The privatisation of secondary schooling and the desegregation of central Johannesburg

African education controlled by the state's Department of Education and Training has collapsed. Insufficient spending, low standards and persistent student boycotts have made township schools undesirable places of learning. African students with any financial means now seek secondary education at multi-racial private schools in affluent white suburbs or at street-academies in the centre of Johannesburg. The establishment of schooling services for African pupils in the traditionally white central business district contributes to the wider process of desegregation of South Africa's major urban area, Johannesburg.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spartina alterniflora</Emphasis> Biomass Allocation and Temperature: Implications for Salt Marsh Persistence with Sea-Level Rise

To predict the impacts of climate change, a better understanding is needed of the foundation species that build and maintain biogenic ecosystems. Spartina alterniflora Loisel (smooth cordgrass) is the dominant salt marsh-building plant along the US Atlantic coast. It maintains salt marsh elevation relative to sea level by the accumulation of aboveground biomass, which promotes sediment deposition and belowground biomass, which accretes as peat. Peat accumulation is particularly important in elevation maintenance at high latitudes where sediment supply tends to be limited. Latitudinal variation in S. alterniflora growth was quantified in eight salt marshes from Massachusetts to South Carolina. The hypothesis that allocation to aboveground and belowground biomass is phenotypically plastic was tested with transplant experiments among a subset of salt marshes along this gradient. Reciprocal transplants revealed that northern S. alterniflora decreased allocation to belowground biomass when grown in the south. Some northern plants also died when moved south, suggesting that northern S. alterniflora may be stressed by future warming. Southern plants that were moved north showed phenotypic plasticity in biomass allocation, but no mortality. Belowground biomass also decomposed more quickly in southern marshes. Our results suggest that warming will lead northern S. alterniflora to decrease belowground allocation and that belowground biomass will decompose more quickly, thus decreasing peat accumulation. Gradual temperature increases may allow for adaptation and acclimation, but our results suggest that warming will lower the ability of salt marshes to withstand sea-level rise.     

Can flat-ramp-flat fault geometry be inferred from fold shape?: A comparison of kinematic and mechanical folds

The inference of fault geometry from suprajacent fold shape relies on consistent and verified forward models of fault-cored folds, e.g. suites of models with differing fault boundary conditions demonstrate the range of possible folding. Results of kinematic (fault-parallel flow) and mechanical (boundary element method) models are compared to ascertain differences in the way the two methods simulate flexure associated with slip along flat-ramp-flat geometry. These differences are assessed by systematically altering fault parameters in each model and observing subsequent changes in the suprajacent fold shapes. Differences between the kinematic and mechanical fault-fold relationships highlight the differences between the methods. Additionally, a laboratory fold is simulated to determine which method might best predict fault parameters from fold shape. Although kinematic folds do not fully capture the three-dimensional nature of geologic folds, mechanical models have non-unique fold-fault relationships. Predicting fault geometry from fold shape is best accomplished by a combination of the two methods.     

Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) of chlorinated municipal drinking water in a confined aquifer

About 1.02 × 10⁶ m³ of chlorinated municipal drinking water was injected into a confined aquifer, 94–137 m below Roseville, California, between December 2005 and April 2006. The water was stored in the aquifer for 438 days, and 2.64 × 10⁶ m³ of water were extracted between July 2007 and February 2008. On the basis of Cl⁻ data, 35% of the injected water was recovered and 65% of the injected water and associated disinfection by-products (DBPs) remained in the aquifer at the end of extraction. About 46.3 kg of total trihalomethanes (TTHM) entered the aquifer with the injected water and 37.6 kg of TTHM were extracted. As much as 44 kg of TTHMs remained in the aquifer at the end of extraction because of incomplete recovery of injected water and formation of THMs within the aquifer by reactions with free-chlorine in the injected water. Well-bore velocity log data collected from the Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) well show as much as 60% of the injected water entered the aquifer through a 9 m thick, high-permeability layer within the confined aquifer near the top of the screened interval. Model simulations of ground-water flow near the ASR well indicate that (1) aquifer heterogeneity allowed injected water to move rapidly through the aquifer to nearby monitoring wells, (2) aquifer heterogeneity caused injected water to move further than expected assuming uniform aquifer properties, and (3) physical clogging of high-permeability layers is the probable cause for the observed change in the distribution of borehole flow. Aquifer heterogeneity also enhanced mixing of native anoxic ground water with oxic injected water, promoting removal of THMs primarily through sorption. A 3 to 4-fold reduction in TTHM concentrations was observed in the furthest monitoring well 427 m downgradient from the ASR well, and similar magnitude reductions were observed in depth-dependent water samples collected from the upper part of the screened interval in the ASR well near the end of the extraction phase. Haloacetic acids (HAAs) were completely sorbed or degraded within 10 months of injection.     

