On the formation of metal-rich deposits at ridge crests

Data from the hot springs at the Galapagos spreading center (T = 3–13°C) show depletions of the exiting waters in Cu, Ni, Cd, Se, Cr and U relative to ambient seawater. Manganese is strongly enriched. Iron shows highly variable behavior between vent fields but is in general low. The data confirm the occurrence of extensive subsurface mixing between the primary high-temperature, acid, reducing hydrothermal fluids and “groundwater”. The composition of the latter is indistinguishable from that of the free water column adjacent to the ridge axis. The final solutions are on the boundary between those forming MnO₂ crusts and those producing iron-manganese rich sediments. The suite of metal rich deposits observed at ridge crests — Mn-O, Fe-Mn-O, Fe-S — can be explained as the manifestation of the degree of subsurface mixing, decreasing from 100 : <1 to <1 : 1 across the series (assuming an end-member temperature of 350°C).     

Multivariate analysis of sedimentary environments using grain-size frequency distributions

Multivariate statistics were used to characterize and test the effectiveness of grain-size frequencies as environmental discriminators. Sediment from the following two depositional systems along eastern Lake Michigan were studied: (1) a closed system with respect to available grain sizes (Little Sable Point), and (2) an open system (Sleeping Bear Point-Manitou Passage). Principal components analysis shows that grain-size distributions are composed of two or more subgroups that reflect surface creep bedload, mixed suspension bedload, and uniform suspension. Discriminant function and principal latent vector analyses of the Little Sable Point environments show that, when available sediment is limited with respect to grain size (0.5 φto 3.0 φ), similar size distributions can occur in environments supposedly characterized by different energy conditions. Sediment in the Sleeping Bear Point-Manitou Passage system is not restricted to available grain sizes and the environments discriminated very well (α < 0.001). The grain-size distributions are such that they reflect differences in energy conditions within the environments. It is apparent that the grain sizes available to a depositional system control to a great extent the effectiveness of environmental discrimination.     

Bottom sediment contamination in the Bay of Naples,Italy

The nearshore sediments in the Bay of Naples show a buildup of organic carbon and increased levels of lead, copper and chromium as a result of discharge of domestic and industrial waste water. Twenty to twenty-five square kilometres of bottom area have been contaminated by the buildup of anoxic muds with elevated heavy metal concentrations.     

The role of “excess” CO2 in the formation of trona deposits

The prevailing theory for the formation of trona [Na₃(CO₃)(HCO₃) · 2(H₂O)] relies on evaporative concentration of water produced by silicate hydrolysis of volcanic rock or volcaniclastic sediments. Given the abundance of closed drainage basins dominated by volcanics, it is puzzling that there are so few trona deposits and present-day lakes that would yield dominantly Na–CO₃ minerals upon evaporation. Groundwater in the San Bernardino Basin (southeastern Arizona, USA and northeastern Sonora, Mexico) would yield mainly Na–CO₃ minerals upon evaporation, but waters in the surrounding basins would not. Analysis of the chemical evolution of this groundwater shows that the critical difference from the surrounding basins is not lithology, but the injection of magmatic CO₂. Many major deposits of trona and Na–CO₃-type lakes appear to have had “excess” CO₂ input, either from magmatic sources or from the decay of organic matter. It is proposed that, along with the presence of volcanics, addition of “excess” CO₂ is an important pre-condition for the formation of trona deposits.     

Analysis of radionuclide migration through a 200-m Vadose zone following a 16-year infiltration event

Atomic weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site has introduced many tracers for quantifying subsurface hydrologic transport processes in arid climates. In 1975, groundwater adjacent to the Cambric test, conducted beneath Frenchman Flat 10 years earlier, was pumped steadily for 16 years to elicit information on the migration of residual radioactivity through the saturated zone. Radionuclides in the pumping well effluent, including tritium, ¹⁴C, ³⁶Cl, and ⁸⁵Kr, were extensively monitored prior to its discharge in an unlined ditch, where approximately a third of the flow infiltrated over a distance of 1 km. Radionuclide infiltration through a 220-m thick vadose zone created a second, and rather unique long-term field experiment. Effluent data have been utilized in conjunction with geologic data, new radionuclide measurements, isotopic age-dating estimates, and vadose zone flow and transport models to better understand the movement of radionuclides between the ditch, the water table and a nearby groundwater monitoring well. Detection of tritium in the monitoring well occurred approximately 16 years after its initial discharge into the ditch. Modeling and tritium age dating have suggested 3–5 years of this 16-year transit time occurred solely in the vadose zone. They also suggest considerable recirculation of the pumping well discharge back into the original pumping well. Notably, there have been no observations of ¹⁴C or ⁸⁵Kr in the monitoring well, suggesting their preferential retention or volatilization during transit to the water table.     

