriate to lava flows. We measured the apparent viscosity of several lavas from Santiaguito and Bezymianny volcanoes by uniaxial compression, between 1,109 and 1,315?K, at low shear stress (0.085 to 0.42?MPa), low strain rate (between 1.1?×?10^?8 and 1.9?×?10^?5?s^?1), and up to 43.7 % total deformation. The results show a strong variability of the apparent viscosity between different samples, which can be ascribed to differences in initial porosity and crystallinity. Deformation occurs primarily by compaction, with some cracking and/or vesicle coalescence. Our experiments yield apparent viscosities more than 1 order of magnitude lower than predicted by models based on experiments at higher strain rates. At lava flow conditions, no evidence of a yield strength is observed, and the apparent viscosity is best approached by a strain rate- and temperature-dependent power law equation. The best fit for Santiaguito lava, for temperatures between 1,164 and 1,226?K and strain rates lower than 1.8?×?10^?4?s^?1, is $ \log {\eta_{\text{app}}} = - 0.738 + 9.24 \times {10^3}{/}T(K) - 0.654 \cdot \log \dot{\varepsilon } $ where η _app is apparent viscosity and $ \dot{\varepsilon } $ is strain rate. This equation also reproduced 45 data for a sample from Bezymianny with a root mean square deviation of 0.19 log unit Pa?s. Applying the rheological model to lava flow conditions at Santiaguito yields calculated apparent viscosities that are in reasonable agreement with field observations and suggests that internal shear heating may be significant ongoing heat source within these flows, enabling highly viscous lava to travel long distances.     

Analytical models for bubble growth during decompression of high viscosity magmas

Analytical models for decompressional bubble growth in a viscous magma are developed to establish the influence of high magma viscosity on vesiculation and to assess the time-scales on which bubbles respond to decompression. Instantaneous decompression of individual bubbles, analogous to a sudden release of pressure (e.g. sector collapse), is considered for two end-member cases. The infinite melt model considers the growth of an isolated bubble before significant bubble interaction occurs. The shell model considers the growth of a bubble surrounded by a thin shell and is analogous to bubble growth in a highly vesicular magmatic foam. Results from the shell model show that magmas less viscous than 10⁹ Pa s can freely expand without developing strong overpressures. The timescales for pressure re-equilibration are shortened by increased ratios of bubble radius to shell thickness and by larger decompression. Time-scales for isolated bubbles in rhyolitic melts (infinite melt model) are significantly longer, implying that such bubbles could experience internal pressures greater than the ambient pressure for at least a few hours following a sudden release of pressure. The shell model is developed to assess bubble growth during the linear decompression of a magma body of constant viscosity. For the range of decompression rates and viscosities associated with actual volcanic eruptions, bubble growth continues at approximately the equilibrium rate, with no attendant excess of internal pressure. The results imply that viscosity does not have any significant role in preventing the explosive expansion of high viscosity foams. However, for viscosities of >10⁹ Pa s there is the potential for a viscosity quench under the extreme decompression rates of an explosive eruption. It is proposed that the typical vesicularities of pumice of 0.7–0.8 are a consequence of the viscosity of the degassing magmas becoming sufficiently high to inhibit bubble expansion over the characteristic time-scale of eruption. For fully degassed silicic lavas with viscosities in the range 10¹⁰ to 10¹² Pa s time-scales for decompression of isolated bubbles can be hours to many months.     

Diffuse CO2 efflux from Iwojima volcano,Izu-Ogasawara arc,Japan

Iwojima volcano, located on the southernmost part of the Izu-Ogasawara arc, is characterized by the extrusion of trachyte or trachy andesite lavas and pyroclastic rocks of Holocene and surface thermal manifestations. Small phreatic explosions have been recorded frequently during the last 100 years with the most recent in 1999 and 2001. In order to elucidate the behavior of volcanic volatiles and to assess the potential activity of this volcano, diffuse CO₂ efflux, CO₂ content and δ¹³C–CO₂ in soil gas, and soil temperature at 30 cm depth were measured at 272 sites in March 2000, 112 sites in December 2000 and 40 sites in December 2001. We found that high CO₂ efflux values, of more than 100 g m⁻² day⁻¹, occurred at several locations on Motoyama volcano corresponding with high soil temperatures (more than 60 °C at 30 cm depth) region and with areas where CO₂ with magmatic δ¹³C was observed. Here, the magmatic δ¹³C determined for fumarolic CO₂ data ranged from −2‰ to +3‰, which is clearly higher than magmatic gas values (−8‰ to −2‰) typically found in island arc settings around the world. However, this can be explained in terms of carbon-isotope fractionation between calcite and CO₂ under subsurface temperature and pressure conditions at Iwojima. A total efflux of CO₂ for Iwojima volcano is estimated to be 760 t day⁻¹, with a magmatic contribution of about 450 t day⁻¹. This value is rather high compared with other volcanoes in island arc settings. Since Iwojima has no visible plume, almost all volcanic CO₂ is released as diffuse efflux through the volcanic edifice.     

