The respective effects of water vapor and temperature on the turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat

Various aspects of the Brook correction for the effects of moisture fluctuations or gradients on atmospheric specific heat and, consequently, on the vertical flux of sensible heat are discussed, and additional forms of the complete and approximate equations are derived. Corollary expressions for the influence of temperature fluctuations or gradients on vertical latent heat flux are presented. Errors due to neglecting these temperature and moisture effects on the respective fluxes are compared in terms of the Bowen ratio. Either of these normally neglected effects can change the direction (sign) and very substantially affect the magnitude of the corresponding flux. The effects sometimes compensate in the total, sensible plus latent, heat flux. Calculations include practical examples from the very different climates of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Great Plains of Nebraska.     

Tectonic pattern of the Azores spreading centre and triple junction

The major tectonic elements of the Azores triple junction have been mapped using long-range side-scan sonar. The data enable the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis to be located with a precision of a few kilometres. Major faults and other tectonic and volcanic elements of the ridge maintain their regional trend of 010° to 020° past the triple junction area. There is no oblique spreading, and only minor transform offsets of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge occur here. The main effect of the triple junction or Azores hot spot is to diminish the amplitude of the median valley to 200 m or less. There is no axial high: a topographic high seen on several profiles is located to the east of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge spreading axis and does not appear to have any fundamental significance.The third arm of the triple junction includes the Azores srreading centre which appears to have developed as a series of en echelon rifted basins (the Terceira Rift) extending from Formigas Trough at 36.8°N, 24.5°W to a point near 39.3°N, 28.8°W. There are indications that recent activity in the spreading centre may be concentrated in a series of ridges which flank the older rifted basins. Until recently the northwest end of the Terceira Rift was connected to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge axis either directly at an RRR junction, or via a transform fault. The triple junction has probably moved south during the last 6 Ma to a positin on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near 38.7°N.Initiation of the Azores spreading centre may have occurred during the 36 Ma B.P. rearrangement of poles, with an RFF triple junction north from the East Azores fracture zone to the North Azores fracture zone and transferring a wedge of European plate to the African plate.The tectonic elements revealed by this study are in good agreement with inferred earthquake mechanisms and with the RM2 plate tectonic model of Minster and Jordan, but east-west motion between North America and Africa does not seem to be compatible with the other motions at the triple junction unless it is of very recent (2>3 Ma) origin.     

Heavy metal retention in secondary precipitates from a mine rock dump and underlying soil, Dalarna, Sweden

This study investigates the retention of heavy metals in secondary precipitates from a sulfidic mine rock dump and underlying podzolic soils by means of mineralogical and chemical extraction methods. The rock dump, which is at least 50 years old, consists of a 5–10-cm-thick leached zone and an underlying 110–115-cm-thick accumulation zone. Optical microscopy and electron microprobe analyses confirm that pyrrhotite weathering has proceeded much further in the leached horizon relative to the accumulation horizon. The weathering of sulfides in the leached zone has resulted in the migration of most heavy metals to the accumulation zone or underlying soils, where they are retained in more stable phases such as secondary ferric minerals, including goethite and jarosite. Some metals are temporarily retained in hydrated ferrous sulfates (e.g., melanterite, rozenite). Received: 28 October 1996 · Accepted: 24 February 1997     

The effect of Tschermak's substitution on assemblages in aluminous dolomites

A calculated petrogenetic grid for the system CaO-MgO-Al₂O₃-SiO₂-CO₂-H₂O (CaMASCH), incorporating Tschermak's substitutions in amphibole, chlorite, talc and clinopyroxene, is used to examine phase relationships in aluminous marbles. A series of diagrams illustrating the effect upon stable mineral assemblages of increasing the aluminium content of a bulk composition is used to show the way aluminous minerals enter mineral assemblages in progressively more aluminous rocks. The effects of changing pressure and the incorporation of Fe into the bulk composition on the stable mineral assemblages are also examined. The calculated equilibria are shown to be in reasonable agreement with natural assemblages, and the incorporation of new experimental data on amphiboles into the existing dataset is shown to improve the agreement between observed and natural amphibole compositions.     