Detection of model voids by identifying reverberation phenomena in GPR records

In order to improve the reliability of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) method in identifying subsurface sinkholes and karst cavities, laboratory investigations have been performed. The main objective of this work was to examine the relationship between horizontal/vertical voids dimensions and wavelengths of various antennas, and the corresponding GPR responses. Emphasis was given to the investigation of the factors that cause the appearance of reverberation phenomena in the signal pattern.The tests were conducted in 5 m × 10 m area by 2-m-deep trench filled with homogenous, dry sand. The voids models (empty fiberglass cylinders in diameters of 0.6 m, 1.0 m, 1.5 m and 2.4 m, with various heights) were buried vertically with their tops at depths of between 0.7 and 1.5 m. Investigations were performed for the various model conditions by towing 500, 300 and 100 MHz antennas along a pre-established grid, for the various model conditions.The GPR data collected using the 500 MHz bistatic antenna above the 1.0-m- and the 1.5-m-diameter cylinders, and using the 300 MHz bistatic antenna above the 1.5-m-diameter cylinder, confirmed the presence of a reverberation phenomenon, i.e. a strong convex signal pattern, containing a series of high amplitude extending oscillations with reduced frequency.Based on past practical GPR experience of void detection and presently obtained experimental data, two rules of thumbs may be adopted for the prediction of the appearance of resonant radar pictures:

1. The void diameter larger than the wavelength in air of the antenna used.

2. The vertical size of the empty void not significantly smaller than its horizontal dimension.

The strong reverberations generated by the inner surface of the void targets were found to approximate standing waves generated in cylindrical waveguides and waveguide resonators. The theoretical, experimental and practical results obtained concur.     

Filtration of Hudson River water by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha)

Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) graze on phytoplankton, and decreased phytoplankton concentrations have been associated with zebra mussels in lakes. It is not known, however, how the zebra mussel will affect phytoplankton in turbid systems such as rivers and the freshwater portions of estuaries. To determine whether zebra mussels can effectively remove phytoplankton in these turbid systems, and to determine what components of the suspended material are removed and at what rates, we conducted a series of grazing and size-selection experiments using ambient Hudson River water and its natural phytoplankton community. Zebra mussels removed both phytoplankton and total suspended weight (TSW) at comparable rates (～115 ml mussel^?1 h^?1). Variation in filtration rates were not correlated with TSW or chlorophylla (chla) concentration, and did not appear to depend on relative proportions of either component. Mussels removed particles with approximately equal efficiency in all particle size classes measured (0.4 μm to >40 μm). Zebra mussels appear to remove Hudson River phytoplankton effectively in the presence of suspended sediment and do so at rapid rates. Based on our measurements and unpublished estimates of the size of the population, zebra mussels filter a volume equivalent to the entire volume of the tidal freshwater portion of the Hudson River about every 2 d.     

DEPTH-AVERAGED 2-D CALCULATION OF TIDAL FLOW,SALINITY AND COHESIVE SEDIMENT TRANSPORT IN ESTUARIES

A depth-averaged 2-D numerical model for unsteady flow, salinity and cohesive sediment transport in estuaries is established using the finite volume method on the non-staggered, curvilinear grid. The convection terms are discretized by upwind schemes, the diffusion terms are by the central difference scheme, and the time derivative terms are by the three-time-level implicit scheme. The coupling of flow velocity and water level in the 2-D shallow water equations is achieved by the SIMPLEC algorithm with the Rhie and Chow's momentum interpolation method. The sediment model calculates the settling, deposition, erosion and transport of cohesive sediment, taking into account the influence of sediment size, sediment concentration, salinity and turbulence intensity on the flocculation of cohesive sediment. The flow model is first tested against the measurement data in the Tokyo Bay and San Francisco Bay, showing good agreements. And then, the entire model of flow, salinity and sediment transport is verified in the Gironde Estuary. The water elevation, flow velocity, salinity and sediment concentration are well predicted.