Fossil mammoths from Santa Cruz Island, California

Mammoth remains on Santa Cruz Island, one of the four Northern Channel Islands of California, are very sparse, in marked contrast to those reported from Santa Rosa and San Miguel Islands of the same island group. A probable major reason for this scarcity is that Quaternary deposits are greatly restricted on Santa Cruz Island. It is proposed, contrary to popular opinion, that fossils found on Santa Cruz Island were derived from animals which died on the island, and were not transported there by humans. Reasons for this conclusion are that the size and geological context of the fossils are similar to those of the largest mammoth fossils of Santa Rosa Island, and that, in spite of extensive investigations by many persons, mammoth remains have not been found in middens, either on the islands or on the adjacent mainland.     

The fate of Chernobyl radiocesium in the River Öre catchment,northern Sweden

A¹³⁷Cs-balance for the catchment of the River Öre in central northern Sweden which received about 30 kBq m^–2 of radiocesium from the Chernobyl accident was calculated for the period 1986–1991. Altogether, slightly less than 10% of the total deposition in the catchment was estimated to be exported from the terrestrial parts during this period of time. More than 90% of this loss is transported with the River Öre to the outer sea of the Gulf of Bothnia. The retention in Lake Örträsket which is the only lake along the river course and the Öre Estuary outside the river mouth was thus slightly less than 10%. Nearly all of the radiocesium deposited in the lake is permanently retained in the sediments and successively covered with less radioactive sediment. A considerable export of radiocesium from the estuary to the outer sea takes place due to resuspension and subsequent transport by wind and wave generated currents.     

Identification of regions enriched or depleted in radioelements through nondistributional analysis of aerial radiometric data

Throughout the aerial radiometric reconnaissance survey portion of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program, the identification of outliers (anomalies) was an important approach to locating regions with radio-element concentrations that are either higher or lower than expected. The method introduced herein to locate such regions involves three steps: selection of a high (or low) threshold for the variate of interest; use of the sample percentile to identify all points of interest; and movement of a window over the selected data to locate significant clusters of observations. These steps, applied to aerial radiometric ²¹⁴Bi (equivalent uranium) data collected over the Copper Mountain area in Wyoming, resulted in the identification of areas enriched in that variate.     

Coarsening of three-dimensional structured and unstructured grids for subsurface flow

We present a generic, semi-automated algorithm for generating non-uniform coarse grids for modeling subsurface flow. The method is applicable to arbitrary grids and does not impose smoothness constraints on the coarse grid. One therefore avoids conventional smoothing procedures that are commonly used to ensure that the grids obtained with standard coarsening procedures are not too rough. The coarsening algorithm is very simple and essentially involves only two parameters that specify the level of coarsening. Consequently the algorithm allows the user to specify the simulation grid dynamically to fit available computer resources, and, e.g., use the original geomodel as input for flow simulations. This is of great importance since coarse grid-generation is normally the most time-consuming part of an upscaling phase, and therefore the main obstacle that has prevented simulation workflows with user-defined resolution. We apply the coarsening algorithm to a series of two-phase flow problems on both structured (Cartesian) and unstructured grids. The numerical results demonstrate that one consistently obtains significantly more accurate results using the proposed non-uniform coarsening strategy than with corresponding uniform coarse grids with roughly the same number of cells.     

Geomorphic and dendroecological impacts of slushflows in central Gaspé Peninsula (Québec, Canada)

Slushflows are rare phenomena in southeastern Canada. Here we report for the first time the occurrence of slushflows in a subalpine environment in eastern Canada (Mt. Albert, Gaspé Peninsula, Québec). Because nothing is known of their frequency- magnitude in the area, we reconstructed the chronology of slushflow events over the past century using dendrogeomorphic techniques based on impact scars, reaction wood and traumatic resin ducts. Slushflows contributed to the formation of a tongue-shaped accumulation of 17900 m² at the outlet of a firstorder drainage basin. The slushflow boulder tongue was composed of heterogeneous-sized, angular and unoriented clasts, which are markedly different from the sediments of an adjacent alluvial fan. Although movements were initiated above the subalpine forest limit, slushflows induced forest fragmentation along the treed slope. Three slushflow events were identified over the past century, in 1925, 1964 and 1988, respectively, which indicate exceptional initiation conditions and considerable geomorphic activity of individual events.     

Numerical analyses of deformability tests in jointed rock — “Joint Perturbation” and “No Tension” Finite Element solutions

SummaryNumerical Analyses of Deformability Tests in Jointed Rock — Joint Perturbation and No Tension Finite Element Solutions Sound design of structures in or upon rock requires a thorough knowledge of the rock mass deformability. Field test data interpretation has generally relied upon analytical or Finite Element linear elastic solutions. However, when testing in jointed rock, these can no longer be readily used since the medium cannot resist the tension induced upon loading. Accordingly, other solutions are required. If the discontinuities of the rock mass can all be mapped and their surface properties determined, the Finite Element model will use a Joint Perturbation solution where the joint elements have variable stiffnesses to account for movements along the fractures. If the discontinuities cannot be satisfactorily mapped, a global approach is provided by a No Tension analysis of the stress transfer type. The two techniques are compared in the case of bore hole jack deformability tests and found to agree remarkably well, indicating an appreciable difference from results of linear elasticity.

