Potential for Solute Retardation on Monitoring Well Sand Packs and Its Effect on Purging Requirements for Ground Water Sampling

Monitoring well sand packs are theoretically capable of retarding metal ions and organic contaminants. If this retardation does indeed occur it may have a significant effect on the purging requirements of newly installed monitoring wells. Calculations based on mass balance and retardation concepts demonstrate that if common guidelines for well purging are followed, contaminants may not be detected or may be detected in lower concentrations than are actually present in the ground water. This problem is greatest in relatively shallow wells installed in low to moderate permeability materials. In most cases, the effect of solute retardation in the sand pack can be avoided simply by additional purging prior to the first sampling of the monitoring well. Common purging guidelines can then be applied to subsequent samplings. The methodology outlined in this paper can be used to calculate the purging requirements of existing monitoring wells or it may be applied to alternative monitoring well designs to test which will require the smallest volume of purged water.     

System-wide submerged aquatic vegetation model for Chesapeake Bay

A predictive model of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) biomass is coupled to a eutrophication model of Chesapeake Bay. Domain of the model includes the mainstem of the bay as well as tidal portions of major embayments and tributaries. Three SAV communities are modeled: ZOSTERA, RUPPIA, and FRESHWATER. The model successfully computes the spatial distribution and abundance of SAV for the period 1985–1994. Spatial distribution is primarily determined by computed light attenuation. Sensivitity analysis to reductions in nutrient and solids loads indicates nutrient controls will enhance abundance primarily in areas that presently support SAV. Restoration of SAV to areas in which it does not presently exist requires solids controls, alone or in combination with nutrient controls. For regions in which SAV populations exist at the refuge level or greater, improvements in SAV abundance are expected within 2 to 10 years of load reductions. For regions in which no refuge population exists, recovery time is unpredictable and will depend on propagule supply.     

Coda-Q before and after the 1986 Andreanof Islands earthquake

Coda-Q values before and after the May 7, 1986 Andreanof Islands earthquake in the central Aleutian subduction zone were calculated from microearthquake seismograms on the basis of Aki's single backscattering model. Digital waveforms from 329 microeathquakes in 5.4 years before the mainshock and 40 aftershocks recorded by 11 stations of the Central Aleutians Seismic Network were utilized. Before the mainshock, coda-Q in the rupture zone west of the mainshock epicenter was 15% higher than theQ outside the rupture zone to the west. A lowQ in the region east of the mainshock epicenter is inferred, but lacks solid evidence. The highQ region accords with the part of the rupture zone where most seismic moment was released. During approximately two months after the mainshock, coda-Q in the rupture zone decreased about 10%. PrecursoryQ changes were not found in the 5.4 years before the mainshock. It is deduced that a coda-Q precursor, if it existed, was of small magnitude (<10%), or its duration was either shorter than one year or longer than four years.     

Origin of rhyolites by anatectic melting of granitic crustal rocks

Rhyolitic pumice deposits on some East Aegean Islands are the remnants of a tuff sheet which covered formerly more than 2500 km². The rhyolites originated by melting of granitic crustal rocks. The petrological properties leading to this conclusion are as follows:

-mineralogical composition of the pumice being 60 wt % of glass and 40 % of relictic granitic minerals (quartz, plagioclase, potash feldspar, biotite) in «phenocrysts» up to 1 cm Ø.

-phenomena of strong corrosion, resorption and melting of all light colored «phenocrysts» in the rhyolitic pumice.

-mineralogical and chemical identity between pumice and granitic xenolites found in great quantity in the pumice tuff.

-structurally transitional types between pumice and the granites in different state of melting.

-eutectic composition of the pumice glass for a pressure of 2 kb.

     

Some weak interaction processes in highly evolved stars

Some weak interaction processes which are important in stars whose central temperatures and densities exceed 10^9°K and 10⁶ gm/cm³ are discussed. Simple analytic expressions for reaction rates which are convenient for computer studies of the late stages of stellar evolution are given.Of the National Bureau of Standards and University of Colorado.     

Thermonuclear detonations in collapsing white dwarf stars

Collapsing white dwarf stars (or degenerate cores) may occur in binary systems, in the formation of Type I supernovae or in the formation of pulsars. These collapsing configurations may explode their nuclear fuel (¹²C or¹⁶O) by the detonation wave mechanism. A combination of analytical and numerical models is used to investigate the formation of detonation waves. The tentative conclusion is that a detonation wave will form which will lead to the ignition of esentially all the fuel in such a collapsing star. This potentially explosive configuration will be strongly affected, however, by rapid beta processes which occur in the detonated matter and which should cause a fraction of the stellar mass to collapse toward a neutron star state. The nature and effect of such beta processes, which have not yet been incorporated in the dynamical calculations, are discussed.An appendix gives approximate expressions for the pressureP(,T) and the internal energy densityU(,T) for a degenerate relativistic electron gas and an analysis of the errors expected in making such approximations to the standard parametric form of the equation of state. These expressions are useful in analyzing shock waves in a degenerate electron gas.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation [GP-15911, GP-9114, GP-19887] and the Office of Naval Research [Nonr-220 (47)] at the California Institute of Technology, and National Science Foundation Grant GP-12455 at the University of Colorado.