Crack Initiation and Crack Propagation in Heterogeneous Sulfate-Rich Clay Rocks

Brittle fracture processes were hypothesized by several researches to cause a damage zone around an underground excavation in sulfate-rich clay rock when the stress exceeds the crack initiation threshold, and may promote swelling by crystal growth in newly formed fractures. In this study, laboratory experiments such as unconfined and confined compression tests with acoustic emission monitoring, and microstructural and mineralogical analyses are used to explain brittle fracture processes in sulfate-rich clay rock from the Gipskeuper formation in Switzerland. This rock type typically shows a heterogeneous rock fabric consisting of distinct clayey layers and stiff heterogeneities such as anhydrite layers, veins or nodules. The study showed that at low deviatoric stress, the failure behavior is dominated by the strength of the clayey matrix where microcracks are initiated. With increasing deviatoric stress or strain, growing microcracks eventually are arrested at anhydrite veins, and cracks develop either aligned with the interface between clayey layers and anhydrite veins, or penetrate anhydrite veins. These cracks often link micro-fractured regions in the specimen. This study also suggest that fracture localization in sulfate-rich clay rocks, which typically show a heterogeneous rock fabric, does not take place in the pre-peak range and renders unstable crack propagation less likely. Sulfate-rich clay rocks typically contain anhydrite veins at various scales. At the scale of a tunnel, anhydrite layers or veins may arrest growing fractures and prevent the disintegration of the rock mass. The rock mass may be damaged when the threshold stress for microcrack initiation is exceeded, thus promoting swelling by crystal growth in extension fractures, but the self-supporting capacity of the rock mass may be maintained rendering the possibility for rapidly propagating instability less likely.     

Nd-, Sr-, O-isotopic and chemical evidence for a two-stage contamination history of mantle magma in the Central-Alpine Bergell intrusion

Two different contamination processes have been identified as having been operative in the genesis of a plutonic suite: initial contamination of a mantle source, and subsequent crustal contamination of uprising partial melts from the mantle. These processes are indicated by a detailed analyses of Nd, Sr, and oxygen isotopes together with major-and trace-elements of the 32–30 Ma calc-alkaline Bergell intrusion. This intrusion is located at the suture of the Alpine continental collision zone and contains rock types capable of discriminating between mantle and intracrustal processes. A range from basaltic-andesitic dykes in the surrounding country rocks, cumulitic hornblendites, gabbros, tonalite, granodiorite and lamprophyres, to pegmatites and aplites, is exposed in this single intrusion. The results of REE modelling and isotopic compositions of the basic members suggest that the cumulates were fractionated from a picrobasaltic liquid originating by partial melting of enriched subcontinental mantle (_Nd=+4). Increases in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7055) and ¹⁸O(+6.7) in these samples relative to the mantle array and compositions of other Periadriatic intrusions are most likely the result of an initial contamination of the mantle source by dehydration or partial melting of altered subducted oceanic crust. Slight differentiation of such a picrobasaltic liquid produced the basaltic-andesitic dykes. Simultaneous fractional crystallization and contamination of the uprising magma by continental crust produced crustal isotopic signatures which increase with acidity to values of (_Nd=-7.6), ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.716 and ¹⁸O=+10. The crustal imprint and LREE enrichment in the dominating tonalite increase with decreasing crystallization depth which indicates that the tonalites were emplaced in several distinct batches with different degrees of contamination. Shoshonitic lamprophyres, which intruded into the partly solidified granodiorite, were generated in a deep, strongly contaminated mantle source. The posttectonic 26 Ma Novate leucogranite is not cogenetic with the main Bergell body, but rather formed from a predominantly crustal source. If the described features are indeed due to mantle source contamination processes, which are well known for volcanic arcs, it must be concluded that these may also play a significant role in the genesis of calcalkaline plutonic suites.     

