Contamination from Sand-Bentonite Seal in Monitoring Wells Installed in Aquitards

A six year field experiment has shown that a sand-bentonite mixture used to seal monitoring wells in aquitards contributes solutes to the ground water sampled from these wells. Monitoring wells were installed at field sites with hydraulic conductivity (K) ranging from 5 × 10 ^-9 m/s to 3 × 10¹¹ m/s. In most cases the boreholes remained dry during installation which allowed the placement of a dry powdered bentonite/sand mixture tagged with potassium bromide (KBr) to seal and separate sampling points. Over six years, wells were sampled periodically and ground-water samples were analyzed for Br and Cl and other major ions. Typical Br results ranged from 10 mg/1 to 35 mg/1 in the first 700 days, as compared to an estimated initial concentration in the seal material of about 75 mg/1. After six years the bromide concentrations had decreased to between 3 mg/1 and 5 mg/1. The total mass of Br removed in six years is less than 50% of that placed; therefore the contamination effects, although considerably diminished, persist. The trends of Br, Cl, Na, and SO₄ indicate that varying degrees of contamination occur. These data show that the materials used to seal monitoring wells in aquitards can have a significant and long-lasting impact on the chemistry of the water in the wells.     

Thermal effects of intrusion below the Taranaki Basin (New Zealand): evidence from combined apatite fission track age and vitrinite reflectance data

A high surface heat-flow anomaly on the northern Taranaki Peninsula in the Taranaki Basin (New Zealand) coincides spatially with Quaternary volcanic edifices, but the temporal aspects of heating of the sedimentary column associated with volcanism and any related plutonism have been unclear. A combined analysis of fission track age and vitrinite reflectance data, in particular comparing data from within the high heat-flow anomaly to calibration wells elsewhere in the Taranaki Basin, provides important new constraints. Within the high heat-flow region, apatite fission track (AFT) ages are older and vitrinite reflectance ( R _o) values are lower than in samples from elsewhere in the basin that have undergone similar burial histories. Modelled AFT ages and R _o values suggest gradual heating to within about 20  °C of maximum temperature followed by rapid heating of sedimentary strata in the last 1 Myr, perhaps as recently as the last 0.1 Myr. The inferred age of this heating event is younger than the age of the volcanic edifice on which it is centred, suggesting that volcanism precedes heating that may be related to plutonism under the northern peninsula. These results suggest that, if the heating is caused by intrusion, then the intrusion is probably in the upper crust.
     

The high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in Nannochloropsis limnetica (Eustigmatophyceae) and its implication for food web interactions, freshwater aquaculture and biotechnology

In the eustigmatophycean Nannochloropsis limnetica the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) is extremely high in comparison to different planktonic green algal taxa in freshwater ecosystems. The sums of n-6 and n-3 fatty acids in N. limnetica were ten-fold higher than in the other picoplankton Choricystis minor and Pseudodictyosphaerium jurisii, and higher than in the nanoplanktonic green algae Chlorella vulgaris, Monoraphidium neglectum and Scenedesmus obtusiusculus. The content of fatty acids in N. limnetica was highly variable under different culture conditions. The highest concentrations of PUFA in N. limnetica were found in non-aerated suspension cultures, with a high content of phosphate (40 mg l⁻¹ K₂HPO₄) in the culture medium: linoleic acid 22.19 mg g⁻¹ DW, arachidonic acid 10.52 mg g⁻¹ DW, and eicosapentaenoic acid 55.56 mg g⁻¹ DW. N. limnetica represent a high-quality food resource in freshwater food chains. Furthermore, cultures of this eustigmatophycean alga have a high potential for use in biotechnology and aquaculture.     

