The ilmenite/titano-magnetite assemblage: kinetics of re-equilibration

Compositions of coexisting ilmenite and titano-magnetite commonly have been used to establish the conditions of formation for igneous and metamorphic rocks (Buddington-Lindsley geothermometer/oxybarometer). Temperatures so determined for some rocks are lower than might be expected for magmatic crystallization. These low temperatures are the result of re-equilibration of the Fe-Ti oxides during slow cooling. This process is one in which titano-magnetites are oxidized and ilmenites are reduced upon cooling along a buffer curve or in the presence of a fluid of constant composition. Textural studies indicate that the reduction of the ilmenite-hematite phase may be the slower reaction consequently, the rate-controlling step of the re-equilibration.The kinetics of the reduction reactions in the two-phase region between the joins for the ilmenite-hematite and magnetite-ulvöspinel solid solution series were studied by thermogravimetric analysis at controlledf_O2. With experiments conducted near the Ni/NiO and QFM buffers, annealed ilmenite(ss) synthetic charges were reduced isothermally. The temperature range for the experiments was 900–1250°C, with total gas-flow rates of 0.35 and 1.0 cm/s. Kinetic data were collected by measuring the weight change during each experiment as a function of time. Additionally, a cooling-rate (0.5°C/hr) experiment was conducted near the QFM buffer from 1150 to 985°C starting with an ilmenite-saturated spinel phase.At 1200°C and 0.35 cm/s flow rate, the reaction mechanism is an interfacial process where mass transport of the reacting gases is the rate-controlling step. In isothermal experiments at 1100°C and lower, diffusion of reactants through a solid product layer was the controlling mechanism. The activation energy for this diffusion process is 59±6 kcal/mole. Significant enhancement of diffusion occurs along grain boundaries.Although the individual phases may re-equilibrate internally upon cooling, the Fe-Ti contents must remain unchanged for proper use of this mineral indicator-i.e. no external re-equilibration. It is imperative that the kinetics of the situation be appreciated. These preliminary kinetic experiments indicate that extreme caution must be exercised when applying this ilmenite/titano-magnetite geothermometer/oxybarometer. These phases may only truly “quench” in the parameters of formation in the case of certain hypabyssal and extrusive occurrences     

Penetration of bomb radiocarbon in the tropical Indian Ocean measured by means of accelerator mass spectrometry

Radiocarbon measurements performed on seawater samples by means of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) enable to reduce by a factor of 2000 the water sample size needed for the¹⁴C measurements. Therefore no chemical treatment on board the oceanographic vessel is required. Seventy-four AMS¹⁴C determinations on samples collected in the tropical-equatorial Indian Ocean during the second leg of the INDIGO program (1986) are presented and compared with the β-counting results obtained during the same campaign and the GEOSECS program (1978). A pronounced reduction of the equatorial¹⁴C deficit suggests that substantial amounts of bomb-¹⁴C are associated with the westward flowing Pacific water which enters the Indian Ocean via passages through the Indonesia archipelago and/or to meridional mixing with¹⁴C-rich water of the southern subtropical gyre.     

Assessment of the ecological quality status of soft-bottoms in Reunion Island (tropical Southwest Indian Ocean) using AZTI marine biotic indices

The ability of the two synthetic marine biotic indices, AMBI and M-AMBI, to account for changes in the ecological quality of coastal soft bottoms of Reunion Island according to disturbances was assessed from macrobenthic samples collected in five sectors between 1994 and 2004. Samples were collected under non-perturbed conditions and at two sites subjected to heavy organic enrichment. Both indices are based on a classification of macrofauna into ecological groups (EG), and their transfer to tropical waters required some adaptations. These indices proved efficient in detecting a degradation of habitat quality. Their use resulted in the classification of all sites sampled between 1996 and 1998 as "good" or "high". M-AMBI nevertheless tended to result in the attribution of a slightly worse ecological quality status than AMBI. Together with an update of the EG species list for the Indian Ocean area, our results support the extension of both indices for the assessment of tropical soft bottoms.     

