The properties of anisotropic conical failure surfaces in relation to the Mohr–Coulomb criterion

An earlier publication¹ considered the properties of circular conical failure surfaces whose axes coincide with the space diagonal in principal stress space. The present work uses a similar approach to analyse conical surfaces that are offset from the space diagonal. It is shown that cones fitted to the Mohr–Coulomb surface in triaxial compression contain a potential singularity. The occurrence and location of the singularity depends on the Mohr–Coulomb friction angle to which the surface is fitted in triaxial extension. It is shown that for a cone fitted to the same friction angle in both triaxial extension and compression, singular conditions occur when that angle reaches \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$ \sin ^{ - 1} \left({\sqrt 7 - 2} \right)\left({ = 40.22^\circ } \right) $\end{document}. Even cones fitted to smaller friction angles give significant overestimations of material strength for certain stress paths.     

Geological similarity byQ analysis

Mineral resource assessment using areal, or unit regional, value approach estimates the variety of commodities likely to occur in a region by comparing its geology with that of regions already well developed and known to produce a variety of commodities. It is, therefore, essential to be able to discern regions which are similar in geology. The data used for this purpose are derived by point-counting geological maps of the regions to be evaluated; one aspect of this data is the presence-absence (i.e., 0–1 data)of 65 standardized rocktypes. It is then necessary to compare geological data from both the developed and undeveloped regions to determine which of the regions are geologically similar. The initial data consists of a matrix (A)of Cregions by Rrock types and all relations (λ)among Cand Rmay be expressed as λ ? C × R.We may then use Atkin's Qanalysis to determine the structure of these relations. Postmultiplying Aby its transpose and subtracting a suitably dimensioned unit matrix yields an output matrix K_C (R; λ)which expresses the relations among regions in terms of their rock types. This output matrix comprises qconnectivities among regions; its diagonal elements (denoted \(\hat q\) )are the number of rock types, minus one, in each region. The offdiagonal elements ( \(\check{q} \) )are the number of rock types (minus one)which are common to each pair. Similarities of regions in terms of their rock types are then found by using tables of equivalences in which the values of \(\hat q\) are the dimensions of simplicies representing each region; the rock types are the apicies of the simplicies and similarities are the shared edges and faces of the simplicies. The largest number of shared apicies equals \(\check{q} \) .Examples of the application of Qanalysis to a comparison of the geology of the 10 counties in New Hampshire and the 50 states of the U.S.A. and Puerto Rico illustrate the procedure. Qanalysis supplies an algebraic language and an equivalent geometry to express the relations among regions in terms of their rock types.     

MODES-2D—Method of detecting strike-shift shear zones

One of the goals of using the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other geodetic survey techniques in tectonics has been to detect boundaries such as faults or shear zones between rigid or mildly deforming crustal masses. The calculation of infinitesimal strains and rotations with GPS data has been widely used to detect shear zones but it has been largely unsuccessful because infinitesimal strain and rotation, although useful in many other ways, is non-diagnostic of shear zones or faults. Our approach is to work with components of deformation, not strain, and to design specifically a diagnostic method of detecting shear zones. This paper introduces the first part of our method, the detection of two-dimensional, strike-shift shear zones (MODES-2D). The MODES-2D method has three elements: (1) determination of the orientation of a suspected strike-shift shear zone by analyzing components of a deformation tensor derived from a data set of displacements in an arbitrary coordinate system; (2) resolution of the deformation tensor into the coordinate system parallel and normal to the detected shear zone; and (3) exploration of the resolved data set for evidence for a belt of inhomogeneous deformation, which is an essential characteristic of a shear zone. The operation of MODES-2D is illustrated herein with a theoretical survey network across an ideal shear zone developed with a buried dislocation-fault and with a survey network afforded by the crossing of the Kaynaşlı viaduct by the 1999 Düzce–Bolu earthquake rupture in Turkey.     

