Thermoluminescence and the shock and reheating history of meteorites—II: Annealing studies of the Kernouve meteorite

Samples of the unshocked, equilibrated chondrite, Kernouve (H6), have been annealed for 1–100 hours at 500–1200°C, their thermoluminescence sensitivity measured and Na, K, Mn, Ca and Sc determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis. The TL sensitivity decreased with temperature until by 1000°C it had fallen by 40%. The process responsible has an activation energy of ~8 kcal/mole and probably involves diffusion. Samples annealed 1000–1200°C had TL sensitivities 10^?2 times the unannealed values, most of the decrease occurring ~1100°C. This process has an activation energy of ~100 kcal/mole and is probably related to the melting of the TL phosphor, feldspar, with some decomposition and loss of Cs, Na and K. Meteorites whose petrography indicates healing > 1100°C by natural shock heating events (shock facies d-f). have TL sensitivities similar to samples annealed > 1100°C. Our own and literature compositional data indicate that TL is more stable to annealing than Ag, In, Tl, Bi, Zn and Te and less stable than Na, K, Mn, Ca, Se and Co, while the TL decrease resembles very closely the pattern of Cs loss on annealing.     

Origin and structure of the fossil resin from an Indonesian Miocene coal

The structure of a fossil resin from Miocene coal outcrops of the Bukit Asam region (Sumatra) has been studied. The fossil material has been formed from sesqui- and tri-terpenes from trees of the Dipterocarp family. The original terpenes have lost virtually all oxygen-containing functions and the resulting mono- and di-olefins have polymerized to a mainly non-crosslinked resin whose components have molecular weights of up to 300,000.     

Trace elements in fines from the Apollo 15 deep drill

No systematic variations in concentrations with depth were found for 1O trace elements in samples from the Apollo 15 deep drill. Presence of a significant amount of KREEP is indicated.     

The influence of morphology in determining the decomposition of two salt marsh macrophytes

Annual decomposition rates of Spartina alterniflora height forms and Juncus roemerianus were determined in situ in three North Carolina salt marshes using the litter bag method. The decomposition of Spartina was significantly influenced by size, i.e., height form, with the taller plants which had greater amounts of stem tissue, being more resistant to decay. Instantaneous decay rates for short and medium Spartina were not significantly different at any site, but they were both significantly greater than that of the tall form at two of the three study sites. Juncus decomposed more slowly than Spartina during the first 8 months, but had decomposed as completely as all three height forms of Spartina at two of the study sites by the end of the 13-month study period. Constant submergence appeared to inhibit decomposition since there was twice as much undecomposed plant material remaining in bags placed in tidal creeks as in those on the marsh surface.     

Organic matter assimilation and selective feeding by holothurians in the deep sea: some observations and comments

The selective feeding behaviour and assimilation efficiencies of deep-sea holothurians were investigated in order to assess their impact on carbon and nitrogen remineralisation on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP; 49°N 16°W, 4850 m water depth). Unfortunately, reliable determination of organic matter in the gut contents of the organisms proved to be difficult, because of the lysis of cells associated with the death of the animals on recovery. This was expressed in high levels of free fatty acids in the gut contents of Oneirophanta mutabilis, which we ascribe to unregulated lipolysis of phospholipids and triacylglycerides. It was not possible to estimate accurately the contribution that such material made to the gut contents, but based on the distributions of sterols in the gut sediments, it is likely to have been substantial. Therefore, all assimilation efficiencies calculated for holothurians in the deep sea should be treated with caution.Fortuitously, a bloom of holothurians that feed on the sediment surface (namely Amperima rosea and Ellipinion molle) during the period of study provided an opportunity indirectly to assess the impact of megafauna on organic matter cycling at the PAP. Observations suggest that the depletion of phytosterols from the surficial sediments between July and October 1997 resulted from the selective uptake of fresh phytodetritus by the blooming species. Deep-sea holothurians do not biosynthesise sterols de novo and an estimate of the sterol required by the increased population of A. rosea and E. molle is equivalent to the sterol flux to the seafloor during the spring/summer of 1997. The implications are dramatic. Firstly, these and other megafauna apparently turned over and selectively removed phytosterols from the freshly arrived phytodetritus and the surficial sediment (0–5 mm) at the PAP in less than four months. Secondly, their action impacted the food resource available to other organisms. Finally, as phytosterols are expensive to biosynthesise and are apparently an important resource for holothurians, we speculate that the supply of these compounds to the sedimentary community may be one important control on their population in the abyssal ocean.     

