Evaluation of lead movement from the abiotic to biotic at a small-arms firing range

An investigation to characterize the extent and speciation of lead contamination in water, soil, and surrounding biota was conducted at a small-arms firing and skeet range in West Point, New York. Specifically, lead concentrations were examined in sediment, soil, water, plants, fish and invertebrates. There is an elevated concentration of lead in the soil and sediment up to 11,000 g/g and 340 g/g and also evidence of bioconcentration of the lead by the surrounding biota. Earthworms had up to 90% higher concentrations of lead while tadpoles showed 20% higher concentrations compared with their controls. Lead uptake by indigenous plants gave varying results. Two species bioconcentrated lead 20 and 55 times greater than the control plants. These differences were significant (P <0.05 level) when tested by the students t test. Further studies show that the total leachable lead was highest in the invertebrates and vertebrates but not in the plants.     

Spectroscopic surveys of cosmic evolution

ALMA will be the premier instrument for the study of galaxy evolution in the early universe—enabling studies of the gas content, dynamics and dynamical masses, and star formation with unparalleled resolution and sensitivity. Galaxy evolution and AGN growth in the early universe are believed to be strongly driven by merging and dynamical interactions. Thus, a full exploration of the environmental influence is absolutely essential. The Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) is specifically designed to probe the correlated coevolution of galaxies, star formation, active galactic nuclei (AGN) and dark matter (DM) large-scale structure (LSS) over the redshift range z>0.5 to 3. In this contribution I review the characteristics of the COSMOS survey and very exciting initial results on mapping large scale structure in galaxies and dark matter. The survey includes multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy from X-ray to radio wavelengths covering a 2 square degree equatorial field. Given the very high sensitivity and resolution of these datasets, COSMOS will provide unprecedented samples of objects at z>3 for followup studies wit ALMA.     

Field measurements of shear strength of an underconsolidated marine clay

This paper presents the observations of cone penetration testing (CPT), in situ vane shear testing and undrained triaxial testing of underconsolidated marine clay in the Craney Island Dredged Material Management Area (CIDMMA), Norfolk, VA. Comparison of vane shear measurements, taken during 1981–1983, to CPT measurements, taken during 1993, indicates a change in undrained shear strength. Both the vane shear and cone penetration resistances are lowest at the mid-heights of the clay layers and the excess pore water pressures are highest at the mid-height of the clay layers, indicating that the clay layer is underconsolidated.     

Regional magma plumbing and emplacement mechanisms of the Faroe‐Shetland Sill Complex: implications for magma transport and petroleum systems within sedimentary basins

The movement of magma through the shallow crust and the impact of subsurface sill complexes on the hydrocarbon systems of prospective sedimentary basins has long been an area of interest and debate. Based on 3D seismic reflection and well data, we present a regional analysis of the emplacement and magmatic plumbing system of the Palaeogene Faroe‐Shetland Sill Complex (FSSC), which is intruded into the Mesozoic and Cenozoic sequences of the Faroe‐Shetland Basin (FSB). Identification of magma flow directions through detailed seismic interpretation of approximately 100 sills indicates that the main magma input zones into the FSB were controlled primarily by the NE–SW basin structure that compartmentalise the FSB into its constituent sub‐basins. An analysis of well data shows that potentially up to 88% of sills in the FSSC are <40 m in thickness, and thus below the vertical resolution limit of seismic data at depths at which most sills occur. This resolution limitation suggests that caution needs to be exercised when interpreting magmatic systems from seismic data alone, as a large amount of intrusive material could potentially be missed. The interaction of the FSSC with the petroleum systems of the FSB is not well understood. Given the close association between the FSSC and potential petroleum migration routes into some of the oil/gas fields (e.g. Tormore), the role the intrusions may have played in compartmentalisation of basin fill needs to be taken fully into account to further unlock the future petroleum potential of the FSB.     

