Diagenesis of Cretaceous sandstones of the Kootenay Formation at Elk Valley (southeastern British Columbia) and Mt Allan (southwestern Alberta)

Vitrinite reflectance data for two sections of the Kootenay Formation are different, but increase with depth. Illite crystallinities (XRD) are irregular with depth but detailed S.E.M. examination shows that crystal size and morphology increase with depth.At Elk Valley (low reflectance) S.E.M. examination shows kaolinite + dolomite as the authigenic assemblage. At Mt Allan (45 km north, higher reflectance) kaolinite disappears at 265 m and chlorite + calcite appears implying the equilibrium 5 CaMg(CO₃)₂ + Al₂Si₂O₅(OH)₄ + SiO₂ + H₂OagMg₅Al₂Si₃O₁₀(OH)₈ + 5CaCO₃ + 5CO₂. (1)Equilibrium (1) involves CO₂ and H₂O which form an immiscible fluid at diagenetic conditions. Thermochemical data, activity coefficients for the fluid mixture (Margules solution model), and fugacity coefficients allow the position of intersection of the miscibility surface and equilibria similar to (1) to be calculated. Maximum temperatures (180–250°C) in water-rich fluids are in accord with geothermal gradients of 33°C/km and temperatures from vitrinite reflectance (220°C). It is suggested that produced CO₂ may be responsible for the development of secondary porosity during deep burial.     

Generators in atmospheric electricity

Summary The definition of a generator in atmospheric electricity is considered, and various phenomena are discussed as to whether they can be described as generators.     

Moon—An albite depleted giant Skaergaard?

The chemical composition of 2188 terrestrial igneous rocks ranging from ultrabasic to granitic composition was analyzed statistically using the method of factor analysis (principal components). The resultant first and second factors were: $$\begin{gathered} {\text{ }}F_1 = 0.933{\text{ Na}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O + 0}}{\text{.143 SiO}}_{\text{2}} + 0.206{\text{ K}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}} - 0.346{\text{ CaO}} - 0.263{\text{ MgO}} - \hfill \\ .203{\text{ FeO}} \pm \cdot \cdot \cdot \hfill \\ {\text{ }}F_2 = 0.979{\text{ Al}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}_{\text{3}} - 0.269{\text{ MgO}} - 0.151{\text{ SiO}}_{\text{2}} - 0.112{\text{ FeO}} \pm \cdot \cdot \cdot \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$ where oxides are in weight percent. A plot of the first factor against the second results in a useful igneous variation diagram. When the compositions of the 2188 terrestrial rocks and 604 lunar rocks are plotted on this diagram, the two groups of rocks are clearly separated within an albite-anorthite-forsterite-fayalite-quartz polygon. None of the terrestrial differentiation trends are significant for lunar rocks. The major difference in the chemistry of lunar and terrestrial rocks lies in the former being albite poor. Removal of most of the albite from the compositions of terrestrial layered intrusives such as the Skaergaard results in an excellent match between the compositions of the two groups of rocks. Albite subtracted compositions of Skaergaard rocks in particular cover the entire range of chemical variation in the lunar rocks. The statistical results prompt us to speculate further on the similarity of the moon and Skaergaard. We note that the average composition of the moon (Wanke et al., 1974) is similar to the albite subtracted composition of the Skaergaard magma. The lunar crust and a significant part of the lunar interior may match the albite subtracted and somewhat Mg enriched Skaergaard magma.     

Agpaitic magmatism at Norra Kärr? RbSr isotopic evidence

RbSr isotopic analyses of 10'whole-rock samples from the controversial peralkaline Norra Kärr complex of southern Sweden suggest an age (1580±62 m.y.) considerably older than had previously been anticipated, and indicate an initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.7072±0.0035 (errors at 2σ). The isotopic data are consistent with a primary magmatic origin for the Norra Kärr agpaites, but data from 8 mineral separates show that they have experienced at least one period of metamorphic disturbance since the original intrusion; the last episode of isotopic readjustment must have occurred after 1250 m.y. before present, and is attributed to the Sveconorwegian (Grenville) metamorphism.     

