A non-destructive method of determining rock strength

Rock material strength is an important component of many geomorphological studies. Current methods for determining this parameter result in sample destruction, preventing further analysis. A new non-destructive technique is described for indirectly determining material strength, by measuring Dynamic Young's Modulus. Tests have been conducted on Jurassic Portland Limestone and Upper Cretaceous Chalk to assess the apparatus. Young's Modulus is becoming an increasingly important rock material property.     

Isotopic datings of reddish granitoids in southern Värmland,southwestern Sweden

Three reddish granites from the Gneiss Complex of south-western Sweden have been dated with the U-Pb and one of them also with the Rb-Sr method. The Gneiss Complex consists of two mega-units separated by a tectonic discontinuity. The two granites from the western mega-unit (»the Western Gneiss Segment«) yield zircon upper-intercept ages of 1552 _–36 ⁺³⁸ and 1499 _–36 ⁺³⁶ Ma (2). These ages are minimum estimates of the intrusion ages, but the difference between the obtained and the true age is probably small. This assumption is based on studies of the morphology and internal structures of the zircons and also on air abrasion experiments.The third granite is located in the eastern mega-unit (the »Eastern Gneiss Segment«) and forms a number of small massifs, 50 m in diameter. The U-Pb and Rb-Sr ages agree within the limits of the errors — 1140 _–52 ⁺⁵⁴ Ma (upper intercept) and 1104 ± 100 Ma, respectively — but the obtained age is nevertheless dubious. Thin-section studies reveal that the zircons are heterogeneous with different types of material making up the inner and outer parts. Electron-microscopic studies as well as air abrasion and leaching experiments were performed to establish possible differences in age and chemistry between the inner and outer parts. The central parts are made up of almost pure ZrSiO₄ whereas the outer parts are layered with alternating pure ZrSiO₄ layers and layers rich in trace elements. The leaching and air abrasion data do not indicate any age difference between the inner and outer parts. This supports the validity of the upper-intercept age as an intrusion age.The Rb-Sr age is questionable since the obtained initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio is as low as 0.7027. This cannot possibly be true for a felsic, late Proterozoic granite. A plausible explanation could be a rotation of the isochron due to migration of Rb and Sr during a low-grade event. This event is also responsible for the alteration of the biotites and plagioclases.These data provide additional evidence for extensive ensialic magmatism in the period succeeding the lithosphere-forming event.

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Zusammenfassung Drei rötliche Granite aus dem Südwestschwedischen Gneiskomplex sind mit der U-Pb Methode und einer davon zusätzlich mit der Rb-Sr Methode datiert worden. Der Gneiskomplex besteht aus zwei Haupteinheiten, die tektonisch voneinander getrennt sind. Zwei Granite aus der westlichen Haupteinheit (dem sogenannten »Western Gneiss Segment«) ergeben obere Schnittpunktsalter der Zirkone von 1552 _–36 ⁺³⁸ bzw. 1499 _–36 ⁺³⁶ Ma (2). Diese Alter stellen Minimumalter für die Instrusionen dar, die nur geringfügig jünger sind als die wahren Instrusionsaltern. Diese Vermutung stützt sich auf Untersuchungen der Morphologie und der internen Struktur der Zirkone sowie auf Experimente mit Hilfe der Luftabriebstechnik (air abrasion technique).Der dritte Granit stammt aus der östlichen Haupteinheit (dem sogenannten »Eastern Gneiss Segment«), in der er kleine Körper von etwa 50 m Durchmesser bildet. Die U-Pb und Rb-Sr Alter von 1140 _–52 ⁺⁵⁴ Ma (oberer Schnittpunkt), bzw. 1104 ± 100 Ma stimmen innerhalb des Fehlers überein. Trotzdem ist dieses Alter fragwürdig. Dünnschliffuntersuchungen zeigen, da\ die Zirkone heterogen sind, und da\ Rand und Kern unterschiedlich zusammengesetzt sind. Um Unterschiede in Alter und Chemismus zwischen Rand und Kern festzustellen, wurden Untersuchungen mit dem Elektronenmikroskop, Luftabriebsexperimente und Anätzexperimente durchgeführt. Die Kerne bestehen fast aus reinem ZrSiO₄, wogegen die äu\eren Ränder aus Wechsellagerungen von reinem ZrSiO₄ und Lagen mit hohem Spurenelementgehalt bestehen.Die Anätzversuche und die Luftabriebsexperimente brachten keinen Altersunterschied zwischen Rand und Kern. Diese Tatsachen sprechen dafür, da\ das obere Schnittpunktsalter dem Instrusionsalter entspricht.Das Rb-Sr Alter ist fragwürdig, zumal das⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-Initialverhältnis einen sehr niedrigen Wert von 0,7027 aufweist, der für einen spätproterozoischen Granit viel zu niedrig ist. Eine mögliche Erklärung ist die Rotation der Isochrone wegen einer Migration von Rb und Sr während eines Ereignisses bei niedriger Temperatur, ein Ereignis, das auch für die Umwandlung von Biotit und Plagioklas verantwortlich zu sein scheint. Die oben aufgeführten Daten geben zusätzliche Hinweise für einen sialischen Magmatismus im Zeitraum des fortschreitenden Ereignisses der Bildung der Lithosphäre.

