REE in charnockite and associated rocks,southwest Sweden

The rate earth element compositions of a suite of high-grade metamorphic and plutonic rocks which outcrop in the Varberg region of southwest Sweden are presented. A plutonic complex containing both charnockitic and non-charnockitic elements intrudes country rocks of upper amphibolite and granulite facies grade. The REE data for the country rocks sustain the view that they are supracrustal origin and support the importance placed on these elements in investigations of metamorphic rock progenitors. The progressive change in REE characteristics found for the various units of the plutonic association confirms that they represent rational stages in differentiation from a common parent. The end-product of this differentiation is a granite with the REE concentration and distribution found, elsewhere in the Baltic Shield, to characterize Rapakivi granite. The progressive change in REE with time suggested for the Baltic Shield by other authors finds support in the results of this study.     

An investigation of rare-earth mobility: Fenitized quartzites,Borralan complex,N.W. Scotland

Examples of fenitization of pure quartzites provide valuable insight into the relative mobility of elements. This investigation of fenites from the Borralan complex shows that rare-earth elements are mobile and added during fenitization of quartzite. The resulting normalized patterns are distinctive in their enrichment of the light rare earths and steep drops in the interval Nd-Eu. In terms of rare-earth geochemistry, no difference can be found between the sodic and the potassic trends of fenitization at Borralan. Concentrations of mobile elements define straight-line plots through the origin, heretofore considered a criterion indicative of a fractional crystallization process.Present address: Department of Geological Sciences, McGill University, 3450 University Street, Montreal, Que. H3A 2A7, Canada     

The design storm concept in flood control design and planning

The design storm approach, where the subject criterion variable is evaluated by using a synthetic storm pattern composed of identical return frequencies of storm pattern input, is shown to be an effective approximation to a considerably more complex probabilistic model. The single area unit hydrograph technique is shown to be an accurate mathematical model of a highly discretized catchment with linear routing for channel flow approximation, and effective rainfalls in subareas which are linear with respect to effective rainfall output for a selected “loss” function. The use of a simple “loss” function which directly equates to the distribution of rainfall depth-duration statistics (such as a constant fraction of rainfall, or a ?-index model) is shown to allow the pooling of data and thereby provide a higher level of statistical significance (in estimating T-year outputs for a hydrologic criterion variable) than use of an arbitrary “loss” function. The above design storm unit hydrograph approach is shown to provide the T-year estimate of a criterion variable when using rainfall data to estimate runoff.     

A new strategy for analyzing the chronometry of constructed rock features in deserts

The western Great Basin contains thousands of constructed rock features, including rock rings, cairns, and alignments. Unlike subtractive geoglyphs, such as the Nasca Lines of Peru, that remove desert pavement, these surface features alter the location and positioning of cobble‐ to bouldersized rocks. The chronology of surface rock features has remained unconstrained by numerical ages because no prior chronometric approach has been able to yield age control. We propose a new strategy for studying these features by analyzing anthropogenic modifications to rock coatings, an approach that permits the use of several dating methods, two of which are assessed here: radiocarbon dating of pedogenic carbonate and rock‐varnish microlaminations. Initial results from Searles Valley, eastern California, suggest that constructed rock features may be as old as early Holocene and terminal Pleistocene. Archaeological surveys of desert areas would be greatly enhanced if they noted altered positions of rock coatings. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The distribution of ash in Icelandic lake sediments and the relative importance of mixing and erosion processes

During the Holocene the volcano Hekla explosively emitted highly silicic tephra on four occasions. The ash was widely dispersed by the wind. Distinctive light-coloured ash layers are now to be seen in the peats of Northern Iceland. Ash from the 1104 AD eruption was carried as far as Scandinavia. The most recent three tephra are preserved in the top 6 m of sediment in Lake Svinavatn. Chemical data from the sediment of Lake Svinavatn, which lies near the north coast of Iceland 170 km from Hekla, reveal the presence of silicic ash above the tephra visible to the naked eye. Unlike the vertical spread of ash in ocean sediment cores which results from biological mixing effects, the upwards spread of ash in the Svinavatn lake sediment cores appears to have been produced by erosion of ash from the lake catchment in the decades following the eruptions. The variations in concentrations of 11 elements, as determined by neutron activation analysis, can be explained by an exponentially decreasing input from catchment erosion. The additional input to each of the three Hekla ash layers was in the region of 3% of the ash which fell on the Svinavatn catchment.     

