Raman spectroscopic study of PbCO3 at high pressures and temperatures

Cerussite (PbCO₃) has been investigated by high-pressure and high-temperature Raman spectroscopy up to pressures of 17.2 GPa and temperatures of 723 K. Two pressure induced phase transitions were observed at about 8.0(2) and 16.0(2) GPa, respectively. The post-aragonite transition (PbCO₃-II) at 8.0(2) GPa is accompanied by softening of the v ₂-out-of-plane mode of the CO ₃ ^2? group and disappearance of the B_1g (v ₄-in-plane band of the CO ₃ ^2? group) mode. Stronger shifts of the carbonate group modes after the phase transition suggest that the new structure is more compressible. The formation of a second high-pressure polymorph begins at about 10 GPa. It is accompanied by the occurrence of three new bands at different pressures and splitting of the v ₁-symmetric C–O stretching mode of the CO ₃ ^2? group. The transitions are reversible on pressure release. A semi-quantitative phase diagram for PbCO₃ as a function of pressure and temperature is proposed.     

Actinian dominated intertidal mudflats: A new case of an extraordinary rare phenomenon from Southern Chile

Generally, estuarine intertidal mudflats constitute important nurseries for fish and foraging grounds for coastal birds by providing a plenitude of mollusks, worms, and crustaceans as prey, which in turn mostly feed on suspended and benthic microalgae, bacteria, and detritus. Despite the high productivity of such habitats, pronounced variability in both salinity and temperature results typically in low diversity. The only sea anemone reported from estuarine mud is the edwardsiid Nematostella vectensis Stephenson, 1935. It occurs widely in the northern hemisphere, and occasionally in extremely high density. Here we document another sea anemone from estuarine mud and muddy sand found in Southern Chile which has similar ecological attributes. Taxonomic confusion has impeded the reporting on this small but prominent member in a macrozoobenthic assemblage, the brooding Anthopleura hermaphroditica (Carlgren, 1899; Anthozoa: Actiniidae). It differs from N. vectensis by the presence of symbiotic algae. Average density under poly- to euhaline conditions in mud and muddy sand at around mid tide level was about 3 actinians per cm². An average abundance of 11,000 m^? 2, a biovolume of 487 cm³ m^? 2, and a biomass of 35.5 g dry organic weight m^? 2 were found in mud and muddy sand in two surveys 20 years apart. The mean fishing area of fully expanded individuals covers 42 ± 25 mm², corresponding to a circular area with a diameter of 7.3 ± 5.7 mm. Preliminary experiments indicate that associated benthos may be relegated to life below surface by the net of tentacles above the sediment. As no predators on A. hermaphroditica could be found on the mudflat, the success of this mixotrophic sea anemone may entail a trophic dead end.     

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.     

On CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> fluid flow and heat transfer behavior in the subsurface,following leakage from a geologic storage reservoir

Geologic storage of CO₂ is expected to produce plumes of large areal extent, and some leakage may occur along fractures, fault zones, or improperly plugged pre-existing wellbores. A review of physical and chemical processes accompanying leakage suggests a potential for self-enhancement. The numerical simulations presented here confirm this expectation, but reveal self-limiting features as well. It seems unlikely that CO₂ leakage could trigger a high-energy run-away discharge, a so-called “pneumatic eruption,” but present understanding is insufficient to rule out this possibility. The most promising avenue for increasing understanding of CO₂ leakage behavior is the study of natural analogues.     

