Reflections on measurement of residual stress in rock

Consideration of the behaviour of elastic bodies shows that it is not possible for a set of overcoring measurements that are made within isolated blocks to show residual strains or stresses that have a non-zero average, unless the size of the equilibrium volume over which the residual stresses balance is both considerably larger than the volume of the overcore and smaller than the size of the isolated block. Since some results have been reported that do not match these constraints, non-elastic behaviour must have occurred during overcoring. A possible explanation, is that oriented microcracks are somehow opened by the overcoring. In some cases, stress fields induced by microcracking near the overcoring cut may explain measured strain changes far from the cut. Consideration of various reported measurements in terms of relative sizes of overcoring and equilibrium volumes shows that care is necessary when interpreting residual stress measurements.     

A natural example of the simultaneous operation of free-face dissolution and pressure solution

The dissolution of crinoid columnals during tectonic deformation of the Appalachian Plateau was enhanced by stress-induced changes of chemical potential of calcite in solution at the surface of the crinoid columnal. Pressure solution on the outside surface occurred within areas of highest normal stress developed at grain to grain contacts whereas free-face dissolution on the inside bore (the axial canal) of the columnal occurred where parts of the crystal lattice next to the surface were subject to the highest strain, as indicated by the presence of mechanical twins. For free-face dissolution, the chemical potential of the solute is affected more by the larger strain energy associated with mechanical twinning than strain energy from elastic strain prior to mechanical twinning of the crystal lattice. These observations suggest that free-face dissolution as well as pressure solution may contribute significantly to dissolution during rock deformation by diffusive mass transfer.     

Geochemical distribution of hydrocarbons in sediments from mid-Narragansett Bay,Rhode Island

The concentration of hydrocarbons (saturated and aromatic) and synthetic chlorinated compounds (Chlordane, DDT, and PCBs) decreased with depth in sediment cores from mid-Narragansett Bay and reached background levels at different depths. These depths were in general agreement with those expected based on the chronological inputs of these materials to the Bay. Although the total hydrocarbons concentration decreased with depth, the biogenic n-alkanes (n-C_{25,27,29,31,33}) showed a fairly constant concentration with depth as did the organic carbon content of these sediments. The n-alkane odd/even ratio increased with depth in the cores. Size fractionation (> 45 μm and < 45 to > 0.3 μm) of two core sections showed more hydrocarbons associated with the smaller size fraction in the surface section, while the lower section had approximately equal concentrations in both fractions. These trends suggest that over the time period covered by these cores the inputs of biogenic materials has remained relatively constant, while the input of anthropogenic hydrocarbons has increased dramatically during the last 100 yr. This increase is probably due to the expanded use of petroleum over this time period and subsequent chronic inputs to this estuarine environment.     

Cadmium levels and carbohydrate metabolism in limpets

Limpets from several sites in the Bristol Channel exhibiting varying degrees of cadmium contamination have been studied. Investigations involved glucose levels and certain aspects of glucose metabolism. The results tentatively suggest that there may be a correlation between cadmium levels and reduced ability to utilize glucose.     

Galveston Bay: Temporal changes in the concentrations of trace organic contaminants in national status and trends oysters (1986–1994)

The temporal distributions for six classes of trace organic contaminants (chlordanes, DDTs, dieldrin, PAHs, PCBs, and butyltins) in oysters from six Galveston Bay sites from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Status and Trends (NS&T) Mussel Watch Program are compared with other NS&T sites from the Gulf of Mexico as well as all NS&T sites of the United States (East Coast, West Coast, and Gulf of Mexico). Decreases in the median for the Gulf-wide concentration of chlordanes, dieldrin, and butyltins occurred during 1986–1994. The Gulfwide median concentrations of DDTs, PAHs, and PCBs exhibited a strong cyclic distribution with time. For Galveston Bay oysters, “high” concentration is defined as the concentration greater than the median plus one standard deviation for all Gulf of Mexico sites. The percentage of sites having high concentrations during 1986–1994 for Galveston Bay oysters are 49% for dieldrin, 45% for butyltins, 40% for chlordanes, 38% for PCBs, 30% for PAHs, and 21% for DDTs. For PCBs, 43% of Galveston Bay oyster samples analyzed over the first 9 yr have concentrations high enough for potential biological effects to be observed in oysters. The percentages in other agents were chlordanes (22%), butyltins (22%), dieldrin (5%), and PAHs (4%). National Academy of Science-proposed regulatory limits for oysters were exceeded in only 2% of Galveston Bay samples for DDTs and 1% for PCBs. All other contaminants were below proposed NAS limits.     