Convective energy transport in stellar atmospheres

The motion of convective cells in an environment which changes rapidly with depth is examined. In such an environment a cell may move through regions with different levels of ionization and with associated differences in heat capacity. The energy equation is cast in a manner which is independent of the history of these cells. The convective flux at a given level of the atmosphere is written as an average over an ensemble of cells originating at a range of other levels. A procedure for correcting the temperature gradient for these non-local effects is described and results for a model solar atmosphere are given. The principal results are: (1) The rms velocity varies smoothly and is non-zero well into the photosphere (e.g.,v _rsm=1.4 km/sec at =0.2); (2) Convective overshoot reduces the radiative flux to 60% and 90% of the total at =2.5 and 0.2 respectively; and (3) The interior adiabat of the convective envelope is less sensitive to the assumed value of the average cell size than in the usual treatment of convection.Supported in part by the National Science Foundation [GP-9433, GP-9114], the Office of Naval Research [Nonr-220(47)], and Air Force Grant AG-AFOSR-171-67.     

Submicron-sized fluid inclusions and distribution of hydrous components in jadeite,quartz and symplectite-forming minerals from UHP jadeite–quartzite in the Dabie Mountains,China: TEM and FTIR investigation

Fluid inclusions and clusters of water molecules at nanometer-to submicron-scale in size have been investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) in jadeite, quartz and symplectite aegirine–augite, albite, taramite and magnetite corona minerals from ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) jadeite–quartzite at Shuanghe, the Dabie Mountains, China. Fluid inclusions from 0.003 μm to 0.78 μm in size occur in jadeite and quartz crystals, and a small number of fluid inclusions from 0.001 μm to 0.25 μm have also been detected in symplectite-forming minerals. Most of the fluid inclusions have round or negative crystal morphology and contain aqueous fluids, but some contain CO₂-rich fluids. They are usually connected to dislocations undetectable at an optical scale. The dislocations represent favorable paths for fluid leakage, accounting for non-decrepitation of most fluid inclusions when external pressure decreased at later stages, although there was partial decrepitation of some fluid inclusions unconnected to defect microstructures resulting from internal overpressure. Non-decrepitation and partial decrepitation of fluid inclusions resulted in changes of original composition and/or density. It is clear that identification of hidden re-equilibration features has significant implications for the petrological interpretation of post-peak metamorphic processes. Micro-FTIR results show that all jadeite and quartz samples contain structural water occurring as hydroxyl ions (OH⁻) and free water (H₂O) in the form of clusters of water molecules. The H₂O transformed from OH⁻ during exhumation and could have triggered and enhanced early retrograde metamorphism of the host rocks and facilitated plastic deformation of jadeite and quartz grains by dislocation movement, and thus the H₂O released during decompression might represent early-stage retrograde metamorphic fluid. The nominally anhydrous mineral (NAM) jadeite is able to transport aqueous fluids in concentrations of at least several hundred ppm water along a subduction zone to mantle depths in the form of clusters of water molecules and hydroxyl ions within crystals.     