Testing for Sediment Acidification Effects on Within-Season Variability in Juvenile Soft-Shell Clam (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mya arenaria</Emphasis>) Abundance on the Northern Shore of the Bay of Fundy

Soft-shell clams (Mya arenaria) can serve important ecological roles in intertidal mudflats and are an important economic and recreational resource in the northwestern Atlantic. However, environmental factors affecting newly-settled and juvenile clam abundances within a given settlement season remain uncertain. We conducted a field study assessing relationships between juvenile soft-shell clam abundance and spatial, temporal, and environmental variables in coastal mudflats of the northern shore of the Bay of Fundy. Sediment pH and low-tide water temperature (tide pools) were monitored in situ on a biweekly–monthly basis over the course of the M. arenaria settlement season in 2012 at four study sites to quantify diel variation in sediment pH and temperature. Core samples were also collected to quantify M. arenaria (<6 mm) abundance. Sea-surface and air temperature, and in situ sediment pH and water temperature were then used to predict clam abundance. Sediment pH was spatially and temporally variable, while in situ temperature was stable and declined over the sampling season. Akaike’s information criterion model selection indicated that models incorporating site, date, and air temperature best predicted 2012 recruitment patterns in linear models when all variables were included. When only environmental variables were included, the best linear model included minimum air temperature and sediment pH. When data were averaged across dates for each site to remove potential temporal effects, mean clam abundance displayed a significant positive relationship with sediment pH and sediment grain size, but not minimum air temperature. The results of this study suggest that sediment pH and/or sediment grain size may influence within-season juvenile soft-shell clam abundances across mudflats in the Bay of Fundy. Field experiments at the same (or similar) sites are now needed to confirm the mechanism driving the observed relationships.     

Seismic interferometry and ambient noise tomography in the British Isles

Traditional methods of imaging the Earth's subsurface using seismic waves require an identifiable, impulsive source of seismic energy, for example an earthquake or explosive source. Naturally occurring, ambient seismic waves form an ever-present source of energy that is conventionally regarded as unusable since it is not impulsive. As such it is generally removed from seismic data and subsequent analysis. A new method known as seismic interferometry can be used to extract useful information about the Earth's subsurface from the ambient noise wavefield. Consequently, seismic interferometry is an important new tool for exploring areas which are otherwise seismically quiescent, such as the British Isles in which there are relatively few strong earthquakes. One of the possible applications of seismic interferometry is ambient noise tomography (ANT). ANT is a way of using interferometry to image subsurface seismic velocity variations using seismic (surface) waves extracted from the background ambient vibrations of the Earth. To date, ANT has been used successfully to image the Earth's crust and upper-mantle on regional and continental scales in many locations and has the power to resolve major geological features such as sedimentary basins and igneous and metamorphic cores. Here we provide a review of seismic interferometry and ANT, and show that the seismic interferometry method works well within the British Isles. We illustrate the usefulness of the method in seismically quiescent areas by presenting the first surface wave group velocity maps of the Scottish Highlands using only ambient seismic noise. These maps show low velocity anomalies in sedimentary basins such as the Moray Firth, and high velocity anomalies in igneous and metamorphic centres such as the Lewisian complex. They also suggest that the Moho shallows from south to north across Scotland which agrees with previous geophysical studies in the region.     

