Paleohydrological implications of Holocene peatland development in northern Michigan

Sediment, pollen, and plant macrofossil stratigraphies from two small oligotrophic Chamaedaphne-Sphagnum peatlands provide data about local hydrologic changes in northern Michigan during the Holocene. Gleason Bog started about 8000 yr B.P. as a shallow pond that supported rich fen vegetation. After it was partly filled with peat and sand (about 4000 yr B.P.), the vegetation changed to oligotrophic bog. At Gates Bog paludification starting about 3800 yr B.P. caused peat accumulation over sand without an initial pond phase. The onset of peat accumulation at both sites is attributed to a rise in the water table resulting from the onset of cool and moist late Holocene climates. The water table of Gleason Bog is linked to the water level of adjacent Douglas Lake, which may have undergone a simultaneous rise. The results emphasize the individuality of hydrological conditions and hydroseral development in northern Michigan peatlands.     

The natural occurrence of hydroxide in olivine

Polarized infrared (IR) spectra of olivine single crystals from 17 different localities show a tremendous variability in both mode and abundance of hydroxide (OH) incorporation. Kimberlitic olivines contain the most total OH at an estimated concentration level of 976 H/10⁶Si, whereas olivines from basalts contain the least at 3 H/10⁶Si. Olivines of metamorphic and hydrothermal origin have widely varying concentration levels intermediate between those of basalts and kimberlites. Over 30 distinct OH absorption bands have been identified. Most of these bands are not unique to individual localities but may be found in samples from several different localities. Pleochroism is consistent among localities, but relative band intensities vary. No evidence is found for molecular H₂ in olivine. Hydrous minerals have been identified in olivine by their characteristic OH absorption bands. Serpentine is commonly found and is clearly distinguishable from intrinsic OH. Talc is present in one sample. Prominent OH bands at 3572 and 3525 cm^?1 are attributed to humite group minerals. San Carlos, Arizona, olivines annealed in the presence of H₂O develop absorption bands which are found in natural samples, however the OH absorption spectra of these annealed olivines are not identical to those of any single natural crystal. Sharp-band OH abundances in annealed samples are an order of magnitude lower than the maximum measured in natural specimens. The mechanical properties determined from these annealed olivines may not be directly applicable to mantle olivine because both the OH sites and concentrations are different.     

Notes on fossil whales from the Upper Eocene of Barton,Hampshire

Three vertebrae discovered in the Barton Clay of Hampshire are described and assigned to two archaeocete whales: the short-bodied dolphin-like Zygorhiza and the large serpentine Basilosaurus. This is the first record of the latter genus outside North America.     

The provenance and crustal residence ages of British sediments in relation to palaeogeographic reconstructions

24 SmNd isotope analyses of fine-grained Phanerozoic and modern clastic sediments from Britain and Quebec are presented. In combination with published data, they have been used to calculate “crustal residence ages” (t_CR) and to assess the provenance of the British sedimentary mass. Sediments now preserved on either side of the suture formed by the closure of the Iapetus Ocean ca. 400 Ma ago were derived from isotopically distinct source regions. Sediments north of the suture are characterised by1.7 < t_CR < 2.8 Ga, whereas those to the south exhibit a smaller range and an average value of 1.6 Ga. The northern and southern source regions were most probably Laurentia and Gondwana respectively. It seems likely that a third source, perhaps Baltica, provided the lower Palaeozoic Southern Uplands succession. Sediments deposited in southern Britain after the closure of Iapetus were derived mainly from the recycling of older sediments. The tectonic rearrangements which occurred during the Phanerozoic are not reflected in the SmNd isotopic structure of the southern British sedimentary mass, suggesting that the Caledonian and Hercynian orogenies, and even the Grenville orogeny, involved minimal accretion of new mantle-derived material into the British and adjacent continental crust. SmNd analyses of fine-grained clastic sediments provide a powerful sedimentological tool for elucidating palaeogeography, clastic source areas, sediment recycling and maturity, and some aspects of sediment transport.     

Extreme fractionation in felsic magma chambers: a product of liquid-state diffusion or fractional crystallization?