Debris-flow-dominated sediment transport through a channel network after wildfire

Field studies that investigate sediment transport between debris-flow-producing headwaters and rivers are uncommon, particularly in forested settings, where debris flows are infrequent and opportunities for collecting data are limited. This study quantifies the volume and composition of sediment deposited in the arterial channel network of a 14-km² catchment (Washington Creek) that connects small, burned and debris-flow-producing headwaters (<1 km²) with the Ovens River in SE Australia. We construct a sediment budget by combining new data on deposition with a sediment delivery model for post-fire debris flows. Data on deposits were plotted alongside the slope–area curve to examine links between processes, catchment morphometry and geomorphic process domains. The results show that large deposits are concentrated in the proximity of three major channel junctions, which correspond to breaks in channel slope. Hyperconcentrated flows are more prominent towards the catchment outlet, where the slope–area curve indicates a transition from debris flow to fluvial domains. This shift corresponds to a change in efficiency of the flow, determined from the ratio of median grain size to channel slope. Our sediment budget suggests a total sediment efflux from Washington Creek catchment of 61 × 10³ m³. There are similar contributions from hillslopes (43 ± 14 × 10³ m³), first to third stream order channel (35 ± 12 × 10³ m³) and the arterial fourth to fifth stream order channel (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³) to the total volume of erosion. Deposition (39 ± 17 × 10³ m³) within the arterial channel was higher than erosion (31 ± 17 × 10³ m³), which means a net sediment gain of about 8 × 10³ m³ in the arterial channel. The ratio of total deposition to total erosion was 0.44. For fines <63 μm, this ratio was much smaller (0.11), which means that fines are preferentially exported. This has important implications for suspended sediment and water quality in downstream rivers. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstructural Inhomogeneity and Mechanical Anisotropy Associated with Bedding in Rothbach Sandstone

This study present the result of conventional triaxial tests conducted on samples of Rothbach sandstone cored parallel, oblique (at 45 degrees) and perpendicular to the bedding at effective pressures ranging from 5 to 250 MPa. Mechanical and microstructural data were used to determine the role of the bedding on mechanical strength and failure mode. We find that samples cored at 45 degrees to the bedding yield at intermediate level of differential stress between the ones for parallel and perpendicular samples at all effective pressures. Strain localization at high confining pressure (i.e., in the compactive domain) is observed in samples perpendicular and oblique to the bedding but not in samples cored parallel to the bedding. However, porosity reduction is comparable whether compactive shear bands, compaction bands or homogeneous cataclastic flow develop. Microstructural data suggest that (1) mechanical anisotropy is controlled by a preferred intergranular contact alignment parallel to the bedding and that (2) localization of compaction is controlled by bedding laminations and grain scale heterogeneity, which both prevent the development of well localized compaction features.     

Field characterization and data integration to define the hydraulic heterogeneity of a shallow granular aquifer at a sub-watershed scale

Providing a sound basis for aquifer management or remediation requires that hydrogeological investigations carried out to understand groundwater flow and contaminant transport be based on representative data that capture the heterogeneous spatial distribution of aquifer hydraulic properties. This paper describes a general workflow allowing the characterization of the heterogeneity of the hydraulic properties of granular aquifers at an intermediate scale of a few km². The workflow involves characterization and data integration steps that were applied on a 12-km² study area encompassing a decommissioned landfill emitting a leachate plume and its main surface water receptors. The sediments composing the aquifer were deposited in a littoral–sublittoral environment and show evidence of small-scale transitional heterogeneities. Cone penetrometer tests (CPT) combined with soil moisture and electrical resistivity (SMR) measurements were thus used to identify and characterize spatial heterogeneities in hydraulic properties over the study area. Site-specific statistical relationships were needed to infer hydrofacies units and to estimate hydraulic properties from high-resolution CPT/SMR soundings distributed all over the study area. A learning machine approach was used due to the complex statistical relationships between colocated hydraulic and CPT/SMR data covering the full range of aquifer materials. Application of this workflow allowed the identification of hydrofacies units and the estimation of horizontal hydraulic conductivity, vertical hydraulic conductivity and porosity over the study area. The paper describes and discusses data acquisition and integration methodologies that can be adapted to different field situations, while making the aquifer characterization process more time-efficient and less labor-intensive.     

