Stabilization and breakdown of Archean Cratons: Formation of sedimentary basins,mafic magmatism,and metallogenic productivity

The Kenorland supercontinent was created as a result of the ascent of the most powerful mantle plumes in the Earth’s geological history and accompanied by the formation of the continental crust and its subsequent accretion into a supercontinent 2.7 Ga ago. The geological phenomena that occurred at that time in Australia, Canada, and South Africa reflecting its features are considered in this paper. The first sedimentary basins resting upon the sialic basement give evidence for long-existing peneplanes formed in the Early Precambrian, i.e., for stabilization of the underlying cratons; this is also supported by the appearance of rapakivi granite 2.8 Ga ago. The platform regime existed as early as the Mesoarchean 3.5 Ga ago. The platform sedimentary basins developed almost continuously over a billion years. Layered mafic intrusions were frequently emplaced into sedimentary sequences. Unique gold, uranium, PGE, chrome, and other deposits are hosted in sedimentary basins and layered intrusions. The extremely high intensity of plume activity determined the origin and breakdown of the Kenorland supercontinent and the cause of transport of ore elements concentrated in unique deposits. In terms of the intensity of plume-related magmatism and ore formation, the considered period of geological history has no more recent analogues and was critical for the Earth’s evolution.     

Magnetic record associated with tree ring density: Possible climate proxy

A magnetic signature of tree rings was tested as a potential paleo-climatic indicator. We examined wood from sequoia tree, located in Mountain Home State Forest, California, whose tree ring record spans over the period 600 – 1700 A.D. We measured low and high-field magnetic susceptibility, the natural remanent magnetization (NRM), saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM), and stability against thermal and alternating field (AF) demagnetization. Magnetic investigation of the 200 mm long sequoia material suggests that magnetic efficiency of natural remanence may be a sensitive paleoclimate indicator because it is substantially higher (in average >1%) during the Medieval Warm Epoch (700–1300 A.D.) than during the Little Ice Age (1300–1850 A.D.) where it is <1%. Diamagnetic behavior has been noted to be prevalent in regions with higher tree ring density. The mineralogical nature of the remanence carrier was not directly detected but maghemite is suggested due to low coercivity and absence of Verwey transition. Tree ring density, along with the wood's magnetic remanence efficiency, records the Little Ice Age (LIA) well documented in Europe. Such a record suggests that the European LIA was a global phenomenon. Magnetic analysis of the thermal stability reveals the blocking temperatures near 200 degree C. This phenomenon suggests that the remanent component in this tree may be thermal in origin and was controlled by local thermal condition.     

Isotopic and hydrochemical studies of groundwater flow and salinity in the Southern Upper Rhine Graben

In order to determine the origin and the propagation mechanisms of highly concentrated chloride brines within the Quaternary aquifer system in the southern part of the Upper Rhine Graben, a combined isotope (H, O, C) and hydrochemical analysis was carried out. Groundwater recharge in this area is a complex system, consisting of local precipitation, river bank filtration, lateral flow from the Graben borders and, to a minor extent, an old Pleistocene component. In some areas, groundwater consists of up to 90% of recent bank filtrate, reaching depths down to at least 100 m. The isotopic and hydrochemical results show, that the elevated chloride concentrations in the Quaternary aquifer mainly result from leaky settling basins charged by the French potash mines until the mid 1970s. Input of natural brines coming from tertiary salt diapirs is of only minor importance. While infiltrating, the anthropogenic brines were strongly diluted by local river bank filtrate of the Rhine. Nevertheless, maximum chloride concentrations nowadays still reach some 10,000 mg/l at the base of the aquifer at a depth of more than 100 m below surface. The main volume of the brines is stored in the less permeable lower part of the quaternary sediments (Breisgau-Formation) whereas only a minor part is transported northwards with the rapid convective groundwater flow. Brines undergoing only dilution preserve their hydrochemical characteristics (NaCl-type). In contrast, brines recirculated from the Breisgau-Formation show a northwards increasing alteration through ion exchange processes. Potassium and sodium may be fixed in the fine grained aquifer material while calcium is set free into the groundwater. After a flow distance of about 12 km, complex hydraulic interactions between groundwater and surface waters lead to the rise of strongly diluted and hydrochemically altered brines with chloride contents up to maximum 700 mg/l. The presented case study is an example for a detailed analysis of a multi-component groundwater mixing system using combined isotope and hydrochemical methods. Furthermore, cation exchange is shown as a major process affecting the hydrochemical evolution of the young groundwater in the southern Upper Rhine Graben which is locally strongly polluted by chloride as a consequence of former potash mining.     

