Confined fluids and their role in pressure solution

The process of pressure solution is defined as the dissolution of materials under high stress at grain-to-grain contacts and precipitation at interfaces under low stress. The kinetics of this process are still poorly understood mainly because of the large timescales involved. In this research, the Surface Forces Apparatus (SFA) technique was coupled with an optical interference technique for in situ visualization of the nanoscale deformations and thickness changes. The SFA was used to measure the forces (or pressures) and distances between two solid surfaces pressed together with a thin film between them. Using the SFA, combined with geological observations, we are studying the short-range colloidal forces between surfaces of mica and silica at the nanoscale such as van der Waals, electrostatic, and hydration forces.

This study involves two cases, the symmetric case of mica in contact with mica and the asymmetric case of a quartz surface in contact with mica. Our results reveal highly subtle effects depending on the nature and concentration of the counterions present in the solution either of Na⁺, Ca²⁺, or mixtures of these ions, as well as on the pH. For the symmetric case, the equilibrium interactions of force F or pressure P versus fluid film thickness T have been measured between the mica surfaces across aqueous films in the thickness range from T = 25 Å down to contact separations around T = 0 Å, and depend on the solution conditions and applied lithostatic pressure. Measurements have also been made of the rates of diffusion of ions through such ultra-thin films and on the precipitation and growth of ionic crystallite layers on the surfaces. Our results show that the diffusion coefficient of hydrated sodium is two orders of magnitude lower than the diffusion of water into mica–mica cleavage and a factor of 40 lower than the coefficient of sodium ions in bulk water.

For the asymmetric case, the dissolution of the quartz surface was observed to be dependent on the interfacial fluid composition and pH, the externally applied ‘lithostatic’ pressure, and the type of crystalline structure exposed to the mica surface. Our experiments also show that there is an initial stage after fresh solution is added in which the spacing between the surfaces increases, however, the thickness started decreasing steadily after approximately 4 h of exposure independently of the crystallinity of the quartz surface. For a particular set of conditions, the process eventually slows down and reaches equilibrium after some time, but a further increase in pressure restarts the dissolution process. This is also true for the addition of fresh interfacial solution during the experiment after a period of thickness fluctuation. These results are consistent with the observation that pressure solution of quartz is greatly enhanced with the presence of mica.     

Non‐Matrix‐Matched Calibration for the Multi‐Element Analysis of Geological and Environmental Samples Using 200 nm Femtosecond LA‐ICP‐MS: A Comparison with Nanosecond Lasers

LA‐ICP‐MS is one of the most promising techniques for in situ analysis of geological and environmental samples. However, there are some limitations with respect to measurement accuracy, in particular for volatile and siderophile/chalcophile elements, when using non‐matrix‐matched calibration. We therefore investigated matrix‐related effects with a new 200 nm femtosecond (fs) laser ablation system (NWRFemto200) using reference materials with different matrices and spot sizes from 10 to 55 μm. We also performed similar experiments with two nanosecond (ns) lasers, a 193 nm excimer (ESI NWR 193) and a 213 nm Nd:YAG (NWR UP‐213) laser. The ion intensity of the 200 nm fs laser ablation was much lower than that of the 213 nm Nd:YAG laser, because the ablation rate was a factor of about 30 lower. Our experiments did not show significant matrix dependency with the 200 nm fs laser. Therefore, a non‐matrix‐matched calibration for the multi‐element analysis of quite different matrices could be performed. This is demonstrated with analytical results from twenty‐two international synthetic silicate glass, geological glass, mineral, phosphate and carbonate reference materials. Calibration was performed with the certified NIST SRM 610 glass, exclusively. Within overall analytical uncertainties, the 200 nm fs LA‐ICP‐MS data agreed with available reference values.     

Hazard analysis of seismic submarine slope instability

To assess the risk associated with a submarine landslide, one must estimate the probability of slope failure and its consequences. This paper proposes a procedure to estimate the probability of earthquake-induced submarine slope failure (hazard) based on probabilistic seismic hazard analyses, ground response analyses and advanced laboratory tests. The outcomes from these analyses are treated in a probabilistic framework, with analytical simulations using mathematical techniques such as the first-order reliability method, Monte Carlo simulation and Bayesian updating. Fragility curves of slope failure during the earthquake (co-seismic) and after the earthquake (post-seismic) were developed in this study, and were shown to provide a clear and well-organized procedure to estimate the annual failure probability of a submarine slope under earthquake loading.     

