Etude des inclusions fluides du système N2-CO2 de dolomites et de quartz de Tunisie septentrionale. Données de la microcryoscopie et de l'analyse à la microsonde à effet Raman

Optical and analytical studies were performed on 400 N₂ + CO₂ gas bearing inclusions in dolomites and quartz from Triassic outcrops in northern Tunisia. Other fluids present include brines (NaCl and KCl bearing inclusions) and rare liquid hydrocarbons. At the time of trapping, such fluids were heterogeneous gas + brine mixtures. In hydrocarbon free inclusions the $\text{N}{}_2\text{(N}{}_2\text{+ CO}{}_2\text{)}$ mole ratio was determined using two different non-destructive and punctual techniques: Raman microprobe analysis, and optical estimation of the volume ratios of the different phases selected at low temperatures. In the observed range of compositions, the two methods agree reasonably well.The N₂ + CO₂ inclusions are divided into three classes of composition: (a) $\text{N}{}_2\text{(N}{}_2\text{+ CO}{}_2\text{)}\text{> 0,57}$: Liquid nitrogen is always visible at very low temperature and homogenisation occurs in the range ?151°C to ? 147°C (nitrogen critical temperature) dry ice (solid CO₂) sublimates between ?75°C and ?60°C; (b) $\text{0,20 <}\text{N}{}_2\text{(N}{}_2\text{+ CO}{}_2\text{)}\text{? 0,57}$: liquid nitrogen is visible at very low temperature but dry ice melts on heating; liquid and gas CO₂ homogenise to liquid phase between ?51°C to ?22°C; (c) $\text{N}{}_2\text{(N}{}_2\text{+ CO}{}_2\text{)}\text{? 0,20}$: liquid nitrogen is not visible even at very low temperature (?195°C) and liquid and gas CO₂ homogenise to liquid phase between ?22°C and ?15°C. The observed phases changes are used to propose a preliminary phase diagram for the system CO₂-N₂ at low temperatures.Assuming additivity of partial pressures, isochores for the CO₂-N₂ inclusions have been computed. The intersection of these isochores with those for brine inclusions in the same samples may give the P and T of trapping of the fluids.     

Towards a parametrization of river discharges into ocean general circulation models: a closure through energy conservation

Diagnostic methods are defined in order to compare two numerical simulations of ocean dynamics in a region of freshwater influence. The first one is a river plume simulation based on a high resolution numerical configuration of the POM coastal ocean model in which mixing parametrizations have been previously defined. The second one is a simulation based on the NEMO Global Ocean Model used for climate simulations in its half-a-degree configuration in which a river inflow is represented as precipitation on two coastal grid cells. Both simulations are forced with the same freshwater inflows and wind stresses. The divergence of volumetric fluxes above and below the halocline are compared. Results show that when an upwelling wind blows, the two models display similar behavior although the impact of lack of precision can be observed in the NEMO configuration. When a downwelling wind blows, the NEMO Global Ocean configuration can not reproduce the coastally trapped baroclinic dynamics because its grid resolution is too coarse. To find a parametrization to help represent these dynamics in ocean general circulation models, a method based on energy conservation is investigated. This method shows that it is possible to link the energy fluxes provided by river inflows to the divergence of energy fluxes integrated over the grid cells of ocean general circulation models. A parametrization of the dynamics created by freshwater inflows is deduced from this method. This enabled creation of a box model that proved to have the same behavior as the fluxes previously computed from the high resolution configuration.     

Analysis of Standard Reference Materials for Zr,Nb, Hf and Ta by ICP-MS after Lithium Metaborate Fusion and Cupferron Separation*

Results are presented of the determination of Zr, Nb, Hf and Ta in 74 standard reference materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Samples are decomposed by fusion with lithium metaborate and the analytes are separated prior to analysis by precipitation of their cupferrates. Calibration is made using synthetic solutions and internal standardization with Ru (for Zr and Nb) and Re (for Hf and Ta). Accuracy is assessed by comparison with recommended values and precision is evaluated by replicate analyses of five SRMs.     

Radiation-enhanced release of uranium from accessory minerals in crystalline rocks

Implantation of low energy (~ 1 keV/amu) Pb ions, simulating α-recoils, greatly increases the dissolution rate of U-bearing minerals in aqueous solutions above a critical dose $\text{~5 × 10}{}^{12}\text{ions·cm}{}^{\mathrm{?2}}$. A Monte-Carlo code of etching indicates that this phenomenon corresponds to a percolation threshold due to the accumulation of ion-induced defects above a critical concentration. Such a radiationenhanced dissolution could be produced by α-recoil damage in U-rich accessory minerals of sufficient U-content and/or age. Therefore, this process could be the primary source of this element in the formation of U ores associated with crystalline rocks.     

