Supercooled diopside melt: confirmation of temperature-dependent expansivity using container-based dilatometry

The expansivity of supercooled diopside liquid has been determined using techniques of container-based dilatometry. Two thermal strategies have been employed, one in which the sample is brought to volumetric equilibrium by long-duration dwells at low temperatures (817 °C) and one in which scanning dilatometry of the sample has been performed at somewhat higher temperatures (890–913 °C). The results of both experiments yield a supercooled liquid expansivity for diopside liquid in the temperature range of 817–913 °C of 84.4 ± 2.8 × 10⁻⁴ cm³/mol K. The expansivity is 65% higher than that obtained for diopside melt obtained at superliquidus temperatures using the double bob Archimedean method. Combined fitting of the new low temperature, volume–temperature data from the present study and the superliquidus data from the literature has been performed. The combined fit yields the following equations for the volume–temperature relationship of diopside liquid (T=temperature in °C):

First steps in the enclosure of the oceans: The origins of Truman's proclamation on the resources of the continental shelf, 28 September 1945

The movement to establish coastalstate jurisdiction over a distance of 200 miles has its origins in President Truman's proclamation of September 1945 on the resources of the continental shelf and ‘certain high seas fisheries’. The author analyses the processes and motives which led to the proclamation, the US justification of its revolutionary policy statements, the reactions of other nations (in particular the warning of the UK and the parallel declaration of Mexico), and the subsequent assessment of the consequences of the action in the USA.     

Solar rotation studies using sunspot data (1967–1974)

The solar rotation rate during 1967–1974 was measured from photographic observations of sunspots. The rates derived from isolated single spots and from bipolar groups were 14.38 ±0.02 and 14.71±0.05 deg per day equatorial sidereal, respectively. Year-to-year fluctuations in the bipolar group rates correlate with fluctuations in the Mt. Wilson spectroscopic rotation rates, while the isolated single spots show smaller, uncorrelated variations. A possible explanation for the fluctuations in the bipolar rates is year-to-year changes in the separation rates of the bipolar groups, rather than changes in the global solar rotation rate. The latter interpretation requires caution because (1) the sunspot rotation rates were derived from a limited amount of data (one month per year), and (2) the rotation rates were reduced to equatorial values assuming a differential rotation law {ie205-01}.Operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under contract with the National Science Foundation.     

Photochemistry in the Arctic Free Troposphere: Ozone Budget and Its Dependence on Nitrogen Oxides and the Production Rate of Free Radicals

Local ozone production and loss rates for the arctic free troposphere (58–85° N, 1–6 km, February–May) during the TroposphericOzone Production about the Spring Equinox (TOPSE) campaign were calculated using a constrained photochemical box model. Estimates were made to assess the importance of local photochemical ozone production relative to transport in accounting for the springtime maximum in arctic free tropospheric ozone. Ozone production and loss rates from our diel steady-state box model constrained by median observations were first compared to two point box models, one run to instantaneous steady-state and the other run to diel steady-state. A consistent picture of local ozone photochemistry was derived by all three box models suggesting that differences between the approaches were not critical. Our model-derived ozone production rates increased by a factor of 28 in the 1–3 km layer and a factor of 7 in the 3–6 kmlayer between February and May. The arctic ozone budget required net import of ozone into the arctic free troposphere throughout the campaign; however, the transport term exceeded the photochemical production only in the lower free troposphere (1–3 km) between February and March. Gross ozone production rates were calculated to increase linearly with NO_x mixing ratiosup to 300 pptv in February and for NO_x mixing ratios up to 500 pptv in May. These NO_x limits are an order of magnitude higher thanmedian NO_x levels observed, illustrating the strong dependence ofgross ozone production rates on NO_x mixing ratios for the majority of theobservations. The threshold NO_x mixing ratio needed for netpositive ozone production was also calculated to increase from NO_x 10pptv in February to 25 pptv in May, suggesting that the NO_x levels needed to sustain net ozone production are lower in winter than spring. This lower NO_x threshold explains how wintertime photochemical ozone production can impact the build-up of ozone over winter and early spring. There is also an altitude dependence as the threshold NO_x neededto produce net ozone shifts to higher values at lower altitudes. This partly explains the calculation of net ozone destruction for the 1–3 km layerand net ozone production for the 3–6 km layer throughout the campaign.     

Can metamorphic reactions proceed faster than bulk strain?

Available constraints on metamorphic reaction rates derived from the study of natural systems are similar to, or slightly lower than, the bulk strain rates measured in the same rocks. Here, we explore whether this apparent relationship is merely coincidence or due to a more fundamental mechanistic link between reaction and strain. Grain boundary migration accommodated dislocation creep (GBMDC) or grain boundary diffusion creep (GBDC) (i.e. pressure solution), both of which involve dissolution-precipitation as we define it, will occur simultaneously with mineral reactions involving dissolution-precipitation in the presence of a non-zero deviatoric stress. The exact relationships between reaction and strain are different depending on whether GBMDC or GBDC is controlling strain, but the mechanistic link exists in both cases. We present theoretical arguments which show that bulk strain by GBMDC or GBDC, which may additionally be accommodated by processes not involving dissolution-precipitation, such as dislocation glide and climb or grain boundary sliding, should in most cases be somewhat faster than the bulk reaction rates as observed. With few exceptions, for natural metamorphic systems undergoing plastic deformation, strain rates provide an upper limit for bulk reaction rates occurring simultaneously in the same rocks. The data suggest that mineral reaction rates may typically be within one order of magnitude of the strain rate.Editorial responsibility: T.L. Grove     

