Sediments in the estuarine environment of the tigris/euphrates delta; Iraq; Arabian Gulf

Studies on surface water characters of the estuarine environment of Iraq, northwestern Arabian Gulf, define three subdivisions of salinity: oligohaline, polyhaline, and euhaline. Textural analysis reveals that surface sediments covering the bottom are composed of six distinct classes: silty clay, clayey silt, sand-silt-clays, clayey sand, silty sand and sand. Five physiographic subdivisions are identified and described fluvial-estuarine, tidal mud flats (subtidal flat, lower intertidal flat, upper intertidal flat, supratidal flat), sand bars, Abdallah-Shetana channel and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. The content of organic matter in the sediments ranges from 0.24-3.69 per cent by weight. High values were recorded from the Abdallah-Shetana channel while lower values are confined to sand bars and submerged estuarine distributary channel and bar systems. Carbonates, quartz, feldspar, and halite are the main mineral constituents of the non-clay grade sediments; carbonates are present mainly as low-magnesium calcite followed by dolomite and high-magnesium calcite. Aragonite is present only in trace amounts. Both detrital and biogenic sources are suggested for low-magnesium calcite. A detrital source for dolomite and a biogenic source for high-magnesium calcite and aragonite are proposed.     

Characterisation of rock aggregate breakage properties using realistic texture‐based modelling

Realistic texture‐based modelling methods, that is microstructural modelling and micromechanical modelling, are developed to simulate the rock aggregate breakage properties on the basis of the rock actual microstructure obtained using microscopic observations and image analysis. The breakage properties of three types of rocks, that is Avja, LEP and Vandle taken from three quarries in Sweden, in single aggregate breakage tests and in inter‐aggregate breakage tests are then modelled using the proposed methods. The microstructural modelling directly integrates the microscopic observation, image analysis and numerical simulation together and provides a valuable tool to investigate the mechanical properties of rock aggregates on the basis of their microstructure properties. The micromechanical modelling takes the most important microstructure properties of rock aggregates into consideration and can model the major mechanical properties. Throughout this study, it is concluded that in general, the microstructure properties of rock aggregate work together to affect their mechanical properties, and it is difficult to correlate a single microstructure property with the mechanical properties of rock aggregates. In particular, for the three types of rock Avja, LEP and Vandle in this study, crack size distribution, grain size and grain perimeter (i.e. grain shape and spatial arrangement) show good correlations with the mechanical properties. The crack length and the grain size negatively affect the mechanical properties of Avja, LEP and Vandle, but the perimeter positively influences the mechanical properties. Besides, the modelled rock aggregate breakage properties in both single aggregate and inter‐aggregate tests reveal that the aggregate microstructure, aggregate shape and loading conditions influence the breakage process of rock aggregate in service. For the rock aggregate with the same microstructure, the quadratic shape and good packing dramatically improve its mechanical properties. During services, the aggregate is easiest to be fragmented under point‐to‐point loading condition, and then in the sequence of multiple‐point, point‐to‐plane and plane‐to‐plane loading conditions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In-situ Measurements of Cutter Forces on Boring Machine at Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory Part II. Characteristics of Cutter Forces and Examination of Cracks Generated

Summary By means of spectral analysis, the measured normal forces, tangential forces, and side forces acting on two button cutters on the boring machine in ?sp? Hard Rock Laboratory were analysed and the basic characteristics of the cutter forces were determined. After the measurements of the cutter forces, some rock core samples were taken from the bottom and the wall of the test borehole. These samples were cut, polished, and examined by means of a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The lengths of the major cracks in the rock samples were measured, and a relation between the length of the median cracks and the relevant cutter forces was investigated. Received October 5, 2001; accepted June 25, 2002; Published online November 19, 2002     

On the occurrence and characteristics of intense low-altitude electric fields observed by Freja

High-resolution measurements by the double probe electric field instrument on the Freja satellite are presented. The observations show that extremely intense (up to 1 V m⁻¹) and fine-structured (<1 km) electric fields exist at auroral latitudes within the altitude regime explored by Freja (up to 1700 km). The intense field events typically occur within the early morning sector of the auroral oval (01-07 MLT) during times of geomagnetic activity. In contrast to the observations within the auroral acceleration region characterized by intense converging electric fields associated with electron precipitation, upward ion beams and upward field-aligned currents, the intense electric fields observed by Freja are often found to be diverging and located within regions of downward field-aligned currents outside the electron aurora. Moreover, the intense fields are observed in conjunction with precipitating and transversely energized ions of energies 0.5-1 keV and may play an important role in the ion heating. The observations suggest that the intense electric field events are associated with small-scale low-conductivity ionospheric regions void of auroral emissions such as east-west aligned dark filaments or vortex streets of black auroral curls located between or adjacent to auroral arcs within the morningside diffuse auroral region. We suggest that these intense fields also exist at ionospheric altitudes although no such observations have yet been made. This is possible since the height-integrated conductivity associated with the dark filaments may be as low as 0.1 S or less. In addition, Freja electric field data collected outside the auroral region are discussed with particular emphasis on subauroral electric fields which are observed within the 19–01 MLT sector between the equatorward edge of the auroral oval and the inner edge of the ring current.     

Tectonic control of pyrrhotite phase distribution studied on a fold structure

A fold structure within a pyrite ore specimen has been analysed with respect to the amount and distribution of pyrrhotite modifications present. The relative distribution of the two types of pyrrhotite, hexagonal 5C and monoclinic 4C, was found to be strongly dependent upon the stress distribution. Within very short distances the hexagonal fraction of the total amount of pyrrhotite varied from nearly zero up to 0.65 giving steep and structurally well defined gradients. The monoclinic phase was preferably located to regions deformed by intense shearing. It is suggested that the influence of anisotropic stresses accelerated the conversion of hexagonal to monoclinic pyrrhotite. Variations in the distribution of the total amount of pyrrhotite were also observed and partly ascribed to migration of pyrrhotite.     

