The relationship of soil 210Po and 210Pb geochemical dispersion patterns to uranium mineralization

²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb measurements of soils delineated uranium anomalies at three out of four test sites in Ontario, Canada. Measurements were made of ²¹⁰Po in solutions produced by both complete digestion and partial leaching of soil samples. Direct plating of ²¹⁰Po onto metal plates was followed by measuring the alpha activity. Subsequent plating of ²¹⁰Po in-grown from ²¹⁰Pb in solution several months later confirmed the anomalies.The ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb anomalies at three of the test sites coincided with ²²⁶Ra and ²²²Rn anomalies. Samples from the fourth uranium occurrence associated with a known ²²²Rn anomaly failed to show either a ²²⁶Ra anomaly on the one hand, or ²¹⁰Po or ²¹⁰Pb anomalies on the other. This suggests that the ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb anomalies were probably produced by the decay of ²²⁶Ra contained within secondary dispersion haloes.Although anomalies due to the ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb products of ²²²Rn have now been documented, prospecting methods based on their use as direct tracers of the migration paths of ²²²Rn require much further development.     

Radio sources in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey – II. Local radio luminosity functions for AGN and star-forming galaxies at 1.4 GHz

We have cross-matched the 1.4-GHz NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) with the first 210 fields observed in the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS), covering an effective area of 325 deg² (about 20 per cent of the final 2dFGRS area). This yields a set of optical spectra of 912 candidate NVSS counterparts, of which we identify 757 as genuine radio identifications – the largest and most homogeneous set of radio source spectra ever obtained. The 2dFGRS radio sources span the redshift range     to 0.438, and are a mixture of active galaxies (60 per cent) and star-forming galaxies (40 per cent). About 25 per cent of the 2dFGRS radio sources are spatially resolved by NVSS, and the sample includes three giant radio galaxies with projected linear size greater than 1 Mpc. The high quality of the 2dF spectra means we can usually distinguish unambiguously between AGN and star-forming galaxies. We make a new determination of the local radio luminosity function at 1.4 GHz for both active and star-forming galaxies, and derive a local star formation density of         .     

Residues of toxaphene in finfish and shellfish from Terry and Dupree Creeks, Georgia, U.S.A.

To better characterize human health risks associated with potentially contaminated seafood, 56 composite samples of edible tissue of several finfish and shellfish species were analyzed for residues of toxaphene using gas chromatography with electron capture and negative ion mass spectrometric detection (GC-ECD and GC-ECNI-MS). Toxaphene in these samples, collected in 1997 near a former toxaphene plant in Brunswick, Georgia, were previously reported as non-detectable using non-selective techniques. Estimated total toxaphene concentrations (ΣTOX) ranged from less than 0.01 to 26 μ g⁻¹ on a wet tissue basis. Smaller, bottom dwelling finfish such as croaker, mullet, and spot exhibited the highest ΣTOX (0.76–26 μg g⁻¹), larger predatory fish including seatrout contained intermediate levels (0.08–4.4 μg g⁻¹), and shellfish (blue crab and shrimp) contained the lowest levels (<0.01 to 0.27 μg g⁻¹). For a given species, samples from the site furthest from the toxaphene plant had lower ΣTOX than samples from the other 3 sites. On a congener specific basis, levels ranged from <0.0025 to 3.5 μg g⁻¹. Congener distributions were, in general, dominated by 2-exo, 3-endo, 6-exo,8,9,10-hexachlorobornane (Hx-Sed) and 2-endo,3-exo,5-endo,6-exo,8,9,10-heptachlorobornane (Hp-Sed), breakdown products of Cl₈−Cl₁₀ toxaphene homologs. Other prominent congeners confirmed by GC-ECNI-MS included Parlar numbers 26, 40/41, 42, 44, 50, 62, and 63, as well as several unidentified Cl₆−Cl₉ homologs. Minor differences in congener distribution among species and sampling locations suggested that exposure regimes and/or intrinsic biotransformation capabilities were not uniform. These results indicate that toxaphene residues were detectable in all species surveyed and at concentrations higher than estimated previously.     

Tracer Test to Evaluate Dilution of Ground Water from Lost Circulation

Lost circulation, the inadvertent injection of drilling fluids into a highly permeable and/or fractured aquifer during rotary drilling, may result in collection of spurious information if the lost drilling fluids are not adequately purged before sampling the ground water. The purpose of this study was to determine whether removal of the volume of water lost during coring of a monitoring well in the carbonate Scotch Grove Formation (Silurian, east central Iowa) necessarily ensures collection of representative ground water samples. To monitor dilution of the ground water due to lost circulation, rhodamine dye was added to the drilling water and dye recovery was measured in samples collected during purging of five separate 5- to 10-foot intervals.
Circulation loss occurred in all five intervals, ranging from nearly 200 gallons in the upper permeable portion of the Scotch Grove to 25 gallons in the less permeable Buck Creek Member below. When the volume of water purged from the upper three intervals corresponded to the volume of water lost during coring, the purge water still contained 11 to 20 percent dyed drilling water. As purging continued, the proportion of drilling water in the samples decreased slowly. After purging more than 200 gallons of water, 86 to 98 percent of the dyed drilling water was recovered from the five test intervals. Four traditionally measured water quality parameters-pH, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen — were less useful than the dye recovery for distinguishing drilling water from formation water in those zones in which the ground water quality was similar to the drilling water. These results indicate that the determination of the quantity of water to be purged prior to sampling must be based, at least in part, on aquifer lithology and hydraulic characteristics.     

