Phase transformations and inherited lattice preferred orientations: implications for seismic properties

In phase transitions via either the martensitic (diffusionless shear) or nucleation and growth mechanism a specific orientation relationship may exist between the two phases. In cases where the orientation relationship is known, the lattice preferred orientation (LPO) inherited by the new phase may be calculated from the LPO of the old phase. The method of calculation is presented in a form suitable for the spherical harmonic method of texture analysis using the orientation distribution function (ODF). Examples are presented for the -β-quartz, calcite-aragonite, orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene and olivine-spinel transformations.

The seismic properties of the transformed and untransformed phases are calculated from the ODF and the single crystal elastic constants. In particular the -β quartz transformation is considered in detail. The quartz polycrystal is very anisotropic in the alpha field (V_p anisotropy coefficient, A = 8.1%) and almost isotropic in the β-field (A = 2.1%). The transition is accompanied by V_p velocity increase of 0.6 km/s. In the other example discussed, olivine-β-spinel, there is also a decrease in V_p anisotropy coefficient from 11.1% (olivine) to 4.0% (β-spinel). The estimate of the volume fraction of olivine at the 400 km discontinuity (associated with this phase transition) is shown to depend on the direction of wave propagation.     

A reduced-rank prediction model of stream-channel size response to traditional agricultural land-use practices in southwestern Nigeria

Stream-channel morphologic responses are found to be related to different parameters measuring traditional agricultural land-use patterns and practices in 50 small headwater basins in southwest Nigeria. The problem of intercorrelations among these parameters made it initially difficult to establish their precise channel enlargement effects and to calibrate an impact prediction model. Through factor analysis of the 22 land-use and morphometric parameters, six factors identified as measures of traditional land-use practice, farm size, planting activities, shortened fallow, relief and overland flow, were found to account for 86% of the variance in the data. The factor-defining variables are length of cropping period, areas in short fallow, farm-plot size, length of farm preparation, relief ratio and overland flow. In a multiple regression analysis, only the first three variables were found to be statistically significant in explaining stream-channel morphologic responses. Thus, areas in short fallows, average farm size and length of cropping period adequately described those aspects of the traditional farming practices that affect basin hydrologic and channel responses. Since these variables were orthogonally derived, they formed the basis for the evaluation of the channel impact status of traditional land-use activities. The duplication of information and effects in the original 22-variable full-rank model were removed while utilizing the three-factor reduced model.     

Evidence for Enhanced Mineral Dissolution in Organic Acid-Rich Shallow Ground Water

Total concentrations of formate, acetate, and isobutyrate varied from less than 5 to greater than 9,000 μmol/l over distances of < 3 m in ground water from a shallow hydrocarbon contaminated aquifer. Laboratory incubations of aquifer material indicate that organic acid concentrations were dependent on the amount of hydrocarbon loading in the sediment and the relative rates of microbial organic acid production and consumption. In heavily contaminated sediments, production greatly exceeded consumption and organic acid concentrations increased. In lightly contaminated sediments rates were essentially equal and organic acid concentrations remained low. Concentrations of dissolved calcium, magnesium, and iron generally were one to two orders of magnitude higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in ground water having low organic acid concentrations. Carbonate and Fe(III)-oxyhydroxide minerals were the likely sources of these elements. Similarly, concentrations of dissolved silica, derived from quartz and k-feldspar, were higher in organic acid-rich ground water than in other waters. The positive relation (r = 0.60, p < .05, n = 16) between concentrations of silica and organic acids suggests that the microbially mediated buildup of organic acids in ground water enhanced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution in the aquifer, although it was not the only factor influencing their dissolution. A model that included organic acid microequivalents normalized by cation microequivalents significantly strengthened the correlation (r = 0.79, p < .001, n = 16) between dissolved silica and organic acid concentrations, indicating that competition between silica and cations for complexation sites on organic acids also influenced quartz/k-feldspar dissolution. Physical evidence for enhanced mineral dissolution in organic acid-rich waters included scanning electron microscopy images of highly corroded quartz and k-feldspar grains from portions of the aquifer containing organic acid-rich ground water. Microporosity generated in hydrocarbon contaminated sediments may adversely affect remediation efforts that depend on the efficient injection of electron acceptors into an aquifer or on the recovery of solutes from an aquifer.     

