Analysis of Thermal Pollution of Volga–Uralian Steppe Landscapes Caused by Exploitation of Oil Deposits

Doklady Earth Sciences - Flares for combustion of associated petroleum gas (APG) are the main sources of thermal impact on landscapes during the exploitation of oil deposits. The object of this...     

Subsidence in the super-deep Pattani and Malay basins of Southeast Asia: a coupled model incorporating lower-crustal flow in response to post-rift sediment loading

Two Early Cenozoic rifts in Southeast Asia (beneath the Pattani and Malay basins) experienced only limited upper-crustal extension (β≤1.5); yet very thick post-rift sequences are present, with 6–12 km of Late Cenozoic terrestrial and shallow-marine sediment derived from adjacent sources. Conventional post-rift backstripping requires depth-dependent lithospheric thinning by β=2–4 to explain these tremendous thicknesses. We assess an alternative explanation for this post-rift subsidence, involving lower-crustal flow from beneath these basins in response to lateral pressure-gradients induced by the sediment loads and the negative loads arising from the erosion of their sediment sources. We calculate that increased rates of erosion in western Thailand in the Early Miocene placed the crust in a non-steady thermal state, such that the depth (and thus, the pressure) at the base of the brittle upper crust subsequently varied over time. Following such a perturbation, thermal and mass-flux steady-state conditions took millions of years to re-establish. In the meantime, the lateral pressure-gradient caused net outflow of lower crust, thinning the crust beneath the depocentre by several kilometres (mimicking the isostatic effect of greater crustal extension having occurred beforehand) and thickening it beneath the sediment source region. The local combination of hot crust and high rates of surface processes, causing lower-crustal flow to be particularly vigorous and thus making its effects more readily identifiable, means that the Pattani and Malay basins represent a set of conditions different from basins in many other regions. However, lower-crustal flow induced by surface processes will also occur to some extent, but less recognisably, in many other continental crustal provinces, but its effects may be mistaken for those of other processes, such as larger-magnitude stretching and/or depth-dependent stretching.     

The biostratigraphy and formational relationships of the upper aeronian and lower telychian (llandovery,silurian) formations of western mid-wales

The stratigraphical relationships of the upper Aeronian-lower Telychian formations in the Aberystwyth area are examined in the light of a new biostratigraphical subdivision of this interval based on graptolites, in which part of the Monograptus turriculatus Biozone is divided into six subzones and the Stimulograptus halli Biozone is resurrected. In the Aberystwyth area (B.G.S. 1:50 000 Sheet 163 (1984)) there is shown to be greater diachroneity of formational —boundaries than previously recognized. Notably, the Cwmsymlog Formation facies persisted in the northeast of the area far longer than anywhere else, due to the persistence of a bathymetric high into the lower Telychian. Also, the basal beds of the Aberystwyth Grits in the west of the area are shown to be of the same age as the uppermost beds of the Devil's Bridge Formation in the east. Thus for a short period the area was subject to turbiditic incursions from two sources. The degree of diachroneity of the base of the Aberystwyth Grits Formation as a whole is less than previously thought — the oldest beds are approximately one subzone older in the south than in the north. The core of the in the clinal pericline responsible for the crescentic outcrop pattern of the Aberystwyth Grits is demonstrated to lie in the vicinity of Llanrhystud, rather than at Aberarth as previously suggested. Four new graptolite species are described and one new genus is erected.     

Eruptive history of the Barombi Mbo Maar, Cameroon Volcanic Line, Central Africa: Constraints from volcanic facies analysis

his study presents the first and detail field investigations of exposed deposits at proximal sections of the Barombi Mbo Maar (BMM), NE Mt Cameroon, with the aim of documenting its past activity, providing insight on the stratigraphic distribution, depositional process, and evolution of the eruptive sequences during its formation. Field evidence reveals that the BMM deposit is about 126m thick, of which about 20m is buried lowermost under the lake level and covered by vegetation. Based on variation in pyroclastic facies within the deposit, it can be divided into three main stratigraphic units: U₁, U₂ and U₃. Interpretation of these features indicates that U₁ consists of alternating lapilli-ash-lapilli beds series, in which fallout derived individual lapilli-rich beds are demarcated by surges deposits made up of thin, fine-grained and consolidated ash-beds that are well-defined, well-sorted and laterally continuous in outcrop scale. U₂, a pyroclastic fall-derived unit, shows crudely lenticular stratified scoriaceous layers, in which many fluidal and spindle bombs-rich lapilli-beds are separated by very thin, coarse-vesiculatedash-beds, overlain by a mantle xenolith- and accidental lithic-rich explosive breccia, and massive lapilli tuff and lapillistone. U3 displays a series of surges and pyroclastic fall layers. Emplacement processes were largely controlled by fallout deposition and turbulent diluted pyroclastic density currents under “dry” and “wet” conditions. The eruptive activity evolved in a series of initial phreatic eruptions, which gradually became phreatomagmatic, followed by a phreato-Strombolian and a violent phreatomagmatic fragmentation. A relatively long-time break, demonstrated by a paleosol between U₂ and U₃, would have permitted the feeding of the root zone or the prominent crater by the water that sustained the next eruptive episode, dominated by subsequent phreatomagmatic eruptions. These preliminary results require complementary studies, such as geochemistry, for a better understanding of the changes in the eruptive styles, and to develop more constraints on the maar’s polygenetic origin.     