Observation of reactions in synthetic Ca-poor pyroxene single crystals at elevated temperatures by X-ray diffraction

Diffuse streaks in diffraction patterns of synthetic pyroxene single crystals at elevated temperatures are used to determine which reactions are initiated and how they proceed. The samples investigated are a) a host orthopyroxene (Wo₄En₈₃Fs₁₃) containing oriented pigeonite (Wo₆En₇₈Fs₁₆) parallel to (100) and b) a pigeonite (Wo₈En₇₅Fs₁₇). The maximum temperatures were 820° C and 1,015° C, respectively. No partial melting occurs at these temperatures, all reactions are in the subsolidus. In case a) augite is formed parallel to the (001) plane of pigeonite, but the augite is not exsolved by the pigeonite. This is proved by the absence of the obligatory streaks between corresponding reflections in highly resolved precession photographs. Instead, there are streaks from augite to the corresponding reflections of the host orthopyroxene. Example b) demonstrates that the temperature of the high-low transformation of pigeonite is very sensitive to the Ca content and clearly depends on the exsolution of augite. This augite is oriented parallel to (100) of pigeonite, not to (001). Both the high and the low pigeonite are present over a range of ～150° C, while the exsolution of augite continues. Simultaneously, orthopyroxene is also formed sharing (100) of pigeonite. There seems to be an indication that only low pigeonite inverts to orthopyroxene.     

The genesis of the methane in Lake Kivu (Central Africa)

Large amounts of methane and carbon dioxide, among other gases, are dissolved in the deep water of Lake Kivu. There is no dispute about the primarily magmatic origin of the carbon dioxide, but models of the genesis of the methane have been contradictory up to now. They have been based on too few and partly too inaccurate data.On the basis of new measurements obtained from gas and sediment samples, some of the old concepts have been further developed to a new model. According to this model, the methane is generated mainly by bacteria from the organic carbon of the sediment. It probably also contains minor amounts of thermocatalytic methane.About 70% of the organic carbon of the upper sediment is derived from mainly magmatic carbon dioxide (old carbon), which enters the biozone of the lake from the deep water by eddy diffusion and is assimilated there. The remaining 30% comes from atmospheric carbon dioxide (young carbon) assimilated in the biozone. But because methane also migrates into the lake from deeper sediment, the¹⁴C-content in the methane dissolved in the lake water is not 30% modern but only ca. 10% modern.More isotopic measurements on plankton, methane, carbon dioxide and sediment samples are necessary to support this model.

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Zusammenfassung Im Tiefenwasser des Kivusees sind u. a. große Mengen an Methan und Kohlendioxid gelöst. Während über den hauptsächlich magmatischen Ursprung des Kohlendioxids weitgehend Einigkeit besteht, sind die bisherigen Modellvorstellungen zur Genese des Methans widersprüchlich. Sie beruhen auf zu wenigen und zum Teil zu ungenauen Meß-daten.Mit Hilfe neuer Meßergebnisse an Gas- und Sedimentproben des Kivusees wurden einige der alten Vorstellungen zu einem neuen Modell weiterentwickelt. Danach ist das Methan hauptsächlich bakteriell aus dem organischen Kohlenstoff des Sediments entstanden. Wahrscheinlich enthält es auch geringe Beimengungen thermokatalytischen Methans.Der organische Kohlenstoff des oberen Sediments stammt zu rd. 70% aus dem vorwiegend magmatischen Kohlendioxid (alter Kohlenstoff), das aus dem Tiefenwasser durch turbulenten Austausch in die Biozone des Sees gelangt und dort assimiliert wird. Die restlichen 30% stammen aus dem in der Biozone assimilierten atmosphärischen Kohlendioxid (junger Kohlenstoff). Weil jedoch auch Methan aus tieferen Sedimentschichten in den See wandert, beträgt der¹⁴C-Gehalt des im Seewasser gelösten Methans nicht 30% modern, sondern nur ca. 10% modern.Weitere Isotopenuntersuchungen an Plankton-, Methan-, Kohlendioxid- und Sedimentproben sind notwendig, um das Modell abzusichern.

