Soil and stream sediment geochemical dispersion over the Bell Springs deposit, Hog Ranch Mine, Washoe County, Nevada

The Bell Springs deposit is a bulk-tonnage, low-grade gold deposit, formed in a hot-spring environment, that is hosted by middle Miocene weakly peralkaline, high-silica rhyolite ash flows and rheomorphic tuffs. Ore grade mineralization over about 460 × 460 m was controlled by northeast- and northwest-trending structures. Sixty-nine soil samples collected along a traverse across the Bell Springs deposit, screened into six mesh size fractions, +10, −10+35, −35+80, −80+120, −120+200, and −200, were treated by low-detection-limit acid digestion/organic extraction procedures, and analyzed by ICP or graphite furnace techniques for Au, Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Cu, Ga, Hg, Mo, Pb, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, and Zn. Twenty-five stream-sediment samples were collected from a drainage crossing mineralization and from a nearby tributary. Sediment size fractions of −200 mesh and −10+200 mesh were analyzed by the same procedures used for soils. In addition, analyses of bulk leachable gold via cyanide leach method (BLEG) was done on bulk −10 mesh sediments.Anomalous Au, Ag, As, Sb, and Mo in all soil size fractions revealed the underlying ore. Areas with anomalous Sb and As were about three times larger than areas with anomalous Au and Ag. Analyses of fine-fractions of stream sediments provided the best-defined Au anomalies in drainages. A multi-element factor calculated by multiplying Au, As, Sb, and Mo reinforced anomalous Au in drainages and correlated well with Bell Springs mineralization.     

The exponential probability density function and concentration fluctuations in smoke plumes

Observations of 1-s average concentration fluctuations during two trials of a U.S. Army diffusion experiment are presented and compared with model predictions based on an exponential probability density function (pdf). The source is near the surface and concentration monitors are on lines about 30 to 100 m downwind of the source. The observed ratio of the standard deviation to the mean of the concentration fluctuations is about 1.3 on the mean plume axis and 4 to 5 on the mean plume edges. Plume intermittency (fraction of non-zero readings) is about 50%; on the mean plume axis and 10%; on the mean plume edges. A meandering plume model is combined with an exponential pdf assumption to produce predictions of the intermittency and the standard deviation of the concentration fluctuations that are within 20%; of the observations.     

A newly developed seismic microzonation model of Erbaa (Tokat, Turkey) located on seismically active eastern segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ)

A methodology to model seismic microzonation maps is required in the hazard mitigation decision plans of the earthquake prone areas. The stage of disaster preparedness for new residential places is of great importance for detailed seismic microzonation models. The effects of local geological and geotechnical site conditions were considered in order to establish site characterization as the initial stage of the models in this study. Dynamic soil properties based on the empirical correlations between shear wave velocity (V _s) and standard penetration test blow counts were taken into account in order to define representative soil profiles extending down to the engineering bedrock. One-dimensional site response analyses were performed to analyze earthquake characteristics on the ground surface. The layers for soil classification, geology, depth to groundwater level, amplification, distance to fault, slope and aspect, and liquefaction-induced ground deformation potential of the study area were prepared in seismic microzonation models. The study area, Erbaa, is placed along the seismically active North Anatolian Fault Zone. Final seismic microzonation map of the study area was evaluated applying different GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques. Two of the MCDA techniques, simple additive weighting and analytical hierarchical process (AHP), are considered during the evaluation step of the final seismic microzonation map. The comparison is made in order to distinguish two different maps based on these MCDA techniques. Eventually, AHP-based seismic microzonation map is more preferable for the seismic design purposes in this study.     

Petrogenesis of main group pallasite meteorites based on relationships among texture,mineralogy, and geochemistry

Main group pallasite meteorites are samples of a single early magmatic planetesimal, dominated by metal and olivine but containing accessory chromite, sulfide, phosphide, phosphates, and rare phosphoran olivine. They represent mixtures of core and mantle materials, but the environment of formation is poorly understood, with a quiescent core–mantle boundary, violent core–mantle mixture, or surface mixture all recently suggested. Here, we review main group pallasite data sets and petrologic characteristics, and present new observations on the low‐MnO pallasite Brahin that contains abundant fragmental olivine, but also rounded and angular olivine and potential evidence of sulfide–phosphide liquid immiscibility. A reassessment of the literature shows that low‐MnO and high‐FeO subgroups preferentially host rounded olivine and low‐temperature P₂O₅‐rich phases such as the Mg‐phosphate farringtonite and phosphoran olivine. These phases form after metal and silicate reservoirs back‐react during decreasing temperature after initial separation, resulting in oxidation of phosphorus and chromium. Farringtonite and phosphoran olivine have not been found in the common subgroup PMG, which are mechanical mixtures of olivine, chromite with moderate Al₂O₃ contents, primitive solid metal, and evolved liquid metal. Lower concentrations of Mn in olivine of the low‐MnO PMG subgroup, and high concentrations of Mn in low‐Al₂O₃ chromites, trace the development and escape of sulfide‐rich melt in pallasites and the partially chalcophile behavior for Mn in this environment. Pallasites with rounded olivine indicate that the core–mantle boundary of their planetesimal may not be a simple interface but rather a volume in which interactions between metal, silicate, and other components occur.     

