Anisotropy in the Ironton and Galesville Sandstones Near a Thermal-Energy-Storage Well, St. Paul, Minnesota

The U.S. Geological Survey is studying the potential for storage of heated water in a sandstone aquifer in St. Paul, Minnesota. The efficiency of the aquifer to store thermal energy is related, in part, to the hydrogeologic characteristics of the aquifer. The movement of heat away from the injection well is directly related to the anisotropy. Aquifer tests were conducted to determine the anisotropy near the heated-water injection well. The maximum and minimum values of transmissivity along the principal directions of the hydraulic conductivity tensors of the Ironton and Galesville Sandstones in St. Paul, Minnesota are approximately 1,090 and 480 feet squared per day. The storage coefficient is 4.5 × 10⁻⁵. These values represent the average of four determinations of nonsteady flow to a well in an idealized infinite anisotropic aquifer. Analysis of the values of transmissivity and storage coefficient for hypothetical changes in location of two of the monitoring wells where depth-deviation surveys were not available indicates that computed transmissivities vary less than 5 percent and storage coefficients vary less than ±6 percent.     

High latitude river runoff in a doubled CO2 climate

A global atmospheric model is used to calculate the monthly river flow for nine of the world's major high latitude rivers for the present climate and for a doubled CO₂ climate. The model has a horizontal resolution of 4° × 5°, but the model's runoff from each grid box is quartered and added to the appropriate river drainage basin on a 2° × 2.5° resolution. A routing scheme is used to move runoff from a grid box to its neighboring downstream grid box and ultimately to the mouth of the river. In a model simulation in which atmospheric carbon dioxide is doubled, mean annual precipitation and river flow increase for all of these rivers, increased outflow at the river mouths begins earlier in the spring, and the maximum outflow occurs approximately one month sooner due to an earlier snow melt season. In the doubled CO₂ climate, snow mass decreases for the Yukon and Mackenzie rivers in North America and for rivers in northwestern Asia, but snow mass increases for rivers in northeastern Asia.     

A statistical method to evaluate homogeneity of structural populations

For any specific rock unit in a discontinuous rock mass, the determination of structural domain boundaries is important because geologic and hydrologic properties vary from one domain to another. A domain can be considered as a structural population characterized by a distinct pattern of structure orientations (i.e., fracture, bedding, or foliation orientations).Boundaries are usually determined by comparing samples of structural data, each of which consists of a Schmidt plot that commonly displays at least 150 poles to fractures. When fracture orientations appear dispersed and random on the plots, visual comparisons are not sufficient to determine whether the samples were obtained from the same structural domain. An appropriate x ² test has been adapted to this situation and is capable of evaluating the homogeneity of structural populations. The method uses a contingency table analysis based on the frequencies of fracture poles that occur in corresponding patches on the Schmidt plots being compared.     

Geochemistry of the Sweetwater Wash Pluton,California: Implications for “anomalous” trace element behavior during differentiation of felsic magmas

Field relations, mineralogy and major and trace element data for the very felsic, peraluminous Sweetwater Wash pluton establish a differentiation sequence dominantly controlled by fractional crystallization processes. Elements Ba and Sr show depletion by factors of 50–60X from the earliest granite unit analyzed to the late-stage pegmatites and aplites. The strong Ba depletion is largely due to the partitioning behavior of this element in K-feldspar, while the Sr depletion is due to the combined effects of the two feldspars. The 4-fold increase in Rb during crystallization is also predictable from mineral/ melt partition coefficients.Coefficients for the light rare-earth elements (LREE) in major mineral species predict that these elements should behave incompatibly during crystallization and increase with fractionation. In fact, the LREE abundances decrease by a factor of 10–20X during crystallization. This anomalous behavior is commonly observed in felsic plutonic and volcanic sequences. In the Sweetwater Wash pluton monazite occurs in minute quantities, but it is sufficiently abundant to govern the partitioning of LREE and Th during crystallization. Petrographic observations indicate that monazite was on the liquidus throughout most of the crystallization. Analyses of silicate mineral separates suggest that the monazite contains more than 75% of the LREE in the whole rocks.Fractionation of REE-rich accessories (in particular monazite) from felsic magmas may be the general cause of REE depletion during differentiation of these melts. Monazite can easily be mistaken for zircon and, because it typically contains 50% LREE, extremely minute and easily overlooked quantities of monazite can control LREE abundances.     

