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At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
USGS1998

Field and laboratory evidence for intrinsic biodegradation of vinyl chloride contamination in a Fe(III)-reducing aquifer

Intrinsic bioremediation of chlorinated ethenes in anaerobic aquifers previously has not been considered feasible, due, in large part, to 1) the production of vinyl chloride during microbial reductive dechlorination of higher chlorinated contaminants and 2) the apparent poor biodegradability of vinyl chloride under anaerobic conditions. In this study, a combination of field geochemical analyses and laboratory radiotracer ([1,2-14C] vinyl chloride) experiments was utilized to assess the potential for intrinsic biodegradation of vinyl chloride contamination in an Fe(III)-reducing, anaerobic aquifer. Microcosm experiments conducted under Fe(III)-reducing conditions with material from the Fe(III)-reducing, chlorinated-ethene contaminated aquifer demonstrated significant oxidation of [1,2-14C] vinyl chloride to 14CO2 with no detectable production of ethene or other reductive dehalogenation products. Rates of degradation derived from the microcosm experiments (0.9-1.3% d-1) were consistent with field-estimated rates (0.03-0.2% d-1) of apparent vinyl chloride degradation. Field estimates of apparent vinyl chloride biodegradation were calculated using two distinct approaches; 1) a solute dispersion model and 2) a mass balance assessment. These findings demonstrate that degradation under Fe(III) reducing conditions can be an environmentally significant mechanism for intrinsic bioremediation of vinyl chloride in anaerobic ground-water systems.

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology↗
USGS2006

Tracer test with As(V) under variable redox conditions controlling arsenic transport in the presence of elevated ferrous iron concentrations

To study transport and reactions of arsenic under field conditions, a small-scale tracer test was performed in an anoxic, iron-reducing zone of a sandy aquifer at the USGS research site on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. For four weeks, a stream of groundwater with added As(V) (6.7 μM) and bromide (1.6 mM), was injected in order to observe the reduction of As(V) to As(III). Breakthrough of bromide (Br − ), As(V), and As(III) as well as additional parameters characterizing the geochemical conditions was observed at various locations downstream of the injection well over a period of 104 days. After a short lag period, nitrate and dissolved oxygen from the injectate oxidized ferrous iron and As(V) became bound to the freshly formed hydrous iron oxides. Approximately one week after terminating the injection, anoxic conditions had been reestablished and increases in As(III) concentrations were observed within 1 m of the injection. During the observation period, As(III) and As(V) were transported to a distance of 4.5 m downgradient indicating significant retardation by sorption processes for both species. Sediment assays as well as elevated concentrations of hydrogen reflected the presence of As(V) reducing microorganisms. Thus, microbial As(V) reduction was thought to be one major process driving the release of As(III) during the tracer test in the Cape Cod aquifer.

Journal of Contaminant Hydrology↗
USGS2001

Predictions of hydrothermal alteration within near-ridge oceanic crust from coordinated geochemical and fluid flow models

Coordinated geochemical and hydrological calculations guide our understanding of the composition, fluid flow patterns, and thermal structure of near-ridge oceanic crust. The case study presented here illustrates geochemical and thermal changes taking place as oceanic crust ages from 0.2 to 1.0 Myr. Using a finite element code, we model fluid flow and heat transport through the upper few hundred meters of an abyssal hill created at an intermediate spreading rate. We use a reaction path model with a customized database to calculate equilibrium fluid compositions and mineral assemblages of basalt and seawater at 500 bars and temperatures ranging from 150 to 400??C. In one scenario, reaction path calculations suggest that volume increases on the order of 10% may occur within portions of the basaltic basement. If this change in volume occurred, it would be sufficient to fill all primary porosity in some locations, effectively sealing off portions of the oceanic crust. Thermal profiles resulting from fluid flow simulations indicate that volume changes along this possible reaction path occur primarily within the first 0.4 Myr of crustal aging. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1998