Evolution of anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions of air pollutants at global and regional scales during the 1980�C2010 period

Several different inventories of global and regional anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions are assessed for the 1980?C2010 period. The species considered in this study are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and black carbon. The inventories considered include the ACCMIP historical emissions developed in support of the simulations for the IPCC AR5 assessment. Emissions for 2005 and 2010 from the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) are also included. Large discrepancies between the global and regional emissions are identified, which shows that there is still no consensus on the best estimates for surface emissions of atmospheric compounds. At the global scale, anthropogenic emissions of CO, NO_x and SO₂ show the best agreement for most years, although agreement does not necessarily mean that uncertainty is low. The agreement is low for BC emissions, particularly in the period prior to 2000. The best consensus is for NO_x emissions for all periods and all regions, except for China, where emissions in 1980 and 1990 need to be better defined. Emissions of CO need better quantification in the USA and India for all periods; in Central Europe, the evolution of emissions during the past two decades needs to be better determined. The agreement between the different SO₂ emissions datasets is rather good for the USA, but better quantification is needed elsewhere, particularly for Central Europe, India and China. The comparisons performed in this study show that the use of RCP8.5 for the extension of the ACCMIP inventory beyond 2000 is reasonable, until more global or regional estimates become available. Concerning biomass burning emissions, most inventories agree within 50?C80%, depending on the year and season. The large differences between biomass burning inventories are due to differences in the estimates of burned areas from the different available products, as well as in the amount of biomass burned.     

First seismic imaging results of tectonically complex structures at shallow depths beneath the northwest Canterbury Plains,New Zealand

Seismogenic structures underlie many regions of the vast Canterbury Plains on the South Island of New Zealand. Most of these structures are hidden beneath a layer of rapidly deposited Late Pleistocene sediments, the youth and thickness of which make the general application of conventional paleoseismological studies impractical. In an attempt to improve our understanding of potentially active structures in this region, we have acquired, processed and interpreted shallow seismic reflection data across the northwest Canterbury Plains. To separate the useful reflected signals from unusually high amplitude ambient and source-generated noise, we subjected the data to a specially tailored processing scheme that included time- and space-variant spectral balancing, custom static corrections and mutes, F-X deconvolution, DMO corrections and finite-difference migration. The final stacked and migrated seismic sections supply high-resolution images of the basement and overlying layered Cretaceous- to Quaternary-age supracrustal rocks that have been complexly faulted and folded. At one location, the uppermost Late Pleistocene layers appear to have been gently buckled.     

Distribution and fluxes of metals in the St. Lawrence River from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Québec City

Six anchor stations in the St. Lawrence River from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Quebec City, were occupied for ca. 24 hours in June 1987 during low flow conditions. Samples of water and suspended particulate matter were separated by continuous-flow centrifugation, and were collected every two hours.During this sampling period, fluxes of dissolved forms of zinc, copper and nickel increased in Lac St. François and downstream relative to the sum of the fluxes for the two upstream stations at the outflow of Lake Ontario. Increases in the flux of dissolved zinc and copper were pronounced below Montreal and above Lac St. Pierre. For particulate forms of metals, all five metals show that there are significant inputs in the section of the St. Lawrence River between Lac St. François and the station just above the entrance to Lac St. Pierre.The average concentrations of dissolved cadmium, lead, zinc, copper and nickel ranged from 7–23 ng/l; 9–35 ng/l; 0.434–0.939 g/l; 0.15–0.89 g/l and 0.58–1.12 g/l respectively.Regression analysis of the dissolved and particulate metal concentrations suggests that the concentration of dissolved cadmium, lead, zinc and nickel can be predicted from the regression equation and the determination of particulate metal concentration. This prediction appears to be independent of the suspended particulate matter concentration which varies from ca. 1 to 10 mg/l from the outflow of Lake Ontario to Québec City.     