Paragenesis and geochemistry of ore minerals in the epizonal gold deposits of the Yangshan gold belt,West Qinling,China

Six epizonal gold deposits in the 30-km-long Yangshan gold belt, Gansu Province are estimated to contain more than 300 t of gold at an average grade of 4.76 g/t and thus define one of China's largest gold resources. Detailed paragenetic studies have recognized five stages of sulfide mineral precipitation in the deposits of the belt. Syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite (Py₀) has a framboidal or colloform texture and is disseminated in the metasedimentary host rocks. Early hydrothermal pyrite (Py₁) in quartz veins is disseminated in metasedimentary rocks and dikes and also occurs as semi-massive pyrite aggregates or bedding-parallel pyrite bands in phyllite. The main ore stage pyrite (Py₂) commonly overgrows Py₁ and is typically associated with main ore stage arsenopyrite (Apy₂). Late ore stage pyrite (Py₃), arsenopyrite (Apy₃), and stibnite occur in quartz ± calcite veins or are disseminated in country rocks. Post-ore stage pyrite (Py₄) occurs in quartz ± calcite veins that cut all earlier formed mineralization. Electron probe microanalyses and laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analyses reveal that different generations of sulfides have characteristic of major and trace element patterns, which can be used as a proxy for the distinct hydrothermal events. Syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite has high concentrations of As, Au, Bi, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Zn. The Py₀ also retains a sedimentary Co/Ni ratio, which is distinct from hydrothermal ore-related pyrite. Early hydrothermal Py₁ has high contents of Ag, As, Au, Bi, Cu, Fe, Sb, and V, and it reflects elevated levels of these elements in the earliest mineralizing metamorphic fluids. The main ore stage Py₂ has a very high content of As (median value of 2.96 wt%) and Au (median value of 47.5 ppm) and slightly elevated Cu, but relatively low values for other trace elements. Arsenic in the main ore stage Py₂ occurs in solid solution. Late ore stage Py₃, formed coevally with stibnite, contains relatively high As (median value of 1.44 wt%), Au, Fe, Mn, Mo, Sb, and Zn and low Bi, Co, Ni, and Pb. The main ore stage Apy₂, compared to late ore stage arsenopyrite, is relatively enriched in As, whereas the later Apy₃ has high concentrations of S, Fe, and Sb, which is consistent with element patterns in associated main and late ore stage pyrite generations. Compared with pyrite from other stages, the post-ore stage Py₄ has relatively low concentrations of Fe and S, whereas As remains elevated (2.05～3.20 wt%), which could be interpreted by the substitution of As^? for S in the pyrite structure. These results suggest that syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite is the main metal source for the Yangshan gold deposits where such pyrite was metamorphosed at depth below presently exposed levels. The ore-forming elements were concentrated into the hydrothermal fluids during metamorphic devolatilization, and subsequently, during extensive fluid–rock interaction at shallower levels, these elements were precipitated via widespread sulfidation during the main ore stage.     

Factors Controlling Sulfide Geochemistry in Sub-tropical Estuarine and Bay Sediments

The primary factors that control the concentration of total reduced (inorganic) sulfide in coastal sediments are believed to be the availability of reactive iron, dissolved sulfate and metabolizable organic carbon. We selected nine sites in shallow (<3 m), close to sub-tropical, estuaries and bays along the central Texas coast that represented a range in sediment grain size (a proxy for reactive iron), salinity (a proxy for dissolved sulfate), and total organic carbon (a proxy for metabolizable organic carbon). Based on these parameters a prediction was made of which factor was likely to control total reduced sulfide at each site and what the relative total reduced sulfide concentration was likely to be. To test the prediction, the sediments were analyzed for total reduced sulfide, acid volatile sulfide, and citrate dithionate-extractable, HCl-extractable and total Fe in the solid phase. Using solid-state gold–mercury amalgam microelectrodes and voltammetry, we determined pore water depth profiles of Fe(II) and ΣH₂S and presence or absence of FeS_(aq). At five of the nine sites the calculated degree of sufildization of citrate dithionite-reactive-iron was close to or greater than 1 indicating that rapidly reactive iron was probably the limiting factor for iron sulfide mineral formation. At one site (salinity = 0.9) dissolved Fe(II) was high, ΣH₂S was undetectable and the total reduced sulfide concentration was low indicating sulfate limitation. At the last three sites a low degree of sulfidization and modest total reduced (inorganic) sulfide concentrations appeared to be the result of a limited supply of metabolizable organic carbon. Fe(II)–S(-II) clusters (FeS_(aq)) were undetectable in 10 out of 12 bay sediment profiles where ΣH₂S was close to or below detection limits, but was observed in all other porewater profiles. Acid volatile sulfide, but not total reduced sulfide, was well correlated with total organic carbon and ranged from being undetectable in some cores to representing a major portion of total reduced sulfide in other cores. Although predicted controls on total reduced sulfide were good for very low salinity water or sandy sediments, they were only right about half the time for the other sediments. The likely reasons for the wrong predictions are the poor correlation of total organic carbon with grain size and differing fractions of metabolizable organic carbon in different sedimentary environments. Differences in sediment accumulation rates may also play a role, but these are difficult to determine in this region where hurricanes often resuspend and move sediments. This study demonstrates the need to examine more complex and often difficult to determine parameters in anoxic “normal marine” sediments if we are to understand what controls the concentration and distribution of sulfides.     

