Microscopic characteristics of orthoquartzite from sliding friction experiments. II. Gouge

Optical, TEM and SEM observations were made on gouge from orthoquartzite subjected to sliding friction experiments (Hayes, 1975; Dunn and Hayes, 1975) at a constant effective confining pressure of 500 bars and a strain rate of 2.5 · 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹, both dry and in the presence of pore fluids. All experiments exhibited stick-slip behavior, and brittle fracture of both surface asperities and the gouge is the dominant deformation mechanism. Crystalline, smooth filamentous projections on larger fragments and individual filaments found throughout the gouge indicate that ductile flow is occurring at the tips of surface asperities. Welded gouge and a small amount of glass are found in the dry samples. The presence of a fluid inhibits the formation of welded gouge and glass but promotes the production of angular fragments by causing them to move past one another instead of clumping. The gouge showed a 99.7% reduction in the average grain size for all experimental conditions indicating that mechanical abrasion is highly effective even with 2.5–5.9 mm axial displacements.The experimental results can aid our understanding of the formation of gouge and fractures during faulting and the stabilization of fault movements to prevent earthquakes. The experimentally-produced gouge is analogous to cataclastic rocks lacking primary cohesion which are produced during near-surface brittle fracturing. Observations of experimental and natural faults suggest that fracturing along the sliding surface increases with increased displacement. Fault stabilization is enhanced by the presence of a fluid which lowers the coefficient of sliding friction and which completely wets the gouge produced during the movement.     

Diffusion And Flow In Gravel,Soil, And Whole Rock

Transport parameters (diffusion coefficients, D(/), hydraulic conductivities, K(/), and retardation factors, R_f were experimentally determined in unsaturated soil, gravel, bentonite, and whole rock over a wide range of water contents, fixed at desired levels using the Unsaturated Flow Apparatus (UFA^TM). Effective diffusion coefficients in all media were found primarily to be a function of volumeric water cintent (/) and not material characteristics, except where the characteristics affect or determine water content. At high water contents, D(/) gradually declines as water content decreases, from 10^-5cm²/s at a / of about 50% to 10^-7cm²/s at a / of about 5%, followed by a sharp decline as surface films become thin and discontinuous, and pendular water elements become very small, from 10^-7cm²/s at a / of about 5% to 10^-10cm²/s at a / of about 0,5%. The several whole rock cores studied behaved similary. In aggregate material such as gravel and soil where the particles themselves have significant porosity, only the surface water content, not the internal water of the particles, contributes to the diffusion coefficient and hydraulic conductivity under unsaturated conditions, although the internal water is very important in retardation and other chemical effects. Experimentally determined K(/) compares favorably to van Genuchten/Mualem relationships calculated from laboratory-determined water retention versus matric potential data obtained on the same soils. Experimentally determined K(/) for whole rock appears to validate capillary bundle theory. Résumé. Diffusion et écoulement dans les graviers, les sols et les roches. Les paramètres de flux (coefficient de diffusion, D(‹), conductivité hydraulique, K(‹), et facteur de retard, R_f) ont été déterminés expérimentalement dans des formations non saturées (sol, gravier, benthonite et roche consolidée) pour une large gamme de tenneurs en eau (‹); ces teneurs en eau ont été ajustées aux valeurs désirées grâce à un dispositif spécial fournissant un écoulement non saturé (UFATM). Les résultats montrent que les coefficients de diffusion efficace de tous ces milieux sont d'abord fonction de la teneur volumique en eau et non des caractéristiques du matéeriau, sauf lorsque ces caractéristiques affectent ou déterminent la teneur en eau. Pour les fortes teneurs en eau, D(‹) décroit progressivement avec la teneur en eau, de 10 ^ч cm²/s pour un ‹ de 50% jusqu'à 10^щ cm²/s pour environ 5%. Lorsque les films d'eau deviennent minces et discontinus et lorsque la fraction d'eau gravitaire devient trop faible, D(‹) diminue très brutalement de 10^щ cm²/s pour un ‹ de 5% à 10^⪞ cm²/s pour un ‹ de 0,5%. Plusieurs roches consolidées, testées sur carottes, se comportent de la même façon. Dans les agrégats, comme les graviers et les sols, où les particules possèdent une porosité propre, seule la teneur en eau intergranulaire, et non l'eau de l'intérieur des particules, contribue à la valeur du coefficient de diffusion et à la conductivité hydraulique, dans des conditions non saturées, bien que l'eau intragranulaire joue un rôle très important quant au retard et aux autres effets chimiques. Les Valeurs de K(‹) déterminées expérimentalement montrent un bon accord avec les relations de van Genuchten/Mualem calculées à partir des teneurs en eau de rétention, déterminées au laboratoire en fonction du potentiel matriciel obtenu sur les mêmes sols. Les valeurs expérimentales de K(‹) pour des roches consolidées semblent valider la théorie du faisceau capillaire.     

