The Northeast Kingdom batholith,Vermont: magmatic evolution and geochemical constraints on the origin of Acadian granitic rocks

Five Devonian plutons (West Charleston, Echo Pond, Nulhegan, Derby, and Willoughby) that constitute the Northeast Kingdom batholith in Vermont show wide ranges in elemental abundances and ratios consistent with major crustal contributions during their evolution. The batholith consists of metaluminous quartz gabbro, diorite and quartz monzodiorite, peraluminous granodiorite and granite, and strongly peraluminous leucogranite. Contents of major elements vary systematically with increasingSiO<₂ (48 to 77 wt.%). The batholith has calc-alkaline features, for example a Peacock index of 57, and values for K<₂O/Na₂O (<1), K/Rb (60–350), Zr/Hf (30–50), Nb/Ta (2–22), Hf/Ta (up to 10), and Rb/Zr (<2) in the range of plutonic rocks found in continental magmatic ares. Wide diversity and high values of minor- and trace-element ratios, including Th/Ta (0.5–22), Th/Yb (0–27), Ba/La (0–80), etc., are attributed to intracrustal contributions. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of metaluminous and relatively mafic intrusives have slightly negative slopes (La/Yb_cn<10) and negative Eu anomalies are small orabsent. The metaluminous to peraluminous inter-mediate plutons are relatively enriched in the light REE (La/Yb_cn>40) and have small negative Eu anomalies. The strongly peraluminous Willoughby leucogranite has unique trace-element abundances and ratios relative to the rest of the batholith, including low contents of Hf, Zr, Sr, and Ba, low values of K/Rb (80–164), Th/Ta (<9), Rb/Cs (7–40), K/Cs (0.1–0.5), Ce/Pb (0.5–4), high values of Rb/Sr (1–18) low to moderate REE contents and light-REE enriched patterns (with small negative Eu anomalies). Flat REE patterns (with large negative Eu anomalies) are found in a small, hydrothermally-altered area characterized by high abundances of Sn (up to 26 ppm), Rb (up to 670 ppm), Li (up to 310 ppm), Ta (up to 13.1 ppm), and U (up to 10 ppm). There is no single mixing trend, fractional crystallization assemblage, or assimilationscheme that accounts for all trace elementvariations from quartz gabbro to granite in the Northeast Kingdom batholith. The plutons originated by mixing mantle-derived components and crustal melts generated at different levels in the heterogeneous lithosphere in a continental collisional environment. Hybrid rocks in the batholith evolved by fractional crystallization and assimilation of country rocks (<50% by mass), and some of the leucogranitic rocks were subsequently disturbed by a mild hydrothermal event that resulted in the deposition of small amounts of sulfide minerals.     

Endmember graphics

Thek points inp-space corresponding to a specified set ofk (k<p) linearly independent endmember estimates associated with ap-variate (n×p) compositional datasetX, define the vertices of a (k?1) dimensional simplexH. Then estimated mixtures which together account for the systematic variation in the datasetX, are each convex combinations of thek fixed endmember estimates. Accordingly, then-points inp-space which represent these mixtures must be interior points of the simplexH. The purpose of this paper is to describe a simple graphical procedure for examining the positions of the estimated mixtures relative tok=3 or 4 putative endmembers, and for assessing their compliance or otherwise with the convexity constraints. Since the mixture coefficients must be estimated first in order to obtain the mixture estimates, the paper begins with a review of the least-squares partitioning procedure.     

