Case Histories of Shallow Time Domain Electromagnetics in Environmental Site Assessment

Time domain electromagnetic (TDEM) soundings were utilized in site assessment studies for the purpose of accomplishing two objectives: (1) measuring the migration of brines from oil and gas field evaporation pits, and (2) mapping the continuity of clay strata. Both case histories are representative of common objectives in site assessment. The data for both examples were analyzed by one-dimensional ridge regression inversions.
Both case histories illustrate that TDEM is an effective method for determining the lateral and vertical resistivity distribution (geoelectric section) of the subsurface in the depth range from about 5 m to 100 m, and it is known from other investigations that depths of investigations up to 2500 m can be achieved with TDEM.
Frequently, the lateral extent of contaminant plumes emanating from localized sources are of limited areal extent. The case history involving the use of TDEM to map a brine plume shows that a TDEM measurement has a relatively small zone of influence, so that meaningful information about the lateral and vertical extent of the plume can be obtained. Both case histories demonstrate the ability of TDEM to determine geoelectric sections below layers of low resistivity.     

Eutrophication,water management,and the functioning of Dutch estuaries and coastal lagoons

A number of major European rivers (especially the Rhine) have a prevailing influence on the nutrient cycling of most Dutch estuaries. Owing to the increased loading of the estuaries with nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, effects of eutrophication on the biological communities are most evident in the tidal Western Wadden Sea and in a nontidal brackish lagoon, Veerse Meer. Whether the relation between changed nutrient loadings and changed biomass and production of primary and secondary producers in the turbid tidal Dutch ecosystems should be considered as a causal relation is questionable. The very widespread practice of lagoon modification confuses the effects of nutrient loading.     

α-Emitting mineral inclusions in apatite, their effect on (U-Th)/He ages, and how to reduce it

U-Th rich mineral inclusions in apatite are often held responsible for erroneously old (U-Th)/He ages, because they produce “parentless” He. Three aspects associated with this problem are discussed here. First, simple dimensional considerations indicate that for small mineral inclusions, the parentless helium problem might not be as serious as generally thought. For example, a mineral inclusion that is 10% the length, width and height of its host apatite needs to be a thousand times more concentrated in U and Th to produce an equal amount of He. Therefore, single isolated inclusions smaller than a few μm are unlikely to contribute significant helium. For larger or more abundant inclusions, the parentless helium problem can be solved by dissolution of the apatite and its inclusions in hot HF. Second, besides creating parentless helium, inclusions also complicate α-ejection corrections. Mathematical exploration of this latter problem for spherical geometries reveals that for randomly distributed inclusions, the probability distribution of single-grain ages is predicted to have a sharp mode at the mean age, with tails towards younger and older ages. Multiple-grain measurements will yield accurate and precise age estimates if 10 or more randomly distributed α-emitting mineral inclusions are present in a sample. Third, thermal modeling indicates that mineral inclusions have a non-trivial but minor (<5 °C) effect on the closure temperature. These predictions were tested on apatites from rapidly cooled migmatites of Naxos (Greece) which contain abundant U-rich zircon inclusions. Thirty-seven samples were subjected to two kinds of treatment. The “pooled” age (i.e., the synthetic multi-grain age computed from a number of single-grain analyses) of four inclusion-free samples (13 apatites), prepared in HNO₃ is 10.9 Ma, close to apatite and zircon fission-track ages from the same rock. (U-Th)/He ages of 14 inclusion-bearing samples dissolved in HNO₃ range between 9 and 45 Ma, with a pooled age of 22.6 Ma. The ages of 19 HF-treated samples range between 5 and 16 Ma, with 10 of 14 single-grain samples between 9 and 13 Ma and a pooled age of 10.9 Ma. These observations agree with the theoretical predictions and support the addition of HF-treated apatite (U-Th)/He dating to the thermochronological toolbox.     

