The internal structure of lava flows—insights from AMS measurements II: Hawaiian pahoehoe, toothpaste lava and 'a'

We studied the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) of 22 basaltic flow units, including S-type pahoehoe, P-type pahoehoe, toothpaste lava and 'a' emplaced over different slopes in two Hawaiian islands. Systematic differences occur in several aspects of AMS (mean susceptibility, degree of anisotropy, magnetic fabric and orientation of the principal susceptibilities) among the morphological types that can be related to different modes of lava emplacement. AMS also detects systematic changes in the rate of shear with position in a unit, allowing us to infer local flow direction and some other aspects of the velocity field of each unit. 'A' flows are subject to stronger deformation than pahoehoe, and also their internal parts behave more like a unit. According to AMS, the central part of pahoehoe commonly reveals a different deformation history than the upper and lower extremes, probably resulting from endogenous growth.     

Combining measurements of transpiration and stable isotopes of water to determine groundwater discharge from forests

Discharge of saline groundwater from Eucalyptus forests on a semi-arid floodplain was directly determined by first measuring transpiration rates from the forests, and then partitioning the transpiration flux into groundwater discharge and soil water depletion. This partitioning was achieved by identifying the source of the transpired water with naturally occurring stable isotopes of water. Transpiration rates were low, being about 0.3 mm day⁻¹ from three E. largiflorens sites and up to 2 mm day⁻¹ from an E. camaldulensis site. There was no significant variation in transpiration across seasons, indicating that transpiration was limited by environmental factors other than evaporative demand. Despite its salinity (electrical conductivities of 11–33 dS m⁻¹), the groundwater was used by the forests at all sites and all times, and made up 100% of transpiration in more than half of the measurements, and 40–80% in the remainder. There was some consistency in water uptake patterns. E. camaldulensis tended to take up shallow soil water and groundwater simultaneously, as did trees at one of the E. largiflorens sites. At the driest sampling time, however, groundwater was the only source of water for trees at both of these sites. Trees at the remaining two E. largiflorens sites generally relied solely on the groundwater. The tree water source results indicate that groundwater discharge fluxes were between 40 and 100% of the transpiration fluxes at these sites. These groundwater discharge fluxes were small in terms of regional groundwater balances, but would be important in the salinisation of the soils. Additionally, uptake of water from the soil profile by the trees substantially increased groundwater discharge compared with discharge from the soils had they been bare of vegetation.     

Adcumulus dunite growth in a laboratory thermal gradient

Laboratory experiments near 1450° C at 1 bar (QFM) on komatiite bulk composition show olivine and liquid in cumulus textures which evolve with experiment duration. Orthocumulus texture with settled olivine crystals separated by liquid matrix is developed within a day. Experiments quenched after a few days to a week show a progression of textures which include development of columns of olivine crystals separated by channels of liquid. Olivine grain sizes increase with the cube root of time suggesting that dissolution and reprecipitation of olivine may be involved in the organization into columns and channels. Experiments quenched after two weeks have well developed adcumulus texture. The basal polycrystalline granular olivine aggregate forms from the decay of the olivine columns. Melt expulsion from the aggregate can be virtually complete, leaving 1% or less of the melt originally present.Buoyancy-driven compaction of olivine is not the mechanism responsible for this textural evolution because the final basal aggregate sometimes contains vesicles. An addition proof of the inadequacy of buoyancy is provided by raising the crucible slightly above the thermal symmetry point of the furnace. The aggregate then compacts on top of a crystal-free liquid. The thermal gradients above and below the furnace hot spot are thought to be primarily responsible for the olivine redistributions observed. Diffusion of olivine components in the liquid is driven along a saturation gradient resulting from the temperature gradient. The process, called thermal migration in geological literature, is essentially the same as traveling solvent zone refining in metallurgy. Differential solubility and Soret fractionation both contribute to olivine redistribution to the cold region of the crystal-liquid aggregate. There may be some applications of these results to natural cumulate rock petrogenesis.     

