A Borehole Test for Chlorinated Solvent Diffusion and Degradation Rates in Sedimentary Rock

We present a new field measurement and numerical interpretation method (combined termed “test”) to parameterize the diffusion of trichloroethene (TCE) and its biodegradation products (DPs) from the matrix of sedimentary rock. The method uses a dual-packer system to interrogate a low-permeability section of the rock matrix adjacent to a previously contaminated borehole and uses the borehole monitoring history to establish the pretest condition. TCE and its DPs are removed from the groundwater between the packers at the onset of the testing. The parameters estimated by fitting a radial diffusion model to the concentration history and borehole concentration data, also termed back diffusion, are the tortuosity factor and sorption coefficients of TCE and DPs in the rock matrix and the TCE and DP biodegradation rate coefficients in the borehole. We demonstrate the equipment design and the interpretive method using a borehole accessing the gray mudstone at a TCE contaminated site in the Newark Basin. In this test, both nonreactive (bromide) and reactive (trichlorofluoroethene) tracers are used to constrain the estimated parameters; however, the bromide tracer was not needed to estimate the parameters in this test. The parameters estimated from the field test are consistent with values measured independently in laboratory experiments using field samples of similar lithology. From the interpretation, we compute the TCE and DP concentration distributions in the rock matrix prior to the test to illustrate how the results can be used to enhance understanding of contaminant distribution in the rock matrix.     

Eolian controlled modification of the martian south polar layered deposits

Data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) aboard the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) mission and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) aboard the Mars Odyssey mission have revealed unique surface features in a particular region of the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD). The dominant morphology is large-scale quasi-parallel grooves that extend for hundreds of kilometers with only tens of meters of vertical relief, that we have termed here the “Wire Brush” terrain. The grooves are also transected by disjointed, yet roughly continuous, low-relief sinuous ridges that cross roughly perpendicular to the trend-direction of the large-scale grooves and show only tens of meters of relief. We interpret these ridges to be eroded remnants of folded layers. At the northern end of the large-scale grooves there are non-symmetric mounds. They are frequently preceded by a significant depression and/or trailing grooves that are parallel to the Wire Brush trend. We find that a two-stage process involving winds that intermittently remove a low-density crust exposing the underlying ice to ablation is the interpretation that best explains the multitude of features observed here. These features appear to be currently inactive indicating higher winds in previous epochs.     

Statistical analysis of the microlithotype sequences in the Bulli Seam, Australia, and relevance to permeability for coal gas

Sequential microlithotype analyses through the Permian Bulli Coal, Sydney Basin, Australia, enable determination of the abundance, locations and thicknesses of various microlithotypes in the seam. Statistical analyses allow prediction of these parameters. Microlithotype analyses may be used as a means of predicting seam permeability in relation to coal gas drainage, if used in conjunction with reported correlation between coal type and seam reservoir properties.A combination of sequential microlithotype analyses and statistical modelling provide data on the number, location and thicknesses of individual bands of vitrite, vitrinertite, inertite and mineral-rich coal. A Markov chain describes both the order and thickness of the bands in the seam. Local ordering of microlithotypes is similar, irrespective of vertical orientation, which suggests that analyses and predictions may be possible using representative, randomly oriented samples. Statistical modelling can be used to characterise the seam using a small number of parameters. These include the elements of the transition probability matrix of the Markov chain, from which many seam properties such as maximum band thickness, thickness distribution of bands and spacing of thick bands can be predicted.The permeability of vitrite-rich coal in the seam is 30 mD and it is 2.3 mD for inertite-rich coal. In general, for the Bulli seam, vitrite-rich plies are expected to provide better flow paths for coal gas than inertite-rich plies, because of the abundance of cleat systems in vitrite. Using this information, it thus may be possible to predict gas and water flow paths in a seam from microlithotype analyses, thereby leading to the development of a rapid method for assessing the comparative permeabilities of coal plies.     

The effect of habitat and environmental history on otolith chemistry of barramundi Lates calcarifer in estuarine populations of a regulated tropical river

We examine the microchemistry of otoliths of cohorts of a fished population of the large catadromous fish, barramundi Lates calcarifer from the estuary of a large tropical river. Barramundi from the estuary of the large, heavily regulated Fitzroy River, north-eastern Australia were analysed by making transects of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope and trace metal/Ca ratios from the core to the outer edge. Firstly, we examined the Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, Mg/Ca and Mn/Ca and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios in otoliths of barramundi tagged in either freshwater or estuarine habitats that were caught by the commercial fishery in the estuary. We used ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios to identify periods of freshwater residency and assess whether trace metal/Ca ratios varied between habitats. Only Sr/Ca consistently varied between known periods of estuarine or freshwater residency. The relationships between trace metal/Ca and river flow, salinity, temperature were examined in fish tagged and recaptured in the estuary. We found weak and inconsistent patterns in relationships between these variables in the majority of fish. These results suggest that both individual movement history within the estuary and the scale of environmental monitoring were reducing our ability to detect any patterns. Finally, we examined fish in the estuary from two dominant age cohorts (4 and 7 year old) before and after a large flood in 2003 to ascertain if the flood had enabled fish from freshwater habitats to migrate to the estuary. There was no difference in the proportion of fish in the estuary that had accessed freshwater after the flood. Instead, we found that larger individuals with of each age cohort were more likely to have spent a period in freshwater. This highlights the need to maintain freshwater flows in rivers. About half the fish examined had accessed freshwater habitats before capture. Of these, all had spent at least their first two months in marine salinity waters before entering freshwater and some did not enter freshwater until four years of age. This contrasts with the results of several previous studies in other parts of the range that found that access to freshwater swamps by larval barramundi was important for enhanced population productivity and recruitment.     