Estimation of uranium endowment by subjective geological analysis—a comparison of methods and estimates for the San Juan Basin,New Mexico

This study investigates how estimates of uranium endowment made by a geologist using an appraisal system that is based upon a formalization of geoscience and decision rules compare with estimates made by informal and unconstrained intuitive processes. The motivation for this study derives from the premise that formalization of decisions would mitigate the heuristic biases and hedging that may result from the use of unconstrained intuitive processes. Estimates of the uranium endowment of the San Juan Basin of New Mexico by four methodologies are compared in this study. These methods, ranked from top to bottom by degree of decomposition (mitigating of heuristic bias)and control on hedging, are as follows Implicit 2 1.5 × 10⁶ s.t. of U₃O₈ Implicit 1 1.6 × 10⁶ s.t. of U₃O₈ NURE (1980) 2.4 × 10⁶ s.t. of U₃O₈ Appraisal system 3.9 × 10⁶ s.t. of U₃O₈ The magnitude of expected uranium endowment estimated by these methods, ranked from smallest to largest, is in this same order. With the exception of the NURE estimates, the magnitude of the variance (uncertainty)of uranium endowment, ranked from smallest to largest, also is in this same order. These results prompt the suggestion that the more decomposed and formalized the estimation procedure, the greater the expected value and the variance of uranium endowment. Equivalently, predicating U ₃ O ₈ endowment estimation strictly upon that part of the geologist's geoscience that is useful in making U ₃ O ₈ endowment estimates and upon his understanding of the region's history produced larger estimates than have previously been reported. However, this method of estimation also shows that uncertainty about the actual state of U ₃ O ₈ endowment is much greater than previously described.     

Preliminary study of crust-upper mantle structure of the Tibetan Plateau by using broadband teleseismic body waveforms

As part of a joint Sino-U.S. research project to study the deep structure of the Tibetan Plateau, 11 broadband digital seismic recorders were deployed on the Plateau for one year of passive seismic recording. In this report we use teleseimic P waveforms to study the seismic velocity structure of crust and upper mantle under three stations by receiver function inversion. The receiver function is obtained by first rotating two horizontal components of seismic records into radial and tangential components and then deconvolving the vertical component from them. The receiver function depends only on the structure near the station because the source and path effects have been removed by the deconvolution. To suppress noise, receiver functions calculated from events clustered in a small range of back-azimuths and epicentral distances are stacked. Using a matrix formalism describing the propagation of elastic waves in laterally homogeneous stratified medium, a synthetic receiver function and differential receiver functions for the parameters in each layer can be calculated to establish a linearized inversion for one-dimensional velocity structure. Preliminary results of three stations, Wen-quan, Golmud and Xigatze (Coded as WNDO, TUNL and XIGA), located in central, northern and southern Plateau are given in this paper. The receiver functions of all three stations show clear P-S converted phases. The time delays of these converted phases relative to direct P arrivals are: WNDO 7.9s (for NE direction) and 8.3s (for SE direction), TUNL 8.2s, XIGA 9.0s. Such long time delays indicate the great thickness of crust under the Plateau. The differences between receiver function of these three station shows the tectonic difference between southern and north-central Plateau. The waveforms of the receiver functions for WNDO and TUNL are very simple, while the receiver function of XIGA has an additional midcrustal converted phase. The S wave velocity structures at these three stations are estimated from inversions of the receiver function. The crustal shear wave velocities at WNDO and TUNL are vertically homogeneous, with value between 3.5–3.6 km/s down to Moho. This value in the lower crust is lower than the normal value for the lower crust of continents, which is consistent with the observed strong Sn attenuation in this region. The velocity structure at XIGA shows a velocity discontinuity at depth of 20 km and high velocity value of 4.0 km/s in the midcrust between 20–30 km depth. Similar results are obtained from a DSS profile in southern Tibet. The velocity under XIGA decreases below a depth of 30 km, reaching the lowest value of 3.2 km/s between 50–55 km. depth. This may imply that the Indian crust underthrusts the low part of Tibetan crust in the southern Plateau, forming a “double crust”. The crustal thickness at each of these sites is: WNDO, 68 km; TUNL, 70 km; XI-GA, 80 km. The Chinese version of this paper appeared in the Chinese edition ofActa Seismologica Sinica,14, Supp., 581–592, 1992.     

