Volatiles from Hawaiian submarine basalts determined by dynamic high temperature mass spectrometry

Quantitative measurements of volatiles from Hawaiian submarine basalts have been made using a Knudsen cell dynamic-mass spectrometer system. The principal advantage of the technique is the ability to determine simultaneously the absolute amounts of more than one volatile released from the same sample.From mass pyrograms it was observed that the release of water was bimodal, with the major release occurring above 600°C. Water released below this temperature is believed not to have been present in the magma at the time of extrusion. Sulfur dioxide was evolved only after the bulk of the water was released and coincided with the general expansion and melting of the sample. Sulfur and carbon- containing gases which were released in surges (above 1000°C) correspond to the bursting of bubbles from the softened basalt.The molar amounts of vesicle gases were plotted as a function of extrusion depth. A change in the slope of the resulting linear curve indicates saturation of the basalt with respect to water.     

Long base line tilt and strain measurement

Two types of noise afflict strain and tilt measurement. They may be categorized as “active” noise, which is due to atmospheric pressure variations, temperature variations, water-table variations and so forth; and “passive” or signal-generated noise which is a consequence of the interaction of the strain field of interest with inhomogeneities of material properties local to the measurement site.The reason why both types of noise are normally reduced by the use of long base line instruments is explained and a simple, practical long base line tiltmeter is described.     

A geochemical study of magmatism associated with the initial stages of back-arc spreading

Bransfield Strait is a narrow basin separating the South Shetland Islands from the Antarctic Peninsula and is attributed to recent back-arc extension behind the South Shetland volcanic arc. The volcanic islands of Deception and Bridgeman are situated close to the axis of spreading, whereas Penguin Island lies slightly to the north of this axis. The mineralogy, petrology and geochemistry of the lavas of the three volcanoes have been studied in order to provide information on the nature of magmatism associated with the initial stages of back-arc spreading.Deception Island lavas range from olivine basalt to dacite, and all are highly sodic, with high Na/K, K/Rb, Ba/Rb and Zr/Nb ratios and with Ce_N/Yb_N = 2. Incompatible elements increase systematically between basalt and rhyodacite, while Sr decreases, suggesting that fractional crystallisation is the dominant process relating lava compositions. The rhyodacites have high concentrations of Zr, Y and the REE and negative Eu anomalies and are compositionally similar to oceanic plagiogranite. Bridgeman Island lavas are mostly basaltic andesites, but the levels of many incompatible elements, including REE, are significantly lower than those of Deception lavas, although Ce_N/Yb_N ratios and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.7035) are the same. Penguin Island lavas are magnesian, mildly alkaline olivine basalts with a small range of composition that can be accommodated by fractional crystallisation of olivine, clinopyroxene and/or chromite. Penguin lavas have higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7039) and Ce_N/ Yb_N (4) ratios than Deception and Bridgeman lavas. The Rb/Sr ratios of Deception and Penguin basalts (ca. 0.01) are much too low to account for their present ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios.Modelling suggests that the source regions of the lavas of the three volcanoes share many geochemical features, but there are also some significant differences, which probably reflects the complex nature of the mantle under an active island arc combined with complex melting relationships attending the initial stages of back-arc spreading. Favoured models suggest that Bridgeman lavas represent 10–20% melting and the more primitive Deception lavas 5–10% melting of spinel-peridotite, whereas Penguin lavas represent less then 5% melting of a garnet-peridotite source. The mantle source for Bridgeman lavas seems to have undergone short-term enrichment in K, Rb and Ba, possibly resulting from dewatering of the subducted slab. Hydrous melting conditions may also account for the more siliceous, high-alumina nature and low trace element contents of Bridgeman lavas.     

Finite-element analysis of the transport of water and solutes in title-drained soils

The finite-element method based on a Galerkin technique was used to formulate the problem of simulating the two-dimensional (cross-sectional) transient movement of water and solute in saturated or partially saturated nonuniform porous media. The numerical model utilizes linear triangular elements. Nonreactive, as well as reactive solutes whose behaviour can be described by a distribution coefficient or first-order reaction term were considered. The flow portion of the model was tested by comparison of the model results with experimental and finite-difference results for transient flow in an unsaturated sand column and the solute transport portion of the model was tested by comparison with analytical solution results. The model was applied to a hypothetical case involving movement of water and solutes in tile-drained soils. The simulation results showed the development of distinct solute leaching patterns in the soil as drainage proceeded. Although applied to a tile drainage problem in this study, the model should be equally useful in the study of a wide range of two-dimensional water and solute migration problems.     

Cyclic triaxial tests on frozen sand

Strain-controlled cyclic triaxial tests were performed on a one-size silica (Ottawa) sand artificially frozen into 71.1-mm-diameter cylindrical samples. Ice-saturated samples with three different sand contents were tested under the following conditions: axial strains ranging from 3 × 10⁻³ to 3 X 10⁻²%, confining pressures from zero to 1.378 MPa, frequencies of 0.05–5.0 cps and temperatures from −1 to −10 °C.

Test equipment included (1) an MTS electrohydraulic closed-loop testing system which applies the load to the sample, (2) a triaxial cell completely immersed in a low-temperature coolant for temperature control, (3) a refrigeration unit for control of the coolant temperature and constant coolant circulation and (4) measuring devices including an LVDT and load cell, together with recording devices such as a digital multimeter, an oscilloscope, a strip-chart recorder and a minicomputer.

Test results indicate that the dynamic Young's modulus increases with increasing frequency, confining pressure and sand content, but decreases with increasing strain and temperature. The damping ratio decreases with increasing frequency, sand content and lower temperatures. The influence of confining pressures and axial strain on the damping ratio are less explicit for the ranges considered. The experimental results are compared with data from other sources.     

Effects of stem density upon sediment retention by salt marsh cord grass,Spartina alterniflora loisel

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine whether retention of waterborne sand by salt marsh cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora Loisel, is directly related to the number of stems per unit area. Waves generated in a trough washed over a sloping beach planted with S. alterniflora sprigs: a range of stem densities (0–108 stems/m²) was examined in separate trials. The amount of sand accumulated after 60 waves is a positive nonlinear function of stem density. The greatest accretion coincided with the highest stem density tested. Shape of the beach profile was also strongly influenced by the number of stems per m².