Book Reviews

Wolfgang Torge. Gravimetry. New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1989. 465 pp. U.S. $94.95.

W. H. Berger, V. S. Smetacek, and G. Wefer (eds.). Productivity of the Ocean: Present and Past. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons, 1989. 471 pp. Hardcover. U.S. $146.00.     

Overcoming the problem of locking in linear elasticity and poroelasticity: an heuristic approach

In this paper, we examine heuristically the reasons for locking in poroelasticity. As a first step, we first reexamine the problem of locking in linear elasticity. From this, we discover how the problem arises in the poroelasticity setting and how the problem might be overcome.     

Rates of stream incision in the middle part of the Arkansas River basin based on late Tertiary to mid-Pleistocene volcanic ash

Ages and elevations of ash layers correlated with late Tertiary and Pleistocene eruptions in the western US and present stream elevations are used to calculate net rates of incision by streams in the middle reaches of the Arkansas River basin in the south central US. The mean of the 23 measurements of rate of stream incision in the study area is 4.2±2.7 cm/ky with a range of 0.6 to 9.7 cm/ky. Major influences on rate of stream incision in the study area include the arid to semi-arid climate of the region, the type of material being incised by streams, stream captures, and salt dissolution in the bedrock that underlies the region. Rates of incision exceeded rates of basin filling but significant deposits of unconsolidated late Cenozoic sediments occur in the study area. Basins of streams that have incised the slowest since the late Tertiary contain the thickest and most extensive amounts of unconsolidated Quaternary sediments. Rates of incision by streams in the study area are similar to or slower than rates reported for streams elsewhere in the US and the world. Streams in mountainous regions and areas affected by rapid uplift have incised at rates orders of magnitude faster than streams in the study area.     

贵州锦丰(烂泥沟)超大型金矿床构造解析及构造成矿作用

在矿区大比例尺填图的基础上,运用构造解析的理论和方法,对贵州锦丰(烂泥沟)金矿的构造特征、构造演化和构造控矿作用进行了系统的阐述。矿区构造线主要分为近NS向、NW向和NE向3组,其中NW向构造线控制了矿区的构造格架。构造变形主要经历了同生期裂陷、造山期挤压、后碰撞造山侧向挤压和岩石圈伸展等4个阶段。盆地裂陷期间(D2-T2)形成的同生断层为后续的构造活动提供了最初的构造薄弱面,并成为主要的热液通道;造山期挤压期间(T3)形成了矿区最为明显的近NS向和NW向大型倒转褶皱和逆冲断层以及配套的NE向右旋走滑断层;后碰撞造山侧向挤压期间(J1)形成走向NE的叠加褶皱,并在F2-F3"X"型断裂系上形成近EW向的拉张区,矿质沿着拉张的空间沉淀就位;燕山期(J2-K)岩石圈伸展,形成小规模的近水平逆断层。上述4个主要构造变形阶段与右江盆地的裂陷-闭合-坍塌的发展演化历史相吻合,成矿发生在由挤压向拉张过渡的构造体制转换阶段。造山期逆冲作用形成的构造闭圈和后碰撞造山期间挤压向伸展转变的过程中形成的局部张性构造环境是矿质得以大量聚集、沉淀的主要构造控制因素。构造成矿作用是锦丰(烂泥沟)金矿单一矿体垂向延深1000m以上的主要制约因素。构造成矿的观点将为在滇黔桂"金三角"卡林型金矿带的深部找矿提供重要的理论依据。     

The North Atlantic Oscillation and oceanic precipitation variability

Global North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) oceanic precipitation features in the latter half of the twentieth century are documented based on the intercomparison of multiple state-of-the-art precipitation datasets and the analysis of the NAO atmospheric circulation and SST anomalies. Most prominent precipitation anomalies occur over the ocean in the North Atlantic, where in winter a “quadrupole-like” pattern is found with centers in the western tropical Atlantic, sub-tropical Atlantic, high-latitude eastern Atlantic and over the Labrador Sea. The extent of the sub-tropical and high-latitude center and the amount of explained variance (over 50%) are quite remarkable. However, the tropical Atlantic center is probably the most intriguing feature of this pattern apparently linking the NAO with ITCZ variability. In summer, the pattern is “tripole-like” with centers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea/Baltic Sea and in the sub-polar Atlantic. In the eastern Indian Ocean, the correlation is positive in winter and negative in summer, with some link to ENSO variability. The sensitivity of these patterns to the choice of the NAO index is minor in winter while quite important in summer. Interannual NAO precipitation anomalies have driven similar fresh water variations in these “key” regions. In the sub-tropical and high-latitude Atlantic in winter precipitation anomalies have been roughly 15 and 10% of climatology per unit change of the NAO, respectively. Decadal changes of the NAO during the last 50 years have also influenced precipitation and fresh water flux at these time-scales, with values lower (higher) than usual in the high-latitude eastern North Atlantic (Labrador Sea) in the 1960s and the late 1970s, and an opposite situation since the early 1980s; in summer the North Sea/Baltic region has been drier than usual during the period 1965–1975 when the NAO was generally positive.     

