Mineral dissolution in the Cape Cod aquifer, Massachusetts, USA: I . Reaction stoichiometry and impact of accessory feldspar and glauconite on strontium isotopes, solute concentrations, and REY distribution

To compare relative reaction rates of mineral dissolution in a mineralogically simple groundwater aquifer, we studied the controls on solute concentrations, Sr isotopes, and rare earth element and yttrium (REY) systematics in the Cape Cod aquifer. This aquifer comprises mostly carbonate-free Pleistocene sediments that are about 90% quartz with minor K-feldspar, plagioclase, glauconite, and Fe-oxides. Silica concentrations and pH in the groundwater increase systematically with increasing depth, while Sr isotopic ratios decrease. No clear relationship between ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and Sr concentration is observed. At all depths, the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of the groundwater is considerably lower than the Sr isotopic ratio of the bulk sediment or its K-feldspar component, but similar to that of a plagioclase-rich accessory separate obtained from the sediment. The Si-⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr-depth relationships are consistent with dissolution of accessory plagioclase. In addition, solutes such as Sr, Ca, and particularly K show concentration spikes superimposed on their respective general trends. The K-Sr-⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr systematics suggests that accessory glauconite is another major solute source to Cape Cod groundwater. Although the authigenic glauconite in the Cape Cod sediment is rich in Rb, it is low in in-grown radiogenic ⁸⁷Sr because of its young Pleistocene age. The low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are consistent with equilibration of glauconite with seawater. The impact of glauconite is inferred to vary due to its variable abundance in the sediments. In the Cape Cod groundwater, the variation of REY concentrations with sampling depth resembles that of K and Rb, but differs from that of Ca and Sr. Shale-normalized REY patterns are light REY depleted, show negative Ce anomalies and super-chondritic Y/Ho ratios, but no Eu anomalies. REY input from feldspar, therefore, is insignificant compared to input from a K-Rb-bearing phase, inferred to be glauconite. These results emphasize that interpretation of groundwater chemistry, even in relatively simple aquifers, may be complicated by solute contributions from “exotic” accessory minerals such as glauconite. To detect such peculiarities, groundwater studies should combine the study of elemental concentration and isotopic composition of several solutes that show different geochemical behavior.     

Transport and economic development in the less-developed countries: Some reflections on the seaports of Kenya and Tanzania

The significant role of transport in the development of less-developed countries is widely accepted, but the critical importance of seaports is often under-appreciated. Evidence from the Indian Ocean ports of Kenya and Tanzania is used in this paper to illustrate and support the argument that efficient port operation is an essential contributory factor in the development process.     

High chromium contents in Tertiary coal deposits of northwestern Washington — A key to their depositional history

Chromium contents obtained from 20 coal and 5 associated rock samples collected from the basal part of the Eocene Chuckanut Formation, in Skagit and Whatcom counties, northwest Washington, range between 30 and 300 ppm (mean 120 ppm whole-coal basis). The lenticular coals, ranging in rank from subbituminous to anthracite, and with an ash content of 12–46%, crop out along the western flank of the Cascade Range. Results of X-ray diffraction analysis of low-temperature ash show that the mineral matter in the coal samples consists predominantly of quartz and clay (kaolinite, illite and chlorite group). However, accessory minerals, isolated from the coal samples and analyzed by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope and optical methods, contain angular fragments and euhedral crystals of the spinel group (chromite, magnetite and trevorite ), kaolinite-serpentine group (antigorite and chrysotile), chlorite group, amphibole group and pyroxene group minerals (augite, diopside and enstatite), all of which are commonly enriched in chromium.Although associated primarily with the inorganic fraction of the coal, concentrations of chromium in the samples show no statistically significant correlation with ash content. Localized concentrations of chromium in the coal are the result of natural contamination from the alteration of detrital chromium-bearing mineral grains introduced into the peat-forming mires from nearby Jurassic ophiolite bodies. The coals formed in the early Eocene, in rapidly subsiding small basins that developed during the uplift and erosion of the pre-Tertiary ophiolite terrain. Scattered bodies of source rock, random distribution of chromium-bearing minerals within the coal and sample heterogeneity account for the variation in Cr contents of the samples.     

Near‐fault effects on residual displacements of RC structures

Residual displacements of single‐degree‐of‐freedom systems due to ground motions with velocity pulses or fling step displacements are presented as a function of period T and of its ratio to the pulse period T_p. Four hysteretic behaviors are considered: bilinear elastoplastic, stiffness‐degrading with cycling, stiffness‐cum‐strength degrading, with or without pinching. When expressed in terms of T/T_p, peak inelastic and residual displacements due to motions with a pulse or fling appear similar to those due to far‐fault motions, if the response to far‐field records are expressed in terms of the ratio of T to the record's characteristic period. However, as the latter is usually much shorter than the pulse period of motions with fling, the range of periods of interest for common structures becomes a short‐period range under fling motions and exhibits very large amplification of residual and peak inelastic displacements. Similar, but less acute, are the effects of motions with a velocity pulse. Wavelets of different complexity are studied as approximations to near‐fault records. Simple two‐parameter wavelets for fling motions overestimate peak inelastic displacements; those for pulse‐type motions overestimate residual displacements. A more complex four‐parameter wavelet for motions with a velocity pulse predicts overall well residual and peak displacements due to either pulse‐ or fling‐type motions; a hard‐to‐identify parameter of the wavelet impacts little computed residual displacements; another significantly affects them and should be carefully estimated from the record. Even this most successful of wavelets overpredicts residual displacements for the periods of engineering interest. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Centrifuge modeling of PGD response of buried pipe

A new centrifuge based method for determining the response of continuous buried pipe to PGD is presented. The physical characteristics of the RPI‘s 100 g-ton geotechnical centrifuge and the current lifeline experiment split-box are described: The split-box contains the model pipeline and surrounding soil and is manufactured such that half can be offset, in flight, simulating PGD. In addition, governing similitude relations which allow one to determine the physical characteristics, (diameter, wall thickness and material modulus of elasticity) of the model pipeline are presented. Finally, recorded strains induced in two buried pipes with prototype diameters of 0.63 m and 0.95 m (24 and 36 inch) subject to 0.6 and 2.0 meters (2 and 6 feet) of full scale fault offsets and presented and compared to corresponding FE results.     