Review of Carboniferous-Permian volcanicity in Scotland

The main Carboniferous outcrop in Scotland is in the Midland Valley rift, though rocks of that age also occur farther south along the English Border. The cyclic sedimentary sequence comprises up to 3,000 m. of Dinantian (mainly Viséan) and 2,000 m. of Silesian beds which at one locality or another include lavas or tuffs almost at every level. The distribution of these volcanic rocks is known in exceptional detail because of mining and exploratory borings in the Viséan oil shale field and in the various Namurian and Westphalian coalfields.The lavas and tuffs form part of an alkaline (sodic) magma series. Their outpourings were greatest in volume during the Dinantian, with the formation of the extensive lava piles which now form the Clyde Plateau (maximum thickness c. 900 m.) in the west, the Garleton Hills (c. 600 m.) and Burntisland Anticline (c. 400 m.) in the east, and the Kelso Traps of the Tweed Basin (c. 120 m.), the Birrenswark Lavas of Dumfriesshire (c. 90 m.), the Kershopefoot Basalt of Liddesdale (c. 60 m.) and the Glencartholm Volcanic Beds (mostly tuffs) of Eskdale (c. 180 m.) to the south. Most of the lavas are varieties of olivine-basalt, but subordinate trachybasalts, trachytes and rhyolites are included in the upper parts of the Clyde Plateau and Garleton Hills successions. The areas covered by individual lava fields are difficult to assess because they varied from time to time and occasionally overlapped.By the end of the Dinantian this form of activity had ceased everywhere except in West Lothian, where it continued into early Namurian (E₁). Thereafter volcanicity continued periodically from scattered centres and gave rise to relatively short-lived ash-cones. They formed in Ayrshire (E₁ age) but were most abundant in Fife, occurring there almost throughout the Namurian succession. The highly explosive nature of this phase of volcanicity is apparent from the rarity of associated lavas (though minor basaltic intrusions occur in the necks) and from the presence within the surrounding sediments of thin layers of tuff representing fine ash carried for distances of up to 32 km from source. These layers, some of which are kaolinized and are a variety of tonstein, are of local use in correlation.The explosive phase is now known to have continued throughout Westphalian A and possibly into Westphalian B in Fife, but in Ayrshire volcanicity was more intermittent and is represented by two outpourings of basalt lavas, one late Namurian to early Westphalian in age and up to 150 m. thick, the other Stephanian in age and 90 to 237 m. thick. The Stephanian lavas and associated necks in Ayrshire, like some of the necks exposed on the classic Fife coastal section on the Firth of Forth, were until recently believed to be Permian, but there is now no positive evidence of Permian eruption in Scotland.Two groups of intrusions cut the Carboniferous rocks. The most extensive is of alkaline dolerites which are co-magmatic with the basaltic lavas and tuffs, and are of similar geographic distribution. They form sills up to 120 m. thick and are probably of various ages up to Stephanian. It is possible that some of them were high-level reservoirs from which diatremes issued. The other group is of quartz-dolerite or tholeiite which forms a series of east-west dykes and a sill-complex extending over an area of about 1500 km² and having a maximum thickness of 127 m. Their age is late Carboniferous.The distribution of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks is not apparently related to the rift-valley, but is clearly linked in places to the earlier Caledonoid structures which determined the pattern of sedimentation. The lavas and, to a lesser extent, the tuffs, influenced the sedimentary processes by partially enclosing basins, by causing local anomalies in cyclic sequences and by providing sources of atypical sediment.

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Zusammenfassung Im Midland Valley (Schottland) war der permokarbonische Alkali-(Na)-Vulkanismus besonders im Dinantium aktiv, wobei bis 900 m mächtige Laven (Olivinbasalte, untergeordnet Trachytandesite, Trachyte und Rhyolite) gefördert wurden. Gegen Ende des Dinantium hörte diese Art der Aktivität fast ganz auf, dafür setzte eine explosive, periodische Tätigkeit ein, die zu kurzlebigen Aschenkegeln führte. Ein Beweis für das früher angenommene permische Alter dieser Necks läßt sich nicht erbringen.Zwei Gruppen von Intrusiva sind in die karbonischen Sedimente eingedrungen. Die größere der beiden wird durch Alkali-Dolerite (Sills) gebildet, die co-magmatisch zu den Laven und Tuffen sind. Die andere besteht aus Quarz-Doleriten und Tholeyiten (vorwiegend Dykes), die spätkarbonisch bis frühpermischen Alters sind.Die Verbreitung der karbonischen Vulkanite ist nicht an das Midland Valley, sondern an frühere caledonische Strukturen gebunden und für den Sedimentationsprozeß von Bedeutung.

