The porosity and permeability of chondritic meteorites and interplanetary dust particles

Abstract— We have investigated the porosity of a large number of chondritic interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) and meteorites by three techniques: standard liquid/gas flow techniques, a new, noninvasive ultrasonic technique, and image processing of backscattered images. The latter technique is obviously best-suited to sub-kilogram sized samples. We have also measured the gas and liquid permeabilities of some chondrites by two techniques: standard liquid/gas flow techniques, and a new, nondestructive pressure release technique. We find that chondritic IDPs have a somewhat bimodal porosity distribution. Peaks are present at 0 and 4% porosity; a tail then extends to 53%. Type 1–3 chondrite matrix porosities range up to 30%, with a peak at 2%. The bulk porosities for type 1–3 chondrites have the same approximate range as exhibited by the matrix, which indicates that other components of the bulk meteorites (including chondrules and aggregates) have the same average porosity as the matrix. These results reveal that the porosities of primitive materials at scales ranging from nanogram to kilogram are similar, which implies that similar accretion dynamics operated through 12 orders of size magnitude. Permeabilities of the investigated chondrites vary by several orders of magnitude, and there appears to be no simple dependence of permeability with degree of aqueous alteration, chondrite type or porosity.     

Seismic activity related to the 2000 eruption of the Hekla volcano, Iceland

The 2000 Hekla eruption took place from February 26 to March 8. Its seismic expressions were a swarm of numerous small earthquakes related to its onset, and low-frequency volcanic tremor that continued throughout the eruption. A swarm of small earthquakes was observed some 80 min before the onset of the eruption, and the size of the events increased with time. Low-frequency volcanic tremor, with a characteristic frequency band of 0.5–1.5 Hz and dominant spectral peak(s) at 0.7–0.9 Hz, became visible at 18:19 GMT on February 26, marking the onset of the eruption. The tremor amplitude rose quickly and was very high in the beginning of the eruption. However, it soon began to decrease after about an hour. In general, the seismic activity related to the 2000 Hekla eruption was very similar to what was observed in the previous eruption in 1991. Based on knowledge gained from seismicity and strain observations from 1991, this was the first time that a Hekla eruption was predicted.Editorial responsibility: J Stix     

Interactions between Volatile Reduced Sulfur Compounds and Metals in the Seine Estuary (France)

Concentrations of volatile hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), carbonyl sulfide (OCS), methane thiol (MeSH), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) in the Seine estuary (France) were investigated in spring 2005 using samples collected from the first meter beneath the surface. Levels of dissolved metals (Ag, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Pb), suspended particulate matter, and particular organic carbon were also assessed. Maximum concentrations were 0.80 nM for H₂S, 0.64 nM for OCS, 3.06 nM for MeSH, 11.06 nM for DMS, and 1.18 nM for DMDS, and different features were observed for the five volatile reduced sulfur compounds (VRSCs). Experiments were conducted to determine silver–VRSC conditional stability constants. Major interactions were observed between H₂S and Ag, which may partially account for the absence of volatile H₂S at the lowest salinities. OCS, MeSH, and DMS did not interact with Ag, as revealed by their insignificant K′ values. Variations in concentrations along the salinity gradient may be explained by the influence of phytoplanktonic compounds.     

An example of cluster analysis applied to a large geologic data set: Aerial radiometric data from Copper Mountain, Wyoming

One objective of the aerial radiometric surveys flown as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Uranium Resource Evaluation (NURE) program was to ascertain the spatial distribution of near-surface radioelement abundances on a regional scale. Some method for identifying groups of observations with similar -ray spectral signatures and radioelement concentration values was therefore required. It is shown in this paper that cluster analysis can identify such groups with or without a priori knowledge of the geology of an area. An approach that combines principal components analysis with convergentk-means cluster analysis is used to classify 6991 observations (each observation comprising three radiometric variables) from the Precambrian rocks of the Copper Mountain, Wyoming area. This method is compared with a convergentk-means analysis that utilizes available geologic knowledge. Both methods identify four clusters. Three of the clusters represent background values for the Precambrian rocks of the area, and the fourth represents outliers (anomalously high²¹⁴Bi). A segmentation of the data corresponding to geologic reality as interpreted by other methods has been achieved by perceptive quantitative analysis of aerial radiometric data. The techniques employed are composites of classical clustering methods designed to handle the special problems presented by large data sets.     

Systematique U-Pb et Evolution du Gisement d'Uranium de Lodève (France)

Résumé Considérée comme syngénétique ou diagénétique précoce, la minéralisation uranifère de la couche 0 de l'Autunien du bassin de Lodève a été étudiée par la méthode U-Pb sur roches totales. Les données U-Pb démontrent l'existence de perte en radon, principalement dans la chaine de désintégration de ²³⁸U, et l'intérêt de l'utilisation du couple ²⁰⁷Pb-²³⁵U pour la détermination des âges de cristallisation des concentrations uranifères. Pour la couche 0, deux phases de remobilisation de l'uranium et du plomb ont pu être déterminées respectivement à 173±6 Ma et 108±5 Ma. La plus ancienne de ces deux phases est la plus marquée dans les échantillons étudiés, dont les systèmes U-Pb ne montrent pas la mémoire d'une concentration uranifère permienne. La première mobilisation de l'uranium et du plomb s'est faite lors d'une phase de distension à 160–170 Ma, affectant la croûte continentale du Sud du Massif Central. Cette phase a provoqué la circulation de fluides minéralisés et est marquée par une recristallisation des illites des pélites permiennes entre 100 et 200 °C (du fait de l'élévation du gradient géothermique) et par la mise en place d'un volcanisme d'origine mantellique daté à 155±6 Ma. La composition isotopique en plomb d'une galène de l'Autunien du Lodévois, est analogue à celles des feldspaths des granitoïdes du Massif Central français et à celles des galènes des minéralisations stratiformes de Pb-Zn des Causses, ce qui fournit un argument pour faire dériver au moins une partie des métaux en traces dans les pélites autuniennes de l'altération de la croûte continentale hercynienne environnante.