Green–Ampt approximations

The solution to the Green and Ampt infiltration equation is expressible in terms of the Lambert W₋₁ function. Approximations for Green and Ampt infiltration are thus derivable from approximations for the W₋₁ function and vice versa. An infinite family of asymptotic expansions to W₋₁ is presented. Although these expansions do not converge near the branch point of the W function (corresponds to Green–Ampt infiltration with immediate ponding), a method is presented for approximating W₋₁ that is exact at the branch point and asymptotically, with interpolation between these limits. Some existing and several new simple and compact yet robust approximations applicable to Green–Ampt infiltration and flux are presented, the most accurate of which has a maximum relative error of 5 × 10⁻⁵%. This error is orders of magnitude lower than any existing analytical approximations.     

Slow-moving deformation pulses along tectonic faults

A model of slow-moving disturbances of deformation is proposed to interpret the observed propagations of earthquake foci and nonseismic creep. The analysis is based on the assumption that thin fault gouge participates in the viscous slip. Nonuniform deformation diffusses at the rate of ν = μw/2η for the gouge of viscosity η and thickness w that is enclosed by the elastic rocks of rigidity μ. A crack-like solution propagates uniformly, involving the discontinuity that bounds the faulted area by an unfractured part, or by another gouge with different viscosity. The unit of the propagation velocity of such cracks is also given by the above-defined ν. Comparing the expression of ν with the various field observations, most of which yield the propagation speeds of 10–10⁴ km/year, the effective viscosity of the gouge is estimated as 10¹¹–10¹⁴ poises. The nonseismic fault creep in central California is analysed, and a little higher value of acting stress is obtained than the result of Nason and Weertman (1973).     

Viscosity of microlite-bearing rhyolitic obsidians: an experimental study

 To investigate the influence of microlites on lava flow rheology, the viscosity of natural microlite-bearing rhyolitic obsidians of calc-alkaline and peralkaline compositions containing 0.1–0.4 wt.% water was measured at volcanologically relevant temperatures (650–950  °C), stresses (10³–10⁵ Pa) and strain rates (10^–5 to 10^–7 s^–1). The glass transition temperatures (T _g ) were determined from scanning calorimetric measurements on the melts for a range of cooling/heating rates. Based on the equivalence of enthalpic (calorimetric) and shear (viscosity) relaxation, we calculated the viscosity of the melt in crystal-bearing samples from the T _g data. The difference between the calculated viscosity of the melt phase and the measured viscosity for the crystal-bearing samples is interpreted to be the physical effect of microlites on the measured viscosity. The effect of <5 vol.% rod-like microlites on the melt rheology is negligible. Microlite-rich and microlite-poor samples from the same lava flow and with identical bulk chemistry show a difference of 0.6 log₁₀ units viscosity (Pa s), interpreted to be due to differences in melt chemistry caused by the presence of microlites. The only major differences between measured and calculated viscosities were for two samples: a calc-alkaline rhyolite with 1 vol.% branching crystals, and a peralkaline rhyolite containing crystal-rich bands with >45 vol.% crystals. For both of these samples a connectivity factor is apparent, with, for the latter, a close packing framework of crystals which is interpreted to influence the apparent viscosity. Received: 14 March 1996 / Accepted: 30 May 1996     

Geobarometry of ultramafic xenoliths from Loihi Seamount,Hawaii, on the basis of CO2 inclusions in olivine