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Résumé Trois granites rougeâtres provenant du complexe gneissique du sud-ouest de la Suède ont été datés par la méthode U-Pb et, pour l'un d'entre eux, également par la méthode Rb-Sr. Le complexe gneissique consiste en deux grandes unités séparées par une discontinuité tectonique. Les zircons de deux granites provenant de l'unité occidentale (»Western Gneiss Segment«) fournissent des âges (intersection supérieure) de 1552 _–36 ⁺³⁸ et 1499 _–36 ⁺³⁶ Ma (2). Ces âges constituent des estimations minimales des âges d'intrusion, la différence entre l'âge mesuré et l'âge véritable étant probablement minime. Cette supposition se base sur l'étude de la morphologie et des structures internes des zircons, ainsi que sur des expériences d'abrasion à l'air.Le troisième granite est situé dans l'unité orientale (»Eastern Gneiss Segment«) et se présente en plusieurs massifs d'une cinquantaine de mètres de diamètre. Les âges U-Pb et Rb-Sr coÏncident dans les limites des erreurs (1140 _–52 ⁺⁵⁴ (point d'intersection supérieur) et 1104±100 Ma) l'âge obtenu étant néanmoins incertain. L'étude en coupes minces montre que les zircons sont hétérogènes, leurs parties centrales et périphériques présentant des constitutions différentes. Des examens au microscope électronique, ainsi que des essais d'abrasion à l'air et de corrosion à l'acide ont eté effectués afin de mettre en évidence des différences éventuelles d'âge et de composition chimique entre les parties contrales et périphériques. Tandis que les parties centrales consistent en ZrSiO₄ pratiquement pur, les parties extérieures se composent de couches de ZrSiO₄ pur alternant avec des couches contenant de multiples éléments en traces. Les données obtenues sur les grains corrodés à l'acide ou soumis à une abrasion à l'air n'indiquent cependant pas de différence d'âge entre les parties centrales et périphériques. Ceci confirme la validité de l'âge obtenu (point d'intersection supérieur) comme âge d'intrusion.L'âge Rb-Sr est douteux, étant donné que le rapport initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr n'est que de 0,7027, valeur improbable pour un granite felsique du ProtérozoÏque supérieur. Il paraÎt raisonnable de supposer une rotation de l'isochrone, due à une migration de Rb et Sr durant un événement à basse température. Cet événement serait également responsable de l'altération des biotites et des plagioclases. Ces données fournissent un argument supplémentaire en faveur d'un magmatisme ensialique pendant la période qui suit la formation de la lithosphère.

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- U/Pb, Rb/Sr. , . — . . Western Gneiss Segments — 1552 _–36 ⁺³⁸ 1499 _–36 ⁺³⁶ (2). . , air abrasion technique. — Eastern Gneiss Segments —, 50 . U/Pb 1140 _–52 ⁺⁵⁴ Ma ( ), Rb/Sr - 1104 ± 100 ; , . . , . , : , air abrasion technique . ZrSiO₄, ZrSiO₄, . air abrasion technique . , ., Rb/Sr, , ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0,7027), . . - . — , , , . , .

     

A gender analysis of quality of life in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

While many community initiatives have attempted to assess the nature and determinants of their citizens’ quality of life (QOL), these initiatives have produced little about whether the key determinants of life quality differ by gender. Using both quantitative and qualitative data from a recent QOL research project in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, this study explores whether factors that predict poor QOL are similar for women and men. The study also examines whether the nature of these gender differences varies across low, medium and high socio-economic status locales. Results showed that men and women were very similar in: (1) their QOL ratings, (2) reports of deterioration in neighborhood QOL, and (3) rating particular aspects of their neighborhood. Few gender differences were also found when analyzing data referring to place characteristics and social cohesion. Multivariate analysis revealed further similarities: (1) being divorced/widowed was a significant predictor of poor QOL, and (2) a negative view of community security issues was associated with deterioration in perceived neighborhood quality of life. For women, however, other variables were important predictors of QOL: being middle aged, being single, and having a poor opinion of the overall quality of their neighborhood. Qualitative analysis revealed that while men and women shared concern about general areas such as safety and neighborhood supports, their perceptions of the details around these issues differed. The multi-method results suggest that urban policy actions should include a gendered discussion of common QOL issues.     

