Volatile loss from melt inclusions in pyroclasts of differing sizes

We have investigated the loss of H₂O from olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) by designing an experiment using tephra samples that cooled at different rates owing to their different sizes: ash, lapilli, and bomb samples that were deposited on the same day (10/17/74) of the sub-Plinian eruption of Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala. Ion microprobe, laser ablation-ICPMS, and electron probe analyses show that MIs from ash and lapilli record the highest H₂O contents, up to 4.4 wt%. On the other hand, MIs from bombs indicate up to 30 % lower H₂O contents (loss of ~1 wt% H₂O) and 10 % post-entrapment crystallization of olivine. This evidence is consistent with the longer cooling time available for a bomb-sized clast, up to 10 min for a 3–4-cm radius bomb, assuming conductive cooling and the fastest H diffusivities measured in olivine (D~10^?9 to 10^?10 m²/s). On the other hand, several lines of evidence point to some water loss prior to eruption, during magma ascent and degassing in the conduit. Thus, results point to both slower post-eruptive cooling and slower magma ascent affecting MIs from bombs, leading to H₂O loss over the timescale of minutes to hours. The important implication of this study is that a significant portion of the published data on H₂O concentrations in olivine-hosted MIs may reflect unrecognized H₂O loss via diffusion. This work highlights the importance of reporting clast and MI sizes in order to assess diffusive effects and the potential benefit of using water loss as a chronometer of magma ascent.     

Characteristics of seasonal and spatial variations of primary production over the southeastern Bering Sea shelf

In situ primary production data collected during 1978–1981 period and 1997–2000 period were combined to improve understanding of seasonal and spatial distribution of primary production in the southeastern Bering Sea. Mean daily primary production rates showed an apparent seasonal cycle with high rates in May and low rates in summer over the entire shelf of the southeastern Bering Sea except for oceanic region due to lack of data. There was also an increasing trend of primary production rates in the fall over the inner shelf and the middle shelf. There was a decreasing trend of primary production rates between late April and mid-May over the inner shelf while there was an abrupt increase between late April and mid-May over the middle shelf and the outer shelf. In the shelf break region, there was an increasing pattern in late May. These suggest that there was a gradual progression of the development of the spring phytoplankton bloom from the inner shelf toward the shelf break region. There was also a latitudinal variability of primary production rate over the middle shelf, probably due to either spatial variations of the seasonal advance and retreat of sea ice or horizontal advection of saline water in the bottom layer. Annual rates of primary production across the southeastern Bering Sea shelf were 121, 150, 145, 110, and 84 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ in the inner shelf, the middle shelf, the outer shelf, the shelf break, and oceanic region, respectively. High annual rates of primary production over the inner shelf can be attributed to continuous summer production based on regenerated nitrogen and/or a continuous supply of nitrogen at the inner front region, and to fall production. There were some possibilities of underestimation of annual primary production over the entire shelf due to lack of measurement in early spring and fall, which may be more apparent over the shelf break and oceanic region than the inner shelf, the middle, and the outer shelf. This study suggests that the response of primary production by climate change in the southeastern Bering Sea shelf can be misunderstood without proper temporal and seasonal measurement.     

Investigation and Remediation of a 1,2-Dichloroethane Spill Part II: Documentation of Natural Attenuation