Mapping of benthic enrichment patterns in Narragansett Bay,Rhode Island

A synoptic reconnaissance survey was performed over a five-day period in August 1988 to assess benthic habitat quality throughout Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, using REMOTS^® sediment-profile photography and analysis in combination with measurements of the levels ofClostridium perfringens spores (a fecal indicator) in sediments. Three main areas of degraded benthic habitat quality related to either excessive organic enrichment or physical disturbance were identified based solely on the REMOTS^® analysis: the Providence River Reach, Greenwich Bay and its associated coves and harbors, and an area located along the southwest side of Prudence Island. Sediments at many stations in these areas exhibited shallow apparent redox-potential discontinuity (RPD) depths, high apparent oxygen demand, and low-order benthic successional stages. ElevatedClostridium perfringens spore counts in surface sediments were attributed to inputs from wastewater treatment facilities. The highest spore counts occurred at the head of the bay, where wastewater treatment discharges and associated combined sewer overflows are numerous. Using data from the REMOTS^® analysis and the sediment inventory ofC. perfringens spores, a distinction was made between organic enrichment of the bottom from sewage, versus nonsewage enrichment or physical disturbance. The combination of techniques employed in this investigation could be used to design more efficient monitoring programs to assess eutrophication effects in estuaries and determine the effectiveness of regulatory or management initiatives to reduce organic overenrichment of benthic habitats.     

The Role of Bioattenuation in the Management of Aromatic Hydrocarbon Plumes in Aquifers

Ground water scientists have made significant advances in understanding the soil interactions, hydrogeology, fate and transport, and subsurface microbiology of aromatic hydrocarbons (BTEX) in aquifer systems. It is now generally recognized that a major factor responsible for the attenuation and mass reduction of BTEX in plumes is the widespread occurrence of hydrocarbon biodegradation by indigenous soil microorganisms in aquifer material. Most well-studied BTEX plumes that develop from the accidental release of gasoline fuels contain low levels of soluble hydrocarbons (< 1 to 5000 ppb) and have been shown to be spatially confined because of natural biotransformation mechanisms. These in situ processes are controlled by source and aquifer characteristics, permeability, sorption, and geochemical properties of the aquifer. Many laboratory subsoil-ground water microcosms and field studies (10 to 20 C) have demonstrated the rapid biodecay (1 to SO percent/day for microcosms and 0.5 to 1.5 percent/day for plumes) of these aromatic compounds under primarily aerobic conditions (i.e., those with sufficient dissolved oxygen). The ability to implement ground water bioremediation will depend upon our understanding of source control and aquifer recharge effects on the spatial distribution of plumes. In addition, estimating the biodegradation of sorbed BTEX, determining limits and potential for in situ biostimulation of soluble plumes, and establishing data requirements for predictive modeling of natural attenuation will be useful for this remediation technology. The use of these tools to manage ground water quality appears to represent the most practical alternative, particularly for low-risk ground water supplies.     

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)

Miscellaneous information 1989 (Addendum)     

Adjusting to Policy Expectations in Climate Change Modeling

This paper surveys and interprets the attitudes of scientists to the use of flux adjustments in climate projections with coupled Atmosphere Ocean General Circulation Models. The survey is based largely on the responses of 19 climate modellers to several questions and a discussion document circulated in 1995. We interpret the responses in terms of the following factors: the implicit assumptions which scientists hold about how the environmental policy process deals with scientific uncertainty over human-related global warming; the different scientific styles that exist in climate research; and the influence of organisations, institutions, and policy upon research agendas. We find evidence that scientists' perceptions of the policy process do play a role in shaping their scientific practices. In particular, many of our respondents expressed a preference for keeping discussion of the issue of flux adjustments within the climate modeling community, apparently fearing that climate contrarians would exploit the issue in the public domain. While this may be true, we point to the risk that such an approach may backfire. We also identify assumptions and cultural commitments lying at a deeper level which play at least as important a role as perceptions of the policy process in shaping scientific practices. This leads us to identify two groups of scientists, pragmatists and purists, who have different implicit standards for model adequacy, and correspondingly are or are not willing to use flux adjustments.     

The coarse structure of the solar atmosphere

Observations of the quiet sun at wavelengths from 3 Å to 75 cm show (with two exceptions: the Ovi line at 1032 Å and possibly the continuum at 1.2 mm) either no limb brightening or less than had been supposed. On the other hand, the brightness temperature is observed to increase with wavelength in the millimeter and centimeter range. If this increase is due to greater visibility of hot overlying material, that material ought to be evident at the limb at shorter wavelengths, resulting in limb brightening. The only possible explanation for the absence of limb brightening at almost all wavelengths is that the emitting surface is rough at all wavelengths, with a scale of roughness approximately equal to the scale height at each temperature. Contradictions with existing models, along with the additional observations required for an improved model are discussed.