Electrical conductivity models for the continental crust based on laboratory measurements on high-grade metamorphic rocks

Summary. Deep electrical conductivity soundings are increasingly being used as an additional source of information regarding the nature of the lower continental crust. However, a lack of relevant laboratory-based conductivity measurements makes interpretation of such soundings difficult. Laboratory measurements have been made on saturated and unsaturated samples of possible lower crustal rock types subjected to confining pressures up to 0.4 GPa, temperatures up to 300°C, and with variable pore fluid pressure up to the confining pressure. Extrapolation of these results suggests that the surprisingly high conductivities deduced for depths of approximately 20 km in certain stable continental areas may result from a combination of basic rock type and high pore fluid pressures, for whereas the conductivities measured in acid rock types can be explained in terms of conduction through the pore fluid alone, the conductivities measured in basic rock types imply enhanced conduction presumably through the matrix or along grain boundaries. The lower conductivities deduced from field experiments for the upper crust may be due to more acid rock types and/or lower pore fluid pressures, perhaps due to hydration reactions. In areas where the high conductivity layer is coincident with a low velocity layer an explanation in terms of changing pore fluid pressure, i.e. low to high, with increasing depth seems more likely.     

A mapping of the electron localization function for earth materials

The electron localization function, ELF, generated for a number of geometry-optimized earth materials, provides a graphical representation of the spatial localization of the probability electron density distribution as embodied in domains ascribed to localized bond and lone pair electrons. The lone pair domains, displayed by the silica polymorphs quartz, coesite and cristobalite, are typically banana-shaped and oriented perpendicular to the plane of the SiOSi angle at ~0.60 Å from the O atom on the reflex side of the angle. With decreasing angle, the domains increase in magnitude, indicating an increase in the nucleophilic character of the O atom, rendering it more susceptible to potential electrophilic attack. The Laplacian isosurface maps of the experimental and theoretical electron density distribution for coesite substantiates the increase in the size of the domain with decreasing angle. Bond pair domains are displayed along each of the SiO bond vectors as discrete concave hemispherically-shaped domains at ~0.70 Å from the O atom. For more closed-shell ionic bonded interactions, the bond and lone pair domains are often coalesced, resulting in concave hemispherical toroidal-shaped domains with local maxima centered along the bond vectors. As the shared covalent character of the bonded interactions increases, the bond and lone pair domains are better developed as discrete domains. ELF isosurface maps generated for the earth materials tremolite, diopside, talc and dickite display banana-shaped lone pair domains associated with the bridging O atoms of SiOSi angles and concave hemispherical toroidal bond pair domains associated with the nonbridging ones. The lone pair domains in dickite and talc provide a basis for understanding the bonded interactions between the adjacent neutral layers. Maps were also generated for beryl, cordierite, quartz, low albite, forsterite, wadeite, åkermanite, pectolite, periclase, hurlbutite, thortveitite and vanthoffite. Strategies are reviewed for finding potential H docking sites in the silica polymorphs and related materials. As observed in an earlier study, the ELF is capable of generating bond and lone pair domains that are similar in number and arrangement to those provided by Laplacian and deformation electron density distributions. The formation of the bond and lone pair domains in the silica polymorphs and the progressive decrease in the SiO length as the value of the electron density at the bond critical point increases indicates that the SiO bonded interaction has a substantial component of covalent character.     

U/Th dating by SHRIMP RG ion-microprobe mass spectrometry using single ion-exchange beads

We present a new analytical method for U-series isotopes using the SHRIMP RG (Sensitive High mass Resolution Ion MicroProbe) mass spectrometer that utilizes the preconcentration of the U-series isotopes from a sample onto a single ion-exchange bead. Ion-microprobe mass spectrometry is capable of producing Th ionization efficiencies in excess of 2%. Analytical precision is typically better than alpha spectroscopy, but not as good as thermal ionization mass spectroscopy (TIMS) and inductively coupled plasma multicollector mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Like TIMS and ICP-MS the method allows analysis of small samples sizes, but also adds the advantage of rapidity of analysis. A major advantage of ion-microprobe analysis is that U and Th isotopes are analyzed in the same bead, simplifying the process of chemical separation. Analytical time on the instrument is ∼60 min per sample, and a single instrument-loading can accommodate 15-20 samples to be analyzed in a 24-h day. An additional advantage is that the method allows multiple reanalyses of the same bead and that samples can be archived for reanalysis at a later time. Because the ion beam excavates a pit only a few μm deep, the mount can later be repolished and reanalyzed numerous times. The method described of preconcentrating a low concentration sample onto a small conductive substrate to allow ion-microprobe mass spectrometry is potentially applicable to many other systems.     

