Ultrasonic attenuation of pure tetrahydrofuran hydrate

Improved estimates of the amount of subsurface gas hydrates are needed for natural resource, geohazard, and climate impact assessments. To evaluate gas hydrate saturation from seismic methods, the properties of pure gas hydrates need to be known. Whereas the properties of sediments, specifically sands, and hydrate‐bearing sediments are well studied, the properties of pure hydrates are largely unknown. Hence, we present laboratory ultrasonic P‐wave velocity and attenuation measurements on pure tetrahydrofuran hydrates as they form with reducing temperatures from 25°C to 1°C under atmospheric pressure conditions. Tetrahydrofuran hydrates, with structure II symmetry, are considered as proxies for the structure I methane hydrates because both have similar effects on elastic properties of hydrate‐bearing sediments. We find that although velocity increased, the waveform frequency content and amplitude decreased after the hydrate formation reaction was complete, indicating an increase in P‐wave attenuation after hydrate formation. When the tetrahydrofuran hydrate was cooled below the freezing point of water, velocity and quality factor increased. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance results indicate the presence of water in the “pure hydrate” samples above the water freezing point, but none below. The presence of liquid water between hydrate grains most likely causes heightened attenuation in tetrahydrofuran hydrates above the freezing point of water. In naturally occurring hydrates, a similarly high attenuation might relate to the presence of water.     

Testing the preservation potential of early diagenetic dolomites as geochemical archives

Early marine diagenetic dolomite is a rather thermodynamically-stable carbonate phase and has potential to act as an archive of marine porewater properties. However, the variety of early to late diagenetic dolomite phases that can coexist within a single sample can result in extensive complexity. Here, the archive potential of early marine dolomites exposed to extreme post-depositional processes is tested using various types of analyses, including: petrography, fluid inclusion data, stable δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O isotopes, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and U-Pb age dating of various dolomite phases. In this example, a Triassic carbonate platform was dissected and overprinted (diagenetic temperatures of 50 to 430°C) in a strike-slip zone in Southern Spain. Eight episodes of dolomitization, a dolostone cataclasite and late stage meteoric/vadose cementation were recognized. The following processes were found to be diagenetically relevant: (i) protolith deposition and fabric-preservation, and marine dolomitization of precursor aragonite and calcite during the Middle–Late Triassic; (ii) intermediate burial and formation of zebra saddle dolomite and precipitation of various dolomite cements in a Proto-Atlantic opening stress regime (T ca 250°C) during the Early–Middle Jurassic; (iii) dolomite cement precipitation during early Alpine tectonism, rapid burial to ca 15 km, and high-grade anchizone overprint during Alpine tectonic evolution in the Early Eocene to Early Miocene; (iv) brecciation of dolostones to cataclasite during the onset of the Carboneras Fault Zone activity during the Middle Miocene; and (v) late-stage regression and subsequent meteoric overprint. Data shown here document that, under favourable conditions, early diagenetic marine dolomites and their archive data may resist petrographic and geochemical resetting over time intervals of 10⁸ or more years. Evidence for this preservation includes preserved Late Triassic seawater δ¹³C_DIC values and primary fluid inclusion data. Data also indicate that oversimplified statements based on bulk data from other petrographically-complex dolomite archives must be considered with caution.     

Low-degree earth deformation from reprocessed GPS observations

Surface mass variations of low spherical harmonic degree are derived from residual displacements of continuously tracking global positioning system (GPS) sites. Reprocessed GPS observations of 14 years are adjusted to obtain surface load coefficients up to degree n _max = 6 together with station positions and velocities from a rigorous parameter combination. Amplitude and phase estimates of the degree-1 annual variations are partly in good agreement with previously published results, but also show interannual differences of up to 2 mm and about 30 days, respectively. The results of this paper reveal significant impacts from different GPS observation modeling approaches on estimated degree-1 coefficients. We obtain displacements of the center of figure (CF) relative to the center of mass (CM), Δr _CF–CM, that differ by about 10 mm in maximum when compared to those of the commonly used coordinate residual approach. Neglected higher-order ionospheric terms are found to induce artificial seasonal and long-term variations especially for the z-component of Δr _CF–CM. Daily degree-1 estimates are examined in the frequency domain to assess alias contributions from model deficiencies with regard to satellite orbits. Finally, we directly compare our estimated low-degree surface load coefficients with recent results that involve data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission.     

Kyanite eclogites from the Rietfontein kimberlite pipe,mier coloured reserve,Gordonia, Cape Province,South Africa

The kimberlite pipe at Rietfontein has been found to contain a suite of ultrabasic xenoliths, amongst which are kyanite eclogites of unusual freshness. The kyanite crystals are of varying shades of blue. Physical properties of some of the primary minerals together with the chemical composition of four kyanite eclogites and of a light and a dark blue kyanite crystal are presented.The xenoliths found in the Rietfontein Pipe are compared with those found in the Zagadochnaya Pipe and certain similarities and differences noted.     