Abundant fluid inclusions in olivine of dunite xenoliths (～1–3 cm) in basalt dredged from the young Loihi Seamount, 30 km southeast of Hawaii, are evidence for three coexisting immiscible fluid phases—silicate melt (now glass), sulfide melt (now solid), and dense supercritical CO₂ (now liquid + gas)—during growth and later fracturing of some of these olivine crystals. Some olivine xenocrysts, probably from disaggregation of xenoliths, contain similar inclusions.Most of the inclusions (2–10 μm) are on secondary planes, trapped during healing of fractures after the original crystal growth. Some such planes end abruptly within single crystals and are termed pseudosecondary, because they formed during the growth of the host olivine crystals. The “vapor” bubble in a few large (20–60 μm), isolated, and hence primary, silicate melt inclusions is too large to be the result of simple differential shrinkage. Under correct viewing conditions, these bubbles are seen to consist of CO₂ liquid and gas, with an aggregate ? = ～ 0.5–0.75 g cm^?3, and represent trapped globules of dense supercritical CO₂ (i.e., incipient “vesiculation” at depth). Some spinel crystals enclosed within olivine have attached CO₂ blebs. Spherical sulfide blebs having widely variable volume ratios to CO₂ and silicate glass are found in both primary and pseudosecondary inclusions, demonstrating that an immiscible sulfide melt was also present.Assuming olivine growth at ～ 1200°C and hydrostatic pressure from a liquid lava column, extrapolation of CO₂P-V-T data indicates that the primary inclusions were trapped at ～ 220–470 MPa (2200–4700 bars), or ～ 8–17 km depth in basalt magma of ? = 2.7 g cm^?3. Because the temperature cannot change much during the rise to eruption, the range of CO₂ densities reveals the change in pressure from that during original olivine growth to later deformation and rise to eruption on the sea floor. The presence of numerous decrepitated inclusions indicates that the inclusion sample studied is biased by the loss of higher-density inclusions and suggests that some part of these olivine xenoliths formed at greater depths.     

Inverse differentiation pathway by multiple mafic magma refilling in the last magmatic activity of Nisyros Volcano, Greece

Based on detailed field, petrographic, chemical, and isotopic data, this paper shows that the youngest magmas of the active Nisyros volcano (South Aegean Arc, Greece) are an example of transition from rhyolitic to less evolved magmas by multiple refilling with mafic melts, triggering complex magma interaction processes. The final magmatic activity of Nisyros was characterized by sub-Plinian caldera-forming eruption (40?ka), emplacing the Upper Pumice (UP) rhyolitic deposits, followed by the extrusion of rhyodacitic post-caldera domes (about 31–10?ka). The latter are rich in magmatic enclaves with textural and compositional (basaltic–andesite to andesite) characteristics that reveal they are quenched portions of mafic magmas included in a cooler more evolved melt. Dome-lavas have different chemical, isotopic, and mineralogical characteristics from the enclaves. The latter have lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and higher ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values than dome-lavas. Silica contents and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values decrease with time among dome-lavas and enclaves. Micro-scale mingling processes caused by enclave crumbling and by widespread mineral exchanges increase from the oldest to the youngest domes, together with enclave content. We demonstrate that the dome-lavas are multi-component magmas formed by progressive mingling/mixing processes between a rhyolitic component (post-UP) and the enclave-forming mafic magmas refilling the felsic reservoir (from 15?wt.% to 40?wt.% of mafic component with time). We recognize that only the more evolved enclave magmas contribute to this process, in which recycling of cumulate plagioclase crystals is also involved. The post-UP end-member derives by fractional crystallization from the magmas leftover after the previous UP eruptions. The enclave magma differentiation develops mainly by fractional crystallization associated with multiple mixing with mafic melts changing their composition with time. A time-related picture of the relationships between dome-lavas and relative enclaves is proposed, suggesting a delay between a mafic magma input and the relative dome outpouring. We also infer that the magma viscosity reduction by re-heating allows dome extrusion without explosive activity.     

