Incidence of polychlorinated biphenyls in Clyde seaweed

PCBs accumulate in seaweeds. This survey of concentrations found in fixed algae around the Firth of Clyde reveals a similar pattern of PCB distribution to that found in mussels.     

40Ar/39Ar geochronology of a high-grade polymetamorphic terrain,northeastern Strangways Range,Central Australia

Minerals from the northeastern Strangways Range have been dated by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar total degassing and incremental heating methods. Four periods of metamorphism are indicated: M1 > 1710 Ma, M2 = 1470 Ma, M3 = 700–1050 Ma, and M4 = 326–353 Ma. The two older events are recognised as distinct granulite facies metamorphic episodes, the third event as a complex reheating of the terrain, and the youngest event is the Alice Springs Orogeny.     

Early organic diagenesis: The significance of progressive subsurface oxidation fronts in pelagic sediments

Porewater and solid phase geochemical data at two contrasting NE Atlantic stations are reported. Station 10552, on the Cape Verde abyssal plain, is a site of slow pelagic accumulation (ca. 0.4 cm kyr^?1). Molecular oxygen is present in the sediment column to at least 2 m, and probably much deeper, labile organic-carbon is almost totally consumed in the upper few centimetres of the sediment. By contrast, at station 10554 on the Madeira abyssal plain, the pelagic sequence has been interrupted by the occasional deposition of organic-rich turbidites. Porewater oxygen and nitrate profiles show that subsurface organic metabolism of the organic-carbon associated with the uppermost turbidite layer is a significant fraction of the overall metabolism in the sediment column. This metabolism occurs at a relatively thin reaction front which progresses deeper into the turbidite with time. This phenomenon exerts a controlling influence on the present nutrient profile and redox succession.In a less extreme form, substrate distributions of this latter type are not uncommon in Atlantic sediments. A model has been developed which is controlled by both oxygen and nitrate data. This model permits a vertical profile of metabolic activity to be derived, and also gives estimates of the reaction rate constants and solid phase mixing rates at these two contrasting stations. About 30% of the total activity at station 10554 is located within the turbidite at the deepening reaction front; this is a non-steady-state condition. In fact, it is found that the integrated metabolic activity at the two stations is not dissimilar (ca. $\text{1–2 × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?13}}\text{moles cm}{}^{\mathrm{?2}}\text{sec}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$). The striking differences in redox profile are therefore primarily attributable to differences in the distribution of metabolic activity within the column.     

Developments in high-resolution solid-state13C NMR spectroscopy of coals

The recent development of “second generation” NMR experiments on coals is discussed in this paper. Such experiments have three aims: (1) To determine the extent to which quantitative aromaticity measurements can be made on coals by cross polarization-magic angle spinning (CP/MAS); (2) To obtain more detailed information on coal structure and reactivity than that given by the simple aromaticity measurements possible at the time; (3) To follow reaction pathways when coal is chemically modified. In this plenary lecture the relevant literature is reviewed, and new experimental work in all three areas outlined above is reported. Experimental evidence is presented which shows that aromaticity measurements on a bituminous coal by cross polarization (CP) or single pulse techniques give identical results. Relaxation data for naphthalene polymers suggest that these structures in coal are seen in CP experiments. Dipolar dephasing experiments suggest that the average size of the coal vitrinite molecule does not increase with increase in coal rank due to aromatic substitution reactions. Various relaxation experiments demonstrate how different carbon types can be distinguished in both¹³C-labelled and unlabelled coals.     

A study of the effect of igneous intrusions on the structure of an Australian high voltage bituminous coal

Samples of heat affected coal taken near two igneous intrusions (dykes) in the Victoria Tunnel Seam of the Newcastle Coalfield have been investigated by chemical analysis, petrography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and solid state¹³C NMR spectroscopy. Visual inspection of the seam near the intrusion showed four distinct zones. These have been called, in order of increasing distance from the dyke, the massive cinder, the banded cinder, heat affected coal and apparently unaffected coal. The samples show an increase in structural change as the distance from the dyke decreases, with the samples taken from the massive cinder nearest the dyke being classified as semicokes.FTIR and¹³C NMR results, together with the results of dipolar dephasing NMR experiments, suggest that the predominant structural change in the heat affected zone is replacement of aromatic ethers and/or phenols with hydrogen, leading to an increase in proton aromaticity. Closer to the intrusion, bond rupture leads to a marked loss of aliphatic groups, while in the most affected region adjacent to the dyke aromatic crosslinking has also occurred to form coke-like material.     

Aquifer Classification for the UIC Program: Prototype Studies in New Mexico

Three case studies from New Mexico illustrate methods by which aquifers can be classified for purposes of the Federal Underground Injection Control program. The principal technique involves preparation of hydrogeologic maps or cross sections which display information on the permeability of rock units and the dissolved solids content of formation fluids. Because deep water wells are lacking in most areas, the analysis normally requires considerable interpretation of geological and geophysical logs collected by energy and mineral companies, plus use of a general model or concept about regional hydrogeology. Injection of waste fluids into aquifers containing water with less than 10,000 mg/1 dissolved solids is not allowed unless an exemption is justified by economic, engineering and other factors. Based on the case studies, regulatory exemptions will be possible for aquifers which are hydrocarbon or mineral-producing, or which are important for brine disposal purposes.     

