Controls on the chemistry of springs at Teels Marsh,Mineral County,Nevada

Evaporative process plays a dominant role in determining the water chemistry of the springs at Teels Marsh, a closed basin in western Nevada. Analysis of the spring waters indicates that calcium, magnesium, sulfate, and silica are removed from solution during dry periods, even though groundwater is undersaturated with respect to gypsum, amorphous silica, and sepiolite. The removal mechanism is precipitation of authigenic phases such as gypsum above the water table, in the vadose zone.In episodes of rain and snowfall in which none of the waters enters the phreatic zone, ions in the rain and snow accumulate near the ground surface. This accumulation of material, together with the sparse rain and snowfall, inhibits chemical weathering of silicate minerals. Only at high elevations in the basin is there sufficient fluxing of water through the alluvium for silicate weathering to make a significant contribution to the sodium content of the springs. When a sufficiently heavy rainfall occurs, salts are partially dissolved and the ions transported to the permanent groundwater. The kinetics of dissolution of secondary phases in the vadose zone exert an important control on the composition of the springs.     

Activated release of alkalis during the vesiculation of molten basalts under high vacuum: implications for lunar volcanism

Knudsen cell-quadrupole mass spectrometry was used to study the high-temperature vaporization of Hawaiian basalts, plagioclase, tektites, and samples from the Allende meteorite. Procedures are described by which mass loss rates and vapor pressures of Na and K were measured quantitatively.Gas-rich glassy basalts were observed to vesiculate under vacuum over the 900–1000°C region and simultaneously evaporate alkalis in nonequilibrium fashion at rates (units of μg/g/hr) of approximately 200–300 Na and 75–250 K. Degassed residues of the same basalts demonstrated equilibrium evaporation rates (over the same temperature range) of 60–120 Na and 30–60 K. The gas-deficient plagioclase and tektite sample showed only equilibrium vaporization with rates of 60 Na, 10 K (plagioclase) and 10 Na, 5K (tektites) at 900–1000°C. The Allende meteorite vaporized at rates of 2400 Na and 200 K at 900–1000°C, possibly by the reaction of Na₂O and K₂O with C or S₂, or by the thermal decomposition of nepheline or sodalite.The nonequilibrium vaporization of alkalis from the gas-rich basalts is attributed to vigorous agitation of the melt during its vesiculation by a gas phase composed principally of SO₂, CO₂, H₂O, CO, and H₂S. The major gases released from the Allende meteorite at 900–1000°C are, in order of decreasing abundance, CO, S₂, CO₂, H₂O, SO₂, and H₂S.It is proposed that nonequilibrium vaporization of alkalis during the vesiculation of lunar lavas was responsible for the production of alkali-rich vapors which subsequently deposited plagioclase crystals in the vugs of lunar rocks. The vesiculative, nonequilibrium vaporization of Na and K during a lunar volcanic eruption should be expected to occur at a high rate upon initial extrusion of the lava into vacuum but then decrease by a factor of approximately three when degassing is nearing completion. Vaporization losses remain inadequate to explain the uniformly low alkali concentrations in lunar basalts.     

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange reactions between clay minerals and water

The extent of hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange between clay minerals and water has been measured in the temperature range 100–350° for bomb runs of up to almost 2 years. Hydrogen isotope exchange between water and the clays was demonstrable at 100°. Exchange rates were 3–5 times greater for montmorillonite than for kaolinite or illite and this is attributed to the presence of interlayer water in the montmorillonite structure.Negligible oxygen isotope exchange occurred at these low temperatures. The great disparity in D and O¹⁸ exchange rates observed in every experiment demonstrates that hydrogen isotope exchange occurred by a mechanism of proton exchange independent of the slower process of O¹⁸ exchange.At 350° kaolinite reacted to form pyrophyllite and diaspore. This was accompanied by essentially complete D exchange but minor O¹⁸ exchange and implies that intact structural units in the pyrophyllite were inherited from the kaolinite precursor.     

