Flexural-slip generated bedding-parallel veins from central Victoria, Australia

Thin continuous laminated bedding-parallel quartz veins (BPVs) with slip-striated and fibred vein walls occur within slates, or at their contact with sandstones, on the limbs of chevron folds in the Bendigo-Castlemaine goldfields, southeastern Australia. Two microstructural Types of BPV (I and II) have been previously recognized, and are confirmed in this study. Both types are concluded to have formed during and/or after crenulation cleavage (the first tectonic axial planar structure) in the wallrock slates, and during flexural-slip folding. Type I BPVs consist of syntaxial phyllosilicate inclusion trails, parallel to bedding, enclosing inclined inclusion bands, the latter formed by detachment of wallrock phyllosilicate particles from the walls of pressure solution-segmented discordant tension veins. Type I BPVs are formed by bedding-parallel shear, and grow in width by propagation of the discordant veins into the BPV walls. Type II veins are composed of quartz bands separated by wallrock slate seams which have split away from the vein wall during dilatant shear opening. They incorporate numerous torn-apart fragments of crenulated wallrock slate. Type I BPV inclusion band average spacing of 0.5 mm probably represents the magnitude of slip increments during stick-slip flexural-slip folding activity.     

Hydrogen isotopic compositions of individual alkanes as a new approach to petroleum correlation: case studies from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

Isotopic compositions of carbon-bound hydrogen in individual n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoid alkanes, from a number of crude oil samples, were measured using gas chromatography-thermal conversion-isotope ratio mass spectrometry. The precision of this technique is better than 3‰ for most alkanes, compared to the large range of δD variation among the samples (up to 160‰). The oils were selected from major genetic oil families in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, with source rocks ranging in age from Ordovician (and possibly Cambrian) to Cretaceous. The hydrogen isotopic composition of alkanes in crude oils is controlled by three factors: isotopic compositions of biosynthetic precursors, source water δD values, and postdepositional processes. The inherited difference in the lipid's biosynthetic origins and/or pathways is reflected by a small hydrogen isotopic variability within n-alkanes, but much larger differences in the δD values between n-alkanes and pristane/phytane. The shift toward lighter hydrogen isotopic compositions from Paleozoic to Upper Cretaceous oils in the WCSB reflects a special depositional setting and/or a minor contribution of terrestrial organic matter. The strong influence of source water δD values is demonstrated by the distinctively lower δD values of lacustrine oils than marine oils, and also by the high values for oils with source rocks deposited in evaporative environments. Thermal maturation may alter the δD values of the alkanes in the oil to some extent, but secondary oil migration does not appear to have had any significant impact. The fact that oils derived from source rocks that could be of Cambrian age still retain a strong signature of the hydrogen isotopic compositions of source organic matter, and source water, indicates that δD values are very useful for oil-source correlation and for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.     

Hydraulic crack propagation in a porous medium

We develop a model for the propagation of a fluid-filled crack in a porous medium. The problem is motivated by the mechanism whereby drainage networks may form in partially molten rock below the Earth's lithosphere. Other applications include the propagation of hydraulic fractures in jointed rocks and in oil drilling operations, and the formation of dessication cracks in soils. Motivated by the lithospheric problem, we study a situation in which gravity acts in the direction of crack propagation. The model couples the elastoliydrodynamic equations of crack propagation with a pore pressure field in the porous rock, which drives the fluid flow which supplies the crack. The effect of the pore flow is to include a diffusional term in the evolution equation for the crack width, thus allowing a crack initiated at the base of the lithosphere to propagate down into the asthenosphere. Asymptotic and numerical solutions are presented for this crack evolution. However, the predicted drainage of melt into this crack is tiny compared with the upward percolative melt migration, and the predicted width of cracks (millimetres) is much too small to allow propagation of melt into the lithosphere without freezing. As a mechanism to explain magma fracturing in the lithosphere, the process described here therefore requires further refinement.     

Arsenic metabolism in a marine food chain

Radioarsenic was used to identify various chemical forms of arsenic, accumulated as arsenate from food or water, in a three-step food chain consisting of an autotroph, a grazer and a carnivore. Differential extraction procedures carried out on tissues from these organisms suggest that organic forms of arsenic in marine food webs are derived from an in vivo synthesis by primary producers and are efficiently transferred along a marine food chain. The muscle tissue of the carnivorous shrimp which represented the highest trophic level in this food chain could not itself form organic arsenic; in this case arsenate taken up from water was converted largely to arsenite.     