Laboratory simulations of prebiotic molecule stability in the jarosite mineral group; end member evaluation of detection and decomposition behavior related to Mars sample return

Recently, the prebiotic amino acid glycine has been found associated with natural jarosite samples from locations around the world. Since the discovery of jarosite on Mars, extensive research focuses on linking this mineral group with possible detection of biosignatures in the geologic record on Earth and Mars. Multiple analytical methods, including extraction and mass spectrometry techniques, have identified glycine and other biomolecules in jarosite samples. The jarosite end members jarosite (sensu stricto-potassium jarosite), natrojarosite (sodium jarosite), and ammoniojarosite (ammonium jarosite) have different thermodynamic stabilities, decompose at different rates, and have potentially different susceptibilities to substitution. The relationship between the thermodynamic stability of the jarosite end members and the effect that glycine has on the thermal decomposition behavior of each end member was investigated using thermal gravimetric analysis. Introducing glycine into the synthesis procedure (75 ppm) of the potassium, sodium, and ammonium jarosite end member has elucidated the effects that glycine has on the thermal stability of the mineral group. Potassium jarosite appears to be the least susceptible to the effects of glycine, with the sodium and ammonium end members showing marked changes in thermal decomposition behavior and decomposition rates. These results suggest that the sodium and ammonium jarosites are more suitable targets for identifying signs of prebiotic or biotic activity on Mars and Earth than the potassium jarosites. These results have implications for current in situ investigations of the martian surface and future sample return missions.     

A new hematite formation mechanism for Mars

Abstract— The origin of hematite detected in Martian surface materials is commonly attributed to weathering processes or aqueous precipitation. Here, we present a new hematite formation mechanism that requires neither water nor weathering. Glass‐rich basalts with Martian meteorite‐like chemistry (high FeO, low Al₂O₃) oxidized at high (700 and 900 °C) temperatures in air and CO₂, respectively, form thin (<1 μm) hematite coatings on their outermost surfaces. Hematite is manifested macroscopically by development of magnetism and a gray, metallic sheen on the glass surface and microscopically by Fe enrichment at the glass surface observed in element maps. Visible and near‐infrared, thermal infrared, and Raman spectroscopy confirm that the Fe enrichment at the oxidized glass surfaces corresponds to hematite mineralization. Hematite formation on basaltic glass is enabled by a mechanism that induces migration of Fe²⁺ to the surface of an oxidizing glass and subsequent oxidation to form hematite. A natural example of the hematite formation mechanism is provided by a Hawaiian basalt hosting a gray, metallic sheen that corresponds to a thin hematite coating. Hematite coating development on the Hawaiian basalt demonstrates that Martian meteorite‐like FeO contents are not required for hematite coating formation on basalt glass and that such coatings form during initial extrusion of the glassy basalt flows. If gray hematite originating as coatings on glassy basalt flows is an important source of Martian hematite, which is feasible given the predominance of igneous features on Mars, then the requirement of water as an agent of hematite formation is eliminated.     

Modern analogues and the early history of microbial life

Revealing the geological history of microbial life is very challenging. Microbes rarely are preserved with morphological fidelity, and even when they are, morphology is a poor guide to phylogeny and metabolism. Biological studies of environments considered analogous to those of paleobiological interest on the ancient Earth can inform interpretations and suggest new approaches. This paper reviews recent advances in our understanding of the biological diversity of two environments relevant to Archean paleobiology: those of extreme acidity and temperature (the Mt. Hood and White Island volcanoes), and high salinity (living stromatolites in Shark Bay). The combination of traditional microbial isolation with the use of modern molecular techniques has revealed that the microbial communities in these environments are much more diverse than originally thought. Through the extraction of whole microbial community DNA, enzymatic amplification of evolutionarily conserved genes, and cloning and sequencing of these genes, more specific and informed inferences concerning functional complexity in these extreme environments have now been made. Studies of the modern stromatolites have demonstrated that they have a very diverse range of micoorganisms, and contrary to previous interpretations, cyanobacteria are not the most abundant microbes present. In addition, many of the microorganisms are unique with no known close relatives, and these microorganisms may also possess novel physiologies vital to the integrity and persistence of stromatolites through space and time. Microbes in the volcanoes studied are present ubiquitously and include geochemically significant sulfur- and iron-cycling taxa. The findings from the studies reviewed here suggest that the Archean biota may have been functionally diverse and much more complex than has yet been revealed. The importance of studying modern analogues is stressed in that the biogeochemical processes occurring in these communities leave morphological, mineralogical, lipid and isotopic signals that could be sought in the rock record.