Kritische Bemerkung zur Frage der Temperatur-abhängigkeit der Ozonverteilung

Zusammenfassung A. undE. Vassy haben in der Frage der Temperatur-abhängigkeit des Ozongehalts der Atmosphäre aus der Gleichung loge _n –logJ _n logK(T _n ) geschlossen, daß auch die Gleichung loge _n logJ _n +logK(T _n ) gültig sei. Es wird hier nun gezeigt, daß die bei der ersten Gleichung erlaubten Vernachlässigungen bei der zweiten zu großen Fehlern führen können und daß daher von A. undE. Vassy kein Beweis für die Richtigkeit der Beziehunge=J.K(T) erbracht ist.

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Summary In the question of temperature dependence of ozone content of the atmosphere A. andE. Vassy have concluded from the equation loge _n –logJ _n logK(T _n ) that also the formula loge _n logJ _n +logK(T _n ) must be valid. In this paper it is proved that the neglections which may be admitted for the first equation, can conduct to great errors. Therefore A. andE. Vassy have not produced a proof for the correctness of the equatione=J.K(T).

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Résumé A. etE. Vassy en étuidant le problème de la teneur de l'ozone atmosphérique en relation avec la température ont admis que l'équation loge _n –logJ _n logK(T _n ) entraînait aussi la relation loge _n logJ _n +logK(T _n ). On montre ici que les simplifications admises pour la première équation conduisent pour l'application de la seconde à de fortes erreurs, et que par conséquent ces auteurs n'ont pas fourni de preuve de la justesse de la relatione=J.K(T).

     

Anisotropy beneath Hawaii from surface wave particle motion observations

Observed polarization ellipses for fundamental-mode surface waves observed at a digital station in Hawaii deviate from those expected for isotropic models of crust and mantle structure for that region. The anomalous motion occurs as rotations of the ellipse about all three axes in a cartesian corrdinate system. The largest and most consistent deviations occur as anomalous slopes of the ellipse about the horizontal axis transverse to the direction of propagation.The observed orientations and magnitudes of these angles can be explained by models of the upper mantle which contain olivine for which thea-axis dips significantly from the horizontal and which includes a sufficiently thick sedimentary layer (1 km) and a thicker than normal oceanic crust (15 km). The ellipses are also generally inclined from great circle paths about the vertical axis and are tilted about the axis aligned with the propagation direction. Both angles are small and difficult to measure, but the inclination angles are consistent with a model of the upper mantle in which thea-axis of olivine is preferentially oriented in an east-west direction.     

Aqueous heavy metals removal by adsorption on β-diketone-functionalized styrene–divinylbenzene copolymeric resin

An investigation was undertaken regarding the adsorption of different heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions using ??-diketone-functionalized styrene divinylbenzene resin under different experimental conditions such as initial concentration of metal ions, contact time, pH, and chelating capacity. The functionalization of resin was carried out by the condensation reaction of sodium salt of ??-diketones (pentane-1,3-dione) and chloromethylated styrene?Cdivinylbenzene resin in dichloromethane. Functionalized resin beads were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The batch method was employed using different metal ions solution from 5 to 15?mg/L at different contact times. The adsorption kinetics was tested for the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order reaction at different experimental conditions. The rate constant of adsorption kinetic models were also calculated and good correlation coefficient (R ²?>?0.9941) was obtained for pseudo-second order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption value obtain for lead (0.725728?mg/g), chromium (0.9199?mg/g), nickel (0.4974?mg/g), cobalt (0.6196?mg/g) and cadmium (0.6519?mg/g) at equilibrium condition, which shows that ??-diketone-functionalized styrene divinylbenzene resin is an effective adsorbent for toxic metal ions.