Noble gases in the earth's mantle

The abundances and isotopic compositions of noble gases in two samples from ultramafic xenoliths in alkali basalt, a young kaersutitic amphibole separated from a peridotite xenolith from Dish Hill, California and an ancient whole-rock lherzolite xenolith from Baja California, are reported and compared with the results of analyses on other mantle samples. In addition to previously recognized excesses of ³He and ¹²⁹Xe, our results indicate that ambient gases in the mantle show a general enrichment of the lighter-mass nonradiogenic isotopes of Ar, Kr and Xe, and Ar with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar = 3 · 10².     

Detrital barytes in the Karoo Supergroup of Southern Africa

Beds of sedimentary barytes are found in late Paleozoic sediments in the northeasternmost part of South Africa and adjoining parts of Rhodesia. The baryte horizon consists of 2 beds of composite thickness of up to 50 cm within a sequence of partly porcellaneous shales. It is dark gray to redbrown in colour, in places also black, and then contains traces of H₂S. It usually consists of fine-grained subrounded tabular grains of detrital origin. This horizon frequently contains aggregates of upward diverging acicular baryte which formed diagenetically within the detrital baryte. The deposit was formed through reworking of semiconsolidated clays containing baryte concretions. Such shales are known to occur to the west of the baryte deposit in contemporaneous sediments.

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Zusammenfassung In spätpaläozoischen Sedimenten im Nordosten Südafrikas und dem angrenzenden Bereich Rhodesiens treten sedimentäre Barytlagen auf. Die Barytzone besteht aus zwei Lagen mit einer gemeinsamen größten Mächtigkeit von 50 cm, innerhalb einer Abfolge teilweise verkieselter Tonschiefer. Der Baryt ist dunkelgrau bis rotbraun, stellenweise auch schwarz, und enthält dann Spuren von H₂S. Er besteht meist aus feinkörnigen kantengerundeten schwach plattigen Kristallen detritischer Herkunft. Die Zone enthält häufig Aggregate aus nach oben divergierenden nadeligen Barytkristallen, die sich frühdiagenetisch im detritischen Baryt bildeten. Das Vorkommen entstand durch Aufarbeitung von Barytkonkretionen in schwach verfestigten Tonen. Entsprechende Tonschiefer treten in gleichaltrigen Sedimenten westlich des Barytvorkommens auf.

     

Spectroscopic studies on soil organic fractions—II. IR and 1H-NMR spectra of methylated and unmethylated fulvic acids

The IR and ¹H-NMR spectra of fulvic acids (FA) are discussed. The FA, extracted by traditional methods, were fractionated on the basis of molecular weight (m.w.). Three fractions were obtained labelled FA I (m.w. > ～ 2000), FA II (m.w. > ～ 12000) and FA III (～2000 < m.w. < ～ 12000). Fraction FA II was methylated with CH₃I-Ag₂O. The ¹H-NMR spectra of unmethylated FA fractions show some signals common to all three fractions and some differences in the 3–5 ppm range due to the resonances of OCH₃ and O-CH₂ groups. The proton spectrum of the methylated fraction shows absorption areas for OCH₃ groups of phenols and carboxyls. The results confirm that NMR spectroscopy is a convenient technique which can contribute to defining the chemical structure of humic substances.     

Recoiling alpha-emitting nuclei. Mechanisms for uranium-series disequilibrium

High-sensitivity experiments with particles that are strongly enriched in alpha-emitting nuclei show that damaged regions are produced that can be eroded by subsequent exposure to water. Direct ejection of recoil nuclei from solid grains is also observed. These observations appear to supply a basis for understanding disequilibria between ²³⁸U and ²³⁴U in natural samples that have been exposed to water. The two mechanisms observed are expected to act under different natural conditions.     

Gravimetric studies of Taal Volcano,philippines

Taal Volcano is peculiar in its violent explosivity in spite of its low altitude. The surrounding topographies suggest that the origin of Taal Volcano is either a caldera or a graben structure. To confirm the caldera origin one must search for a vast quantity of caldera ejecta balancing with the depression. As a first step, a gravity survey was carried out on and around Taal Volcano, and high gravity anomalies were lound on Volcano Island. The distribution of the gravities may suggest a graben structure overlying a denser layer of igneous material.     

Lunar glass compositions: Apollo 16 core sections 60002 and 60004

Approximately 500 glasses between 1 mm and 125 μm in size have been analyzed from fourteen samples from the Apollo 16 core sections 60002 and 60004. The majority of glasses have compositions comparable to those found in previous studies of lunar surface soils; however, two new and distinct glass compositions that are probably derived in part from mare material occur in the core samples. The major glass composition in all samples is that of Highland Basalt glass, but it also appears that high-K Fra Mauro Basalt (KREEP) glass is more common at the Apollo 16 site than was previously thought. The relative abundance of glasses within the core samples is random in distribution: each sample is characterized by a particular assemblage and distribution of the constituent glass compositions.     

Gold in “primitive” Archaean volcanics

Gold concentrations have been determined by neutron activation in sixteen samples of komatiites and related rocks from Barberton, South Africa. All the rocks give Au values in the ranges 1–1.5 ppb with no evidence for anomalously high values in such old primitive igneous types. As the rocks are extensively hydrated, it is possible that Au has been leached from the rocks during later hydration processes.