Oxygen isotope geothermometry and origin of smectites in the Atlantis II Deep,Red Sea

The sediments underlying the hot brine pool of the Atlantis II Deep, a localised area of geothermal activity in the Red Sea, comprise a diversity of facies characterised by combinations of one or more of five species assemblages, sulphide, sulphate, silicate, oxide and carbonate, each including several mineral phases. The silicate mineral assemblage is dominated by geothermal authigenic smectites. Previous studies of these smectites have reported iron-rich varieties only, nontronite in particular, and only one environment of formation. In three cores from the Southwest Basin of the Atlantis II Deep, of the present study, three smectites comprising two species have been distinguished [10,21] evidently from three different environments of formation. Two of these smectites are nontronites, one from sulphide/silicate/amorphous facies, the other from silicate/carbonate/oxide facies. The third is a montmorillonite/beidellite from sulphate/sulphide/silicate/oxide facies.The oxygen isotopic compositions of samples of the three smectites have been determined from which formation temperatures have been calculated. Six samples of the “anoxic” nontronite have formation temperatures in the range 90–140°C. A single sample of the “oxic” nontronite has a formation temperature of about 80°C. Four samples of the montmorillonite/beidellite have formation temperatures in the range 160–200°C.The formation temperature range of the two nontronites is intermediate between the temperature of the brine at or prior to discharge (up to 250°C [12]) and the temperature of the brine pool in the Deep (about 50–60°C [13,14]). The nontronite formation temperature range reflects genesis by combination of isotopically light silica supplied by the incoming brine and isotopically heavier iron oxyhydroxide settling from the upper layers of the brine pool. Evidently, the “anoxic” nontronite forms at greater depth (hotter) in the brine pool than the “oxic” nontronite resulting in a relatively greater contribution from silica but diminished contribution from iron oxyhydroxide in the former compared to the latter. The wide range of the formation temperatures for the “anoxic” nontronite is related to the different actual locations of the samples in the sulphide/silicate/amorphous facies.The formation temperature range of the montmorillonite/beidellite is approaching the estimated temperature of the brine at or prior to discharge. The montmorillonite/beidellite formation temperature range reflects genesis by combination of isotopically light silica and aluminium, both supplied by the incoming brine, at the site of an active discharge vent. The wide range of the formation temperatures for the montmorillonite/beidellite may in part reflect a possible thermal event at the brine source, likely to have occurred during deposition of the sulphate/sulphide/silicate/oxide facies and which, it appears, has contributed to the formation of this facies [10,20].     

The bacterial community composition of an active oil field in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico

The bacterial composition of the water column around two oil production platforms and a control site was examined. Samples were collected during three seasons of a 12-month sampling period three water depths were sampled at all stations occupied.No major differences were discovered in taxonomic or physiological makeup of bacterial populations of the oil field and control site. The genus Pseudomonas predominated at the oil field stations and the control. Bacterial numbers were lower for oil field stations than the control and generally decreased with depth. Microbial biomass estimates were consistently higher at the control site. Oil degrading and sulphur oxidizing bacteria were more numerous within the oil field, and their numbers decreased with distance from the platforms. Buccaneer crude oil did not adversely affect growth or attachment ability of oil field isolates.     

Late-glacial vegetation associated with caribou and mastodon in central Indiana

The Christensen Mastodon Site, located in central Indiana, contains a rich assemblage of vertebrates (including mastodon, caribou, and giant beaver), invertebrates, and plant macrofossils in situ in lake and bog sediments of late-glacial age. Studies of pollen and plant macrofossils suggest the existence of open, white spruce-dominated boreal forests from >; 14,000 yr B.P. to ca. 13,000 yr B.P. The regional decline of spruce, local occurrence of black spruce, white spruce, and larch, immigration of many hardwood taxa (e.g., ash, oak, elm), and the initiation of bog development are recorded beginning about 13,000 yr B.P. Recent reconstructions of late-glacial and early postglacial vegetational changes provide a context for understanding the disappearance of mastodons. The dramatic and rapid restriction of boreal forests along the retreating ice margin from 11,000 to 9000 yr B.P. may have caused a substantial reduction of mastodon populations. A diminished population would be more susceptible to small-scale, stochastic events such as short-term extremes of weather, outbreaks of disease, or predation pressure from paleoindian hunters.     

The use of minicomputers in geography teaching — Some prognostications

The effects of wide availability of small, cheap, portable minicomputers on geography teaching and on the content of geography syllabuses in higher education are considered. Simulation, visual display, and computer aided instruction are identified as the features of minicomputers that are most likely to affect teaching methods, while the need to appreciate and to use computers will lead to a greater emphasis on training geography students in the skills required. Four simple examples of the use of the minicomputer in geography teaching are given, and the final section of the paper contains some recommendations for future developments.     