Dissolved oxygen as an indicator of bioavailable dissolved organic carbon in groundwater

Concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) plotted vs. dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in groundwater samples taken from a coastal plain aquifer of South Carolina (SC) showed a statistically significant hyperbolic relationship. In contrast, DO-DOC plots of groundwater samples taken from the eastern San Joaquin Valley of California (CA) showed a random scatter. It was hypothesized that differences in the bioavailability of naturally occurring DOC might contribute to these observations. This hypothesis was examined by comparing nine different biochemical indicators of DOC bioavailability in groundwater sampled from these two systems. Concentrations of DOC, total hydrolysable neutral sugars (THNS), total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA), mole% glycine of THAA, initial bacterial cell counts, bacterial growth rates, and carbon dioxide production/consumption were greater in SC samples relative to CA samples. In contrast, the mole% glucose of THNS and the aromaticity (SUVA(254)) of DOC was greater in CA samples. Each of these indicator parameters were observed to change with depth in the SC system in a manner consistent with active biodegradation. These results are uniformly consistent with the hypothesis that the bioavailability of DOC is greater in SC relative to CA groundwater samples. This, in turn, suggests that the presence/absence of a hyperbolic DO-DOC relationship may be a qualitative indicator of relative DOC bioavailability in groundwater systems.     

The isotopic composition and concentration of Ag in iron meteorites and the origin of exotic silver

The isotopic composition of Ag and the concentration of Ag and Pd have been determined in Canyon Diablo (IA), Grant (IIIB), Hoba, Santa Clara, Tlacotepec and Warburton Range (IVB), Piñon and Deep Springs (anom.). Troilite from Grant and Santa Clara have also been analyzed. All of these meteorites, with the exception of Canyon Diablo, give ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ in the metal phase that is greater than the terrestrial value with the enrichments of ¹⁰⁷Ag ranging from ~2% to 212%. These data show that Ag of anomalous isotopic composition is common to all IVB and anomalous meteorites. The results on Grant suggest that the anomalies may be widespread including more common meteorite groups. There is a general correlation of ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ with $\text{Pd}\text{Ag}$ except for the data from FeS of Santa Clara. It is concluded that the excess ¹⁰⁷Ag is the result of decay of ¹⁰⁷Pd, a nuclide that is extinct at present with an abundance of ${}^{107}\text{Pd}{}^{108}\text{Pd}$ of about 3 × 10^?5. The troilite in Grant exhibits normal ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ to within errors, a high Ag concentration and a low ratio of ${}^{108}\text{Pd}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ ~0.17. Grant metal has ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ that is ~2% greater than normal and a high ratio of ${}^{108}\text{Pd}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ ~ 10³. The data from Grant appear to represent a ¹⁰⁷Pd-¹⁰⁷Ag isochron and indicate that the cooling rate at elevated temperatures was sufficiently rapid to preserve substantial isotopic differences between metal and troilite. Troilite in Santa Clara was found to contain Ag with a very high ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ ratio (108% above normal), an Ag concentration only a factor of three above the metal and a high value of ${}^{108}\text{Pd}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ ~1.3 × 10⁴. The troilite has a higher ${}^{107}\text{Ag}{}^{109}\text{Ag}$ than the metal. These data are not compatible with a simple model of in situ decay and subsequent local Ag redistribution between metal and troilite during cooling. These data suggest that Ag in Santa Clara and possibly other IVB meteorites is made up of almost pure ¹⁰⁷Ag produced from ¹⁰⁷Pd decay and ¹⁰⁹Ag produced by nuclear reactions with only a small amount of “normal” Ag. This indicates an intense energetic particle bombardment history in the early solar system (~10²⁰ p/m²) which occurred after the formation of small planetary bodies. We infer that a T-Tauri activity by the early sun contributed to some late stage “nucleosynthesis” and the heating of a dust cloud. In addition, implications on the early thermal evolution of iron meteorites are presented based on ¹⁰⁷Pd decay and models of the cooling history.