Approximation of interfacial properties in multiphase porous medium systems

We investigate the estimation of interfacial areas, curvatures, and common curve lengths in multiphase porous medium systems. Algorithms are developed to obtain estimates of these quantities based upon a variety of potential data sources and estimation approaches. The accuracy of the derived approximations are evaluated as a function of the data type and resolution of the data. The methods advanced improve upon standard approaches now in use and show excellent accuracy at resolutions on the order of five lattice points per minimum radius of curvature of the object being resolved. Finally, we suggest a promising class of extensions that could lead to further improvements in the accuracy of such methods.     

Yearly changes in the seasonal frequency and duration of short-term acid pulses in some Nova Scotia, Canada streams

 The seasonal frequency and duration of low pH events at three sites located in southwestern Nova Scotia were analyzed using measured and synthetic daily pH data. The basins varied in size from 0.3 to 300 km² and were subject to frequent snowmelt events in winter and spring, as well as occasional runoff events during summer and fall. Results showed that, in order to fill in missing data from periods where collection was interrupted, statistical approximations using discharge were not totally acceptable, as generated data consistently missed the extreme values measured. Despite a lack of totally accurate event pH estimates for periods where daily data were missing, analysis showed that in this region, low pH episodes can occur year-round including summer. The highest probabilities of low pH episodes nevertheless occurred in the winter and spring when snowmelts were frequent. Received: 12 November 1999 · Accepted: 18 July 2000     

Sources, distribution and storage of heavy metals in the Río Pilcomayo, Bolivia

The Río Pilcomayo rises on the Cerro Rico de Potosí precious metal-polymetallic tin deposits of Bolivia, and flows in a southeasterly direction for ca. 600 km to Bolivia's southern border with Argentina. Mining of the Potosí deposits has occurred continuously since 1545, generating large quantities of waste materials in the headwater of the basin. In addition, a tailings dam breach at the Porco mine in 1996 released an estimated 235 000 m³ of tailings and fluid into the upper reaches of the Río Pilaya, the largest tributary to the Pilcomayo.Concentrations of As, Sb, Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Ag, Tl and Zn in contemporary channel sediments upstream of the Pilaya confluence are significantly elevated above background values. Elevated levels appear to be associated with pyrite- and other sulphide mineral-bearing tailings materials transported more than 200 km downstream of the Potosí mines. Significant downstream declines in elemental concentrations occur within 15 km, and again between 150 and 200 km, from the mines. The initial decrease in concentrations is due to the rapid dilution of nearly pure tailings effluent released to the river from milling facilities near Potosí. The latter decrease results from a combination of geomorphic processes including the storage of sediment-borne metals within the channel bed and the influx of ‘clean’ sediment from several large tributaries. Downstream of the Pilaya confluence, concentrations of Cu, Pb, Hg and Zn are only slightly elevated above background values, and Ag, Cd, Sb and Tl cannot be distinguished from background levels. These data suggest that while the Porco tailings spill may have had a significant short-term impact on sediment and water quality along the lower reaches of the Río Pilcomayo, its longer-term impacts were limited. Metals stored and eroded from alluvial deposits of historical age in upstream reaches appear to be an important source of metals to the river today. An additional, and perhaps more significant source, is the release of tailings effluent to the river from modern milling operations. The transport of these contaminants downstream of Icla (203 km from Potosí) appears to be restricted by aggradational processes occurring in the vicinity of Puente Sucre. In addition, downstream of the confluence of the Río Pilaya, inputs of large amounts of ‘clean’ sediment have caused dilution of the metal contaminants. Data from other studies where similar geomorphic processes have occurred suggest that the metals in the upper Pilcomayo may eventually be moved downvalley as the aggradational processes are reversed and channel stabilisation occurs. Thus, the most significant impacts of metal contamination may not be realised in downstream areas for decades.