Rates of weathering rind formation on Costa Rican basalt

Weathering rind thicknesses were measured on ∼ 200 basaltic clasts collected from three regionally extensive alluvial fill terraces (Qt 1, Qt 2, and Qt 3) preserved along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Mass balance calculations suggest that conversion of unweathered basaltic core minerals (plagioclase and augite) to authigenic minerals in the porous rind (kaolinite, allophane, gibbsite, Fe oxyhydroxides) is iso-volumetric and Ti and Zr are relatively immobile. The hierarchy of cation mobility (Ca ≈ Na > K ≈ Mg > Si > Al > Fe ≈ P) is similar to other tropical weathering profiles and is indicative of differential rates of mineral weathering (anorthite > albite ≈ hypersthene > orthoclase ? apatite). Alteration profiles across the cm-thick rinds document dissolution of plagioclase and augite and the growth of kaolinite, with subsequent dissolution of kaolinite and precipitation of gibbsite as weathering rinds age. The rate of weathering rind advance is evaluated using a diffusion-limited model which predicts a parabolic rate law for weathering rind thickness, r_r, as a function of time, t(r_r =), and an interface-limited model which predicts a linear rate law for weathering rind thickness as a function of time (r_r = k_appt). In these rate laws, κ is a diffusion parameter and k_app is an apparent rate constant. The rate of advance is best fit by the interface model.Terrace exposures are confined to the lower reaches of streams draining the Pacific slope near the coast where the stream gradient is less than ∼3 m/km, and terrace deposition is influenced by eustatic sea level fluctuations. Geomorphological evidence is consistent with terrace deposition coincident with sea level maxima when the stream gradient would be lowest. Assigning the most weathered regionally extensive terrace Qt 1 (mean rind thickness 6.9 ± 0. 6cm) to oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 7 (ca. 240 ka), and assuming that at time = 0 rind thickness = 0, it is inferred that terrace Qt 2 (r_r = 2.9 ± 0.1 cm) is coincident with stage 5e (ca. 125 ka) and that Qt 3 (r_r = 0.9 ± 0.1 cm) is consistent with OIS 3 (ca. 37 ka). These assignments yield a value of k_app of 8.6 × 10⁻¹³ cm s⁻¹ (R² = 0.99). Only this value satisfies both the existing age controls and yields ages coincident with sea level maxima. Using this value, elemental weathering release fluxes across a weathering rind from Qt 2 range from 6.0 × 10⁻⁹ mol Si m⁻² s⁻¹ to 2.5 × 10⁻¹¹ mol K m⁻² s⁻¹. The rate of rind advance for the Costa Rican terraces is 2.8 × 10⁻⁷ m yr⁻¹. Basalt rind formation rates in lower temperature settings described in the literature are also consistent with interface-controlled weathering with an apparent activation energy of about 50 kJ mol⁻¹. Rates of rind formation in Costa Rica are an order of magnitude slower than reported for global averages of soil formation rates.     

Contents of Volume 33

Contents of Volume 33

Contents of Volume 33     

Application of the concentration hypothesis to English sole in nursery estuaries and potential contribution to coastal fisheries

Resources in nursery areas can be important determinants of recruitment for juvenile fishes. Most young-of-the-year English sole (Pleuronectes vetulus) appear to rely on estuaries on the U.S. Pacific Northwest coast as nursery areas. Trawl surveys were conducted in four nursery estuaries, and the results show consistent densities were found across all estuaries in August. In June densities were higher and more variable. Application of the average August density to estuaries along the entire Oregon and Washington coasts resulted in an estimated total estuarine abundance of 45.8 million age 0+ English sole. Estimated coast-wide recruitment of age 4+ female English sole based on age 0+ abundance ranged from 3.7 to 4.9 million individuals from 1998–2000, with an average value of 4.3 million. A simple population model was constructed to determine if production from the combined Oregon and Washington estuaries was consistent with the estimates of the adult stock, and the observed catch from 1956–1997. The observed commercial catch has declined over this time period, and the trend could be fit using an availability-gear efficiency of 21% and an exploitation rate of 0.094. The results suggest that the English sole population on the Oregon-Washington shelf could potentially be supported solely by estuarine production, and this production appears to be stabilized by the size of available nursery areas.     

Estimating ground water discharge by hydrograph separation

Iron Mountain is located in the West Shasta Mining District in California. An investigation of the generation of acid rock drainage and metals loading to Boulder Creek at Iron Mountain was conducted. As part of that investigation, a hydrograph separation technique was used to determine the contribution of ground water to total flow in Boulder Creek. During high-flow storm events in the winter months, peak flow in Boulder Creek can exceed 22.7 m3/sec, and comprises surface runoff, interflow, and ground water discharge. A hydrograph separation technique was used to estimate ground water discharge into Boulder Creek during high-flow conditions. Total ground water discharge to the creek approaches 0.31 m3/sec during the high-flow season. The hydrograph separation technique combined with an extensive field data set provided reasonable estimates of ground water discharge. These estimates are useful for other investigations, such as determining a corresponding metals load from the metal-rich ground water found at Iron Mountain and thus contributing to remedial alternatives.