The effect of iteration frequency on a numerical model of near-surface ice segregation

It is possible to construct numerical models of the ice segregation process. However, the model is a discrete approximation of a nonlinear continuous process and thus is subject to somewhat more pronounced effects of node geometry and calculation frequency than linear models. The model more closely simulates natural frozen soil structure when vapor phase transport is included in the model structure. An iteration frequency of 10 s appeared sufficient to yield realistic results with the exponentially spaced node geometry employed in these tests.     

Climatic implications of D/H ratios of meteoric water over North America (9500–22,000 B.P.) as inferred from ancient wood cellulose CH hydrogen

δD and δ¹³C values have been measured for the unexchangeable hydrogen and the total carbon of cellulose extracted from 40 North American¹⁴C-dated trees that range in age from 9500 to 22,000 years B.P.Meteoric waters which precipitated over ice-free regions of North America in the interval 14,000–22,000 B.P. had more positive δD values than corresponding modern waters by an average of 19‰. Lower ocean temperatures and smaller temperature gradients than exist at present between ocean and ice-free North America are indicated for the late Wisconsin glacial maximum. This is compatible with warmer winters and cooler summers for this glacial period. The δD value of the North American ice sheet during the Late Wisconsin maximum was approximately ?100‰ as determined from the inferred δD values of the waters of proglacial lakes Agassiz and Whittlesey. From this figure the increase in δ¹⁸O of the oceans during the glacial maximum can be calculated to have been +0.8‰. At the point where they began to move over the ice, air masses supplying moisture to the North American ice sheet contained a little more than 50% of their original moisture content, which is a much greater percentage than exists in air masses supplying the modern Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. This relatively vapor-rich air coupled with lower summer temperatures, which reduced ablation, probably contributed to the maintenance and growth of the ice sheet.The transition from glacial to interglacial conditions on North America was rapid and occurred within a 2000–3000-year interval. However, the transition may not have been synchronous over North America.A 40-year δD record in a spruce branch from the Two Creeks (Wisconsin) forest (～11,800 B.P.) shows large variations which suggest an unusual hydrologic environment in the area of the tree.Cellulose δ¹³C values range between ?20.8 and ?25.9‰, but do not correlate with δD variations for the samples analyzed in this work. Thus, climatic significance of δ¹³C variations cannot be resolved from these data.     

Low-Cost Apparatus for On-Site Monitoring of Methane in Ground Water

An upsurge in oil- and gas-well drilling in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York has been accompanied by several incidents of contamination of ground water by methane. Determining which well is causing the contamination is extremely difficult if more than one gas or oil well is present in the area.
The fact that the solubility of methane decreases as the pressure on ground water decreases provides a quantitative basis for monitoring changes in the amount of methane in the ground water. Quantitative measurements of the volume of methane given off by ground water pumped from a well as the water enters atmospheric pressure permit detection of temporal changes in the gas content which are too subtle to be detected visually. These gas volume changes may, in some cases, be correlated with variations in the pressure of methane in the annulus of nearby individual gas/oil wells and thus may provide a means of pinpointing the gas/oil well that is causing the methane contamination.
The basic principle of the gas-volume monitoring apparatus (GVMA) described in this paper is that as a measured amount of ground water enters atmospheric pressure the gas which comes out of solution is trapped and measured. The GVMA can be constructed of materials costing less than $100 and requires no special skills to assemble or operate. In a recent study conducted in a western New York village, four homeowners were able to collect quantitative gas-volume data from their household water wells daily in about one-half hour. Unlike laboratory analyses for dissolved methane, there is no cost involved in monitoring with the GVMA beyond the initial instrument cost and operator time. Another advantage is that the data are available immediately.     

The determination of the D/H ratio of non-exchangeable hydrogen in cellulose extracted from aquatic and land plants

A method has been developed for the analysis of D/H ratios of non-exchangeable hydrogen in plant cellulose. Plant samples are nitrated at low temperature and pure cellulose nitrate is extracted by acetone dissolution. Tests of this nitrated product have demonstrated that the nitration-extraction procedure eliminates the OH hydrogen and does not alter the D/H ratio of the cellulose carbon-bound hydrogen. Significant differences exist between δD values of plant total hydrogen and δD values of cellulose nitrate hydrogen. This difference is due to the effect of chemical heterogeneity of the δD value of plant material. Plant-extracted cellulose nitrate D/H ratios are systematically related to the D/H ratios of the associated environmental water. The overall relationship is linear with slope of one and intercept of ?22%. Five aquatic plants which grew at 16–17°C are related isotopically to the water by a linear curve with a slope of 1 and intercept of ?36%. Three plants which grew at 28–29°C have an intercept of ?11%. The general dependence of plant cellulose non-exchangeable hydrogen D/H ratios on the D/H ratios of the associated environmental water suggests that variations of the extracted cellulose nitrate δD values of plants can be used as indicators of climatic change.     

Climatic implications of the D/H ratio of hydrogen in C-H groups in tree cellulose

Isotopic climate records in tree rings were obtained by the δD analyses of the hydrogen in cellulose nitrate extracted from tree rings in a Scots pine from Loch Affric, Scotland, and from a bristlecone pine from the White Mountains, California. This method of analysis measures δD values of only the isotopically non-exchangeable hydrogen of the cellulose in wood and thus eliminates serious complications in the δD record caused by the chemical heterogeneity of wood and by the isotopic exchangeability of some of its hydrogen. The average δD values of the two pines are markedly different, reflecting the contrasting climates of the two areas. The bristlecone δD record contains a 22-year periodicity perhaps recording a possible 20- to 22-year periodicity of drought conditions in the Great Plains of North America. There is no such significant periodicity in the δD record of the Scots pine.The long-term δD trends in the two pines, as represented by 40-year running averages of the δD data, correlate linearly over the time period 1841–1970 A.D., which is the total growth period of the Scots pine. The long-term δD trend of the Scots pine correlates well with the 1841–1970 winter temperatures of Edinburgh, Scotland.The long-term δD trend of the bristlecone pine, which extends over the time period 970–1970 A.D., correlates qualitatively with long-term climatic trends estimated by LaMarche from tree ring width data and by Lamb from many sources of climatic data.δD analyses were also made on early and late woods from the same annual ring. The δD values of these woods differ to various degrees and the sign of the difference can also vary.     