Delineating compositional variabilities among crude oils from Central Montana, USA, using light hydrocarbon and biomarker characteristics

Three compositionally distinctive groups of oils identified in central Montana by biomarker analyses are also recognized by the unique compositions of their light hydrocarbon (gasoline range) fraction. The majority of oils produced from Paleozoic pools (Pennsylvanian Tyler–Amsden interval) group into one broad category based on the distribution of C₂₀–C₄₀ biomarkers. These oils not only have the lowest Paraffin Indices and relative concentrations of normal heptane, but are readily distinguishable from the other compositional groups by using selected “Mango” parameters. However, the biomarker-based subdivision of this group into at least two sub-families is not reflected in the gasoline range fraction, suggesting little effect of source rock host lithology on the distribution of C₅–C₈ hydrocarbons. Oils occurring predominantly in Jurassic–Cretaceous reservoirs display different biomarker and gasoline range characteristics, including Paraffin Indices, K1 parameter and relative concentrations of C₇ compounds, and are classified in two separate compositional categories. In contrast to oils from the Tyler–Amsden interval, the oils produced from the Mesozoic strata are amongst the most mature oils in the study area. The unique biomarker/light hydrocarbon signatures are likely due to different source organic matter. Secondary alteration of oil due to biodegradation and migration, although recognized, appears less significant. The results indicate the overall usefulness of gasoline range compositions in delineating compositional affinities of crude oils in central Montana, clearly suggesting that the oils found in Paleozoic and Mesozoic reservoirs belong to different petroleum systems.     

Three-dimensional tarp coding for the compression of hyperspectral images

An embedded wavelet-based coder for the compression of hyperspectral imagery is described. The proposed coder, three-dimensional (3-D) tarp, employs an explicit estimate of the probability of coefficient significance to drive a nonadaptive arithmetic coder, resulting in a simple implementation suited to vectorized acceleration in single-instruction-multiple-data (SIMD) hardware. The proposed 3-D tarp coder is compared to other prominent coders for the compression of hyperspectral imagery, and state-of-the-art rate-distortion performance is observed.     

Influence of temperature on the accumulation and retention of 11 radionuclides by the marine alga Fucus vesiculosus (L.)

Accumulation of the radionuclides ²⁴¹Am, ^110mAg, ¹³³Ba, ¹⁰⁹Cd, ⁵⁷Co-cobalamine, ⁶⁰Co, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹⁵²Eu, ⁵⁴Mn, ¹⁰⁶Ru and ⁶⁵Zn in the brown macroalga Fucus vesiculosus (L.) Phaeophyceae, was compared at 2°C and 12°C in a series of laboratory radiotracer experiments. Concentration factors in the thallus were temperature-dependent and significantly decreased at 2°C for ^110mAg, ¹⁰⁹Cd, ⁶⁰Co, ⁵⁴Mn and ⁶⁵Zn (CF = 439, 51, 101, 92 and 162, respectively) but not for ²⁴¹Am, ¹³³Ba, ¹³⁴Cs, ¹⁵²Eu and organic ⁵⁷Co (CF = 329, 210, 3.3, 470 and 214, respectively); hence, for these last isotopes concentration factors in this species derived from temperate latitude (12°C) studies can probably be applied to radiological assessments made under Arctic conditions. Between 2 and 14 days of depuration, the radionuclides, except ¹³³Ba and ¹³⁴Cs, remained tightly bound to the alga. Our results suggest that: 1. temperature must be considered when modelling the radiological impact of radioactive waste dumping in the Arctic Seas; and 2. Fucus spp. would be excellent bioindicators of radionuclide contamination and dispersion in the Barents and Kara Seas.     