Tentative Detection of Circumstellar CO2 from the AGB Star R Crateris

We report on and discuss the detection of an emission feature at 14.98 μm from the oxygen-rich, semi-regularly pulsating Asymptotic Giant Branch star R Crateris, a feature which we suggest to be due to the ₀ ¹ Q-branch of circumstellar CO2. We also suggest a reasonable excitation mechanism, which could explain the height, the width and the asymmetry of the feature. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Feasibility Study on Controlling Ground Vibrations Caused by Blasts in Malmberget Underground Mine

In order to control or reduce the ground vibrations caused by underground blasts in Malmberget mine, a number of blast tests were carried out during production blasts and a series of single shot waveforms were obtained. Then the single shot waveforms from the same ring or different rings were analysed and compared with each other. The results showed that the single shots are reproducible, meaning that the ground vibrations caused by underground blasts can be controlled by means of the interference of the vibration waveforms measured. Finally, a formal test using electronic detonators and employing an optimum delay time of 8 ms was done in production. The test for an 11-borehole ring shows that the maximum vertical ground vibrations are reduced to the maximum vertical vibrations of a single shot. Particularly, the total vibration history for the 11-borehole-ring blast is shortened to about 200 ms over a velocity of 2 mm/s. However, the total vibration history of a normal production blast of 11-borehole ring is always 1400 ms over a velocity of 2 mm/s, namely the total vibration time of a production blast can be reduced to one seventh of that of the common production blasts by using the vibration control method. This indicates that the vibration control method introduced in the paper is feasible for underground mining blasts.     

On the Gas Phase Reactions Between Volatile Biogenic Mercury Species and the Nitrate Radical

Tropospheric mercury is dominated by gas phase species. In this paper, the gas phase reactions between the nitrate radical and volatile biogenic mercury species have been investigated. An upper limit for the gas phase rate coefficient for reaction between elemental mercury and NO₃-radicals was determined to 4 × 10^–15 cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1 by using the fast flow-discharge technique. The reaction between dimethyl mercury and NO₃, previously shown to be rapid, has also been studied in the laboratory with respect to product distribution using FT-IR. The result from the product study is consistent with a transformation of dimethyl mercury into inorganic, divalent mercury. All carbon delivered as dimethyl mercury was transformed into formaldehyde, methanol and methyl peroxynitrate. Hg was observed as a minor (2%) product. By exclusion, HgO is proposed as the mercury-containing product. Thus, the reaction between dimethyl mercury and the nitrate radical is excluded as a source of monomethyl mercury species in the atmosphere.     

Fragmented subfossil <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chaoborus</Emphasis> mandibles reveal periods of cyprinid presence in lake histories

Cyprinid fish have pharyngeal teeth that mash ingested food. Here we show that roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), a common cyprinid in Swedish boreal lakes, often break the mandibles of ingested Chaoborus larvae into smaller fragments. The presence/absence of roach in historic fish communities could therefore possibly be determined from the proportion of fragmented Chaoborus mandibles in lake sediments, which we assessed using the following three approaches. (1) Roach that were fed Chaoborus larvae in laboratory aquaria evacuated a significantly higher fraction of fragmented prey mandibles than perch (Perca fluviatilis L.). (2) Surface sediments from lakes in an acidified region in southwestern Sweden showed significantly higher proportions of fragmented mandibles for lakes containing roach compared to lakes devoid of cyprinid fish. (3) A paleo-study in Lake Lysevatten, into which roach were introduced in the 1880s and were extirpated in the 1960s, showed significantly higher proportions of fragmented mandibles in sediment layers from the roach period. We conclude that mandible fragmentation was related to roach presence, and propose that the proportion of fragmented Chaoborus mandibles in lake sediments may provide important information when historical cyprinid alterations are of interest, as in paleo-studies on acidification, eutrophication, or fish introductions.     

Numerical studies on the failure process and associated microseismicity in rock under triaxial compression

In this paper, firstly the mesoscopic elemental mechanical model for elastic damage is developed and implemented into the rock and tool interaction code (R-T^2D). Then the failure processes of a heterogeneous rock specimen subjected to a wide variety of confining pressures (0–80 MPa) are numerically investigated using the R-T^2D code. According to the simulated results, on the one hand, the numerical simulation reproduced some of the well-known phenomena observed by previous researchers in triaxial tests. Under uniaxial compression, rock failure is caused by a combination of axial splitting and shearing. Dilatancy and a post-failure stage with a descending load bearing capacity are the prominent characteristics of the failure. As the confining pressure increases, the extension of the failed sites is suppressed, but the individual failure sites become dense and link with each other to form a shear fracture plane. Correspondingly, the peak strength, the residual strength and the shear fracture plane angle increase, but the brittleness decreases. When the confining pressure is high enough, the specimen behaves in a plastic manner and a narrow shear fracture plane leads to its failure. The prominent characteristics are volume condensation, ductile cataclastic failure, and a constant load bearing capacity with increasing strain. On the other hand, the numerical simulation revealed some new phenomena. The highest microseismicity events occur in the post-failure stage instead of the maximal stress, and most of the microseismicity energies are released in the failure localization process. As the confining pressure increases, the microseismicity events in the non-linear deformation stage increase dramatically and the ratio between the energies dissipated at the non-linear deformation stage and those dissipated in the whole loading process increases correspondingly. Therefore, it is concluded that the developed mesoscopic elemental mechanical model for elastic damage is able to reproduce accurately the failure characteristics in loading rock specimens under triaxial conditions, and the numerical modelling can furthermore obtain some new clarifications of the rock fracture process.