Dielectric anisotropy as a petrofabric indicator

A sensitive instrument for measurement of the angular dependence of dielectric constant in a rotating rock specimen is described and the precautions necessary to obtain meaningful results are summarized. An important problem is the choice of length/diameter ratio for cylindrical specimens, so that complete three-dimensional information can be obtained from a single specimen; this ratio averages 0.86, but is found to be a function of dielectric constant and of electrode geometry. The measurements reported here have been concerned with weakly anisotropic rocks which lack visible fabrics, especially sandstones and basalts. A sandstone was used in a study of the statistical “noise” or scatter in anisotropy axes of a set of 52 similar specimens. The anisotropy was found to be much greater than expected from the finite numbers of grains in a sample. It is concluded that, in spite of careful drying of specimens, the anisotropy is dominated by thin grain coatings which have very high dielectric constants or may even be conducting. A basalt has been found in which the dielectric and magnetic anisotropies have different axes, apparently reflecting different grain alignment events in the history of the rock. However, this is the only example that has been found in which all of the information obtainable from dielectric anisotropy could not have been obtained more easily from magnetic anisotropy.     

The Proterozoic (1.85 Ga) Älvestorp Conglomerate,Bergslagen, Central Sweden

The Älvestorp conglomerates, deposited in an alluvial fan setting, form part of the Svecofennian orogenic belt in west Bergslagen, south central Sweden and are estimated to be as old as c. 1.85 Ga. Reaching a thickness of one kilometre, their architecture and form suggest an alluvial origin. Along sections, massive conglomerates often grade into pebbly mudstones and greenschist facies slates, while pure slates with dolomite concretions and olistolites occur in dark slatey mudstones on the eastern shore of lake Brunnsjön. Inner fan trenches are filled with massive, clast‐supported conglomerates that contain more than 80 percent epiclastic tuffaceous material. The Älvestorp conglomerate is therefore classified as the product of a Proterozoic stream‐flow channel and debris flow, or alluvial fan. The Grythyttan Basin to the north originated by extension after the first of two orogenic stages of Bergslagen.     

The solubility of calcite and aragonite in seawater of 35%. salinity at 25°C and atmospheric pressure

The solubilities of synthetic, natural and biogenic aragonite and calcite, in natural seawater of 35%. salinity at 25°C and 1 atm pressure, were measured using a closed system technique. Equilibration times ranged up to several months. The apparent solubility constant determined for calcite of 4.39(±0.20) × 10^?7 mol² kg^?2 is in good agreement with other recent solubility measurements and is constant after 5 days equilibration. When we measured aragonite solubility we observed that it decreased with increasing time of equilibration. The value of 6.65(±0.12) × 10^?7 mol² kg^?2, determined for equilibration times in excess of 2 months, is significantly less than that found in other recent measurements, which employed equilibration times of only a few hours to days. No statistically significant difference was found among the synthetic, natural and biogenic material. Solid to solution ratio, contamination of aragonite with up to 10 wt% calcite and recycling of the aragonite made no statistically significant difference in solubility when long equilibration times were used.Measured apparent solubility constants of aragonite and calcite are respectively 22( ± 3)% and 20( ± 2)% less than apparent solubility constants calculated from thermodynamic equilibrium constants and seawater total activity coefficients. These large differences in measured and calculated apparent solubility constants may be the result of the formation of surface layers of lower solubility than the bulk solid.     

Origin of blocky aragonite cement in Cenozoic glaciomarine sediments,McMurdo Sound,Antarctica

Inorganic aragonite occurs in a wide spectrum of depositional environments and its precipitation is controlled by complex physio-chemical factors. This study investigates diagenetic conditions that led to aragonite cement precipitation in Cenozoic glaciomarine deposits of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. A total of 42 sandstones that host intergranular cement were collected from the CIROS-1 core, located proximal to the terminus of Ferrar Glacier. Standard petrography, Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis reveal a prominent aragonite cement phase that occurs as a pore-filling blocky fabric throughout the core. Oxygen isotope compositions (δ¹⁸O = −30·0 to −8·6‰ Vienna Pee-Dee Belemnite) and clumped isotope temperatures (TΔ₄₇ = 13·1 to 31·5°C) determined from the aragonite cements provide precise constraints on isotopic compositions (δ¹⁸O_w) of the parent fluid, which mostly range from −10·8 to −7·2‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water. The fluid δ¹⁸O_w values are consistent with those of pore water, previously identified as cryogenic brine in the nearby AND-2A core. Petrographic and geochemical data suggest that aragonite cement in the CIROS-1 core precipitated from a similar brine. The brine likely formed and infiltrated sediments in flooded glacial valleys along the western margin of McMurdo Sound during the middle Miocene Climatic Transition, and subsequently flowed basinward in the subsurface. Consequently, the brine forms as a longstanding subsurface fluid that has saturated Cenozoic sediments below southern McMurdo Sound since at least the middle Miocene. Aragonite cementation in the CIROS-1 core is interpreted to reflect its proximal position to sites of brine formation and greater likelihood of experiencing brines with sustained high carbonate saturation states and Mg/Ca ratios. This unusual occurrence expands the range of known natural occurrences of aragonite cement. Given the potential for cryogenic brine formation in glaciomarine settings, blocky aragonite, as the end member of the spectrum of aragonite cement morphology, may be more widespread in glaciomarine sediments than currently thought.     

