U.S. Mussel Watch: 1977–1978 results on trace metals and radionuclides

The results of the U.S. Mussel Watch Monitoring Program for the period 1976–1978 for trace metals and artificial radionuclides in bivalves are presented. The substances analysed included Ag, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni, Pb, ²³⁸Pu, ^239+240Pu and ²⁴¹Am. The analyses of organic substances will be presented elsewhere. The concentrations of these substances in the bivalves may reflect upwelling processes, anthropogenic inputs or natural levels. Off the California coast, mussels show markedly elevated Pu and Cd concentrations in coastal areas adjacent to the most intensive upwelling zones. Elevated levels of Pb, for example, are found in organisms living adjacent to highly urbanized places. The general patterns of distribution repeat themselves year after year at a given site. Thus, it is concluded that annual monitoring activities may not be necessary and that a frequency of sampling of several or so years may be more appropriate to identify pollution problems. Finally, national or regional baselines for metal concentrations in bivalves from unpolluted waters are proposed. National baselines for Pb in the west coast mussels of 1·0 parts 10^?6 and for Ag in east coast mussels of 0·05 parts 10^?6 are suggested.     

Marine geochemistry—2: scavenging redux

Inorganic surfaces sorb dissolved and particulate phases from seawater onto organic films from a variety of sources. Heavy metals such as Au, Pt, Mn and Cd come to the coatings primarily from particulate phases. This observation confirms a previous finding of this laboratory for the uptake of U, Pu and Po. With depth in the open ocean there are greater contributions from the dissolved phases. Microbial and photochemical processes can enrich surfaces in some metals through reduction reactions. Copper and Mn enrichments in the films are attributed to the photo-reductions of Cu(II) to Cu(I) and manganese oxides to Mn(II), respectively, while the uptake of Mo is a consequence of the reduction, mediated by organisms, of molybdate to Mo(V) or Mo(IV). Cadmium, on the other hand, appears to be bioaccumulated in the films.     

Depositional processes in a kimberlite crater: the Upper Cretaceous Orapa South Pipe (Botswana)

The Orapa A/K1 Diamond Mine, Botswana, exposes the crater facies of a bilobate kimberlite pipe of Upper Cretaceous age. The South Crater consists of layered volcaniclastic deposits which unconformably cross‐cut massive volcaniclastic kimberlite of diatreme facies in the North Pipe. Based on the depositional structure, grain‐size, sorting and composition of kimberlite in the South Crater, six units are distinguished in the ～70 m thick stratiform crater‐fill sequence and talus slope deposits close to the crater wall, which represents a multistage infill of the volcanic crater. Monolithic basalt breccias (Unit 1) near the base of the crater‐fill are interpreted as rock‐fall avalanche deposits, generated by the sector collapse of the crater walls. These deposits are overlain by a basal imbricated lithic breccia and upper massive sub‐unit (Unit 2), interpreted as the deposits of a pyroclastic flow that entered the South Crater from another source. Vertical degassing structures within the massive sub‐unit show evidence for elutriation of fines and probably were formed after emplacement by fluidization due to air entrainment. Units 3 and 5 are thinly stratified deposits, characterized by diffuse bedding, reverse and normal grading, coarse lenticular beds, mudstone beds, small‐scale scour channels and load casts. These units are attributed to rapidly emplaced sheet floods on the crater floor. Units 3 and 5 are directly overlain by poorly sorted volcaniclastic kimberlite (Units 4 and 6) rich in basalt boulders, attributed to debris flows formed by the collapse of crater walls. Unit 7 comprises medium sandstones to cobble conglomerates representing talus fans, which were active throughout the deposition of Units 1 to 6. The study demonstrates that much of the material infilling the South Crater is derived externally after eruption, including primary pyroclastic flow deposits probably from another kimberlite pipe. These findings have important implications for predicting diamond grade. Results may also aid the interpretation of crater sequences of ultra‐basic, basaltic and intermediate volcanoes, together with the deposits of topographic basins in sub‐aerial settings.     

A pollution history of Chesapeake Bay

Present day anthropogenic fluxes of some heavy metals to central Chesapeake Bay appear to be intermediate to those of the southern California coastal region and those of Narragansett Bay. The natural fluxes, however, are in general higher. On the bases of Pb-210 and Pu-239 + 240 geochronologies and of the time changes in interstitial water compositions, there is a mixing of the upper 30 or so centimeters of the sediments in the mid-Chesapeake Bay area through bioturbation by burrowing mollusks and polychaetes. Coal, coke and charcoal levels reach one percent or more by dry weight in the deposits, primarily as a consequence of coal mining operations.     

A critique of offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal policy

The Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 amended the Deepwater Port Act of 1974 to permit the construction of offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. Terminals with environmentally destructive open-loop regasification systems were quickly approved in the Gulf of Mexico. This study analyzed the political methods of the George W. Bush administration to determine how it developed offshore LNG. Findings showed that the Bush administration worked closely with the energy industry to promote national energy security and limited the role of certain federal and state agencies through a centralized policy process.     