The position and context of Middle Palaeolithic industries from the Ebbsfleet Valley,Kent, UK

The late Middle Pleistocene sites in the Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, UK, have yielded archaeological assemblages critical to understanding the early Middle Palaeolithic of northwestern Europe. Despite a long history of research, the nature and context of these assemblages are still poorly understood. This paper clarifies the stratigraphic, environmental and archaeological records at Ebbsfleet. These reflect a cold–warm–cold sequence of climatic events, preserved within part of the Taplow/Mucking Formation of the Thames (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8/7/6). Levallois artefacts are shown to be restricted to the lower part of the Ebbsfleet Channel sequence (Phases I and II) and are assigned to late MIS 8/early MIS 7. This material is associated with fauna indicative of open environments during both cool and temperate conditions. Handaxe assemblages are recorded from higher up the sequence (Phases III–V), but have been redeposited from higher terrace units nearby. No primary context archaeology is apparent during these later phases of aggradation. This may indicate that humans abandoned the site once available raw material became inaccessible, and may also reflect a decline in human presence in Britain during the latter part of MIS 7. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vertical and lateral organization of a carbonate deep-water slope marginal to a submarine fan system, Miocene, southern Turkey

Organization is recognized in the forereef–deep water slope–submarine fan system of the Burdigalian-Langhian Kaplankaya Formation. A basinwards transition from a prograding shelfal reef complex, through forereef talus, deep-water slope and laterally encroaching bypass deep-water clastic system is described, although the deep-water slope makes up the bulk of the succession. Considerable thickness variations occur between the reef and deep-water clastic complexes; these are controlled by sea-floor topography, carbonate foreslope gradient and degree of mass wasting off the platform and foreslope. The vertical and lateral heterogeneity of the Kaplankaya deep-water slope system is described from a number of localities along a 40-km-long and up to 3-km-wide exposed section of the northern margin of the Miocene Adana Basin, a foreland basin setting resulting from thrust sheet loading from the north during the Tauride Orogeny. Detailed field mapping is supplemented with vertical sedimentary logs, photomosaics, palaeontological and petrological data to investigate stratal variation, diagnostic architectural elements, controls on slope progradation, differential timing of basinward encroachment of the reefal complex and lateral onlap of the deep-water clastic system onto the slope. Three-dimensional models are presented showing the vertical and lateral facies associations in different parts of the deep-water slope system, and provide a basis for architectural prediction of geometry and relative position in such environments.     

Situating local experience of risk: Peripherality, marginality and place identity in the UK foot and mouth disease crisis

Research into exposure to, and experience of, environmental risk that has an explicitly spatial focus can be broadly differentiated into two strands. The first strand focuses on the responses of communities of exposure (or the threat of exposure) to some form of environmental hazard and to the policies put in place by institutional actors to manage the hazard. The second strand addresses social inequalities in exposure to environmental hazards and seeks to correlate uneven spatial distributions of risk across different social groups. It is argued that both strands are limited by their respective understandings of space - and that the way in which vulnerable communities experience environmental risk and its management will be shaped significantly by the complex interactions of different spatialisations or constructions of space. We explore this process by examining accounts of local experience of the UK’s 2001 foot and mouth disease crisis and its management in terms of the interplay of two different spatialisations: socio-cultural marginality and political-economic peripherality. We trace the relationship between these cultural and political-economic spatialisations through an analysis of the discursive mobilisation of contrasting place rhetorics. We conclude that focusing on these rhetorics can enhance our understanding of the spatial processes which are constitutive of place identity and in turn mediate the experience of environmental risk and its management.     