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Résumé De grandes quantités de méthane et d'oxyde carbonique sont dissoutes dans les eaux profondes du Lac Kicu. Alors qu'on est en général d'accord sur l'origine surtout magmatique de l'oxyde carbonique, les modèles devant représenter la genése du méthane sont contradictoires. Ils reposent sur des données trop peu nombreuses et en partie trop inexactes.A l'aide de nouveaux résultats de mesures faites sur des échantillons de gaz et du sédiment, on a développé un nouveau modèle, à partir des anciennes représentations. D'après celui-ci, le méthane provient pour sa plus grande part du carbone organique du sédiment, transformé par des bactéries. Il contient probablement des traces d'un méthane de thermocatalyse.Le carbone organique du sédiment supérieur provient pour 70% de l'oxyde carbonique surtout magmatique (carbone »ancien«), des eaux profondes parvenu, par échanges turbulents, dans la biozone du lac, où l'oxyde carbonique est assimilé. Les 30% restant proviennent de l'oxyde carbonique atmosphérique (carbone »jeune«) assimilé dans la biozone. Le méthane des couches profondes du sédiment migrant dans le lac, la teneur en¹⁴C de méthane dissous dans les eaux du lac n'est pas de 30% modernes, mais de 10% modernes.D'autres recherches sur les isotopes d'échantillons du plancton, du méthane, de l'oxyde carbonique et du sédiment du Lac Kivu seront nécessaires pour confirmer ce modéle.

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Geosecs North Atlantic radiocarbon and tritium results

Radiocarbon data for 11 stations and tritium data for 16 stations in the North Atlantic Ocean from 74°N to 3°N are presented. For radiocarbon, normal errors inΔ¹⁴C are± 4‰, and in tritium,± 0.09TU or± 3%, whichever is larger. There is a remarkable, but not simply linear, correlation between oceanic bomb transients in¹⁴C and³H. The deep convective mixing in the Greenland Sea is reflected in substantial bomb tracer penetration to all depths, with residence time for the deep, cold core water that seems to be 20 to 30 years. The outflow in the bottom layer southward over the sills of the Denmark Strait and Faroe Passage carries significant tritium concentration, at least to 40°N. Complicated, but coherent, profile structures in the subtropical Atlantic suggest effects of large-scale lateral advection. In particular, a pronounced minimum in both¹⁴C and³H might be associated with the Antarctic intermediate water.     

Die Grenze Ordovicium/Gotlandium

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Landforms and landscape evolution in the Skardu,Shigar and Braldu Valleys,Central Karakoram

The Central Karakoram, which includes K2 in Pakistan, is one of the most rapidly rising areas on Earth and exhibits complex topography and extreme relief. Impressive valley fills and glacial landforms are present throughout the valleys. The dynamics of landscape evolution of the region are currently not well understood. Consequently, the landforms were mapped and assessed in the Skardu, Shigar, and Braldu valleys, to elucidate the spatio-temporal scale dependencies of surface processes active in the region. These valleys were examined using geomorphic field methods, remote sensing, geomorphometry, and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCNs) surface exposure dating. The glaciers in this region have oscillated considerably throughout the Late Quaternary, and four glacial stages have been recognized including at least six glacial advances. Surface processes readjusted after glacier retreat, and ubiquitous mass movements and catastrophic landsliding transported material from steep slopes to valley bottoms, while glaciofluvial meltwater and glacier outburst floods redistributed sediment down valley. Glacier geochronology and late Holocene ages of the outburst flood deposits indicate that landscape evolution has been dominated by glaciation and paraglaciation during the late Quaternary.     

流体替代技术在北黄海盆地中生界含烃储层识别中的应用

北黄海盆地中生界勘探目的层以陆相碎屑岩储层为主,埋藏较深,受沉积压实和胶结成岩作用的影响,储层物性较差,含油气有利储层识别难度较大。利用流体替代技术,依据已建立的岩石物理模型,结合实际流体温度、压力等参数,对特定泥质含量、孔隙度条件下储层弹性响应特征随不同流体饱和度的变化规律进行正演计算,从而建立了含油气有利储层的弹性参数刻画范围。研究结果表明,对于孔隙度＞8%的物性相对较好的砂岩储层,其中含水的弹性属性与含油的弹性属性有一定的差别,而储层中含气的弹性属性与含油的弹性属性差别较为明显。因此,在研究区可以应用测量的纵波阻抗和模拟的纵横波速比建立含烃储层的解释框架,并利用叠前反演技术对研究区内物性较好有利储层作出预测。