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Résumé Le principal affleurement carbonifère en Ecosse se trouve dans le graben du Midland Valley, quoiqu'on rencontre les roches de cet âge le long de la frontière anglaise. La succession du cycle sédimentaire comprend jusqu'à 3,000 m. de roches de l'âge Dinantien (principalement Viséen) et à 2,000 m. des couches Silésiennes qui dans une localité quelconque comprennent des laves ou des tufs à presque tous les niveaux. La distribution de ces roches volcaniques est bien connu dans tous les détails à cause des mines et des forages.Les laves et les tufs font partie d'une série alkaline (sodique) magma. Leurs éruptions atteignirent leur maximum en volume pendant Ie Dinantien, avec la formation du Plateau de Clyde (épaisseur maximum 900 m. env.) à l'ouest, les Collines de Garleton (600 m. env.) et l'anticlinal de Burntisland (400 m. env.) a l'est, et les Kelso Traps du bassin du Tweed (120 m. env.), les Birrenswark Lavas de Dumfriesshire (90 m. env.), le Kershopefoot Basait de Liddesdale (60 m. env.) et les Glencartholm Volcanic Beds (des tufs pour la plupart) d'Eskdale (180 m. env.) au sud. La plupart des laves sont des variétés de basalte-olivine, mais des quantié peu considérables de trachybasalte, trachytes et rhyolites sont comprises dans les parties supérieures dans les successions du Plateau de Clyde et des Collines de Garleton.A la fin du Dinantien, cette forme d'activité avait cessé partout excepté dans l'Ouest Lothian, où elle continuait jusqu'au commencement du Namurien. Après cela le volcanisme continua périodiquement des centres dispersés, et donna naissance à des cônes de cendre de relativement petite durée. Ceux-ci se formèrent en Ayrshire (age E₁), mais on les trouvait beaucoup plus souvent en Fife, et on les y rencontrait presque pendant toute la succession namurienne. La nature explosive de cette phase de volcanisme est apparente par la rareté des laves et par la présence dans le sédiment qui se trouve dans les couches étroites de tuf, résultat du cendre fin porté jusqu'à 32 km. de sa source. Ces couches-ci dont quelques-unes furent transformées en kaolin, sont une variété de tonstein qui s'emploie beaucoup en corrélation. La distribution des quelques cheminées volcaniques coïncide aux structures nord—est d'un âge précarbonifère.La phase explosive est maintenant connue d'avoir continué à travers toute la Westphalie «Äs» et possiblement d'avoir pénétré dans la Westphalie «B» en Fife, mais en Ayrshire le volcanisme était plus intermittent et est représenté par deux éruptions de lave basaltique, l'une pendant la fin du Namurien jusqu'au début du Westphalien et d'une épaisseur de 150 m., l'autre du Stéphanien et d'une épaisseur de 90 à 237 m. Les laves du Stéphanien et les cheminées associées étaient classées auparavant comme Permien, mais maintenant il n'y a aucune évidence positive d'éruption permianique en Ecosse.Deux groupes d'intrusions scindèrent les roches carbonifères. Le groupe le plus étendu est fait de dolérites alkalines qui sont co-magmatiques avec les laves basaltiques et les tufs, et sont de pareille distribution géographique. Elles forment des silles d'une épaisseur jusqu; à 120 m. et elles sont probablement d'âges variés jusqu'au Stéphanien. Il est possible que quelques-une d'entre elles furent des réservoirs de haut-niveau desquels des diatrèmes sortirent. L'autre groupe est fait de quartz-dolérite ou tholéiite qui forme une série de dikes est—ouest et une sille-complexe couvrant une étendue de 1,500 km² et ayant une épaisseur maximale de 127 km. Leur áge est de la fin du Carbonifère ou du début du Permien.

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Published by permission of the Director, Institute of Geological Sciences.     