The impact of vertebrate herbivores on wetland vegetation in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana

Delta islands in the Atchafalaya and Wax Lake deltas in Atchafalaya Bay, Louisiana, are in an extremely dynamic successional phase. These islands initially supported large marshes dominated by the pioneering plant species Sagittaria latifolia and Sagittaria platyphylla. A general decrease in vegetated areas has occurred in the delta island marshes in the Atchafalaya Delta since about 1980, while in the Wax Lake Delta portion of the complex the vegetation still flourished. The Atchafalaya Delta provides an interesting setting for the study of herbivory because of the complex interaction of biotic and physical factors operating in this delta. We hypothesized that grazing by herbivores has a marked effect on vegetation in these developing marshes. To test this hypothesis, exclosures were erected on islands in both deltas in September 1985 and January 1986. Each set of exclosure treatments included an openly-grazed control area, an ungrazed area, an area allowing nutria grazing, and one allowing waterfowl grazing in each site. Results of the experiment, based on field sampling of vegetation, indicated decreases in plant biomass and changes in plant species composition in grazed treatments. Waterfowl and nutria reduced biomass aboul equally, but there was a more marked effect in the openly grazed areas. These findings may be extrapolated to sediment diversion areas along the Mississippi River.     

Tectonic control of Late Pliocene molasse sedimentation in a portion of the Jhelum Re-Entrant,Pakistan

A Late Pliocene interval of the Neogene Siwalik (Himalayan) molasse exposed in the Jhelum Re-entrant, Pakistan, is examined for lateral variations in the environment and rate of fluvial sedimentation. A correlative pair of volcanic ash horizons within the Upper Siwalik section defines an isochronous interval of fluvial deposition. Stratigraphic sections measured through the interval at various localities in the Jhelum Re-entrant are analyzed in terms of fluvial stratigraphy and interval thickness, or net sedimentation rate. The stratigraphy indicates a fluvial system of laterally migrating streams leaving behind fining upward sedimentary cycles of lateral and vertical accretion deposits. Fully developed sedimentary cycles display point bar sands (lateral accretion deposits) of the stream channel environment topped by mudstones (vertical accretion deposits) of the overbank (floodplain) environment. The detailed sequence of vertical accretion deposits in these cycles indicates that the floodplain environment consisted of a stream-proximal, sedimentation-dominant zone and a stream-distal, pedogenesis-dominant zone.Broad lateral variations in the rate of molasse sedimentation appear to be related to the large-scale syntaxial tectonics of the northwestern Himalaya. Sedimentation rate increases toward the apex of the re-entrant, indicating that the syntaxial structure controlled the focus of molasse sedimentation during the examined interval of Late Pliocene time. In addition, sedimentation may have been influenced by mild flexures within the molasse basin.

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Zusammenfassung Im Gebiet von Jhelum (nördliches Pakistan) reicht das Vortief der neogenen Siwalik-Molasse als Sporn weit in den Faltenbogen des nordwestlichen Himalaya. Die Verfasser untersuchten hier einen Abschnitt des Spätpliozän mit besonderem Hinblick auf laterale Wechsel der fluviatilen Ablagerungen und Sedimentationsraten. Die Obere Siwalik-Molasse enthält hier zwei Leithorizonte mit Tuff, wodurch die Altersgleichheit der fluviatilen Zwischenlagerungen sichergestellt wird. Die Schichtfolge dieser Zwischenlagerungen ist an mehreren Lokalitäten in bezug auf Sedimentationstypen und-raten analysiert worden. Die vorgefundenen Ablagerungszyklen deuten auf ein System von seitlich wandernden Flußläufen. Vollständige Zyklen zeigen Flußbettsedimente (meist Ufersandbänke) gefolgt von feinkörnigen Überflutungssedimenten. Die Feingliederung der Überflutungsfazies zeigt stromnahe Ablagerungszonen einerseits und pedogenetische Randzonen andererseits.Über das gesamte Untersuchungsgebiet ergibt sich eine klare Abhängigkeit zwischen Raten der Molasseaufschüttung und der Faltenbogentektonik des nordwestlichen Himalaya. Die Ablagerungsraten nehmen in Richtung des Bogenscheitels deutlich zu. Daraus wird geschlossen, daß während des untersuchten Zeitabschnittes die regionale Bogentektonik den Schwerpunkt der Molassesedimentation maßgeblich beeinflußt hat. Flache Flexuren innerhalb des Molassebeckens sind ebenfalls in diesen Zusammenhang zu stellen.