The invention that opened the solar system to exploration

The invention of gravity-propelled interplanetary space travel (also known as “gravity-assist trajectories”) in the early 1960s broke the high-energy barrier of classical space travel based on reaction propulsion, and made possible the exploration of the entire solar system with instrumented spacecraft. In this concept, a free-fall spacecraft is launched from a launch planet P₁ to a nearby planet P₂ such that its gravitational field (superimposed on the gravitational field of the Sun) catapults the vehicle to another planet P₃, which in turn is used to repeat the process. Thus, through a series of planetary encounters, a gravity-propelled trajectory P₁-P₂-P₃-P₄-…-P_N is generated. This paper describes how the invention was conceived and how the difficult mathematical problem of computing the trajectories was solved in order to numerically investigate and use the invention in actual missions. The crucial roles played by the UCLA Computing Facility and the Departments of Mathematics and Physics are also described.     

The Al-Fe(III)epidote miscibility gap in a metamorphic profile through the penninic series of the Tauern window,Austria

The compositional variations in epidotes, Ca₂Al₂(Fe³⁺, Al)-Si₃O₁₂(OH), from a prograde Mesozoic rock series in the Eastern Alps, Austria, are systematically related to metamorphic grade and the oxidation state of the rock. With increasing metamorphic grade the average composition of the zoned epidotes shifts to Fe³⁺-poorer compositions reflecting not only the effect of temperature and total pressure but also the concomitant decrease of the oxidation state of the rocks. Oxidized hematite-bearing assemblages are: 90 mole % Al₂FeEp (greenschists) 70 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites) 58 mole % Al₂FeEp (eclogites); reduced sulfidebearing assemblages are: 42 mole % Al₂FeEp (greenschists) 24 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites) 23 mole % Al₂FeEp (eclogites).A similar compositional evolution of the epidotes as in the spatial sequence of the samples can be observed within the single zoned crystals, reflecting the temporal changes of temperature, total pressure and oxygen fugacity during the prograde crystallization. The Fe³⁺-contents of core and rim decrease with increasing metamorphic grade and decreasing oxidation state. Generally the zoned epidotes consist of a Fe³⁺-rich core (90 to 63 mole % Al₂FeEp) and a Fe³⁺-poorer rim (55 to 23 mole % Al₂FeEp). Core and rim of the epidote crystals are separated by a compositional gap the extension of which is independent of the bulk rock composition, the oxidation state, and the mineralogical composition of the assemblages but becomes smaller with increasing metamorphic grade: 7253 mole % Al₂FeEp (low grade greenschists, 400° C) 6355 mole % Al₂FeEp (higher grade greenschists, 500° C), and 6055 mole % Al₂FeEp (garnet amphibolites, 500–550° C). At the temperature conditions of the highest grade garnet amphibolites and eclogites (550° C) the compositional gap closes at a composition of 58 mole % Al₂FeEp.The data presented thus confirm clearly the existence of an asymmetric miscibility gap in the monoclinic Al-Fe(III)-epidote solid solution series, which, for the first time, has been assumed by Strens (1964, 1965).A model is proposed that describes the prograde compositional evolution of the epidotes studied through the competing mechanisms of growth and diffusional Al-Fe³⁺ exchange and their dependence on metamorphic grade and oxidation state.     

Small hypervelocity particles captured in aerogel collectors: Location,extraction, handling and storage

Abstract— It has now been about a decade since the first demonstrations that hypervelocity particles could be captured, partially intact, in aerogel collectors. But the initial promise of a bonanza of partially‐intact extraterrestrial particles, collected in space, has yet to materialize. One of the difficulties that investigators have encountered is that the location, extraction, handling and analysis of very small (10 μm and less) grains, which constitute the vast majority of the captured particles, is challenging and burdensome. Furthermore, current extraction techniques tend to be destructive over large areas of the collectors. Here we describe our efforts to alleviate some of these difficulties. We have learned how to rapidly and efficiently locate captured particles in aerogel collectors, using an automated microscopic scanning system originally developed for experimental nuclear astrophysics. We have learned how to precisely excavate small access tunnels and trenches using an automated micromanipulator and glass microneedles as tools. These excavations are only destructive to the collector in a very small area—this feature may be particularly important for excavations in the precious Stardust collectors. Using actuatable silicon microtweezers, we have learned how to extract and store “naked” particles—essentially free of aerogel—as small as 3 μm in size. We have also developed a technique for extracting particles, along with their terminal tracks, still embedded in small cubical aerogel blocks. We have developed a novel method for storing very small particles in etched nuclear tracks. We have applied these techniques to the extraction and storage of grains captured in aerogel collectors (Particle Impact Experiment, Orbital Debris Collector Experiment, Comet‐99) in low Earth orbit.