A new matrix for multiphase couplings in a membrane porous medium

The empirical Darcy's law of water transport in porous media, Fick's law of chemical diffusion, and Fourier's law of thermal transport have been widely used in geophysics/geochemistry for over 150 years. However, the strong couplings between water, temperature, and chemicals in a membrane porous medium have made these laws inapplicable and present a significant hurdle to the understanding of multiphase flow in such a material. Extensive experiments over the past century have observed chemical osmosis and thermal osmosis, but a model for understanding their underlying physicochemical basis has remained unavailable, because of the highly cross‐disciplinary and multiscale‐multiphase nature of the coupling. Based on the fundamental principles of nonequilibrium thermodynamics and mixture coupling theory, a rigorously theoretical and mathematical framework is proposed and a general model accounting for all of the coupled influences is developed. This leads to a simple and robust mathematical matrix for studying multiphase couplings in a membrane porous medium when all chemical components are electrically neutral.     

Sensitivity of thermal parameters affecting cold-region ground-temperature predictions

This study formulates a heat-flux upper boundary to model ground temperatures in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. This model considers the impacts of the environmental conditions, e.g., air temperature, ground-surface albedo, wind speed, and solar radiation on the ground-surface heat flux and on subsequent subsurface temperature profiles. It speculates that in arid regions, neglecting the evaporation-induced heat flux does not compromise the ground-temperature predictions notably. The predicted results are validated by the observed temperature profiles at a test station on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. A temperature-controlled upper boundary model is also utilized to simulate the ground-temperature profile and is compared to the same field-observed temperature profiles. A sensitivity study is conducted to characterize the influence of local weather conditions on the ground-temperature development. Conditions considered include mean annual air temperature, seasonal air temperature amplitude, daily air temperature variation, mean annual wind speed, seasonal wind-speed variation, and daily wind-speed fluctuation. The sensitivity study also considers effects of variations the ground-surface albedo on the ground-temperature development and on the ground thermal re-equilibrium. It finally presents the implication of this re-equilibrium on the specified initial ground-temperature profile.     

Reduction of slope stability uncertainty based on hydraulic measurement via inverse analysis

The determination of slope stability for existing slopes is challenging, partly due to the spatial variability of soils. Reliability-based design can incorporate uncertainties and yield probabilities of slope failure. Field measurements can be utilised to constrain probabilistic analyses, thereby reducing uncertainties and generally reducing the calculated probabilities of failure. A method to utilise pore pressure measurements, to first reduce the spatial uncertainty of hydraulic conductivity, by using inverse analysis linked to the Ensemble Kalman Filter, is presented. Subsequently, the hydraulic conductivity has been utilised to constrain uncertainty in strength parameters, usually leading to an increase in the calculated slope reliability.     

Evaluation of210Pb dating in lake sediments using stable Pb,Ambrosia pollen,and137Cs

We used sediment chronology data from fourteen published studies of lake cores across much of North America and Scandinavia in order to make a large scale comparison of the different dating techniques. The uncertainty of²¹⁰Pb derived dates was determined using common sediment event markers: the stable Pb rise, the¹³⁷Cs rise, and theAmbrosia pollen rise. For all data combined, the 95% confidence intervals for the stable Pb rise and theAmbrosia rise, were approximately 30 years. These 95% confidence intervals are slightly higher than those derived by First-Order Error analysis performed by others on²¹⁰Pb derived dates. When comparing the concordance of two²¹⁰Pb models (CRS and CIC) against markers of known history, we found that the CRS model dates (constant rate of supply) had consistently better agreement than the CIC model dates (constant initial concentration). Major discrepancies between¹³⁷Cs and²¹⁰Pb were common, but were consistently more severe in sediments of soft water lakes pointing to an inability of sediments with low mineral content to immobilize Cs.This is the ninth of a series of papers to be published by this journal following the 20 ^th anniversary of the first application of²¹⁰Pb dating of lake sediments, Dr. P. G. Appleby is guest editing this series.