Chowdhury and Stedinger's approximate confidence intervals for design floods for a single site

A basic problem in hydrology is computing confidence levels for the value of the T-year flood when it is obtained from a Log Pearson III distribution in terms of estimated mean, estimated standard deviation, and estimated skew. In an important paper Chowdhury and Stedinger [1991] suggest a possible formula for approximate confidence levels, involving two functions previously used by Stedinger [1983] and a third function, λ, for which asymptotic estimates are given. This formula is tested [Chowdhury and Stedinger, 1991] by means of simulations, but these simulations assume a distribution for the sample skew which is not, for a single site, the distribution which the sample skew is forced to have by the basic hypothesis which underlies all of the analysis, namely that the maximum discharges have a Log Pearson III distribution. Here we test these approximate formulas for the case of data from a single site by means of simulations in which the sample skew has the distribution which arises when sampling from a Log Pearson III distribution. The formulas are found to be accurate for zero skew but increasingly inaccurate for larger common values of skew. Work in progress indicates that a better choice of λ can improve the accuracy of the formula.     

The Criffell zoned pluton: correlated behaviour of rare earth element abundances with isotopic systems

Concentric zoning in the Criffell pluton takes the form of a discontinuous outer margin of metaluminous hornblende granodiorite and an inner core of increasingly peraluminous muscovite granite. Previous investigations using major and selected trace elements have shown the variation to consist of both smooth and abrupt trends. This study of 15 samples for the rare earth elements shows patterns which strongly correlate with Sr and O isotope data. The principal feature of these data is a progressive decrease in total rare earths with approach to the geochemical centre of the pluton, and evolution to more radiogenic Sr and more silicic and peraluminous compositions. No significant europium anomaly is developed. The slope of light to heavy rare earths using La/Yb ratios varies in a complex manner showing no significant correlation with any of the main indices of bulk composition, but with peak values occurring within the inner part of the outer portion of the pluton. A map of Ce/Y variation based on 172 Ce and Y determinations is essentially identical. These data are considered in terms of various petrogenetic models and it is concluded that the data can only be interpreted in terms of a major and progressive involvement of crustally-derived anatectic magma towards the pluton interior. Trace element modelling favours processes of the assimilation-fractional crystallisation (AFC) type for the generation of this example of I-type to S-type granitoid zonation.     

Generous statistical tests

A common statistical problem is deciding which of two possible sources, A and B, of a contaminant is most likely the actual source. The situation considered here, based on an actual problem of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination discussed below, is one in which the data strongly supports the hypothesis that source A is responsible. The problem approach here is twofold: One, accurately estimating this extreme probability. Two, since the statistics involved will be used in a legal setting, estimating the extreme probability in such a way as to be as generous as is possible toward the defendant’s claim that the other site B could be responsible; thereby leaving little room for argument when this assertion is shown to be highly unlikely. The statistical testing for this problem is modeled by random variables {X _i } and the corresponding sample mean the problem considered is providing a bound ɛ for which for a given number a ₀. Under the hypothesis that the random variables {X _i } satisfy E(X _i ) ≤ μ, for some 0  < μ < 1, statistical tests are given, described as “generous”, because ɛ is maximized. The intent is to be able to reject the hypothesis that a ₀ is a value of the sample mean while eliminating any possible objections to the model distributions chosen for the {X _i } by choosing those distributions which maximize the value of ɛ for the test used.