The petrogenesis of felsic calc-alkaline magmas from the southernmost Cascades, California: Origin by partial melting of basaltic lower crust

The majority of felsic rocks from composite centers in the southernmost Cascades have geochemical and Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic ratios that suggest derivation by partial melting of lower crust that is compositionally similar to calc-alkaline basalts observed in the region. Only a few felsic rocks have δ 18 O and Pb isotopic compositions that indicate interaction with the upper crust. Mineralogical and geochemical differences among the felsic magmas result primarily from melting under variable f (H 2 O) and temperature conditions. Partial melting under low f (H 2 O) and high temperature conditions leaves an amphibole-poor residuum, and produces magmas that have orthopyroxene as the most abundant ferromagnesian phenocryst, relatively low silica contents, and straight rare earth element patterns. Partial melting under higher f (H 2 O) and lower temperature conditions leaves an amphibole-rich residuum, and produces magmas that have amphibole ± biotite phenocrysts, relatively high silica contents, and pronounced middle rare earth element depletions. These conclusions are consistent with published thermal models that suggest that reasonable volumes of basaltic magma emplaced beneath large composite centers in the southernmost Cascades can serve as the heat source for melting of the lower crust. Melting of the lower crust under variable f (H 2 O) conditions is likely to result from differences in the H 2 O contents of these basaltic magmas.

Journal of Petrology↗
USGS2008

Kaguyak dome field and its Holocene caldera, Alaska Peninsula

Kaguyak Caldera lies in a remote corner of Katmai National Park, 375 km SW of Anchorage, Alaska. The 2.5-by-3-km caldera collapsed ~ 5.8 ± 0.2 ka ( 14 C age) during emplacement of a radial apron of poorly pumiceous crystal-rich dacitic pyroclastic flows (61–67% SiO 2 ). Proximal pumice-fall deposits are thin and sparsely preserved, but an oxidized coignimbrite ash is found as far as the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, 80 km southwest. Postcaldera events include filling the 150-m-deep caldera lake, emplacement of two intracaldera domes (61.5–64.5% SiO 2 ), and phreatic ejection of lakefloor sediments onto the caldera rim. CO 2 and H 2 S bubble up through the lake, weakly but widely. Geochemical analyses ( n = 148), including pre-and post-caldera lavas (53–74% SiO 2 ), define one of the lowest-K arc suites in Alaska. The precaldera edifice was not a stratocone but was, instead, nine contiguous but discrete clusters of lava domes, themselves stacks of rhyolite to basalt exogenous lobes and flows. Four extra caldera clusters are mid-to-late Pleistocene, but the other five are younger than 60 ka, were truncated by the collapse, and now make up the steep inner walls. The climactic ignimbrite was preceded by ~ 200 years by radial emplacement of a 100-m-thick sheet of block-rich glassy lava breccia (62–65.5% SiO 2 ). Filling the notches between the truncated dome clusters, the breccia now makes up three segments of the steep caldera wall, which beheads gullies incised into the breccia deposit prior to caldera formation. They were probably shed by a large lava dome extruding where the lake is today.

Alaska↗
USGS1990

Organic geochemical studies of the transformation of gymnospermous xylem during peatification and coalification to subbituminous coal

Organic geochemical investigations of peatified and coalified xylem from gymnosperms have provided useful information on the organic transformational processes collectively known as coalification. The combined use of solid-state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and pyrolysis/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (py/gc/ms) has allowed us to examine the organic composition of peatified and coalified xylem on both a bulk (average) compositional basis and on a detailed molecular basis. We conclude from our studies that coalification of gymnospermous xylem involves the following processes1. (1) early selective removal of cellulosic materials so that lignin, a primary constituent of xylem, is transformed to macromolecular aromatic components in coal;2. (2) modification of gymnospermous lignin by demethylation to form catechol-like structures, and by condensation reactions to induce a high level of cross-linking at an early stage of coalification; and (3) dehydroxylation during increasing coalification to subbituminous coal, the resultant xylem becomes more phenolic in character as the catechol-like structures decrease.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2014

