Flory-Huggins' formulation,its validity and implications in retrieval of equilibrium temperature of binary and ternary systems at higher pressures,using liquid silicate data and 1 bar liquidus temperature

For a pure phase at equilibrium with a polycomponent melt, two sets of expressions can be derived; one expressing its activity as a function of enthalpy, entropy, heat capacity and temperature, and the other by coupling a Flory-Huggins' polymerisation model with the van Laar heat of mixing term. Interaction parameters for binary and ternary systems have been computed at 1 bar by equating these two expressions. Assuming the interaction parameter to be independent of temperature, equilibrium temperatures at higher pressures can be calculated by an iterative procedure. Such retrieval calculations were carried out in simple eutectic, volatile-free systems like CaAl₂Si₂O₈-CaMgSi₂O₆, Mg₂SiO₄-TiO₂, MgSiO₃-TiO₂, Mg₂SiO₄-CaMgSi₂O₆, NaAlSi₃O₈-SiO₂ and CaAl₂Si₂O₈-CaMgSi₂O₆-Mg₂SiO₄. The close agreement between the theoretically retrieved and the experimentally determined equilibrium temperatures testifies to the validity of the model at higher pressures. The successful application of the model to simple eutectic, binary and ternary systems involving vastly dissimilar phases without imposing added constraints implies that it can be possibly extended to hitherto unknown systems provided the thermodynamic parameters of the phases involved are known.     

Fluvial process and the establishment of bottomland trees

The effects of river regulation on bottomland tree communities in western North America have generated substantial concern because of the important habitat and aesthetic values of these communities. Consideration of such effects in water management decisions has been hampered by the apparent variability of responses of bottomland tree communities to flow alteration. When the relation between streamflow and tree establishment is placed in a geomorphic context, however, much of that variability is explained, and prediction of changes in the tree community is improved.The relation between streamflow and establishment of bottomland trees is conditioned by the dominant fluvial process or processes acting along a stream. For successful establishment, cottonwoods, poplars, and willows require bare, moist surfaces protected from disturbance. Channel narrowing, channel meandering, and flood deposition promote different spatial and temporal patterns of establishment. During channel narrowing, the site requirements are met on portions of the bed abandoned by the stream, and establishment is associated with a period of low flow lasting one to several years. During channel meandering, the requirements are met on point bars following moderate or higher peak flows. Following flood deposition, the requirements are met on flood deposits ;high above the channel bed. Flood deposition can occur along most streams, but where a channel is constrained by a narrow valley, this process may be the only mechanism that can produce a bare, moist surface high enough to be safe from future disturbance. Because of differences in local bedrock, tributary influence, or geologic history, two nearby reaches of the same stream may be dominated by different fluvial processes and have different spatial and temporal patterns of trees. We illustrate this phenomenon with examples from forests of plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. monilifera) along meandering and constrained reaches of the Missouri River in Montana.     

Hydrothermal plume mapping as a prospecting tool for seafloor sulfide deposits: a case study at the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields in the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Seafloor hydrothermal polymetallic sulfide deposits are a new type of resource, with great potential economic value and good prospect development. This paper discusses turbidity, oxidation–reduction potential, and temperature anomalies of hydrothermal plumes from the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields on the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use the known location of these vent fields and plume data collected in multiple years (2009, 2011, 2013) to demonstrate how real-time plume exploration can be used to locate active vent fields, and thus associated sulfide deposits. Turbidity anomalies can be detected 10 s of km from an active source, but the location precision is no better than a few kilometers because fine-grained particles are quasi-conservative over periods of many days. Temperature and oxidation–reduction potential anomalies provide location precision of a few hundred meters. Temperature anomalies are generally weak and difficult to reliably detect, except by chance encounters of a buoyant plume. Oxidation–reduction potential is highly sensitive (nmol concentrations of reduced hydrothermal chemicals) to discharges of all temperatures and responds immediately to a plume encounter. Real-time surveys using continuous tows of turbidity and oxidation–reduction potential sensors offer the most efficient and precise surface ship exploration presently possible.     