A release of 1,2-dichloroethane. also known as ethylene dichloride (EDC), resulted in shallow subsurface freephase contamination of a Gulf Coast site in the southern United States. The site stratigraphy consists primarily of a low permeability, surficial peat. silt, and clay zone underlain by fractured clay; a confined 12 in deep sand ground water flow zone; a confined 21 m deep fine sand zone of limited ground water flow, followed by a deep aquitard. The Gumbo clay and sandy clay aquitard below the release area overlies and protects the 61 m deep Upper Chicot Aquifer, which is a confined regional aquifer. An ongoing recovery and hydraulic containment program from the primary impacted and laterally and vertically restricted shallow 40-foot sand zone has effectively recovered dense nonaqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) and contained dissolved phase EDC.
Natural attenuation of EDC was demonstrated through (1) a laboratory microcosm study substantiating the ability of the native microbial population in the deeper aquifer lo degrade EDC under anaerobic environmental conditions found at the site. (2) field investigations showing reductions in EDC concentrations over time in many of the wells on site, and (3) an evaluation of the ground water for EDC and its degradation products and oilier geo-chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen, redox potential, and pH. Degradation products of EDC found in the field investigations included 2-chloroeihanol, ethanol. ethene, and ethane. Dissolved EDC concentrations in selected wells between the first recorded samples and the fourth quarter of 1997 ranged from greater than 4% to 99% reductions. First-order exponential decay half-lives ranged from 0.21 to 4.2 years for wells showing decreases in FDC concentrations over time. Elevated methane concentrations indicated carbon dioxide to be the major terminal electron acceptor.     

Possible influence of salinity and temperature on modern shelf carbonate sedimentation

In modern, marine, carbonate sands from shelf areas between the equator and latitudes 60°S and 60°N several major grain associations can be distinguished.On open shelves (< 100 m water depth) there are two skeletal grain associations. One (chlorozoan) is virtually restricted to warm, tropical waters; the other (foramol) characterizes temperate waters but also extends into the tropics. The distribution of these two associations cannot be explained in terms of water temperature alone: salinity is suspected as being a further controlling factor. Indeed, a third skeletal association (chloralgal) appears to be characteristic of areas where salinity is higher than on open shelves.Non-skeletal grains, where present, can be grouped into two associations. In one, pellets are the only non-skeletal grains represented; in the other, ooliths and/or aggregate grains are also present. These non-skeletal associations are restricted to relatively warm waters, but temperature does not determine which one of the associations develops. Again, salinity seems important.As both salinity and temperature apparently influence the grain associations, an attempt is made to present the relationships diagrammatically. By using graph pairs of “maximum temperature/minimum salinity” and “minimum temperature/maximum salinity” (named S.T.A.R. diagrams after Salinity Temperature Annual Ranges), the various grain associations can be classed into separate salinity/temperature fields.Salinity and temperature often seem to have a mutual “compensating” effect. For example, even at high temperatures the chlorozoan association does not develop if the salinity falls below a certain value, but it develops at relatively low temperatures when salinity is sufficiently high.This “compensation” effect also appears on the S.T.A.R. diagram for non-skeletal associations. More striking here, however, is a relationship suggesting that development of the oolith/aggregate association is strongly dependent on salinity.Carbonate muds are not shown on the S.T.A.R. diagrams, but an attempt is made to assimilate them into the model.The S.T.A.R. diagrams have a predictive value. In principle, given salinity and temperature values for an area, the grain associations can be predicted. In fact, the prediction is one of “potential”, i.e. that which is to be expected provided any other necessary environmental conditions are satisfied. Predictions are presented for the shelves of an ideal ocean and of present-day oceans and seas. The S.T.A.R. diagrams thus provide the basis for a tentative global model of present-day shelf carbonate sedimentation.The special problems of land-locked seas are discussed with reference to the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. Predictions are presented.To illustrate the possibilities of the S.T.A.R. diagram technique, an attempt at detailed prediction is given for an area — the Gulf of Batabano, Cuba — where the sediments are known and predictions can be checked.In conclusion, the problems inherent in applying the model to ancient sedimentary systems are briefly discussed.     

San Diego trough geotechnical test area

Abstract

The San Diego Trough Geotechnical Test Area, located about 24 km southwest of San Diego in a water depth of about 1.2 km, lies near the base of the Coronado Escarpment directly north of the Coronado Fan. A new bathymetric map delineates a shallow basin in the soft, highly plastic, clayey silts flooring the Test Area. Measurements of shear strength by vane and static cone pene‐trometer, and bulk density by nuclear densitometer, were made in place from the submersible Deep Quest. Sixteen short (< 1.6 m) gravity cores were collected from ships.

