An investigation of subglacial processes at the microscale from Briksdalsbreen, Norway

The subglacial processes at Briksdalsbreen, Norway, are examined by a combination of sedimentology, thin section and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of till samples from an exposed subglacial surface and from beneath the glacier. Studies of a fluted surface indicate that subglacial deformation is occurring on a field scale with flutes forming behind most clasts 0·6 m high. At the thin section scale (0·014–2·0 mm) it is seen that deformation is by rotation and attenuation and is dependent on till texture. At the SEM scale (0·1–0·4 mm) it is seen that erosion is controlled by abrasion and percussion which produces distinct grain ‘styles’ as part of an erosional continuum. Overall it is shown that rotation and attenuation is a dominant process at all scales and that the clast interactions associated with different scale perturbations within the shear zone control erosion and deposition, as well as landform and fabric production.     

Groundwater flow and velocity in a 500 ka pre-Illinoian till, eastern Iowa

Few hydrology studies have investigated glacial till older than Illinoian time (> 300,000 BP) despite these older tills overlying a large portion of North America. An 8- and 6-well monitoring well nest installed into a 31 m thick pre-Illinoian till sequence near Cedar Rapids, Iowa was characterized using traditional hydrologic methods and chemical tracers. The aquitard system consists of about 9 m of fine-grained oxidized pre-Illinoian till overlying 22 m of unoxidized till and Devonian dolomite bedrock. Hydraulic conductivity ranged from 10⁻⁷ m/s in oxidized till and 10⁻¹⁰ m/s in unoxidized till. Hydraulic head relations indicated downward groundwater flow through the till profile with hydraulic gradients steepest near the unoxidized till/bedrock interface. Tritium and nitrate concentrations indicated recent (< 50 years old) recharge to a depth of 9–12 m below land surface. ¹⁸O and ²H results ranged between −6.2 to −7.9% and −38.0 to −50.9%, respectively, and plotted near the local Meteoric Water Line. A 1 per mil shift toward less negative ¹⁸O values with depth may suggest a climate change signal contained in the till water but more data are needed to verify this trend. Vertical groundwater velocity through the unoxidized till was estimated to range from 0.4 to 5.7 cm/year. The thickness of unoxidized pre-Illinoian till in Linn County was estimated from available records and contoured against vertical travel times to evaluate the effectiveness of pre-Illinoian till in preventing nitrate migration to underlying bedrock aquifers.     

Observing artificially induced strain: implications for subglacial deformation

By analysing a series of four successive thin‐sections from a ceramic clay that was subjected to uniaxial compression, we were able to monitor the development of microstructures in a fine‐grained sediment. The artificially induced microstructures, such as unidirectional clay reorientations and linear and circular grain arrangements, are identical to features that have been observed in thin‐sections of subglacially deformed tills, and therefore may be used as representative analogues. We argue that the structures, reflecting slip, planar shear displacements as well as rotational movements, can be explained by assuming a Coulomb‐plastic response to imposed shear. We conclude that sediments subjected to subglacial deformation behave as Coulomb materials, at least during the final stages of the deformation. The present study bridges the gap between field studies, experimental studies and theoretical modelling. The microscopic observations assist in visualising inferred subglacial processes and facilitate up‐ and downscaling between diverse methodological approaches. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrokinetic remediation of metal contaminated glacial tills

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation which studied the feasibility of using the electrokinetic process to remediate contaminated clays of glacial origin, otherwise known as glacial tills. An overview of the electrokinetic phenomena, as well as previously performed laboratory and field investigations, is first presented. The methodology of the electrokinetic experiments which were conducted to investigate the removal of metals from a glacial till is then described. A total of 16 experiments were conducted using glacial till samples obtained from a project site near Chicago. Sodium and calcium were used as the surrogate cationic metallic contaminants. These experiments demonstrated that ion transport during the electrokinetic process occurs due to both electro-osmosis and electromigration, but that due to electromigration is significantly higher than that due to electro-osmosis. Unlike other clays such as kaolinite, the glacial till used for this investigation possessed high buffering capacity because of its high carbonate content which prevented the acid front migration from the anode to the cathode during the electrokinetic process. The ion removal efficiency of the electrokinetic process was found to increase when: (1) the voltage gradient applied to the soil was increased, (2) the initial concentration of the contaminants was increased, and (3) the duration of the treatment process was increased. The ion removal efficiency was also greater for smaller ions which possess less ionic charge and when the ions existed independently in the soil as compared to when they coexisted. This investigation suggests that the electrokinetic process has significant potential for remediating glacial tills contaminated with metals. However, the properties of Na and Ca are not representative of contaminants, such as heavy metals, so further investigations are needed.     