The Transiometer: An Alternative Method of Soil Moisture Measurement in Slowly Permeable Soils

The union of a piezoresistive pressure transducer and a porous ceramic cup was termed "transiometer." The transiometer was constructed from economical and readily available materials. It could be used to measure soil water potentials in both saturated and unsaturated conditions, and was well suited to continuous monitoring with data acquisition equipment.
Transiometer testing was conducted at two sites, one of moderate permeability and the other of slow permeability. The slowly permeable site was instrumented with four replications of the following: (1) transiometers installed at four depths, (2) a transi-ometerwithout the ceramic cup, (3) apiezometer, and (4) access tubes for monitoring soil moisture with a neutron probe. The moderately permeable site was instrumented with a transiometer, two piezometers, and an access tube for monitoring with a neutron probe.
In saturated conditions the transiometer had a faster response time after installation than the piezometer. Faster response makes the transiometer more desirable for use in slowly permeable soils, especially when monitoring dynamic soil water.
Calculated random error of the transiometer measuring system, including a digital voltmeter and a scanner, was typically 0.09 feet (2.8cm), with a maximum calculated to be 0.38 feet (11.5cm). The two most significant components were imprecision of the scanner card and calibration shift. The transiometer was sensitive to atmospheric pressure fluctuations, with sensitivity to atmospheric pressure change increasing with installation depth.     

Tracer Flux Balance at an Urban Canyon Intersection

Despite their importance for pollutant dispersion in urban areas, the special features of dispersion at street intersections are rarely taken into account by operational air quality models. Several previous studies have demonstrated the complex flow patterns that occur at street intersections, even with simple geometry. This study presents results from wind-tunnel experiments on a reduced scale model of a complex but realistic urban intersection, located in central London. Tracer concentration measurements were used to derive three-dimensional maps of the concentration field within the intersection. In combination with a previous study (Carpentieri et al., Boundary-Layer Meteorol 133:277–296, 2009) where the velocity field was measured in the same model, a methodology for the calculation of the mean tracer flux balance at the intersection was developed and applied. The calculation highlighted several limitations of current state-of-the-art canyon dispersion models, arising mainly from the complex geometry of the intersection. Despite its limitations, the proposed methodology could be further developed in order to derive, assess and implement street intersection dispersion models for complex urban areas.     

The Oligocene Lund Tuff, Great Basin, USA: a very large volume monotonous intermediate

Unusual monotonous intermediate ignimbrites consist of phenocryst-rich dacite that occurs as very large volume (>1000 km³) deposits that lack systematic compositional zonation, comagmatic rhyolite precursors, and underlying plinian beds. They are distinct from countless, usually smaller volume, zoned rhyolite–dacite–andesite deposits that are conventionally believed to have erupted from magma chambers in which thermal and compositional gradients were established because of sidewall crystallization and associated convective fractionation. Despite their great volume, or because of it, monotonous intermediates have received little attention. Documentation of the stratigraphy, composition, and geologic setting of the Lund Tuff – one of four monotonous intermediate tuffs in the middle-Tertiary Great Basin ignimbrite province – provides insight into its unusual origin and, by implication, the origin of other similar monotonous intermediates.The Lund Tuff is a single cooling unit with normal magnetic polarity whose volume likely exceeded 3000 km³. It was emplaced 29.02±0.04 Ma in and around the coeval White Rock caldera which has an unextended north–south diameter of about 50 km. The tuff is monotonous in that its phenocryst assemblage is virtually uniform throughout the deposit: plagioclase>quartz≈hornblende>biotite>Fe–Ti oxides≈sanidine>titanite, zircon, and apatite. However, ratios of phenocrysts vary by as much as an order of magnitude in a manner consistent with progressive crystallization in the pre-eruption chamber. A significant range in whole-rock chemical composition (e.g., 63–71 wt% SiO₂) is poorly correlated with phenocryst abundance.These compositional attributes cannot have been caused wholly by winnowing of glass from phenocrysts during eruption, as has been suggested for the monotonous intermediate Fish Canyon Tuff. Pumice fragments are also crystal-rich, and chemically and mineralogically indistinguishable from bulk tuff. We postulate that convective mixing in a sill-like magma chamber precluded development of a zoned chamber with a rhyolitic top or of a zoned pyroclastic deposit. Chemical variations in the Lund Tuff are consistent with equilibrium crystallization of a parental dacitic magma followed by eruptive mixing of compositionally diverse crystals and high-silica rhyolite vitroclasts during evacuation and emplacement. This model contrasts with the more systematic withdrawal from a bottle-shaped chamber in which sidewall crystallization creates a marked vertical compositional gradient and a substantial volume of capping-evolved rhyolite magma. Eruption at exceptionally high discharge rates precluded development of an underlying plinian deposit.The generation of the monotonous intermediate Lund magma and others like it in the middle Tertiary of the western USA reflects an unusually high flux of mantle-derived mafic magma into unusually thick and warm crust above a subducting slab of oceanic lithosphere.