Modelling stream acidification in afforested catchments: Long-term reconstructions at two sites in central Scotland

A conceptual model of the combined effects of afforestation and acidic deposition is applied to two forested sites in central Scotland. Refinements are made to the model inputs specifically to include: increased dry deposition to the forests (in excess of the dry deposition expected for moorland sites) as the forest canopy develops; uptake of ions by the growing forests; and increased evapotranspiration (and thus decreased water yield) as the forests mature. The model is calibrated using a fuzzy optimisation technique which incorporates uncertainty in target variables (stream base cation concentrations and soil exchangeable bases) and uncertainty in selecting values for fixed and adjustable parameters which describe the physico-chemical characteristics of the catchments. Simulated present-day stream and soil chemistry closely match observed values at both sites. The calibrated models indicate that while the patterns of acidification in the two catchments are broadly similar, some differences do exist between the sites in the responses of the soils to acidic deposition and afforestation. It is concluded that the calibrated models provide a tool for: (a) comparison of the relative effects of deposition and afforestation on soil and surface water acidification; (b) assessment of the likely effects of reductions in future deposition combined with future forestry management practices.     

Diffusive crystal dissolution

Crystal dissolution may include three component processes: interface reaction, diffusion and complications due to convection. We report here a theoretical and experimental study of crystal dissolution in silicate melt without convection. A reaction-diffusion equation is developed and numerically solved. The results show that during non-convective crystal dissolution in silicate melt, the interface melt composition reaches a constant or stationary saturation composition in less than a second, hence interface reaction is not the rate-determining step and crystal dissolution in silicate melt is usually diffusion-controlled. Crystal dissolution experiments (designed to suppress convection) show that the concentration profiles of all components propagate into the melt according to the square root of run duration, and that the dissolution distance is also proportional to the square root of run duration. Thus our experiments confirm that the dissolution is diffusion controlled, which is consistent with our numerical calculations. For some principal equilibrium-determining components, concentration profiles conform approximately to the analytical solution of the diffusion equation with a constant effective binary diffusion coefficient. Diffusive dissolution rates (which are inversely proportional to square root of time) can thus be predicted from the phase equilibria and the effective binary diffusion coefficients. To predict steady-state convective dissolution rates, the thickness of the boundary layer must be known. If the convective compositional boundary layer thickness around a dissolving crystal aggregate or near the wall of a magma chamber during convection is about 2 cm or larger, then convective dissolution would rarely result in any significant alteration of original melt. Our dissolution experiments also illustrate the complexity of the diffusion process. Uphill diffusion is common, especially during olivine dissolution into andesitic melt where a majority of the components show the effect of diffusion up their own concentration gradients. Uphill diffusion has implications to the understanding of crystal zoning, and suggests caution is required in applying least squares mass balance analysis to magmatic rocks affected by processes involving diffusion.     

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCURACY OF PARALLAX BAR HEIGHTING BY MEANS OF NUMERICAL SIMULATION

Previous assessments of the accuracy of parallax bar heighting were handicapped by small sample sizes. Numerical simulation was avoided due to the difficulty of obtaining co-ordinates for the conjugate principal points. This problem has been overcome, however, and all required photograph coordinates have been rigorously computed following the generation of fictitious data for ground points and exposure stations. The parallax bar heighting process has additionally been simulated in order to investigate both external factors, such as image errors, tilts and ground relief, and also influences intrinsic in the heighting process, for example estimation of flying height, baselining, control configuration and error surface model.     

THE ROLE OF THE PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SOCIETY: RESULTS OF A QUESTIONNAIRE

M embers of the Photogrammetric Society, both individual and corporate, were sent a questionnaire during December 1985. The content of the questionnaire touched upon many aspects of Society activities and it is intended that the substance of the replies should help to direct the Society in the future. An analysis of these responses was presented to the Thompson Symposium at the University of Birmingham on 19th April. 1986. It is reproduced here, together with a summary of the discussion which ensued on that occasion. Readers are encouraged to add their comments to those which follow. sending them to the Editor of The Photogrammetric Record or to the Honorary Secretary of the Photogrammetric Society.