Neoglacial (<3000 years) till and flutes at Saskatchewan Glacier,Canadian Rocky Mountains,formed by subglacial deformation of a soft bed

Understanding the processes that deposit till below modern glaciers provides fundamental information for interpreting ancient subglacial deposits. A process‐deposit‐landform model is developed for the till bed of Saskatchewan Glacier in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The glacier is predominantly hard bedded in its upper reaches and flows through a deep valley carved into resistant Palaeozoic carbonates but the ice margin rests on a thick (<6 m) soft bed of silt‐rich deformation till that has been exposed as the glacier retreats from its Little Ice Age limit reached in 1854. In situ tree stumps rooted in a palaeosol under the till are dated between ca 2900 and 2700 yr bp and record initial glacier expansion during the Neoglacial. Sedimentological and stratigraphic observations underscore the importance of subglacial deformation of glaciofluvial outwash deposited in front of the advancing glacier and mixing with glaciolacustrine carbonate‐rich silt to form a soft bed. The exposed till plain has a rolling drumlinoid topography inherited from overridden end moraines and is corrugated by more than 400 longitudinal flute ridges which record deformation of the soft bed and fall into three genetically related types: those developed in propagating incipient cavities in the lee of large subglacial boulders embedded in deformation till, and those lacking any originating boulder and formed by pressing of wet till up into radial crevasses under stagnant ice. A third type consists of U‐shaped flutes akin to barchan dunes; these wrap around large boulders at the downglacier ends of longitudinal scours formed by the bulldozing of boulders by the ice front during brief winter readvances across soft till. Pervasive subglacial deformation during glacier expansion was probably facilitated by large boulders rotating within the soft bed (‘glacioturbation’).     

Physical partitioning of mercury in till: an example from central British Columbia, Canada

The physical partitioning of Hg into different grain size fractions of till is predominantly controlled by the primary bedrock mineralogy, the distance of glacial transport, and the relative stability of cinnabar (HgS) in the soil weathering environment. At sites located short distances down-ice from bedrock cinnabar mineralization, the highest Hg concentrations in unoxidized till were measured in the sand- and granule-sized fractions reflecting the abundance of cinnabar in those size ranges. Similar partitioning was measured in oxidized till as cinnabar was found to be relatively resistant to postglacial weathering. Discrete clay-sized cinnabar grains obtained from the unoxidized till were viewed under the scanning electron microscope and suggest that the terminal grade of cinnabar is in the clay-sized range. In till collected from areas barren of cinnabar mineralization, the highest Hg levels were found in the clay-sized fraction which is attributed to the high adsorption of Hg by clay minerals.     

庐山地区第四纪泥砾沉积物的成因探讨

庐山第四纪泥砾沉积物的砾石组构特征表明, 砾石岩性与山体基岩基本一致, 砾石的等体积球径较小, 加权平均砾径较中值砾径大, 分选系数大于1, 分选性差, φ值相对较小, 平均为0.66, F值相对较大, 在2左右, F/φ比值介于2.75～4.75, ρ值集中且较小, 为22.75%～37.75%, 砾石以棱角、次棱角状为主, 磨圆较差; a轴和ab面都倾向沟谷下游, a轴倾角集中且较小, 为7～8°, ab面倾角为7～21°, a轴较ab面具有更为优势的组构倾向; 沉积物粒度频率曲线在4～5?范围内表现为峰; 石英砂颗粒为次棱角状, 贝壳状断口发育, 具平行擦痕、上翻解理片、V形坑和硅质沉淀。上述沉积学特征表明庐山第四纪泥砾沉积物系冰碛冰水沉积, 而非泥石流或河流堆积。      

基于SBAS-InSAR技术的中巴公路(公格尔墓士塔格段)地质体缓慢变形识别研究

中巴公路沿线地质灾害多发,通过微小变形对于其沿线地质灾害进行早期识别是一种重要的防灾措施。本文以中巴公路公格尔山至墓士塔格山段为研究区,选用2007年7月12日至2011年1月20日获取的16景PALSAR合成孔径雷达数据,采用小基线集干涉测量技术(SBAS-InSAR,Small Baseline Subset Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar)进行了变形干涉计算,识别并分析了沿线地质体的变形情况：(1)冰川运动与冰川泥石流作为沿线最主要的地质灾害,变形相对较大,较易识别,有效PS点主要分布在前缘冰碛物部分,反映为正负大变形相间的高异常值点团,其中公格尔山与墓士塔格山山麓的冰碛物运动最为显著; (2)沿线较软弱顺坡结构岩体发育,且风化严重,稳定性较差,易形成溜石坡灾害,表现为顺坡负异常变形; (3)宽谷区PS点变形以正值和较小的负值为主,该区域主要为底部冰水堆积物,上部洪积物,冰川融水补给充足,土体水分含量较高,可能产生冻胀变形,同时也可能存在斜坡重力梯度方向的变形,二者变形合成在测量结果上表现为视线向的正异常; (4)中巴公路主要在湖盆和洪积扇上展布,推测由于不均匀分布软土的变形,使较为刚性的公路部分路段产生了下沉; (5)SBAS-InSAR的高精度变形观测覆盖范围广,对于线性工程周围地质体稳定性的识别具有很好的应用前景。     

国际油气井钻头进展概述（二）——FuseTek融合钻头与Pexus组合钻头

NOV公司2013年向市场推出FuseTek融合钻头。它将PDC钻头的高钻速与孕镶金刚石钻头的耐磨性结合于一体,适宜于钻进中硬—坚硬、高研磨性地层。FuseTek钻头已广泛应用于刚果、厄瓜多尔、中国、哥伦比亚等国家。应用表明,该新型组合钻头比PDC钻头或牙轮钻头钻进效率提高许多,工作寿命增加1～3倍或更多。Shear Bits公司于2014年推出Pexus组合钻头。该钻头广泛应用于加拿大冰川冰碛物钻进。地层上部硬卵砾石层利用可转动硬质合金齿钻进,下部软砂岩与页岩则运用PDC碎岩。整个冰碛物地层用一个Pexus钻头一钻到底。所述3类组合式钻头（含Kymera钻头）对于未来实现“一个钻头,一口井”的目标有重要意义。