Statistical analysis of seismic faulting

Summary A calculation of the slip angle and an analysis of the type of faulting associated with earthquakes was made from the presently available fault-plane solutions in the same fashion as this was done six years ago for the then available fault plane solutions. Most of the earlier results were confirmed: It was found that there exist certain large scale areas in the world which can now be much more specifically defined than previously, with a predominance of either strike-slip or dip-slip faulting. There is no evidence of a level of no strain from seismic data since there is no indication of a distinct decrease of pressure type faulting with increasing depth.     

Urbanization and agricultural intensification in the Lower Fraser River valley,: Impacts on water use and quality

The Fraser River drains a quarter of the province of British Columbia and is renown as one of the greatest salmon rivers in the world. The Fraser watershed is under threat from rapid urbanization in its lower reaches as pollutants generated from domestic and industrial wastes, and stormwater runoff threaten the health of the aquatic ecosystem. Plans for secondary sewage treatment in the metropolitan area will reduce waste loadings of some contaminants, but rapid growth will soon offset these benefits. Intensive urbanization, spreading up the Lower Fraser valley, with a network of impervious roads and increased traffic volumes contribute pollutants in surface runoff that are difficult to control. Rapid growth in agrobusiness to provide fresh produce to the nearby markets has resulted in very high densities of farm animals and excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides on the land. These pollutants threaten the groundwater and many of the remaining salmonid streams in the lower valley. The Fraser Basin Management Program, the Fraser River Estuary Management Program, and a variety of government agencies are coordinating studies and analyzing issues and conflicts to develop a strategy for sustainable development in the region.     

鄂尔多斯盆地志留—泥盆纪和侏罗纪热事件—伊利石K—Ar年龄证据

利用伊利石K-Ar测年法,结合伊利石结晶度分析,首次在鄂尔多斯盆地确定出两期不同时代热事件。晚三叠世和晚二叠世<0.2μm粒级的岩石样品的K-Ar年龄(159-173Ma)反映了与燕山运动有关的伊利石化年龄,指示有一期中侏罗世的热事件;其<2μm粒级的K-Ar年龄(210-308Ma)则被解释为碎屑物和自生伊利石的混合年龄。中寒武世<0.2μm和<2μm粒级的岩石样品K-Ar年龄(368Ma与419Ma)对应于北秦岭加里东褶皱带变质作用与最早期花岗岩侵入的时代(380-420Ma),表明在志留-泥盆纪发生了一期热事件。     

Water solubility in pyrope to 100 kbar

The solubility and incorporation mechanism of water in natural, almost pure pyrope from Dora Maira, Western Alps was investigated. The infrared spectrum of the natural, untreated sample (58 ppm water) shows several exceptionally sharp bands in the OH-stretching region, including a single band at 3601.9 cm⁻¹ and a band system with main components at 3640.5, 3650.8 and 3660.6 cm⁻¹. High-temperature and high-pressure infrared spectra suggest that the two absorption features arise from almost free OH groups in sites with different compressibility and thermal expansivity, with the site causing the 3601.9 cm⁻¹ band being much stiffer. Pyrope samples were annealed in a piston-cylinder or multi-anvil apparatus for several days in the presence of excess water, excess SiO₂ and excess Al₂SiO₅ to determine the equilibrium solubility of water in pyrope to 100 kbar. Total solubility increases with pressure, however, this is exclusively due to the high-frequency band system, while the intensity of the low-frequency band decreases with pressure. At 1000 °C and the oxygen fugacity of the Ni-NiO buffer, the bulk solubility can be described by the equation c _OH =Af _H2O ^0.5exp(−PΔV/RT) with A = 0.679 ppm/bar^0.5 and ΔV = 5.71 cm³/mol. This equation implies the incorporation of water in the crystal as isolated OH groups. With increasing temperature, solubility appears to decrease with ΔH = − 14 kJ/mol. At Fe-FeO buffer conditions, solubility is 30 to 50% lower than with the Ni-NiO buffer, suggesting that the incorporation of OH is not coupled to the reduction of Fe³⁺. Possibly, the 3601.9 cm⁻¹ band is associated with the tetrahedral OH B defect and the high-frequency system with the dodecahedral OH Li defect. Based on the experimentally established solubility model, it is estimated that garnet in a hot subducted slab will transport 170 ppm of water into the mantle beyond the breakdown limit of amphibole. In a cold slab, 470 ppm of water can be incorporated into garnet at the breakdown limit of phengite. These numbers imply that a significant fraction of the total water in the hydrosphere has been recycled into the mantle since the Proterozoic. Received: 6 January 1997 / Accepted: 27 March 1997     

Seasonal patterns of nitrification and denitrification in a natural and a restored salt marsh

Seasonal patterns of microbially-mediated nitrogen cycling via the nitrification-denitrification pathway were compared between a natural and a restored salt marsh. Sedimentary denitrification rates, measured with a modification of the acetylene block technique, were approximately 44 times greater in the natural marsh relative to an adjacent transplanted marsh. Nitrification rates were similar at both sites. The difference in denitrification rates was attributed to oxygen inhibition at low tide and tidal flushing of porewater nutrients at high tide in the coarse sediments of the restored marsh. Denitrification was positively correlated with nitrification throughout the year in the natural marsh with a seasonal fall peak in denitrification corresponding to a maximum in porewater ammonia concentration. A weak correlation existed between the two processes in the restored marsh, where nitrification rates exceeded denitrification rates by a factor of 20. Transplanted marsh denitrification rates exhibited a spring peak, corresponding to elevated porewater ammonia concentrations. Our findings demonstrate functional differences in microbial nitrogen dynamics of a young (0–3 yr) restored marsh relative to a mature (>50 yr) salt-marsh system. *** DIRECT SUPPORT *** A01BY070 00008     

Pigmente phototropher Bakterien in Seesedimenten und ihre Bedeutung für die Seenforschung

Sediments of shallow lakes contain besides plankton pigments as well pigments of purple non-sulfur and purple sulfur bacteria. A thin-layer chromatographic method was developed for the separation of the most important pigments of purple bacteria beside plankton pigments. The new method was examined in three different lakes for a stratigraphic analysis of bacteria pigments beside plankton pigments and the results were discussed subsequently.