Harrisitic textures in the Centre Hill complex,Munro Township,Ontario: product of diffusion limited growth

Summary A spectacular occurrence of harrisitic textures has been observed near the upper margin of the Centre Hill complex, a cyclically layered mafic intrusion emplaced within komatiitic and tholeiitic volcanic rocks of the Archean Abitibi Subprovince in the Canadian Shield. The harrisitic textures, interpreted as pseudomorphs after fayalite, reach up to 50 cm in length and consistently extend away from the upper sill margin. They poikilitically enclose crystals of the surrounding matrix, indicating that they originally formed within a crystal-liquid mush. The harrisitic fayalite crystals are interpreted to have grown in situ under far from equilibrium conditions, where growth was limited by the supply of nutrients to the crystal boundaries. Mineral growth conditions were simulated using a diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) algorithm to produce branching clusters qualitatively similar to the observed textures. Based on this model, it is proposed that the original fayalite crystals formed in the late stages of differentiation cycles, where diffusivity was low due to increasing viscosity and Fe-Si enrichment of the interstitial melt. Mineral growth was initiated by an imposed thermal gradient established through the injection of primitive magma into the chamber.

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Textures harrisitiques dans le complexe de Centre Hill, canton de Munro, Ontario: produit de croissance limitée par la diffusion

Résumé De spectaculaires textures harrisitiques furent observées près de la marge supérieure du complexe de Centre Hill, une intrusion mafique à stratification cyclique mise en place à l'intérieur de roches volcaniques komatiitiques et tholéiitiques de la Sous-province de l'Abitibi du bouclier canadien. Les textures harrisitiques, interprétées comme étant des pseudomorphes après la fayalite, atteignent 50 cm de hauteur et s'étendent invariablement vers le centre du filon-couche. Ils englobent des cristaux de la matrice environnante, indiquant qu'ils se sont formés à l'origine dans un mélange de cristaux et de fondu silicaté. Les cristaux de fayalite semblent s'être développés en place dans des conditions éloignées de l'équilibre, où leur croissance était limitée par l'approvisionnement de substances nutritives á la bordure des cristaux. Les conditions de croissance furent simulées à l'aide d'un algorithme d'agrégation limitée par la diffusion (DLA), produisant des agrégats en forme de branches qualitativement similaire aux textures observées. A partir de ce modèle, il est interprété que les cristaux de fayalite se sont formes durant les stages tardifs de cycles de différentiation, où la diffusion était réduite dû à une augmentation de la viscosité et à un enrichissement en Fe et Si du liquide interstitiel. La croissance des cristaux fut initiée suite à l'établissement d'un gradient thermique relié à l'injection de magma primitif dans la chambre magmatique.

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With 3 Figures     

Monocyclic alkanes in Ordovician organic matter

The major compounds in the C₁₅₊ branched/cyclic alkane fractions of two Ordovician oils (Pine Unit and Midland Farms oils) and an immature Ordovician rock (Guttenberg Oil Rock) are monocyclics. One series of these compounds was identified as n-alkylcyclohexanes and another tentatively identified as methyl-n-alkylcyclohexanes. The carbon number distribution of these compounds resembled those of the n-alkanes found in these samples with an odd carbon number predominance. It is suggested that the monocyclic alkanes, in these Ordovician samples, may be principally derived from the cyclisation of straight-chain algal fatty acids, by mechanisms that involve decarboxylation. However, there is evidence from the m/z 97 fragmentograms of these samples, to indicate that methyl-n-alkylcyclohexanes can also be derived from fatty acids by a less preferred mechanism that does not involve decarboxylation or from other precursors.In addition, a sample of kerogen from the Guttenberg Oil Rock was hydrously pyrolysed. The saturated hydrocarbon products of this experiment showed very similar distributions (including monocyclics) to those observed in the Ordovician oils. This suggests that although the oils and the Guttenberg Oil Rock come from widely differing geographical locations, their precursor (algal derived) organic matter was very similar.     

Thermal controls on biodegradation around the Peace River tar sands: Paleo-pasteurization to the west

Bitumens of the Alberta tar sands share a similar primary source rock, but exhibit varying levels of degradation. In the Peace River tar sands area, the wide range of API gravity and sulphur content in Lower Cretaceous reservoirs is investigated in terms of biodegradation processes, using detailed geochemical analyses, burial history modelling and charge/degrade modelling. Decreasing tar sand degradation to the west can be attributed to increasing reservoir temperatures which retard biodegradation. Gething oils west of the Peace River tar sands are derived from the same source, but are minimally degraded due to reservoir pasteurization at 80 °C shortly after charging. Long charge times, reservoir filling and possibly compositional or very low temperature degradation retardation have limited biodegradation of the Alberta tar sands despite long oil residence times and low reservoir temperatures.