Climate, water management, and policy in the San Pedro Basin: results of a survey of Mexican stakeholders near the U.S.–Mexico border

This paper reviews regional climate knowledge and vulnerability in the northern Mexico San Pedro River Basin, with a focus on water quality, quantity, and management issues on the Mexican side of the border. A discussion based on the available literature is supplemented by a survey assessing concerns about water and the quality and usability of climate and hydrologic information available to water managers and communities. The surveys indicate that the central concern for urban residents is the lack of reliable potable water due to frequent service breakdowns–with climate change and variability, specifically drought and high temperatures, as contributing factors. Water managers desire appropriate meteorological and hydrologic information to improve planning strategies, but access to this information remains limited. Considerable disagreement exists about who should pay for previously free or low-cost water and wastewater treatment. Urban users have little incentive to conserve because of the present flat, low rate and frustration with service. In rural areas, while a majority of ranchers recognize that variable climate and water loss could increasingly jeopardize their lifestyle, they seldom use meteorological information in planning or modify their water consumption. Climate vulnerability also includes potential for serious environmental health issues due to the presence of heavy metals and organic contaminants in the San Pedro.     

Weathering effects on the geotechnical properties of argillaceous sediments in tropical environments and their geomorphological implications

Outcrops of young, sedimentary, argillaceous rocks with well developed fabric display rapid changes in their properties when subject to tropical weathering. The change in the materials is often accompanied by mass movement activity and the geomorphological consequence in terms of landforms is usually the development of badlands topography. Detailed field and laboratory studies have been undertaken on the Joe's River Formation, Barbados, and the Lichi Melange, Taiwan. Both are sedimentary mudrocks with well developed, scaly fabrics. Physical and geotechnical laboratory tests have been conducted on samples collected from type site locations to elucidate associations between material properties, earth surface processes and landform development. While the inherent physical properties show little or no difference in the transition from unweathered to highly weathered materials, by applying the critical state model, the mudrock geotechnical properties can be shown to change significantly. As weathering commences, material strength surprisingly increases. Only after a period of more extensive weathering do mechanical properties confirm increasingly incompetent materials. The initial strength increase appears to be due to weathering-induced modification of the fabric. The subsequent strength drop is a product of weathering-induced modification of both the fabric and the in situ, intact sediment. It is suggested that by applying the critical state model, a greater consideration can be gained of the geotechnical response of the sediments to weathering.     

The effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on seabed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico

To assess the extent to which Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), sediment cores were analyzed in late 2005 from: a shallow shelf, a deeper shelf, and a marsh station. Sediment geochronology, fabric, and geochemistry show that the 2005 storms deposited ∼10 cm of sediment to the surface of a core at 5-12A. Bulk carbon geochemistry and PAH isomers in this top layer suggest that the source of sediment to the top portion of core 5-12A was from a relatively more marine area. Particulate PAHs in the marsh core (04 M) appeared unaffected by the storms while sediments in the core from Station 5-1B (deeper shelf) were affected minimally (some possible storm-derived deposition). Substantial amounts of PAH-laden particles may have been displaced from the seabed in shallow areas of the water column in the GOM by these 2005 storms.     

Predicting sediment discharges and erosion rates in deep time—examples from the late Cretaceous North American continent

Depositional stratigraphy represents the only physical archive of palaeo-sediment routing and this limits analysis of ancient source-to-sink systems in both space and time. Here, we use palaeo-digital elevation models (palaeoDEMs; based on high-resolution palaeogeographic reconstructions), HadCM3L general circulation model climate data and the BQART suspended sediment discharge model to demonstrate a predictive, forward approach to palaeo-sediment routing system analysis. To exemplify our approach, we use palaeoDEMs and HadCM3L data to predict the configurations, geometries and climates of large continental catchments in the Cenomanian and Turonian North American continent. Then, we use BQART to estimate suspended sediment discharges and catchment-averaged erosion rates and we map their spatial distributions. We validate our estimates with published geologic constraints from the Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation, Alberta, Canada, and the Turonian Ferron Sandstone, Utah, USA, and find that estimates are consistent or within a factor of two to three. We then evaluate the univariate and multivariate sensitivity of our estimates to a range of uncertainty margins on palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic boundary conditions; large uncertainty margins (≤50%/±5°C) still recover estimates of suspended sediment discharge within an order of magnitude of published constraints. PalaeoDEMs are therefore suitable as a first-order investigative tool in palaeo-sediment routing system analysis and are particularly useful where stratigraphic records are incomplete. We highlight the potential of this approach to predict the global spatio-temporal response of suspended sediment discharges and catchment-averaged erosion rates to long-period tectonic and climatic forcing in the geologic past.     