Petrology and geochemistry of basaltic rocks of the Lau Basin

The Lau Basin is a marginal sea, located between the Tonga and Lau Ridges, in the southwestern Pacific. The basin is on the “inner” or concave side of the Tonga Trench-Arc system and is situated above the deep seismic zone dipping westward from the Tonga Trench. The Tonga Trench-Arc system is undoubtedly located above a zone of crustal shortening as evidenced by the deep seismicity and vulcanism. However, the geological and geophysical data give strong support to the contention that the Lau Basin has formed by crustal dilation.Rocks dredged from ridges and seamounts in the basin are sub-alkaline basalt. The average major element composition of least altered samples is: SiO₂ 48.8%, TiO₂ 1.2%, K₂O 0.18%, P₂O₅ 0.08%, H₂O+ 0.30%, Fe^III/Fe^II = 0.26,CaO/Al₂O₃ = 0.77. The data for Lau Basin basalt (LBB) show close similarity to data of typical oceanic ridge basalt (ORB). Trace element abundances (ppm): Ni 160, Cr 390, Sr 100, Ba < 31, Rb < 1 also resemble ORB values. K/Rb in a least altered and unfractionated sample is 860, Ba/Sr is 0.1, Ba/Rb is 8. Strontium isotope data show the only marked variance from ORB chemistry with LBB values ranging from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.7020 to 0.7051. The low Sr abundances in the samples suggest the possibility of crustal Sr contamination to explain the radiogenic Sr enrichment. An alternate possibility is that the mantle source rocks were enriched in ⁸⁷Sr. Variation within dredge hauls and between dredge sites may be explained by low-pressure fractional crystallization of magmas separated from the mantle at about 50 km depth.The basin probably began to open in middle to late Miocene time either by the disruption of a single andesitic island arc by splitting along its axis or by dilation of the area between two closely spaced concentric arcs. Mantle counterflow in the asthenosphere above the downgoing oceanic lithosphere slab is the probable driving force for dilation and has provided a continuous supply of parent material for the basalt of the basin floor.     

Aircraft observations in the planetary boundary layer under stable conditions

An analysis of observations of airflow over Lake Ontario in a stably stratified atmosphere is presented. The relationship with theory is mentioned only in terms of what may be important to future work. Detailed air motion, potential temperature and mixing-ratio measurements are presented which show pervasive variability in the horizontal. There is no evidence of gravity waves. It is suggested that vertical mixing of the atmosphere may occur in stable conditions by a mechanism quite apart from the usual concept of the small-scale random eddy motion usually associated with surface convection. Vertical soundings are analyzed as well as two long constant-height observational runs.     

Two-feldspar geothermometry in granulite facies metamorphic rocks

A geothermometric technique based on equilibria between coexisting plagioclase and alkali feldspar was applied to quartzo-feldspathic granulites from Salvador, BA, Brazil. The conditions of metamorphism were determined to be in the range 750 ° C–800 ° C, 4–8 Kb, by comparison with experimental data on the stabilities of sapphirine, phlogopite and other minerals occurring in the associated rocks. Selected feldspar data gives temperatures near, but slightly below, this range. Several variants of the Wood and Banno model, as well as an empirical two-pyroxene geothermometer, were also tested and found to give temperatures which were apparently 50 °–100 ° high. The solubility of Al₂O₃ in orthopyroxene indicates temperatures which are about 200 ° to high, suggesting that Fe in the natural assemblages significantly changes relationships observed experimentally in MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ systems.     

Suspended material in Narragansett Bay: fatty acid and hydrocarbon composition

Suspended material collected at various stations in Narragansett Bay was analyzed for fatty acids and hydrocarbons. The qualitative and quantitative distributions of these compounds indicated that the influence of sewage and other pollutants was greatest in the river areas. Based on concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the highest densities of phytoplankton were interpreted to occur at the mid and lower Bay stations, and the percentage of phytoplankton in suspended material was estimated from the concentration of heneicosahexaene. The concentrations of fatty acids and hydrocarbons in the suspended material decreased from the river stations to the mid and lower Bay stations, closely following a similar trend observed in the sediment. Possible sources of the suspended material and the influence of these sources on this material in various areas of the Bay are discussed, and attempts are made to interrelate the suspended material, resuspended sediment, phytoplankton, and sewage effluent with chemical and biochemical diagenetic changes.     

Lamellar structures in low-calcium orthopyroxenes

Clinoenstatite lamellae are found to be distributed in three distinct patterns that define three microstructural types. There are regions of the crystal devoid of lamellae and these correspond to ordered or O-orthopyroxene. When the lamellae are present but not in any periodic arrangement, disordered or D-orthopyroxene is identified. In some areas, the lamellae are spaced periodically and these are regions of “superlattice” orthopyroxene. These microstructural types explain all previous X-ray results on orthopyroxenes. Microstructural differences between low and high calcium orthopyroxenes are discussed.     

The statistical zap versus the shotgun approach

Multivariate analysis is used in the search for one or more types of structure. The statistical zap applies a single method to determine one preselected type of structure. Several zaps suffice to ascertain several types of structure. The statistical shotgun represents an alternative approach. Here, a series of methods is applied to the data with the intent of ascertaining all possible types of structure that may exist. If strong structure is present, an appropriate zap will probably reveal it, and a variety of techniques will determine the same general structure. If only the main structure is required, the zap is adequate. In this situation, the shotgun will display a basic consistency which is at least reassuring. However, zaps may fail to detect a more subtle secondary structure of geological interest which will be displayed by the shotgun. For weakly structured data, a zap will only determine one type of structure but the shotgun reveals all. Study of the ontogeny of Parastylonurus myops(Clarke), a Lower Silurian eurypterid from New York (USA) shows the virtues of the statistical shotgun.