Extreme fractionation of minor and trace elements commonly accompanies very modest changes in major element concentrations in highly felsic igneous sequences. In such sequences, Si increases by only a few percent while, for example, Sr, Ba, Mg, and light rare earth elements decrease drastically, commonly by a factor of 10 or more. It has been argued, most notably by Hildreth (e.g. [1]), that such trends observed in tuffs were not induced by fractional crystallization (FC), but rather are a manifestation of compositional gradients in parental magma chambers which form via liquid-state thermogravitational diffusion (LSTD). The strongest arguments against FC are that (1) crystal settling is not a viable mechanism for crystal-liquid separation, and (2) extensive recrystallization is required to produce the observed trends, yet the tuffs are relatively crystal-poor. Many workers have noted trends in plutonic as well as volcanic rocks which are strikingly similar to those for which LSTD has been proposed, and some have concluded that LSTD was the fractionating mechanism.Several lines of evidence lead us to the conclusion that FC is the dominant differentiating process in high-silica magmas: (1) elemental trends are strikingly consistent with those predicted for FC; it would be a remarkable coincidence if diffusion-induced trends mimicked FC so closely; (2) large phenocryst assemblages in high-silica tuffs indicate low-variance liquid compositions that would be improbable if crystal-liquid equilibria were not controlling differentiation; (3) highly evolved plutonic rocks in many cases do not form the caps expected for LSTD, but rather occur in dikes and pods where they apparently segregated as late liquids; (4) recent experimental studies suggest that trends induced by diffusion differ drastically from observed felsic igneous trends.We do not believe that the principal arguments against FC in high-silica systems (unlikelihood of crystal settling; crystal-poor nature of tuffs) refute the reality of the chemical process, but rather emphasize the need for a better understanding of the physical mechanisms of crystal-liquid fractionation and eruption.     

Concentration of Utah tar sands by an ambient temperature flotation process

Physical separation of bitumen from low-grade Utah tar sand deposits containing a relatively high viscosity bitumen phase (Sunnyside and Tar Sand Triangle deposits) has been accomplished by traditional size reduction and froth flotation techniques. At appropriate experimental conditions more than 90% of the bitumen can be recovered in a concentrate, containing more than 20 wt. % bitumen, which should be a suitable feed material for subsequent hot water or thermal processing. The efficiency of bitumen recovery depends on the extent of size reduction, as well as promoter and dispersant addition. Rejection of greater than 60% of the sand at ambient temperature and ease of water removal from the concentrate make such a process strategy both energy and cost effective. The energy required to achieve effective separation by the ambient temperature process is significantly less than the energy required for the recently developed hot water process which is being evaluated in a 100-tpd pilot plant this year.The flotation behaviour of the tar sand in this ambient temperature process has been correlated with contact angle measurements and the apparent point-of-zero-charge of the bitumen. The best flotation response at pH 7.8 to 9.0 occurs when the contact angle between the air bubble and bitumen surface is a maximum, corresponding to the apparent point-of-zero-charge of the bitumen as determined by titration.     

Annual oceanic heat transports computed from an atmospheric model

Mean annual estimates of the oceanic poleward energy transport are obtained using a global atmospheric general circulation model. The computations are carried out by using the atmospheric model to determine the net annual heat flux into the ocean on an 8° × 10° grid. Assuming no net annual heat storage, the annual surface heat fluxes into any zonal band must be accompanied by a corresponding meridional heat transport in the ocean. Heat is transported northward at all latitudes in the Atlantic Ocean and is transported poleward in both hemispheres in the Pacific Ocean. To account for the net northward transport throughout the Atlantic, heat is transported into the Atlantic from the Indian and Pacific basins. The results are compared with several recent direct and indirect calculations of oceanic meridional heat transports.     

Gravity in one dimension: Stability of a three particle system

The autonomous dynamical system consisting of parallel planes of constant mass density moving under their mutual gravitational attraction is of interest for testing diverse astrophysical models of gravitational relaxation. The simplest non-integrable system consists of three sheets. In this paper the dynamics and stability of this one-dimensional solar system is systematically investigated. A linear transformation of the coordinates reduces the problem to that of a falling body constrained by oblique boundaries. By constructing a Poincare surface of section, it is found that regions of stability and chaos coexist. This behavior is predicted by the KAM theorem for systems having smoother trajectories in phase space, but does not apply here because of the discontinuity in acceleration experienced by each sheet during an encounter. The results of numerical experiments indicate that chaotic regions may be associated with trajectories which contain nearly triple collisions of the three particles.