Effects on ground water caused by excavation of rock store caverns

Unlined rock caverns for oil storage are very common in Sweden. Most of them are excavated in hard rocks (compact, non-carbonate, non-volcanic rocks). The fundamental idea of underground oil storage is that the rock caverns are located below the natural ground water level. Hereby the ground water keeps the oil inside the caverns and prevents products migration.

During the excavating period the water seeping through the fractures of a cavern is pumped up to avoid flooding. This discharge causes a local drop in the ground-water level around the cavern and a cone of depression develops.

A local study of the development of such a cone of depression has been made by means of a network of observation holes around the cavern. On enlargement of an oil storage (by constructing new caverns close to the old ones), the cone of depression moves according to the progress of the new excavations. This process has been studied and described in two cases.

Underground storages in Sweden are very often closely spaced in order to use common facilities such as entrance tunnel, pumping station, housing etc. Therefore an artificial ground-water divide sometimes must be arranged between different caverns in order to prevent products migration. This paper describes how such an artificial recharge of water between some caverns is made. The control of its effectiveness is shown as well as the method for sealing off undesirable leakage.     

Surface composition of magnetic neutron stars

The relative abundances of seven constitutent nuclei, He⁴, C¹², O¹⁶, Ne²⁰, Mg²⁴, Si²⁸ and Fe⁵⁶, are calculated as a function of time for neutron star atmospheres within which exist magnetic fields of the order of 10¹³G. The opacity, equation of state of the electrons, and cooling rate of the magnetic star are discussed, and it is shown to be a reasonable approximation to assume an atmosphere to be isothermal. The effects of particle diffusion are included in the nuclear reaction network. Computations are performed both for a constant mass atmosphere and for an atmosphere in which mass is being ejected. It is found that the final abundances are model independent as long as the initial model contains predominantly He⁴. The relative abundances are compared to the cosmic ray spectrum. For both the constant mass and mass loss atmospheres, nucleosynthesis proceeds virtually completely to Fe⁵⁶. However the outermost layers of the envelope, in which no mass is being ejected, are composed almost entirely of He⁴ with trace amounts of Fe⁵⁶. After the loss of about 10²¹ g, only Fe⁵⁶ is ejected from atmospheres expelling mass.A portion of the research on which this paper was based was performed while L. C. Rosen was present at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory, Livermore, California.     

Cross sections from 5 to 35 MeV for the reactions natMg(3He,x)26Al, 27Al(3He,x)26Al,natCa(3He,x)41Ca,and natCa(3He,x)36Cl: Implications for early irradiation in the solar system

Abstract– Cross sections were measured for the nuclear reactions ^natMg(³He,x)²⁶Al, ²⁷Al(³He,x)²⁶Al, ^natCa(³He,x)⁴¹Ca, and ^natCa(³He,x)³⁶Cl in the energy region from approximately 5–35 MeV. The rates of these reactions are important for studies of early solar system irradiation scenarios. The ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl, and ⁴¹Ca were separated chemically, and the numbers of atoms produced in each reaction channel were measured using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). From these results, 26 cross sections were determined and compared with predictions of the TALYS code. Agreement is within 40% for most cross sections. Our measurements were used to model the production of ⁷Be, ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al, and ⁴¹Ca in the early solar system. For projectiles ¹H, ³He, and ⁴He, we assumed energy spectra of the general form E^?α. For a wide range of parameterizations, the modeled ratios of ⁷Be/Be and ¹⁰Be/Be on the one hand and of ²⁶Al/²⁷Al and ⁴¹Ca/Ca on the other are coupled because the excitation functions for the relevant nuclear reactions have similar shapes. Modeling of a closed system with the constraint that ¹⁰Be/⁹Be = 0.001 fails to reproduce simultaneously the range of ⁷Be/⁹Be, ²⁶Al/²⁷Al, and ⁴¹Ca/Ca ratios inferred for the early solar system from studies of meteorites.