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Résumé Une avant-fosse de la molasse du néogène Siwalik (Himalayen), en éperon dans l'arc plissé du nord-ouest de l'Himalaya, dans la région du Jhelum, Pakistan, a été étudiée quant à ses variations latérales environnantes et son taux de sédimentation fluviale. Dans la section du Siwalik supérieur, deux horizons-repères de tuffs volcaniques délimitent une période isochronique du dépôt fluvial. Les séries stratigraphiques de cet intercalaire ont été analysées en divers points en fonction de la stratigraphie fluviale et de son épaisseur ou en fonction du taux de sédimentation. Les cycles de sédimentation indiquent un réseau fluvial à migration latérale avec dépôts latéraux et verticaux, de plus en plus fins vers le haut. Les cours semblent être en transition avec le type traditionnel de haute et basse sinuosité. On démontre que l'ensemble des dépôts verticaux sont différentiés selon une zone proximale où la sédimentation domine et une zone distale où la pédogenèse domine.De larges variations latérales dans le taux de sédimentation semblent dues à la tectonique globale de l'éperon associée à la syntexis du nord-ouest himalayen. Une tendance vers une augmentation du taux de sédimentation / subsidence en direction de l'axe de l'éperon délimite un lieu de sédimentation molassique pendant l'intervalle étudié. De plus, l'auteur suggère que la sédimentation du bassin de l'éperon ait été influencée par de légères flexures à la périphérie de la structure régionale.

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Effect of attachment configuration on the trapping efficiency of Vaseline-coated slide catchers for windblown particles

There are various types of the windblown sediment traps developed for wind tunnel and field studies. One of the main supports expected from these traps is in measuring surface dust concentrations to appropriately derive flux equations. The measurement performance and accuracy of a trap is very important and depends strictly upon the physical characteristics and the behaviors of dust grains with air flows. This paper presents the measurement results of static pressure distribution (SPD) of wind flow around Vaseline-coated slide (VCS) catchers with an aim of finding out whether or not particle trapping efficiency (η) of the VCS is related to the SPD. The SPD was evaluated by a wind reduction coefficient (R _c) in a series of wind tunnel experiments with different VCS settings which have different attachment configurations on a pole. Three VCS configurations were considered: a configuration on a circular plastic pole (CPP) and two configurations on wooden square poles (WSP₁ and WSP₂, respectively). Thus, the primary contribution of this work was to experimentally analyze the effect of the different attachment configurations on the SPD, and the secondary objective was to determine the effect of the SPD on the η. It was shown that spatial correlation and spatial pattern of the R _c were different in the surrounding area of each configuration, and ANOVA and DUNCAN tests indicated that η(s) of WSP₁, WSP₂, and CPP were different at the significant level of P ≤ 0.05 with the mean of 0.94 ± 0.09, 0.63 ± 0.14, and 1.13 ± 0.07, respectively. Additionally, the amount of PM₂₀, PM₄₀, PM₆₀, PM₈₀, and PM₁₀₀ trapped by the configurations of WSP₁, WSP₂, and CPP considerably varied depending upon the particular aerodynamic circumstances associated with every configuration.     

Experimental and numerical studies of the O exchange between CO2 and water in the atmosphere-soil invasion flux

