Extension tectonics in the Afar Triangle

On the Red Sea coast of Africa, the triangular wedge of land named after its Afar people has been created by excess basalt production at a triple junction of divergent plate boundaries. Its harsh desert terrain is a remote wilderness that receives few visitors, yet is a spectacular suite of extension tectonics dominated by sinking grabens, salt basins below sea level, active faults and effusive volcanoes.     

Shear strength characterization of municipal solid waste at the Suzhou landfill, China

The current practice of slope stability analysis for a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill usually overlooks the dependence of waste properties on the fill age or embedment depth. Changes in shear strength of MSW as a function of fill age were investigated by performing field and laboratory studies on the Suzhou landfill in China. The field study included sampling from five boreholes advanced to the bottom of the landfill, cone penetration tests and monitoring of pore fluid pressures. Twenty-six borehole samples representative of different fill ages (0 to 13 years) were used to perform drained triaxial compression tests. The field and laboratory study showed that the waste body in the landfill can be sub-divided into several strata corresponding to different ranges of fill age. Each of the waste strata has individual composition and shear strength characteristics. The triaxial test results showed that the MSW samples exhibited a strain-hardening and contractive behavior. As the fill age of the waste increased from 1.7 years to 11 years, the cohesion mobilized at a strain level of 10% was found to decrease from 23.3 kPa to 0 kPa, and the mobilized friction angle at the same strain level increasing from 9.9° to 26°. For a confinement stress level greater than 50 kPa, the shear strength of the recently-placed MSW seemed to be lower than that of the older MSW. This behavior was consistent with the cone penetration test results. The field measurement of pore pressures revealed a perched leachate mound above an intermediate cover of soils and a substantial leachate mound near the bottom of the landfill. The measurements of shear strength properties and pore pressures were utilized to assess the slope stability of the Suzhou landfill.     

Modelling nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and dissolved oxygen in the Zhujiang Estuary Ⅰ. Model development

wrmcrloxHuman activities related to the population growth and developrnent of industry and rnwhci-pality have led to the incrouing hadings of various POllutants into estudries during the past fewdecades. These increasing edlutant lOadings have caused declined estuallne hedth which can bemereured by a vdriety of indices. In order to obtain solutions to environrnent problerns, re-sources manageTnnt apencies are supporting a holistic approach to envirorirnental management.An effcient strategy t…     

Coulometric total carbon dioxide analysis for marine studies: maximizing the performance of an automated gas extraction system and coulometric detector

A global survey of the distribution of dissolved CO₂ taking advantage of sampling opportunities provided by the World Ocean Circulation Experiment: World Hydrographic Program (WOCE-WHP) is being carried out through 1995. Goals include the measurement of oceanic inorganic carbon transport and the development of a data base from which future fossil-fuel CO₂ build-up can be monitored. The analytical method selected for total carbon dioxide (C_T) is gas extraction of acidified seawater with coulometric titration of the acid formed by the resultant carbon dioxide and monoethanolamine. To combine high accuracy and precision (± 1.5 μmol/kg for C_T ≥ 2000 μmol/kg) with a high rate of analysis, we have modified an automated single-parameter system. Following prototype development between 1987 and 1990, an instrument emerged with the acronym Somma standing for single-operator multiparameter metabolic analyzer. Improved functional and operating procedures have integrated electronic calibration, CO₂ gas calibration, and sample analysis with automated pressure, temperature, and conductivity (salinity) sensing into a single convenient transportable package.     

Seasonal variations in the speciation of dissolved iodine in the Chesapeake Bay

The speciation of dissolved iodine and the distributions of the iodine species in the deep Chesapeake Bay underwent seasonal variations in response to changes in the prevailing redox condition. In the deep water, the ratios of iodate to iodide and iodate to inorganic iodine decreased progressively from the Winter through the Summer as the deep water became more poorly oxygenated before they rebounded in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated again. The composition of the surface water followed the same trend. However, in this case, the higher biological activities in the Spring and the Summer could also have enhanced the biologically mediated reduction of iodate to iodide by phytoplankton and contributed to the lower ratios found during those seasons. Superimposed on this redox cycle was a cycle of input and removal of dissolved iodine probably as a result of the interactions between the water column and the underlying sediments. Iodine was added to the Bay during the Summer when the deep water was more reducing and removed from the Bay in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated. A third cycle was the inter-conversion between inorganic iodine and ‘dissolved organic iodine’, or ‘‘DOI’’. The conversion of inorganic iodine to ‘DOI’ was more prevalent in the Spring. As a result of these biogeochemical reactions in the Bay, during exchanges between the Bay and the North Atlantic, iodate-rich and ‘DOI’-poor water was imported into the Bay while iodide- and ‘DOI’-rich water was exported to the Atlantic. The export of iodide from these geochemically reactive systems along the land margins contributes to the enrichment of iodide in the surface open oceans.     

Nitrate reductase activity and the speciation of selenium at the mouth of Chesapeake bay

Nitrate reductase activity and the concentrations of selenite and selenate were monitored for six months at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay (USA). A positive correlation was found between nitrate reductase activity and the concentration of selenite, suggesting that selenite may be formed in coastal waters and nitrate reductase may be involved in the process.     

Modelling nitrogen and phosphorus cycles and dissolved oxygen in the Zhujiang Estuary Ⅰ.Model results

rmIoxThe averag annual dischaIge of the Zhujiang Xiver is 3. 32 x l0ll m3, which ranks theZhujiang River just end to the Changjiang River in China. The dischnye occutring duringthe fltal m between APril and ffepteTnber accounts for 80% of the yearly total. The Zhu-jiang hiver has a yeaIy sediment load of about 1 x l08 tons, which also concentrates in theM arn (Zhao, l990; Chen et al., 1998). The Zhujiang Xiver delta,which has l2 cities ofdifferent sizes and more than 40 towns with a po…     

An improved Ewing heat probe frame

The standard Ewing heat probe frame has been improved through the design of a new takedown model whose parts are held together by lynch pins. When a 600 lb (272 kg) unit of this type is taken apart, the heaviest single piece of the dismantled unit weighs only 75 lb (34 kg).This makes it feasible for one person to handle, transport, and assemble the new unit. A central, main support member of a heat probe using this frame can be suspended over the side of a research vessel while the heavier temperature recorder and ballast weights are attached by means of the quickaction lynch pins. This makes it possible to use this device on relatively small vessels which are not designed for coring work, having a minimum of free deck space and without launching platforms or hydraulic A-frame booms.     

Sea-level fluctuations in a coastal lagoon

Sea-level observations made during December, 1979, at six stations in Great South Bay (which is a coastal lagoon on the south shore of Long Island, New York) reveal that there were significant subtidal fluctuations in addition to the tidal oscillations. Harmonic analysis of the tidal oscillations of sea level indicates that M₂ is the dominant tidal constituent. The M₂ amplitude, however, suffered a more than 50% reduction in the interior of the Bay due largely to the narrow inlet. The subtidal sea level fluctuations within the Bay were forced primarily by the low-frequency fluctuations of the adjacent shelf water. The active subtidal exchange induced by this Bay-shelf coupling appeared to have suffered only minor attenuation within the Bay. As a consequence, the variance associated with subtidal sea level fluctuations was greater than that associated with the tidal oscillations over most of Great South Bay.