Dextral‐Slip Thrust Faulting and Seismic Events of the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan Earthquake,Longmenshan Mountains,Eastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract: Dextral-slip thrust movement of the Songpan-Garzê terrain over the Sichuan block caused the Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 and offset the Central Longmenshan Fault (CLF) along a distance of ~250 km. Displacement along the CLF changes from Yingxiu to Qingchuan. The total oblique slip of up to 7.6 m in Yingxiu near the epicenter of the earthquake, decreases northeastward to 5.3 m, 6.6 m, 4.4 m, 2.5 m and 1.1 m in Hongkou, Beichuan, Pingtong, Nanba and Qingchuan, respectively. This offset apparently occurred during a sequence of four reported seismic events, EQ1–EQ4, which were identified by seismic inversion of the source mechanism. These events occurred in rapid succession as the fault break propagated northeastward during the earthquake. Variations in the plunge of slickensides along the CLF appear to match these events. The Mw 7.5 EQ1 event occurred during the first 0–10 s along the Yingxiu-Hongkou section of the CLF and is characterized by 1.7 m vertical slip and vertical slickensides. The Mw 8.0 EQ2 event, which occurred during the next 10–42 s along the Yingxiu-Yanziyan section of the CLF, is marked by major dextral-slip with minor thrust and slickensides plunging 25°–35° southwestward. The Mw 7.5 EQ3 event occurred during the following 42–60 s and resulted in dextral-slip and slickensides plunging 10° southwestward in Beichuan and plunging 73° southwestward in Hongkou. The Mw 7.7 EQ4 event, which occurred during the final 60–95 s along the Beichuan-Qingchuan section of the CLF, is characterized by nearly equal values of dextral and vertical slips with slickensides plunging 45°–50° southwestward. These seismic events match and evidently controlled the concentrations of landslide dams caused by the Wenchuan earthquake in Longmenshan Mountains.     

Late Oligocene-Early Miocene Thrusting in Southern East Kunlun Mountains, Northern Tibetan Plateau

Southward thrusting occurred in Late Oligocene-Early Miocene in southern East Kunlun (昆仑) Mountains formed the South Kunlun thrust (SKT). Permian strata and Triassic rocks were thrusted over the Paleocene-Eocene red-beds of Fenghuoshan (风火山) Group and Oligocene brownish red conglomerate and sandstone of Yaxicuo (雅西错) Group along SKT faults, formed tectonic slices, low-angle thrust faults, multi-scaled outliers, and nappe structures in south of Middle Kunlun fault (MKF). In addition, SKT displacement or shortening is estimated to be ～(30-35) km across Dongdatan (东大滩) valley and East Wenquan (温泉) basin. 39Ar-40Ar dating of chlorite of ductile shear zone along front thrust fault indicates that SKT thrusting occurred at 26.5±2.7 Ma, and fission track dating of apatite from mylonitic granite in SKT gives the age 26±2 Ma, corresponding to initial time of rapid uplift of East Kunlun Mountains. Thrust faults and folds of SKT were covered unconformably by Late Miocene lacustrine strata, and major thrusting of SKT ended before 13.5-14.5 Ma according to regional chronological data in northern Tibetan plateau.     

Getting across information communities

Amazon’s deforestation affects citizens from varying information communities. Experts like scientists or journalists acquire relevant data on-site and publish valuable information on the Web. But different and sometimes conflicting views on reality impede sharing of information across communities, relevant content remains far too often undiscovered. We introduce rule-based semantic annotations as solution to facilitate the discovery and evaluation of geographical information. With the distinction between shared domain and local information source ontologies, the proposed architecture of a semantically supported SDI for the Amazon also takes the plethora of GI formats into account. Creating semantic annotations is challenging, a recommender system for semantic annotations enables even the non-IT experts to participate. The benefits of the proposed techniques are further illustrated by a scenario which spans across information communities of economics, ecology, and ethnology.