The ¹⁸O/¹⁶O ratio of CO₂ is a potentially powerful tracer of carbon dioxide fluxes from the soil to the atmosphere, which is influenced by complex interactions involving both biotic and abiotic soil processes. We use a simplified experimental approach and numerical simulations to examine in isolation the ¹⁸O exchange between CO₂ and soil water associated with the abiotic invasion of atmospheric CO₂ into soil. This allowed us to verify, in particular, whether the ¹⁸O of the retro-diffusion flux of CO₂ from the soil reflects ¹⁸O equilibration with water at the soil surface, or at some depth. Sterile soil samples with known water isotopic composition were placed in a closed box attached to a specially designed flow chamber and the changes in δ¹⁸O of CO₂ between the chamber inlet and outlet, due only to invasion effects, were determined. Numerical simulations constrained by the laboratory gas exchange measurements indicated that between the two commonly used diffusion models [Penman, H.L. (1940). Gas and vapor movements in soil, 1: the diffusion of vapors through porous solids. Int. J. Agric. Sci.30, 437-462; Moldrup, P., Olesen, T., Yamaguchi, T., Schjonning, P., Rolston, D.E. (1999). Modeling diffusion and reaction in soils, IX, the Backingham-Burdine-Campbell equation for gas diffusivity in undisturbed soil. Soil Sci.164, 542-551], only the former provided good agreement with the measurements over a wide range of soil water contents. Based on the model calculations constrained by experimental data, and on comparison of characteristic diffusion/reaction times, we conclude that the depth required for full CO₂-water ¹⁸O equilibration ranges between 2 and 8.5 cm. The depth depends, in order of importance, on (1) soil moisture content; (2) temperature, which dominates the rate of hydration isotopic exchange; (3) CO₂ residence time, which is determined by the time of replacement of the column air above the soil; and (4) soil structure, including porosity, tortuosity and grain size, with the later probably influencing the water surface area exposed to CO₂ exchange. Using field data from a semi-arid forest site in Israel, numerical simulations indicated that the ¹⁸O full equilibrium depth varied at this site between 4 cm (January) and 8 cm (November), being sensitive mostly to temperature and soil water content. Deepening of the equilibration depth as the soil dries should limit the effects of ¹⁸O evaporative enrichment at the surface on the isotopic composition of the soil-atmosphere CO₂ flux.     

Using groundwater noble gas measurements to confirm paleorecharge hypotheses at Pahute Mesa,Nevada National Security Site,Nevada, USA

Hydrogeology Journal - Pahute Mesa (Nevada, USA) was the site of 85 underground nuclear tests between 1965 and 1992 whose residual radiochemical inventory poses a contaminant threat to local...     

The lacustrine microbial carbonate factory of the successive Lake Bonneville and Great Salt Lake,Utah, USA

The Bonneville Basin is a continental lacustrine system accommodating extensive microbial carbonate deposits corresponding to two distinct phases: the deep Lake Bonneville (30 000 to 11 500 ¹⁴C bp ) and the shallow Great Salt Lake (since 11 500 ¹⁴C bp ). A characterization of these microbial deposits and their associated sediments provides insights into their spatio‐temporal distribution patterns. The Bonneville phase preferentially displays vertical distribution of the microbial deposits resulting from high‐amplitude lake level variations. Due to the basin physiography, the microbial deposits were restricted to a narrow shoreline belt following Bonneville lake level variations. Carbonate production was more efficient during intervals of relative lake level stability as recorded by the formation of successive terraces. In contrast, the Great Salt Lake microbial deposits showed a great lateral distribution, linked to the modern flat bottom configuration. A low vertical distribution of the microbial deposits was the result of the shallow water depth combined with a low amplitude of lake level fluctuations. These younger microbial deposits display a higher diversity of fabrics and sizes. They are distributed along an extensive ‘shore to lake’ transect on a flat platform in relation to local and progressive accommodation space changes. Microbial deposits are temporally discontinuous throughout the lake history showing longer hiatuses during the Bonneville phase. The main parameters controlling the rate of carbonate production are related to the interaction between physical (kinetics of the mineral precipitation, lake water temperature and runoff), chemical (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and HCO₃^? concentrations, Mg/Ca ratio, dilution and depletion) and/or biological (trophic) factors. The contrast in evolution of Lake Bonneville and Great Salt Lake microbial deposits during their lacustrine history leads to discussions on major chemical and climatic changes during this interval as well as the role of physiography. Furthermore, it provides novel insights into the composition, structure and formation of microbialite‐rich carbonate deposits under freshwater and hypersaline conditions.