ON THE EFFECTS OF THICKNESS OF THE HALF-PLANE MODEL IN HLEM INDUCTION PROSPECTING OVER SULPHIDE DYKES IN A HIGHLY RESISTIVE MEDIUM1

In the quantitative data interpretation for HLEM induction prospecting, a vertical half-plane model in an insulating medium is widely employed. For this assumption to be valid, the steeply dipping massive sulphide dykes must have large strike lengths and depth extents, but small thickness. We report investigations, using the laboratory scale-modelling method, on the response variation of large vertical conductors as the thickness is varied. We conclude that a steeply dipping large dyke can be approximated by a half-plane model only if its thickness is less than half the skin depth. An inductively thick conductor produces larger amplitudes and relatively higher quadrature compared to a thin conductor, even if both have the same induction number.     

Fluids in the lithosphere, 2. Experimental constraints on CO2 transport in dunite and quartzite at elevated P-T conditions with implications for mantle and crustal decarbonation processes

In a series of experiments at 0.5–1.3 GPa and 1050–1200°C we have monitored the transport, via crack propagation, of CO₂ into well-annealed olivine and quartz aggregates. The objectives were to determine (1) the extent and rate of fluid penetration; (2) the effect of varying both P-T conditions and microstructure; and (3) the fluid penetration pathways. Experiments on CO₂ penetration into dunite annealed in the absence of MgO indicate rapid and pervasive fluid transport on a grain-dimension scale, but a limited penetration distance ( 1 mm). Additional experiments on dunite annealed in the presence of MgO (either dispersed or present at both ends), however, resulted in CO₂ penetration that was both pervasive on the scale of individual grains and almost always completely through the 5 mm long samples. The abundance of fine (10 μm) grains in the MgO-free dunite, in contrast to the much larger grain sizes of the samples annealed with MgO present, suggests the difference in fluid penetration behavior may arise because the strength variation in dunite scales with the grain size. Effects arising from changes in olivine point defect chemistry, however, are an additional possibility. The response of synthetic quartzite to CO₂ overpressure is distinct from that of dunite: Quartzite experiences rapid and complete penetration of CO₂, via a macroscopically visible system of transgranular fractures, over the range of P-T conditions investigated.The small amount of porosity ( 2–3%) present in most rock samples fabricated for this study, lacks three-dimensional connectivity, thus precluding any enhanced fluid penetration via porous flow. Pores could possibly enhance fluid penetration as the result of a small reduction in resistance to fracture, but the probable abundance of strength-controlling flaws in natural rocks is likely to produce similar behavior.The results of our experiments on olivine and olivine + MgO suggest that the transport of pressurized CO₂ in very olivine-rich mantle environments will be pervasive on the scale of individual grains and its extent may be dependent on rock microstructure and/or crystal chemical effects. Such pervasive fluid transport, perhaps associated with magma decarbonation, may have interesting implications for both magma transport and local LREE enrichment of adjacent mantle wall-rock. The ease with which quartzite is penetrated by CO₂ at the conditions of our experiments underscores the possible role of decarbonation reactions in crustal permeability-enhancement processes.     

Seismic wave attenuation in fluid-saturated porous media

Contrary to the traditional view, seismic attenuation in Biot's theory of fluid-saturated porous media is due to viscous damping of local (not global) pore-fluid motion. Since substantial inhomogeneities in fluid permeability of porous geological materials are to be expected, the regions of highest local permeability contribute most to the wave energy dissipation while those of lowest permeability dominate the fluid flow rate if they are uniformly distributed. This dichotomy can explain some of the observed discrepancies between computed and measured attenuation of compressional and shear waves in porous earth. One unfortunate consequence of this result is the fact that measured seismic wave attenuation in fluid-filled geological materials cannot be used directly as a diagnostic of the global fluid-flow permeability.     

Probability of earthquake recurrence with nonuniform stress rates and time-dependent failure

Current methods for calculation of long-term probabilities for the recurrence of large earthquakes on specific fault segments are based upon models of the faulting process that implicitly assume constant stress rates during the interval separating earthquakes and instantaneous failure at a critical stress threshold. However, observations indicate that the process of stress recovery following an earthquake involves rate variations at all time scales in addition to stress steps caused by nearby earthquakes. Additionally, the existence of foreshocks, aftershocks and possible precursory processes suggest that there may be significant time dependence of the earthquake nucleation process. A method for determining the conditional probabilities for earthquake occurrence under conditions of irregular stressing is developed that could be useful at all time scales including those pertinent to short-and intermediate-term prediction. Used with models for earthquake occurrence at a stress threshold, the addition of variable stressing introduces a simple scaling of the conditional probabilities by stress level and stress rate. A model for the time-dependent nucleation of earthquake slip has been proposed recently that is based upon laboratory observations of fault strength. This failure criterion results in large but relatively short duration changes in the probability of earthquake recurrence particularly following stress steps. Applied to populations of earthquakes the models predicts a 1/t decay of seismicity following stress steps as observed for aftershocks and for frequency of foreshock-mainshock pairs. The model suggests that variations of seismicity rates of small earthquakes in the nucleation zone of the expected earthquake directly indicate variations in probability of recurrence of the large earthquake.     