Towards understanding the puzzling lack of acid geothermal springs in Tibet (China): Insight from a comparison with Yellowstone (USA) and some active volcanic hydrothermal systems

Explanations for the lack of acid geothermal springs in Tibet are inferred from a comprehensive hydrochemical comparison of Tibetan geothermal waters with those discharged from Yellowstone (USA) and two active volcanic areas, Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) and Miravalles (Costa Rica) where acid springs are widely distributed and diversified in terms of geochemical characteristic and origin. For the hydrothermal areas investigated in this study, there appears to be a relationship between the depths of magma chambers and the occurrence of acid, chloride-rich springs formed via direct magmatic fluid absorption. Nevado del Ruiz and Miravalles with magma at or very close to the surface (less than 1–2 km) exhibit very acidic waters containing HCl and H 2 SO 4 . In contrast, the Tibetan hydrothermal systems, represented by Yangbajain, usually have fairly deep-seated magma chambers so that the released acid fluids are much more likely to be fully neutralized during transport to the surface. The absence of steam-heated acid waters in Tibet, however, may be primarily due to the lack of a confining layer (like young impermeable lavas at Yellowstone) to separate geothermal steam from underlying neutral chloride waters and the possible scenario that the deep geothermal fluids below Tibet carry less H 2 S than those below Yellowstone.

Tibet, Yellowstone National Park↗
USGS2011

Limnogeology in Brazil's "forgotten wilderness": A synthesis from the large floodplain lakes of the Pantanal

Sediment records from floodplain lakes have a large and commonly untapped potential for inferring wetland response to global change. The Brazilian Pantanal is a vast, seasonally inundated savanna floodplain system controlled by the flood pulse of the Upper Paraguay River. Little is known, however, about how floodplain lakes within the Pantanal act as sedimentary basins, or what influence hydroclimatic variables exert on limnogeological processes. This knowledge gap was addressed through an actualistic analysis of three large, shallow (<5 m) floodplain lakes in the western Pantanal: Lagoa Gaíva, Lagoa Mandioré and Baia Vermelha. The lakes are dilute (CO3 2- > Si 4+ > Ca 2+ ), mildly alkaline, freshwater systems, the chemistries and morphometrics of which evolve with seasonal flooding. Lake sills are bathymetric shoals marked by siliciclastic fans and marsh vegetation. Flows at the sills likely undergo seasonal reversals with the changing stage of the Upper Paraguay River. Deposition in deeper waters, typically encountered in proximity to margin-coincident topography, is dominated by reduced silty-clays with abundant siliceous microfossils and organic matter. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, plus hydrogen index measured on bulk organic matter, suggest that contributions from algae (including cyanobacteria) and other C3-vegetation dominate in these environments. The presence of lotic sponge spicules, together with patterns of terrigenous sand deposition and geochemical indicators of productivity, points to the importance of the flood pulse for sediment and nutrient delivery to the lakes. Flood-pulse plumes, waves and bioturbation likewise affect the continuity of sedimentation. Short-lived radioisotopes indicate rates of 0.11-0.24 cm year -1 at sites of uninterrupted deposition. A conceptual facies model, developed from insights gained from modern seasonal processes, can be used to predict limnogeological change when the lakes become isolated on the floodplain or during intervals associated with a strengthened flood pulse. Amplification of the seasonal cycle over longer time scales suggests carbonate, sandy lowstand fan and terrestrial organic matter deposition during arid periods, whereas deposition of lotic sponges, mixed aquatic organic matter, and highstand deltas characterizes wet intervals. The results hold substantial value for interpreting paleolimnological records from floodplain lakes linked to large tropical rivers with annual flooding cycles.