Shuram-Wonoka carbon isotope excursion:Ediacaran revolution in the world ocean's meridional overturning circulation

The late Ediacaran Shuram-Wonoka excursion, with δ~(13)C_(carb) values as low as-12‰(PDB) in marineshelf deposits and spanning up to 10 Myr, is the deepest and most protracted δ~(13)C_(carb) negative anomaly recognised in Earth history. The excursion formed on at least four continents in low(≤32°) palaeolatitudes, and in China is associated with a major phosphogenic event. Global and intrabasinal correlation, magnetostratigraphy, isotope conglomerate tests and further geochemical data are consistent with a primary or syn-depositional origin for the excursion. Continental-margin phosphorites are generated by oceanic upwelling driven by surface winds, and δ~(13)C_(carb) negative anomalies are explicable by oceanic upwelling of 13 C-depleted deep oceanic waters, arguing that a feature common to these exceptional Ediacaran events was unprecedented perturbation of the world ocean. These events occurred during the transition from an alien Proterozoic world marked by low-palaeolatitude glaciation near sea level and strong seasonality to the familiar Phanerozoic Earth with circum-polar glaciation and temperate climate, suggesting that the Shuram-Wonoka excursion is related to this profound change in Earth's climate system. Of various hypotheses for Proterozoic low-palaeolatitude glaciation, only the high obliquity(54°) hypothesis, which posits secular decrease in obliquity to near the present-day value(23.5°) during the Ediacaran, predicts an unparalleled revolution in the Ediacaran world ocean. The obliquity controls the sense of the world ocean's meridional overturning circulation, which today is driven by the sinking of cold, dense water at the poles and upwelling driven by zonal surface winds.When the decreasing obliquity passed the critical value of 54° during the Ediacaran the meridional temperature gradient reversed, with the equator becoming warmer than the poles and Hadley lowlatitude(30°-35°) atmospheric zonal circulation reversing. This reversal of the temperature gradient is unique to the Ediacaran Period and caused reversal of the oceanic meridional overturning circulation,with upwelling of anoxic, 13 C-depleted deep oceanic waters producing a deeply negative and protractedδ~(13)C_(carb) signature on late Ediacaran marine-shelf deposits.     

Origin of PhosphoriteNodules of Lebedinsky Iron Deposit in Kursk Magnetic Anomaly （KMA） of the Russian Platform

INTRODUCTION TheKurskmagneticanomaly(KMA)coversnear ly120000km2andhasalengthof600kminSE NW direction,withawidthrangingfrom150kmto250 km.TheKMAbasinislimitedbytheDoneskPaleozoic massifinthesouthandthePrecambrianAzovsk podol skupliftinthesouth westanditsnorthernborderis markedbythecrystallinemassifupliftofVaronesh.0 c s TheLebedinskycomplexdepositislocatedinthecentral partoftheRussianplatformbetweenlatitude50°00′and50° 20′north,andlongitude34°00′and39°00′east,inthefron ti…     

Rockfish in Puget Sound: An ecological history of exploitation

In Puget Sound, WA (USA), rockfish (Sebastes spp.) have significantly declined in abundance, with multiple petitions to list individual species under the Endangered Species Act. In order to better understand the ecological legacy of rockfish fishing to the Puget Sound ecosystem, the local history of rockfish exploitation was reviewed, focusing on the socioeconomic forces and management decisions which influenced the trajectory of landings. Rockfish have always been harvested for human consumption in the region, but over time exploitation patterns have changed from an opportunistic subsistence activity by indigenous peoples, to a year-round target of commercial and recreational interests. Annual commercial and recreational harvests together peaked (almost 400 mt) in the early 1980s as anglers’ attitudes changed, gear technology improved, rockfish became more familiar to the market, human population increased, and agency programs promoted fisheries to sustain employment. Rockfishes were generally not managed intensely or with conservation goals in mind until the late 1980s, in part due to scientific shortcomings and a lack of resources. By the time management actions were deemed necessary, the greatest harvest had already occurred. However, the low intrinsic productivity of most rockfish species suggests that the legacy of fishing will remain for years to come. As managers strive to restore the integrity and resilience of Puget Sound, they must realize the significance of historical fishery removals to the ecosystem and use the proper social and economic incentives to drive individual behavior toward these ecosystem goals.     

Diisopropanolamine Biodegradation Potential at Sour Gas Plants

The potential for aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of a sour gas treatment chemical, diisopropanolamine (DIPA), was studied using contaminated aquifer materials from three sour gas treatment sites in western Canada. DIPA was found to be readily consumed under aerobic conditions at 8°C and 28°C in shake flask cultures incubated with aquifer material from each of the sites, and this removal was characterized by first-order kinetics. In addition, DIPA biodegradation was found to occur under nitrate-, Min(IV)., and Fe(III)-reducing conditions at 28°C, and in some cases at 8°C, in laboratory microcosms, DIPA loss corresponded to consumption of nitrate, and production of Mn(II) and Fe(II) in viable microcosms compared to corresponding sterile controls. A threshold DIPA concentration near 40 mg/L was observed in the anaerobic microcosms. This report provides the first evidence that DIPA is biodegraded under anaerobic conditions, and our data suggest that biodegradation may contribute to DIPA attenuation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in aquifers contaminated with this sour gas treatment chemical.     

Molecular characterization of organic matter in sediments from the Keg River formation (Elk Point group), western Canada sedimentary basin

Distributions of free and sulfur-bound biomarkers in organic-rich sediments from the lower and upper Keg River formation (Elk Point group, western Canada) reveal deposition of these sediments under reducing conditions, in agreement with the geological data. The predominance of aryl isoprenoids of Chlorobiaceae origin indicates that photic zone anoxia occurred during time of deposition. A series of novel aryl isoprenoids with a carboxylic acid function was identified by GC–MS and the structure of the predominant 3-methyl-5-(2′,3′,6′-trimethylphenyl)pentanoate was proven by synthesis of an authentic standard. The occurrence of these acids gives evidence that oxidative breakdown at least partially accounts for the diagenetic fate of aromatic carotenoids. Li/EtNH₂ desulfurization of two kerogen concentrates yielded only low amounts of sulfur-bound hydrocarbons, and suggests that either sulfur sequestration was not a predominant process or, more probably, that a major part of the hydrocarbons, initially sulfurized, were released upon maturation, giving further evidence that (poly)sulfide bonds are cleaved at relatively low levels of thermal stress.