周口店多足类化石

1932—1937年间在周口店中国猿人产地及其他地点采得八十馀件节足动物化石,多破碎,完整者极少。颜色不一,由乳白而棕黄,兼有呈半透明玻璃状者。经初步观察,应属节足动物门,多足纲,倍脚目,马陆科,计一属两种: 一、山马陆(Julus of.terrestris)此种在第一,三,十五地点及山顶洞均有发现。此与现生的山马陆无甚差异,仅肛板及由二肛板所成之肛门沟稍大。二、裴氏小马陆(Julus peii Chia & Liu(sp.nov.)此种於第一,四,十五地点及山顶洞均有发现。由身体及头部形态,身体环节数目(三十个以上),知其与山马陆同属。但其决非幼小山马陆,因其体节数目多於长成之山马陆。但与现生於日本的一种 Nipponoiulus truncatus 近似,惟後者体节数较少,尾端钝圆。关於马陆属化石,据现在所知最早发现於始新统地层中,直到现在仍有生存,变异极小。以上所述二种若非与其他脊椎动物化石共生於周口店地点,则其年代颇难鉴定,因其有以後爬入岩隙死後石化之可能,不过上述之标本不但有共生脊椎动物为证,且有的已埋藏於固结的砾岩中,其属於更新统时期可无疑义。     

Finite element analysis of excavation

The finite element method has often been used to simulate excavation. When the soil is linearly elastic, the results of excavation should be independent of the number of stages in the excavation process, and lack of such independence indicates an incorrect procedure. The simple direct method described in this paper provides the required independence in the case of linearly elastic materials, and hence can be used for multi-stage excavation in non-linear problems without excessive errors. However methods whose errors increase with the number of stages of excavation are quite unsuitable for non-linear problems. Alternative methods of analysis, errors arising from the inability of the elements to model adequately the stress gradients near the toe of the excavation and excavation adjacent to a diaphragm wall are discussed.     

Temporal and tectonic evolution of the granulite-eclogite association from the Bergen Arcs, western Norway

The U-Pb and Sm-Nd dating of deep crustal rocks from the Bergen Arcs system helps resolve enigmatic aspects of the tectonic evolution of the Caledonian Orogen in western Norway and yields insights into the arrested stages of eclogite development within the granulites of the area. The U-Pb dating of zircon from one of the eclogite facies shear zones yields an upper intercept age of 945 ± 5 Ma [all errors two standard deviations (2σ)], which is similar to other zircon ages from the granulite facies protolith. The age is interpreted to represent the time of late Proterozoic (Sveconorwegian) granulite metamorphism. The U-Pb ages of sphene and epidote show that the eclogites formed early in the evolution of the Caledonian Orogen (pre-Scandian phase) at about 460 Ma. An eclogite facies quartz vein yields a Sm-Nd whole rock-garnet isochron of 440 ± 12 Ma that may reflect the onset of cooling immediately after peak eclogite facies conditions, although the Sm-Nd systematics reveal some isotopic disequilibrium within the sample. In tandem with previous ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations from, an adjacent eclogite of 450 Ma for hornblende and 430 Ma for muscovite, these data indicate that < 30 Ma elapsed between formation of the eclogites and the initial stages of cooling and exhumation to at least mid-crustal levels. This corresponds to minimum cooling rates of 14 °C/m.y. The timing relations suggest that the formation and exhumation of these eclogites from the overlying Caledonian Nappe wedge in western Norway are related to an early phase of crustal subduction during or somewhat before the major phase of continent-continent collision.

The short period of time between the formation of the eclogites and the initial stages of exhumation and rapid cooling is consistent with the only partial and localized transformation of the granulite to eclogite. Isolated occurrences of eclogite within the granulite, the formation of eclogite along metasomatic fronts and the formation of hydrous eclogite facies minerals within the “dry” granulite all point to the importance of fluids in the transformation and re-equilibration of the granulite to eclogite. Together, field and isotopic data demonstrate that both the localized and limited access of fluids and the rapid cycling of continental crust through the deepest portions of the orogen to upper crustal levels resulted in the preservation of the arrested stages of eclogite formation and survival of the granulites metastably through eclogite facies conditions.     

Tensor time domain electromagnetic resistivity measurements at Ngatamariki geothermal field, New Zealand

Experimental measurements in the Ngatamariki geothermal field, North Island, New Zealand were made to test the applicability of the time domain electromagnetic method for detailed investigation of the resistivity structure within a geothermal field. Low-frequency square wave signals were transmitted through three grounded bipole current sources sited about 8 km from the measurement lines. Despite high levels of electrical noise, transient electric field vectors could be determined reliably for times between 0.02 and 3.3 s after each step in the source current. Instantaneous apparent resistivity tensors were then calculated. Apparent resistivity pseudosections along the two measurement lines show smooth variations of resistivity from site to site. Over most of the field the images consistently show a three-layer resistivity structure with a conductive middle layer (3–10 Ωm) representing the conductive upper part of the thermal reservoir. A deep-seated region of low resistivity in the northwest of the field may indicate a conductive structure at about 1 km associated with a deeper diorite intrusion. Measurements sited closer than about 100 m to drillholes appear to have been disturbed by metallic casing in the holes. A change in resistivity structure in the east of the field may indicate a major geological or hydrothermal boundary.