Surface water/groundwater interaction in the Piora Aquifer,Switzerland: evidence from dye tracing tests

Results of seven dye tracing tests done from 1993–1997 to investigate the extent to which lakes and surface water interact with the underlying Triassic Piora Aquifer, Switzerland, are reported here. Two of the dye tracing tests showed that groundwater flows in the Piora Aquifer from the Piora Valley to springs in the adjacent Santa Maria Valley, and even further east to the di Campo Valley considerably outside of the Piora Valley surface water divide. Lake Ritom located in the Piora Valley loses water only to the Canaria Valley outside of the lake's surface-water watershed at the lake's western margin when lake levels are above 1,835 m above sea level. Dye tracing tests show that a major sinkhole in the Piora Valley, Calderoni Sinkhole, is located precisely on the water divide where subsurface flow in the Piora Valley and surface water diverge and move in opposite directions. The dye tracing results also showed no hydraulic connection between surface water in the Piora Valley and the famous Pertusio Spring, located in the upper Santa Maria Valley. Only a small amount of dye from the two dye tracing tests done in 1993 and 1997 entered an exploratory gallery built to test the viability of the AlpTransit tunnel, being built in competent rock under the Triassic Piora Aquifer, effectively perched above. Electronic Publication     

Effect of artificial maturation on carbazole distributions, as revealed by the hydrous pyrolysis of an organic-sulphur-rich source rock (Ghareb Formation, Jordan)

Hydrous pyrolysis experiments were performed on the Ghareb Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Jordan), a carbonate- and organic-rich (TOC 19.6%) source rock, using a temperature range of 200 to 360°C (72 h). The original sediment contains only low amounts of carbazoles, (maximum 2.2 μg/g bitumen for 1-methylcarbazole). With increasing thermal maturation, intense generation begins at temperatures only in excess of 300°C, reaching a maximum at 360°C. Likewise, during natural maturation, generation occurs at later stages of maturity (e.g. for Tithonian source rocks at >0.81% R_r and for Posidonia Shale at >0.88% R_r). Some isomeric changes during hydrous pyrolysis do not resemble those in nature whereas others do. The relative abundances of selected C₁- and C₂-alkylcarbazoles on ternary diagrams reveal differences, whereas the benzo[a]carbazole/benzo[a]carbazole+benzo[c]carbazole ratio is closely similar. The latter result supports the contention that maturation plays a key role in controlling carbazole distributions in source rocks. However, the results for alkylcarbazoles, especially the C₂-carbazoles, are not easy to interpret.     

On causality in dynamic response analysis by time-dependent boundary element methods

The ramifications of a particular type of causality constraint, namely so-called shadow-zones, are explored in the context of time-dependent boundary element methods. In particular, wave propagation problems in 2-D elastic soil media with a non-convex shape are analysed.     

Solar limb darkening 1986–1990 (λλ303 to 1099 nm)

The Sun's limb darkening was observed repeatedly between the 1986 minimum and the 1990 maximum of solar activity.Systematic variations, which could depend either on the momentary activity and/or the phase in the solar cycle, werenot detectable, either at continuum wavelengths or in two broad-band spectral intervals. Completelyirregular variations, which concern not only individual, successive scans (due to granulation, etc.), but also thedaily andseasonal averages, are usually less than 1%, but can reach occasionally 2% or even more. Minoreast-west asymmetries even in the seasonal means seem to be well established, mainly for < 400 nm. Thefinal, mean limb-darkening coefficients agree basically with those published by Pierce and Slaughter (1977) and Pierce, Slaughter, and Weinberger (1977), but show a much lower scatter when plotted against wavelength.     

Laboratory testing and numerical simulation of properties and thermal-induced cracking of Eibenstock granite at elevated temperatures

The knowledge about thermo-mechanical properties of granite is still limited to some extent. Individual measurements are necessary to obtain reliable properties for specific granite types. A reliable numerical model of thermal cracking behaviours of granite exposed to extreme high temperatures (e.g. 800–1000 °C) is missing. In this study, the impact of temperature up to 1000 °C on physical, mechanical, and thermal properties as well as thermo-mechanical coupled behaviour of Eibenstock granite was investigated by laboratory testing and numerical simulations. The physical properties including mineral composition, density, P-wave velocity, and open porosity are measured to be temperature dependent. Uniaxial compression and Brazilian tests were carried out to measure uniaxial compressive strength (UCS), Young’s modulus, stress–strain relationship, and tensile strength of Eibenstock granite before and after thermal treatment, respectively. Thermal properties including specific heat, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and linear thermal expansion coefficient are also measured and found to be temperature dependent, especially the expansion coefficient which shows a steep increase around 573 °C as well as at 870 °C. The numerical simulation code FLAC^3D was used to develop a numerical scheme to simulate the thermal-induced damage of granite at high temperatures. Statistical methods combined with real mineral composition were used to characterize the heterogeneity of granite. The numerical model is featured with reliable temperature-dependent parameters obtained from laboratory tests. It can well reproduce the laboratory results in form of thermal-induced micro- and macrocracks, as well as the stress–strain behaviour and the final failure pattern of Eibenstock granite after elevated temperatures up to 1000 °C. The simulation results also reveal that the thermal-induced microcracks are randomly distributed across the whole sample. Although most thermal-induced damages are tensile failures, shear failure begins to develop quickly after 500 °C. The obvious UCS reduction in granite due to heating is mainly caused by the increase in shear failure. The simulation also shows that the dominant impact of α–β quartz transition is widening pre-existing cracks rather than the formation of new microcracks.