Evidence of rainfall variations in Southern Brazil from trace element ratios (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) in a Late Pleistocene stalagmite

Trace element ratios in the Bt2 stalagmite from Botuverá cave, Southern Brazil, are explored as a proxy for changes in the local rainfall recharge during the last 116 ky. BP Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios, measured with an electron microprobe, are significantly positively correlated with one another throughout the entire record, and vary in a way that is very consistent with variations of δ¹⁸O in the same speleothem during the last glacial period. We suggest that prior calcite precipitation in the vadose zone of the cave system is the main factor affecting the incorporation of Mg and Sr into calcite of the stalagmite. This interpretation is supported by trace element correlation patterns and by results from a hydrochemistry study performed in a cave located in the same region and in a similar environmental setting. Therefore, we conclude that higher (lower) Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca values are associated with lower (higher) levels of recharge into the karstic aquifer, as such conditions lead to an increase (decrease) in the volume of calcite precipitated in the unsaturated zone above the cave during dry (wet) climate periods.Trace element variations point to generally dryer (wetter) conditions during lower (high) phases of summer insolation in the southern hemisphere. These periods coincide with decreased (increased) activity of the South American summer monsoon, as revealed by δ¹⁸O stalagmite records. In addition trace element variations show that rather wet conditions persisted throughout most of the last glacial period from approximately 70 to 17 ky BP. We suggest that during this period the glacial boundary conditions, especially ice volume buildup in the northern hemisphere, played an important role for monsoon rainfall intensification in the region.     

Quantitation of Nonextractable Anthropogenic Quantitation of Nonextractable Anthropogenic Sediments after Chemical Degradation

Four highly contaminated sediment samples obtained from three sampling locations of the Teltow Canal, Berlin, were investigated by quantitation of extractable and nonextractable organic contaminants. The selection of the anthropogenic contaminants (including chlorinated and brominated naphthalenes, 2, 4, 6‐tribromoaniline, phthalates, tri‐n‐butylphosphate, 2, 2, 4‐trimethyl‐1, 3‐pentanediol diisobutyrate, bisphenol A, butylated nitrophenols, 4‐nitrobenzoic acid, galaxolide, and tonalide) based on the results of extended GC‐MS screening analyses applied to the extracts of the sediment samples as well as to the extracts derived from selective chemical degradation procedures. In detail, alkaline hydrolyses, BBr₃‐treatment and RuO₄‐oxidation were applied to the pre‐extracted sediment samples in both a separate and a sequential mode.     

Historic fluvial development of the Alpine-foreland Tagliamento River, Italy, and consequences for floodplain management

The fluvial geomorphological development of the Tagliamento River and its flooding history is analysed using historical documents and maps, remote-sensed data and hydrological information. The river has been building a complex alluvial fan starting from the middle part of its alluvial course in the Venetia–Friuli alluvial plain. The riverbed is aggrading over its entire braided length. The transition from braiding to meandering near Madrisio has shifted downstream where the river width determined by the dikes becomes narrower, causing major problems. The flood hazard concentrates at those places and zones where flooding occurred during historical times. Prior to the agrarian and industrial revolution, land use was adjusted to the flooding regime of the river. Subsequent land-use pressure led to a confinement of the river by dikes to such an extent that the flood risk in the floodplain downstream of Madrisio has increased consistently, and represents nowadays a major territorial planning issue. The planned retention basins upstream of the middle Tagliamento will alleviate the problem, but not solve it in the medium and long term. Therefore, fluvial corridors in the lower-middle parts (from Pinzano to the sea) have been identified on the basis of the flooding history in relation to fluvial development during historical times. The result should be used for hydraulic simulation studies and land-use planning.     

Quantitative evaluation of different hydrological modelling approaches in a partly glacierized Swiss watershed

Mountain water resources management often requires hydrological models that need to handle both snow and ice melt. In this study, we compared two different model types for a partly glacierized watershed in central Switzerland: (1) an energy‐balance model primarily designed for snow simulations; and (2) a temperature‐index model developed for glacier simulations. The models were forced with data extrapolated from long‐term measurement records to mimic the typical input data situation for climate change assessments. By using different methods to distribute precipitation, we also assessed how various snow cover patterns influenced the modelled runoff. The energy‐balance model provided accurate discharge estimations during periods dominated by snow melt, but dropped in performance during the glacier ablation season. The glacier melt rates were sensitive to the modelled snow cover patterns and to the parameterization of turbulent heat fluxes. In contrast, the temperature‐index model poorly reproduced snow melt runoff, but provided accurate discharge estimations during the periods dominated by glacier ablation, almost independently of the method used to distribute precipitation. Apparently, the calibration of this model compensated for the inaccurate precipitation input with biased parameters. Our results show that accurate estimates of snow cover patterns are needed either to correctly constrain the melt parameters of the temperature‐index model or to ensure appropriate glacier surface albedos required by the energy‐balance model. Thus, particularly when only distant meteorological stations are available, carefully selected input data and efficient extrapolation methods of meteorological variables improve the reliability of runoff simulations in high alpine watersheds. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.