Bahia Vermelha, Brazilian Pantanal, Lagoa Gaiva, L↗
USGS2020

The chemostratigraphy of the Murray formation and role of diagenesis at Vera Rubin ridge in Gale crater, Mars, as observed by the ChemCam instrument

Geochemical results are presented from Curiosity’s exploration of the Vera Rubin ridge (VRR), in addition to the full chemostratigraphy of the predominantly lacustrine mudstone Murray formation up to and including VRR. VRR is a prominent ridge flanking Aeolis Mons (informally Mt. Sharp), the central mound in Gale crater, Mars, and was a key area of interest for the Mars Science Laboratory mission. ChemCam data show that VRR is overall geochemically similar to lower-lying members of the Murray formation, even though the top of VRR is characterized by strong hematite spectral signatures as observed from orbit. While overall geochemically similar, VRR is characterized by a prominent decrease in Li abundance and Chemical Index of Alteration across the ridge. This decrease follows the morphology of the ridge rather than elevation and is inferred to reflect a non-depositionally controlled decrease in clay mineral abundance in VRR rocks. Additionally, a notable enrichment in Mn above baseline levels is observed on VRR. While not supporting a single model, the results suggest that VRR rocks were likely affected by multiple episodes of post-depositional groundwater interactions that made them more erosionally resistant than surrounding Murray rocks – thus resulting in the modern-day ridge after subsequent erosion.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets↗
USGS1997

A reconnaissance study of oxygen, hydrogen and strontium isotopes in geochemically diverse lakes, Western Nebraska, USA

Reconnaissance ??18O,, ??D, and ??87Sr data for fifteen lakes in the Western Lakes Region of the Sand Hills of Nebraska indicate dynamic hydrologic systems. The rather narrow range of ??87Sr from lake water (1.1 to 2.1) and groundwater (0.9 to 1.7) indicates that the groundwater is generally unradiogenic. Groundwater residence times and relatively unradiogenic volcanic ash within the dune sediments control the ??87Sr values. Based on the mutual variations of ??18O and ??D, the lakes can be divided into three groups. In Group 1, both ??18O and ??D values increase from spring to fall. The ??18O and ??D values in Group 2 decreased from spring to fall. Group 3 are ephemeral lakes that went dry some time during 1992. The data and isotopic modeling show that variations in the ratio of evaporation relative to groundwater inflow, local humidity conditions, and the ??(a) has substantial influence on the isotopic composition. In addition, isotopic behavior in ephemeral hakes can be rather unusual because of the changing activities of water and mineral precipitation and redissolution. The annual and interannual isotopic variability of these lakes which is reflected in the paleonvironmental indicators may be the rule rather than the exception in these types of systems.

Journal of Paleolimnology↗
USGS2020

Cyclic shear zone cataclasis and sintering during lava dome extrusion: Insights from Chaos Crags, Lassen Volcanic Center (USA)

The ascent and extrusion of crystal-rich magma is commonly facilitated by deformation partitioned within annular, conduit-parallel shear zones. The physical properties and textures of the shear zone materials, where exposed at surface, provide a record of ascent and eruption dynamics. We describe the shear zone developed in Dome C, part of Chaos Crags in the Lassen Volcanic Center (California, USA). The extruded shear zone comprises volcanic fault gouge and variably densified cataclasites. The competent cataclasites evidence deep-seated gouge production followed by gouge densification within the conduit on the timescale of lava dome ascent. Textural, geochemical and mineralogical data identify solid-state sintering as the densification mechanism. At the temperatures and pressures in the volcanic conduit, solid-state sintering causes rapid porosity and permeability loss within the gouge and concomitant material strengthening. Longer dwell times (i.e., slower ascent) allow for more sintering, producing stronger, denser and less permeable cataclasites. At Chaos Crags, we use the extent of sintering, quantified by residual porosity, to recover minimum in-conduit dwell times necessary to produce the observed cataclasites. Our analysis of the Dome C cataclasites suggests a maximum linear ascent rate of 10 m/day and a minimum ascent time of 100 days. We evaluate the consequences of shear zone lithification by solid-state sintering for the eruption of other crystal-rich, glass-poor magmas. Chaos Crags cataclasites preserve evidence of multiple cycles of fracturing, cataclasis and (re-)sintering suggesting a mechanism for transitions between effusive and explosive phases of dome-building eruptions.

