Late Pleistocene glaciation of Páramo de La Culata,north-central Venezuelan Andes

Late Pleistocene glacial features in the Páramo de La Culata region, north-central Venezuelan Andes, include: 1. depositional features: morainic till and fluvio-glacial deposits (terrace gravels); 2. sculptured features: glaciated valleys, cirques, horns, and arêtes; and 3. erosional features: striation and grooving, polished rock, roches moutonnées and whaleback forms, and erratic boulders. Two main levels of moraines were found, an older one at 2600 m elevation, and a younger one between 3000 and 3500 m. The difference in age is reflected by the higher degree of weathering, erosion, and vegetation cover of the lower level, as compared with the higher level. Radiocarbon dating, and a comparison and correlation of these glacial features with those of adjacent regions, indicates that the lower morainic level (2600 m) is probably the result of the main glacial advance of the Late Wisconsin Glaciation. The main morainic level (3000 to 3500 m) was probably formed by the latest Wisconsin glacial advance. The Late Pleistocene snow-line depression reached approximately 1200 m below the present snow-line (i. e., down to approximately 3500 m).     

Thermodynamic stability of CoOOH and its coprecipitation with manganese

A precipitate of cobalt oxyhydroxides formed by bubbling oxygen through a dilute solution of Co(NO₃)₂ held at pH 9.0 and 25°C was aged for 23 months in contact with the original solution, with access to atmospheric oxygen. Co₃O₄ and CoOOH were identified in the precipitate by X-ray diffraction. Chemical equilibria involving these solids were evaluated by measurements of solution pH and Co²⁺ activities and by redox potential measurements and gave a $\text{ΔG}{}_{\mathrm{coOOH}}{}^0$ of $\text{?92.3 ± 0.5 kcal/mole}$. This value and other thermodynamic data show relative feasibility of hypothetical reaction steps and changes in reaction paths during automated coprecipitation titrations and subsequent aging of a precipitate that finally contained βMnOOH, MnO₂ (birnessite) and CoOOH.     

Paragenesis of “box-work geodes”, Tampa Bay, Florida

An unusual suite of silicified rocks was excavated during a recent harbour-deepening project in Tampa Bay, Florida. These rocks, which we have termed “box-work geodes”, are composed of convoluted, intersecting silica walls enclosing cavities which are either voids or filled with relatively pure monoclinic palygorskite. The “box-work geodes” are interpreted as having formed in shallow lagoonal environments, similar to the Coorong Lagoon of South Australia. Synaeresis of syngenetic palygorskite was followed by opal deposition and case hardening of the material. Subsequent chemical deposition of chalcedony, megacrystalline quartz, barite, and calcite on the void facing walls indicates an open chemical system.

The existence of opal saturated lagoons, as inferred from the “box-work geodes”, suggests that much of the replacement chert, porcelanite, and silicified fossils in the Tertiary deposits of peninsular Florida formed in the shallow subsurface. Subsequent weathering of carbonates and clays not encapsulated in the box works has resulted in formation of a green montmorillonite residual clay bed.     

Alteration of hydrological processes and streamflow with juniper (Juniperus virginiana) encroachment in a mesic grassland catchment

To understand the effect of woody plant encroachment on hydrological processes of mesic grasslands, we quantified infiltration capacity in situ, the temporal changes in soil water storage, and streamflow of a grassland catchment and a catchment heavily encroached by juniper (Juniperus virginiana, eastern redcedar) in previously cultivated, non‐karst substrate grasslands in north‐central Oklahoma for 3 years. The initial and steady‐state infiltration rates under the juniper canopy were nearly triple to that of the grassland catchment and were intermediate in the intercanopy spaces within the encroached catchment. Soil water content and soil water storage on the encroached catchment were generally lower than on the grassland catchment, especially when preceding the seasons of peak rainfall in spring and fall. Frequency and magnitude of streamflow events were reduced in the encroached catchment. Annual runoff coefficients for the encroached catchment averaged 2.1%, in contrast to 10.6% for the grassland catchment. Annual streamflow duration ranged from 80 to 250 h for the encroached catchment compared with 600 to 800 h for the grassland catchment. Our results showed that the encroachment of juniper into previously cultivated mesic grasslands fundamentally alters catchment hydrological function. Rapid transformation of mesic grassland to a woodland state with juniper encroachment, if not confined, has the potential to drastically reduce soil water, streamflow and flow duration of ephemeral streams in the Southern Great Plains. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic influences on ground water quality: insight from complementary methods