Experimental melting of crustal xenoliths from Kilbourne Hole,New Mexico and implications for the contamination and genesis of magmas

Experiments (P=6.9 kb; T=900–1000°C) on four crustal xenoliths from Kilbourne Hole demonstrate the varying melting behavior of relatively dry crustal lithologies in the region. Granodioritic gneisses (samples KH-8 and KH-11) yield little melt (<5–25%) by 925°C, but undergo extensive (30–50%) melting between 950 and 1000°C. A dioritic charnockite (KH-9) begins to melt, with the consumption of all modal K-feldspar, by 900°C. It is as fertile a melt source as the granodiorites at lower temperatures, but is outstripped in melt production by the granodiorite gneisses at high temperature, yielding only 26% melt by 1000°C. A pelitic granulite (KH-12) proved to be refractory (confirming earlier predictions based on geochemistry) and did not yield significant melt even at 1000°C. All melts have the composition of metaluminous to slightly peraluminous granites and are unlikely to be individually recognizable as magma contaminants on the basis of major element chemistry. However, the relative stability of K-feldspar during partial melting will produce recognizable signatures in Ba, Eu, K/Ba, and Ba/Rb. Melts of KH-11, which retains substantial K-feldspar throughout the melting interval, are generally low in Ba (<500–800 ppm), have high K/Ba and low Ba/Rb (est.) (62–124 and 1–3, respectively). Melts of KH-9, in which all K-feldspar disappears with the onset of melting, are Ba-rich [2000–2600 ppm, K/Ba=16–22; Ba/Rb (est.) =25–47]. Melts of KH-8 have variable Ba contents; <500 ppm Ba at low temperature but >900 ppm Ba in high-temperature melts coexisting with a K-feldspar-free restite. Although REE were not measured in either feldspar or melt, the high Kspar/melt Kds for Eu suggests that the melts coexisting with K-feldspar will have strong negative Eu anomalies. Isotopic and trace element models for magma contamination need to take into account the melting behavior of isotopic reservoirs. For example, the most radiogenic (and incompatible element-rich) sample examined here (the pelitic granulite,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.757) is refractory, while samples with far less radiogenic Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.708-0.732) produced substantial melt. This suggests that, in this area, the isotopic signature of contamination may be more subtle than expected. The experimental results can be used to model the petrogenesis of Oligocene volcanic rocks exposed 150 km to the NW of Kilbourne Hole, in the Black Range in the Mogollon-Datil volcanic field. The experimental results suggest that a crustal melting origin for the Kneeling Nun and Caballo Blanco Tuffs is unlikely, even though such an interpretation is permitted by Sr isotopes. Curstal contamination of a mantle-derived magma best explains the chemical and isotopic characteristics of these tuffs. Both experimental and geochemical data suggest that the rhyolites of Moccasin John Canyon and Diamond Creek could represent direct melts of granodiorite basement similar, but not identical, to the Kilbourne Hole granodiorites, perhaps slightly modified by crystal fractionation. The absence of volcanic rocks having⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr>0.74 in the region is consistent with the refractory character of the pelitic granulite.     

A comprehensive approach to drought and desertification in Northern Nigeria

Drought has been a recurring feature of the arid and semi-arid areas of Nigeria. This paper reviews the extent, severity, and consequences of drought and desertification in Nigeria with particular emphasis on the northern part of the country. The haphazard manner in which these environmental hazards have been tackled is examined and a systematic approach for the formulation of a national policy is proposed. It is recommended that a detailed formulation and implementation of the proposed policy plan is imperative to mitigate the often devastating impacts of drought and desertification in the very prone areas of Nigeria. Until such is done, some areas of Nigeria will always be vulnerable to the whims of an inevitable climatic hazard of drought and associated land degradation in the form of desertification.     

Study of rock joints under cyclic loading conditions

Summary A conceptual model for the behaviour of rock joints during cyclic shear and under constant normal stresses was proposed according to results from shear tests with 50 concrete replicas of rock joints. The shear strength and deformability of joint samples were found to be both anisotropic and stress dependent. Based on these experimental results, a two-dimensional constitutive model was developed for rock joints undergoing monotonic or cyclic loading sequences. The joint model was formulated in the framework of non-associated plasticity, coupled with empirical relations representing the surface roughness degradation, appearance of peak and residual shear stresses, different rates of dilatancy and contraction, variable normal stiffness with normal deformation, and dependence of shear strength and deformability on the normal stress. The second law of thermodynamics was represented by an inequality and used to restrict the values of some of the material parameters in the joint model. The new joint model was implemented into a two-dimensional Distinct Element Method Code, UDEC, and its predictions agreed well with some well-known test results.     

Government housing policy in Indonesia 1900–1940

Colonial society in Indonesia during the first forty years of the 20th century faced housing problems for both the European and native populations analogous to those in many Third World countries today. Some colonial cities tried to provide more housing first by annexing more land and so making building sites available and second by supporting the few private building societies which arose. In the mid-1920s housing proponents organized two national housing congresses. One result was the creation of limited liability public housing companies financed jointly by the central and city governments. By 1940 these companies had failed to provide more housing and so improve housing conditions particularly for the urban native population. The poverty of the masses, the shortage of funds, increasing populations, and government priorities which existed in colonial Indonesia are different in scale in Third World countries today and one may wonder if present-day solutions to housing problems will be any more effective.