Theoretical organic geochemistry. I. The thermodynamic stability of several cholestane isomers calculated by molecular mechanics

The thermodynamic stabilities of thirteen cholestane isomers have been computed using molecular mechanics. The calculated composition of a mixture of these isomers at thermodynamic equilibrium is in agreement with the composition of a cholestane isomerate. From the calculated stabilities the extent to which isomerisation reactions can proceed during maturation can be predicted. The GLC retention order on non-polar phases of 20R/S isomeric pairs has been estimated from the preferred geometries of the molecules which are also obtained by molecular mechanics.     

Stratigraphy,pollen analysis,and paleoclimatic interpretation of Pulbeena Swamp,northwestern Tasmania

Sedimentary, palynologic, and ¹⁴C analysis of 480 cm of freshwater marl and swamp-peat deposits, formed under the influence of fluctuating artesian springs, provides a paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic record of approximately 65,000 yr for northwestern Tasmania.The Holocene (Pollen Zone 1, 11,000-0 yr B.P.) climate was warm and moist, and forest vegetation was dominant throughout the area. During the later part of the last glacial stage (Pollen Zone 2, 35,000–11,000 yr B.P.) the climate was generally drier, and grassy open environments were widespread. The driest part of this period occurred between 25,000 to 11,000 yr B.P., when temperatures in western Tasmania were markedly reduced during the last major phase of glaciation. Prior to 35,000 yr B.P. (Pollen Zones 3–9) a long “interstadial complex” dating to the middle of the last glacial stage is recognized. During this period the climate was generally moist, and forest and scrub communities were more important than during the later part of the last glacial stage, except during Pollen Zone 5 when high Gramineae plus Compositae values suggest drier conditions. High Gramineae and Compositae values also occur in Pollen Zone 10 at the base of the diagram. They suggest that a phase of drier and cooler climatic conditions occurred during the early part of the last glacial stage.     

Multivariate analysis of sedimentary environments using grain-size frequency distributions

Multivariate statistics were used to characterize and test the effectiveness of grain-size frequencies as environmental discriminators. Sediment from the following two depositional systems along eastern Lake Michigan were studied: (1) a closed system with respect to available grain sizes (Little Sable Point), and (2) an open system (Sleeping Bear Point-Manitou Passage). Principal components analysis shows that grain-size distributions are composed of two or more subgroups that reflect surface creep bedload, mixed suspension bedload, and uniform suspension. Discriminant function and principal latent vector analyses of the Little Sable Point environments show that, when available sediment is limited with respect to grain size (0.5 φto 3.0 φ), similar size distributions can occur in environments supposedly characterized by different energy conditions. Sediment in the Sleeping Bear Point-Manitou Passage system is not restricted to available grain sizes and the environments discriminated very well (α < 0.001). The grain-size distributions are such that they reflect differences in energy conditions within the environments. It is apparent that the grain sizes available to a depositional system control to a great extent the effectiveness of environmental discrimination.     

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis Of 37 Geochemical Reference Samples

37 geochemical reference samples, issued mostly by the U.S. Geological Survey and the "Centre de Recherches Pétrographiques et Géochi-miques", have been analysed for more than twenty trace elements using instrumental neutron activation technique. The results are compared with published data; in most oases, the agreement is good.