The creation and conduct of the Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification

As in other Latin American nations, Guatemala established a truth commission as a part of a negotiated transition from war to peace. The establishment of a particular truth commission arises out of the unique circumstances of that nation’s conflict and its negotiated resolution. As with other examples of truth commissions, the Guatemalan experience demonstrates the dilemmas of answering the demands for accountability, within the precarious context of a negotiated transition. Once established, a truth commission is subjected to the struggles within sectors of society striving to control the truth commission, and make it respond to certain interests. These struggles influence the practices, powers, and potential of the truth commissions.This article analyses the context in which the Guatemalan Commission for Historical Clarification emerged, the conditions in which it operated, and the potential consequences of the truth-seeking process. I argue that the Guatemalan truth commission became a site of struggle in which battles concerning impunity versus accountability occurred. This article first traces the phenomenon of truth commissions in Latin America, and locates the Guatemalan case within this regional context. Next, the negotiations that led to the formation of the truth commission are examined, in order to highlight the particular powers and interests at stake. Finally, I describe the operations of the Guatemalan truth commission in practice (1997-1999), and discuss the ways in which the commission developed a life of its own, despite the politics of its birth.     

Meteoric diagenesis during sea-level lowstands: Evidence from modern hydrochemical studies on northern Guam

Hydrochemical data for meteoric waters of the uplifted carbonate platform of northern Guam show that, contrary to recent models of lowstand diagenesis, phreatic dissolution is active beneath a 60–180 m thick vadose zone. Overland flow during high intensity rainfall events is focussed into surface detention ponds, which drain very rapidly via the epikarst and vertical fissures to the freshwater lens. We estimate that these waters contribute 13% of dissolved calcium in samples from pumping wells but may also deliver aggressive and/or organic-rich waters to the lens. Fast-flow vadose waters mix with lens-top waters to form fresher cap that discharges rapidly coastwards via cavernous porosity. Slower vadose percolation, sampled as cave drips, equilibrates with bedrock within the upper 30 m of the vadose zone, accounting for some 46% of dissolved calcium in the lens waters. The remaining 41% calcium is generated by net dissolution within the lens.     

Indirect approach to invariant point determination for SLR and VLBI systems: an assessment

We assess the accuracy of some indirect approaches to invariant point (IVP), or system reference point, determination of satellite laser ranging (SLR) and very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) systems using both observed and simulated survey data sets. Indirect IVP determination involves the observation of targets located on these systems during specific rotational sequences and by application of geometrical models that describe the target motion during these sequences. Of concern is that most SLR and VLBI systems have limited rotational freedom thereby placing constraint on the reliability of parameter estimation, including the IVP position. We assess two current approaches to IVP analysis using survey data observed at the Yarragadee (Australia) SLR and the Medicina (Italy) VLBI sites and also simulated data of a large rotationally constrained (azimuth-elevation) VLBI system. To improve reliability we introduce and assess some new geometric conditions, including inter-axis, inter-circle and inter-target conditions, to existing IVP analysis strategies. The error component of a local tie specifically associated with the indirect determination of SLR and VLBI IVP is less than 0.5 mm. For systems with significant rotational limits we find that the inter-axis and inter-circle conditions are critical to the computation of unbiased IVP coordinates at the sub-millimetre level. When the inter-axis and inter-circle geometric conditions are not imposed, we retrieve biased vertical coordinates of the IVP (in our simulated VLBI system) in the range of 1.2–3.4 mm. Using the new geometric conditions we also find that the axis-offset estimates can be recovered at the sub- millimetre accuracy (0.5 mm).