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ZusammenfassungNumerische Analyse von Verformungsversuchen in geklüfteten Fels — Lösungen mittels Kluft-Perturbation und No Tension Analysis auf Grund der Methode der Finiten Elemente Der Entwurf von Bauwerken in oder auf Fels erfordert eine genaue Kenntnis des Formänderungsverhaltens der Felsmasse. Im allgemeinen basiert die Interpretation der Ergebnisse von Feldversuchen auf den Lösungen des zugehörigen Randwertproblems der linearen Elastostatik mittels klassischer analytischer Methoden oder der Methode der Finiten Elemente. Wenn die Versuche aber in geklüftetem Fels durchgeführt werden, müssen die theoretischen Methoden modifiziert werden, da das Medium keine Zugspannungen aufnehmen kann. Zwei Fälle können unterschieden werden. Erstens: die Kluftflächen der Felsmasse können geometrisch erfaßt und ihre Oberflächeneigenschaften können bestimmt werden; in diesem Falle kann die Finite-Elemente-Lösung eine Kluft-Perturbations-Methode verwenden, in welcher spezielle Kluft-Elemente verschiedener Steifigkeiten normal und tangential zu den Kluftflächen die Bewegungen entlang derselben bestimmen. Zweitens: die Diskontinuitäten der Felsmasse können nicht hinreichend beschrieben werden; für diesen Fall ist vorgekehrt durch die Finite-Element-Analyse vom Typ der Spannungsumlagerung unter Ausschaltung der Zugspannungen (No Tension Analysis), um das globale Verhalten der geklüfteten Felsmasse zu erfassen. Die Lösungen dieser beiden Methoden wurden für den Fall der Bohrloch-Verformungs-Tests verglichen; der Vergleich zeigt ausgezeichnete Übereinstimmung, im Gegensatz zu den Lösungen als lineares Elastizitätsproblem.

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RésuméLa méthode des Eléments Finis appliquée aux résultats d'essais de vérins cylindriques dans les roches fissurées — solutions dites Joint Pertubé et Sans Traction La construction de structures sur ou dans des roches nécessite une connaissance approfendie de la déformabilité du massif rocheux. L'analyse des résultats d'essais en place se fait généralement à l'aide de solutions analytiques ou par Eléments Finis, qui supposent une élasticité linéaire du milieu. De fait, dans les roches fissurées, ces solutions sont inadéquates puisque le milieu ne peut résister aux sollicitations de traction. Il s'agit donc d'utiliser d'autres méthodes d'analyse. Lors qu'il est possible de déterminer la géométrie et les propriétés de toutes les discontinuités, l'on pourra utiliser une solution par Eléments Finis, dite Joint Perturbé dans laquelle la rigidité de surface du joint (ou fissure) peut varier lorsque des movements prennent place au niveau du joint. Si cela est impossible, il faudra utiliser une approche globale dite Sans Traction qui redistribue les contraintes de traction et les dissipe. On compare ces deux types de solutions dans le cas des essais de vérins cylindriques unidirectionnels. Leurs résultats sont identiques et ont nettement différents de ceux obtenus avec une solution élastique linéaire.

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Research supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Contract NAS 8-21432.

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With 8 Figures     

The helium-rich stars of early spectral type

The properties of the known helium-rich stars of early type are reviewed and the elemental abundances are analyzed. Current evolutionary theories of mixing and mass loss may explain the origin of these stars.     

The inhibition of marine nitrification by ocean disposal of carbon dioxide

In an attempt to reduce the threat of global warming, it has been proposed that the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations be reduced by the ocean disposal of CO2 from the flue gases of fossil fuel-fired power plants. The release of large amounts of CO2 into mid or deep ocean waters will result in large plumes of acidified seawater with pH values ranging from 6 to 8. In an effort to determine whether these CO2-induced pH changes have any effect on marine nitrification processes, surficial (euphotic zone) and deep (aphotic zone) seawater samples were sparged with CO2 for varying time durations to achieve a specified pH reduction, and the rate of microbial ammonia oxidation was measured spectrophotometrically as a function of pH using an inhibitor technique. For both seawater samples taken from either the euphotic or aphotic zone, the nitrification rates dropped drastically with decreasing pH. Relative to nitrification rates in the original seawater at pH 8, nitrification rates were reduced by ca. 50% at pH 7 and more than 90% at pH 6.5. Nitrification was essentially completely inhibited at pH 6. These findings suggest that the disposal of CO2 into mid or deep oceans will most likely result in a drastic reduction of ammonia oxidation rates within the pH plume and the concomitant accumulation of ammonia instead of nitrate. It is unlikely that ammonia will reach the high concentration levels at which marine aquatic organisms are known to be negatively affected. However, if the ammonia-rich seawater from inside the pH plume is upwelled into the euphotic zone, it is likely that changes in phytoplankton abundance and community structure will occur. Finally, the large-scale inhibition of nitrification and the subsequent reduction of nitrite and nitrate concentrations could also result in a decrease of denitrification rates which, in turn, could lead to the buildup of nitrogen and unpredictable eutrophication phenomena. Clearly, more research on the environmental effects of ocean disposal of CO2 is needed to determine whether the potential costs related to marine ecosystem disturbance and disruption can be justified in terms of the perceived benefits that may be achieved by temporarily delaying global warming.