A study using multiple techniques provided insight into tectonic influences on ground water systems; the results can help to understand ground water systems in the tectonically active western United States and other parts of the world. Ground water in the San Bernardino Valley (Arizona, United States and Sonora, Mexico) is the main source of water for domestic use, cattle ranching (the primary industry), and the preservation of threatened and endangered species. To improve the understanding of ground water occurrence, movement, and sustainability, an investigation was conducted using a number of complementary methods, including major ion geochemistry, isotope hydrology, analysis of gases dissolved in ground water, aquifer testing, geophysics, and an examination of surface and subsurface geology. By combining information from multiple lines of investigation, a more complete picture of the basin hydrogeology was assembled than would have been possible using fewer methods. The results show that the hydrogeology of the San Bernardino Valley is markedly different than that of its four neighboring basins in the United States. The differences include water quality, chemical evolution, storage, and residence time. The differences result from the locally unique geology of the San Bernardino Valley, which is due to the presence of a magmatically active accommodation zone (a zone separating two regions of normal faults with opposite dips). The geological differences and the resultant hydrological differences between the San Bernardino Valley and its neighboring basins may serve as a model for the distinctive nature of chemical evolution of ground water in other basins with locally distinct tectonic histories.     

Estuarine biofilm patterns: Modern analogues for Precambrian self-organization

This field and laboratory study examines whether regularly patterned biofilms on present-day intertidal flats are equivalent to microbially induced bedforms found in geological records dating back to the onset of life on Earth. Algal mats of filamentous Vaucheria species, functionally similar to microbial biofilms, cover the topographic highs of regularly spaced ridge–runnel bedforms. As regular patterning is typically associated with self-organization processes, indicators of self-organization are tested and found to support this hypothesis. The measurements suggest that biofilm-induced sediment trapping and biostabilization enhance bedform relief, strength and multi-year persistence. This demonstrates the importance of primitive organisms for sedimentary landscape development. Algal-covered ridges consist of wavy-crinkly laminated sedimentary deposits that resemble the layered structure of fossil stromatolites and microbially induced sedimentary structures. In addition to layering, both the morphological pattern and the suggested formation mechanism of the recent bedforms are strikingly similar to microbialite strata found in rock records from the Precambrian onwards. This implies that self-organization was an important morphological process in times when biofilms were the predominant sessile ecosystem. These findings furthermore emphasize that self-organization dynamics, such as critical transitions invoking ecosystem emergence or collapse, might have been captured in fossil microbialites, influencing their laminae. This notion may be important for paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on such strata. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

MATHEMATICAL MODELS FOR LIQUID-SOLID TWO-PHASE FLOW

I INTRODUCTIONTurbulence models for single-phase fluid flows have been developed and widely applied in mechanical,aeronautical, environmental and hydraulic engineering, and other fields. The closure techniques for theReynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations for various levels of models including the simple turbulencemodel, one-equation turbulence model, k-s turbulence model and turbulence stress/flux model have beenverified to be physically reasonable and have acceptable accuracy in app…     

The effects of rock uplift and rock resistance on river morphology in a subduction zone forearc,Oregon, USA

Relationships between riverbed morphology, concavity, rock type and rock uplift rate are examined to independently unravel the contribution of along-strike variations in lithology and rates of vertical deformation to the topographic relief of the Oregon coastal mountains. Lithologic control on river profile form is reflected by convexities and knickpoints in a number of longitudinal profiles and by general trends of concavity as a function of lithology. Volcanic and sedimentary rocks are the principal rock types underlying the northern Oregon Coast Ranges (between 46°30′ and 45°N) where mixed bedrock–alluvial channels dominate. Average concavity, θ, is 0·57 in this region. In the alluviated central Oregon Coast Ranges (between 45° and 44°N) values of concavity are, on average, the highest (θ = 0·82). South of 44°N, however, bedrock channels are common and θ = 0·73. Mixed bedrock–alluvial channels characterize rivers in the Klamath Mountains (from 43°N south; θ = 0·64). Rock uplift rates of ≥0·5 mm a⁻¹, mixed bedrock–alluvial channels, and concavities of 0·53–0·70 occur within the northernmost Coast Ranges and Klamath Mountains. For rivers flowing over volcanic rocks θ = 0·53, and θ = 0·72 for reaches crossing sedimentary rocks. Whereas channel type and concavity generally co-vary with lithology along much of the range, rivers between 44·5° and 43°N do not follow these trends. Concavities are generally greater than 0·70, alluvial channels are common, and river profiles lack knickpoints between 44·5° and 44°N, despite the fact that lithology is arguably invariant. Moreover, rock uplift rates in this region vary from low, ≤0·5 mm a⁻¹, to subsidence (<0 mm a⁻¹). These observations are consistent with models of transient river response to a decrease in uplift rate. Conversely, the rivers between 44° and 43°N have similar concavities and flow on the same mapped bedrock unit as the central region, but have bedrock channels and irregular longitudinal profiles, suggesting the river profiles reflect a transient response to an increase in uplift rate. If changes in rock uplift rate explain the differences in river profile form and morphology, it is unlikely that rock uplift and erosion are in steady state in the Oregon coastal mountains. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.