The geotechnical properties show little areal variation and generally change uniformly with depth within the 55 km² Test Area. Silt is the predominant grain size, averaging about 62%. In‐place bulk density shows little change with increasing depth, values range from 1.23 to 1.26 Mg/m³; laboratory density values increase with depth, ranging from 1.30 to 1.52 Mg/m³ between the surface and a depth of about 1.1 m. The difference between the in place and laboratory values may indicate sampling densification of the cored sediment. Water content in the cores decreases uniformly within the range of 249 to 43% dry weight. Shear strength increases linearly with depth. The laboratory shear strength values are lower than the in place values, which range from 4 kPa at the surface to about 29 kPa at a depth of 3.27 m. Predictor equations relate Atterberg limits, bulk density, water content, and laboratory and in place shear strength to depth. Sedimentation‐compression e log p curves have an equivalent compression index of 1.5 to nearly 2. Excluding rurbidite layers and sampling disturbance effects, all cores indicate a uniform depositional environment in the surface to 1.6 m of sediment sampled. The geotechnical properties indicate that the sediments in the west central and southwest parts of the Test Area exhibit vertical heterogeneity due to thin silt‐sand layers, presumably of turbidity current origin, that originated from the Coronado Canyon.     

Book reviews

AUSTRALIA AND ITS URBAN “CENTRES (Urbanization of the Earth No. 6) by B. Hofmeister. 19 × 28 cm, xii and 254 pages. Gebruder Borntraeger: Berlin 1988 (ISBN 3 443 37008 X) DM130 (hard).

CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA: Explorations in Economy, Society and Geography by D. J. Walmsley and A. D. Sorenson. 19 × 25 cm, xxiv and 328 pages. Longman Cheshire: Melbourne 1988 (ISBN 0 58271150 9) $A29.95 (soft).

WATERING THE GARDEN STATE: Water, Land and Community in Victoria 1834–1988 by J. M. Powell. 16 × 24 cm, xv and 319 pages. Allen & Unwin: Sydney 1989 (ISBN 0 04 3600 74 3) SA39.95 (hard); (ISBN 0 04 364024 9) SA24.95 (soft).

THE BUREAUCRATS DOMAIN. Space and the Public Interest in Victoria 1836–1884 by R. Wright. 15 × 23 cm, xv and 350 pages. Oxford University Press: Melbourne 1989 (ISBN 0 19 554866 3) $A39.95 (hard).

SOUTHERN APPROACHES: Geography in New Zealand edited by P. G. Holland and W. B. Johnston. 17 × 25 cm, 361 pages. New Zealand Geographical Society: Christchurch 1987 (ISBN 0 9597 863 0 9) $A56.50 (soft).     

Assessment of annual high‐water events for the Mackenzie River basin,Canada

River ice break‐up is known to have important morphological, ecological and socio‐economic effects on cold‐regions river environments. One of the most persistent effects of the spring break‐up period is the occurrence of high‐water events. A return‐period assessment of maximum annual nominal water depths occurring during the spring break‐up and open‐water season at 28 Water Survey of Canada hydrometric sites over the 1913–2002 time period in the Mackenzie River basin is presented. For the return periods assessed, 13 (14) stations are dominated by peak events occurring during the spring break‐up (open‐water) season. One location is determined to have a mixed signal. A regime classification is proposed to separate ice‐ and open‐water dominated systems. As part of the regime classification procedure, specific characteristics of return‐period patterns including alignment, and difference between the 2 and 10‐year events are used to identify regime types. A dimensionless stage‐discharge plot allows for a contrast of the relative magnitudes of flows required to generate maximum nominal water‐depth events in the different regimes. At sites where discharge during the spring break‐up is approximately one‐quarter or greater than the magnitude of the peak annual discharge, nominal water depths can be expected to exceed those occurring during the peak annual discharge event. Several physical factors (location, basin area, stream order, gradient, river orientation, and climate) are considered to explain the differing regimes and discussed relative to the major sub‐regions of the MRB. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada.