Lower carboniferous volcanic vents in the West of Scotland

Recent studies of Lower Carboniferous volcanic vents in the Campsie and Kilpatrick Hills and at Heads of Ayr have revealed a number of common features which are discussed. The present outcrops of both vents and plugs seldom represent the diameters of the original pipes. Late-stage subsidence occurred within ring fractures which developed around the craters and pipes. The main evidence for subsidence rests on the distortions of the marginal country rocks, and also on the presence within the vents of bedded pyroclastic rocks from the volcanic cone. In some vents, blocks of country rock occur at structural levels lower than that at which they are exposed in their nearest outcrop. The attitude of cooling joints in intrusive basalts of the vents shows many of them to be sheets rather than plugs. The distinction between sedimentary and flow-banded vent pyroclastic rocks is often difficult, and the most useful indicators of a sedimentary origin are discussed.     

Changes in Irish Sea Benthos: Possible Effects of 40 years of Dredging

From 1946 to 1951 Dr N. S. Jones sampled the benthos around the south of the Isle of Man from over 200 sites. Multivariate methods have been used here to compare subsets of this historical data with recent data from the same locations: of these locations some have been subject to heavy scallop dredging over the intervening 40 plus years and some to little dredging. Clear changes were apparent regardless of scallop dredging intensity. Some of the changes in the heavily dredged areas were those expected to result from extreme physical disturbance—an increased polychaete mollusc ratio, loss of some fragile species, and an increase in the predominance of scavenger/predator species. However, changes in the lightly dredged areas also included the loss of a number of species including some potentially fragile tube-dwellers. Reasons for these changes were not apparent.     

Pre‐drill Groundwater Geochemistry in the Karoo Basin,South Africa

Enhanced production of unconventional hydrocarbons in the United States has driven interest in natural gas development globally, but simultaneously raised concerns regarding water quantity and quality impacts associated with hydrocarbon extraction. We conducted a pre‐development assessment of groundwater geochemistry in the critically water‐restricted Karoo Basin, South Africa. Twenty‐two springs and groundwater samples were analyzed for major dissolved ions, trace elements, water stable isotopes, strontium and boron isotopes, hydrocarbons and helium composition. The data revealed three end‐members: a deep, saline groundwater with a sodium‐chloride composition, an old, deep freshwater with a sodium‐bicarbonate‐chloride composition and a shallow, calcium‐bicarbonate freshwater. In a few cases, we identified direct mixing of the deep saline water and shallow groundwater. Stable water isotopes indicate that the shallow groundwater was controlled by evaporation in arid conditions, while the saline waters were diluted by apparently fossil meteoric water originated under wetter climatic conditions. These geochemical and isotopic data, in combination with elevated helium levels, suggest that exogenous fluids are the source of the saline groundwater and originated from remnant seawater prior to dilution by old meteoric water combined with further modification by water‐rock interactions. Samples with elevated methane concentrations (>14 ccSTP/kg) were strongly associated with the sodium‐chloride water located near dolerite intrusions, which likely provide a preferential pathway for vertical migration of deeply sourced hydrocarbon‐rich saline waters to the surface. This pre‐drill evaluation indicates that the natural migration of methane‐ and salt‐rich waters provides a source of geogenic contamination to shallow aquifers prior to shale gas development in the Karoo Basin.     

A computer-aided framework for subsurface identification of white shark pigment patterns

Subsurface video footage can be used as a successful identification tool for various marine organisms; however, processing of such information has proven challenging. This study tests the use of automated software to assist with photo-identification of the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias in the region of Gansbaai, on the south coast of South Africa. A subsurface photo catalogue was created from underwater video footage. Single individuals were identified by using pigmentation patterns. From this catalogue, two images of the head for each individual were inserted into automated contour-recognition software (Interactive Individual Identification System Beta Contour 3.0). One image was used to search the database, the other served as a reference image. Identification was made by means of a contour, assigned using the software to the irregular border of grey and white on the shark's head. In total, 90 different contours were processed. The output provided ranks, where the first match would be a direct identification of the individual. The method proved to be accurate, in particular for high-quality images where 88.24% and 94.12%, respectively, were identified by two independent analysts as first match, and with all individuals identified within the top 10 matches. The inclusion of metadata improved accuracy and precision, allowing identification of even low-quality images.     

An Observational Study of Entraining Convection using Balloon-Borne Turbulence Probes and High-Power Doppler Radar

Features associated with the upper limit of convection, observed by turbulence probes supported by a tethered kite balloon and by high-power Doppler radar, are described. The observations illustrate the interaction of thermal plumes with the capping inversion (and stable air aloft) and confirm the existence of non-turbulent, intermittently turbulent and fully turbulent layers. Evidence is presented for entrainment processes occurring on scales ranging from a few metres to several hundred metres. Individual distortions of the inversion interface, tracked by the radar, have a lifetime of about 5 minutes. Other, larger scale (i.e., > 1 km) perturbations of the top of the boundary layer were observed over longer periods, and are thought to be due to topographical effects.     