Tidally-induced shear stress variability above intertidal mudflats in the macrotidal seine estuary

Tidal currents and the spatial variability of tidally-induced shear stress were studied during a tidal cycle on four intertidal mudflats from the fluvial to the marine part of the Seine estuary. Measurements were carried out during low water discharge (<400 m³ s⁻¹) in neap and spring tide conditions. Turbulent kinetic energy, covariance, and logarithmic profile methods were used and compared for the determination of shear stress. The c_TKE coefficient value of 0.19 cited in the literature was confirmed. Shear stress values were shown to decrease above mudflats from the mouth to the fluvial part of the estuary due to dissipation of the tidal energy, from 1 to 0.2 N m⁻² for spring tides and 0.8 to 0.05 N m⁻² for neap tides. Flood currents dominate tidally-induced shear stress in the marine and lower fluvial estuary during neap and spring tides and in the upper fluvial part during spring tides. Ebb currents control tidally-induced shear stress in the upper fluvial part of the estuary during neap tides. These results revealed a linear relationship between friction velocities and current velocities. Bed roughness length values were calculated from the empirical relationship given by Mitchener and Torfs (1996) for each site; these values are in agreement with the modes of the sediment particle-size distribution. The influence of tidal currents on the mudflat dynamics of the Seine estuary was examined by comparing the tidally-induced bed shear stress and the critical erosion shear stress estimated from bed sediment properties. Bed sediment resuspension induced by tidal currents was shown to occur only in the lower part of the estuary.     

Quaternary strike-slip faults in southeastern spain

The Gibraltar Arc (Western Mediterranean Sea) is traversed by a NE-trending fault system that extends from northern Morocco to southeastern Spain. In this area, three main faults (the Carboneras, Palomares and Alhama de Murcia faults) have been active in Quaternary time. The faults are characterized by left-lateral strike-slip motion. The Quaternary faulting and current seismicity in this part of the Meditterranean area are related to a collision-type tectonics produced by the northwestward relative motion of the African Plate toward the European Plate.     

The Kenna ureilite: an ultramafic rock with evidence for igneous,metamorphic, and shock origin

The Kenna ureilite was found in February, 1972 near the town of Kenna, Roosevelt County, New Mexico U.S.A., weighed 10.9 kg, and measured 26.7 × 14.7 × 14.2 cm; it is the seventh known ureilite. The meteorite is composed of xenoblastic olivine (Fo_79.2), commonly rimmed by forsterite (Fo₉₉), and pigeonite (En₇₃Wo₉Fs₁₈), in a volumetric ratio of 3:1, set in a matrix of three carbon polymorphs (graphite, lonsdaleite, and diamond) plus nickel-iron metal and troilite. Some thin metalliferous veins penetrating silicate grains contain secondary inclusions of melt with high-calcium clinopyroxene (high-Ca, Mg-rich augite to augite), andesine, K-feldspar, chromite, and siliceous CaO- and alkali-rich glasses of variable compositions.Textural, mineralogical and fabric information suggest a complex history for Kenna, involving igneous, metamorphic and shock processes. The rock appears to have originated as an ultramafic cumulate whose texture and structure was modified by adcumulus processes and by solution and redeposition in a weak deviatoric stress field. A strong mineral elongation lineation was produced during this high-temperature phase accompanied by mild plastic deformation of olivine on the system 0kl[100]. Superimposed on this original texture and fabric are processes resulting from light to moderate (50–250 kbar) shock deformation, as manifested by fracturing of the silicates, slip parallel to (001) in olivine, and twin and translation gliding parallel to (100) in the clinopyroxene. Lonsdaleite and diamond probably formed during this shock phase, which may be associated with the break-up of the parent body, but the relative time of introduction of the carbon-rich matrix is still unresolved.     

Significance of atmospheric fallout on the upper layer water chemistry of the North-Western Mediterranean

The atmospheric input is established for almost forty trace and major elements at a coastal site on the North-Western Mediterranean. Comparison with the Rhône River input at the scale of the Gulf of Lions shows that the total atmospheric input dominates for elements of anthropogenic origin such as Cd, Pb, Sb and Zn. Dissolved input of atmospheric origin is very important for these elements and for those of terrigenous origin (Al and Fe). In the coastal zone, both dissolved external sources (atmosphere and Rhône River) can explain the high Mediterranean Surface waters concentrations. Atmospheric input becomes rapidly the predominant factor, while the riverine influence being negligible in the few tens' kilometers outside the river mouth.Paper submitted to the 7th International Symposium of the Commission for Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution on the Chemistry of the Global Atmosphere held in Chamrousse, France, from 5 to 11 September 1990.     

Morphosedimentary evolution of the macrotidal Seine estuary subjected to human impact

Many estuaries in the world have been subjected to significant human impact since the 19th century. Natural infilling and human activities, including building of embankments, dikes and jetties have modified both the morphology of these estuaries and the distribution of sedimentary facies. The Seine, a macrotidal estuary, provides a good opportunity to study such modifications, as the latest morphosedimentary observations could be compared to old sediment maps as well as to geotechnical drilling data. In the mouth of the Seine, originally a sand/gravel system sediment distribution, has now been transformed into a muddy system. The result is a regressive sequence several meters thick. It is typically fining-up and corresponds to a shift from a distal term (pebbles, gravel, and coarse sands) at its base to a proximal term (mud and fine sands) at its top. Civil engineering works have reduced the available amount of space within the estuary, leading to an increase in the natural downstream shift of the depocenter of mud brought by winter river floods. The deposition area of the mud is today in the open marine zone, where waves and tidal currents render the balance of this process precarious.