On the experimental silicification of microorganisms II. On the time of appearance of eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record

On the basis of ultrastructural, biochemical and genetic studies, bacteria and blue green algae (Kingdom Monera, all prokaryotes) differ unambiguously from the eukaryotic organisms (Fungi, plants sensu stricto) and protists or protoctists, (Copeland, 1956). The gap between eukaryotes and prokaryotes is recognized as the most profound evolutionary discontinuity in the living world. This gap is reflected in the fossil record. Fossil remains of Archaean and Proterozoic Aeons primarily consist of prokaryotes and the Phanerozoic is overwhelmingly characterized by fossils of the megascopic eukaryotic groups, both metazoa and metaphyta. Based on the morphological interpretation of microscopic objects structurally preserved in Precambrian cherts, the time of appearance of remains of eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record has been claimed to be as early as 2.7 · 10⁹ years ago, (Ka?mierczak, 1976). Others suggest chronologies varying between 1.7 to 1.3 · 10⁹ (Schopf et al., 1973) or a time approaching 1.3 · 10⁹ years (Cloud, 1974).There is general agreement that many of the Ediacaran faunas, which have been dated at about 680 m.y. are fossils of megascopic soft-bodied invertebrate animals. Since all invertebrates are eukaryotic, the ca. 680 m.y. date for deposition of these animal assemblages may represent the earliest appearance of eukaryotic organisms. But the question remains as to whether there is definitive evidence for eukaryotic cells before this “benchmark” of the late Precambrian.An excellent discussion of this particular problem as especially relating to acritarchs extending from rocks of Upper Riphean through Vendian and into the basal Cambrian is presented in recent studies by Vidal (1974, 1976) in Late Precambrian microfossils from the Visingsö rocks of southern Sweden.Previous work on the laboratory silicification of wood and algal mat communities (Leo and Barghoorn, 1976) suggested that further analysis of “artificial fossils” might be of aid in the interpretation of fossil morphology toward the ultimate solution of this problem. Thus the procedure developed by one of us (ESB) for laboratory wood silicification was adapted to various smaller objects.By successive immersions of wet cellular aggregates, colonies of various organisms and abiotic organic microspheres in tetraethyl orthosilicate, silicified cells and structures are produced which bear an interesting resemblance to ancient chert-embedded microfossils. Our observation of these microorganisms and proteinoid microspheres silicified in the laboratory as well as of degrading microorganisms, both eukaryotic and prokaryotic, have led us to conclude that many, if not all, of the criteria for assessing fossil eukaryotic microorganisms are subject to serious criticism in interpretation. We studied a large variety of prokaryotic algae, some eukaryotic algae, fungi, protozoa, and abiotic organic microspheres stable at essentially neutral pH. In some cases, degradation and/or silicification systematically altered both size and appearances of microorganisms. By the use of monoalgal cultures of blue-green algae, features resembling nuclei, chloroplasts, tetrads, pyrenoids, and large cell size may be simulated. In many cases individual members of these cultures show so much variation that they may be mistaken as belonging to more than one species. The size ranges for silicified prokaryotic and eukaryotic algae overlap. Several prokaryotes routinely yielded spherical or filamentous structures that resembled large cells. Because of genuine large sizes (e.g., Prochloron), shrinkage, systematic alteration or congregation of unicells to form other structures we find sizes to be of very limited use in determining whether an organism of simple morphology was prokaryotic or eukaryotic. Although some “prebiotic proteinoid microspheres” (of Fox and Harada, 1960) are impossible to silicify with our laboratory methods, those stable at neutral pH (Hsu and Fox, 1976) formed spherical objects that morphologically resemble silicified algae or fungal spores. Many had internal structure. We conclude that even careful morphometric studies of fossil microorganisms are subject to many sources of misinterpretation. Even though it is a logical deduction that eukaryotic microorganisms evolved before Ediacaran time there is no compelling evidence for fossil eukaryotes prior to the late Precambrian metazoans.     

Gas cooling by dust during dynamical fragmentation

We suggest that the abrupt switch, from hierarchical clustering on scales ≳ 0.04 pc, to binary (and occasionally higher multiple) systems on smaller scales, which Larson has deduced from his analysis of the grouping of pre-main-sequence stars in Taurus, arises because pre-protostellar gas becomes thermally coupled to dust at sufficiently high densities. The resulting change — from gas cooling by molecular lines at low densities to gas cooling by dust at high densities — enables the matter to radiate much more efficiently, and hence to undergo dynamical fragmentation. We derive the domain in which gas cooling by dust facilitates dynamical fragmentation. Low-mass (∼ M⊙) clumps — those supported mainly by thermal pressure — can probably access this domain spontaneously, albeit rather quasi-statically, provided that they exist in a region in which external perturbations are few and far between. More massive clumps probably require an impulsive external perturbation, for instance a supersonic collision with another clump, in order for the gas to reach sufficiently high density to couple thermally to the dust. Impulsive external perturbations should promote fragmentation, by generating highly non-linear substructures which can then be amplified by gravity during the subsequent collapse.