Variations of continental discharge pattern in space and time: implications from the Laptev Sea continental margin, Arctic Siberia

Variations in sediment input and distribution to the Laptev Sea continental margin during the Holocene and Termination I could be identified based on radiocarbon dated magnetic susceptibility logs and sediment thickness in high-resolution seismic profiles. Magnetic susceptibility of surface samples reveals an increased input of magnetic grains to the Laptev Sea deriving from the Anabar and Khatanga river catchments. Exposed magnetite schists and volcanic rocks of the Anabar shield and Putoran Plateau, respectively, function as major source of magnetic material. The distribution of magnetic susceptibility in association with the thickness of the Holocene sediments indicates bottom-current induced sediment transport guided by major submarine valleys on the Laptev Sea shelf. The sites of filled paleoriver channels identified in the seismic profiles suggest that during the Late Weichselian sea-level lowstand river runoff continued through four of the major valleys on the exposed Laptev Sea shelf. The sediments at the top of the lowstand deposits in front of the Anabar-Khatanga valley, represented in the seismic profiles by prograding deltas, are characterized by outstandingly high magnetic susceptibility values. Radiocarbon datings approximate the deposition of these high magnetic sediments between 10 and 13.4 ka. It is suggested that this increased input of magnetic material is related to the deglaciation of the Anabar shield and the Putoran Plateau and thus support their glaciation during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2.     

Satellite kinematics – I. A new method to constrain the halo mass–luminosity relation of central galaxies

Satellite kinematics can be used to probe the masses of dark matter haloes of central galaxies. In order to measure the kinematics with sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, one uses the satellite galaxies of a large number of central galaxies stacked according to similar properties (e.g. luminosity). However, in general, the relation between the luminosity of a central galaxy and the mass of its host halo will have non-zero scatter. Consequently, this stacking results in combining the kinematics of satellite galaxies in haloes of different masses, which complicates the interpretation of the data. In this paper, we present an analytical framework to model satellite kinematics, properly accounting for this scatter and for various selection effects. We show that in the presence of scatter in the halo mass–luminosity relation, the commonly used velocity dispersion of satellite galaxies can not be used to infer a unique halo mass–luminosity relation. In particular, we demonstrate that there is a degeneracy between the mean and the scatter of the halo mass–luminosity relation. We present a new technique that can break this degeneracy, and which involves measuring the velocity dispersions using two different weighting schemes: host weighting (each central galaxy gets the same weight) and satellite weighting (each central galaxy gets a weight proportional to its number of satellites). The ratio between the velocity dispersions obtained using these two weighting schemes is sensitive to the scatter in the halo mass–luminosity relation, and can thus be used to infer a unique relation between light and mass from the kinematics of satellite galaxies.     

海洋溢油鉴别前处理技术比较研究

针对目前海洋溢油样品的吸附色谱柱预分离前处理技术,比较了不同前处理方法得到的溢油样品中烃类化合物、生物标志物、金刚烷类化合物和多环芳烃类化合物的气相色谱／气相色谱质谱指纹图谱。就溢油样品吸附色谱柱预分离技术的优缺点进行了详细总结和讨论,并为溢油来源的快速、准确鉴别提出了建议。     

Underwater inspection/testing/ monitoring of offshore structures

The extraction of offshore oil and gas deposits has resulted in installation of massive steel and concrete platforms in progressively deeper and more hostile waters. Concern for the safety of platform personnel, potential damage to the environment, and the assurance of profitable, unimpeded, extraction of these offshore resources is a concern of host-country governments and the offshore operators.Requirements for underwater inspection of these structures and the techniques and tools to conduct such inspection vary widely from country-to-country. In some instances periodic inspection is required by law; in other instances there is no requirement whatever once the structure has been installed. The instruments to conduct underwater inspections also vary; their effectiveness is sometimes questionable, and the cost of underwater inspection to the operator (which will eventually be borne by the consumer) is high and will get higher as the water depth and complexity of the structure increases.The purpose of this six month study was: 1) to identify and describe all actual or potential underwater inspection requirements (national and international) for fixed concrete and steel structures promulgated by the governments of offshore oil and gas producing countries and by the offshore operators themselves; 2) to identify and assess the state-of-the-art in underwater non-destructive testing/monitoring/inspection of offshore structures; 3) to evaluate the capability of servicing and hardware producers to meet the inspection requirements identified; and 4) to describe and establish priorities for specific tasks for technology development that should be undertaken to satisfy current and future requirements. While this study concentrates on fixed offshore oil and gas structures, the results also reflect the state-of-the-art in underwater inspection/testing for other offshore structures as well, e.g., floating power platforms; offshore terminals and deepwater ports.The data for this study were collected in three stages. First, an intensive literature review was conducted to initially identify those organizations and governments active in projects related to the study goals (the results of this literature survey are presented in Appendix I). Second, telephone interviews were conducted to further identify “Requirements” sources and suppliers/manufacturers of inspection/testing capabilities in the U.S. and Europe. Third, personal interviews were conducted with individuals active in hardware production or inspection services. Personnel and organizations contacted (both by telephone and on a personal basis) are identified in Appendix II (Requirements) and III (Capabilities), respectively. Approximately four months were required to satisfy the data collection phase; the remaining two months were spent analyzing, reducing and synthesizing the data obtained.