The peculiarities of magma rise in presence of water

The viscosity of basalts (quartz and olivine tholeiite) was studied under pressure in dry conditions and in the presence of water. In dry conditions at 1400°C when pressure increases to 20 kbars the viscosity reduces by a factor of 2. In conditions of water saturation of basalt melts at 5 kbar the viscosity is smaller by a factor of ～ 50 than that in dry conditions. In the water undersaturated conditions when water content is fixed (3.3% H₂O) in melt the viscosity considerably decreases with pressure and takes intermediate value between those in dry and water saturated conditions. Experimental data recently obtained permit us to consider the peculiarities of physical properties of magma in the presence of water on a new base. Ascending magma can reach critical velocities of transition to the turbulent regime under negligible pressure drop, as a result of low viscosity. It is known at present that water influences on the viscosity of acidic melt under pressure of 1–8 kbars and at temperatures between 800–1200°C. Various authors gave physico-chemical evaluation of the dynamics of granite melts on the basis of these data. The viscosity of basalt melts and their dynamics under normal pressure is also well-known. The known new experimental data of basaltic melt viscosity under pressure in dry conditions (Kushiro et al., 1976;Khitarov et al., 1978) and in the presence of water (Khitarov et al., 1976) embrace broader intervals of physico-chemical conditions as on the pressure (up to 20–30 kbar) as well on the content of water (from 3% up to 12 %). These data permitted to evaluate on a new base the dynamics of magmatic melts under pressure.     

Analysis of the porewater chemical composition of a Spanish compacted bentonite used in an engineered barrier

Compacted bentonites are being considered in many countries as a backfill material in high-level radioactive waste disposal concepts. A knowledge of the porewater chemistry in the clay barrier is essential since the porewater composition influences the release and transport of the radionuclides. However, quantification of the water chemistry in compacted bentonite under repository conditions is difficult. The methodology followed to obtain the porewater composition of the FEBEX bentonite is described in this paper. It is based on the characterisation of the solid phase, determination of the physico-chemical properties of the montmorillonite component and geochemical modelling. The FEBEX bentonite has a high cation exchange capacity (∼1 eq/kg), high surface area (∼725 m²/g total surface area and 62 m²/g external surface area) and accessory minerals such as carbonates, sulphates, pyrite, etc.; and organic matter. The chloride inventory in the FEBEX bentonite is ∼22 mmol/kg.The montmorillonite, together with the other mineral phases present, will determine the composition of the porewater. However, in order to calculate a unique aqueous chemistry, two further quantities are required, the chloride concentration and the pH.Water vapour adsoption/desorption isotherms, together with c-lattice spacing determinations, were used to identify the different states and location of water. Most of the water in the as received bentonite resides in the interlayer space. However, the measurements indicate that about 0.053 l/kg may be regarded as free water, implying a chloride concentration of 0.42 M. The pH of the system is fixed by equilibrium with the atmosphere (P_CO2=10^−3.5 bar) and saturation with the carbonate phases present. The porewater calculated to be in equilibrium with the as received FEBEX bentonite powder is a Na–Ca–Mg chloride type with a high ionic strength, 0.66 M, and a pH of ∼7.4.Likewise, in order to calculate the porewater composition of compacted re-saturated bentonite, the volume of free water is required. This value is taken to be the chloride accessible porosity obtained from Cl⁻ through-diffusion tests (due to anion exclusion, Cl⁻ anions can not move through the interlayer and overlapping double layer regions). The amount of free water in compacted bentonite determined in this manner was 0.03 l/kg at a dry density of ρ_d=1650 kg/m³. The corresponding chloride concentration is thus ∼0.73 M. Arguments are presented that the initial pH is fixed in the compacted material by the high buffering capacity afforded by the amphoteric edge sites, SOH sites, of the montmorillonite. The pH of the porewater depends directly on the speciation of these sites, i.e., the proportions of sites present as SOH, SOH₂⁺, SO⁻, and this is fixed in the powdered source material through equilibration with air (compaction will not alter the state of the SOH sites). The porewater of compacted FEBEX bentonite at ρ_d=1650 kg/m³ was calculated to be a Na–Ca–Mg chloride type with a high ionic strength, 0.90 M, and a pH of ∼7.4.     