Sixty thousand years of magmatic volatile history before the caldera-forming eruption of Mount Mazama, Crater Lake, Oregon

The well-documented eruptive history of Mount Mazama, Oregon, provides an excellent opportunity to use pre-eruptive volatile concentrations to study the growth of an explosive silicic magmatic system. Melt inclusions (MI) hosted in pyroxene and plagioclase crystals from eight dacitic–rhyodacitic eruptive deposits (71–7.7?ka) were analyzed to determine variations in volatile-element concentrations and changes in magma storage conditions leading up to and including the climactic eruption of Crater Lake caldera. Temperatures (Fe–Ti oxides) increased through the series of dacites, then decreased, and increased again through the rhyodacites (918–968 to ~950 to 845–895?°C). Oxygen fugacity began at nickel–nickel-oxide buffer (NNO) +0.8 (71?ka), dropped slightly to NNO +0.3, and then climbed to its highest value with the climactic eruption (7.7?ka) at NNO +1.1 log units. In parallel with oxidation state, maximum MI sulfur concentrations were high early in the eruptive sequence (~500?ppm), decreased (to ~200?ppm), and then increased again with the climactic eruption (~500?ppm). Maximum MI sulfur correlates with the Sr content (as a proxy for LREE, Ba, Rb, P₂O₅) of recharge magmas, represented by basaltic andesitic to andesitic enclaves and similar-aged lavas. These results suggest that oxidized Sr-rich recharge magmas dominated early and late in the development of the pre-climactic dacite–rhyodacite system. Dissolved H₂O concentrations in MI do not, however, correlate with these changes in dominant recharge magma, instead recording vapor solubility relations in the developing shallow magma storage and conduit region. Dissolved H₂O concentrations form two populations through time: the first at 3–4.6 wt% (with a few extreme values up to 6.1 wt%) and the second at ≤2.4 wt%. CO₂ concentrations measured in a subset of these inclusions reach up to 240?ppm in early-erupted deposits (71?ka) and are below detection in climactic deposits (7.7?ka). Combined H₂O and CO₂ concentrations and solubility models indicate a dominant storage region at 4–7?km (up to 12?km), with drier inclusions that diffusively re-equilibrated and/or were trapped at shallower depths. Boron and Cl (except in the climactic deposit) largely remained in the melt, suggesting vapor–melt partition coefficients and gas fractions were low. Modeled Li, F, and S vapor–melt partition coefficients are higher than those of B and Cl. The decrease in maximum MI CO₂ concentration following the earliest dacitic eruptions is interpreted to result from a broadening of the shallow storage region to greater than the diameter of subjacent feeders, so that greater proportions of reservoir magma were to the side of CO₂-bearing vapor bubbles ascending vertically from the locus of recharge magma injection, thereby escaping recarbonation by streaming vapor bubbles. The Mazama melt inclusions provide a picture of a growing magma storage region, where chemical variations in melt and magma occur due to changes in the nature and supply rate of magma recharge, the timing of degassing, and the possible degree of equilibration with gases from below.