California↗
USGS1999

U-Pb zircon age of metafelsite from the Pinney Hollow formation: Implications for the development of the Vermont Appalachians

The Pinney Hollow Formation of central Vermont is part of a rift-clastic to drift-stage sequence of cover rocks deposited on the Laurentian margin during the development of the Iapetan passive margin in Late Proterozoic to Cambrian time. Conventional U-Pb zircon data indicate an age of 571+ or -5 Ma for a metafelsite from the Pinney Hollow Formation. Geochemical data indicate that the protolith for the metafelsite, now a quartz-albite gneiss or granofels, was rhyolite from a source that was transitional between a within-plate granite and ocean-ridge granite setting and probably came through partially distended continental crust. The transitional setting is consistent with previous data from metabasalts in the Pinney Hollow Formation and supports the idea that the source magma came through continental crust on the rifted margin of the Laurentian craton. The 571+ or -5 Ma age provides the first geochronologic age from the rift-clastic cover sequence in New England and establishes a Late Proterozoic age for the Pinney Hollow Formation. The Late Proterozoic age of the Pinney Hollow confirms the presence of a significant mapped thrust fault between the autochthonous and para-autochthonous rocks of the cover sequence. These findings support the interpretation that the Taconic root zone is located in the hinterland of the Vermont Appalachians on the eastern side of the Green Mountain massif.

Vermont↗
USGS1983

Relation of concealed faults to water quality and the formation of solution features in the Floridan aquifer, northeastern Florida, U.S.A.

Geological and hydrological information on the Floridan aquifer in northeastern Florida indicates that isolated occurrences of water having relatively high chloride concentration in the upper part of the aquifer may be associated with buried faults. Water having chloride concentrations of more than 700 mg l −1 occurs in the deeper zone of the aquifer at depths below ∼ 600 m below sea level in the coastal and east-central part of the study area. This deep salty water is under higher artesian pressure than water in the shallower, generally freshwater zones, but it is restricted from moving upward by relatively impermeable dolomite beds. Two buried faults with vertical displacements of 30–45 m are in areas where relatively high concentrations of chloride have been detected in water in the upper part of the aquifer. Geochemical, artesian pressure, and water temperature data show that the source of the relatively high concentrations of chloride in water in the upper part of the aquifer is from the deeper zone. This indicates that the faults may have breached the dolomite confining beds and allowed the upward movement of salty water from the deeper zone. The upward movement of mineralized water along the faults may also have formed some of the solution features found in the aquifer near the faults. In this area, freshwater in the upper part of the aquifer is normally saturated with respect to calcite and dolomite. However, water from wells tapping the upper part of the aquifer near the faults is not fully saturated suggesting that the mixing of deep mineralized water with shallower freshwater produces a mixture that is not saturated with respect to these minerals and allows for the dissolution of limestone in the aquifer near the faults. Dissolution of limestone may also be occurring at the freshwater-saltwater interface in the deeper zones of the aquifer.

Florida↗
USGS1996

Geochemical and palynological indicators of the paleoecology of the River Gem coal bed, Whitley County, Kentucky