A modeling framework for the design of collector wells

We present results of a design study performed for the Saylorville Wellfield in Iowa, which is owned and operated by the Des Moines Water Works. The purpose of this study was to estimate wellfield capacity and provide a preliminary design for two radial collector wells to be constructed in the outwash aquifer along the Des Moines River near Saylorville, Iowa. After a field investigation to characterize the aquifer, regional two-dimensional and local three-dimensional, steady-state groundwater flow modeling was performed to locate and design the wells. This modeling was the foundation for design recommendations based on the relative performance of 12 collector well designs with varying lateral numbers, elevations, screen lengths, and orientations. For each site, alternate designs were evaluated based on model estimates of the capacity, the percent of surface water captured, and the production per unit length of screen. Many of our results are consistent with current design practices based on experience and intuition, but our methods allow for a quantitative approach for comparing alternate designs. Although the results are site-specific, the framework for evaluating the hydraulic design of the Saylorville radial collector wells is broadly applicable and could be used at other riverbank filtration sites. In addition, many of the conclusions from this design study may apply at other sites where construction of radial collector wells is being considered.     

Sedimentology and allostratigraphy of post-240 ka to pre-26.5 ka lacustrine terraces at intracaldera Lake Rotorua, Taupo Volcanic Zone, New Zealand

Lake Rotorua partially occupies a nearly circular 20 km diameter volcano-tectonic depression formed at c. 240 ka by eruption of the voluminous Mamaku Ignimbrite. Three distinct lacustrine littoral terraces, defined on the basis of contrasting geomorphology and field relations, and separated by tephrostratigraphically dateable unconformities and basin-floor disconformities, fringe much of the lake basin. They are here correlated with former high-stands of the lake which resulted from the blockage and re-establishment of a number of alternative outlets due to tectonic activity and volcanism at both the host and adjacent volcanic centres. The unconformities allow division of the deposits into three allostratigraphic units, each of which is then characterised by elevation and sediment provenance. The < 240 ka, post-Mamaku alloformation comprises the highest terrace (up to 415 mASL), and represents the high-stand of an intracaldera lake accumulated in the newly created basin after the eruption of the Mamaku Ignimbrite. Considerable uncertainty surrounds the initial direction of overflow from this level, but the lake may have drained southwards for a period through the Hemo Gorge, through the Ngakuru Graben/Kapenga Caldera area and into the Waikato River catchment. The second alloformation, consisting of volcaniclastic sediments forming shoreline and littoral terraces at c. 380 m elevation developed after the eruption of the 60 ka Rotoiti/Earthquake Flat pyroclastic flows from the neighbouring Okataina Volcanic Centre blocked northern and southern routes out of the lake basin. A northeasterly outlet subsequently became established at a lower level through tectonic subsidence of the Tikitere Graben, creating a drainage path into the Haroharo caldera from where it flowed into the Bay of Plenty via the Kawerau Canyon. The post-36 ka Hauparu alloformation forms the third shoreline terrace at elevations up to 349 mASL. It is the product of a temporary high-stand from blockage of the Tikitere Graben drainage path by pyroclastic debris from the voluminous 36 ka Hauparu eruption. Subsequently, episodic growth of the Haroharo resurgent dome complex between 25 and 9 ka in the adjacent Okataina Volcanic Centre forced Lake Rotorua to rise above its post-Hauparu lowstand level to an elevation where it could overtop a drainage divide on the northern rim of Lake Rotoiti and gain access to the catchment of the Kaituna River, hence establishing the current outlet channel.     

Hydrodynamic behaviour of Taupo 1800a pumice: implications for the sedimentology of remobilized pyroclasts

Abstract Large‐scale explosive eruptions from silicic caldera volcanoes can generate huge volumes of pyroclastic material in terrestrial and marine environments. On land, erosion, remobilization and redeposition of this debris is predominantly carried out by running water in the form of precipitation run‐off. Conversely, in the submarine realm, both primary emplacement and subsequent remobilization are influenced by the presence of water as a transporting medium. Despite this, and the number of studies devoted to volcaniclastic sedimentation, relatively little attention has been paid to the hydrodynamic behaviour of the particles themselves, which ought to underpin any assessment of transport or depositional process. This is crucial, as many volcanic particles exhibit variable density: according to composition and as functions of differing degrees of vesiculation and the extent to which pore space is filled by water and/or gaseous phases during transport and deposition. Investigation of the physical and hydrodynamic properties of Taupo 1800a pumice, with reference to sedimentary facies developed during the eruption aftermath, shows that, although buoyant when dry, when sufficiently waterlogged, cool pumice clasts will sink and behave more like quartzo‐feldspathic material. Saturation is apparently achieved by a combination of rapid capillary flooding of large interconnected vesicles and slower diffusional air–water exchange in smaller pores. Low saturated pumice densities result in lower settling velocities and easier entrainment by tractional currents than those for equivalent‐sized quartzo‐feldspathic or crystal/lithic particles. Fine‐grained pumice is conversely harder to entrain because of the frictional interlocking of angular particles. These unusual properties of temporary buoyancy, variable saturation, low density and size‐dependent cohesion complicate interpretations of the depositional setting and energy of pumiceous sediments and give rise to several unique facies. These findings have implications not only for the analysis of remobilized pyroclastic facies in terrestrial and marine environments, but also for primary depositional processes during subaqueous explosive volcanism.