A tritium-exchange method for obsidian hydration shell measurement

A new radiochemical method for measuring the amount of water in the hydrated layer on the surface of obsidians exchanges tritiated water with the water in the layer (20 μl of 5 Ci ml^?1 at 90°C for 10 days) and then back-exchanges it (in 150 ml of water at 35°C for ～ 200 hr.). The activity of the back-exchange water (F) is monitored by liquid scintillation counting of aliquots extracted at known time intervals (t). The activity so measured is then related to the thickness of the hydration rim. A sheet diffusion model shows that the thickness of the hydration shell (l) is inversely proportional to the slope of the F vs.$\text{t}{}^{\mathrm{<mtext>1</mtext><mtext>2</mtext>}}$ plot. Comparison of l-values so obtained between obsidians, whose age (x) is inferred from archaeological occupation layers containing radiocarbon-dated wood and charcoal, suggests a relationship between l and x. Implications for New Zealand prehistory are briefly considered. The technique, which is non-destructive, appears particularly applicable to young glasses where the development of hydrated layers may be inadequate for accurate optical measurement.     

The nature of olefins and carboxyl groups in an Australian brown coal resin

The chemical structure of the resin from an Australian soft brown coal (Yallourn) has been investigated by cross-polarization nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy with magic angle spinning (¹³C CP MAS NMR). Some additional solution ¹H and ¹³C data were also obtained. Solid-state experiments were performed with and without a delay period before data acquisition. The resulting free induction decays were Fourier transformed with respect to acquisition time and delay period to produce two-dimensional solid-state spectra. Assignments made from the spectra clearly demonstrate that the gross chemical structure of the Yallourn resin is best described as a polymerized diterpenoid with one axial carboxylic group and two double bonds. One double bond is trisubstituted, the other is monosubstituted. After consideration of various mechanisms for polymerization of diterpenoid units during biogenesis and coalification, it was concluded that polymerization occurs at the C₁₅ carbon atoms in the diterpenoids without cyclization of the methylene units at C₈.     

Dynamics of a confined lava flow on Kilauea volcano,Hawaii

This paper presents a new method of analysing lava flow deposits which allows the velocity, discharge rate and rheological properties of channelled moving lavas to be calculated. The theory is applied to a lava flow which was erupted on Kilauea in July 1974. This flow came from a line of fissures on the edge of the caldera and was confined to a pre-existing gully within 50 m of leaving the vent. The lava drained onto the floor of the caldera when the activity stopped, but left wall and floor deposits which showed that the lava banked up as it flowed around each of the bends. Field surveys established the radius of curvature of each bend and the associated lava levels, and these data, together with related field and laboratory measurements, are used to study the rheology of the lava. The results show the flow to have been fast moving but still laminar, with a mean velocity of just over 8 m s^–1; the lava had a low or negligible yield strength and viscosities in the range 85–140 Pa s. An extension of the basic method is considered, and the possibility of supercritical flow discussed.     

A vesicularity index for pyroclastic deposits

The vesicularity of juvenile clasts in pyroclastic deposits gives information on the relative timing of vesiculation and fragmentation, and on the role of magmatic volatiles versus external water in driving explosive eruptions. The vesicularity index and range are defined as the arithmetic mean and total spread of vesicularity values, respectively. Clast densities are measured for the 16–32 mm size fraction by water immersion techniques and converted to vesicularities using measured dense-rock equivalent densities. The techniques used are applied to four case studies involving magmas of widely varying viscosities and discharge rates: Kilauea Iki 1959 (basalt), Eifel tuff rings (basanite), Mayor Island cone-forming deposits (peralkaline rhyolite) and Taupo 1800 B.P. (calc-alkaline rhyolite). Previous theoretical studies suggested that a spectrum of clast vesicularities should be seen, depending on the magma viscosity, eruption rate, and the presence and timing of magma: water interaction. The new data are consistent with these predictions. In magmatic dry eruptions the vesicularity index lies uniformly in the range 70%–80% regardless of magma viscosity. For high viscosities and eruption rates the vesicularity ranges are narrow (< 25%), but broaden to between 30% and 50% as the viscosity and eruption rates are lowered and the volatiles and magma can de-couple. In phreatomagmatic wet eruptions, widely varying clast vesicularities reflect complex variations in the relative timing of vesiculation and water-induced fragmentation. Magma:water interaction at an early stage greatly reduces the vesicularity indices (< 40%) and broadens the ranges (as high as 80%), whereas late-stage interaction has only a minor effect on the index and broadens the range to a limited extent. Clast vesicularity represents a useful third parameter in addition to dispersal and fragmentation to characterise pyroclastic deposits.