Hydrochemical and stable isotope evidence for the extent and nature of the effective Chalk aquifer of north Norfolk, UK

In eastern England the Chalk aquifer is covered by extensive Pleistocene deposits which influence the hydraulic conditions and hydrochemical nature of the underlying aquifer. In this study, the results of geophysical borehole logging of groundwater temperature and electrical conductivity and depth sampling for major ion concentrations and stable isotope compositions (δ¹⁸O and δ²H) are interpreted to reveal the extent and nature of the effective Chalk aquifer of north Norfolk. It is found that the Chalk aquifer can be divided into an upper region of fresh groundwater, with a Cl concentration of typically less than 100 mg l⁻¹, and a lower region of increasingly saline water. The transition between the two regions is approximately 50 m below sea-level, and results in an effective aquifer thickness of 50–60 m in the west of the area, but less than 25 m where the Eocene London Clay boundary is met in the east of the area. Hydrochemical variations in the effective aquifer are related to different hydraulic conditions developed in the Chalk. Where the Chalk is confined by low-permeability Chalky Boulder Clay, isotopically depleted groundwater (δ¹⁸O less than −7.5‰) is present, in contrast to those areas of unconfined Chalk where glacial deposits are thin or absent (δ¹⁸O about −7.0‰). The isotopically depleted groundwater is evidence for groundwater recharge during the late Pleistocene under conditions when mean surface air temperatures are estimated to have been 4.5°C cooler than at the present day, and suggests long groundwater residence times in the confined aquifer. Elevated molar Mg:Ca ratios of more than 0.2 resulting from progressive rock-water interaction in the confined aquifer also indicate long residence times. A conceptual hydrochemical model for the present situation proposes that isotopically depleted groundwater, occupying areas where confined groundwater dates from the late Pleistocene, is being slowly modified by both diffusion and downward infiltration of modem meteoric water and diffusive mixing from below with an old saline water body.     

A Three-Dimensional Correlation/Spectral Model for Turbulent Velocities in a Convective Boundary Layer

A three-dimensional model for correlation functions and spectra in theatmospheric, convective boundary layer (CBL) is presented. The modelincludes vertical inhomogeneities introduced by eddy-blocking at the ground.By assuming the disturbance to the turbulent flow resulting from the groundblocking is irrotational, an equation is developed which allows one to writethe inhomogeneous, two-dimensional (2D) cross spectra for the blocked flowin terms of the 2D cross spectra for a homogeneous flow. VonKármán's energy spectrum then is used to determine thehomogeneous, 2D cross spectra. Although there are only two adjustableparameters in the model, the variance and a length scale, the model is shownto agree quite well with a diversity of previous results for the CBL.     

Post-flare coronal arches observed with the SMM/XRP Flat Crystal Spectrometer

The phenomenon of post-flare coronal arches, initially discovered with the Hard X-Ray Imaging Spectrometer (HXIS), was investigated using observations made with the SMM Flat Crystal Spectrometer (FCS) on 20 through 23 January, 1985. Since these observations were made with a different type of instrument from HXIS, they provide independent information on the physical characteristics of the arch phenomenon and extend our knowledge to lower coronal temperatures.Conspicuous arch activity was observed after three flares and after a disturbance which could not be identified. (1) A dynamic flare starting on 20 January at 20: 39 UT was responsible for the formation of the primary arch structure. (2) An arch revival, showing characteristics very similar to those of the arch revivals observed with HXIS, took place after the dynamic flare starting on 21 January at 23: 50 UT. The most conspicious difference relates to the moving thermal disturbance observed very shortly after the onset of the parent flare, in particular to its propagation velocity. This difference in the arch revival is probably related to the different range of plasma temperatures covered by the FCS observations (3 × 10⁶ K through 6 × 10⁶ K) and the HXIS observations (>10⁷ K) and the consequently more important effects of radiative cooling in the FCS arch revival. (3) More arch activity was observed after a (possibly dynamic) flare starting at 03: 40 UT on 21 January and (4) after an unidentified event with estimated time of occurrence near 23: 00 UT on 22 January. Similar to the arch revival, this activity was primarily characterized by the energization of (i.e., input of energy to) a pre-existing arch structure. The activity after the unidentified event suggests the existence of a mode of arch activation which is different from the typical flare-associated revival and is characterized by the absence of significant activity at chromospheric levels.     

Organic geochemistry of late Cenozoic sediments from the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean

Organic matter has been characterized in samples of Pleistocene, Pliocene, and Miocene sediments from seven Deep Sea Drilling Project sites in the subtropical South Atlantic Ocean. Organic carbon concentrations average 0.3% for most samples, and n-alkanoic acid, n-alkanol, and alkane biomarkers indicate extensive microbial reworking of organic matter in these organic-carbon-lean sediments. Samples from the easternmost parts of the South Atlantic contain an average of 4.1% organic carbon and reflect the high productivity associated with the Benguela Current. Lipid biomarkers show less microbial reworking in these sediments. Eolian transport of land-derived hydrocarbons is evident at most of these oceanic locations.