Final dissolved organic carbon broad community intercalibration and preliminary use of DOC reference materials

A broad community intercalibration exercise for accurate measurement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in seawater has been carried out over a period of 5 years. A set of 10 natural samples with DOC content from 40 to 200 μM C were accompanied by two glucose standards and a “zero C” blank; all sealed in glass ampoules. Samples were sent to all interested analysts for “blind” analysis; 62 laboratories in 17 countries participated. A total of 59 separate analyses were determined to be acceptable by screening criteria based on standards and blank; another nine sets of analyses did not pass the screening. The majority of the analyses, both those passing and those that did not, were performed with high temperature combustion (HTC) methods, six sets of analyses were done using wet chemical oxidation methods.From the 53 sets of acceptable HTC analyses, the coefficient of variation (%CV) for analytical comparability of the samples was 10% (“community precision”). It is estimated that the individual replicate injection precision for most instruments was approximately 2% and that no additional variability was caused by differences within the ampoules of individual samples. The additional variability over 2% was likely a result of both random and systematic differences in analytical capabilities from instrument to instrument and from day to day for individual instruments. With an arbitrary selection after the fact, smaller subsets of analysts can show comparability better than 10% and duplicate or triplicate runs on different days of the full sets of samples in several laboratories showed comparability in the 2–6.5% range. Experienced oceanic analysts, with internal or shared reference materials, can now show reproducibility and comparability at a level closer to 2%.Preliminary use of DOC reference materials by 14 participants showed day-to-day reproducibilities for their laboratories in the 2–6% range in most cases; several with poorer reproducibility do not normally perform DOC analyses on samples with concentrations as low as the deep ocean reference used here. Use of these reference materials can also give a demonstration of comparability between laboratories. For credibility of DOC analyses, it is necessary for analysts to use community reference materials and report results of their analytical performance with these references.This paper does not identify individual data nor should it be considered an evaluation of individual laboratories or analysts. The purpose is to show the summary picture of the international community of DOC analysts as it existed in the mid- to late 1990s.     

A comparison of black smoker hydrothermal plume behavior at Monolith Vent and at Clam Acres Vent Field: Dependence on source configuration

Quantitative visualization of acoustic images is used to compare the properties and behavior of high temperature hydrothermal plumes at two sites with different source configurations, increasing our understanding of how plume behavior reflects source configuration. Acoustic imaging experiments were conducted at the Clam Acres area of the Southwest Vent Field, 21°N East Pacific Rise and at Monolith Vent, North Cleft segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge. At Clam Acres, black smokers discharge from two adjacent chimneys which act as point sources, whereas multiple vents at Monolith Vent define a distributed elliptical source. Both plumes exhibit consistent dilution patterns, reasonable fits to the expected power law increase in centerline dilution with height, and simple bending of plume centerlines in response to ambient currents. Our data suggest that point source vents are associated with ordered plume structure, normal entrainment rates, and initial expansion of isosurfaces while distributed source vents are associated with disorganized plume structure, variable entrainment rates, and initial contraction of isosurfaces.     

Experimental investigations into processes controlling stream and hyporheic temperatures,Fryxell Basin,Antarctica

Glacial meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica exhibit daily cycles in temperature with maxima frequently reaching 10–15 °C, often 10 °C above air temperatures. Hydrologic and biogeochemical processes occurring in these streams and their hyporheic zones strongly influence the flux of water, solutes, and sediment to the ice-covered lakes on the valley bottoms. The purpose of this study was to identify the dominant processes controlling water temperature in these polar desert streams and to investigate in particular the role of hyporheic exchange. In order to do this, we analyzed stream temperature patterns on basin-wide, longitudinal, and reach scales. In the basin-wide study, we examined stream temperature monitoring data for seven streams in the Lake Fryxell Basin. For the longitudinal study, we measured temperatures at seven sites along a 5-km length of Von Guerard Stream.     

Analytic solutions for interface flow in combined confined and semi-confined,coastal aquifers

Analytic solutions are presented for steady interface flow in aquifers consisting of a confined and a semi-confined section. The total discharge is constant in the confined section and is directed towards the semi-confined section, which is bounded on top by a leaky layer that separates the aquifer from the sea. All solutions are based on the Dupuit approximation. The interface position is fully determined by two dimensionless parameters. The first parameter is the product of the uniform gradient towards the sea and the dimensionless leakage factor divided by the dimensionless density difference. The second dimensionless parameter is the length of the semi-confined section divided by the leakage factor. Four types of flow are distinguished. For cases I and II the interface does not reach the end of the semi-confined section, while it does for cases III and IV. For cases I and III the interface extends into the confined section, while for cases II and IV it remains entirely in the semi-confined section. Analytic solutions are presented for the position of the interface for all four cases. Diagrams are presented to determine the type of flow and the position of the interface toe based on the two dimensionless parameters. The pre-development position of the interface along the Georgia coast is computed as an illustration of the practical application of the presented formulas. Another practical application is the estimation of how far a numerical model of seawater intrusion should be extended into the sea for accurate simulations.