Preparation and analysis of coal seam data utilizing paleoenvironment modeling,hazard #7 coal,Eastern Kentucky

Pennsylvanian strata of the Hazard coalfield, Eastern Kentucky, contain fluvial, upper-delta plain facies characterized by thick localized coals, bay-fill shales, levee silt- and sandstones, and channel-fill sands and gravels. Although the deltaic nature of these sediments has long been established, mining and exploration activities in the district require a thorough understanding of small areas within the delta environment. Coal quantity and quality trends in the Hazard #7 seam, the major producer in the area, have been examined in detail.The #7 coal accumulated in a peat swamp restricted laterally by a major fluvial channel. Three types of non-coal parting are recognized. Thin, tabular, fine-grained partings resulted from periods of increased terrigenous influx into the swamp. Lenticular crevasse-splay deposits locally split the coal. Wedge-shaped, fine- to coarse-grained partings, of probable levee origin, are found along the channel margin. Post-swamp deposits consist of thick bay-fill shales, thin shales, silt- and sandstones deposited on floodplains, and channel-fill sandstones and gravels.The modeling technique discussed provides guidance for mine development and regional exploration by prediction of coal seam quantity and quality trends from local geologic features. The thickest #7 coal is split by thin tabular partings and is overlain by thick shale sequences. Coal overlain by silt and sandstone is thinner and unsplit, and typically of higher heat value. Regional seam thinning due to channel scour is recognized. Factors which control the configuration of the coal seam include position within the peat swamp, proximity to the fluvial channel, swamp burial processes, and paleochannel sinuosity.     

Rb-Sr age of lunar igneous rocks 62295 and 14310

We report an age of crystallization for spinel-troctolite (VHA basalt) 62295 of 4.00 ± 0.06 × 10⁹ yr (I = 0.69956 ± 6) and an age of crystallization for KREEP-rich basalt 14310 of [3.94 ± 0.03 × 10⁹yr (I = 0.70041 ± 5). The ages probably date the cooling of shock melts.     

Residual currents in juan de Fuca strait

Abstract

We examine the residual (non‐tidal) flow in Juan de Fuca Strait on the west coast of Canada using current and bottom pressure data collected on cross‐channel sections in the summers of 1975 and 1984. A positive estuarine circulation was evident in both sections but was better defined at the mid‐strait section than at the outer section near the mouth of the strait. Magnitudes of the volume transports in both the upper and lower layers of the channel ranged from ～ 0.25 X 10 m s at the mid‐strait section to ～ 0.15 X 10 m s～ at the outer section. The method of geostrophic levelling (Garrett and Pétrie, 1981; Pétrie et al, 1988) is used to determine the relationship between the daily averaged long‐strait velocity component and the cross‐strait pressure difference. A statistically significant relationship, consistent with a cross‐strait geostrophic balance, is obtained between the time series of shallow currents and shallow bottom pressures at the mid‐strait section. The deep currents and cross‐strait pressure differences were correlated at both sections but, because of the placement of the pressure gauges and/or ageostrophic effects such as bottom friction, were not related through a simple geostrophic balance. Cross‐spectral analysis and the calculation of the current amplitude ratios (square root of the energy ratio between the deep and shallow currents) are used to examine the baroclinicity of the flow as a function of frequency. Results suggest that flow variability in Juan de Fuca Strait is strongly baroclinic and has marked cross‐channel structure throughout the low‐frequency band.     

Topographically moderated soil water seasons impact vegetation dynamics in semiarid mountain catchments: Illustrations from the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed,Idaho, USA

Water stored in soils, in part, controls vegetation productivity and the duration of growing seasons in wildland ecosystems. Soil water is the dynamic product of precipitation, evapotranspiration and soil properties, all of which vary across complex terrain making it challenging to decipher the specific controls that soil water has on growing season dynamics. We assess how soil water use by plants varies across elevations and aspects in the Dry Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho, USA, a mountainous, semiarid catchment that spans low elevation rain to high elevation snow regimes. We compare trends in soil water and soil temperature with corresponding trends in insolation, precipitation and vegetation productivity, and we observe trends in the timing, rate and duration of soil water extraction by plants across ranges in elevation and aspect. The initiation of growth-supporting conditions, indicated by soil warming, occurs 58 days earlier at lower, compared with higher, elevations. However, growth-supporting conditions also end earlier at lower elevations due to the onset of soil water depletion 29 days earlier than at higher elevations. A corresponding shift in peak NDVI timing occurs 61 days earlier at lower elevations. Differences in timing also occur with aspect, with most threshold timings varying by 14–30 days for paired north- and south-facing sites at similar elevations. While net primary productivity nearly doubles at higher elevations, the duration of the warm-wet period of active water use does not vary systematically with elevation. Instead, the greater ecosystem productivity is related to increased soil water storage capacity, which supports faster soil water use and growth rates near the summer solstice and peak insolation. Larger soil water storage does not appear to extend the duration of the growing season, but rather supports higher growing season intensity when wet-warm soil conditions align with high insolation. These observations highlight the influence of soil water storage capacity in dictating ecological function in these semiarid steppe climatic regimes.     

Sediment provenance of the Wilderness barrier dunes,southern Cape coast,South Africa

Trace‐element geochemistry has been used to discern the provenance of sediments derived from geologically distinct sources found in a range of depositional settings. This study investigates whether this approach can also identify provenance signatures in sediments derived from clastic sedimentary rocks of similar origins, within a complex coastal transport environment. The potential local sediment sources of a coastal barrier dune in South Africa were analysed to assess their relationships with the barrier and whether these have varied with time. Results indicate that the oldest part of the barrier, partly formed during MIS 6 when sea levels were lower than at present, has a closer affinity to fluvial sediment provided by local rivers than either younger samples from the barrier′s seaward flank or the Holocene dunes atop its crest, both formed during sea‐level highstands. Constraints on the timing of barrier formation provided by OSL dating proved helpful in discriminating between provenance and weathering signals. Terra Nova, 00, 000–000, 2010     

Meteorite 3‐D synchrotron microtomography: Methods and applications

Abstract— Methods of synchrotron X‐ray computed microtomography (XRCMT) are described, which allow nondestructive, high spatial and contrast resolution imaging of the density structures of meteorites and their components in three dimensions. Images of bulk chondrites (to one cubic centimeter in size) reveal compound chondrules, chondrule/matrix volumetric ratios, metal and sulfide distribution, petrofabrics, and 3‐D chondrule and calcium‐aluminum inclusion (CAI) sizes and shapes. Images of separated chondrules and CAIs reveal void spaces, mineral intergrowth textures, and the true locations of crystal rims and cores, at resolutions to <8 cubic micron/volume element. Images of achondrites reveal mineral fabrics and crystal zoning. Lunar glass spherules can be searched for phenocrysts bearing deeply sourced melt inclusions. A companion DVD and URL contain images for classroom and research use. Numerical techniques for quantification of X‐ray computed microtomography (XRCMT) data and its potential applications are discussed. Three‐dimensional X‐ray images of meteorites provide a way to discover components of interest and to precisely slice samples to expose these components with minimal damage and loss of material. Three‐dimensional studies of petrographic features (size, shape, texture, and modal abundance) of chondrites and their components, as well as other meteorites, have definite advantages over standard 2‐D studies using randomly sliced thin sections.