Geochemical alteration associated with the Selbaie copper-zinc-silver deposit

The object of this study is to establish the nature of geochemical alteration in the wall rocks of the Selbaie Cu-Zn-Ag deposit, and to ascertain whether bedrock geochemistry could be applied in exploration for deposits of this type. The Selbaie Cu-Zn-Ag deposit, in northwestern Quebec, is atypical of base-metal deposits in the Canadian Shield, as mineralization occurs in epigenetic veins and as disseminations in volcanic wall rocks, rather than as syngenetic massive sulfide bodies which have been the focus of extensive comparable studies in the past. The deposit comprises three mineralized zones in felsic tuffs and quartz porphyry. Two of these, the A1 and A2 zones, which are the focus of the present study consist of quartz-carbonate veins containing chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and pyrite, and accessory sulfide minerals. The B zone is not considered in this study. Samples of drill core were collected from sections crossing the A1 and A2 zones and analyzed for total Si, Al, Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, K, Ti, Mn, P, and S by X-ray fluorescence, and for aqua-regia-extractable Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Fe, and Mn by atomic absorption. Although the distribution of individual element concentrations is clearly related to bedrock type, rocks proximal to mineralization have higher SiO₂, Fe₂O₃, Cu, Zn, Fe, and S contents, and lower Al₂O₃ and K₂O contents, than rocks more distal from mineralization. MgO content shows an irregular distribution and may also increase toward mineralization. CaO and Na₂O contents are very low in all pyroclastic rocks.In order to take into account the effect of bedrock type, linear regression analysis was performed on the data to estimate the normal concentration of individual elements using SiO₂ contents as the predicted variable. Spatial distributions of residual values of element concentrations indicate that rocks close to mineralization have higher residual Fe₂O₃, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Fe contents, and lower residual Al₂O₃ and K₂O contents, compared to rocks more remote from mineralization. These distribution patterns are clearer than in the case of the single-element data but variations between element responses still exist in some instances. In an attempt to overcome the variation in patterns revealed by some element distributions, discriminant analysis was undertaken to see whether mineralized areas could be distinguished on the basis of an element association. Discriminant functions were calculated for data from areas adjacent to mineralization, and from areas remote from mineralization. Areal distribution of discriminant scores outlined an anomalous area extending up to 200 m beyond the mineralization. Petrographic studies of selected samples correlated high SiO₂ and low Al₂O₃ content with silicification in the most altered rocks adjacent to mineralization. High Fe₂O₃, MgO, and extractable Fe concentrations were found to occur in chlorite- and carbonate-rich zones. Samples rich in S, Cu, Zn, and b, and to a lesser extent Fe, were characterized by the presence of sulfides. High concentrations of Al₂O₃ and K₂O relative to that of SiO₂ are typical of sericitization. On this basis, the results demonstrate that anomalously high or low concentrations of element associations, revealed by discriminant analysis, occur in large coherent zones exceeding the size of the deposit. The procedure is potentially useful as an exploration guide for epigenetic disseminated and vein-type base-metal styles of mineralization as well as the syngenetic massive sulfide type of deposits that have been extensively studied in the past.     

Structural and Hydrogeological Controls on Hydrocarbon and Brine Migration into Drinking Water Aquifers in Southern New York

Environmental concerns regarding the potential for drinking water contamination in shallow aquifers have accompanied unconventional energy development in the northern Appalachian Basin. These activities have also raised several critical questions about the hydrogeological parameters that control the naturally occurring presence and migration of hydrocarbon gases in shallow aquifers within petroliferous basins. To interrogate these factors, we analyzed the noble gas, dissolved ion, and hydrocarbon gas (molecular and isotopic composition) geochemistry of 98 groundwater samples from south‐central New York. All samples were collected ?1km from unconventional drilling activities and sample locations were intentionally targeted based on their proximity to various types of documented fault systems. In agreement with studies from other petroliferous basins, our results show significant correlations between elevated levels of radiogenic [⁴He], thermogenic [CH₄], and dissolved ions (e.g., Cl, Br, Sr, Ba). In combination, our data suggest that faults have facilitated the transport of exogenous hydrocarbon‐rich brines from Devonian source rocks into overlying Upper Devonian aquifer lithologies over geologic time. These data conflict with previous reports, which conclude that hydrodynamic focusing regulates the occurrence of methane and salt in shallow aquifers and leads to elevated levels of these species in restricted flow zones within valley bottoms. Instead, our data suggest that faults in Paleozoic rocks play a fundamental role in gas and brine transport from depth, regulate the distribution of their occurrence in shallow aquifers, and influence the geochemistry of shallow groundwater in this petroliferous basin.