The River Gem coal bed (upper Westphalian A) was sampled at five sites in a single mine in Whitley County, Kentucky. Previous petrographic and sulfur analyses of the collected interval samples showed that the coal bed could be divided into a basal low-sulfur lithotype, a middle high-sulfur bone lithotype and an upper high-sulfur lithotype. At one location a high-sulfur rider unit is present. In this study we have conducted detailed palynological analyses on all of the interval samples and ash geochemistry on the upper high-sulfur lithotype intervals and two of the basal high-sulfur basal lithotype intervals. Geochemical analyses show that As and Pb are generally high in the high-sulfur upper lithotypes from all five sites. Carbonates, having associated high levels of Ba and Sr, are important in the ash geochemistry of the lower, low-sulfur lithotypes. Ga, Ge and W are enriched in the higher vitrinite lithotypes among the low-sulfur samples. The basal lithotype at each of two sites, which was analyzed in detail, is enriched in yttrium plus the lighter rare earth elements. The basal low-sulfur lithotypes are dominated by arboreous lycopod spores. The middle, low-sulfur portion of the bed is dominated by herbaceous lycopsids ( Densosporites ) at the base of the unit and becomes increasingly enriched in Lycospora towards the top of the unit indicating that the peat-forming environment became wetter. The greatest arboreous lycopod spore abundances in the upper, high-sulfur portion the bed, along with an overlying marine roof, indicates that peat deposition was terminated by a marine inundation.

International Journal of Coal Geology↗
USGS2026

Shallow differentiation of primitive arc magmas at the Jurassic Emigrant Gap mafic complex, Sierra Nevada, California

The Emigrant Gap composite pluton exposes ultramafic to silicic intrusive rocks that preserve the chemical evolution of primitive mafic arc magmas and their open-system interactions in the upper crust during mid-Jurassic growth of the Sierra Nevada batholith (California). We present field and petrographic observations and mineral and whole-rock chemistry of the ~35-km 2 ultramafic to dioritic Emigrant Gap mafic complex and an adjacent penecontemporaneous ~90-km 2 granodiorite that together make up the composite pluton. In the Emigrant Gap mafic complex, four roughly central masses of dunite, wehrlite, and olivine clinopyroxenite are surrounded by weakly layered gabbronorite and non-layered diorite. The ultramafic rocks are cumulates formed from near-liquidus minerals of primitive arc magmas that accumulated in steep feeder zones with substantial modification by melt–mush reaction as primitive liquids repeatedly transited the mush-filled conduits. The dominant gabbronoritic rocks are the variably accumulative products of more advanced crystallization–differentiation of arc tholeiitic basalts and basaltic andesites. The adjacent granodiorite intrusion originated separately and preserves field and geochemical evidence for assimilation of metasedimentary rocks. Open-system hybridization between the gabbronoritic mushes and the granodioritic magma produced an intervening body of two-pyroxene diorite. We infer that the ultramafic rocks and gabbronorite of the Emigrant Gap mafic complex crystallized from near-primitive arc basaltic to basaltic andesitic magmas at ~0.15–0.3 GPa, with estimated f O 2 of ≥FMQ +1 and dissolved H 2 O concentrations of only ~0.5–2 wt %. Notably, the Emigrant Gap composite pluton is distinct from other Mesozoic plutons in the Sierra Nevada batholith because of (1) its abundance of mafic and ultramafic rocks that crystallized from relatively primitive mafic melts and (2) the low inferred H 2 O concentrations of its parental magmas, indicated by a near absence of igneous amphibole and by the intermediate rather than calcic compositions of plagioclase. A Jurassic regional extension event probably accounts for the formation of relatively dry primitive arc magmas, as well as for their ascending to the upper crust.

California↗
USGS2026

Characterization and modeling approach for planning restoration strategies in a complex basin affected by acid mine drainage

