An experimental marine ecosystem response to crude oil and Corexit 9527: Part 2—Biological effects

Three experimental ecosystems were employed to test the effect of Corexit 9527, with and without Prudhoe Bay crude oil, on the ecology of a temperate pelagic ecosystem. The results indicated that Corexit 9527 alone enhanced biological productivity without changing the structure of the ecosystem. The mixture of Corexit and crude oil caused a major change in the ecology of the ecosystem which resulted in large numbers of bacteria and zooflagellates, but a depression of all other zooplankton phyla.     

A comparison of four methods for integrating14C-primary productivity measurements per unit area

Four methods were compared for the integration of¹⁴C-primary productivity per m²; (1) thein situ method at 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 and 12.5 m (standard depths 1); (2) thein situ method at 0, 5, 10 and 12.5 m (standard depths 2); (3) thein situ method at 2.5, 7.5 and 11.5 m for each sample pumped over depth intervals 0 to 5 m, 5 to 10 m, and 10 to 12.5 m, respectively (integrated depths); and (4) the simulatedin situ method for samples collected from light standard depths. The method which appeared to give the most reliable results was that (3) in which samples were averaged by pumping water over the euphotic depth followed by incubation of integrated samples at the middle of each depth interval.     

Argon and halogen geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids in the Loch Ainort granite,Isle of Skye,Scotland

Highly turbid alkali feldspars from the Loch Ainort granite (59 Ma), Isle of Skye, have been analysed using the ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar method to obtain chronological and chemical (K, Cl, Br, I) information concerning their origin and hydrothermal alteration. Three methods of gas extraction have been applied to neutron-irradiated samples: laser probe spot fusion of feldspars, in vacuo crushing of a feldspar/quartz separate, and laser stepped heating of the crushed residue. Apparent ages obtained by laser probe spot fusion are mostly similar to the 59 Ma intrusion age. Analyses of relatively pristine regions give some high apparent ages (>59 Ma) indicating the presence of small amounts of ⁴⁰Ar_E (excess ⁴⁰Ar). Crushing releases significant amounts of ⁴⁰Ar_E, but is dominated by an ⁴⁰Ar_A (atmospheric ⁴⁰Ar) component. ⁸⁴Kr/³⁶Ar values obtained by crushing are higher than air and are consistent with air equilibration with fresh water at low temperature 20°C). Therefore, ⁴⁰Ar_A was most probably introduced as palaeoatmospheric argon dissolved in the circulating hydrothermal fluids that interacted with the granite, thus supporting a meteoric origin for the fluids. Stepped heating gives a flat age spectrum and an age of 56±4 Ma. Crushing and stepped heating both released significant amounts of halogens with high Br/Cl and I/Cl ratios; excess Xe is also present as indicated by the high ¹³²Xe/³⁶Ar values. It seems likely that the halogen (and possibly Xe) enrichments resulted from interaction of the meteoric fluids with Jurassic sedimentary country rocks.     

Development of microporosity,diffusion channels and deuteric coarsening in perthitic alkali feldspars

Turbidity is an almost universal feature of alkali feldspars in plutonic rocks and has been investigated by us in alkali feldspars from the Klokken syenite using SEM and TEM. It is caused by the presence of myriads of tubular micro-inclusions, either fluid-filled micropores or sites of previous fluid inclusions, and is associated with coarsening of microperthite and development of sub-grains. Micropores are abundant in coarsened areas, in which porosities may reach 4.5%, but are almost absent from uncoarsened, pristine braind-microperthite areas. The coarsening is patchy, and involves a scale increase of up to 10³ without change in the composition of the phases, low albite and low microcline, or in the bulk composition of the crystal. It occurs abruptly along an irregular front within individual crystals, which retain their original shapes. The coherent braid microperthite gives way across the front to an irregular semi-coherent film perthite over a few m and then to a highly coarsened irregular patch perthite containing numerous small sub-grains on scales of a few hundred nm, in both phases. The coarsening and micropore formation occured at a T400°–450° C and it is inferred to have been driven by the release of coherent strain energy, low-angle grain-boundary migration being favoured by a fluid. The patchy nature of the coarsening and the absence of a relationship with initial grain boundaries suggest that the fluid was of local origin, possibly arising in part through exsolution of water from the feldspar. The sub-grain texture and microporosity modify profoundly the permeability of the rock, and greatly enhance the subsequent reactivity of the feldspars.     