Coal Mining Induced Seismicity in the Ruhr Area, Germany

Over the last 25 years mining-induced seismicity in the Ruhr area has continuously been monitored by the Ruhr-University Bochum. About 1,000 seismic events with local magnitudes between 0.7 ≤ M _L ≤ 3.3 are located every year. For example, 1,336 events were located in 2006. General characteristics of induced seismicity in the entire Ruhr area are spatial and temporal correlation with mining activity and a nearly constant energy release per unit time. This suggests that induced stresses are released rapidly by many small events. The magnitude–frequency distribution follows a Gutenberg–Richter relation which is a result from combining distributions of single longwalls that themselves show large variability. A high b-value of about 2 was found indicating a lack of large magnitude events. Local analyses of single longwalls indicate that various factors such as local geology and mine layout lead to significant differences in seismicity. Stress redistribution acts very locally since differences on a small scale of some hundreds of meters are observed. A regional relation between seismic moment M ₀ and local magnitude M _L was derived. The magnitude–frequency distribution of a single longwall in Hamm was studied in detail and shows a maximum at M _L = 1.4 corresponding to an estimated characteristic source area of about 2,200 m². Sandstone layers in the hanging or foot wall of the active longwall might fail in these characteristic events. Source mechanisms can mostly be explained by shear failure of two different types above and below the longwall. Fault plane solutions of typical events are consistent with steeply dipping fracture planes parallel to the longwall face and nearly vertical dislocation in direction towards the goaf. We also derive an empirical relation for the decay of ground velocity with epicenter distance and compare maximum observed ground velocity to local magnitude. This is of considerable public interest because about 30 events larger than M _L ≥ 1.2 are felt each month by people living in the mining regions. Our relations, for example, indicate that an event in Hamm with a peak ground velocity of 6 mm/s which corresponds to a local magnitude M _L between 1.7 and 2.3 is likely to be felt within about 2.3 km radius from the event.     

Polar organic micropollutants in the coastal environment of different marine systems

Polar anthropogenic organic micropollutants are frequently detected in freshwater and discharged on large scale into marine systems. In this work the results of 153 samples collected from the shorelines of the Baltic Sea (Germany), Northern Adriatic Sea (Italy), Aegean Sea and Dardanelles (Greece & Turkey), San Francisco Bay (USA), Pacific Ocean (USA), Mediterranean Sea (Israel), and Balearic Sea (Spain) are presented. The samples were analyzed for various classes of micropollutants such as pharmaceuticals, corrosion inhibitors, biocides, and stimulants. Caffeine, paraxanthine, theobromine, tolyltriazole, 1H-benzotriazole, and atrazine were detected in >50% of all samples. The detection frequencies of carbamazepine, iopamidol, diuron, sulfamethoxazole, paracetamol, theophylline, and atenolol were between 20% and 32%. As caffeine is linked to untreated wastewater, the widespread occurrence of raw sewage in marine environments and thus potentially elevated nutrient concentrations and risk for the presence of wastewater-related pathogens is remarkable.     

On the circulation in the East Frisian Wadden Sea: numerical modeling and data analysis

 In this paper we use a combination of numerical modeling and data analysis to gain a better understanding of the major characteristics of the circulation in the East Frisian Wadden Sea. In particular, we concentrate on the asymmetry of the tidal wave and its modulation in the coastal area, which results in a complex pattern of responses to the sea-level forcing from the North Sea. The numerical simulations are based on the 3-D primitive equation General Estuarine Transport Model (GETM) with a horizontal resolution of 200 m and terrain-following vertical coordinates. The model is forced at its open boundaries with sea-level data from an operational model for the German Bight (German Hydrographic Office). The validation data for our model simulations include time series of tidal gauge data and surface currents measured at a pile in the back-barrier basin of the Island Langeoog, as well as several ADCP transects in the Accumer Ee tidal inlet. Circulation and turbulence characteristics are investigated for typical situations driven by spring and neap tides, and the analysis is focused on dominating temporal and spatial patterns. By investigating the response of five back-barrier basins with rather different morphologies to external forcing, an attempt is made to elucidate the dominating physical balances controlling the circulation in the individual sub-basins. It is demonstrated that the friction at the seabed tends to slow down the tidal signal in the shallow water. This leads to the establishment of flood dominance in the shallow sea north of the barrier islands. South of the islands, where the water volume of the channels at low tide is smaller than the tidal prism, the asymmetry of the tidal signal is shifted towards ebb dominance, a feature which is particularly pronounced at spring tide. At the northern open boundary, the tidal wave propagating from west to east generates a sea-level difference of ∼1 m along the boundary, and thereby triggers vigorous alongshore currents. The frictional control in the model is located in the inlets, as well as along the northern boundary. The correlation between velocity and turbulent kinetic energy tends to the establishment of a net southward transport, giving theoretical support to the observed accumulation of sediments on the intertidal flats. Weak turbulence along the northern shores of the barrier islands and the small magnitude of the residual currents there promote accumulation of suspended matter in these areas, although wave action will generally counteract this effect. Received: 29 May 2002 / Accepted: 26 September 2002 Responsible Editor: Jean-Marie Beckers Acknowledgements We are indebted to S. Dick for providing the data from the operational model of BSH and to B. Flemming for the useful discussions. The topography data and Fig. 1 have been prepared in cooperation with F. Meyer. Figure 2 has been prepared by G. Brink-Spalink. We also thank for the comments from an anonymous reviewer which helped to improve our paper.     