The management of acid mine drainage (AMD) impacted catchments, such as the Odiel River basin, in southwestern Spain, prioritizes reclamation to meet water resources needs. Assessing water composition across its watercourses is needed to identify major AMD contributors and potentially guide remediation efforts. An equilibrium-based mixing model was developed to simulate AMD pollutant load reductions and estimate the impact of selective restorations on water quality in the Odiel River, particularly at the planned Alcolea Reservoir near its outlet. Sampling under varying flow conditions (average vs. high flow) showed a reduction in acidity transport (from 54.0 to 42.5 ton/day), attributed to greater neutralization effects during high flows. Over 90 % of metal-fluxes originate alone from the Riotinto (73.6 %), Tharsis (14.5 %), and San Telmo (5.00 %) mining districts, among many other mines. While geochemical model estimates fit well with observed data (R 2 = 0.99), some deviations in non-conservative constituents (i.e. pH, Fe and Al) were observed (R 2 = 0.73–0.99), likely due to uncertainties in solubility constants and redox/Fe speciation. After evaluating model reliability, two reduction scenarios (50 % and 100 %) were applied to the three primary sources. Full removal of contamination could subtantially improve impounded reservoir water quality, with pH values of 4.93 and 7.64, and a net acidity between 8.75 and 4.63 mg/L eq. CaCO 3 in both average and high flows, respectively. Such differences may be related to flow regime effects on water quality. However, a 50 % reduction is insufficient to meet drinking or irrigation standards, highlighting the need for full and appropriate reclamation. The model offers a management tool for decision-making in the restoration of the Odiel River basin and could be transferable to similar AMD-affected basins worldwide.

Odiel River basin, southwestern Spain↗
USGS2020

Isotopic and geochemical assessment of the sensitivity of groundwater resources of Guam, Mariana Islands, to intra- and inter-annual variations in hydroclimate

Assessing the sensitivity of groundwater systems to hydroclimate variability is critical to sustainable management of the water resources of Guam, US territory. We assess spatial and temporal variability of isotopic and geochemical compositions of vadose and phreatic groundwater sampled from cave drip sites and production wells, respectively, to better understand the vulnerability of the freshwater lens on Guam to variability in hydroclimate. We independently evaluate the existing conceptual model of the Northern Guam Lens Aquifer that is largely based on physical, as opposed to geochemical, observations. Sampling was conducted from 2008 to 2015, over which rainfall gradually increased. Major ion geochemistry and Sr isotope values of groundwater show varying influence from soil, limestone bedrock, and seawater. Geochemical modeling that can explain spatial variability in groundwater Na+ and Mg2+ concentrations and Sr/Ca and 87Sr/86 Sr values indicates that groundwater compositions are dominantly controlled by mixing of freshwater with seawater and water-rock interaction. Differences between amount-weighted annual average precipitation δ18 O values and groundwater δ18 O values indicate a recharge bias toward the wet season, consistent with other tropical carbonate island aquifer settings. Intra- and inter-annual variations in Na+ concentrations and δ18 O values in groundwater reflect sensitivity of recharge to seasonal variations in rainfall amount and changes in annual rainfall amounts. Our results indicate the influence of multiple modes of recharge on groundwater compositions and spatial variability in the sensitivity of groundwater to seawater mixing. This sensitivity of the freshwater lens points to the vulnerability of groundwater resources to changes in recharge associated with climate, land-use change, and increases in population.

Journal of Hydrology↗
USGS2006

Research on genesis of pyrite near the Permian-Triassic boundary in meishan, Zhejiang, China

The content and crystal forms of pyrite and sulfur isotope composition of pyrite sulfur as well as its vertical distribution near the Permian-Triassic (P/T) boundary in the Meishan section, Changxing county, Zhejiang province, China were studied using geological, petrological, mineralogical and geochemical methods (techniques). The result showed that the genesis of abundant pyrites in bed 24e2 at the uppermost part of the Changxing Formation in the Meishan section may be related to volcanic activity. In bed 24e2 of the Meishan section, pyrite has its highest content of 1.84% and the sulfur isotope composition has the highest ??34S value at + 2.2??? which is very similar to that of the average value of volcanic gas. There are some volcanic products such as ??-quartz, siliceous cylinders and siliceous spherules which coexisted with pyrites in beds 24e2 and 24f. It can be concluded that a large quantity of volcanic ash fell into the South China Sea and was incorporated into marine sediments during the formation of limestone at the uppermost part of the Changxing Formation. The volcanic eruption with massive amounts of H2S and S02 gas at the end of the Permian period resulted in the enrichment of H2S in the South China Sea areas. The reaction of H2S with reactive iron minerals formed the mass of abundant pyrites.

Journal of China University of Mining and Technolo↗