Feldspar microtextures and multistage thermal history of syenites from the Coldwell Complex,Ontario

Optical and TEM (transmission electron microscopy) observations of perthites from augite syenites in the Coldwell Complex (Ontario) reveal a complex set of microtextures that outline a multistage thermal history. Regular microtextures (linear or braid texture, straincontrolled, coherent intergrowths) show a progressive evolution from the margin of the intrusion inwards with lamellar spacings in the range 40–100 nm. The textures evolve in a manner similar to those for the Klokken intrusion and reflect differences in cooling rates and bulk composition. Superimposed upon the regular microtexture are 10 m scale compositional fluctuations which we call ripples. The boundary relationships and bulk composition of ripples, which are themselves Ab-rich and Or-rich linear coherent cryptoperthites, suggest that they formed by coarsening during a phase of high-temperature (530°C) fluid-feldspar interaction. This was followed by a return to coherent exsolution in which fluid was not involved. Coarse, irregular, patch microperthite cross-cuts all other microtextures. These final deuteric intergrowths are believed to result from a further low-temperature (< 380° C) fluid-feldspar interaction and are associated with subgrain formation and the presence of micropores. The outermost syenite sample, against a gabbro ring structure, has distinctive, modified microtextures, indicating that the gabbro is, at least in part, a later intrusion. Our findings show that TEM work on alkali feldspar microtextures can identify discrete thermal events in the cooling history of igneous plutons and illustrates the potential of such microtextures for establishing the relative ages of intrusive rocks.     

Automated Digital Photogrammetry: A Valuable Tool for Small‐scale Geomorphological Research for the Non‐photogrammetrist?

Digital photogrammetry provides a tool with which to automatically generate digital elevation models (DEMs). The necessary equipment is now both readily available and affordable: thus there is considerable potential for this technique to be widely adopted in geomorphological studies. But is it possible for geomorphologists without a background in photogrammety to use it successfully? As part of a larger study into rill initiation by overland flow, a non‐metric digital camera and ERDAS IMAGINE OrthoMAX software were used to generate small‐scale DEMs of soil surface microtopography. This paper reports on the procedure used, highlights potential pitfalls, and comments on the quality of the resultant DEMs. Whilst acquisition of high‐quality images using a digital camera is relatively straightforward, problems were subsequently encountered due to the small size of the internal imager and the need for camera calibration. Potential stumbling blocks in the use of the software lay in the setting‐up of ground control points and the use of tie‐points and check‐points, as well as several software glitches not identified in the current manual. Nonetheless, once these problems were overcome the technique proved to be a simple, effective and fast tool for generating high quality microtopographical DEMs. This methodology shows great promise for future geomorphological studies that require these kinds of surface data.     

Hyperpycnal plume formation from riverine outflows with small sediment concentrations

A series of laboratory experiments has been conducted in order to elucidate the sediment-induced mixing processes accompanying riverine outflows; specifically, the discharge of a warm, fresh, particle-laden fluid over a relatively dense, cool brine. In a parameter regime analogous to recently acquired field measurements, hypopycnal (surface) plumes were subject to a convective instability driven by some combination of heat diffusing out of the warm, fresh, sediment-laden plume and particle settling within it. Convection was robust in the presence or absence of intense turbulence, at sediment concentrations as low as 1 kg m⁻³, and took the form of millimetre-scale, sediment-laden fingers descending from the base of the surface plume. A consequence of the convective instability of the original hypopycnal plume is the generation of a hyperpycnal (bottom-riding) flow. The experiments presented here indicate that natural river outflows may thus generate hyperpycnal plumes when sediment concentrations are 40 times less than those required to render the outflow heavy relative to the oceanic ambient. The resulting hyperpycnal plumes may play an important role in transporting substantial quantities of sediment to the continental slope and beyond.     

The description of the primary textures of “Cordilleran” granitic rocks

Variation in the primary textures of “Cordilleran” granitic rocks is described relative to three identifiable stages of the crystallisation interval; namely: (1) crystallisation in suspension; (2) growth of a touching crystal framework; (3) interstitial crystallisation. Crystals that initially grow in isolation will start to impinge and form small clusters as crystallisation proceeds and the volume of solid material increases, eventually forming a continuous interconnected crystal framework. Subsequent crystallisation involves solidification of the melt occupying the interstices of the framework, and therefore shows similarities to the way in which the porosity occludes in sedimentary systems. A case study of textural development in Cordilleran granitic rocks from the zoned Linga superunit of the Peruvian Coastal Batholith, reveals that compositional zonation from granodiorite through to syenogranite is accompanied by a systematic variation in the textures, specifically those of the three felsic phases (plagioclase, quartz and alkali feldspar). Plagioclase was the first phase to appear on the liquidus, and was joined by the other two phases as crystallisation proceeded and the melt evolved. The melt fraction at which quartz and alkali feldspar started to crystallise influenced the early growth of plagioclase, and the way in which the texture developed through each stage of the crystallisation interval. The geometry of plagioclase progressively changes from a touching framework of crystals in the granodiorite, to small aggregates or isolated crystals suspended in an equant mosaic of the other felsic phases in the syenogranite. This variation can be explained by an earlier evolution of the melt to the cotectic (i.e. at higher melt fractions) as the rocks become more acidic, and hence a greater contribution of alkali feldspar and quartz to the growth of the framework at the expense of plagioclase and the mafic phases. Textural observations are comparable to the crystallisation pathways of the felsic phases modelled in the quaternary An-Ab-Or-Qz system from the bulk compositions. All compositions lie in the plagioclase volume, and evolved to three-phase saturation on the cotectic via either the quartz/plagioclase divariant surface (granodiorites) or the alkali feldspar/plagioclase divariant surface (monzogranite and syenogranite).