Pyrite-induced hydroxyl radical formation and its effect on nucleic acids

Background  

Pyrite, the most abundant metal sulphide on Earth, is known to spontaneously form hydrogen peroxide when exposed to water. In this study the hypothesis that pyrite-induced hydrogen peroxide is transformed to hydroxyl radicals is tested.     

Stratigraphic and Morphologic Constraints on the Weichselian Glacial History of Northern Prins Karls Forland, Western Svalbard

Uncertainty remains if ice–free marginal areas existed on the west coast of Svalbard during the Late Weichselian. Field mapping and correlation to well dated raised beach sequences on nearby Brøggerhalvøya reveal the existence of two generations of raised beach deposits on northern Prins Karls Forland. Distinct beach ridges rise up to the inferred Late Weichselian marine limit at 18 m a.s.l. Discontinuous pre–Late Weichselian beach deposits rise from the Late Weichselian marine limit up to approximately 60 m a.s.l. Expansion of local glaciers during the Late Weichselian is indicated by the limited distribution of a till that overlies parts of the older beach sequence. Stratigraphic data and chronological control indicate deposition in a shallow marine environment before 50 ka bp . Correlation to stratigraphic sites on western Svalbard suggests deposition at c . 70 ±10 ka. Glaciotectonic structures disclose expansion of local glaciers into the For–landsundet basin during stage 4 or late stage 5 high relative sea level. Palaeotemperature estimates derived from amino acid ratios indicate that during the time interval c . 70 to 10 ka the area was exposed to cold subaerial temperatures with low rates of racemization. Pedogenesis and frost–shattered clasts at the contact between c . 70 ka deposits and Holocene deposits further indicate a prolonged period of subaerial polar desert conditions during this time interval. The evidence suggests that the Barents Sea ice sheet did not extend across northern Prins Karls Forland during the Weichselian. It is inferred that during the Late Weichselian, ice was drained throughout the major fjords on the west coast of Svalbard and that relatively large marginal areas experienced polar desert conditions and minor expansions of local glaciers.     

Estimation of carbonate, total organic carbon, and biogenic silica content by FTIR and XRF techniques in lacustrine sediments

Major components of lacustrine sediments, such as carbonates, organic matter, and biogenic silica, provide significant paleoenvironmental information about lake systems. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) techniques are fast, cost effective, efficient methods to determine the relative abundances of these components. We investigate the potential of these techniques using sediments from two large lakes, Lake Malawi in Africa and Lake Qinghai in China. Our results show statistically significant correlations of conventionally measured concentrations of carbonate (%CaCO₃), total organic carbon (%TOC), and biogenic silica (%BSi), with absorbance in the corresponding FTIR spectral regions and with XRF elemental ratios including calcium:titanium (Ca/Ti), incoherent:coherent X-ray scatter intensities (Inc/Coh), and silicon:titanium (Si/Ti), respectively. The correlation coefficients (R) range from 0.66 to 0.96 for comparisons of FTIR results and conventional measurements, and from 0.70 to 0.90 for XRF results and conventional measurements. Both FTIR and XRF techniques exhibit great potential for rapid assessment of inorganic and organic contents of lacustrine sediments. However, the relationship between XRF-ratios or FTIR-absorbances and abundances of corresponding sedimentary components can vary with sediment source and lithology.     

A sediment record of trace metal loadings in the Upper Mississippi River

Sediment cores from Lake Pepin, a natural lake on the Upper Mississippi River, reveal the historical trends in trace metal use and discharge in the watershed. Lead-210 dated concentration profiles of trace metals (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, V, Zn) in sediment cores from throughout the lake generally showed low and stable concentrations prior to settlement (circa 1830), peak concentrations between 1940 and 1975, and substantial decreases thereafter. Whole-lake sediment accumulation rates increased greatly over the period of record, from 79,000 metric tons year⁻¹ prior to 1830, to 876,000 metric tons year⁻¹ during the 1990s. Whole-lake accumulation rates of most trace metals peaked in the 1960s but decreased sharply after that. Sediment and trace metal accumulation rates decreased in the downstream direction, and approximately two-thirds of the sediment and trace metal mass accumulated in Lake Pepin since 1800 was deposited in the upper 30% (by area) of the lake. The dramatic declines in trace metal concentrations and accumulation rates in Lake Pepin sediments since 1970 coincide with increased pollution control and prevention efforts throughout the watershed, including the implementation of secondary treatment at a large municipal wastewater treatment plant upstream. This is one of eight papers dedicated to the “Recent Environmental History of the Upper Mississippi River” published in this special issue of the Journal of Paleolimnology. D.R. Engstrom served as guest editor of the special issue.