‘It’s more than just what it is’: Defetishising commodities, expanding fields, mobilising change…

Commodity geographies are politically weak. Geographical pedagogy isn’t particularly engaging. Radical geography should make connections. But it rarely leaves room for interpretation. Too much seems to be too didactic. And to preach to the converted. That’s a problem that needs attention. So, is it possible to develop a radical, less didactic, geography? With research funding, publication and teaching the way they are? To engage more students, more heartily, in the issues studied? To promote social justice, critical citizenship, and participatory democracy? But not by setting out the right ways to think, be, or act. Some film-makers, artists and writers have been able to do this. It seems. Subtly and cleverly. Through projects attempting to de-fetishise commodities. But their politics have been placed largely in the background, between the lines of, or separated out from, the presentation of scenes, things, relations, bodies, lives and voices. Seen and unseen elements of their audiences’ lives. Re-connected. Perhaps. Through communication strategies giving audiences something to think about and to think with, to argue about and to argue with. Putting themselves in the picture, in the process. These less didactic materials may be difficult to master for an exam or an essay. They may not make it clear who or what’s right or wrong or what audiences are supposed to do. But they could engage them in less direct ways. When they’re shopping for petrol or fish, or when they’re doing or thinking about completely different things. Things that may not even come under the heading of ‘production’ or ‘consumption’. This approach might be labelled as ‘weak’, ‘relativist’, a bit too ‘cultural’ ‘post-modern’, or ‘defunct’. But it’s an approach that may be radical in effect because its ‘politics’ aren’t so straightforward or ‘up front’. This paper is about changing relationships between research, writing, teaching, learning and assessment; expanding fields of commodity geographies to include classrooms as sites not only of ‘instruction’, but also of learning, for researchers and their students¹; showing how such learning might usefully shape research and writing elsewhere in these fields for those engaged in this defetishising project.     

The long-term effects of crude oil on microbial processes in subarctic marine sediments

Subarctic marine sediments were exposed to fresh and ‘weathered’ crude oil from Cook Inlet, Alaska. The crude oil was thoroughly mixed with the sediment at various concentrations and some of the oil-sediment mixtures were placed on top of unamended sediments. Both sediments with added oil and those overlain by oiled sediments were investigated. These sediments were placed either in trays or aquaria. The trays were incubated in situ near the site from which the sediments were originally collected. The aquaria were maintained at simulated in situ conditions by maintaining a continuous flow of fresh seawater through them. The sediments were exposed to crude oil for periods up to 1.5 years. Sediments exposed to 50‰ fresh crude oil showed significant decreases in nitrogen fixation and denitrification rates and redox potentials. Also observed were increases in CO₂ production rates and methane concentrations. These same changes were observed in sediments exposed to 1‰. When ‘weathered’ crude oil was added to the sediments, the same changes were observed except there was no reduction in nitrogen fixation activity. In most cases, the observed effects were less marked when the sediments were amended with ‘weathered’ crude oil than with the same concentration of fresh crude oil. Untreated sediments that were overlain with treated sediments showed the same changes as those sediments that were thoroughly mixed with crude oil. The presence of fresh crude oil at 50‰ essentially eliminated burrowing activity of the benthic infauna. Under these conditions, there was an accumulation of detritus particles on the oiled sediments that was not present in the untreated controls.     

Three-dimensional visualisation of brooding behaviour in two distantly related brittle stars from South African waters

Brooding in ophiuroids (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) is a highly-developed reproduction strategy and has evolved independently several times. In South African waters, brooding occurs both in the very small amphiurid Amphipholis squamata, which is hermaphroditic, and in the large ophiodermatid Ophioderma wahlbergii, which is gonochoric. For the first time, microcomputed tomography was applied to visualise and compare brooding and brooded young of these two brittle star species from two distantly related families. The scanned A. squamata brooded six young, whereas O. wahlbergii brooded 13 young. Volume measurements of the adults revealed that A. squamata dedicated about 25% of its disc volume to brooding and O. wahlbergii about 14%. Although the brooded young of O. wahlbergii are thought to be among the largest of all known ophiuroids, young of A. squamata were four times larger in relation to adult body disc volume. Other than differences in the sizes of brooded young, these distantly related species have evolved very similar brooding adaptations. All juveniles were found lying with the mouth upward, pressed against the mother's bursal wall, strengthening the hypothesis that the bursal wall acts as a nutritive organ. In both species, the large size of the young can only be explained by maternal nutrient supply. Both brittle star species, therefore, are regarded as truly viviparous.     