The Sudbury Structure (Ontario,Canada): a tectonically deformed multi-ring impact basin

The occurrence of shock metamorphic features substantiates an impact origin for the 1.85 Ga old Sudbury Structure, but this has not been universally accepted. Recent improvements in knowledge of large-scale impact processes, combined with new petrographic, geochemical, geophysical (LITHOPROBE) and structural data, allow the Sudbury Structure to be interpreted as a multi-ring impact structure. The structure consists of the following lithologies: Sudbury Breccia —dike breccias occurring up to 80 km from the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC); Footwall rocks and Footwall Breccia — brecciated, shocked crater floor materials, in part thermally metamorphosed by the overlying SIC; Sublayer and Offset Dikes, Main Mass of the SIC and Basal Member of the Onaping Formation (OF) — geochemically heterogeneous coherent impact melt complex ranging from inclusion-rich basal unit through a dominantly inclusion-free to a capping inclusion-rich impact melt rock; Grey Member of OF — melt-rich impact breccia (suevite); Green Member of OF — thin layer of fall back ejecta; Black Member of OF — reworked and redeposited breccia material; Onwatin and Chelmsford Formations — post-impact sediments. Observational and analytical data support an integrated step-by-step impact model for the genesis of these units. Analysis of the present spatial distribution of various impact-related lithologies and shock metamorphic effects result in an estimated original rim-to-rim diameter of the final crater of 200 or even 280 km for the Sudbury Structure, prior to tectonic thrusting and deformation during the Penokean orogeny.     

Crystallographic orientations of high-angle grain boundaries in dynamically recrystallized quartz: First results

The crystallography and geometry of high-angle grain boundaries from dynamically recrystallized quartz have been studied. On the basis of combined electron backscatter diffraction and universal stage measurements, the complete crystallographic orientation of the grain boundaries could be calculated. The u-stage rotation of the grain boundaries to a vertical position reveals that they are never curved but always consist of straight segments. Our results show that these segments preferentially occupy rhombohedral, trapezohedral and bipyramidal orientations, i.e., orientations in a  25–50° girdle to the c-axis. A specific, albeit low, number of segments with special crystallographic orientation, with respect to a neighbouring quartz grain, often shows another special orientation with respect to the other neighbouring grain. Preferred combinations of grain boundary orientations related to both neighbouring grains are (i) low-index rhombohedral and high index trapezohedral, (ii) low-index bipyramidal and low-index trapezohedral or high-index rhombohedral, and (iii) low-index trapezohedral and low or high index trapezohedral. In certain cases, such as at triple junctions, the boundaries occupy specific trapezohedral orientations with a constant angle to the c-axis. This argues for energy isotropy of trapezohedral planes with the same angle to the quartz c-axis. In general, good match coincidence site lattice (CSL) orientations are not preferentially occupied so that most of the studied grain boundaries represent general boundaries. The formation of straight segments in special crystallographic orientations indicates the crystallographic control and implies an energy reduction of certain general boundaries.