伊犁京希—伊尔曼德金矿床的热液蚀变及成矿流体演化特征

京希－伊尔曼德金矿床的热液蚀变在空间上有明显的分带性，中心蚀变带以强烈的硅化为主，典型的蚀变矿物组合为石英或玉髓和地开石，中间带为高级泥化带，以地开石－高岭石－石英或玉髓为特征；外带为以蒙脱石－高岭石－伊利石－其他粘土矿物等矿物组合为主的泥化带，蚀变强度和矿物组合的分带性是温度、压力和化学梯度的反映，是流体在不断的水或流体－岩石反应和成分交换的产物。该矿床成矿流体演化过程为：早期酸性（pH=2-3)含矿流体在沿断裂上升过程中，受围岩灰岩中的流体（pH为中性）缓冲，在其进入高渗透性的碎屑岩层时，流速和水－岩石或流休－岩石反应大大加快，并在与大气降水的混合作用下，pH值逐步升高（3－5），产生了流体的温度及成分梯度，在温度和压力迅速下降的条件下，金及蚀变矿物沉淀、结晶生长，形成了蚀变空间分带，中心带保存完好的多孔状石英和地开石等高级泥化矿物组合说明该矿床是高硫化热液体系作用下的产物。     

Application of infrared thermography for temperature distributions in fluid-saturated porous media

Infrared thermography has increasingly gained importance because of environmental and technological advancements of this method and is applied in a variety of disciplines related to non-isothermal flow. However, it has not been used so far for quantitative thermal analysis in saturated porous media. This article suggests infrared thermographic approach to obtain the entire surface temperature distribution(s) in water-saturated porous media. For this purpose, infrared thermal analysis is applied with in situ calibration for a better understanding of the heat transfer processes in porous media. Calibration is achieved with a combination of invasive sensors which are inserted into the medium and non-invasive thermal sensors in which sensors are not inserted to measure temperatures but it works through the detection of infrared radiation emitted from the surface. Thermocouples of relatively thin diameter are used to minimize the disturbance for flow. Thermocouples give the temperature values at specified positions inside the porous medium, and these values are compared with the values suggested by the infrared thermographic device at the same positions, in the calibration exercise. The calibration process was repeated for different temperatures and flow rates to get the temperature distributions of the whole material inside the system. This technique enables us to measure accurate two-dimensional temperature distributions, which is not possible by using thermocouples only. Continuous point heat sources at different flow rates and temperatures are studied experimentally. Additionally, it offers numerical simulations of the experiments utilizing a finite element-based model. A two-dimensional density and viscosity-dependent flow and transport model accounting for thermal dispersion is utilized to simulate the experimental results. Possible small heat losses from the surface are incorporated in the model according to the properties and thickness of the Plexiglass material used for the construction of the experiment tank. The numerical results agree well with the experimental observations.     

High‐resolution seismic reflection profiling of neotectonic faults in Lake Timiskaming,Timiskaming Graben,Ontario‐Quebec,Canada

The Timiskaming Graben is a 400 km long, 50 km wide north‐west trending morphotectonic depression within the Canadian Shield of eastern North America and experiences frequent intraplate earthquakes. The graben extends along the border of Ontario and Quebec, connecting southward with the Nipissing and Ottawa‐Bonnechere grabens and the St. Lawrence Rift System which includes a similar structure underlying the Hudson Valley of the eastern USA. Together they form a complex failed rift system related to regional extension of North American crust during the breakup of Rodinia and, later, Pangea. The Timiskaming Graben lies within a belt of heightened seismic activity (Western Quebec Seismic Zone) with frequent moderate magnitude (greater than magnitude 5) earthquakes including a magnitude 6.2 in 1935. These events threaten aging urban infrastructure built on soft glacial sediments; post‐glacial landslides along the Ottawa Valley suggest earthquakes as large as magnitude 7. The inner part of the Timiskaming Graben is filled by Lake Timiskaming, a large 110 km long post‐glacial successor to glacial Lake Barlow that was ponded by the Laurentide Ice Sheet 9500 years ago. The effects of frequent ground shaking on lake floor sediments was assessed by collecting more than 1000 line kilometres of high‐resolution ‘chirp’ seismic profiles. Late glacial Lake Barlow glaciolacustrine and overlying post‐glacial sediments are extensively deformed by extensional faults that define prominent horsts and grabens; multibeam bathymetry data suggest that faults influence the morphology of the modern lake floor, despite high sedimentation rates, and indicate recent neotectonic deformation. The Lake Timiskaming area provides evidence of post‐glacial intracratonic faulting related to recurring earthquake activity along a weak spot within the North American plate.