Perspective of a finite and discrete universe

Summary The anomalies in relativistic theory resulting from the infinities present in Riemannian geometry as used by Einstein are discussed and a better solution proposed by introducing a discrete and indivisible time unit. In considering the approach of non-simultaneity, as recently published in this Journal (Thyssen-Bornemisza andGrayson [11]), all infinities are assumed eliminated in our universe. To fully develop the geodesic of a four-dimensional universe the perspective of discreteness seems a basic requirement.Professor Emeritus, 15 Central Park West, New York (Leaders in American Science, 8th Edition, page 611).     

Major,minor and trace element abundances in samples from the Apollo 17 station 7 boulder: Implications for the origin of early lunar crustal rocks

Apollo 17 station 7 boulder consortia samples were analyzed for major and minor elements by a combined semimicro atomic absorption spectrophotometric and colorimetric procedure. Lithophile trace element abundances were determined by stable isotope dilution mass spectrometry. Three matrix types samples (77135, 77115, and 77075) were found to be KREEP-rich fragment-laden melts with analogues throughout the Apollo 17 landing site. Of the five clasts analyzed, at least one (77115,19, troctolite) is thought to be a cumulate; 77135, 77115, and 77075 are thought to have originated by impact fusion of material with similar composition. This original material may represent a partial melt of a parent material of the composition of an included, shocked norite breccia (77215).     

The alteration of olivine in basaltic and associated lavas

Olivines which cool under oxidizing conditions exsolve iron oxides at high temperature, and at low temperatures break down to essentially chloritic materials. Olivines which cool under non-oxidizing conditions alter at intermediate temperatures to complex assemblages of chlorite and interstratified phyllosilicates containing a smectite. Alteration under oxidizing conditions at low temperature, probably below 140° C, produces iddingsite, an orientated assemblage of goethite and interstratified phyllosilicates also containing a smectite.Post-deuteric alteration extends or initiates the breakdown of olivine to phyllosilicate mixtures often resulting in widespread movement of materials through the flow. Post-deuteric alteration of iddingsite produces strongly pleochroic, highly ordered varieties which eventually break down to green phyllosilicate assemblages.Weathering of olivine may produce orientated assemblages similar to deuteric forms of iddingsite. Weathering of green alteration products results in oxidation and the liberation of discrete iron hydroxides.Alteration in all cases requires exchange of material between interstitial components and olivine. During deuteric alteration, plagioclase and pyroxene are usually unaffected.     

Late Pleistocene vegetation of Kings Canyon,Sierra Nevada,California

Seven packrat midden samples make possible a comparison between the modern and late Pleistocene vegetation in Kings Canyon on the western side of the southern Sierra Nevada. One modern sample contains macrofossils and pollen derived from the present-day oak-chaparral vegetation. Macrofossils from the six late Pleistocene samples record a mixed coniferous forest dominated by the xerophytic conifers Juniperus occidentalis, Pinus cf. ponderosa, and P. monophylla. The pollen spectra of these Pleistocene middens are dominated by Pinus sp., Taxodiaceae-Cupressaceae-Taxaceae (TCT), and Artemisia sp. Mesophytic conifers are represented by low macrofossil concentrations. Sequoiadendron giganteum is represented by a few pollen grains in the full glacial. Edaphic control and snow dispersal are the most likely causes of these mixed assemblages.The dominant macrofossils record a more xeric plant community than those that now occur on similar substrates at higher elevations or latitudes in the Sierra Nevada. These assemblages suggest that late Wisconsin climates were cold with mean annual precipitation not necessarily greater than modern values. This conclusion supports a model of low summer ablation allowing for the persistence of the glaciers at higher elevations during the late Wisconsin. The records in these middens also suggest that S. giganteum grew at lower elevations along the western side of the range and that P. monophylla was more widely distributed in cismontane California during the Pleistocene.     

Diatom evidence on Wisconsin and Holocene events in the Bering Sea

Previous work on surface (modern) sediments has defined diatom species which appear to be good indicators of various oceanographic/ecologic conditions in the North Pacific Ocean and marginal seas. Three long cores from the eastern and northern sides of the Aleutian Basin show changes in species assemblage which can be interpreted in terms of changes in the ocean environment during the last glaciation (Wisconsin) and the Holocene. The early and late Wisconsin maxima were times of prolonged annual sea-ice cover and a short cool period of phytoplankton productivity during the ice-free season. The middle Wisconsin interstade, at least in the southern Bering Sea, had greater seasonal contrast than today, with some winter sea-ice cover, an intensified temperature minimum, and high spring productivity. Variations in clastic and reworked fossil material imply varying degrees of transport to the basin by Alaskan rivers. The results of Jousé from the central Bering Sea generally correspond with those presented here, although there are problems with direct comparison.