Angular momentum transport in the solar nebula

Summary It is proposed that gravitational torques can furnish a mechanism for the radial outward transport of angular momentum in the solar nebula. For this effect to be present the disc of the nebula must have a spiral structure with trailing arms. A mathematical model is constructed with the main object of seeing whether purely advective inward eddy transports of angular momentum could offset the gravitational torques. It is found that for a protosun much more massive than the disc the eddy transport is small, allowing the gravitational effects of predominate. In such a case convergence of angular momentum is to be expected at the outer edge of the disc. The possibility exists that matter could be shed to large distances perhaps giving rise to the cloud of comets surrounding the solar system as proposed byJ. H. Oort.     

Small-scale,patchy distributions of infauna in hydrodynamically mobile continental shelf sands: Do ripple crests and troughs support different communities?

Spatial variability of infauna with respect to distribution of topographic habitat features was examined in hydrodynamically mobile sandy sediments on the inner continental shelf off New Jersey, USA (39° 27.69′ N, 74° 15.81′W). Sediment cores for infauna were taken by SCUBA divers at multiple spatial scales over time at 12-m depth in the LEO-15 research area on Beach Haven Ridge. Crests, troughs and less consistently flanks of sand ripples 5–15-cm in height, were characterized by different infaunal community patterns at spatial scales of centimeters to kilometers on several sampling dates. Overall, infaunal community differences among ripple crests, troughs, and/or flanks within areas <1-m² were greater than those found for each of these habitats (i.e., either crests, troughs, or flanks) that were separated by distances of 2 m–4 km. Infaunal density and species richness were consistently higher in troughs compared to crests. Indirect measures of food resources such as particulate organic carbon, chl a, and pheophytin were associated with ripple crests and troughs. Troughs contained significantly higher levels of particulate organic carbon (~1.2 times higher) associated with finer sediments, compared with crests and flanks. Various combinations of taxa had higher densities in either crests or troughs of sand ripples depending on date, and the relative abundances of three taxa, the deposit-feeding polychaete Polygordius jouinae, the suspension-feeding surfclam Spisula solidissima, and predatory nemerteans were important in distinguishing between crests and troughs on most dates. Thus, a priori knowledge of whether a benthic sample comes from a crest or trough helped to explain small-scale infaunal patchiness in relatively homogeneous, subtidal sandy sediments. Consideration of such topographic features in sampling designs can help in explaining variation in species’ distributions at several spatial and temporal scales.     

Morphological evolution of the Dee Estuary, Eastern Irish Sea, UK: A tidal asymmetry approach