The evolution of the archaean crust of northeast Botswana

Some 1800 km² of Archaean terrain have been mapped (the Eastern Geotraverse of the Botswana Geological Survey, Geodynamics Project) including a part of the schist belt/granitic terrain of the Rhodesian Craton, and part of the Limpopo Mobile Belt in the south. The cratonic area includes the whole or part of four schist belts (greenstone belts) now referred to as ‘schist relics’ as they are shown to be mega-xenoliths surviving regional deformation and granitisation.The schist relics display a typical greenstone belt composition with basal ultra-mafic schist, extrusive meta-basalts, serpentinites, and meta-dacites, -andesites, -rhyolites and volcanoclastic rocks appearing up the succession. These are termed the Volcanic Group. They also contain marble, graphitic phyllite, meta-greywacke, banded ironstone and aluminous schist.The schist relics overlie thick sequences of granitised clastic sediments with intercalated volcanic and sedimentary layers which are regarded as an integral, lower part of the succession. The total sequence, including the Volcanic Group and underlying rocks is at least 30 km thick.The schist relics originally formed a more continuous and lithostratigraphically equivalent succession, which may have included some of the Rhodesian schist belts. Such a succession would be of the order of size of an island arc system in length and width.An early stage of regional folding (F1) is recognized, from preserved fabrics and structural analysis, which is tentatively proposed as nappe folding on a regional scale. This was accompanied by low-grade metamorphism. This first stage of deformation determined the regional pattern as it is still seen.Tonalite/monzonite plutons were emplaced within the Volcanic Group and probably protected the relics during regional granitisation.Regional granitisation, which isolated the schist relics, was accompanied by pyroxene hornfels metamorphism. This was followed by a regional, penetrative deformation (F2) with amphibolite facies (Barrovian type) metamorphism. This is the most prominent style of deformation which, although most intensely developed in the Limpopo Mobile Belt, is imposed throughout the whole area. The Limpopo Belt cuts across the area in the south as a large ductile shear zone and affects rocks largely similar to those of the craton, although anorthosites are not known outside it.The Limpopo Belt has its own style of deformation — interference folds, and several stages of folding related to transcurrent movement, and intense cataclasis.Metamorphism is similar throughout Limpopo Mobile Belt and Craton, each event being recognized in both domains and being of similar grades.In many respects the Botswana Eastern Geotraverse area resembles other Archaean terrains and analogies can be drawn. In attempting to find a geotectonic model into which it can be placed there is a considerable range of choices, and not enough constraints existing either within the imperfectly preserved geological record, nor within the expanding and elastic framework of Global tectonic theory.No direct evidence for subduction zones or plate boundaries has been found, nor is this surprising considering the subsequent history. On the other hand we see nothing in the rather detailed body of evidence that has been accumulated by mapping to preclude a place within Plate theory as outlined for the Phanerozoic. It allows a moderately uniformitarian interpretation rather than one supposing unique conditions preculiar to the Archaean, such as the concept of isolated volcanic depositaries, or of unique and peculiar crustal conditions.     

Sources and behavior of arsenic and trace elements in groundwater and surface water in the Poopó Lake Basin,Bolivian Altiplano

Water management in semiarid and arid catchments such as the Poopó Lake Basin requires improved understanding of the complex behavior of the various contaminants, which affect the drinking water quality and considered as crucial for sustainable development of the region. Mechanisms of arsenic (As) release in the surface and groundwater were studied. Hydrochemical data for surface water (4 samples) and groundwater (28 samples) were collected in a small watershed in the Poopó catchment at the highland of the Bolivian Andes (Altiplano). All of them show high electrical conductivity values and moderately oxidizing conditions. The surface water contains high concentration of sulfate and the trace elements As, Zn and Pb in the zone affected by acid mine drainage. There is a large variability of the concentration of As and of the trace elements in the groundwater in the five different regions within the Poopó catchment. The metal concentrations sensitive to changes of redox state and results of speciation modeling suggest that As (V) is a predominant aqueous species, which conforms to the prevailing oxidizing conditions in the shallow groundwater environment. Two generalized trends for As distribution were identified in groundwater: (a) high concentrations are found in the arid zone (100–250 μg/L) in the southern (region III) and in the northwestern (region V) regions, and (b) low concentrations (<50 μg/L) are found in the remaining part of the basin (region I, II and IV). However, the spatial distribution within these regions needs to be investigated further. A conclusion from the present study is that there are multiple sources of As as well as other trace elements (such as Cd, Mn and Zn) in the Poopó Lake Basin. Among the sources and the processes which led to the mobility of As and other trace metals in the region are: (a) weathering of sulfide minerals, (b) oxidation of pyrite and/or arsenopyrite in mineralized areas and (c) desorption from hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) surfaces. In non-mining areas, volcanic ash is suggested to be a significant source of As.