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In the Lodeve basin, the uraniferous mineralization associated with the autunian pelitic layer 0 is usually considered as syngenetic or early diagenetic. U-Pb isotopic data performed on U bearing whole rocks demonstrate occurrence of radon losses, mainly in the ²³⁸U decay series; the ²⁰⁷Pb-²³⁵U geochronometer is particularly suitable to date U-Pb systems disturbed by such radon losses. For the autunian layer 0, two U-Pb mobilization phases have been respectively recognized at 173±6 Ma and 108±5 Ma. The oldest phase is the most clearly expressed in the studied samples, no memory of a permian age could be recognized in the U-Pb systems. The first U-Pb mobilization occurred 170 Ma ago, during a distension phase of the continental crust. This phase induced circulations of mineralized fluids, illite recristallization in the permian pelites at temperatures ranging from 100 to 200 °C and emplacement of a mantellic volcanism recently dated at 155±6 Ma. A galena from the Autunian of the Lodeve basin, the feldspars of the surrounding variscan granitoïds and galenas of mesozoïc stratiform deposits in the Causses, present similar Pb isotopic composition, which is in agreement with the hypothesis that some metals of the autunian pelites originated in the surrounding weathered variscan continental crust.

     

Dissolved organic carbon in pore waters from a hypersaline environment

Pore waters were collected from a sea-marginal, hypersaline pond in the Sinai and analyzed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The pore water DOC values ranged from 121 to 818 mg 1⁻¹ with maxima between 15 and 54 cm deep. These values are some of the highest observed from recent sediments and probably reflect production via abiotic as well as biotic sources.     

“Ghana must Progress,but we are Really Suffering”: Bui Dam,Antipolitics Development,and the Livelihood Implications for Rural People

In late-2013, Bui Dam was commissioned on Ghana’s Black Volta River. The hydroelectric project inundated 444?km², flooding communities, forests, crops, and a national park. State elites promoted the dam through nationalistic discourses while simultaneously framing rural people responsible for accessing its trickle-down economic benefits. Drawing from critical development literature within a political ecology framework, this article examines tensions between discourses underpinning construction of Bui Dam and the lived experiences of rural people. Drawing from data collected in 82 interviews, the dam’s implications for resettlement, food security, mental health, agricultural production, and fishing livelihoods are detailed. I argue interlocking discourses, laws and processes—from eminent domain and compensation metrics to party politics—combined to work as an “antipolitics machine.” Hydroelectric development renders invisible structural processes shaping inequality and creates new injustices. As Bui Power Authority, the corporation managing the dam and surrounding land-uses has a new CEO, the article concludes with several practical suggestions for improving community members’ everyday lives.     

Shear wave velocity and attenuation structure for the shallow crust of the southern Korean peninsula from short period Rayleigh waves

We analyzed the short period Rayleigh waves from the first crustal-scale seismic refraction experiment in the Korean peninsula, KCRUST2002, to determine the shear wave velocity and attenuation structure of the uppermost 1 km of the crust in different tectonic zones of the Korean peninsula and to examine if this can be related to the surface geology of the study area. The experiment was conducted with two large explosive sources along a 300-km long profile in 2002. The seismic traces, recorded on 170 vertical-component, 2-Hz portable seismometers, show distinct Rayleigh waves in the period range between 0.2 s and 1.2 s, which are easily recognizable up to 30–60 km from the sources. The seismic profiles, which traverse three tectonic regions (Gyeonggi massif, Okcheon fold belt and Yeongnam massif), were divided into five subsections based on tectonic boundaries as well as lithology. Group and phase velocities for the five subsections obtained by a continuous wavelet transform method and a slant stack method, respectively, were inverted for the shear wave models. We obtained shear wave velocity models up to a depth of 1.0 km. Overall, the shear wave velocity of the Okcheon fold belt is lower than that of the Gyeonggi and Yeongnam massifs by  0.4 km/s in the shallowmost 0.2 km and by 0.2 km/s at depths below 0.2 km. Attenuation coefficients, determined from the decay of the fundamental mode Rayleigh waves, were used to obtain the shear wave attenuation structures for three subsections (one for each of the three different tectonic regions). We obtained an average value of Q_β^− 1 in the upper 0.5 km for each subsection. Q_β^− 1 for the Okcheon fold belt ( 0.026) is approximately three times larger than Q_β^− 1 for the massif areas ( 0.008). The low shear wave velocity in the Okcheon fold belt is consistent with the high attenuation in this region.