The age of the Kaalijärv meteorite craters

Abstract— Precise radiometric age determination of the Kaalijärv meteorite craters on the island of Saaremaa in Estonia have so far proved inconclusive. Here we present trace element analyses of peat cores taken several kilometers away from the Kaalijärv craters that reveal a distinct Ir‐enriched layer produced by the meteorite impact. By radiocarbon dating the peat cores, we have determined for the first time the precise age of the impact that generated the Kaalijärv craters. The calibrated date of the impact is 400–370 B.C. at ± 1σ.     

An equilibrium profile model for retreating marsh shorelines in southeast Louisiana

Louisiana's coastal marshes are experiencing the highest wetland loss rates in the U.S., in part due to subsidence-driven relative sea-level rise. These marshes are also vulnerable to the erosive power of wave attack: 1) on the marsh edge adjacent to open-water bodies, and 2) after the marsh platform is submerged. Marsh shorelines in Barataria Bay, Breton Sound, and the active Balize delta of southeastern Louisiana were examined in areas where the subaerial marsh platform had disappeared since 1932. Vibracore transects of marsh and adjacent bay surface sediments (to 2 m depth) were analyzed using geotechnical, stratigraphic, and radiochemical (137-Cs and 210-Pb) methods, and the subaerial-to-subaqueous transition of the marsh was mapped for elevation using standard stadia rod transit and fathometer measurements. Results indicate that marsh edge erosion of the platform takes place subaqueously until water depths of 1.5 m are reached. This is observed even in interior pond regions, but the shoreface elevation profiles are a function of fetch: exposed open bay sites display greater incision (depth and rate) of the marsh platform than protected interior bay or pond sites. Core stratigraphy reveals that the outer part of the subaqueous platform switches from erosional to depositional as retreat proceeds, covering the incised marsh deposits unconformably with estuarine shelly muds. 137-Cs and excess 210-Pb activity indicates that these muds are deposited within a few decades of subaerial marsh loss. The consistency of the cross-shore profile results suggests that a single profile of equilibrium can approximate the morphology of eroding marsh edges in southeast Louisiana: platform stratigraphy and resistance to erosion have a limited effect on profile shape. This equilibrium profile and remote sensing images of shoreline change are used to estimate the sediment yield to adjacent estuarine areas by this process. On average, 1.5 m³ of sediment are yielded per m shoreline length annually from both Barataria Bay and Breton Sound. Due to the highly organic nature of the eroded sediment (30%), this supply of organic-rich material could significantly impact estuarine productivity and hypoxia on the Louisiana continental shelf.     

History matching for exploring and reducing climate model parameter space using observations and a large perturbed physics ensemble

We apply an established statistical methodology called history matching to constrain the parameter space of a coupled non-flux-adjusted climate model (the third Hadley Centre Climate Model; HadCM3) by using a 10,000-member perturbed physics ensemble and observational metrics. History matching uses emulators (fast statistical representations of climate models that include a measure of uncertainty in the prediction of climate model output) to rule out regions of the parameter space of the climate model that are inconsistent with physical observations given the relevant uncertainties. Our methods rule out about half of the parameter space of the climate model even though we only use a small number of historical observations. We explore 2 dimensional projections of the remaining space and observe a region whose shape mainly depends on parameters controlling cloud processes and one ocean mixing parameter. We find that global mean surface air temperature (SAT) is the dominant constraint of those used, and that the others provide little further constraint after matching to SAT. The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) has a non linear relationship with SAT and is not a good proxy for the meridional heat transport in the unconstrained parameter space, but these relationships are linear in our reduced space. We find that the transient response of the AMOC to idealised CO₂ forcing at 1 and 2 % per year shows a greater average reduction in strength in the constrained parameter space than in the unconstrained space. We test extended ranges of a number of parameters of HadCM3 and discover that no part of the extended ranges can by ruled out using any of our constraints. Constraining parameter space using easy to emulate observational metrics prior to analysis of more complex processes is an important and powerful tool. It can remove complex and irrelevant behaviour in unrealistic parts of parameter space, allowing the processes in question to be more easily studied or emulated, perhaps as a precursor to the application of further relevant constraints.