Experimental and conceptual evidence about the limitations of shear wave velocity to predict liquefaction

Based on the liquefaction performance of sites with seismic activity, the normalized shear wave velocity, V_s1, has been proposed as a field parameter for liquefaction prediction. Because shear wave velocity, V_s, can be measured in the field with less effort and difficulty than other field tests, its use by practitioners is highly attractive. However, considering that its measurement is associated with small strain levels, of the order of 10⁻⁴–10⁻³%, V_s reflects the elastic stiffness of a granular material, hence, it is mainly affected by soil type, confining pressure and soil density, but it is insensitive to factors such as overconsolidation and pre-shaking, which have a strong influence on the liquefaction resistance. Therefore, without taking account of the important factors mentioned above, the correlation between shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance is weak.In this paper, laboratory test results are presented in order to demonstrate the significant way in which OCR (overconsolidation ratio) affects both shear wave velocity and liquefaction resistance. While V_s is insensitive to OCR, the liquefaction resistance increases significantly with OCR. In addition, the experimental results also confirm that V_s correlates linearly with void ratio, regardless of the maximum and minimum void ratios, which means that V_s is unable to give information about the relative density. Therefore, if shear wave velocity is used to predict liquefaction potential, it is recommended that the limitations presented in this paper be taken into account.     

A mathematical model for 2D heat transfer dynamics in fluid systems with localized sink of magmatic fluid into local fractured zones above the top of crystallizing intrusions

A model describing two-dimensional (2D) dynamics of heat transfer in the fluid systems with a localized sink of a magmatic fluid into local fractured zones above the roof of crystallizing crustal intrusions is suggested. Numerical modeling of the migration of the phase boundaries in 2D intrusive chambers under retrograde boiling of magma with relatively high initial water content in the melt shows that, depending on the character of heat dissipation from a magmatic fluid into the host rock, two types of fluid magmatic systems can arise. (1) At high heat losses, the zoning of fluidogenic ore formation is determined by the changes in temperature of the rocks within the contact aureole of the intrusive bodies. These temperature variations are controlled by the migration of the phase boundaries in the cooling melt towards the center of the magmatic bodies from their contacts. (2) In the case of a localized sink of the magmatic fluid in different parts of the top of the intrusive chambers, a specific characteristic scenario of cooling of the magmatic bodies is probably implemented. In 2D systems with a heat transfer coefficient ?? _k < 5 × 10⁴ W/m² K, an area with quasi-stationary phase boundaries develops close to the region of fluid drainage through the fractured zone in the intrusion. Therefore, as the phase boundaries contract to the sink zone of a fluid, specific thermal tubes arise, whose characteristics depend on the width of the fluid-conductive zone and the heat losses into the side rocks. (3) The time required for the intrusion to solidify varies depending on the particular position of the fluid conductor above the top of the magmatic body.     

Snow-distribution and melt modelling for glaciers in Zackenberg river drainage basin,north-eastern Greenland

A physically based snow-evolution modelling system (SnowModel) that includes four sub-models: MicroMet, EnBal, SnowPack, and SnowTran-3D, was used to simulate eight full-year evolutions of snow accumulation, distribution, sublimation, and surface melt from glaciers in the Zackenberg river drainage basin, in north-east Greenland. Meteorological observations from two meteorological stations were used as model inputs, and spatial snow depth observations, snow melt depletion curves from photographic time lapse, and a satellite image were used for model testing of snow and melt simulations, which differ from previous SnowModel tests methods used on Greenland glaciers. Modelled test-period-average end-of-winter snow water equivalent (SWE) depth for the depletion area differs by a maximum of 14 mm w.eq., or ∼6%, more than the observed, and modelled test-period-average snow cover extent differs by a maximum of 5%, or 0·8 km², less than the observed. Furthermore, comparison with a satellite image indicated a 7% discrepancy between observed and modelled snow cover extent for the entire drainage basin. About 18% (31 mm w.eq.) of the solid precipitation was returned to the atmosphere by sublimation. Modelled mean annual snow melt and glacier ice melt for the glaciers in the Zackenberg river drainage basin from 1997 through 2005 (September–August) averaged 207 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ and 1198 mm w.eq. year⁻¹, respectively, yielding a total averaging 1405 mm w.eq. year⁻¹. Total modelled mean annual surface melt varied from 960 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ to 1989 mm w.eq. year⁻¹. The surface-melt period started between mid-May and the beginning of June and lasted until mid-September. Annual calculated runoff averaged 1487 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ (∼150 × 10⁶ m³) (1997–2005) with variations from 1031 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ to 2051 mm w.eq. year⁻¹. The model simulated a total glacier recession averaging − 1347 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ (∼136 × 10⁶ m³) (1997–2005), which was almost equal to previous basin average hydrological water balance storage studies − 244 mm w.eq. year⁻¹ (∼125 × 10⁶ m³) (1997–2003). Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.