Morphology of Dune-Like Relief in Rivers

Water Resources - Linearized equations of two-dimensional hydraulics have been analyzed by the method of small perturbations within a wide range of alluvial features sizes at large values of Froude...     

Evaluation of Interlaboratory Geochemical Data: Some Considerations on the Abbey-Rousseau Debate, the Meaningfulness of the Median and Other Topics

This paper discusses the methods most commonly used to evaluate interlaboratory geochemical data for a search of "best" values. It suggests that the Select-Laboratories, Dybczyński, median and mode methods integrated by the visual inspection of the plot of the ordered data can be regarded as general, complementary approaches to data handling. Because of the elusive nature of the problem, a multiple method approach to be accepted and standardized by the geoscientist community is suggested. The importance of ascribing realistic confidence intervals to any derived value is also pointed out.     

Occurrence of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon,Acipenser oxyrhynchus,in the upper tidal Delaware River

Eighty-nine juvenile Atlantic sturgeon,Acipenser oxyrhynchus oxyrhynchus, including 10 recaptures, were collected, tagged and released in the upper tidal Delaware River between July 1981 and December 1984. All were captured in the river channel between Roebling and Trenton, New Jersey, using bottom-set experimental gill nets during daylight hours. The species was present from July through December and collected in increased numbers in the past two years. The fork lengths ranged from 284 to 862 mm (mean±SD = 516 mm±106 mm) and the weights from 140 to 4,250 g (mean±SD = 1,369 g±815 g). Ten juvenile Atlantic sturgeon were recaptured between September 1983 and December 1984 and were at large from one to 418 d. Recapture data suggest that these sturgeon utilize this area annually from July through December, possibly as a nursery. Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon appear to utilize the upper tidal portion of the Delaware River for a much longer period of time and at lower temperatures than in other river systems.     

The distribution of agricultural soil leachates in the unsaturated zone of the British chalk

In Europe the Chalk constitutes a major source of potable water supply. Its outcrop forms extensive tracts of agricultural land, where the groundwater resources largely originate as infiltrating excess rainfall. Research on the unsaturated zone of the aquifer beneath such cultivated land should allow an assessment of nutrient leaching losses from the associated highly permeable soils and the prediction of future groundwater quality trends. Pore-water profiles for nitrate and numerous other constituents from a site of exceptionally detailed study are presented and compared to results from sites elsewhere in eastern England to demonstrate the impact of modern arable agriculture. Environmental isotopes have also been investigated in depth to aid the study. The problems in evaluating the evolution of the unsaturated zone profiles are discussed. Presented at the International Symposium, International Association of Hydrogeologists, “Impact of Agricultural Activities on Ground Water Quality and Quantity,” Prague, Czechoslovakia, September, 1982.     

Biogeochemistry, a prospecting tool in the search for mercury mineralization

Summary of biogeochemical prospecting for mercury mineralization in the Pinchi Fault is given. One thousand two hundred and eight plant samples were collected and analyzed for mercury. In mineralized areas the typical mercury content of dried plants was not less than 0.2 and 0.4 μg/g and even concentrations between 0.6 and 1.6 μg/g were observed. In nonmineralized zones at least 90% of the plants contained no more than 0.15 μg/g of mercury. Analytical and sampling procedures are described.     

40Ar39Ar and KAr dating of altered glassy volcanic rocks: the Dabi Volcanics,P.N.G.

KAr and ${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{39}\text{Ar}$ ages have been determined for altered submarine tholeiitic and boninite (high-Mg andesite) lavas from the Dabi Volcanics, Cape Vogel Peninsula, Papua New Guinea. ${}^{40}\text{Ar}{}^{39}\text{Ar}$ whole rock total fusion and plateau ages identify a Late Paleocene age for the tholeiitic lavas (58.9 ± 1.1 Ma) and also for the boninitic lavas (58.8 ± 0.8 Ma). Apparent KAr ages for the same samples range from 27.2 ± 0.7 to 63.9 ± 4.5 Ma, and young KAr ages for glassy boninites are probably due to variable radiogenic ⁴⁰Ar (⁴⁰Ar¹) loss. These new ages effectively reconcile previously ambiguous age data for the Dabi Volcanics and indicate contemporaneous tholeiitic and boninitic volcanism occurring in southeast PNG during the Late Paleocene.Smectites, developed as alteration products after glass in oceanic lavas commonly do not retain ³⁹Ar during or subsequent to irradiation, but in some cases may contain ⁴⁰Ar1. In the absence of other factors modifying K and Ar contents, samples which have not lost ⁴⁰Ar¹ from smectite and suffer ³⁹Ar loss only, are interpreted to have been altered immediately subsequent to the crystallization of the lava; whereas samples which have lost ⁴⁰Ar¹ as well as ³⁹Ar may be the result of either recent alteration, or of continuous ⁴⁰Ar¹ loss since the time of crystallization.     

The history of the development of procedures for the rapid assessment of environmental conditions to aid the urban regeneration process at London Docklands

A process of urban regeneration of the former industrial dock area of east London by the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) recognised the importance of geotechnical and geoenvironmental information. A systematic programme of data collection was implemented and stored in a series of bespoke computer database systems and cartographic registers. These allowed retrieval and manipulation of the data to provide rapid site assessments. The understanding of the natural setting of the area was enhanced as a consequence of the collation exercise. The data stored included geotechnical and environmental information on soil and groundwater. The hydrogeological regime was modelled by computer to determine the consequences of development on groundwater movement. In addition, a cartographic register of historic land use was developed. This gave instant detail on the potential for contamination of a site and became a fundamental tool in the UK planning process of the area. The information from the separate systems was finally combined into a geographic information system.     

Temperature variation in the mesosphere during solar eclipse

Rocket-borne observations of the extinction of solar hydrogen Lyman-alpha radiation made during the solar eclipses of 20 May 1966 at Karistos for normal and 44% visibility and of 7 March 1970 at East Quoddy for normal, 10% and 0.6% visibility have been used to study the variation of temperature in the mesosphere during these events. It is seen that near the mesopause the decrease of temperature at Karistos is by 20° K for 44% visibility and at East Quoddy by 100° K for 0.6% visibility. Possible causes of these temperature variationsvis-a-vis molecular oxygen and pressure variations have been briefly discussed.