Dauphiné twinning and texture memory in polycrystalline quartz. Part 3: texture memory during phase transformation

Samples of quartz-bearing rocks were heated above the α (trigonal)–β (hexagonal) phase transformation of quartz (625–950°C) to explore changes in preferred orientation patterns. Textures were measured both in situ and ex situ with neutron, synchrotron X-ray and electron backscatter diffraction. The trigonal–hexagonal phase transformation does not change the orientation of c- and a-axes, but positive and negative rhombs become equal in the hexagonal β-phase. In naturally deformed quartzites measured by neutron diffraction a perfect texture memory was observed, i.e. crystals returned to the same trigonal orientation they started from, with no evidence of twin boundaries. Samples measured by electron back-scattered diffraction on surfaces show considerable twinning and memory loss after the phase transformation. In experimentally deformed quartz rocks, where twinning was induced mechanically before heating, the orientation memory is lost. A mechanical model can explain the memory loss but so far it does not account for the persistence of the memory in quartzites. Stresses imposed by neighboring grains remain a likely cause of texture memory in this mineral with a very high elastic anisotropy. If stresses are imposed experimentally the internal stresses are released during the phase transformation and the material returns to its original state prior to deformation. Similarly, on surfaces there are no tractions and thus texture memory is partially lost.     

Application of SEM-EBSD to regional scale shear zone analysis: A case study of the Bhavani Shear Zone,South India

The Bhavani Shear Zone (BSZ), part of the Palghat-Cauvery shear system of southern India, comprises a number of subparallel shear zones ranging in width from a few centimetres to tens of metres. These shear zones are characterised by progressive mylonitisation and shear fabrics corresponding to increasing strain, as documented by grain size reduction, flattening, elongation and dimensional preferred orientation of constituent minerals (quartz, hornblende, biotite, plagioclase and orthoclase). However, SEM-EBSD measured crystal preferred orientations (CPO) of these minerals are more complex and indicate interchange of maximum (X) and intermediate (Y) tectonic axes during different phases of deformation, with the minimum axis (Z) remaining approximately constant. The tectonic evolution of the BSZ and the disposition of the surrounding Archaean and Pan-African granulites are interpreted therefore in terms of polyphase deformation involving both dip-slip and strike-slip movement events in a multiply reactivated setting. SEM-EBSD CPO analysis provides clearer indication of potentially conflicting movement directions that are otherwise poorly constrained by shear markers and shear sense indicators.     

A review of aridity and groundwater

Surface hydrological studies are seen as inadequate in hyperarid and arid areas to provide reliable estimates of recharge. In most such areas surface discharges are not present so that assessments of groundwater resources are dependent upon ground interpretation and denied the flow control found in assessments elsewhere. Groundwater models show that gradients are sustained by long-term dewatering and very small amounts of modern indirect recharge. Recharge indications are well within the error of a hydrological balance. Discharges appear equally small. The development of groundwater in arid areas frequently faces problems of salination due to recycling of irrigation water and rising groundwater heads. Abstraction is often inadequately managed so that uncontrolled mining of groundwater occurs. The advantage that groundwater has, however, is that it offers staged development and staged appraisal.     

Characterisation of organic matter and microbial communities in contrasting arsenic-rich Holocene and arsenic-poor Pleistocene aquifers,Red River Delta,Vietnam

High concentrations of geogenic As in the groundwaters of south and SE Asia, which are used as drinking waters, are causing severe health impacts to the exposed human populations. It is widely accepted that As mobilisation from sediments into these shallow reducing groundwaters requires active metal-reducing microbes and electron donors such as organic matter (OM). Although OM in such Holocene aquifers has been characterised, there is a dearth of data on Pleistocene aquifers from the same areas. Reported here are preliminary studies of OM and microbial communities present in two aquifers, one of Pleistocene and one of Holocene age, with contrasting concentrations of As (viz. Pleistocene: low As <10 μg/L; Holocene: high As up to 600 μg/L) from Van Phuc village in the Red River Delta, Vietnam. Results revealed OM inputs from multiple sources, including potential contributions from naturally occurring petroleum seeping into the shallow aquifer sediments from deeper thermally mature source rocks. Although concentrations vary, no noticeable systematic differences in biomarker distribution patterns within the OM were observed between the two sites. Microbial analyses did not show a presence of microbial communities previously associated with As mobilisation. All clone libraries were dominated by α-, β-, and γ-Proteobacteria not known to be able to reduce Fe(III) or sorbed As(V). Furthermore, representatives of the Fe(III)-reducing genus Geobacter could only be detected at very low abundance by PCR, using highly selective 16S rRNA gene primers, supporting the hypothesis that metal reduction is not a dominant in situ process in these sediments. No correlation between As concentration in groundwater and OM composition nor microbial community in the host sediments was found. This suggests that either (i) As is not being significantly mobilised in situ in these sediments, instead As appears to be mobilised elsewhere and transported by groundwater flow to the sites or (ii) sorption/desorption processes, as implicated by geochemical data from the cores, play a critical role in controlling As concentrations at these sites.