The contributions of H.N. Fisk to engineering geology in the Lower Mississippi Valley

Fisk's work provided a three-dimensional pattern of occurrence and composition of sediments in the alluvial valley and deltaic plain of the lower Mississippi River. He also interpreted the processes by which the sediments were deposited and the relevance of tectonism in their history. These data provide site characterizations that are basic for all major categories of engineering. His work has found applications in better methods for control of the river, stabilizing its banks, locating sources of aggregate for concrete, management of groundwater, maintenance of wetlands, and generally for more reliable, timely and economical evaluations in selecting optimum site locations and determining foundation conditions. Since then, work in the Lower Mississippi Valley (LMV) has expanded enormously and continues to be greatly indebted to formative interpretations by Fisk.     

Secondary siderite-oxide-sulphide and carbonate-andalusite assemblages in cordierite granulites from Sri Lanka: post-granulite facies fluid evolution during uplift

We report here that some of the pelitic rocks from the Wanni and Highland Complexes of Sri Lanka reacted with CO₂-rich fluids to produce a wide range of unusual secondary carbonate-silicate-oxide-sulphide assemblages. These enable the depth, temperature and fluid compositions of CO₂ reactions to be calculated more rigorously than is generally possible for the patches of arrested charnockite that have been described from Sri Lanka. Magnesite-andalusite-quartz has partially replaced primary cordierite, and siderite-rutile replaced ilmenite. Paragenetic sequences involving primary pyrrhotite, ilmenite and magnetite and secondary pyrite-siderite-rutile-magnetite-(hematite) demonstrate the control which carbonate equilibria have upon evolving fluid compositions during cooling. Direct evidence for the role of graphite as a source of CO₂ is found in the Highland Complex where primary graphite partially reacted with silicates to form secondary siderite assemblages. It is proposed that following peak metamorphism, continued uplift along a clockwise P-T-t path was accompanied by a series of devolatilization reactions involving breakdown of graphite and the continuous production of secondary CO₂-rich fluids. The limited extent of disseminated secondary carbonate reflects the small amount of graphite inferred to have been present in the source rocks. These rocks demonstrate that CO₂-rich fluids, as found in disseminated fluid inclusions, need not form during peak granulite metamorphism but may be an inevitable consequence of continued uplift along a clockwise P-T-t path. The arrested charnockite which overprinted some of the hornblende-bearing felsic-intermediate composition rocks in Sri Lanka most likely formed by the same process. Received: 4 May 1994 / Accepted: 25 October 1996     

A patch hierarchy approach to modeling surface and subsurface hydrology in complex flood‐plain environments

Geomorphology interacts with surface‐ and ground‐water hydrology across multiple spatial scales. Nonetheless, hydrologic and hydrogeologic models are most commonly implemented at a single spatial scale. Using an existing hydrogeologic computer model, we implemented a simple hierarchical approach to modeling surface‐ and ground‐water hydrology in a complex geomorphic setting. We parameterized the model to simulate ground‐ and surface‐water ?ow patterns through a hierarchical, three‐dimensional, quantitative representation of an anabranched montane alluvial ?ood plain (the Nyack Flood Plain, Middle Fork Flathead River, Montana, USA). Comparison of model results to ?eld data showed that the model provided reasonable representations of spatial patterns of aquifer recharge and discharge, temporal patterns of ?ood‐water storage on the ?ood plain, and rates of ground‐water movement from the main river channel into a large lateral spring channel on the ?ood plain, and water table elevation in the alluvial aquifer. These results suggest that a hierarchical approach to modeling ground‐ and surface‐water hydrology can reproduce realistic patterns of surface‐ and ground‐water ?ux on alluvial ?ood plains, and therefore should provide an excellent ‘quantitative laboratory’ for studying complex interactions between geomorphology and hydrology at and across multiple spatial scales. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Earthquakes and soil liquefaction in flood stories of the ancient Near East

Flood stories in the Hebrew Bible and the Koran appear to be derived from earlier flood stories like those in the Gilgamesh Epic and still earlier in the Atrahasis. All would have their source from floods of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

The Gilgamesh Epic magnifies the catastrophe by having the flood begin with winds, lightning, and a shattering of the earth, or earthquake. Elsewhere in Gilgamesh, an earthquake can be shown to have produced pits and chasms along with gushing of water. It is commonly observed that earthquake shaking causes water to gush from the ground and leaves pits and open fissures. The process is known as soil liquefaction. Earthquake is also a possible explanation for the verse “all the fountains of the great deep (were) broken up” that began the Flood in Genesis. Traditionally, the “great deep” was the ocean bottom. A more recent translation substitutes “burst” for “broken up” in describing the fountains, suggesting that they erupted at the ground surface and were caused by an earthquake with soil liquefaction. Another relation between soil liquefaction and the Flood is found in the Koran where the Flood starts when “water gushed forth from the oven”. Soil liquefaction observed erupting preferentially into houses during an earthquake provides a logical interpretation if the oven is seen as a tiny house. A case can be made that earthquakes with soil liquefaction are embedded in all of these flood stories.     

Going Home: The Migration of Puerto Rican-Born Women from the United States to Puerto Rico*

This paper analyzes the migration of Puerto Rican-born women from the United States to Puerto Rico using longitudinal data. We hypothesize that sojourn length in the United States is a function of both structural (macro-level economic and cultural factors) and behavioral (micro-level life-cycle experiences and personal attributes) variables. We test these hypotheses by estimating a proportional hazards model. The parameter estimates of this model indicate that sojourn length in the United States, and thus the decision to return to Puerto Rico, is a function of wage trends and community characteristics on the mainland plus a number of individual attributes that include education, marriage, and childbirth.