Asymmetry in the tide (unequal ebb and flood duration) is a dominant factor in causing residual sediment transport and morphological changes in estuaries. The evolution of estuarine morphology is a process of dynamic equilibrium in the short-term, while these features are ephemeral in the long-term. In this study we investigate the spatial distribution of tidal distortion and asymmetry in the Dee estuary, UK, by 3-dimensional numerical modelling methods. High resolution LIDAR surveys are used to underpin and explain our numerical modelling results in terms of basin hypsometry and areas of recent erosion and deposition. Harmonic analysis of the numerical modelling results showed that the shallower intertidal areas (sand and mud banks) were the most tidally asymmetric, showing flood dominance. The main navigation channels showed some ebb dominance but the tides here were relatively undistorted. This overall flood dominance is likely to induce net sediment import to the Dee, which explains known historical morphological changes (large scale accretion over the last two centuries) and also recent morphological changes as seen from the LIDAR surveys (which show predominantly net accretion between 2003 and 2006). Hypsometrical analysis suggests the Dee may be approaching equilibrium, and that the flood dominance and sedimentation rate may therefore decrease in the future. In an infilling estuary, an increase in the area and elevation of tidal flats can eventually shift an estuary towards ebb dominance, as shown by previous research and by ‘idealised estuary’ modelling results presented in this study. The large tidal amplitude to hydraulic depth ratio of the Dee, however, suggests that the tidal flats would have to be very extensive indeed for this to occur.     

Macroalgal assemblages of disturbed coastal detritic bottoms subject to invasive species

Characteristic flora and fauna that are highly sensitive to disturbances colonize coastal detritic bottoms in the Mediterranean Sea. In the present study, a comparison of the assemblage composition and colonization by invasive macroalgae was made between two coastal detritic macrophyte assemblages, one dominated by rhodoliths (free-living non-geniculate Corallinales) and the other dominated by fleshy algae, in an area that has been exposed to important levels of anthropogenic disturbance, mainly pollution (including changed sedimentation regimes) in the recent past (bay of Marseilles, France). In comparison with less strongly impacted Mediterranean regions, the macrophyte assemblages in the bay of Marseilles were characteristic in terms of species identity and richness of coastal detritic macrophyte assemblages. However, extremely low species abundance (cover) was observed. As far as invasive species were concerned, Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea was only abundant in the rhodolith assemblage whereas the two invasive Rhodophyta Asparagopsis armata and Womersleyella setacea were mainly found in the fleshy algae assemblage. The seasonality observed in the Rhodolith assemblage seemed to be related to the development of C. racemosa var. cylindracea and did not follow the typical pattern of other Mediterranean assemblages. This study represents the first study of coastal detritic assemblages invaded by C. racemosa var. cylindracea.     

Application of heavy stable isotopes in forensic isotope geochemistry: A review

Light stable isotopes have been used for many years to characterize the source and transport of materials. More recently heavy isotope systems such as Sr, Nd and Pb have been added to this list in order to aid source identification. With the advent of multiple collector ICP-MS, the range of isotopic tools now available has increased considerably, however, until the isotope systematics of these new non-traditional isotope systems have become better understood, they will not be as useful in characterizing material source and transportation. Applications using heavy metal stable isotopes (mostly traditional heavy isotopes) have reached most avenues in science, including earth sciences, archaeology, anthropology, animal physiology, ecology and toxicology. This field will continue to grow as new applications are developed and techniques become simpler and quicker. This paper provides a review of how this field has grown and presents two new applications using Pb and Sr isotopes in glazes to determine the source of ore used in glazes, and using Sr isotopes to determine the origin of undocumented deceased Mexican border crossers.     

A semi-empirical wind set-up forecasting model for Lake Champlain

The precision of Lake Champlain's water level estimation is a key component in the flood forecasting process for the Richelieu River. Hydrological models do not typically take into consideration the effects of the wind on the water level (also known as the wind set-up). The objective of this study is to create an empirical wind set-up forecast model for Lake Champlain during high wind events. The proposed model uses wind speed and direction across the Lake, as well as wind gusts as inputs. The model is calibrated to a subset of observations and evaluated on an independent sample, considering four wind speed bins. It is tested and compared to a variant of the Zuider Zee equation on 20 wind set-up events that occurred between 2017 and 2019 using hindcast data from five different numerical weather prediction systems (GDPS, RDPS, HRDPS, NOAA and ECMWF). A quantile mapping-based forecast calibration scheme is implemented for each of the forecast products to correct their biases. Results show that events are successfully predicted by the proposed model at least 72 h in advance. These results are better than the other comparative models found in the literature and tested herein. Overall, significant improvements are obtained by including wind speed and wind gusts from different weather stations.