The metal homogeneity of the globular star cluster M5

This work is concerned with the precision measurement of the magnitudes of the stars across a large field of the galactic globular cluster M5. The colours of the red giants are subjected to a thorough statistical analysis in order to quantify the extent of any star-to-star variations in metal abundance within the cluster. Use is made of an extensive optical/near-infrared observational data set acquired with a large-array CCD detector and the Johnson V and I filters. The results of this photometry, which is accurate to within a few millimagnitudes for the brighter stars, are used to compile a colour–magnitude diagram.
The analysis finds that in a metal-rich M5 ([Fe/H]=−1.2) the extent of any metal inhomogeneity, Δ[Fe/H], is less than ±0.1 dex, and in a metal-poor M5 ([Fe/H]=−1.5) then     . (The literature contains a range of derived values of metallicity for M5.)     

Clay‐coat diversity in marginal marine sediments

The specific mineralogy of clay grain coats controls the ability of the coat to inhibit quartz cementation in sandstones during prolonged burial and heating. How and why clay‐coat mineralogy varies across marginal marine systems is poorly understood, even though these eogenetic phenomena strongly influence subsequent mesodiagenesis and reservoir quality. The novel development of the ability to predict the distribution of clay‐coat mineralogy would represent an important development for sandstone reservoir quality prediction. In marginal marine sediments, clay minerals occur as grain‐coats, floccules, mud intraclasts, clay‐rich rock fragments or as dispersed material. However, the relationships between clay mineralogy, the amount of clay, and its distribution is poorly understood. This study focused on the Ravenglass Estuary, UK. The key aim was to develop and apply a novel methodology utilising scanning electron microscope – energy dispersive spectrometry, for the first time, on grain coats in modern sediments, to differentiate the clay‐coat mineral signature from that of the bulk sediment, and reveal the distribution of clay minerals across marginal marine sediments. The study showed that marginal marine sediments principally have their clay mineral assemblage present as clay‐coats on sand grains. These clay‐coats have a mixed clay mineralogy and are spatially heterogeneous across the range of marginal‐marine depositional environments. The study further showed that clay‐coat mineralogy is governed initially by the hydrologically‐controlled segregation of the clay minerals within inner estuarine depositional environments, and subsequently by the selective abrasive removal of specific clay mineral types during reworking and transport into the outer estuary and the marine environment. The highest relative abundance of grain‐coating chlorite was in sand‐flat and tidal‐bar depositional environments. The availability of an analogue data set, and an understanding of the controlling processes of clay‐coat mineralogy, offer crucial steps in building a predictive capability for clay‐coat derived elevated reservoir quality in deeply buried sandstones.     

Geophysical investigations of buried river valleys around Cardigan Bay

Gravity and seismic surveys over the estuaries of the rivers Dovey, Dysynni, Glaslyn and Mawddach have indicated that the rock floor lies at depths of from 100 to 1,250 ft (30 m to 380 m) below the present surface. The methods of survey and difficulties of interpretation are discussed, and the significance of the results is assessed in conjunction with those already published for the Teifi estuary and with preliminary results obtained by seismic reflection profiling in. Cardigan Bay. It is concluded that all the valleys with the exception of the Glaslyn could have been carved during Pleistocene times, but that the much deeper buried valley of the Glaslyn, extending south of Portmadoc across Morfa Harlech, is probably of earlier origin.