An ultraviolet-selected galaxy redshift survey: new estimates of the local star formation rate

We present the first results of an ongoing spectroscopic survey of galaxies selected in the rest frame ultraviolet (UV). The source catalogue has been constructed from a flux-limited sample of stars, galaxies and QSOs imaged at 2000 Å in Selected Area 57 with the FOCA balloon-borne imaging camera. Accurate positions for the UV sources have been obtained by matching with optical counterparts using APM scans of the Palomar Sky Survey limited at B   20.5. Here we present results derived from optical spectroscopy conducted with the WIYN telescope and the WHT for 142 faint sources. The redshift distribution for this UV-selected sample extends over 0 <  z  < 0.5, and a high fraction of the sources show intense nebular emission lines and UV–optical colours bluer than normal Hubble sequence galaxies. Such UV-selected surveys are thus a very efficient way to locate and study intermediate-redshift galaxies undergoing intense star formation. Although our sample is currently small, we derive a rest frame UV luminosity function with a steep faint-end slope consistent with that found for late-type galaxies in optical samples. However, the integrated luminosity density derived implies a volume-averaged star formation rate higher than other recent estimates, assuming a normal initial mass function. If representative of other UV fields, as suggested by UV number count studies, our data imply that the local abundance of star-forming galaxies may have been underestimated, and consequently claims for strong evolution in the global star formation rate in the range 0 <  z  < 1 overstated. An intensive study of a large UV-selected sample is likely to reveal important information on the declining population of star-forming galaxies of all types.     

Accuracy of cosmogenic ages for moraines

Analyses of all published cosmogenic exposure ages for moraine boulders show an average age range of 38% between the oldest and youngest boulders from each moraine. This range conflicts with the common assumption that ages of surface boulders are the same as the age of the landform. The wide spread in boulder ages is caused by erosion of the moraine surface and consequent exhumation of fresh boulders. A diffusion model of surface degradation explains the age range and shows that a randomly sampled small set of boulders (n = 3-7) will always yield a lower age limit for the moraine. The model indicates that for identical dating accuracy, six to seven boulders are needed from old and tall moraines (40,000-100,000 yr, 50-100 m initial height) but only one to four boulders from small moraines (20,000-100,000 yr, 10-20 m). By following these guidelines the oldest obtained boulder age will be ≥90% of the moraine age (95% probability). This result is only weakly sensitive to a broad range of soil erosion rates. Our analysis of published boulder ages indicates that <3% of all moraine boulders have prior exposure, and 85% of these boulders predate the dated moraine.     

Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity Survey Pre‐modeling Tool

Geophysical tools have much to offer users in environmental, water resource, and geotechnical fields; however, techniques such as electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) are often oversold and/or overinterpreted due to a lack of understanding of the limitations of the techniques, such as the appropriate depth intervals or resolution of the methods. The relationship between ERI data and resistivity is nonlinear; therefore, these limitations depend on site conditions and survey design and are best assessed through forward and inverse modeling exercises prior to field investigations. In this approach, proposed field surveys are first numerically simulated given the expected electrical properties of the site, and the resulting hypothetical data are then analyzed using inverse models. Performing ERI forward/inverse modeling, however, requires substantial expertise and can take many hours to implement. We present a new spreadsheet‐based tool, the Scenario Evaluator for Electrical Resistivity (SEER), which features a graphical user interface that allows users to manipulate a resistivity model and instantly view how that model would likely be interpreted by an ERI survey. The SEER tool is intended for use by those who wish to determine the value of including ERI to achieve project goals, and is designed to have broad utility in industry, teaching, and research.