The extent of oxygen isotope exchange between clay minerals and sea water

The extent of oxygen isotopic exchange between detrital clay minerals and sea water was investigated by analyzing $\text{O}{}^{18}\text{O}{}^{16}$ ratios of separated fine-grained size fractions of deep-sea sediments from three North Pacific ocean cores. Isotopic results were interpreted according to models based on the assumption that the extent of isotopic exchange should increase with decreasing particle size and increasing time of exchange between the sediment and sea water. The data indicate that information concerning the provenance and mode of formation of detrital clay minerals can be obtained from the $\text{O}{}^{18}\text{O}{}^{16}$ ratios of the coarser-than-0.1 μm fraction of deep-sea sediments younger than several million years and the finer-than-0.1 μm fraction of deep-sea sediments younger than several tens of thousands of years. Furthermore, if the extent of chemical reaction between detrital clays and sea water is similar to the extent of oxygen isotopic exchange, such reaction may be important in regulating the chemistry of sea water.     

Geophysical evidence on the structure of the Taupo Volcanic Zone and its hydrothermal circulation

The Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) of New Zealand is characterised by extensive volcanism and by high rates of magma production. Associated with this volcanism are numerous high-temperature (> 250 °C) geothermal systems through which the natural heat output of 4200 ± 500 MW is channelled. Outside the geothermal fields the heat flow is negligible. The average heat flux from the central 6000 km² of the TVZ, which contains most of the geothermal fields, is 700 mW/m³. This heat flux appears to be more concentrated along the eastern margin of the TVZ.Schlumberger resistivity measurements (AB/2 of 500 m and 1000 m) have identified 17 distinct geothermal fields with natural heat outputs greater than 20 MW. An additional six, low-heat-output geothermal fields also occur, and may represent formerly more active systems now in decline. Two extinct fields have also been identified. The average spacing between fields is 10–15 km. The distribution of geothermal fields does not appear to be directly associated with individual volcanic features except for the geothermal system that occurs within Lake Taupo and which occupies the vent of the 1800 yr.B.P. Taupo eruption. The positions of the geothermal fields do not appear to have varied for at least the last 200,000 years. These data are consistent with a model of large-scale convection occurring throughout the TVZ, in which the geothermal fields represent the upper portion of the rising, high-temperature, convective plumes. The majority of the recharge to the convection system is provided by the downward movement of cold meteoric water between the fields which suppresses the heat flow in these regions.Gravity measurements indicate that to a depth of about 2.5 km the upper layers of the TVZ consist of low-density pyroclastic infill. A seismic refraction interface with velocity change from 3.2 km/s to 5.5 km/s occurs at a similar depth. The cross-sectional area of the convection plumes (identified electrically) appears to increase at depths of 1–2 km, consistent with a decrease in permeability at the depth at which the velocity and density increase.The seismicity is dominated by swarm activity which accounts for about half of all earthquakes and is highly variable in both space and time. The small number of seismic events (and swarms) that have well determined depths show a cut off of seismicity at depths of 7–9 km. The depth of the transition from brittle to ductile behaviour of the rocks is identified with the transition from a regime where heat is transported by (hydrothermal) convection and pore pressures are near-hydrostatic to a regime where heat transport is dominantly conductive and pore pressures are lithostatic. Within the convective region, temperatures are moderated by the circulation of water so that the depth of the transition from convective to conductive heat transfer can be linked to the bottom of the seismogenic zone. Rocks must become ductile within about 1 km of the bottom of the overlying convective zone.Seismic refraction studies suggest that the crust beneath the TVZ is highly thinned with a seismic velocity of about 7.5 km/ s, typical of the upper mantle, occurring at depth of 15 km. Seismological studies indicate the upper mantle is highly attenuating beneath the TVZ. Conductive heat transfer between the bottom of the convective system, at about 8 km, and the base of the material with crustal velocities, at 15 km, is not able to provide all the heat that is discharged at the surface. Repeated intrusion from the mantle may provide the additional heat transport required.     

A Compilation of Silicon and Thirty One Trace Elements Measured in the Natural River Water Reference Material SLRS-4 (NRC-CNRC)

The natural river water certified reference material SLRS-4 (NRC-CNRC, National Research Council-Conseil National de Recherches Canada) has been routinely analysed for major and trace elements by six French laboratories. Most measurements were made using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. For silicon and thirty one trace elements (rare earth elements, Ag, B, Br, Cs, Ga, Ge, Li, P, Pd, Rb, Se, Th, Ti, Tl, W, Y and Zr), no certified values are assigned by NRC-CNRC. We propose some compilation values and related uncertainties according to the results obtained by the different laboratories.     

The force-restore method revisited

The so-called ‘force-restore method’ has been used with considerable success in numerical weather prediction models to simulate diurnal variations of ground temperature. This note demonstrates that the force-restore equation is no more nor less than an approximation to the surface-energy-balance equation. The applicability of the method to the case of multi-component heating functions and to the case in which the soil is covered by a litter layer is discussed.